Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
As the Werewolf King of the North, Zhang Shengyu’s cultivation was amongst the top five in Qingli County.
He could paralyze Zhang Ruochen with a single glance, keeping him stationary.
Then, everything else disappeared.
It was replaced by four concrete walls, surrounding Zhang Ruochen in the middle. At the same time, Zhao Shengyu grew in size and stood over the four walls as if he was the God of War looking down at the mortal kept in his very own prison.
“I have found you. Where else can you run?”
He bellowed, his deep voice like groaning thunder which shook the ground.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the Octagon Mirror held in Zhao Shengyu’s hand, looking puzzled.
He wondered what powerful device the ministry had invented. Not only had Wan Ji managed to find him, but Zhao Shengyu could recognize and locate him from the crowd.
He should be more careful next time.
At this very moment, there was no sign of fear on his face, even though his identity had been exposed.
Half-Saint Yuanlong turned to the direction where Zhang Ruochen stood. As soon as he noticed this young apprentice standing still and remaining unshaken despite facing a half-saint, his heart sank.
Had Zhang Ruochen been concealing his identity by blending in with the apprentices? The rest of them had their knees pinned to the ground forcefully, and even the more senior ones fought hard against Zhao Shengyu’s compulsion.
This made him stand out among them.
All eyes centered on Zhang Ruochen, the only one remained standing, other than Half-Saint Yuanlong and Zhao Shengyu.
Nevertheless, Zhang Ruochen seemed unperturbed and smiled.
Suddenly, the sound of a sword vibrating and resonating was heard.
The Abyss Ancient Sword drifted to his palm, and he swung it down to break the concrete walls.
The walls crumbled.
Zhao Shengyu’s compulsion broke and the crumbling walls faded into thin air.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen sprang to the sky, his shoulder on par with Half-Saint Yuanlong. He hovered over the crowd, and his eyes flashed as he returned Zhao Shengyu’s gaze. “Werewolf King of the North, are you related to the Wan Family?”
Zhao Shengyu seemed to be more relaxed. He replied with a laugh, “Zhang Ruochen, why didn’t you continue your hiding? As long as you continued to pose as the apprentice, Half-Saint Yuanlong would have covered you up.”
Zhao Shengyu was closely linked to Wan Family.
In fact, Zhao Shengyu had once been a general under Wan Zhaoyi’s command, and was in the main line of descent of the Wans. If Wan Zhaoyi had told him to arrest Zhang Ruochen, he would not have denied his order.
Furthermore, this was the chance for him to perform, to gain Wan Zhaoyi’s recognition and ask for merits in front of the Empress.
If Wan Zhaoyi could reward him with a divine medicinal pill, his cultivation would increase drastically, paving an even brighter pathway in his political career.
It was confirmed that the young man standing in front of them was Zhang Ruochen.
The apprentices of the Yin and Yang Sect were the most surprised. It never occurred to them that the legendary Zhang Ruochen had been with them all along.
Half-Saint Yuanlong was furious. Zhang Ruochen’s confession angered him.
He would be laughed at again if the other half-saints knew about what happened today. Still, he was clueless of how Zhang Ruochen managed to sneak his way past everyone’s view.
Zhang Ruochen smiled in reply. “I did not pretend to be the apprentice of the Yin and Yang Sect. All I needed was a free ride here.”
Zhao Shengyu’s mouth curved in answer. “Does that mean the Yin and Yang Sect and you have been colluding?”
“Nonsense! Why would the Yin and Yang Sect collude with a wanted criminal?” Half-Saint Yuanlong bellowed. He was so mad that he literally kept stomping his feet.
If Zhang Ruochen insisted they were colluding, the imperial court might not be able to blame the Yin and Yang Sect entirely, but Half-Saint Yuanlong would be the scapegoat. That explained why was he exasperated to such frenzy.
At this time, Half-Saint Yuanlong heard a voice talking to him in his ears: “Help me escape this. If I am taken by the ministry, I will spill you out.”
“How dare you threaten me?”
Half-Saint Yuanlong widened his eyes, his fists tightened, and he fought against the urge to throw a punch at Zhang Ruochen.
He managed to.
He knew very well that if Zhang Ruochen were to frame him, he would never get away with the accusation.
Moreover, his impetuous action of hurting the Ultimate Four aggravated the situation. He would be perceived as confronting the ministry. If Zhang Ruochen did not get caught, there would be insufficient evidence to convict Half-Saint Yuanlong.
On the flip side, he’d be charged if Zhang Ruochen was arrested.
Half-saint Yuanlong was hot-tempered but he was not a fool. He knew what to do to turn the tide around.
He held himself down, knowing he had to compromise.
Soon, he cooled himself off, and said, “Extreme Yin Ancient City is a territory of the Yin and Yang Sect. Duels between half-saints are strictly not allowed within this compound. I will not forgive the ones who break the rule.” His tone held firm.
“What do you mean?” Zhao Shengyu asked.
Half-Saint Yuanlong flashed him a furious glance. Then said, “You may arrest anyone you like outside the city. But within the city, innocent civilians will be affected by the impact of your attacking power. Particularly, the duel between you and Zhang Ruochen would have cost the lives of thousands. The Yin and Yang Sect will never allow such obliteration to happen.”
Zhao Shengyu gave a condescending sneer, “A duel? I can finish him off in a single attack.” He then started channeling his holy Qi, conjuring a stronghold Half-Saint Territory, which soon surrounded Zhang Ruochen. In his eyes, Zhang Ruochen had yet to cultivate a saint soul. Without it, how powerful could he be?
“The God of War.”
Zhao Shengyu extended both his arms, and an enormous image of the God of War was conjured behind him, overlooking his adversary.
This was one of the moves from 72 Ultimate Moves – Ministry of War. Its attacking power was extremely strong, just a level below any saint spells.
The virtual God of War moved in synchronization with Zhao Shengyu, gathering their fists. It then brought them down to smash the much smaller Zhang Ruochen.
Zhao Shengyu was a level 5 half-saint, the power that came with his strike was not something Zhang Ruochen could take.
Immediately, Zhang Ruochen channeled Holy Qi to his feet.
The deity prints on both his soles glowed and then flames starting shooting out from his feet, bringing him backwards at an extreme speed to ward off the attack. It was the move of Luan Phoenix Deity Print Speed.
The fist landed on the ground instead, crushing the diagram situated in the center of the square. The ground underneath it caved in with large cracks.
The surrounding buildings could not withstand the blow and collapsed.
Half-Saint Yuanlong cast a shield using his Holy Qi to defend the fellow apprentices against the blow, yet many in the crowd were severely hurt. There were 10 or more young warriors who did not manage to escape, and they died.
“That’s insanely fast.” Zhao Shengyu was amazed by Zhang Ruochen’s reaction time.
That attack could have caused severe damage to a level 3 half-saint. But Zhang Ruochen moved away from it at an insane speed.
As Zhao Shengyu was about to strike in another attempt, Half-Saint Yuanlong stopped him by releasing his Saint Soul Territory.
“Werewolf King of the North, are you sure you want to destroy Extreme Yin Ancient City?” Half-Saint Yuanlong asked in a deep solemn tone.
If this were any other city, Zhao Shengyu would not have cared, as long as he could capture Zhang Ruochen.
But Extreme Yin Ancient City was different. This was the connecting city for Central region and the Yin and Yang Sect. Its significance was no less than the capital of Qingli County.
Even though Zhao Shengyu was the lord, he wouldn’t dare to offend the Yin and Yang Sect.
“Where’s Zhang Ruochen?”
Zhao Shengyu had let his attention slip off from Zhang Ruochen for a short moment during the interruption. When he turned back to where Zhang Ruochen had been, he had fled away.
Zhao Shengyu took out the Octagon Mirror again to locate Zhang Ruochen, but he had already left Extreme Yin Ancient City and was heading towards the Grassland of Werewolves.
“That was fast too, fleeing for his own life.”
Zhao Shengyu gave Half-Saint Yuanlong a cold stare. If it wasn’t for him, Zhang Ruochen would not have been able to escape. “Half-Saint Yuanlong, the ministry will not forget that you tried to help a criminal to escape today.”
As soon he finished his sentence, he rode his golden wolf at full speed in the direction of the Grassland, going after Zhang Ruochen.
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