Chapter 300: The Three-Month Period Has Arrived
“Good! Good! Good!”
That elder of the Yan Clan stared at Zhang Ruochen with venomous eyes. “Today’s matter will not end so easily for our Yan Clan!”
Having said that, the Yan Clan elder led Yan Yunhuan away from the Martial Market Academy.
Zhang Ruochen did not take the elder’s threat to heart. He was now a genius disciple of the Martial Market Academy. No matter how powerful the Yan Clan was, would they dare to challenge the academy?
At least openly, the Yan Clan would not dare to move against Zhang Ruochen.
After the Yan Clan elder left, the disciples who had been eager to watch the spectacle lost interest and dispersed one after another.
In particular, Qiu Lin, who had been loudly praising Yan Yunhuan earlier, had long since slipped away without a trace, as if afraid Zhang Ruochen might beat him up.
It seemed that from now on, Qiu Lin would have to avoid Zhang Ruochen whenever he saw him.
“Even Yan Yunhuan was defeated. Senior Brother Zhang’s strength must have surpassed Senior Brother Da and Senior Sister Luo, making him the number one expert of the Martial Market Academy.”
“Where’s Qiu Lin? Didn’t he say earlier that Senior Brother Zhang offending Yan Yunhuan was like seeking death? Where is he now?”
“I heard Qiu Lin offended Senior Brother Zhang at the auction. Heh heh, let’s see how he can continue to hang around the Martial Market Academy from now on.”
“If he wants to stay in the Martial Market Academy, he’ll probably have to bring gifts to Senior Brother Zhang’s residence tomorrow, beg for forgiveness, and ask Senior Brother Zhang to pardon his past offenses.”
…
…
Strength meant power, meant being feared and respected.
Clearly, Zhang Ruochen was now a strong figure in the Martial Market Academy. The other disciples naturally had to respect him, fear him, and flatter him.
If not for Smoke Dust Princess standing guard beside Zhang Ruochen with a watchful eye, many female disciples would have thrown themselves at him, even offering themselves willingly.
The strong are revered—this was no empty talk.
“Rumble!”
The Yan Clan elder drove an ancient chariot pulled by a fourth-rank barbarian beast, the Red-Scaled Lion Gryphon, and left the Heavenly Demon Martial City that very day, heading back to the Yan Clan with Yan Yunhuan.
The chariot passed through the city gates.
The Red-Scaled Lion Gryphon spread its wings, flapped them violently, and lifted the carriage into the sky.
On the ground, several groups of people had their eyes on them.
Among them was Prince Minshu, whom Yan Yunhuan had offended.
Old Man Ji stood like a withered bamboo pole, tall and thin, yet exuding a cold martial aura.
He stood behind Prince Minshu, a strange smile on his wrinkled face. “That Young Master Yan went to the Martial Market Academy to cause trouble for Zhang Ruochen, but ended up severely beaten. I heard he was carried out of the academy.”
“Serves him right!”
Prince Minshu watched the departing carriage and sneered. “Just because he thinks he’s the heir of the Yan Clan, he dares to throw his weight around in the Heavenly Demon Ridge. Does he really think the martial artists of the Heavenly Demon Ridge can’t deal with him?”
“Still, Yan Yunhuan ranks three hundred and seventy-fifth on the Earth Ranking. That Zhang Ruochen managed to defeat him—that’s unexpected.”
“The Yunwu Commandery first produced Zhang Tiangui, and now Zhang Ruochen. In a few decades, when they grow up, won’t the Heavenly Demon Ridge become the domain of the Yunwu Commandery?”
Old Man Ji said, “Your Highness worries too much. As far as I know, Zhang Tiangui and Zhang Ruochen are at odds, like fire and water. A battle between them is inevitable. With their talents, even the Yunwu Commandery King won’t be able to suppress them. Sooner or later, the Yunwu Commandery will fall into civil strife. We just need to sit back and watch the show.”
Prince Minshu nodded, then turned his gaze back to where Yan Yunhuan had gone. “Last night, Yan Yunhuan bought two space treasures. We can’t let him leave the Heavenly Demon Ridge like this. Old Man Ji, go intercept them. Remember, only take the space treasures—don’t kill Yan Yunhuan. And leave no trace, so the Yan Clan can’t trace it back to us.”
“Understood.”
With that, Old Man Ji withdrew.
Half a day later, news reached the Heavenly Demon Martial City: “The heir of the Yan Clan was robbed by a mysterious expert on his way back to the clan, and all his treasures were stripped clean.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen merely smiled faintly, as if he had expected it.
Yan Yunhuan had offended all the big shots of the Heavenly Demon Ridge at the auction and was carrying heavy treasures. Who else would the leaders of those major forces rob?
In the martial world, there were indeed those with broad minds who held no grudges, but many others valued immediate, tangible benefits.
Two space treasures were worth any means to seize them.
But after laughing, Zhang Ruochen had to face an even more serious problem.
He had already met Chen Xier, and she had told him her conjectures in full detail.
He had to admit, this woman was very clever. From just a few clues, she had guessed most of the truth.
Although Zhang Ruochen was not heading to that Middle Ages ancient cave, he was going to the underwater dragon palace. So, the destination didn’t matter—what mattered was that the information must not leak out.
“It seems I was really careless,” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
What now?
Did he really have to take Chen Xier along to the underwater dragon palace?
To be honest, Zhang Ruochen didn’t trust Chen Xier.
That night, Zhang Ruochen gathered Si Xingkong, Chang Qiqi, Huang Yanchen, and Duanmu Xingling to discuss a plan.
After all, they were a team and should listen to everyone’s opinions.
Si Xingkong looked serious. “This is indeed a headache. Junior Sister Chen is the daughter of the Palace Master and also Cousin Huang’s cousin. We can’t kill her to silence her. But if we don’t silence her, we have to take her along. If we don’t, she’ll definitely spread the news.”
Chang Qiqi held the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit in his arms, his eyes sharp like a hawk’s. “How about we lock her up temporarily and let her go after we return from the underwater dragon palace?”
“That’s a terrible idea!”
Si Xingkong said, “Even if we lock her up, we’ll have to release her eventually. Once released, she’ll still spread the news. She might even report it to the Palace Master and have us punished.”
Huang Yanchen said, “Chen Xier isn’t a bad person. She just likes to oppose me. As long as it’s for mutual benefit, she shouldn’t cause trouble.”
If he had a choice, Zhang Ruochen would have preferred Luo Shuihan to join their six-person team. But now, with Chen Xier as a variable, it was hard to decide.
As Si Xingkong said, Chen Xier’s status meant they couldn’t kill her or touch her.
Huang Yanchen said, “If it comes to it, I’ll keep an eye on her. Her cultivation is about the same as mine, so she won’t be able to do anything against the team under my watch.”
Zhang Ruochen was still uneasy. He turned to Duanmu Xingling. “Senior Sister Duanmu, what do you think?”
Duanmu Xingling rested her chin on her hands, blinking her eyes. She smiled. “I don’t have any opinion. Entering the underwater dragon palace is a life-and-death gamble anyway—whether we come back is uncertain. If she wants to go, let her. I can help Sister Chen keep an eye on her too.”
“Alright. Since everyone agrees she should come with us, we’ll take her along.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “We have two months left. Everyone, prepare as best you can. Improve your cultivation as much as possible. As for Chen Xier, Huang, you go inform her.”
With the discussion over, Zhang Ruochen headed back to Tong Sheng Mountain to continue practicing his palm techniques.
Each training session in the Earth-level cultivation chamber lasted half a month.
After each session, Zhang Ruochen’s palm techniques and cultivation made significant progress.
A month later, after two sessions, Zhang Ruochen finally mastered the fifth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, “Elephant Force Ninefold,” to the Great Perfection level.
Mastering the fifth palm meant the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm had reached the level of a Spirit-level mid-rank martial technique. Of course, the power it unleashed was stronger than many Spirit-level high-rank techniques.
At the same time, after refining a large number of Bone-Tempering and Tendon-Strengthening Pills, Zhang Ruochen’s physical strength had reached a level comparable to a Heaven Extreme Realm late-stage martial artist.
His maximum burst speed reached two hundred and ninety-eight meters per second.
Some of the top ten on the Earth Ranking were around this level.
“My martial cultivation has reached the peak of the Earth Extreme Realm Great Extreme Position. I should be close to the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection. Can I reach the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, clenched his five fingers, and felt the power from his flesh and bones.
“Crack!”
His bones and muscles seemed to explode.
Even without using the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, the power of a single punch was enough to rival an ordinary Heaven Extreme Realm late-stage martial artist.
With one month left, Zhang Ruochen entered the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal to continue practicing the Ten-Pulse Sword Wave.
Time in the inner space flowed three times faster than outside. After three months, Zhang Ruochen had trained all ten sword waves to the entry level, with the Solar Pulse Sword Wave reaching the Minor Perfection level.
“To master the Ten-Pulse Sword Wave, I need to go to places of extreme yin and extreme yang. In the Heavenly Demon Ridge, the Tongming River should be a place of extreme yin. This time, when I go to the underwater dragon palace, I hope I can master the five yin-attributed sword waves of my right hand.”
The three-month period had arrived—it was time to set out.
After coming out of seclusion, Zhang Ruochen went to visit Luo Shuihan, hoping to invite her to the underwater dragon palace. But he learned she was in closed-door cultivation.
“It seems she has started cultivating the martial path from that Half-Saint Sacred Intent Diagram.”
Just as Zhang Ruochen left Luo Shuihan’s cultivation residence, he ran into Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong.
Chang Qiqi held a newspaper in his hand, his face full of excitement. He rushed toward Zhang Ruochen, stammering, “Junior Brother Zhang, you’re amazing! No wonder you didn’t take Yan Yunhuan seriously. Your strength is so great—you even defeated Yan Yunhuan’s sister!”
“What happened?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
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