Chapter 353: Shock
One of the older soldiers gripped his long spear tightly and was about to attack Zhang Ruochen. Before he could make a move, Guo Guo slapped him flying with a single paw.
Guo Guo sighed, "I told you all not to go over there. Blocking his path right now is no different from seeking death."
A rabbit taller than a human actually spoke human language, shocking the soldiers greatly. The soldier who had been slapped flying by Guo Guo realized he had landed dozens of meters away without a single injury on his body, which only deepened his terror.
That young swordsman and that rabbit were undoubtedly extraordinary martial arts masters, not to be trifled with.
In the end, the soldiers dared not attack Zhang Ruochen and could only watch helplessly as he entered the Royal City.
The Royal City was still as bustling as ever, with streams of people and a constant flow of carriages and horses. Occasionally, one could hear discussions about the upheaval in the Royal Palace and the massacre of the Lin Clan.
"The Seventh Prince is truly ruthless. To seize the throne, he slaughtered the royal clan cleanly, killing all the princes and princesses without mercy."
"I heard that several princes knelt and begged him, offering to pledge their allegiance, but he still executed them."
"Anyway, that's a matter for the royal clan. It has nothing to do with us."
"Not just the royal clan—the Lin Clan was also wiped out. The 847 corpses in their courtyard still lie unburied, and blood has flowed into the streets."
"Why did the Seventh Prince target the Lin Clan?"
"It must be related to the Ninth Prince. After all, the Lin Clan's old patriarch was the Ninth Prince's maternal grandfather. I heard he was killed too, his head chopped off. Ah, what a sin!"
"Hey! Look... that person carrying a sword—doesn't he look a lot like the Ninth Prince?"
Zhang Ruochen walking down the street naturally drew attention, and now someone finally recognized him.
"That's the Ninth Prince... He's come back..."
"The Royal Palace has undergone a massive change. He must be returning, but coming back won't change anything. The royal clan members are almost all dead. The Seventh Prince has already become the master of Yunwu Commandery."
"Why did he come back alone? The Fourth Prince returned with an army and couldn't avenge his father. What can one man do? He's just coming back to die!"
...
The events in the royal clan had indeed caused a great shock, but they hadn't affected the daily lives of ordinary people, so they didn't care who became the Commandery Prince of Yunwu Commandery.
Of course, many still secretly cursed Zhang Tiangui for committing patricide and fratricide—a truly heinous act.
Meanwhile, news of Zhang Ruochen's entry into the Royal City reached the Royal Palace and fell upon Zhang Tiangui's ears.
Zhang Tiangui was quite startled upon hearing this. He looked at the soldier who had come to report and confirmed, "Are you sure it's Zhang Ruochen?"
"It's him, no mistake," the soldier said firmly.
"Alone?"
"Yes, just him and... a rabbit. The Four Directions Commandery Prince and Elder Jin have already taken people to intercept him. Your Majesty, should we dispatch troops to surround him immediately?"
"How could this be? The Young Master personally made a move, and Zhang Ruochen still escaped?" A bad feeling arose in Zhang Tiangui's heart.
Zhang Tiangui sat back down and shook his head lightly. "Since the Four Directions Commandery Prince and Jin Chuan have already gone, they should be able to deal with Zhang Ruochen. If even they can't, then sending more troops would be futile. Go now and convey my order: immediately activate the palace's protective formation. Since Zhang Ruochen wants to come back and seek death, I'll grant him that wish."
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the hall.
The Queen hurried in, somewhat flustered. "Gui'er, I heard Zhang Ruochen is back! Didn't you say he was killed by the Young Master of the Black Market First Class Hall? How did he return to the Royal City?"
Zhang Tiangui smiled faintly. "Mother, don't worry. Even if Zhang Ruochen has returned, he's only at the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. The Four Directions Commandery Prince and Jin Chuan are both top experts who have cultivated Martial Souls. Dealing with him will be a simple matter."
The Queen felt slightly reassured. "What do we need to do now?"
"Nothing. We just need to go to the palace walls and watch how the Four Directions Commandery Prince's experts kill Zhang Ruochen."
Zhang Tiangui still had a trump card up his sleeve, so he remained very composed, without a trace of fear in his heart.
Still, he couldn't quite understand how Zhang Ruochen had escaped from the net laid by Di Yi.
Zhang Tiangui and the Queen walked out of the great hall, ascended the palace walls, and gazed into the distance. Soon, they spotted Zhang Ruochen walking along the wide street.
Zhang Ruochen's appearance caused a massive commotion throughout the Royal City. Many martial artists rushed over, crowding the streets until they were packed tight.
In Yunwu Commandery, almost every martial artist knew that the royal clan had two renowned prodigies: the Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince.
Many secretly debated who was stronger—the Seventh Prince or the Ninth Prince.
Now, with the upheaval in the Royal Palace and the Ninth Prince's return, everything seemed to foreshadow a decisive battle between the two princes.
Brothers turning against each other, geniuses clashing—it was an event every martial artist eagerly anticipated.
Lin Ningshan and Lin Chenyu wore bamboo hats and black cloaks, blending into the crowd as they watched Zhang Ruochen from afar in the middle of the street.
"It really is him. He's back." Lin Ningshan's eyes were red and swollen as she stared at Zhang Ruochen in the distance, a complex emotion stirring within her.
In just three short years, the sickly cousin she once knew had become a renowned expert across the land.
Lin Chenyu's voice was hoarse. "What good does coming back do?"
"Maybe... maybe he can avenge Father, Grandfather, and the others..." Lin Ningshan said.
After the Lin Clan massacre, Lin Ningshan and Lin Chenyu had secretly returned to the Royal City. But the Black Market had many experts lying in ambush outside the Lin residence. They didn't even have a chance to collect their family's bodies for burial, forced to watch helplessly as their loved ones' remains lay in pools of blood, slowly rotting.
Lin Chenyu said, "Zhang Tiangui has already secured control of the situation and allied himself with the Black Market, surrounded by countless experts. Zhang Ruochen returning alone is nothing but an egg striking a stone. He's too impulsive. If he had invited Lei Gongzhu, even if Zhang Tiangui had three heads and six arms, he'd be dead for sure."
In Lin Chenyu's view, Zhang Ruochen wasn't smart at all—he was foolish.
Coming back for revenge when his martial arts cultivation wasn't strong enough yet—what else could that be called but stupidity?
Just then, a rumbling "da-da" sound echoed down the street.
A squad of soldiers clad in golden armor rode massive barbarian beasts, charging from afar, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and creating an immense commotion.
The ground shook.
The martial artists on the street were startled and quickly scattered, retreating into the shops on either side.
At the front of the squad was a middle-aged man in his forties, with steel-needle-like whiskers and sharp tiger-like eyes. He carried a bronze halberd on his back and rode a four-meter-tall azure-eyed golden lion.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen standing ahead, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he let out a roar.
The azure-eyed golden lion received the command and immediately stopped, snorting two streams of white smoke from its nostrils.
The dozen or so soldiers behind him also halted their mounts, standing in neat formation behind him.
In an instant, the entire street was filled with a killing aura. Powerful martial arts energy radiated from the dozen soldiers, making the surrounding martial artists tremble with fear.
Who were these dozen soldiers? How could they possess such overwhelming momentum? They were clearly no ordinary martial artists.
Zhang Ruochen stopped and looked up, his gaze locking onto the middle-aged man's face. "Four Directions Commandery Prince, you were once a regional overlord. When did you become a mere soldier of Yunwu Commandery?"
Indeed.
The middle-aged man in armor was the Four Directions Commandery Prince.
The dozen soldiers behind him were also once top-tier experts from the Four Directions Commandery.
If Di Yi hadn't ordered the Four Directions Commandery Prince to obey Zhang Tiangui's commands, he would never have willingly submitted to Zhang Tiangui. Of course, he and Zhang Tiangui also shared a common enemy—Zhang Ruochen.
Since Zhang Ruochen had appeared, the Four Directions Commandery Prince naturally rushed over immediately.
"Zhang Ruochen, you really have a tough life. You didn't die in the Undersea Dragon Palace. But since you've come to the Royal City of Yunwu Commandery, you won't have another chance to escape." The Four Directions Commandery Prince's tone was cold and sharp.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I've come back only to settle a debt with Zhang Tiangui. I advise you not to get involved."
"You mean killing the Yunwu Commandery Prince? Haha! Let me tell you the truth—I was there too. Your Yunwu Commandery's number one expert, that royal clan's Grand Elder, died by my hand. Utterly pathetic!" The Four Directions Commandery Prince deliberately said this to provoke Zhang Ruochen.
Originally, Zhang Ruochen couldn't be bothered with the martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery and only wanted to kill Zhang Tiangui.
But hearing the Four Directions Commandery Prince's words reignited Zhang Ruochen's killing intent.
"Chi chi!"
A cold, frigid true qi emanated from Zhang Ruochen's body, freezing the ground into thick ice that spread outward in all directions.
"Getting angry already?"
The Four Directions Commandery Prince laughed. "I haven't even told you yet—your maternal grandfather, that Heavenly Extreme Realm expert of the Lin Clan, was also killed by me. With a single palm strike, I chopped off his head. The top experts of your Yunwu Commandery are all too weak!"
"Haha!"
The soldiers behind the Four Directions Commandery Prince all burst into laughter.
"In that case, you will pay a heavy price for your crimes." Zhang Ruochen's voice was icy cold.
The martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery laughed even harder, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Zhang Ruochen, do you really think you're that formidable? With the Commandery Prince and Elder Jin here, do you still think you can take revenge?" A martial artist of the Four Directions Commandery at the middle stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm sneered.
His name was Wang Jinyi, the Four Directions Commandery Prince's senior disciple, and he had once been a general commanding a region in the Four Directions Commandery.