Chapter 125: Minor Achievement
"Flowing Cloud Sword Song!"
Huang Yanchen swung her arm, sending a sword aura over ten zhang long flying outward. With a single strike, she cut more than twenty soldiers in half, leaving a large number dead and wounded.
The sheer impact of that one sword strike stunned all the soldiers, and no one dared to take another step forward.
If a Xuan List martial artist truly lost their temper, they could absolutely slaughter an entire thousand-man army. Having witnessed Huang Yanchen's power, who would still rush forward to die?
Huang Yanchen wiped the blood off her sword with her sleeve, sheathed it, and said, "Go back and tell the Four Directions Commandery King that if he wants to avenge Prince Huo Xing, he can come find me, Huang Yanchen, anytime."
Huang Yanchen walked over to Zhang Ruochen, paused slightly, puffed out her not-so-full chest, and said, "Zhang Ruochen, I've taken on the Four Directions Commandery's retaliation for you, as repayment for your favor. But last time, I saved your life, and you still owe me a favor. You could consider giving me a space treasure, and we'd be even."
She was still fixated on the space treasure.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you think that just because you killed Prince Huo Xing, the Four Directions Commandery King won't pin the blame on me? Just wait. Within half a year, the Four Directions Commandery will definitely use this as an excuse to declare war on the Cloud Wu Commandery."
The soldiers of the Four Directions Commandery collected General Hong Ye's head and Prince Huo Xing's body. Half an hour later, all the soldiers had left completely.
The smell of blood still lingered in the air.
...
Half a month later.
Four Directions Commandery, Royal Palace.
The Four Directions Commandery King stepped down from his throne, staring at Prince Huo Xing's corpse. His face was ashen, his fists clenched tightly. A powerful aura erupted from his body, shattering the porcelain in the hall.
"Boom! Boom!"
Shards of broken porcelain scattered all over the floor.
"Damn it! A Xuan List martial artist dares to be so arrogant, killing my son. I will slaughter his entire clan!"
The Four Directions Commandery King roared, "Investigate immediately! I want to know exactly who this Huang Yanchen is. Once we find out, kill every single member of her clan. Not one left."
"Your Majesty, you cannot."
An old man wearing a purple-gold crown hurried in from outside the hall and bowed slightly to the Four Directions Commandery King.
The Four Directions Commandery King said coldly, "Why not?"
The old man with the purple crown had a strange expression and lowered his voice. "Huang Yanchen is the Sixth Princess of the Thousand Waters Commandery. She has exceptional talent and is deeply loved by the Thousand Waters Commandery King."
"Thousand Waters Commandery."
The Four Directions Commandery King's expression stiffened, as if doused with a bucket of cold water, and he instantly calmed down.
The Thousand Waters Commandery was a high-ranking commandery, more than ten times stronger than the Four Directions Commandery.
Although the Four Directions Commandery dominated the nine commanderies west of the mountain range, offending the Thousand Waters Commandery would be a death sentence.
The old man with the purple crown let out a sinister laugh. "Your Majesty, although we can't do anything to Huang Yanchen, we can use this opportunity to pressure the Cloud Wu Commandery. We'll announce that Prince Huo Xing was killed by Zhang Ruochen. If the Cloud Wu Commandery King doesn't hand over the murderer and pay eighty million silver coins in compensation, then the Four Directions Commandery will declare war on the Cloud Wu Commandery."
The Four Directions Commandery King's face showed a contemplative expression as he considered the feasibility of the old man's words.
As a king, the pain of losing a son was far less important than expanding his territory.
"Will the Cloud Wu Commandery King hand over Zhang Ruochen? Will he pay eighty million silver coins?" the Four Directions Commandery King muttered, almost to himself.
The old man chuckled darkly. "The Cloud Wu Commandery is not unified internally. Many support the Seventh Prince, Zhang Tiangui, so they don't want the Ninth Prince, Zhang Ruochen, to rise. If the Cloud Wu Commandery King hands over Zhang Ruochen and pays the eighty million silver coins, it proves he is weak and has submitted to the Four Directions Commandery. At the same time, the compensation of eighty million silver coins will severely drain the Cloud Wu Commandery's resources. Once we get that money, with our strength growing and theirs declining, capturing the Cloud Wu Commandery won't be difficult."
"If the Cloud Wu Commandery King insists on protecting Zhang Ruochen, then we simply march our army and push straight into the Cloud Wu Commandery. Internally, the Cloud Wu Commandery will blame everything on Zhang Ruochen and the Cloud Wu Commandery King, saying they brought disaster upon the kingdom. At that point, the Cloud Wu Commandery will fall into civil war. Taking it will be as easy as reaching into a bag."
The Four Directions Commandery King nodded. "Good. Do it. Send a declaration of war to the Cloud Wu Commandery King now. If he doesn't hand over the murderer and pay the compensation, then at the beginning of next year, the Cloud Wu Commandery will be destroyed."
...
Zhang Ruochen could guess some of the turmoil between the Cloud Wu Commandery and the Four Directions Commandery, but he didn't dwell on it. He focused entirely on practicing the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow in the Demon Wind Valley.
The conflict between the Cloud Wu Commandery and the Four Directions Commandery had existed for a long time. Prince Huo Xing's death was just a spark. Even if Prince Huo Xing hadn't died, the Four Directions Commandery King would have found another excuse to attack.
Right now, the most important thing was to keep improving his cultivation. Just like Huang Yanchen, who, with her own strength, could scare off a thousand elite soldiers.
If she broke through to the Earth Extreme Realm, even surrounded by ten thousand troops, she could break out calmly.
Only with great strength could one seize the initiative.
With half a month left until the quarterly assessment, Zhang Ruochen finally reached the Minor Achievement level in the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow.
One day later, Huang Yanchen also reached Minor Achievement.
Five days later, Duanmu Xingling was the last to reach Minor Achievement in the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow.
Duanmu Xingling carefully studied Zhang Ruochen, biting her lip, and said coldly, "Chen Jie and I spent more time practicing than you, and our cultivation levels are higher than yours, yet you reached Minor Achievement before us. Are you holding back on us? You must have some trick you haven't told us about."
"Maybe it's because my spiritual power is stronger than yours, so I succeeded earlier," Zhang Ruochen said with a slight smile, then paused. "Senior Sister Duanmu, now that you've reached Minor Achievement in the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, what's your maximum burst speed?"
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's question, Duanmu Xingling smiled brightly. "The Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow is truly an amazing martial technique. My maximum burst speed is now sixty-seven meters per second. Chen Jie, what about you?"
"Sixty-nine meters per second."
Huang Yanchen gently stroked her chin, showing a hint of a smile. "If I could go to the Black Market and buy a drop of Sacred Liquid, maybe my speed could reach seventy meters per second. But we students of the Martial Market Academy shouldn't get involved with the Black Market. I'll leave it to my father to get me a drop of Sacred Liquid and send it to the academy."
"Now that I've mastered the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, I feel like my strength has increased significantly. I want to challenge other Xuan List martial artists and improve my ranking. Chen Jie, are you coming?" Duanmu Xingling said.
"Of course." Huang Yanchen placed her hand on her sword hilt, already eager.
For her, the higher her ranking on the Xuan List, the more face she would have.
After Duanmu Xingling and Huang Yanchen left, Zhang Ruochen took Xiao Hei back to the Western Courtyard and called Zhang Shaochu and Liu Chengfeng together.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the two sitting across from him. "There's something I need you to do for me."
Without even asking what it was, Liu Chengfeng immediately stood up, thumped his chest, and said, "Ninth Prince, just say the word. If it's within my power, I'll get it done properly."
Zhang Ruochen nodded, took out ten jade bottles filled with pills, and placed them in front of Zhang Shaochu and Liu Chengfeng.
"These are ten bottles of Three Pure Qi Pills, three hundred and forty pills in total. Sell them for me to the new students. How much do you think each pill can sell for?"
Liu Chengfeng looked at the ten bottles of Three Pure Qi Pills, slightly startled. After calculating for a moment, he said, "Outside, the market price for a Three Pure Qi Pill is five thousand silver coins. In the Western Courtyard, you can exchange four merit points for one. If we sell them for three thousand five hundred silver coins each, a lot of people will buy."
Zhang Shaochu added, "The quarterly assessment is in ten days. Everyone is desperately trying to improve their cultivation. Even if we sell them for three thousand eight hundred silver coins, they'll still come to us."
Zhang Ruochen said, "No matter how much you sell them for, I only take three thousand silver coins per pill. The extra is yours. But you must sell them all within ten days."
Hearing this, Zhang Shaochu and Liu Chengfeng were both thrilled.
That was a profit of over two hundred thousand silver coins. They were naturally very tempted. Not selling would make them fools.
"Ninth Prince, rest assured. I don't even need ten days. Within three days, I, Liu Chengfeng, will sell all the pills," Liu Chengfeng said.
Zhang Shaochu also swore confidently that he would sell all the pills within three days. A huge pile of silver coins was right in front of them—why not take it?
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment, then took out over three hundred more bottles of pills, totaling several thousand. They included various types: second-grade pills, first-grade pills, pills to improve cultivation, healing pills, and antidote pills.
"Sell all these pills for me too. I don't care how you sell them. I won't shortchange you. We'll split the silver seventy-thirty. Seventy for me, thirty for you."
Seeing the densely packed pill bottles on the table, Zhang Shaochu was going crazy. His whole body of fat trembled. How much money would so many pills fetch?
Liu Chengfeng was calmer. "These pills aren't high-grade, and all the students in the Western Courtyard are Mysterious Extreme Realm experts. They don't have much need for these pills. They won't sell well here."
Outside, a woman's voice rang out. "Zhang Ruochen, I'll sell them for you."
Zi Qian pushed the door open and walked in, giving Zhang Ruochen a meaningful look.
Zhang Ruochen nodded thoughtfully and followed Zi Qian outside. When they reached a secluded spot, Zhang Ruochen asked, "Do you have a way to sell them?"
Zi Qian walked ahead without turning back. "The Black Market."
Zhang Ruochen remembered Zi Qian's identity. "Right! How could I forget? You're an assassin from the Black Market. You can definitely take all these pills to the Black Market and sell them."
Zi Qian had a slender figure with well-defined curves. She fluttered her long eyelashes, glanced at Zhang Ruochen, and smiled sweetly. "Aren't you afraid I'll sell the pills and pocket all the silver?"
"If you dare to embezzle my silver, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth to get it back," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile, then added, "Why are you going back to the Black Market?"
Zhang Ruochen could tell that Zi Qian was planning to return to the Black Market anyway, so she was just helping him sell the pills along the way.
Zi Qian said, "Last time, I bought five drops of Half-Saint True Liquid at the Black Market, and I've already refined them all. I plan to buy another batch. Zhang Ruochen, are you interested?"