Chapter 71: Martial Market Academy
Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power was exceptionally strong, and he immediately detected a dangerous aura, his heart on high alert.
As long as one’s spiritual power reached the thirtieth rank or above, they could sense danger in advance, vaguely perceiving nearby blessings or calamities in the unseen.
A wave of intense unease surged in Zhang Ruochen’s heart, making all his hair stand on end. He stood up reflexively, startling Zi Qian, who was sitting beside him, causing her to quickly retract the Poison Bee Needle from her fingertip.
“Could he have noticed? How is that possible?”
Zi Qian’s heartbeat quickened, and she hesitated to strike.
Chen Libing, seeing that Zi Qian hadn’t acted, narrowed his eyes slightly, a glint of killing intent flashing in his pupils.
He hid his fingers within his sleeve, channeling true qi between two fingers, and silently flicked a Poison Bee Needle outward.
One must know that Chen Libing was sitting directly behind Zhang Ruochen, at extremely close range.
Moreover, the Poison Bee Needle was as fine as a cow’s hair. As it flew from his fingertip, even a Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artist’s eyes couldn’t track its trajectory.
If the Poison Bee Needle struck, Zhang Ruochen would surely die.
Yet, to Chen Libing’s shock, Zhang Ruochen turned his hand and caught that Poison Bee Needle between two fingers.
Keep in mind that Zhang Ruochen hadn’t turned around the entire time, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He simply twisted his arm, extended two fingers, and precisely caught the Poison Bee Needle.
“Impossible! Even a Mysterious Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artist couldn’t detect a Poison Bee Needle at such close range, let alone catch it.” Chen Libing was utterly horrified.
What he didn’t know was that Zhang Ruochen possessed a Space Domain. Within a ten-meter radius, nothing could escape the perception of his martial soul.
The moment Zhang Ruochen sensed danger, he immediately stood up and released his Space Domain.
Holding the Poison Bee Needle, Zhang Ruochen turned around, his eyes cold and sharp as he stared at Chen Libing. “Poison Bee Needle—windless, soundless, kills without a trace, seals the throat at the sight of blood. Are you a professional assassin?”
Knowing his identity was exposed, Chen Libing struck again. His hand gripped the sword hilt, and with a *shua* sound, a flash of sword light shot out from his sleeve, stabbing toward Zhang Ruochen’s heart at lightning speed.
Sleeve-Hidden Fish-Gut Sword!
The sword was concealed in the sleeve.
The blade was as slender as a fish’s gut.
Although Chen Libing was only at the Mysterious Extreme Realm late stage in martial arts, he had once assassinated a Mysterious Extreme Realm Small Extreme Position martial artist, possessing considerable skill in the Sword Dao.
With one strike, thirteen sword shadows appeared.
In an instant, the sword tip reached Zhang Ruochen’s heart.
Nearby, many people cried out in alarm.
Elder Xie, seated atop the Blood Feather Eagle, let out a thunderous roar: “How dare you!”
*Shua!*
A sword qi flew from Elder Xie’s hand, passing through Chen Libing’s body.
Chen Libing let out a muffled groan, his body convulsing once before collapsing stiffly onto the Blood Feather Eagle’s back.
Liu Chengfeng placed a finger under Chen Libing’s nose, his expression grave. “He’s dead!”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Elder Xie.
This Elder Xie’s cultivation was far too powerful—with just one sword strike, he had killed a Mysterious Extreme Realm late stage martial artist. Moreover, there was no wound on Chen Libing’s body, which was extremely peculiar.
Elder Xie sheathed his sword, casting a cold glance at Chen Libing’s corpse. “He used a Poison Bee Needle and a Sleeve-Hidden Fish-Gut Sword—he must be an assassin from the Underworld Gate. The Underworld Gate has always tried to infiltrate assassins into the Martial Market Academy. I didn’t expect to encounter one today. He deserved to die.”
Then, Elder Xie turned his gaze to Zhang Ruochen and asked, “Who are you? Why did an Underworld Gate assassin want to kill you?”
Before Zhang Ruochen could speak, Liu Chengfeng interjected, “Uncle Xie, he is the Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery, a true martial prodigy.”
“A martial prodigy?”
Elder Xie scrutinized Zhang Ruochen carefully. At sixteen, reaching the Mysterious Extreme Realm initial stage was indeed a martial genius. But it was far from being a martial prodigy.
In Yunwu Commandery, Elder Xie had only heard of one martial prodigy: the Seventh Prince of Yunwu Commandery, who had reached the Mysterious Extreme Realm at just twelve years old.
Compared to that Seventh Prince, this Ninth Prince fell far short. In Elder Xie’s eyes, even Zi Qian had higher talent than Zhang Ruochen.
After glancing at Zhang Ruochen, Elder Xie withdrew his gaze and ordered, “Throw that Underworld Gate assassin’s corpse off the Blood Feather Eagle.”
With that, Elder Xie closed his eyes again, not saying another word.
“How strange—I clearly saw a sword qi slice through his body, so why is there no wound?” a martial artist exclaimed in astonishment.
Liu Chengfeng sneered, “What do you know? Uncle Xie cultivates the Spirit-level lower-rank martial technique ‘Heart-Shattering Sword Art,’ and he has mastered it to perfection. He kills by shattering the heart, leaving no blood after death. If you don’t believe me, feel the assassin’s heart!”
A martial artist reached out to touch Chen Libing’s heart and found it split in two.
Although Zi Qian and Chen Libing were both genius assassins of the Underworld Gate, assassins rarely interacted with each other. Their bond was shallow, and after Chen Libing’s death, Zi Qian remained unmoved, perfectly calm.
“Good thing I didn’t strike just now, or I’d be the one dead.”
Zi Qian glanced at Zhang Ruochen, still unable to fathom how he had caught Chen Libing’s Poison Bee Needle.
One must know that only an Earth Extreme Realm expert could, through superior hearing, detect the sound of a Poison Bee Needle cutting through the air. Only such an expert could dodge Chen Libing’s attack.
Zhang Ruochen couldn’t possibly be an Earth Extreme Realm expert.
He must be hiding some untold secret. Until she uncovered it, she couldn’t act rashly to kill him. If she failed, she might end up like Chen Libing, dying a violent death.
For Zi Qian, her primary mission was to infiltrate the Underworld Gate’s inner circle. As for assassinating Zhang Ruochen, success would be ideal, bringing a generous reward. Failure wouldn’t have much impact.
If Zi Qian couldn’t kill Zhang Ruochen within a month, the Underworld Gate would naturally dispatch more formidable assassins.
“Chen Libing is dead, making my identity even safer. I absolutely cannot expose myself easily,” Zi Qian thought to herself.
Chen Libing’s corpse was thrown off the Blood Feather Eagle, and everyone began discussing the Underworld Gate, many showing expressions of caution.
In Yunwu Commandery, and even across the Nine Counties West of the Ridge, the Underworld Gate was a behemoth of an assassination organization. They had once assassinated a commandery prince and succeeded, causing a massive uproar. From then on, the Underworld Gate’s reputation spread far and wide.
Few of those targeted by the Underworld Gate survived more than a month.
Liu Chengfeng said, “Ninth Prince, don’t worry. Once you enter the Martial Market Academy, even if the Underworld Gate’s assassins have heaven-defying methods, they won’t be able to touch you.”
“I hope so,” Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
If Underworld Gate assassins could infiltrate the examinees, they could certainly infiltrate the Martial Market Academy. Zhang Ruochen didn’t believe the academy was absolutely safe.
Just moments ago, an Underworld Gate assassin had been sitting right behind him, and he hadn’t even known. If not for his spiritual power exceeding the thirtieth rank and his cultivation of a Space Domain, he would already be dead.
Hiring an Underworld Gate assassin must cost a hefty price.
Without guessing, Zhang Ruochen knew it was related to the Queen.
“When my cultivation reaches the Heavenly Extreme Realm, I will definitely return and settle these old scores with her.” Zhang Ruochen clenched his fingers, a chill flashing in his eyes.
Demon Ridge was an ancient mountain range, twelve thousand miles long, vast in territory, and rich in spiritual qi. It lay like a great dragon, sprawled across the northern border of Yunwu Commandery.
Including Yunwu Commandery, thirty-six commanderies were all located on the periphery of Demon Ridge, surrounding it like stars clustering around the moon.
Demon Ridge was the territory of barbarian beasts. Within its vast mountains lived billions of such creatures. The thirty-six commanderies maintained large armies year-round along the borders adjacent to Demon Ridge to prevent barbarian beasts from escaping and slaughtering human commoners.
Many large sects were almost entirely established on the outskirts of Demon Ridge.
This served two purposes: first, to resist barbarian beast invasions into human kingdoms; second, to provide convenient training grounds for their disciples.
The Martial Market Academy was also built on the outskirts of Demon Ridge.
As the Blood Feather Eagle carried everyone above the Martial Market Academy, all were stunned by the sight below.
Looking down, they saw a dense spread of ancient buildings: glazed pagodas nestled in deep valleys, pavilions perched on cliff edges, and martial training platforms atop mountain peaks.
Even before entering the academy, they could feel an overwhelming, majestic aura.
Elder Xie stood up from the Blood Feather Eagle’s back, produced a token, and declared loudly, “I am Xie Nantian. Who is guarding the formation? Open the formation gate immediately!”
A young man in his twenties, standing on the back of a double-headed Snow Falcon, flew up from the ground and said, “Greetings, Uncle Xie! Why are there so few examinees from Yunwu Commandery this year? Uncle Situ brought back over six hundred examinees from the Four Directions Commanderies, including several top-tier martial geniuses.”
As he spoke, the young man raised a hand toward the ground and let out a long roar.
Within the Martial Market Academy, seven glazed pagodas positioned in seven directions shot seven beams of light from their peaks, forming a massive formation.
*Rumble!*
At the edge of the formation, a virtual light gate over a hundred meters long opened.
The Blood Feather Eagle carried the sixty-seven examinees from Yunwu Commandery through the virtual light gate, heading toward a white stone square built in a mountain hollow.
As the Blood Feather Eagle flew into the academy, the light atop the seven glazed pagodas vanished instantly. With a *boom*, the virtual light gate disappeared without a trace.