Chapter 56: Four Disciples
Han Qingluo said nothing. The soft sword in her hand straightened with a snap as she struck out directly, the blade slapping against the curtain of rain.
Cold energy radiated from the sword, freezing five raindrops into ice beads. Like five hidden weapons, they shot toward Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess.
Four ice beads flew at Zhang Ruochen, while one headed for the Ninth Princess.
“Whoosh!”
Zhang Ruochen took a step sideways, positioning himself in front of the Ninth Princess. Channeling true qi into his palm, he struck out with a single slap. From three meters away, he shattered all five ice beads.
“Clang!”
Suddenly, the sound of a sword rang out beside Zhang Ruochen’s ear.
Han Qingluo, who had been standing in the middle of the street, vanished like a ghost. She reappeared behind Zhang Ruochen, thrusting her sword forward.
The tip of the blade aimed for the back of his neck.
Without turning around, Zhang Ruochen raised his arm and caught the sword tip between two fingers.
“Do you think I’m Liu Chengfeng?” Han Qingluo sneered.
“Swoosh, swoosh!”
The green soft sword twisted like a viper, spinning rapidly as it coiled toward Zhang Ruochen’s arm.
If the soft sword wrapped around his arm, Han Qingluo only needed to yank it back sharply, and his entire hand would be crippled.
Her swordsmanship was skilled, but Zhang Ruochen’s was even more so.
He released his grip on the sword tip and thrust two fingers forward, piercing through the center of the twisting, serpentine blade to strike Han Qingluo’s wrist.
True qi surged from his fingertips, carving a deep, bloody gash into her wrist.
The strength in Han Qingluo’s sword-wielding arm vanished instantly. With a clatter, the green soft sword fell to the ground.
“You…”
How could Han Qingluo have anticipated that Zhang Ruochen not only possessed profound cultivation but also such rich combat experience?
The assassination had failed.
Han Qingluo pushed off the ground with her toes, leaping up to land on an ancient building by the street, fleeing into the rain.
“Trying to escape?”
Zhang Ruochen, gripping the Flash Soul Sword, also soared onto the ancient building, stepping across the glazed tiles as he gave chase at full speed.
All thirty-six meridians activated simultaneously, making Zhang Ruochen even faster than Han Qingluo.
“He’s only at the Yellow Extreme Realm Great Perfection—how can he be this fast?”
Watching Zhang Ruochen close in, Han Qingluo grew anxious. She pulled nine slender golden needles from her hair.
True qi surged from her body, enveloping the nine needles as she shot them at Zhang Ruochen behind her.
“Swoosh!”
In a rainy night, a martial artist’s vision was naturally blurred, making it impossible to see nine needles flying at high speed. But Zhang Ruochen was different—he had opened his eye meridian, granting him extraordinary eyesight even in the rain.
“Clink, clink!”
With a single swing of his sword, all nine needles were sent flying.
Zhang Ruochen continued his pursuit.
It was a strange sight: a Mysterious Extreme Realm assassin fleeing, while a Yellow Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artist chased her down.
“Though the Ninth Prince is only at the Yellow Extreme Realm Great Perfection, his combat power is more terrifying than a Mysterious Extreme Realm mid-stage martial artist. I have to escape and report this to Her Majesty the Queen,” Han Qingluo thought to herself.
She immediately infused true qi into her blood.
Her blood began to boil. Her speed increased by fifty percent, instantly widening the gap between her and Zhang Ruochen.
“Blood Qi Boiling! So she’s at the Mysterious Extreme Realm, and it seems she’s just entered the early stage.”
Yellow Extreme Realm martial artists primarily cultivated their meridians.
Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artists focused on blood qi.
The hallmark of the Mysterious Extreme Realm early stage was Blood Qi Boiling. The blood within the body churned like boiling water, flowing rapidly through the veins, allowing the martial artist to unleash greater power.
Some top-tier experts on the Yellow List might miraculously defeat a Mysterious Extreme Realm early-stage martial artist, but killing one was far more difficult.
Once a Mysterious Extreme Realm early-stage martial artist activated their blood qi and burst into speed, no Yellow List martial artist could catch up.
Even a genius like Zhang Ruochen was now slightly slower than Han Qingluo.
Zhang Ruochen stopped, standing at the edge of a tall pavilion. A faint smile crossed his lips as he pulled a handful of silver coins from the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.
“If you can use hidden weapons, so can I.”
Activating all thirty-six meridians, he infused true qi into the silver coins and flung them out in a burst.
“Whoosh!”
The silver coins flew like a rain of silver, streaking toward Han Qingluo ahead.
“Thud, thud!”
Two silver coins struck Han Qingluo’s back, tearing through her clothes and embedding themselves in her flesh, leaving two bloody holes.
“Ugh!”
Han Qingluo spat out a mouthful of blood, plummeting from midair and crashing heavily onto the street.
She lay face down, back up, motionless, as if dead.
Zhang Ruochen descended as well, approaching her cautiously.
“Who wants me dead?”
Zhang Ruochen turned her body over, face up, and reached out to lift her veil and see her true face.
Not good!
Just as he extended his hand, Han Qingluo’s eyes snapped open. Using her hand as a blade, she chopped toward Zhang Ruochen’s neck.
Zhang Ruochen seemed to have anticipated this. He also used his hand as a blade and struck back.
“Crack!”
The bones in Han Qingluo’s arm snapped, and she let out a scream. “Ninth Prince, you didn’t die today, but someone will come to kill you eventually.”
Zhang Ruochen’s voice turned cold. “Who sent you to kill me?”
Han Qingluo, lying on the ground, shuddered violently, then went still.
“Hiss, hiss!”
Before Zhang Ruochen could lift her veil, her body dissolved into a pool of black toxic blood. Even her clothes corroded away, leaving nothing behind.
The Ninth Princess caught up from behind and asked, “Where’s the female assassin?”
Zhang Ruochen pointed at the black toxic blood on the ground. “She had a poison pill hidden in her mouth. Once the mission failed, she bit it to destroy the evidence. Who could train such loyal assassins?”
The Ninth Princess shuddered slightly. She picked up the soft sword the assassin had dropped and handed it to Zhang Ruochen. “This was her sword.”
“Oh?”
Zhang Ruochen took the soft sword and infused it with true qi. The blade immediately emitted a faint chill.
“A third-grade True Martial Treasure, with nine inscriptions on the blade.”
He examined the sword closely, then shook his head gently. There were no clues on it.
The Ninth Princess asked, “Who would want to assassinate you, Ninth Brother?”
“Finding the answer isn’t impossible,” Zhang Ruochen said.
The Ninth Princess looked puzzled. “The female assassin is dead, and all leads are cut. Can we still find the mastermind?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “Right now, only we know the female assassin is dead. The mastermind doesn’t. To find out who it is, we just need to lure the snake out of its hole. Ninth Sister, I’ll need your help to put on an act this time.”
Though the Ninth Princess didn’t understand his plan, she agreed to cooperate.
…
An hour later.
In the Queen’s bedchamber, a palace maid in court attire knelt on the ground, panicked. “Your Majesty, it’s terrible! Han Qingluo’s assassination failed.”
The Queen sat steadily in her chair, unruffled. “With her cultivation, she still failed? Hmph. This Ninth Prince seems quite difficult to deal with.”
The maid continued, “It’s said that the Ninth Prince was also severely injured and fell unconscious. But before he passed out, he saw Han Qingluo’s true face.”
“What?”
The Queen’s expression shifted. “Where is Han Qingluo now?”
The maid replied, “According to the Ninth Princess, Miss Han was captured by General Luo Tong, one of the ten great generals of the Imperial Guard, and taken to the Heavenly Prison. His Majesty has learned of this and is furious, ordering a full investigation into the mastermind.”
Zhao Lin, the Queen’s eldest disciple, now in her thirties, stood behind the Queen and said, “Your Majesty, Luo Tong is a rough man. He’s never seen Qingluo before, so even if he caught her, he wouldn’t recognize her. But if His Majesty goes there and identifies her… the consequences would be dire.”
The Queen’s face darkened. “Zhao Lin, you’ve been with me for thirty years now, haven’t you? Among my four disciples, you have the highest cultivation, reaching the Earth Extreme Realm early stage.”
Zhao Lin asked, “Your Majesty’s meaning is…?”
The Queen said, “The Heavenly Prison is dangerous, but only someone of your cultivation can break in. I want you to do whatever it takes to rescue Qingluo before His Majesty sees her. If you can’t rescue her, kill her—and preferably destroy the body.”
“Your disciple understands.”
Zhao Lin paused, then added, “The Ninth Prince saw Qingluo’s true face. He must know she’s Your Majesty’s maid. If he wakes up…”
The Queen stood up, snorting coldly. “I’ll send your two junior sisters to eliminate him, making sure he never wakes up. No one who opposes me will have a good end.”
“Then your disciple is relieved.”
Zhao Lin bowed to the Queen, changed into night clothes, and left the palace, heading for the Heavenly Prison.
Afterward, the Queen dispatched her second disciple, Yao Su, and third disciple, Zhao Wuxia, to kill the Ninth Prince before he regained consciousness.
Yao Su’s cultivation was at the Mysterious Extreme Realm Great Perfection.
Zhao Wuxia’s cultivation was at the Mysterious Extreme Realm Middle Extreme Position.
The four disciples were the Queen’s four murderous blades. Aside from the recently recruited Han Qingluo, the other three had served the Queen for over twenty years, each a top-tier expert. Any enemy of the Queen had almost all been killed by them.
As long as they were around, no one could shake the Queen’s position at court.
The Queen had full confidence in their abilities.
She waited in her bedchamber for three full hours, but none of them returned to report. A sense of unease began to creep in, and a foreboding feeling arose in her heart.
Not until dawn did news finally arrive.
All three disciples had fallen into an ambush, surrounded by a large force of Imperial Guards.
To avoid exposing the Queen, they had all bitten their poison pills and died.
In a single night, all four disciples were dead.
Upon hearing this, the Queen nearly collapsed from her seat. Closing her eyes, her voice trembling, she said, “Immediately… immediately write a letter to Qi’er, ordering him to return to the palace…”