Chapter 135: Mountain Path Battle
Zhang Shaochu was extremely astonished, looking around for Liu Chuanshen, but couldn't find even a single hair of him.
Could it be that Liu Chuanshen had been stuffed into the belly of the two-headed blood lion by his ninth brother?
Zhang Shaochu stared at the two-headed blood lion's belly, then looked back at the calm and composed Zhang Ruochen, and made a secret decision in his heart: when he returned to the royal capital, he would definitely beg his ninth brother to teach him that secret technique.
"Clop, clop!"
The sound of iron hooves grew closer and closer.
Soon, a group of black-clad men wearing golden masks, riding tall antelope horses, charged fiercely to the opposite side of Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Shaochu, their killing intent palpable.
There were twenty-one in total, all martial arts masters, carrying crossbows and war swords.
Every black-clad man was stained with blood, and the golden masks on their faces looked quite ferocious. All their eyes were fixed on Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Shaochu.
In an instant, the atmosphere on the mountain path became extremely tense.
One of the black-clad men, with a large build, glared at Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Shaochu and said in a deep voice, "Who are you two, and why are you here?"
Zhang Shaochu showed no fear, puffing out his chest, looking down at the black-clad man with his nostrils, and said arrogantly, "This road was built by my family. Why can't I be here?"
The black-clad man at the front said in a cold voice, "Have you seen a middle-aged man who was severely injured?"
"No," Zhang Ruochen said calmly.
Zhang Ruochen could feel the powerful aura emanating from that black-clad man, an aura very similar to that of General Hong Ye.
That meant that the black-clad man's cultivation had likely reached the Earth Extreme Realm.
If they were indeed pursuing Liu Chuanshen, it would be best not to provoke them.
The black-clad man scrutinized Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Shaochu carefully, then waved to the black-clad men behind him and said, "Let's go."
Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Shaochu both breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Just then, a black-clad man's voice rang out: "Captain, there's blood on the ground."
The black-clad man at the front immediately looked down at the ground and, sure enough, found a fresh pool of blood. He quickly raised his head and stared coldly at Zhang Ruochen.
"Attack."
Since they had been exposed, Zhang Ruochen acted decisively, swinging his Flash Soul Sword and slashing toward the black-clad man with the strongest cultivation.
Zhang Shaochu also immediately took out his Life-Reaping Scythe and charged into the midst of the black-clad men. Despite his seemingly fat body, he displayed extremely agile skills.
In an instant, Zhang Shaochu had killed three men in a row.
"What a nuisance!" Xiao Hei tore a page from a book, pinched it between his two cat claws, and infused his true qi into the page.
A faint halo of light appeared on the surface of the page.
"Pfft!"
The page flew out, sharper than a blade, and sliced off the head of a black-clad man at the early stage of the Mysterious Extreme Realm.
Zhang Ruochen unleashed his full power, channeling strength into both arms, and struck a sword blow at the black-clad man's head.
"Good kid, you're hiding it well. Where have you hidden the severely injured man?" The black-clad man took the purple broadsword from his back, held it horizontally to block, and deflected Zhang Ruochen's full-force strike.
"Boom!"
The bell horse beneath the black-clad man couldn't withstand the immense force. Its four legs broke, and with a mournful neigh, it collapsed and fell off the cliff.
Seeing that the black-clad man had blocked his full-force sword strike, Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes and said, "So you are indeed an Earth Extreme Realm expert. For a strongman like you to be in the Yunwu Commandery, you must have a name and a reputation. Who are you exactly?"
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen struck out with another sword. Under the power of the ice-type inscriptions, the sword energy carried a chilling force, covering the black-clad man's body with a layer of frost.
The black-clad man retreated three steps, staring at Zhang Ruochen again, quite shocked in his heart.
He had never expected that a teenager of just over ten years old could unleash combat power not much weaker than his own.
He had cultivated for over forty years to reach his current level.
How old was this youth?
"Kid, who exactly are you?" The black-clad man exerted force with his wrist, releasing a surge of thick true qi from his body, pushing Zhang Ruochen back.
Zhang Ruochen secretly released his Space Domain, covering the black-clad man within it, and asked, "Why are you trying to kill Liu Chuanshen?"
"So Liu Chuanshen was indeed saved by you. Heh, kid, you've gotten yourself into big trouble! Hand over Liu Chuanshen honestly, and this captain will grant you a whole corpse." The black-clad man stood at the edge of the cliff, holding his sword horizontally.
"If I'm not mistaken, your cultivation is at the early stage of the Earth Extreme Realm," Zhang Ruochen said.
With Earth Extreme Realm cultivation, in the Yunwu Commandery, one would definitely be a martial arts master capable of standing on one's own, able to establish a family or a sect. Entering the military, one would also be at the general level.
The black-clad man laughed and said, "Are you scared?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, "I mean to say, with your cultivation, you can't kill me."
"Arrogant! If an Earth Extreme Realm expert can't kill you, do you think you're a Xuan List martial artist?" the black-clad man said.
Zhang Ruochen said no more, activated all fourteen inscriptions in the Flash Soul Sword, and stepped forward with his footwork, attacking the black-clad man.
"Heavenly Heart Pointing the Way!"
With a swing of his war sword, he dragged out a seven-meter-long sword energy, leaving a long sword path on the ground.
The black-clad man hadn't expected the kid not only to not flee but to actively attack him.
"Come well."
The black-clad man gripped the purple broadsword with both hands. Stimulated by his true qi, the inscriptions were activated, and wisps of purple electric light appeared on the blade.
"Boom!"
One slash broke through the sword energy.
The black-clad man took three consecutive steps, leaving three deep footprints on the ground. On the final step, his body leaped into the air, and he slashed down at Zhang Ruochen with his sword.
The blade contained the power of thunder and lightning. With his body as the center, wisps of stray electric light appeared in the surrounding air, all converging on the blade.
Zhang Ruochen had no way to retreat because a cliff was behind him.
"Heavenly Heart Full Moon!"
The Flash Soul Sword traced a circle in the air. The bright sword light made the sword circle resemble a bright moon, suspended above Zhang Ruochen's head.
The sword strike shot out, colliding fiercely with the purple broadsword. The intense sound spread out, echoing for a long time among the mountains.
"Crash!"
The stones beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet shattered, and pieces of rubble rolled down the cliff, falling into the steep abyss.
"Whoosh!"
The black-clad man changed his move rapidly, spinning three hundred and sixty degrees in the air, and slashed out three consecutive strikes.
Each strike contained the power of thunder and lightning, extremely violent. Even a cliff face would likely have been shattered.
Zhang Ruochen could only defend passively, executing the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow to quickly dart along the narrow mountain path, trying to avoid direct confrontation with the black-clad man.
"An Earth Extreme Realm expert is indeed formidable. With my current strength, I can contend with an early-stage Earth Extreme Realm martial artist, but defeating one is too difficult," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen's speed was on par with the black-clad man's. If it had been Sikong Shu fighting the black-clad man, he would likely have lost within ten moves.
"How strange. This kid has fought me for over fifty moves without losing. Could he really be a Xuan List martial artist?" The more the black-clad man fought, the more alarmed he became. He finally realized that this youth was not to be trifled with.
He wasn't an Earth Extreme Realm martial artist, yet his combat power was not much weaker than one.
Only a Xuan List martial artist could possess such ability.
In the entire Yunwu Commandery, there were only eighteen Xuan List martial artists, and the youngest was already thirty-five years old.
To become a Xuan List martial artist at just over ten years old—how extraordinary must one's talent be to achieve that?
"Demon Blade Triple Stack."
The black-clad man executed a spirit-level lower-grade blade technique. His aura surged dramatically, and with one slash, he sent out three blade shadows. At the same time, the purple broadsword in his hand slashed toward Zhang Ruochen's neck.
A spirit-level martial technique executed by an Earth Extreme Realm martial artist was far more powerful than one executed by a Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artist.
Before the blade energy even reached Zhang Ruochen, the clothes on his body were already torn into several slits by the invisible force.
"Heavenly Heart Wind and Rain!"
Zhang Ruochen suddenly leaped into the air, unleashing the peak realm of Sword Following the Heart. His sword was like a startled swan, gliding along the edge of the purple broadsword's blade, thrusting toward the black-clad man's heart.
The black-clad man's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "The high-level realm of Sword Following the Heart? No, it's the peak realm... How could this be..."
Generally speaking, even martial arts legends at the Heavenly Extreme Realm rarely managed to cultivate to the peak realm of Sword Following the Heart.
A Mysterious Extreme Realm youth had cultivated his sword technique to such a level—it could only be described as monstrous.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen's sword technique had remained at the mid-level realm of Sword Following the Heart, not unleashing his true power.
He hadn't wanted to reveal his trump card unless absolutely necessary.
Since it was already exposed, the black-clad man had to die.
The black-clad man decisively abandoned the purple broadsword, trying to dodge Zhang Ruochen's killing strike.
But he underestimated the power of a sword strike at the peak realm of Sword Following the Heart. He had only retreated half a step when the Flash Soul Sword pierced his heart.
"Chi!"
The tip of the Flash Soul Sword emerged from the black-clad man's back, dripping drops of blood.
The black-clad man looked at the sword piercing his heart, feeling its icy coldness. He gritted his teeth and roared, "Then let's die together!"
Mobilizing the last of his strength, the black-clad man charged at Zhang Ruochen, knocking him off the cliff.
Zhang Ruochen's expression also changed slightly. He hadn't expected an Earth Extreme Realm martial artist to have such strong vitality—even with his heart pierced, he still had the strength to counterattack.
"Ninth brother!" Zhang Shaochu's expression changed, and he immediately rushed toward the cliff edge.
Just then, Zhang Ruochen transformed into a blurry shadow, carrying a blood-drenched war sword, flying up from below the cliff and landing steadily on the ground.
Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath and said, "That was too close. Fortunately, I cultivated the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, or I would have died with him. I must not be so careless in the future!"
Zhang Shaochu thought back to the astonishing speed-type martial technique Zhang Ruochen had displayed on the challenge platform and thought to himself, "That must be the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow. I need to beg my ninth brother to teach me when I get the chance. If I learn that speed-type martial technique, even an Earth Extreme Realm martial artist won't find it easy to kill me."