Chapter 236: Fierce Battle at the Heavenly Extreme Realm
Although the Poison Spider Young Master had not yet reached the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection, he was a genuine "Three Extremes Genius." Even against some weaker Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists, he could exchange dozens of moves. That was why he was called one of the Black Market's seven great young experts.
Yet, such a top-tier young expert died beneath Zhang Ruochen's sword, his body severed in two. Even if he consumed a fifth-rank pill, he could not be revived.
"The Young Master has been... killed!"
The heretical martial artists of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild all stared at Zhang Ruochen with terrified eyes, as if looking at a martial arts myth of heaven-defying proportions.
General Red Sweat was also startled. He had not expected the young Ninth Prince's martial arts cultivation to be so terrifying. He was probably not far behind that Seventh Prince.
At this moment, Duke Huaming was furious to the extreme. He let out a heart-wrenching long howl, pounced forward, and lifted the Poison Spider Young Master's severed body.
"Qingshan, Qingshan..." Duke Huaming called out.
Duke Huaming had only one son, the Poison Spider Young Master, who was also a top-tier genius. Naturally, he cherished him deeply, always holding him in the palm of his hand.
He could not accept that his only son had been killed by a teenager of just over ten years old. His heart was filled with grief and rage.
Hua Qingshan's vitality was strong. Although he had been cut in half, he was not yet completely dead. He trembled and said, "Fa... father, avenge... avenge me."
With those words, Hua Qingshan died completely.
Although Earth Extreme Realm martial artists had powerful physical bodies, their strength was still limited.
If it had been a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist who had cultivated a Martial Soul, even if cut in half, they could rely on their powerful vitality and body control to immediately seal their blood vessels with true qi, forming an independent circulation in the upper body, enough to live for another half month.
If they could find a life-extending spiritual medicine within that half month, living for decades more would not be difficult.
The gap between martial artists who had cultivated a Martial Soul and those who had not was enormous.
Duke Huaming put down the Poison Spider Young Master's corpse, his gaze cold and fierce as he stared at Zhang Ruochen. He roared, "Return my son's life!"
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed. "If you can kill me, then make your move."
In the martial world, grudges and killings were normal.
Although Duke Huaming was a martial arts myth of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen showed no fear because he could see through Duke Huaming's cultivation level: early Heavenly Extreme Realm.
The Heavenly Extreme Realm also had seven stages: Early, Middle, Late, Minor Extreme Position, Middle Extreme Position, Major Extreme Position, and Great Perfection.
An early Heavenly Extreme Realm cultivation was indeed a top-tier figure in the martial world of Yunwu Commandery. In the eyes of ordinary martial artists, he was like a myth.
But Duke Huaming was heavily injured. Being able to exert half his strength was already quite good.
However, the opponent was still a martial arts myth, surpassing Earth Extreme Realm martial artists by a full level in many aspects. He was definitely a dangerous figure, and Zhang Ruochen dared not underestimate Duke Huaming.
Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection and early Heavenly Extreme Realm seemed to differ by only one realm, but it was far more than just that.
Duke Huaming stomped his feet heavily on the ground. A powerful surge of true qi erupted from his body, spreading in all directions.
Under the impact of the true qi waves, the nearest hundreds of soldiers were severely injured, spitting blood. Half of them fell to the ground, unable to stand.
General Red Sweat had already killed Qinghe Fort Master Zhao Jian. Holding his wolf-tooth club, he sat on the back of the red giant tiger beast and charged toward Zhang Ruochen. "Ninth Prince, Duke Huaming is a martial arts myth. We cannot contend with him. You go first; I'll hold him off."
Duke Huaming let out a sinister laugh. He stomped his foot on the ground, creating a half-meter-deep pit, and rushed forward. With one hand, he lifted both the red giant tiger beast and General Red Sweat.
"Get lost!"
Duke Huaming's true qi surged like flowing water, unleashing tremendous power. He threw the ten-thousand-jin red giant tiger beast and General Red Sweat flying.
"Boom!"
The red giant tiger beast and General Red Sweat were thrown directly outside Qinghe Fort's city wall.
An Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection expert was like a child before Duke Huaming, thrown away without even a chance to resist.
"Bang! Bang!"
Duke Huaming stretched out his arms, grabbed two soldiers, lifted them over his head, and crushed their bodies with true qi alone.
His only son's death had driven Duke Huaming mad. He only wanted to kill.
"Zhang Ruochen, your life is mine!"
Duke Huaming had cultivated some evil technique. When his true qi reached its peak, his skin turned black, and his hair turned white. He looked like a demon.
"Dark Demon Hand!"
Duke Huaming wore a pair of black metal fist gloves. Under the activation of true qi, the light-type inscriptions within the gloves were fully activated, forming two clusters of black, cold dark light.
He struck out with a claw, creating twelve claw marks that produced a series of air-bursting "crackling" sounds.
Zhang Ruochen stood upright and slashed twelve times in succession, striking the twelve claw marks. A series of collisions sounded.
The fist gloves and the Abyssal Ancient Sword clashed violently, sparks flying. True qi formed energy ripples. Circular waves appeared in the air.
Duke Huaming's speed reached two hundred and twenty meters per second. He moved like a ghostly shadow, circling Zhang Ruochen and striking out hand seal after hand seal.
Zhang Ruochen stepped with his footwork, creating three humanoid phantom images, like a person with three heads and six arms wielding three war swords. He completely neutralized Duke Huaming's attacks.
Having reached the Sword Heart Illumination realm, Zhang Ruochen's sword technique was extremely profound. Unless the gap in cultivation was too great, no one could break through his sword defense.
Duke Huaming's fastest burst speed actually reached two hundred and eighty meters per second, but due to his severe injuries, his speed was greatly reduced.
Fortunately, this was the case; otherwise, Zhang Ruochen would not have been able to handle it so easily.
"Heavenly Heart Shattering Void!"
Zhang Ruochen took the initiative to attack. All his true qi converged into the sword body, like a rainbow piercing through layers of phantom shadows, stabbing at Duke Huaming.
"You don't even have a sword tip, and you think you can hurt me?" Duke Huaming sneered.
Soon, Duke Huaming's expression changed. He saw that at the broken end of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, a stream of inscriptions surged out, gathering together to form a phantom sword tip.
The power of a ninth-rank True Martial Treasure was terrifying. Coupled with Zhang Ruochen's superb sword technique, the sword tip stabbed straight at Duke Huaming's heart.
Forced to respond, Duke Huaming could only strike out with another "Dark Demon Hand," hitting the sword tip of the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Bang!"
Duke Huaming retreated thirteen steps. A sharp pain came from his palm. The seventh-rank True Martial Treasure-level "Black Gold Gloves" had actually cracked, and a drop of blood seeped from the crack.
"A ninth-rank True Martial Treasure! Kid, you really do have a big secret hidden on you."
The pain in his palm sobered Duke Huaming. He was no longer lost to hatred and gradually regained his rationality.
He was heavily injured now. He could not exert even half of his full strength. Fighting Zhang Ruochen was too disadvantageous.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen had the advantage of a superior weapon, holding a ninth-rank True Martial Treasure that completely suppressed him.
If he continued to fight, he might capsize in a ditch today, dying at the hands of a teenager.
Duke Huaming was a figure who had been famous for decades. In Yunwu Commandery, he was a prestigious and towering existence. Even if he had to die in battle, he could not die at the hands of a junior. That would be a great humiliation.
Revenge did not have to be immediate.
Once his injuries healed, killing Zhang Ruochen would be as easy as turning his hand.
"Zhang Ruochen, I'll let you live a few more days."
Duke Huaming gritted his teeth, collected Hua Qingshan's corpse into his space ring, stomped his foot, and leaped hundreds of meters into the air, landing on top of Qinghe Fort's city wall.
That space ring had once belonged to Huang Yanchen. After being taken from her, it had fallen into Duke Huaming's hands.
"Still trying to escape?"
Zhang Ruochen activated the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, bursting forth at a speed of two hundred meters per second. His feet stepped on the void, each stride covering hundreds of meters.
From Duke Huaming's earlier words, "You really do have a big secret hidden on you," Zhang Ruochen could deduce that Duke Huaming must have known that Zhang Ruochen could manipulate spatial power.
Duke Huaming and the Poison Spider Young Master had not spread this secret before because they were confident they could capture Zhang Ruochen and force him to reveal the method for controlling spatial power.
But now, the Poison Spider Young Master was dead, and Duke Huaming was heavily injured. There was no guarantee that Duke Huaming would not reveal this secret.
Remember, the Poison Spider Merchant Guild was full of experts. Even Duke Huaming was only the guild's general manager in Yunwu Commandery.
In the other thirty-five commanderies, each had a general manager, and some of them had even higher martial arts cultivation than Duke Huaming.
If Zhang Ruochen's secret were known to the Poison Spider Merchant Guild, it would be a huge disaster for him. Therefore, he absolutely could not let Duke Huaming escape.
Outside Qinghe Fort was a large river, over seventy meters wide, with turbulent currents and waves that could rise five meters high.
After rushing out of Qinghe Fort, Duke Huaming mobilized all his true qi, channeling it through his meridians to his feet. He landed on the river, stepped on the waves, and rushed again, reaching the opposite bank.
Before Duke Huaming could catch his breath, a piercing sound of breaking air came from behind.
Zhang Ruochen was stepping on the void, chasing after him. His speed was not much slower.
"Damn it! I didn't expect this kid to have reached such a level. I underestimated him before!" Duke Huaming did not stop and charged into the dense forest.
"Heavens! Am I seeing things? Duke Huaming is a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist, a myth-like existence, and he's being chased away by the Ninth Prince!" A soldier stood outside Qinghe Fort's city gate, watching the two experts chasing each other in the distance, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.
"The Ninth Prince is hiding his true strength. He is also a heroic figure, no less talented than the Seventh Prince."
"I think the Ninth Prince's talent is even greater than the Seventh Prince's. You must know, the Ninth Prince has only been cultivating for two years."
...
General Red Sweat shouted a reprimand, "Both princes are heavenly proud ones. You little brats, you'd better watch your mouths, or you'll lose your heads."
At the horizon, the two figures had become two black dots.
General Red Sweat's expression was grave. He muttered to himself, "The Ninth Prince has gone alone to chase Duke Huaming. I must immediately report this to the King."