Chapter 90: The Fourth One?

Chapter 90: The Fourth One?

Huang Yanchen still maintained her cold and aloof demeanor, saying, "It's not impossible to tell you the truth. You must have heard of the three great female demons of the West Courtyard, right?"

Zhang Ruochen nodded. "I've heard a bit about them."

Huang Yanchen continued, "Then do you know that one of those three great female demons is a descendant of Senior Luo Xu?"

Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised. "A descendant of Senior Luo Xu?"

Zhang Ruochen actually admired Luo Xu quite a bit. If he hadn't cultivated the supreme extreme realm of the Yellow Extreme Realm, defeating Luo Xu at the same cultivation level would not have been an easy task.

Seeing Zhang Ruochen's expression, a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Huang Yanchen's mouth. "That female demon is named Luo Shuihan. She is the seventh-generation descendant of Senior Luo Xu. Because she greatly admires her ancestor, she has set her ancestor as her goal, determined to become a martial arts powerhouse as great as him. If she finds out that you defeated her ancestor at the same cultivation level, do you think she'll kill you?"

Zhang Ruochen said, "It's hard to say for sure."

In Zhang Ruochen's view, women were quite unreasonable and couldn't be understood with common sense. For example, Princess Chi Yao back then, or Lin Ningshan.

Zhang Ruochen still hadn't figured out why they wanted to kill him.

Huang Yanchen added, "You need to know, what are the two things Luo Shuihan hates the most?"

Zhang Ruochen asked, "What are they?"

Huang Yanchen said, "In her world, first, no one can be more outstanding than Senior Luo Xu; second, no one can be more outstanding than her."

"You should know that when she first challenged the Martial Tower, she only passed the second level of the third floor. But you passed the third level of the third floor. If she finds out about this, she will definitely challenge you to a duel. With your current cultivation, you're no match for her. She could kill you ten times over with just one move."

Although Huang Yanchen made it sound as if it were true, Zhang Ruochen was not afraid at all. "In the Martial Market Academy, I doubt she would dare to kill me, right?"

"Hehe!" Duanmu Xingling squinted her eyes and smiled. "Your Highness the Ninth Prince, do you think the title 'female demon' is just for show? With Luo Shuihan's strength, she could eliminate you without anyone noticing. After killing you, the elders of the Martial Market Academy wouldn't even find your bones."

Zhang Ruochen said, "You've said so much, but you still haven't answered my earlier question. We're not related, so why are you so concerned about my safety? Or is it that your goal is to stop me from challenging the fourth floor of the Martial Tower?"

Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling both had black lines on their foreheads. This was the first time they had encountered such an ungrateful new student in the West Courtyard.

If it weren't for the Martial Tower, they really wanted to break Zhang Ruochen's legs and teach him the power of the two great female demons.

Zhang Ruochen looked at the expressions of Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling and thought to himself, "It seems I guessed right. They deliberately came to stop me from challenging the fourth floor of the Martial Tower. They are both Xuan List martial artists and definitely formidable figures in the West Courtyard. Even if they're not at the level of the three great female demons, they can't be far off."

Their cultivation far surpassed Zhang Ruochen's, and turning the tables on them would not be easy.

Zhang Ruochen said, "Actually, it's not impossible for me not to challenge the fourth floor of the Martial Tower."

Huang Yanchen nodded slightly, showing a smile that said, "You know what's good for you."

But Zhang Ruochen changed his tone. "However, you have to agree to one condition of mine!"

Huang Yanchen's smile instantly disappeared.

This new student was too bold, daring to negotiate with her. It seemed that if she didn't beat him until he begged for mercy, he wouldn't understand the meaning of the word "female demon."

Zhang Ruochen sensed the tense atmosphere but didn't back down. "If you don't agree to my condition, then please step aside. I'm going to challenge the fourth floor of the Martial Tower."

Duanmu Xingling whispered, "Chen Jie, this is the Martial Tower. We can't break the academy's rules. Even if we want to teach him a lesson, we can do it after leaving the Martial Tower. Let's hear his condition first. If it's reasonable, what's the harm in agreeing?"

Huang Yanchen snorted coldly, retracted her imposing aura, and said, "Speak! What's your condition?"

Zhang Ruochen seemed to have known they would compromise. "You should know that I am the Ninth Prince of the Yunwu Commandery. The Yunwu Commandery and the Four Directions Commandery have always been mortal enemies. The forces of the Four Directions Commandery in the Martial Market Academy are quite powerful. Given my identity, those martial artists from the Four Directions Commandery will definitely use all kinds of methods to deal with me. My condition is that when I am in danger, I hope you two will lend a hand."

Duanmu Xingling chuckled. "So it's just this small matter? The Four Directions Commandery does have a strong influence in the West Courtyard, but they wouldn't dare to act recklessly in front of Chen Jie and me. Ninth Prince, rest assured! If those students from the Four Directions Commandery dare to cause you trouble in the future, just mention my name, Duanmu Xingling, and I guarantee they won't dare to touch you."

"So, you two agree?" Zhang Ruochen said.

Huang Yanchen said coldly, "It's a small matter."

Zhang Ruochen said, "What if someone other than the students from the Four Directions Commandery wants to deal with me?"

Duanmu Xingling smiled. "As long as it's in the West Courtyard, if anyone wants to deal with you, we will help you."

Hearing their agreement, Zhang Ruochen finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

If it were just the students from the Four Directions Commandery, Zhang Ruochen wouldn't be too worried. But he also had to be wary of assassins from the Underworld Gate.

Since Zi Qian couldn't kill him, the Underworld Gate would definitely send more powerful assassins. With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, one misstep could lead to his assassination.

Since Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling had agreed to protect him, if the Underworld Gate did send more powerful assassins, Zhang Ruochen could only take refuge with them.

After all, Zhang Ruochen had never planned to challenge the fourth floor of the Martial Tower. Getting promises from two Xuan List martial artists was an unexpected gain.

Zhang Ruochen still had one question. "I defeated Luo Xu, who was at the mid-stage Mysterious Extreme Realm, in the first level of the first floor of the Martial Tower. That means I will replace Luo Xu as the guardian for mid-stage Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artists. Once I become the guardian, won't that female demon Luo Shuihan know that I defeated her ancestor? What if she comes after me then?"

Huang Yanchen said, "The Martial Tower is a True Martial Treasure and has no intelligence. For you to become the guardian for mid-stage Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artists, you must first inscribe your strength, speed, and martial skills into inscriptions. Only then can your spiritual void body be formed in the Martial Tower."

Zhang Ruochen said, "How many people know that I defeated Luo Xu at the same cultivation level?"

Huang Yanchen said, "Only the three of us."

Zhang Ruochen said, "So, as long as you don't tell the elder guarding the Martial Tower about me defeating Luo Xu at the same cultivation level, the guardian of the Martial Tower will still be Luo Xu?"

"That's right," Huang Yanchen said.

Zhang Ruochen muttered under his breath, "On such an important day as the new student enrollment, the elder guarding the Martial Tower actually let two students watch it for him. That elder is really unreliable."

Huang Yanchen had sharp ears and heard Zhang Ruochen's words. She sneered, "The Martial Tower elder is also human. He wants to spend more time on cultivation, striving to break through to a higher realm. If someone is willing to watch the Martial Tower for him, he's only too happy. Besides, the Martial Tower can record the results of every challenger. Even without a watcher, nothing would go wrong."

I see.

Zhang Ruochen said, "May I ask for your name, Senior Sister?"

"Huang Yanchen," Huang Yanchen said indifferently.

Zhang Ruochen memorized the names of Huang Yanchen and Duanmu Xingling, then calmly walked out of the Martial Tower.

Seeing Zhang Ruochen finally leave, Duanmu Xingling let out a long sigh of relief. "Getting him to back down was really not easy!"

Huang Yanchen smiled charmingly. "When he gets to the Dragon Martial Hall, we'll teach him a lesson slowly. A new student dares to negotiate with me? I want to see just how capable he really is."

Outside the Martial Tower, nine elders and many young martial artists had been waiting for a long time, but Zhang Ruochen still hadn't come out.

"Why hasn't he come out yet? Did he also pass the first level of the third floor?"

"Impossible? I think he's probably dead inside the Martial Tower!" a martial artist from the Four Directions Commandery said with a cold laugh.

Prince Huo Xing also showed a hint of a smile. "The Martial Tower is indeed very dangerous. Even if someone dies inside, it's not surprising."

At this moment, Zi Qian, Elder Xie, and the martial artists from the Yunwu Commandery were also worried. Had something really happened to Zhang Ruochen inside the Martial Tower?

"Creak!"

The door of the Martial Tower opened, and Zhang Ruochen walked out. Not only was he not dead inside the Martial Tower, but there wasn't even a scratch on him.

Elder Xie's face lit up with a smile, and he immediately went up to meet him. "Zhang Ruochen, which level did you pass?"

Zhang Ruochen said, "The third floor, second level."

"It's okay if you didn't pass... Wait, what did you just say? You passed the second level of the third floor of the Martial Tower?" Elder Xie looked as if he had been struck by lightning. His eyes were bloodshot, and the hair on his head stood on end.

The other eight elders were also stunned.

You see, in the history of the West Courtyard, only three people had ever passed the second level of the third floor on their first challenge of the Martial Tower.

Had Zhang Ruochen become the fourth?

Elder Situ's face turned green, and he said in a deep voice, "Zhang Ruochen, you better not be lying. Do you know the consequences of lying in front of nine elders?"

Zhang Ruochen said indifferently, "It's just passing the second level of the third floor. It's not that big of a deal."

Elder Situ was about to explode with anger. A junior at the mid-stage Mysterious Extreme Realm dared to tell him that passing the second level of the third floor of the Martial Tower was not a big deal. How could the people present not feel ashamed?

You should know that when Elder Situ first challenged the Martial Tower, he only passed the second level of the second floor.

Elder Situ still didn't believe that Zhang Ruochen had passed the second level of the third floor. "I want to check Zhang Ruochen's specific results in the Martial Tower. I propose opening the spiritual energy mirror of the third floor."