Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“Is it your place to speak up?” Feng Qin glanced at Li Min. Cold light flew out of his eyes.
Zhang Ruochen used the Spatial Move and slid horizontally to appear before Li Min. He pressed forward, shattering the cold light that flew over.
Next, Zhang Ruochen put his hands down and looked disgusted. “Come at me if you need. Why are you treating a defenseless girl so cruelly?”
If Zhang Ruochen hadn’t acted, the light from Feng Qin’s eyes would have gone through Li Min and killed her.
“Fine. In that case, let me take care of you first.”
Feng Qin clenched his fists. He stepped forward, making a deep indent in the bamboo forest. At the same time, blades of wind appeared around him, whooshing.
“Stop,” a deep voice said.
Shi Ren and a group of Guardians of the Prison elders hurried down the mountain. They appeared between Feng Qin and Zhang Ruochen, stopping them.
Faced with the elders of the Guardians of the Prison, Feng Qin furrowed his brow. He huffed coldly and was forced to pull his power back. However, the animosity about him didn’t weaken.
Feng Qin had seen Shi Ren before and naturally knew his identity. “Young Clan Leader, I am arresting a wanted criminal of the imperial court. Will the Guardians of the Prison get involved in this too?”
Shi Ren glanced at Feng Qin. “The imperial court has their rules. The Guardians of the Prison have our rules. Zhang Ruochen is our esteemed guest and he’s still inside the Pluto Sword Tomb now. We cannot allow the imperial court to take him.”
Feng Qin was familiar with the internal situation of the Guardians of the Prison. He didn’t really care about Shi Ren’s words. Huffing coldly, he said, “Zhang Ruochen is wanted personally by the Empress. Young Clan Leader, do you know what this means? Don’t bring trouble to the Guardians of the Prison. Otherwise, you might lose your position.”
“Really? I don’t think so.” Shi Ren didn’t show any fear. He seemed very resolute.
Just then, dozens of figures walked out of the fog and appeared at the mountaintop. The three in the front were Wan Zhaoyi, the Saint Lady, and Wang Jie.
Behind them were Half-Saint cultivators from the Ministry of War and Guardians of the Prison. They were all figures who’d made a name for themselves. They had powerful auras, heavy Blood Qi and vigor. They formed an impressive force.
As the various Saints arrived, the atmosphere of the entire Bamboo Mountain turned murderous. An average Monk in the Fish-Dragon Realm would probably be prostrated on the ground by now.
Wang Jie obviously knew that Zhang Ruochen was living in Bamboo Mountain. That was why he’d arranged for the strong figures of the Ministry of War to also stay in Bamboo Mountain.
As expected, they’d run into Zhang Ruochen.
Wang Jie’s lips curled into a proud smile. He quickly walked over and said, “Young Clan Leader, it’s best if we don’t get involved. After all, Zhang Ruochen is a wanted criminal of the imperial court and has connections with the Immortal Vampires. He’s trouble if we let him remain in the Guardians of the Prison.”
Shi Ren stared at Wan Zhaoyi and the Saint Lady. Then he moved to Wang Jie and said coldly, “Who said that Zhang Ruochen has connections with the Vampires? Do you have proof?”
Wang Jie sighed and put on an innocent expression. “Young Clan Leader, it’s obvious already. Why are you still on his side? Who will be responsible if irreversible damages happen to the Guardians of the Prison because of Zhang Ruochen? The Empress must have her reasons for wanting to arrest Zhang Ruochen. Are you going to go against her too?”
Shi Ren wasn’t an illogical man. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived until now.
“If the imperial court wants to arrest Zhang Ruochen outside the Pluto Sword Tomb, I won’t object,” he said. “But Zhang Ruochen is my friend and he’s a guest of the Guardians of the Prison. If the imperial court wants to take him, they’ll do it over my dead body.”
Shi Ren was clear that, with his status, the imperial court wouldn’t dare to go too overboard no matter how badly they wanted Zhang Ruochen. If he didn’t stand his ground enough, Zhang Ruochen would definitely be taken away. The consequences would be unimaginable.
If that really happened, all Swordsmen would be disappointed. If the Guardians of the Prison ever ran into trouble in the future, would the Swordsmen still come and help?
This was why Shi Ren couldn’t back off. He had both private and personal reasons.
The dozen elders behind Shi Ren also came out and stood behind him. They were loyal to the Shi Family. Some had even followed the Old Clan Leader, so they would naturally listen to Shi Ren.
However, Wang Jie was happy. Since Shi Ren voluntarily stepped out to support Zhang Ruochen, he could use this chance to take care of them both.
He turned around and bowed slightly to Wan Zhaoyi. “Lord, you see this too. The Young Clan Leader doesn’t listen to logic at all. He’s faced with a great enemy, but he still hangs onto the private relationship he has with Zhang Ruochen. He may ruin the big picture.”
Clad in the Blue Dragon Armor, Wan Zhaoyi’s eyes were hot. Smiling faintly, he glanced at Zhang Ruochen and Shi Ren. “Actually, I find that the Young Clan Leader is quite reasonable.”
Wang Jie flinched. He was confused. What exactly was Wan Zhaoyi doing? Didn’t he want to capture Zhang Ruochen?
Wan Zhaoyi continued, “When Emperor Qing was in power, he’d indeed given the Guardians of the Prison the emperor decree. Thus, even the imperial court needs to follow their rules when they enter the Pluto Sword Tomb.”
Shi Ren stood with his hands behind his back and stared at Wan Zhaoyi. “No wonder the Little Saint God is number one of the recent century. You do things more justly than the others.”
Then Wan Zhaoyi’s tone changed. “The imperial court can let Zhang Ruochen go for now, but I don’t think you can meddle with personal matters, right?”
Shi Ren’s eyes narrowed. “What personal matters?”
“In Qingli County, four of Feng Qin’s comrades died under Zhang Ruochen’s sword,” Wan Zhaoyi announced confidently. “We can’t get past this rivalry and hatred.”
Feng Qin stomped on the ground, shattering the earth. “Zhang Ruochen!” he thundered. “If you’re still a man, then step out and fight me. One of us must die today.”
One must admit that Wan Zhaoyi’s methods were much more advanced than Wang Jie’s.
This way, even Shi Ren couldn’t stop him. After all, Zhang Ruochen really had killed four Kings of the Ministry of War. One of them might really be Feng Qin’s close friend. Who could prove otherwise?
“Zhang Ruochen, you killed my brothers when you split Ziyong Pass,” another Half-Saint of the Ministry of War also claimed. “Today, I will take revenge for them, no matter what.”
“King Thousand-elephant is my blood brother, but you killed him. I will kill you today, even if the entire Guardians of the Prison Clan wants to protect you.”
“I will kill Zhang Ruochen to take revenge.”
…
More than half of the Half-Saints present from the Ministry of War claimed to have private rivalries with Zhang Ruochen. Of course, most of them just wanted this excuse to duel with Zhang Ruochen.
After all, anyone who killed Zhang Ruochen would shoot to fame. They might be able to be given great titles and be rewarded by the Empress. Everyone obviously fought for this rare chance.
To them, Zhang Ruochen was a piece of pie that everyone wanted to eat up.
The Saint Lady was quiet in comparison. Her clear eyes focused on Blackie and she smiled knowingly.
Since this arrogant cat was beside Zhang Ruochen, then she was sure that Zhang Ruochen was Lin Yue, the genius swordsman from the Yin and Yang Sect. All her previous confusion made sense now.
No wonder he wasn’t willing to be an Heir…
She sighed inwardly. Her thoughts became a bit messy and contradicting. The man she’d once looked up to was now her enemy. What was she supposed to do?
If another official wanted to capture Zhang Ruochen, she could use some tactics to help him. However, it was the Empress who wanted him. Even the Saint Lady was powerless.
Blackie glanced at Saint Lady and found something was wrong. He sent a telepathic message to Zhang Ruochen. Zhang Ruochen, your identity is exposed!
Zhang Ruochen still seemed calm. Instead of panicking, he subtly glanced at the Saint Lady. Their eyes met each other. However, there was a faint smile in the Saint Lady’s eyes. She didn’t seem to want to attack him.
The Saint Lady was loyal to the Empress. This was undeniable. Zhang Ruochen wasn’t feeling optimistic, even though he’d saved her twice. He didn’t lower his guard.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen walk forward, Shi Ren immediately went to stop him. “Brother Zhang, let me take care of this…”
“No,” Zhang Ruochen interrupted him, shaking his head. “I must take care of this personally.”
Then Zhang Ruochen finally looked over at the various Half-Saints. “Since everyone has conflicts with me, then I agree to your life-or-death duel. Today, either you all will die, or I’ll die.”
Zhang Ruochen agreed to fight. He was forced to. Otherwise, he would give Shi Ren trouble.
When Wang Jie heard this, he was happy but also disappointed. He wished Zhang Ruochen would keep silent so Shi Ren would face off the various Half-Saints from the Ministry of War. This way, Wang Jie would be able to bring Shi Ren down and become the new Young Clan Leader.
However, he’d still completed this first step. It was good enough. Getting rid of Zhang Ruochen was like breaking one of Shi Ren’s wings. There would be more chances to take care of Shi Ren in the future.
…
A battle platform hundreds of feet wide hovered above the altar in the center of the Guardians of the Prison. Right now, there was a mass of people below it. Countless clansmen had gathered here.
“Zhang Ruochen must be a spy from the Immortal Vampires. The Guardians of the Prison might be unable to kill him, but he can’t escape from the Ministry of War.”
“As long as Zhang Ruochen dies, the Pluto Sword Tomb will return to peace.”
“If I was Zhang Ruochen, I would just surrender obediently. The Empress is benevolent. She might not kill him.”
Everyone heard that Zhang Ruochen was going to duel to the death with the various Half-Saints. They all hurried over to see his blood spill.
