Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Gradually, various powerful Monks walked out from the two mountains. Even the weakest ones were in the Fish-Dragon Realm.
There were many elders amongst them. Of course, there were also some younger disciples. Each one was a Conqueror.
Half-Saint Li Ku walked to the Blood Slave corpses and checked them. His expression turned heavy. “They are all from the Yu Family of Thousand-elephant County. It seems that the Immortal Vampires have destroyed the Yu Family already.”
The Yu Family was one of the outer families of the Guardians of the Prison. They were also the top family of Thousand-elephant County.
First, it was the Guo Family of Fengnan County. Then it was the Wu Family of Beiyue County and Piao Family of Si County. Now, it was the Yu Family of Thousand-elephant County.
Altogether, four outer families had been wiped out.
When the Guo Family had been wiped out, the current leader of the Guardians of the Prison had ordered all major families to scatter and bring the elite disciples to the Pluto Sword Tomb. However, some families that were further away couldn’t react so quickly, thus meeting their demise.
When the people of the Guardians of the Prison saw this, they were all furious.
“The Immortal Vampires are too horrible. I can’t stand it anymore. I must attack first and chase them out of the Yuan Mansion.”
The speaker was a woman in her thirties. She wore palace clothing and had thick, black eyebrows. Her chin was broad and she carried a dark saint sword. She radiated with a sharp Qi.
An elder with silvery-white hair shook his head. “Everyone, you must stay calm. The Vampires just want to anger us. They want to force us to fight and use up our energy. We can’t go out of control, especially at this time.”
The woman huffed coldly. “So we have to be afraid of them? Not even the imperial court is stronger than the Yuan Mansion, let alone the Vampires. Once we go to war, the Vampires will definitely be defeated.”
“Yes, four outer families and thousands of our clansmen have died. We can’t take it anymore.”
“We must fight and make the Vampires pay with blood.”
“The Yuan Mansion is our territory, the territory of the Guardians of the Prison. We can’t let the Vampires run amok here. If we keep wasting time, who knows how many of our clansmen will have their blood sucked dry and become Blood Slaves?”
…
The younger Monks mostly supported fighting. Their fury made them all hot-blooded. However, some people didn’t support going up against the Vampires. They had more concerns.
Zhang Ruochen could tell that the Guardians of the Prison Clan was now divided between the war hawks and conservatives. He was new, so he couldn’t say anything. He just stood to the side and stayed quiet.
While the two parties were arguing intensely, the young Swordsman had his eyes on Zhang Ruochen’s Taotian Sword. Then his gaze moved up to Zhang Ruochen. “You are Sword Saint Xuanji’s disciple, Zhang Ruochen?” he asked.
Zhang Ruochen raised his head. He glanced at the Swordsman and furrowed his brow slightly. They were all swordsmen, but the other was 30 feet in the air, looking down at him. Wasn’t this a bit impolite?
Plus, there were many elders and seniors present. They were all on the ground; only this man levitated in the air.
Out of politeness, Zhang Ruochen didn’t make a big deal. He just nodded lightly. “Yes. And you are?”
Before the Swordsman could reply, Li Min, standing beside Zhang Ruochen, beat him to it and said, “He’s Xiang Zhengfeng, the sole disciple of Sword Saint Qingyu. Last year, he passed away at the Spiritual Bird Mound and passed the Zhutian Sword to him. He’s now the newest Swordsman.”
Li Min stole a glance at Xiang Zhengfeng. Their eyes met and she immediately lowered her head shyly.
Xiang Zhengfeng didn’t show any emotion. He was straightforward and composed, just like his name. In a demanding tone, he said, “Since you are the disciple of Sword Saint Xuanji and have brought the Taotian Sword to the Pluto Sword Tomb, it means that you will join the new generation of Swordsmen. You will shoulder the responsible of protecting the Sword Tomb. Then, let me ask you. Why didn’t you fight when the Blood Slaves attacked the Sword Tomb in such large numbers?”
Xiang Zhengfeng’s voice was very resonant. All the people of the Guardians of the Prison quieted down and focused on these two young Swordsmen. His voice alerted these clansmen. They all stared at Zhang Ruochen in doubt.
Some even started whispering.
“Zhang Ruochen is a wanted criminal. Didn’t the leader say that he’s forbidden to enter the Pluto Sword Tomb?”
“Hmph! He probably wants to hide in the Sword Tomb and hope we can protect him.”
“I heard that Zhang Ruochen caused trouble in the Central Region. Not only did he kill four Kings of the Ministry of War, he also destroyed Ziyong Pass. He has a mutual enemy and interests with the Vampires though. It’s definitely possible for them to work together.”
“That’s interesting. Zhang Ruochen had just arrived and the Blood Slaves came. I’ll be the first one to say there’s a problem.”
“The Blood Slaves attacked, but Zhang Ruochen didn’t take out his sword. Instead, he asked about our clan’s formation. I’m afraid he has an ulterior motive for coming to the Pluto Sword Tomb.”
…
Zhang Ruochen’s ears had two deity prints. The Half-Saints’ telepathic messages couldn’t escape from his ears. He naturally heard everything they were saying clearly.
If his master hadn’t told him about the worry coming from Pluto, Zhang Ruochen would have left immediately.
His mindset had improved greatly after reaching the Half-Saint Realm. He was still composed. “It was just a group of Blood Slaves, not the actual Immortal Vampires. Do they need a Swordsman to act?”
Actually, he would have helped Half-Saint Li Ku kill those Blood Slaves if Xiang Zhengfeng hadn’t done so first. But faced with Xiang Zhengfeng’s demand, Zhang Ruochen didn’t feel like explaining.
“The Blood Slaves won’t threaten the Sword Tomb?” Xiang Zhengfeng asked. “Do you know how many of the Guardians of the Prison will be threatened once they break into the Stone Mountain Sword Gate?”
Hearing Xiang Zhengfeng’s words, the Guardians of the Prison all agreed with him. They were all a bit provoked and started feeling repulsed by Zhang Ruochen. At the same time, Xiang Zhengfeng had placed their safety first and received their support.
As for Zhang Ruochen, they started disliking him more and more.
“If the Guardians of the Prison can’t even defeat a group of Blood Slaves, how can you fight against the Vampires?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
He was speaking the truth, but the Guardians of the Prison were all infuriated. The war hawk Monks were especially angry. Beams of Holy Qi surged from them all.
“Zhang Ruochen, how dare you insult the Guardians of the Prison?”
Wang Ju widened his eyes. He pulled out a heavy sword and stuck it into the ground with an explosive sound. A gust of powerful Holy Qi surged from his palms. It entered the sword, making it shine with black light.
The surroundings below the two mountains instantly darkened.
Wang Ju was a Half-Saint from the Wang Family, one of the three main families. He had high status and supported war.
The three families were the Wang Family that specialized in the Tao of the Sword, the Shen Family that specialized in formations, and the Shi Family for the runes. They each had a family leader.
In addition, they would choose a clan leader to rule the entire Guardians of the Prison Clan.
Zhang Ruochen glanced in Xiang Zhengfeng’s direction. “I am not the one that insulted the Guardians of the Prison.”
“Enough nonsense,” Wang Ju said authoritatively. “Try fighting with me. If you win, I can forgive you. If you lose, then it means you don’t qualify to become a Swordsman. You must hand over the Taotian Sword and get the hell out of the Pluto Sword Tomb.”
Wang Ju had said what everyone present was thinking. They all supported him.
“That’s right. If you don’t have the abilities, then get out. The Guardians of the Prison won’t protect a wanted criminal.”
“You can leave, but the Taotian Sword must stay.”
…
Zhang Ruochen was clear that if he fought with Wang Ju, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the Pluto Sword Tomb. No matter the result, he would be forced out.
After all, it was his first time coming to the Pluto Sword Tomb. If he defeated Wang Ju, he would truly be humiliating the Guardians of the Prison, even if he hadn’t meant to do so before.
How would the Guardians of the Prison let him stay after that?
Just then, a man in a yellow robe walked out from between the two stone mountains. “Actually, I feel that Zhang Ruochen is right. If you can’t even take care of a group of Blood Slaves, going against the powerful Vampires will be suicide.”
The man had his hands behind his back. He walked out slowly with a calm expression. A group of elders were behind him, also wearing clean yellow robes. Seeing him, the Guardians of the Prison all quieted down. They retreated, opening up a path for him.
Even the domineering Wang Ju lowered his head and bowed. “Greetings, Young Clan Leader.”
Seeing the yellow-robed man, Zhang Ruochen was slightly shocked. It’s him, he thought.
The man was Shi Ren and he had had a relationship with Zhang Ruochen. They’d had life-or-death experiences in the netherworld.
At that time, Shi Ren had only told Zhang Ruochen that he went to the netherworld to search for the Pill of Resurrection and save his wife. He hadn’t said anything else or mentioned his status.
Who would’ve thought that Zhang Ruochen would meet him in the Pluto Sword Tomb?
Shi Ren walked to Zhang Ruochen and greeted him with a smile. “Brother Zhang, after separating in the Eastern Region, I didn’t think we would meet so soon. How are you? I’ve said before that we would meet again. Do you believe me, now?”
