Chapter 263: Reinforcements
"Hmph! Boy, you're seeking death."
Ling Xiansu stood up from the back of the three-legged fire crow. The light emitted from the purple crystal enveloped his entire body, forming a spherical light shield.
Beneath him, the three-legged fire crow radiated blinding light, each feather resembling gilded gold. With a long cry, a torrent of flame spewed from its mouth, surging toward Zhang Ruochen like a lava wave.
"Such terrifying flames... That's Heavenly Gold Flame! Could Ling Xiansu's mount be a fourth-rank mid-grade savage bird?"
Zhang Ruochen's expression shifted. He immediately borrowed force from the void, leaning backward and retreating a hundred meters to dodge the oncoming flames.
The flames scorched the void, causing it to warp with a "chi chi" sound.
A fourth-rank mid-grade savage bird and a fourth-rank low-grade savage bird were entirely different levels. Their combat power was not just a single step apart.
With his current martial arts cultivation, Zhang Ruochen could kill a fourth-rank low-grade savage bird, but even ten Zhang Ruochens combined could not defeat a fourth-rank mid-grade savage bird.
Even that powerful Dragon Eagle was merely a formidable fourth-rank low-grade savage bird.
Ling Xiansu laughed loudly and said, "Youngster, did you really think I was so easy to kill? Let me tell you the truth: my mount, the three-legged fire crow, is a fourth-rank mid-grade savage bird. Not just you, even if the Yunwu Commandery Prince himself came, he might not be its match. Haha!"
"A fourth-rank mid-grade savage bird... This is a huge problem."
Han Qiu rushed over and joined Zhang Ruochen, preparing to deploy the Yin-Yang Two Forms Sword Formation.
The other savage beasts also converged, surrounding Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu in layers upon layers. They bared their ferocious eyes and sharp teeth, emitting low growls.
"Thud, thud."
Some of the beasts tentatively stepped forward, shrinking the encirclement.
The atmosphere was tense to the extreme.
Just then, from outside the city, two earth-shaking roars rang out, transforming into sound waves that surged into the ruined city.
"What's happening? Have Heaven Extreme Realm experts arrived?" Ling Xiansu's expression darkened as he looked toward the city outskirts.
The two roars just now caused the spiritual energy between heaven and earth to tremble. Clearly, only a Heaven Extreme Realm powerhouse could unleash such force.
"It must be reinforcements from the Martial Market Academy and the Yuntai Sect Manor! We're saved!" Han Qiu was overjoyed, her sparkling eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen, her heart racing with excitement.
Outside the city, a beautiful woman with sapphire-blue long hair, a tall figure, and an aloof demeanor, holding a longsword, charged to the foot of Yueji City. Without hesitation, she plunged into the beast horde.
Behind her followed two powerful elders—an old man and an old woman—both Heaven Extreme Realm martial arts legends.
That woman was Huang Yanchen.
"Zhang Ruochen must be trapped in the city. Feng Xuan, Song Ji, help me break through."
Huang Yanchen charged into the beast horde.
Feng Xuan and Song Ji, the two elders, cleared a path on either side of her, leaving a trail of corpses. Moments later, the three of them rushed into Yueji City.
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the beast horde and immediately spotted Huang Yanchen at the forefront, slightly surprised. "It's Senior Sister Huang."
He acted at once, quickly joining up with Huang Yanchen.
"Boom!"
Feng Xuan and Song Ji each wielded an eighth-rank True Martial Treasure, striking out simultaneously, sending a large group of beasts flying and clearing a wide area.
Huang Yanchen arrived beside Zhang Ruochen. Seeing that he was unharmed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But in an instant, her gaze turned icy, and she said venomously, "With so many experts from the Poison Spider Merchant Guild and the Four Directions Commandery chasing you, you're still alive. How is your life tougher than a cockroach's?"
"You seem disappointed?"
"Of course! I wish you'd been killed long ago. That way, breaking off the engagement later would be much simpler—no, to be precise, I wouldn't need to break it off at all. I can't exactly marry a dead man, can I?"
"Is that really the case?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her. Her face was covered in sweat, and her chest rose and fell rapidly, clearly exhausted from the long journey without rest. Yet she still forced herself to maintain a cold and proud demeanor.
He had to admit, he was somewhat moved. When he was in danger, Huang Yanchen was the first to arrive. Though her words were harsh, her heart might not be so cold.
"You've worked hard. Thank you," Zhang Ruochen said.
Huang Yanchen remained icy, but a flicker of tenderness and joy passed through her eyes. She turned away and said disdainfully, "Don't pretend to be kind in front of me, Princess. I'm not falling for that."
"Let's deal with the immediate crisis first, then we can talk slowly," Zhang Ruochen said.
Huang Yanchen nodded, her gaze locking onto Ling Xiansu. She said arrogantly, "Anyone who cooperates with the Poison Spider Merchant Guild deserves to die."
Ling Xiansu's voice deepened. "You must be that Yanchen Princess of the Qianshui Commandery? Are you here to save Zhang Ruochen, or to walk into a trap?"
The Xuanji Dual Swordsmen retreated, positioning themselves in front of Huang Yanchen.
Huang Yanchen sneered, "Ling Xiansu, you don't think I'm the only one who came to Yueji City, do you?"
"Are there other experts from the Martial Market Academy heading to Yueji City?" Ling Xiansu asked.
From the sky, a resounding voice boomed, "Ling Xiansu, are you bullying the Martial Market Academy into thinking we have no one?"
"Who's there?" Ling Xiansu's expression shifted.
"The number one figure of the Martial Market Academy's Inner Palace Academy, Si Xingkong!"
As the sound waves echoed through the sky, Si Xingkong and Chang Qiqi walked unhurriedly through the city gate.
Si Xingkong waved his arm, casting out a scroll of blood scripture.
The blood scripture flew into the sky, hovering above the clouds, covering the entire Yueji City. Blood-red characters descended from it.
Each blood-red character seemed to weigh ten thousand jin, turning into a rain of blood that pressed down on the savage beasts.
In an instant, aside from the few fourth-rank savage beasts and birds, all the other beasts were pinned to the ground, unable to move.
Even those fourth-rank beasts and birds, under the suppression of the Half-Saint Blood Scripture, trembled in fear, their full power reduced by seventy percent.
"Nearly a hundred years old, and you're still fighting with teenagers? Aren't you ashamed? How about I exchange a few moves with you?"
Si Xingkong, holding a gourd of wine, leaped onto a broken wall of Yueji City, standing there with his long hair flowing in the wind, exuding a carefree and proud aura.
"Half-Saint Blood Scripture."
Ling Xiansu looked at the massive blood scripture suspended in the sky, his expression growing even more grim.
If it were just Si Xingkong alone, Ling Xiansu wouldn't have taken him seriously.
But Si Xingkong had brought the Half-Saint Blood Scripture, suppressing all the low-level beasts. If they fought now, Ling Xiansu was no longer confident of victory.
"At least we weren't too late," Chang Qiqi said, panting heavily as he sat down on the ground to rest.
With Senior Brother and the Half-Saint Blood Scripture, along with the two Heaven Extreme Realm experts from Qianshui Commandery, Ling Xiansu had no chance of escape.
A hundred miles away, Zhang Tiangui clenched his five fingers, a cold glint in his eyes. "It's that Si Xingkong again, always ruining my plans."
Lu Qiankun said, "Senior Brother, shouldn't we head to Yueji City now?"
"If we don't go now, Si Xingkong will steal all the glory."
Zhang Tiangui sneered coldly, taking out a chariot forged from azure gold. Under the infusion of true qi, the chariot expanded a hundred times, becoming a flying war chariot radiating colorful light.
This was an eighth-rank True Martial Treasure, possessing immense power, far stronger than ordinary chariots.
Zhang Tiangui drove the flying war chariot, speeding along like the wind and lightning, smashing through beasts as he charged into Yueji City, roaring, "Junior Sister, Ninth Brother, I'm here to help!"
The flying war chariot surged forward, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Lu Qiankun followed behind the flying chariot, entering Yueji City a step later than Zhang Tiangui.
Zhang Tiangui stopped the flying war chariot in front of Han Qiu and said, "Junior Sister, get on the chariot. Its defenses are enough to keep you safe."
Han Qiu glanced at Zhang Ruochen, smiled lightly, and shook her head. "No need. Since Si Xingkong has the Half-Saint Blood Scripture, Ling Xiansu can't cause much trouble. He's nothing to fear."
Zhang Tiangui narrowed his eyes, thoughtfully. "Since Si Xingkong has already activated the Half-Saint Blood Scripture, a big battle is about to break out here. Let me take you away first."
Han Qiu thought for a moment and said, "Zhang Ruochen, your seventh brother is right. Let's withdraw from Yueji City first. That way, Si Xingkong can fight Ling Xiansu without holding back."
"Hmph! The Half-Saint Blood Scripture doesn't necessarily mean you've got me beat!"
Ling Xiansu infused his true qi into the purple crystal, mounted the three-legged fire crow, and attacked Si Xingkong.
If he could kill Si Xingkong, there was still a chance to turn the tide.
"Come on!"
Si Xingkong laughed loudly, soaring into the air and striking a palm toward Ling Xiansu.
"Count me in."
Zhang Tiangui, unwilling to be outdone, drove the flying war chariot into the sky, charging at the three-legged fire crow.
"The three-legged fire crow is a fourth-rank mid-grade savage bird. Even with the suppression of the Half-Saint Blood Scripture, its combat power is still terrifying. Even if Si Xingkong and Zhang Tiangui join forces, they only have a fifty percent chance of winning," Zhang Ruochen said.
If Si Xingkong had brought the Half-Saint Blood Scripture just to deal with a single three-legged fire crow, he could have killed it in just a few breaths.
But the Half-Saint Blood Scripture was also suppressing over ten thousand beasts on the ground, so its suppression of the three-legged fire crow wasn't very strong.
Han Qiu walked up to Zhang Ruochen and said, "Zhang Ruochen, if we use the sword formation, we should be able to kill the three-legged fire crow."
Huang Yanchen looked warily at Han Qiu and asked coldly, "What sword formation?"
Han Qiu glanced at Huang Yanchen, smiled slightly, and said, "Zhang Ruochen and I have practiced a sword formation, known as the strongest two-person sword formation. Once deployed, it might be able to contend with a fourth-rank mid-grade beast. Zhang Ruochen must have taught it to you too, right?"
In Han Qiu's view, since Huang Yanchen was Zhang Ruochen's fiancée, it was only natural that Zhang Ruochen would have passed the Yin-Yang Two Forms Sword Formation to her.