Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Next, Zhang Ruochen pointed forward. He used a beam of Sword Intent to make the Abyss Ancient Sword fly out.
Squelch.
The Abyss Ancient Sword stabbed through Tong Dong's forehead. It forced a ma.s.s of blood from the back of his head.
With a thud, Tong Dong's body fell down. He'd just gotten to the platform, but now, he was a dead person.
Everyone present was dumbfounded. Their jaws almost fell to the ground. They'd all thought that Tong Dong would definitely be able to kill Zhang Ruochen. Who would've thought that Zhang Ruochen still had the strength to kill a Half-Saint?
"That is… a Spiritual Power attack. So Zhang Ruochen is also a powerful Spiritual Power Half-Saint? No wonder he dared to use the Destruction of Thousand-patterns. He still has a hidden card."
"Zhang Ruochen is so hard to deal with."
All the Half-Saints of the Ministry of War exchanged glances. No one dared to act impulsively anymore.
After all, who knew how strong Zhang Ruochen's Spiritual Power was? Wan Zhaoyi's gaze turned to the Saint Lady.
"Saint Lady, you are a Spiritual Power Saint. You should know the extent of Zhang Ruochen's power, right?"
Without changing her expression, Saint Lady replied indirectly, "Not only has the Ministry of War ruined your reputation to defeat a first level Half-Saint, you've also lost three powerful figures. Is this the Little Saint G.o.d's method against Zhang Ruochen?"
Wan Zhaoyi could feel Saint Lady's upset emotions. He couldn't help but furrow his brow. To be honest, he didn't think there was anything wrong with his method. The only mistake was that he'd underestimated Zhang Ruochen.
Of course, Saint Lady's att.i.tude gave him some pressure. After all, she was the Empress' most favored person. In addition, she had an unusual influence over the entire Confucius Way.
If the Saint Lady complained about him to the Empress, it would be quite troublesome.
Behind Wan Zhaoyi, Jian Kongzi immediately said, "Lord, let me go. I'll definitely take Zhang Ruochen's head."
Wan Zhaoyi glanced at Jian Kongzi. Then he took a Rudraksha from his sleeve and handed it over. "If you err, I will take the lives of your tribe," Wan Zhaoyi said.
Jian Kongzi accepted the walnut-sized bead. It was abnormally heavy, like he was holding a mountain. Even his Half-Saint arm had trouble lifting it.
It's the Rudraksha, 347th on the Thousand-pattern Saint Weapon List. Jian Kongzi was shocked.
If Wan Zhaoyi gave this to him, it was clear that he had no room for error. He could not fail again.
The Saint Lady's brow furrowed. She was worried for Zhang Ruochen. After all, she could see clearly that Zhang Ruochen's Spiritual Power was only in the 46th level. He couldn't counter Jian Kongzi, a seventh level Half-Saint, at all.
The Saint Lady felt even more self-contradicting, but she was helpless. She could only suppress her saint heart so Wan Zhaoyi wouldn't notice.
When Zhang Ruochen saw Jian Kongzi arrive on the battle platform, he didn't panic. He was still composed, because he had another hidden card. It was the sarira.
Under current circ.u.mstances, he could only resolve the crisis by undoing the sarira's third seal. If he did so, Zhang Ruochen would temporarily have a Saint's combat ability. It was more than enough to handle the Rudraksha.
It was just a bit of a waste. If he faced a dead end again, he wouldn't have any more outside forces to rely on. He'd have to use his own strength.
Jian Kongzi stared at Zhang Ruochen and shook his head. For a top swordsman like him, he wouldn't feel accomplished to kill an injured first level Half-Saint. However, he would definitely be rewarded and given a higher t.i.tle if he killed Zhang Ruochen. He did antic.i.p.ate this.
Right before Jian Kongzi attacked, a beam of white sword light flew in from the horizon.
Whoosh—
The Sword Qi was like a blinding laser. It cut through the sky, splitting the formation around the battle platform.
A figure flashed and a tall lady dressed in a purple dress was in the center of the platform, separating Zhang Ruochen from Jian Kongzi. Powerful saint light radiated from the woman, so very few people could see her clearly.
Even the various Half-Saints present could only see a graceful figure, a beautiful silhouette, porcelain skin, and the light purple veil over her face.
Wan Zhaoyi and the Saint Lady both flinched. After all, the defense formation around the platform was connected to the central altar. Even they had difficulty splitting it. However, the woman clad in purple easily tore through the formation with one strike. Her cultivation level was honestly terrifying.
The Saint Lady was familiar about every strong cultivator in the world. She quickly guessed the woman's ident.i.ty. However, she was more curious about why this top level and otherworldly woman would come and save Zhang Ruochen.
She was Ling Feiyu, Imperial Empress of the Demonic Sect's Saintess Palace. Her starry eyes were cold as she said, "You people from the Ministry of War are getting more and more powerful, huh. You dare to break into the Guardians of the Prison to kill someone. Do you really think Emperor Qing's decree is just sc.r.a.p paper?"
Each word Ling Feiyu spoke hit Jian Kongzi's chest like a punch, forcing him back continuously. When Jian Kongzi reached the edge of the platform, he couldn't handle it anymore. He half-knelt onto the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Wan Zhaoyi naturally guessed the woman's ident.i.ty as well. He stood up and announced, "Senior Ling, Emperor Qing's decree is engraved in my mind. How can I go against it? This isn't a conflict between the Ministry of War and Zhang Ruochen. It's a private conflict. They've gone onto the platform for a duel after both sides agreed to it."
Ling Feiyu glanced at Wan Zhaoyi in annoyance. "Is it your place to speak in the Guardians of the Prison?"
Wan Zhaoyi and Ling Feiyu were both top figures of an era, dominating a whole generation. One had become known as the King and was undefeatable. The other had swept across the world 300 years ago and met no match.
Of course, Wan Zhaoyi hadn't only cultivated for 100 years. He'd entered the Tianlun Mark to cultivate four times before. Adding up the four times, he'd cultivated in the Tianlun Mark for 100 years as well.
They indeed had a big gap between them. However, Wan Zhaoyi was a proud man. He wouldn't submit to Ling Feiyu.
Wan Zhaoyi put his hands behind his back. His Blue Dragon Armor shone with eye-catching light. It rushed into the sky, forming a huge blue dragon that coiled on him.
"Senior Ling, you are mistaken," he said. "The Guardians of the Prison are working with the imperial court to defeat the Immortal Vampires. I naturally have a place in the Guardians of the Prison."
Ling Feiyu met Wan Zhaoyi's eyes. "Since you know that the Vampires have taken over the Yuan Mansion, then you should be uniting all possible forces against the mutual enemy. Why are you allowing the Ministry of War to sacrifice so many strong figures for private conflicts? You are a junior that doesn't care about the big picture. Was the Empress blind when she allowed you to take the t.i.tle of Heavenly King?"
Wan Zhaoyi's eyes twitched when he heard these words. His eyes flashed, but he was unable to refute Ling Feiyu.
Zhang Ruochen stood to the side and peered at Ling Feiyu. He was impressed inwardly. He hadn't expected that this saintess was both skilled in swordsmans.h.i.+p and talking.
None of the saintesses of the Demonic Sect were easy to deal with.
"Senior Sword Saint, Zhang Ruochen is a spy from the Vampires. Everyone wishes to kill him. If you are biased towards him, not only will you anger the Ministry of War, the Guardians of the Prison will also misunderstand you."
This came from w.a.n.g Jie. He'd already hated Ling Feiyu. Now that he had the Ministry of War's support, he naturally jumped out to verbally attack Ling Feiyu.
However, he didn't see the situation clearly. He thought the Ministry of War could suppress Ling Feiyu. He didn't know that even Wan Zhaoyi was trying to suppress his anger and try not to anger Ling Feiyu.
Now, he'd jumped out voluntarily, thinking that the Ministry of War and Guardians of the Prison could threaten Ling Feiyu. This was basically suicide.
As expected, the bad-tempered Ling Feiyu turned cold at w.a.n.g Jie's words. "You Guardians of the Prison didn't protect the still-developing Swordsman, but that's okay. I don't care. Sword Saint Xuanji will teach you a lesson when he returns. But who are you to threaten me?"
Kaboom.
Thousands of beams of light surged out of Ling Feiyu. With the platform as the center, hundreds of miles in radius turned into a sea of lightning and thunder. Right now, she was furious. Angry saintly might flooded to w.a.n.g Jie.
Pow!
A large group of the Guardians of the Prison couldn't take the might in that moment. They all knelt onto the ground, including w.a.n.g Jie. Sweat poured out of each of his pores.
Now, he finally understood how terrifying Ling Feiyu's cultivation was. He really regretted not listening to his father's warning. He shouldn't have angered Ling Feiyu.
"Sword Saint Feiyu, please do not be angry." w.a.n.g Beilie, leader of the Guardians of the Prison, hurried over and landed beside w.a.n.g Jie. He wore a black ritual robe.
Seeing his father, w.a.n.g Jie was overjoyed. "Fa—"
But before he could say anything, w.a.n.g Beilie's hand had slapped w.a.n.g Jie's face. He tumbled in the air twice before falling onto the ground with a thud.
w.a.n.g Beilie's slap had been harsh. It shattered w.a.n.g Jie's left cheekbone, turning half of his face into b.l.o.o.d.y mush.
Sprawled on the ground, w.a.n.g Jie trembled, saying, "Father, you…"
"Shut up, you disobedient fool. How dare you disrespect Sword Saint Feiyu? I will kill you today!"
Saintly fire rose up on w.a.n.g Beilie's hand. A gust of powerful Holy Qi spread in all directions. If he slapped w.a.n.g Jie with his palm, w.a.n.g Jie might really die.
But before w.a.n.g Beilie attacked, a group of elders from the Guardians of the Prison hurried over and stopped him.
