Chapter 309: Armor Breaker
"The young master of the Black Market First Class Hall actually came to Demon Ridge."
Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised, finally realizing the severity of the situation, and quickly asked, "Did the Seven Fiend Star Envoys also come to Demon Ridge?"
"You know about the Seven Fiend Star Envoys?" A Le said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since the Black Market First Class Hall has chosen a young master, the Seven Fiend Star Envoys responsible for guarding him must naturally have been selected. The Seven Fiend Star Envoys are all top-tier experts among experts. Before the young master grows up, the seven of them are the most terrifying existence."
"How many of the Seven Fiend Star Envoys have come to Demon Ridge?"
A Le said, "I've only seen two, namely Red Desire Star Envoy and Purple Wind Star Envoy. I don't know if the other five have come to Demon Ridge."
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment, touched his nose with his finger, and said, "The Seven Fiend Star Envoys are generally selected at the age of twenty, one chosen every three years. That means the Purple Star Envoy was the earliest to be chosen, so his martial arts cultivation is naturally the strongest. The Red Star Envoy was the latest to be chosen, so theoretically, he should be the weakest."
"Both the strongest and the weakest Star Envoys have rushed to Demon Ridge. The other five Star Envoys must have also arrived. What is there in Demon Ridge that is so extraordinary that it would make the young master of the Eastern Domain Black Market First Class Hall and all Seven Fiend Star Envoys come here?"
"The Dragon Relic," A Le said.
"What is the Dragon Relic?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
A Le said, "According to that mysterious young master, Di Yi, the Dragon Relic is something left behind by the Buddha Emperor, one of the Nine Emperors from eight hundred years ago. It later fell into the hands of the Four-Winged Earth Dragon, the overlord of Demon Ridge. After the Four-Winged Earth Dragon died, the Buddha Relic's whereabouts became unknown. Di Yi suspects that the Dragon Relic is in the underwater Dragon Palace."
"So it's for the Buddha Emperor's relic. No wonder even the young master of the Black Market First Class Hall would personally come to Demon Ridge."
Zhang Ruochen had been planning to go to the underwater Dragon Palace, but he never expected to encounter such a formidable opponent.
The young master of the Black Market First Class Hall, even among the entire younger generation of Kunlun Realm, was definitely a top-tier young powerhouse, considered one of the future rulers of the Black Market.
Zhang Ruochen felt no fear in his heart; instead, a powerful battle intent surged within him.
Moreover, what surprised Zhang Ruochen even more was the "Dragon Relic."
Speaking of which, Zhang Ruochen had some connection with the Buddha Emperor. Back then, the Buddha Emperor and the Ming Emperor discussed martial arts and exchanged a martial art technique. The technique the Buddha Emperor gave to the Ming Emperor was the "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm."
It was said that the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm was also one of the top palm techniques in the Ten Thousand Buddha Path, extremely firm and yang, with boundless prajna. However, this palm technique was extremely difficult to cultivate, and very few could master the seventh palm.
"I must obtain the Dragon Relic too."
Zhang Ruochen's goal was Empress Chi Yao. If he could obtain the relic left by the Buddha Emperor, it would bring him a big step closer to his goal.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen would not blindly clash head-on with Di Yi. That would only be like an egg striking a stone, leading to certain death with no place for burial.
A Le also told Zhang Ruochen some more information about Di Yi, but after all, A Le was just an assassin from the Underworld Gate, so his knowledge was very limited. Zhang Ruochen only gained a rough understanding of the Black Market's actions.
"Benefactor, I've told you everything I should. I need to go back quickly to avoid being discovered by the people from the Underworld Gate."
A Le bowed to Zhang Ruochen and immediately turned to leave.
"A Le!" Zhang Ruochen called out.
A Le stopped in his tracks.
"Thank you!"
Zhang Ruochen knew that A Le had taken a great risk to come and warn him.
"The one who should say thank you is me. If it weren't for your life-saving grace and the transmission of the technique back then, I wouldn't be who I am today."
A Le's voice was still stiff, as if he wasn't good at speaking.
It was easy to imagine that his personality must be very reclusive in normal times.
"Rumble!"
The ground shook violently.
In the distance, the sound of wild elephants roaring could be heard.
Both Zhang Ruochen and A Le's expressions changed slightly.
"It must be the commandery kingdoms searching here. Ninth Prince, you leave first. I'll deal with them."
A Le pulled the gray hood over his head, covering most of his face, leaving only a sharp, cold mouth.
"Shing!"
The iron sword left its sheath, and a chilling killing aura emanated from him.
"Zhang Ruochen, you're surrounded. You can't escape!"
Jin Yeyun transformed into a graceful, beautiful figure and flew down from the top of an ancient tree.
Being able to become a consort of a kingdom and a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial arts myth, Jin Yeyun naturally had some charm. She looked like she was only twenty-eight or twenty-nine, with skin on her face that seemed even more delicate and fair than a young girl's.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
...
Fifty massive wild elephants surrounded them from all directions, moving like small mountains covered in scales, trapping Zhang Ruochen and A Le in the center.
"Roar!"
Fifty heavily armored martial arts experts stood on the backs of the wild elephants, each holding a long spear, letting out deafening roars.
Zhang Ruochen said to A Le, "They're calling for other pursuers. We must break out quickly, or more experts will arrive."
"Haha! Zhang Ruochen, you're overestimating your strength. Even if your cultivation doubled, you still couldn't break through the 'Heaven-Shaking War Formation' set up by the Elephant Army." Jin Yeyun sneered.
"Then let's see if you can successfully set up the 'Heaven-Shaking War Formation,'" A Le said coldly.
With that, A Le charged toward one of the wild elephants. When he was three zhang away from the elephant, he leaped high into the air and thrust his sword at the heart of one of the soldiers.
That soldier swung his spear, also thrusting at A Le.
But A Le's speed was faster than he imagined, easily dodging the soldier's spear.
"Ding!"
The iron sword accurately struck the soldier's heart, but it was blocked by the thick heavy armor, creating a ripple of energy.
The soldier, hit by the powerful impact, flew backward and crashed to the ground more than ten meters away with a thud.
Suddenly, the soldier slammed his palm against the ground, flipped over, stood up, and landed back on the elephant's back, attacking A Le again as if he were completely unharmed.
Jin Yeyun smiled and said, "The Elephant Army's armor is forged from Earth Core Flame Iron, three inches thick and weighing ten thousand jin. How could you possibly break through it?"
A Le retreated and looked at the soldier's chest. His earlier strike had only left a one-inch-deep sword mark on the armor, failing to pierce it.
The Elephant Army's armor seemed to be completely seamless, with no gaps at all. Even the eye sockets were inlaid with crystal pieces.
"Really no weakness? I don't think so," A Le said.
Jin Yeyun didn't bother to argue with A Le and ordered, "All Elephant Army, listen up! Set up the Heaven-Shaking War Formation and kill them both!"
Just as the Elephant Army began to form the formation, A Le struck again.
"Whoosh!"
He thrust his sword out, like a flash of lightning streaking across the sky.
"Pfft!"
His sword struck the soldier right below the chin, piercing through the armor.
A Le withdrew his sword.
A fountain of blood spurted from the soldier's neck. His body trembled, and he fell backward to the ground.
"How... is that possible?" Jin Yeyun exclaimed in shock.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Elephant Army's armor indeed has extremely strong defensive power. It's three inches thick, so ordinary blades can't harm them."
"But the connection between the head and the shoulders is a weak point. The armor there is only about an inch thick. The joint between the helmet and the body armor is even weaker, and that spot is right below the chin."
A Le's earlier strike had pierced the weakest point below the soldier's chin.
A martial artist needed extremely rich combat experience and exceptional eyesight to spot the Elephant Army's weakness.
"So what if you know?" Jin Yeyun shouted, "Defense!"
The remaining forty-nine soldiers almost simultaneously lowered their heads, tucking in their chins, using the helmet's armor to protect the weakest joint at the neck.
"Defense is useless."
Zhang Ruochen infused true qi into the Abyssal Ancient Sword, activating the "Force" pattern inscription within, increasing the sword's weight to the level of five thousand jin.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen leaped into the air and swung his sword down.
The soldier below raised his spear horizontally to block Zhang Ruochen's full-powered strike.
"Bang!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword cut through the soldier's spear in an instant, then broke through the heavy armor and slashed down from the top of the soldier's head.
The sword qi passed through, and with a loud crash, Zhang Ruochen landed on the ground with both feet.
In the direction the Abyssal Ancient Sword pointed, a long trail of blood appeared on the ground, and even the earth itself was torn open with a crack.
Not only was the soldier's body split in two, but his mount, the wild beast, was also cleaved in half by the sword qi, falling to the ground.
The power of that single strike was so terrifying that it shocked all the Elephant Army soldiers present, suppressing their momentum.
"He... he broke through the Elephant Army's armor so easily?"
"How could his sword be so sharp? Could it be a legendary tenth-rank True Martial Treasure?"
...
Even Jin Yeyun's face turned pale, stunned by Zhang Ruochen's domineering sword technique.
"Could it be that he was deliberately hiding his strength back in the valley?"
How could Jin Yeyun not be shocked? Even with her peak late-stage Heavenly Extreme Realm cultivation, she couldn't unleash such powerful attack power.
"Fight!"
Zhang Ruochen glanced at A Le and charged out again, attacking another Elephant Army soldier.
"Whoosh!"
With a flash of sword light, that soldier's head flew off directly.
The so-called heavy armor was like paper in front of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, offering no defense at all.
Those Elephant Army soldiers were indeed top-tier martial arts experts. In just an instant, they reacted and attacked Zhang Ruochen simultaneously.
Nine long spears thrust out almost at the same time.
"Blood Qi Condense Soldiers!"
Crimson blood qi surged from Zhang Ruochen's body, forming nine spinning blood swords that flew out.
"Swish, swish!"
The nine swords flew out, sending nine Elephant Army soldiers flying into the air.
At the same time, A Le seized the opportunity and charged out immediately. His body paused in the air nine times. When he landed back on the ground, each of those nine soldiers had a blood hole in their neck, continuously gushing blood.
"Thud, thud!"
When those nine soldiers hit the ground, they were all dead.
Zhang Ruochen's sword technique was exquisite and grand, following the righteous path with no flaws, like a young Sword Saint.
A Le, on the other hand, took a deviant path, mysterious and unpredictable, like a demon of the sword.
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