Chapter 38 – Bloody Battle

“Capture him alive, and wealth and status shall be yours!”

A cold flash of sword light swept past, and a line of blood sprayed out — the man who had just finished shouting tumbled from his horse.

Before the mounted party could even react, several more jets of blood erupted, and severed heads went flying into the air.

“Yikes!” Triangle-Eyes flung away the head that had landed in his arms as if it had burned him, nearly losing his seat in the saddle.

It wasn’t the severed head that had frightened him senseless — it was the sudden and savage ferocity of it all. He didn’t even have time to see who was striking. Shaking the reins, he bolted at full gallop, as if evil spirits were chasing him from behind.

In moments, the street was strewn with corpses, and startled horses screamed and reared.

“Zero-Two, go back and guard the ship. Today I am taking them away.”

Zero-Two snapped to attention, pulling himself back from that blood-red gaze. No matter what she looked like now, she was still the imperial Crown Prince — their master.

Zero-Two had no hesitation whatsoever. She said to guard the ship, so he went to guard the ship.

On the other side, Triangle-Eyes rode back at full speed to report. Upon hearing the news, Qiao Shan Ke pressed his fists together and snarled, “Third Young Master, let me go capture her and redeem myself!”

The Gongsun riders surged forward on horseback. From a distance, they could see the wide-open dock bathed in the lights of moored vessels, where a single figure stood with sword in hand.

“Brazen brat, daring not to run!” Qiao Shan Ke’s eyes flickered, and he tilted his head back to swallow a pill. With a great shout, he leaped from his horse and hurled himself through the air, his boulder-like fist crashing down toward Zhan Changfeng.

Zhan Changfeng raised her sword to block. The fist slammed against the blade, and the force of qi rippled outward. She stepped back half a pace, and the ground beneath her feet cracked.

“He actually needed to take a Blood Burst Pill just to deal with a child.” Gongsun Jing was utterly contemptuous — this was an embarrassment to him.

Jiang Wei took one look at Zhan Changfeng’s eyes and fell silent, quietly marveling at how truly far-sighted the head of Qiao Shan had been.

Zhan Changfeng’s cultivation had already been extraordinarily deep in the past, far beyond that of ordinary people. Now that her eyes had turned strange, she was even more frightening.

Qiao Shan Ke’s face was flushed with wild excitement, the whites of his eyes shot through with bloodshot threads, as though he had become a raging beast. When Zhan Changfeng struck back with her sword, she had not managed to break through his defense — yet she was not alarmed. Instead, she smiled. This was a fine opportunity to test just how hard her Pure Yin Bones truly were.

In an instant, her sword technique shifted from ethereal to direct, vicious, and fast!

Force met force, and neither side yielded!

Gongsun Jing went from contempt to shock, and from shock to disbelief. Qiao Shan Ke was at the great completion of the Postnatal realm to begin with, and after taking the Blood Burst Pill, his strength had surged to the Prenatal level — yet how could this child of such young age possibly stand against him?!

“Jiang Wei, what is the meaning of this?!”

Jiang Wei replied, “Third Young Master, the Crown Prince of the Yin Dynasty has trained in martial arts since childhood. He reached Postnatal realm perfection at the age of ten.”

Gongsun Jing’s expression twisted. “Impossible!”

The martial path on Shenzhou was exceedingly weak — not even a quarter of what it was in Cangyun Ravine. Even those who reached the Prenatal Grandmaster level were often already half in the grave.

In Cangyun Ravine, however, while the path of cultivation was difficult to access, the martial path flourished. Almost everyone practiced martial arts; Postnatal practitioners were everywhere, and Prenatal masters were the norm.

He himself had reached Postnatal realm perfection at twenty and Prenatal at thirty, and was hailed as a rare and exceptional genius.

But Postnatal realm perfection at ten — what did that even mean? Furthermore, Shenzhou had no medicinal pills or rare treasures to assist cultivation. That Postnatal perfection must have been achieved purely through her own practice and insight — a natural, water-flowing-to-the-sea kind of perfection. The terrifyingness of such talent…

Gongsun Jing broke out in goosebumps all over. A talent this frightening could walk directly into one of the great sects of the upper realms!

Zhan Changfeng normally kept her cultivation well concealed. It wasn’t until the palace coup that she had made her move, and that single move had been enough to terrify Jiang Wei — she was already at Postnatal realm perfection!

Jiang Wei reported directly to the Gongsun clan head. When he had delivered this information, the clan head had responded with only fifteen words.

The Dragon Scale Divine Scripture can be foregone. The Crown Prince of the Yin Dynasty must die.

But killing her was far easier said than done. The incident at the manor had perhaps been the best chance, yet at that time she had revealed an intention of already having found the Dragon Scale Divine Scripture.

The Dragon Scale Divine Scripture was also the Gongsun clan’s ultimate goal. Weighing the two, the Dragon Scale Divine Scripture was clearly more important at present — after all, the Crown Prince of the Yin Dynasty was currently both weak and utterly alone.

Yet somehow something had gone wrong along the way, and she was actually capable of holding her own against a Prenatal practitioner!

At this moment, Gongsun Jing noticed her eyes. His mind raced. He had never heard his great-grandfather mention that cultivating the Dragon Scale Divine Scripture would change one’s eyes — and besides, she wouldn’t have had time to cultivate it. “Has she gone astray in her cultivation, or has she turned to demonic arts?”

Gongsun Jing grew increasingly certain. In a sense, either of those situations could indeed cause one’s power to surge dramatically. Otherwise, how could someone who was already terrifyingly powerful at the Postnatal realm manage to contend with a Prenatal practitioner in such a short span of time?!

“How can someone who practices such crooked paths be allowed to exist in this world? Jiang Wei, go help him!”

Just then, Qiao Shan Ke was sent flying by a sword blow. The force of the impact triggered internal injuries, compounded by the sudden backlash of the Blood Burst Pill. Blood began to seep from all seven of his orifices.

Qiao Shan Ke’s eyes bulged wide. He could not accept that even after taking the Blood Burst Pill, he still couldn’t beat her. “Come on then, I’ll go all out with you!”

From the moment Zhan Changfeng had decided to stay, her state of mind had opened up with sudden clarity — as if amid a collapsing mountain and splitting earth she had grasped a thread of unhurried, cloud-drifting composure. The membrane that had confined her for so long now showed its first crack.

A powerful force originating from her very soul was wrenched forth. She drove it toward Qiao Shan Ke. Qiao Shan Ke’s expression crumpled. The long sword had already drawn a line across his throat. The blade swept back and clanged sharply as it intercepted Jiang Wei’s ring-pommel saber!

Jiang Wei’s grip split open at the webbing between thumb and forefinger. He hadn’t anticipated such force behind the blow. “Your Highness, think of those people at the execution ground!”

“Trying to play mind games with me — you’re far from good enough.” Zhan Changfeng’s sword technique was fierce and relentless, driving him back again and again.

Gongsun Jing’s gaze hardened, and he threw himself into the fight. “Hand over the Dragon Scale Divine Scripture and I’ll spare your life!”

“Save your breath.” Zhan Changfeng raised her guard several degrees. The people of Cangyun Ravine seemed to have some unusual methods. She remembered this man — last time he had thrown out a pellet and killed an entire group of people with it.

That pellet was actually called a Sword Pellet — priceless and rarely seen on the market. Gongsun Jing was quite favored within his clan and had been given three. Unfortunately, two had been used in the secret realm, and one had been flung out in a panic when a swarm of Gu insects came at him head-on. He had none left now.

Even if he had one, Gongsun Jing wouldn’t have thought to use it on Zhan Changfeng. He said disdainfully, “Since you’re seeking death, I’ll grant your wish.”

Gongsun Jing’s fists struck like rolling thunder, and a faint blue arc of lightning could be seen wreathing them with the naked eye.

Zhan Changfeng met the blow head-on. The force was like a thousand-weight pressing down — and beyond that, there was a numbing sensation. The sheer might of it was utterly incomparable to Qiao Shan Ke even in his frenzied state.

It was truly a revelation!

“Again.” Zhan Changfeng grew excited, and an icy, yin-cold power crept up along the length of her blade.

Gongsun Jing felt a sudden chill seep through him, a nameless unease rising within. He glanced at Zhan Changfeng with wariness in his eyes. A demonic creature, just as he had suspected.

“Furious Thunder Strike!” Gongsun Jing threw a straight hooking punch with the force of a crumbling mountain. Zhan Changfeng thrust her sword into the ground, spun her body, and launched a flying kick. The two of them slammed together in a violent collision and were each sent skidding back — with such force that two long furrows were gouged into the ground beneath their feet!

Almost simultaneously, both of them struck again. Fist met fist, roaring thunder clashed against Pure Yin. The numbing lightning force was swallowed by icy cold; Gongsun Jing stalled for just an instant. Zhan Changfeng swept her sword up and brought it cleaving down!

Crack.

That sound of tearing cloth was rather peculiar.

Zhan Changfeng had no time to follow up — she leaped back sharply.

“Heh.” Gongsun Jing was furious. If not for his ritual garment blocking it, that slash would have gone straight into his heart!

“Give me your life!”

The two clashed together again. Dust flew, shattered stones scattered in all directions, and Jiang Wei couldn’t find an opening to join in at all.

Good grief — if this kept up, wouldn’t they just end up destroying each other?

The Gongsun riders grew anxious, watching the two combatants with unblinking eyes.

*Smack.*

Suddenly one of them slapped the back of his own neck. What kind of insect was that?

“What the hell?!”

One after another, the Gongsun riders toppled from their horses. It was so bizarre that even the two people locked in combat took notice.

“Are you done fighting? Once you’re done, we’ll come down.”

Four figures dressed in black cloaks stood atop the rooftops. One of them raised a slender, elegant hand and flipped back their hood, revealing a face of cold, androgynous beauty — it was none other than Wu Cheng!

(End of Chapter)