Chapter 79: Shadow of Death
Qing You was struck by the sword Qi, leaving a shallow bloody gash on his palm.
That sword Qi had split the green scales on his hand. The flowing blood was also green, carrying a potent poison.
"Haha! The Ninth Prince truly keeps his abilities hidden. To think you could break through this young master's Green Demon Hand. Interesting, very interesting indeed!"
Qing You circulated the true Qi within his body. Strands of energy surged out from his pores, transforming into green light that enveloped his arms.
The green light flowed toward his palms.
Moments later, the wound Zhang Ruochen had inflicted healed at a visible speed.
"What formidable regenerative ability!"
Zhang Ruochen remained vigilant toward Qing You while also glancing at Zi Qian. "Can you still hold on?"
Zi Qian's face was pale, with traces of blood at the corners of her mouth. Her most severe injury was on her right shoulder.
Qing You's palm carried a potent poison that had corroded a handprint-shaped hole in Zi Qian's clothes. The skin beneath the fabric had turned a bruised purple.
"I'm fine!" Zi Qian clenched her teeth, her eyes carrying a cold sharpness. "Let's join forces and break out. I'll hold Qing You off while you take down the other seven martial artists. I can only withstand ten of Qing You's moves at most, so you must kill those seven before that. Then we'll deal with Qing You together. That's our only chance to escape."
Zhang Ruochen watched Zi Qian's complexion grow increasingly pale. "Let me hold off Qing You instead. You kill the seven."
"No! Qing You won't kill me, so I can endure ten of his strikes. But he will kill you. Forget ten moves—within five, you'll die by his hand," Zi Qian said.
"Not necessarily."
Zhang Ruochen gave Zi Qian a faint smile. With one hand gripping the Flash Soul Sword, he used the other to retrieve a black long spear from the Time-Space Crystal.
This black spear had been seized from a martial artist of a regional commandery. It was a fourth-rank True Martial Treasure.
Planting his steps, Zhang Ruochen charged at Qing You with maximum speed.
At the same time, Zi Qian moved instantly. She stepped across the small stream and thrust a finger at the throat of a Mysterious Extreme Realm initial-stage martial artist.
That martial artist's throat shattered. Blood gushed from his mouth as he collapsed into the stream.
In the next moment, Zi Qian attacked another martial artist.
Qing You stood atop a two-meter-tall boulder, watching Zhang Ruochen rush toward him with an excited grin. "Excellent! I'll kill you first, then slowly toy with that beauty."
"That depends on whether you have the skill," Zhang Ruochen said.
Qing You eyed Zhang Ruochen and sneered. "A sword in one hand and a spear in the other. Do you think you can split your focus? If you can't achieve that, wielding two weapons will only weaken your combat strength."
"You'll find out soon enough," Zhang Ruochen replied.
By now, Zi Qian had already killed two more and was moving toward a third.
Qing You stopped wasting words with Zhang Ruochen. Leaping down from the boulder, he channeled his true Qi and slammed his palm into the stone.
The boulder, weighing over ten thousand jin, flew through the air, hurtling toward Zhang Ruochen.
He couldn't retreat—he had to hold Qing You back.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze hardened. He mobilized the true Qi within him, activating all four force-type inscriptions on the Flash Soul Sword. The sword's weight reached four hundred fifty-three jin.
"Boom!"
He swung the sword.
The ten-thousand-jin boulder split in two, flying off in opposite directions.
"Haha!"
Qing You emerged from behind the boulder, a sinister grin on his face as he struck at Zhang Ruochen's head with his palm.
Having already expanded his Space Domain, Zhang Ruochen naturally sensed Qing You following the boulder. Before Qing You could land his palm, Zhang Ruochen thrust his spear forward, striking Qing You in the chest.
Qing You hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to react so quickly. He had no choice but to withdraw his palm and slap the spear aside.
"Boom!"
Qing You's strength was immense. With a single palm strike, he knocked the spear off course.
Then, his body twisted abruptly, slithering along the spear like a venomous snake toward Zhang Ruochen. He extended two fingers, aiming for Zhang Ruochen's throat.
Sparks of green flame flickered at his fingertips.
Qing You's speed reached forty-four meters per second, while Zhang Ruochen's was only thirty-four meters per second.
In Qing You's mind, his fingers would surely shatter Zhang Ruochen's throat.
But at that moment, Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword upward, aiming for Qing You's throat instead.
If Qing You wanted to crush Zhang Ruochen's throat, his own throat would be pierced by the sword. The result would be mutual destruction.
Qing You frowned slightly, forced back again by Zhang Ruochen. "Impossible! Your speed and strength are far inferior to mine, yet you keep breaking my killing moves. Can you truly split your mind, controlling both sword and spear at once?"
Zhang Ruochen held the sword in one hand and the spear in the other. "I told you, killing me won't be easy."
Zhang Ruochen's speed was indeed far below Qing You's, but he had the Space Domain. Once Qing You entered within ten meters of him, Zhang Ruochen could see through every move clearly, allowing him to strike first and block Qing You's attacks.
By now, Zi Qian had killed three more.
"Let's see how many moves you can withstand."
Qing You grew irritated. His arms turned a dark green as he executed a human-grade upper-rank movement technique, splitting into three green shadows that attacked Zhang Ruochen simultaneously.
Ordinary martial artists couldn't tell which shadow was Qing You's true body.
But when the three shadows entered within ten meters of Zhang Ruochen, he saw clearly: all three were real. Qing You's speed was so fast, and he was stepping in a peculiar rhythm, that it created the illusion of three people.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword, blocking the first shadow.
He thrust his spear, stopping the second.
When the third shadow charged, Zhang Ruochen used both sword and spear to block it, once again forcing Qing You back with a mutual-destruction move.
"Boom!"
From a distance, it looked like Zhang Ruochen stood rooted in place, swinging his sword and thrusting his spear, fighting three Qing Yous at once.
After more than twenty exchanges, Qing You still couldn't defeat Zhang Ruochen.
Prince Huo Xing stood on the back of the Green Lin Eagle, watching the battlefield below with disappointment. "It seems I'll have to step in after all."
Prince Huo Xing raised the Silver Bone Crescent Moon Bow and nocked a golden Chariot-Breaking Arrow. His true Qi surged, pulling the three-hundred-jin bow into a full moon with a creaking sound.
On the battlefield, a Chariot-Breaking Arrow could shatter a chariot manned by thirty people.
Prince Huo Xing stared at Zhang Ruochen, who was locked in combat with Qing You. A smirk curled at his lips as he aimed the arrowhead at Zhang Ruochen's back. "Farewell, Ninth Prince."
He released his fingers.
The arrow flew.
"Whoosh!"
The arrowhead ignited, streaking toward the ground like a flaming meteor.