Chapter 299: Defeated in a Single Battle
"Zhang Ruochen, get out here, get out here..."
Yan Yunhua kicked the bronze gate to pieces, sending seven or eight massive bronze door panels flying, crashing heavily into the mansion.
He took two quick steps, charging into Zhang Ruochen's cultivation mansion, and swung his sword. A sword energy flew out, cleaving a two-story pavilion in half.
"Boom!"
The wooden pavilion collapsed into rubble.
The loud noise alarmed the students of the Inner Palace Academy.
Outside Zhang Ruochen's cultivation mansion, dozens of Inner Palace students had gathered, but no one dared to go in and stop Yan Yunhua. After all, Yan Yunhua's cultivation was there for all to see—who could block even one of his sword strikes?
Some students even watched with a sense of schadenfreude, hoping Yan Yunhua would cut Zhang Ruochen down with a single blow.
"Zhang Ruochen offended Young Master Yan; he's plucking hair from a tiger's back—courting death." Qiu Lin watched the mansion from afar, a gloating expression in his eyes.
Ever since Yan Yunhua arrived at Demon Ridge, Qiu Lin had been waiting for this day.
Qiu Lin had also sparred with Yan Yunhua and knew full well how formidable he was.
With Zhang Ruochen's strength, he was far from a match for Yan Yunhua.
"Boom!"
Yan Yunhua punched out, forming a powerful wave of fist technique true qi, shattering a ten-meter-tall rockery into pieces that fell into the lake.
"Where is Zhang Ruochen? Where is he hiding?"
Yan Yunhua, with disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, rampaged through Zhang Ruochen's cultivation mansion, as if intent on tearing the entire place apart.
"Young Master Yan, this is my master's secluded cultivation ground. I advise you to leave immediately. If not, I will have no choice but to report this to Pavilion Master Lei."
Kong Xuan felt the immense power emanating from Yan Yunhua; it was like a vast ocean, and she was but a small boat adrift on it.
A single casual strike from him could kill her.
Yet she showed no fear, stepping forward to block Yan Yunhua's path.
"A mere maidservant dares to block this young master's way? You're simply asking for death."
"Roar!"
Yan Yunhua let out a great roar, a sound wave erupting from his mouth.
Kong Xuan, standing ten zhang away, immediately bled from her seven orifices and was sent flying backward, her delicate body slamming into the stone wall, leaving a trail of blood.
"Hmm..."
Kong Xuan propped herself up with her hands, struggling to rise.
Yan Yunhua walked over, stepped on her back, and placed his sword against her neck. The sharp blade left a deep, bloody gash on her skin.
"I'll ask one last time: where is that coward Zhang Ruochen?" Yan Yunhua roared.
The door to the cultivation chamber opened.
"Whoosh!"
A figure shot out from the stone door of the chamber.
The figure solidified into Zhang Ruochen's form.
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands behind his back, staring at Yan Yunhua not far away, and said coldly, "Yan Yunhua, this is my cultivation mansion. You have no right to run wild here."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, Yan Yunhua let out a loud laugh and sheathed the sword from Kong Xuan's neck. "Zhang Ruochen, you coward, you finally dare to show your face! You cheated me out of two million spirit crystals—do you really think our Yan Clan is easy to bully? Today, I'll show you who the real strong one is."
Yan Yunhua charged forward, reaching a speed of two hundred and sixty meters per second. In an instant, he was in front of Zhang Ruochen.
Channeling true qi into his arm, he thrust his sword straight at Zhang Ruochen's heart.
Though Yan Yunhua's speed seemed like flowing light, it was excruciatingly slow in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
Zhang Ruochen stood motionless, merely shifting his body slightly to dodge the thrust. At the same time, he struck out with a palm, hitting Yan Yunhua in the chest.
"Bang!" Yan Yunhua took the heavy blow and was sent flying backward.
Yan Yunhua felt an excruciating pain in his chest, as if his five organs had been shattered.
It was this palm strike that sobered him up, making him realize he should not underestimate Zhang Ruochen.
"I am ranked three hundred and seventy-fifth on the Earth Ranking, yet I was driven back by an unknown nobody? Damn it."
Yan Yunhua thought he had simply been too careless and didn't believe Zhang Ruochen was truly that strong.
Zhang Ruochen walked over to Kong Xuan, helped her up, took out a healing pill, and fed it to her, telling her to step back and recover.
Just then, Chen Xi'er and Huang Yanchen also arrived, rushing into the cultivation mansion almost simultaneously.
Seeing Kong Xuan injured, Chen Xi'er feared Yan Yunhua was about to go on a killing spree, so she shouted, "Yan Yunhua, stop right there! This is the Martial Market Academy—don't you dare cause trouble."
Huang Yanchen drew her war sword, pointing it at Yan Yunhua, and said coldly, "Yan Yunhua, if you harm even a single hair on Zhang Ruochen's head, I will make sure you die without a burial place."
Yan Yunhua was so furious he could spit blood. He was the one who had just been struck by Zhang Ruochen and suffered internal injuries, yet they were still defending Zhang Ruochen.
It was one thing for Huang Yanchen to side with Zhang Ruochen—she was his fiancée.
But why was Chen Xi'er also speaking up for him?
"Could it be that last night's auction was all a scheme by Chen Xi'er and Huang Yanchen, working with that country bumpkin Zhang Ruochen to set me up?"
The more Yan Yunhua thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more he believed Zhang Ruochen and Chen Xi'er were involved. Ignoring both Chen Xi'er and Huang Yanchen, he attacked Zhang Ruochen again.
"Zhang Ruochen, you took what belongs to me, so you must die."
Yan Yunhua gritted his teeth, consumed by rage. Even if it meant offending the Martial Market Academy, he would kill this bastard.
"One Sword Flying Snow."
Yan Yunhua executed a spirit-level upper-grade sword technique, channeling true qi to communicate with the world's spiritual energy, triggering a celestial phenomenon.
The entire cultivation mansion was blanketed in falling snow.
A hundred zhang of flying snow.
Fierce sword energies burst forth from the blade, forming a massive vortex with a howling roar, as if it would devour Zhang Ruochen.
Under the assault of the powerful sword energy, even Chen Xi'er and Huang Yanchen, standing at a distance, were affected.
"Sizzle, sizzle!"
The sword energy left bloody wounds on their bodies.
Forced to retreat, they had to leave the cultivation mansion.
With their strength, they were powerless to stop Yan Yunhua.
"That's the Yan Clan's spirit-level upper-grade martial technique, the Flying Snow Sword Art. I didn't expect Young Master Yan to have mastered it to such a high level. Truly formidable—no wonder his ranking on the Earth Ranking is so high. I'd wager even a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist couldn't withstand a single strike from him!" Qiu Lin remarked.
Qiu Lin was among the top five experts in the Inner Palace of the Martial Market Academy, yet he felt utterly insignificant before Yan Yunhua.
"This is bad! That brute Yan Yunhua has actually used the Flying Snow Sword Art. How could Zhang Ruochen possibly survive?" Chen Xi'er clenched her delicate fists, a cold glint in her eyes.
She had invited Yan Yunhua to use his martial power to suppress Huang Yanchen and Zhang Ruochen, not to kill Zhang Ruochen.
Huang Yanchen was also deeply worried. Several times she tried to charge into the cultivation mansion, but Chen Xi'er held her back.
"Calm down. Zhang Ruochen's strength is not weak. Even if he can't defeat Yan Yunhua, he still has a chance to escape. If you rush in, you'll only be walking to your death," Chen Xi'er said.
"Damn it!"
Huang Yanchen's heart was filled with anxiety, her face as dark as iron. If Yan Yunhua really killed Zhang Ruochen, she would make the entire Yan Clan pay a heavy price.
Moments later, the celestial phenomenon of flying snow disappeared.
A miserable scream echoed from the cultivation mansion.
"Yan Yunhua, don't think you're so special just because you're the heir of the Yan Clan. Today, I will fight you to the death..."
Huang Yanchen, believing Zhang Ruochen had met his end, charged through the gate with her war sword.
But the moment she rushed in, she froze.
Zhang Ruochen was still standing there, calm and composed, not even a single strand of hair out of place. Yan Yunhua, however, was lying on the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. His robes were tattered, and a massive bloody palm print marked his chest.
Yan Yunhua struggled several times but couldn't get up, his face filled only with terror.
He couldn't even withstand a single move from Zhang Ruochen?
How could this be?
He refused to accept it, refused to accept it!
Chen Xi'er also rushed in from outside. Seeing the scene before her, she was momentarily stunned, a single question echoing in her mind: "How could this happen?"
Yan Yunhua had... been defeated by Zhang Ruochen's palm, and so utterly crushed at that.
He was a top five hundred expert on the Earth Ranking. Was there really someone among the younger generation of Demon Ridge who could match him?
Zhang Ruochen cast a cold, sidelong glance at Chen Xi'er and said, "Senior Sister Chen, Yan Yunhua caused trouble in my cultivation mansion and injured my maidservant. You all witnessed it. I could have killed him with a single sword strike. But out of respect for you, I spared his life. You may take him away now. I hope there won't be a next time."
Chen Xi'er's expression was dazed. She found herself understanding Zhang Ruochen even less.
A prince from a lowly commandery had defeated the heir of the Yan Clan—it was simply unbelievable.
Just then, an elder from the Yan Clan rushed in.
"Young Master! Young Master! What happened to you?"
The elder picked up the severely injured Yan Yunhua from the ground, took out a healing pill, and fed it to him.
After Yan Yunhua regained some color, the Yan Clan elder breathed a sigh of relief.
"Zhang Ruochen, you dare to injure the heir of the Yan Clan? Do you believe that with a single order from the Yan Clan, we could reduce you and your Cloud Wu Commandery to ashes overnight?" the Yan Clan elder said angrily.
The Inner Palace students who heard the elder's words once again wore expressions of schadenfreude.
The Yan Clan was a third-rate family with a Half-Saint in their ranks. No matter how powerful Zhang Ruochen was, offending the Yan Clan would spell disaster.
Huang Yanchen snorted coldly and said, "The Yan Clan has quite the big mouth, talking about killing people as if it were nothing. Don't you know that Zhang Ruochen is my fiancé? The consort of our Thousand Water Commandery? Besides, it was Yan Yunhua who barged into Zhang Ruochen's cultivation mansion to cause trouble. He was simply outmatched and lost to Zhang Ruochen. Zhang Ruochen spared his life, which is already showing great respect to the Yan Clan. What more do you want?"
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