Chapter 823: Jiang Xinyue, Rusted Iron Flag
“Qin the Overlord Body has quite the big mouth.”
Prince Qiuming smiled faintly, not angered, and said leisurely, “Why do you grassroots types always flaunt your talents and look down on the sons of the imperial family? I was born better than you, into the imperial family, with a richer education and broader experience. The Supreme Emperor’s Throne cultivation technique? I can obtain it with ease, and I have the most brilliant teachers guiding me. What do you have?”
The Village Chief, Radiant Ming Divine Son, and First Ancestor Human Sovereign felt a chill in their hearts.
Being born into the imperial family indeed came with extraordinary advantages, something Qin Mu simply couldn’t match!
Although Qin Mu had been taught by the elders of the Crippled Elderly Village in his youth, which was far better than most, compared to Prince Qiuming, it was nothing.
Prince Qiuming was a golden phoenix born in a golden nest, while Qin Mu was just a chicken-dragon from a thatched shed!
The Village Chief glanced at Qin Mu beside him, seeing the young man still looked utterly unconcerned, and thought to himself, “Blame the butcher! The butcher taught him never to show weakness in front of anyone. And blame the blind man too—he taught him to piss on divine statues to break the divine in his heart, making this kid fearless of heaven or earth…”
Qin Mu smiled and said, “Though I wasn’t born into the imperial family, I had nine towering figures to teach me. The foremost in the Crippled Elderly Village is this elder beside me. He’s our village chief, who taught me swordsmanship and how to be a man.”
The Village Chief was deeply moved, his old face flushing with embarrassment, and thought, “Ahem, I did teach him how to be a man, which is why he’s so humble and polite, always yielding and patient, quite like me.”
Prince Qiuming laughed heartily, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked up at the moon in the sky. The moon was wrinkled and withered, and he sighed, “Teach you how to be a man? What use is that? The most heartless is the imperial family. Among the many princes in the Heavenly Court, to stand out requires surviving a bloody elimination. Which of those who emerge hasn’t endured life-and-death trials? At twelve, I was sent to the Yin Demon Graveyard to fight yin demons. Of the fifty who went in with me, only I came out alive! What did you experience at twelve?”
Qin Mu thought for a moment, reluctant to say.
The Village Chief reminded him, “Mu’er, don’t you remember? Back then, Old Lady Si bought a chicken-dragon, and you fought it every day, getting beaten black and blue by it.”
Qin Mu’s face darkened like iron.
Prince Qiuming laughed again, shaking his head, “I was born better than you, learned more, saw more, and worked harder than you. You talking about visiting my grave is truly a joke.”
Qin Mu said seriously, “But killing you really isn’t a hassle for me, Prince. You’re not even as tough as that chicken-dragon I faced last time. Killing that chicken-dragon required me and Senior Brother Zhe Huali to work together. Killing you only takes one move from me.”
Zhe Huali struggled to suppress his laughter, while the demon blade behind him curved its eyes in amusement, though it couldn’t make a sound.
Prince Qiuming glanced at him, a faint smile on his lips, “Zhe Huali, you were once a talent of the Lingxiu Army, but after descending to the lower realms, you’ve become a frog at the bottom of a well. Qin the Overlord Body, the reason I’m telling you all this isn’t to boast, but because it’s the truth.”
He looked at Qin Mu, smiling, “You’re called the Overlord Body by these lower-realm commoners—how ridiculous. It shows how shortsighted these lowly races are. If you’re the Overlord Body, what am I, born of the imperial clan? Do you know why I was sent down and why you’re my first target?”
Qin Mu shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“I came down to kill the three heroes of the Yankang Reform. You’re the first because of your Overlord Body title.”
Prince Qiuming leisurely admired the night scenery of the Yong River, speaking lightly, “Kill you, and one of the three heroes is gone. Then these commoners will know the might of heaven, know fear, bow down and submit, accept the status quo, and stop having delusions of reform. So you’re the first to be eliminated.”
Qin Mu asked curiously, “Then who’s the second target, Prince?”
“Yankang National Teacher Jiang Baigui.”
Prince Qiuming said seriously, “Jiang Baigui is revered as a sage born once in five hundred years. Killing him will also be shocking. It will show these lower-realm fools that their so-called sage means nothing to the Heavenly Court and can be crushed at will. The last one I’ll kill is Emperor Yanfeng. He must die kneeling, and in front of these lower-realm commoners, kneeling to receive his death.”
His expression turned cold, “A mere bumpkin emperor of a tiny nation, ignorant of heavenly grace, not knowing his place, dreaming of the throne—he should have all his hopes shattered before kneeling to die!”
“Well said!”
The two Heavenly Court visitors behind him clapped in praise, “This is how it should be, to display the might of heaven!”
“The prince is wise and heroic. Having the prince personally handle the trivial matters of Yankang is truly overkill!”
Prince Qiuming beamed, looking at Qin Mu, “Qin the Overlord Body, do you dare to accept the challenge?”
Qin Mu was about to agree when the Village Chief said nervously, “Mu’er, no need to agree. We outnumber them now, with Radiant Ming Divine Son and the First Ancestor. We have the upper hand! Why risk your life fighting him to the death?”
Prince Qiuming said leisurely, “The two behind me are Jade Capital realm experts from the Heavenly Court, responsible for my safety and assisting me in pacifying the Yankang rebellion. And Luo Shen Dao of the Lingxiu Army is also a subordinate of the Heavenly Court. You should know Luo Shen Dao’s strength; I don’t need to elaborate. You only have two Jade Capital experts, while I have one more.”
The Village Chief frowned deeply.
The First Ancestor also frowned slightly, glancing at Luo Wushuang.
Luo Wushuang remained silent, looking suspiciously at Zhe Huali.
Zhe Huali pretended not to notice, his gaze fixed on Qin Mu.
Qin Mu smiled, “Village Chief, rest assured. A mere prince of the Heavenly Court—it’s not like I haven’t killed one before. I’ll be back shortly.”
The Village Chief said in a low voice, “Be careful. Test his skills first; don’t go straight for the kill. Once you see through his abilities, then take it slowly.”
Qin Mu nodded, raised his hand, and said, “Prince Qiuming, please.”
Prince Qiuming’s aura suddenly exploded. His qi and blood surged like an iron-blooded banner standing in the air, fluttering in the river wind!
Zhe Huali was startled. On the ghost ship, Prince Qiuming had used three different Imperial Throne techniques to defeat him, but he hadn’t used this iron-blooded banner technique!
At that time, Qin Mu had killed Prince Qiuming in a few moves because the prince had revealed his techniques and divine abilities while fighting Zhe Huali. Now, Prince Qiuming clearly wasn’t using those three Imperial Throne techniques, making him worry for Qin Mu.
First Ancestor Human Sovereign was shocked and said in a low voice, “The Imperial Throne technique of the Western Heaven Golden Emperor of the Heavenly Court, the Azure Blood Rusted Flag Sutra!”
The Village Chief quickly asked, “Is it powerful?”
First Ancestor Human Sovereign’s eyes twitched, and his voice was hoarse, “Martial Combat Heavenly Master was defeated by this technique, losing to the Western Heaven Golden Emperor.”
The Village Chief’s heart sank heavily. He transmitted to the First Ancestor, “If Mu’er loses, you block those two Heavenly Court experts, and I’ll save Mu’er!”
First Ancestor Human Sovereign nodded slightly.
Just as the two finished their discussion, Prince Qiuming made his move.
Blood stained the sky, moonlight filled the river, and the moonlight shone on the rusted flag.
As Prince Qiuming struck, the Yong River nearly stopped flowing. Surging river water rose into the air, standing like a cliff.
Prince Qiuming slashed forward, and the rusted flag swept across the sky, blocking everyone’s view. From within the flag, countless rust-covered flying swords shot out, converging into a stream that engulfed Qin Mu!
At that moment, a beam of sword light flew out, breaking through the countless rusted swords, and in the next instant, it reached Prince Qiuming’s forehead.
Prince Qiuming tilted his head, and the sword light brushed past his cheek. Just then, he saw a flash of light behind him—Qin Mu’s figure had already appeared there, reaching out to grab the sword light.
Prince Qiuming was startled. The flag in the air descended, wrapping around him, and he vanished into the distance.
The moment the flag came down, Qin Mu thrust his sword, piercing into the flag.
The sword light transformed into countless flying swords, also caught by the flag.
The rolled-up flag fluttered loudly, traveling a hundred miles in an instant, standing upright on the river surface a hundred miles away, so fast it was nearly impossible for the naked eye to track.
Qin Mu’s teleportation technique was already fast, but Prince Qiuming’s Azure Blood Rusted Flag was almost as fast, drawing cheers from the crowd on the river: “Truly an Imperial Throne divine technique!”
As soon as the rusted iron flag landed, it unfurled with a whoosh, and countless flying swords, like tiny silver fish, flew out from the flag, whistling toward Qin Mu.
Qin Mu raised his hand, and a series of crisp clinks rang out. Those tiny flying swords collided and merged one after another, forming a single sword in his hand.
Qin Mu rubbed his hands together, shaping the sword into a sword pellet, and stuffed it into his glutton sack. Then he took out a stick of incense from the sack, blew on it gently, and the incense lit up, emitting a wisp of fragrant smoke as it flew toward the flag.
On the river surface a hundred miles away, blood and bone fragments dripped continuously from the rusted flag, dyeing a stretch of the river red.
The incense flew over and stuck into a hole in the rusted flag.
“Prince Qiuming, do you now know what the Overlord Body is?”
Qin Mu’s voice came over, “First, accept this incense. Next year on this day, I’ll visit your grave.”
The flag slowly sank into the river, carried away by the current, disappearing without a trace.
The river surface was utterly still. No one spoke, and the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
The Village Chief and the First Ancestor hadn’t come to their senses, nor had the two Heavenly Court visitors!
“Just one move…”
Zhe Huali sighed. He had known this would happen and was the calmest of all, thinking to himself, “Just one move. On the ship, he used four or five moves…”
Luo Wushuang looked at him and said in a low voice, “Zhe Huali, you knew all along. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Zhe Huali didn’t answer.
“You killed the prince…”
Suddenly, the two Heavenly Court visitors trembled and said, “You killed Prince Qiuming!”
Qin Mu said politely, “Two seniors, if I didn’t kill him, would I just offer my neck for the blade? There’s no need for you to search for him in the Netherworld or the Dark Capital—you won’t find him. When I strike, I always root out the weeds and the roots. Prince Qiuming’s soul has been scattered.”
The two divine beings from the Heavenly Court suddenly let out a piercing shriek, unleashing their divine might, and charged at Qin Mu simultaneously.
First Ancestor Human Sovereign and Radiant Ming Divine Son both erupted at the same time, blocking the two from left and right.
Luo Wushuang’s eyes flickered. A soft sound came from the sheath on his back, and his divine blade was about to draw. At that moment, Qin Mu suddenly undid the willow leaf on his forehead and roared, “Brother, I’ve killed someone!”
An incredibly terrifying aura erupted from within him. Luo Wushuang’s heart shook violently, and his divine blade snapped back into its sheath with a crack. The small boat beneath him immediately turned and sped away along the river.
Zhe Huali suddenly leaped from the boat. Luo Wushuang, forgetting his escape, immediately stopped the boat and shouted, “Zhe Huali, get on quickly!”
“Teacher Luo!”
Zhe Huali knelt on the river, bowing, “From today onward, Teacher Luo no longer has me as a disciple. I hereby kowtow to thank you for your teaching! If we meet again, we may have to cross blades.”
Luo Wushuang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly drew his divine blade, cut off his sleeve, and threw it into the river. The small boat sped away.