Chapter 354: All of You, Die
The Prince of the Four Directions and Jin Chuan were both ranked among the top ten experts of the Four Directions Commandery, with the Prince of the Four Directions himself holding the third position. The Four Directions Commandery was a mid-level commandery, more than ten times more powerful than the Cloud Wu Commandery. Therefore, the top ten experts of the Four Directions Commandery were legendary figures even in the Cloud Wu Commandery, revered as mythical beings by countless martial artists.
Now, two of the top ten experts of the Four Directions Commandery were present. Not only that, but six Heaven Realm experts and a large number of Earth Realm martial artists from the Black Market were also on their way.
Zhang Ruochen was merely a young martial artist under twenty years old. Faced with so many powerful opponents, what waves could he possibly stir?
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze fixed on Wang Jinyi. His eyes were like two cold steel needles, piercing into Wang Jinyi’s pupils, causing him to shudder violently. His vision went dark, and he nearly fell off the back of his beast.
Wang Jinyi immediately circulated his true qi to dispel the power of Zhang Ruochen’s gaze and roared, “Zhang Ruochen, I refuse to believe you’re really that strong!”
With that, Wang Jinyi rose from his beast’s back, grabbed a blood-lined long spear over three meters long, leaped into the air, and thrust the spear forward.
“Mysterious Wind Vortex.”
The spear technique Wang Jinyi executed was extremely domineering. As the spear shaft rotated, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth swirled along with it, forming a spear technique vortex. As the spear thrust out, invisible wind blades flew out from the vortex, producing a “shua shua” sound.
Wang Jinyi’s talent was exceptional. He had once defeated an opponent two realms above him, and it was that battle that caught the attention of the Prince of the Four Directions, who took him as a proud disciple. His true qi carried a natural wind attribute, so whenever he activated it, he could form wind blades.
“Crack! Crack!”
Some wind blades struck the street, shattering half-meter-thick stone slabs and leaving two-meter-long cracks. Others flew toward the shops on either side, piercing through walls and cutting down pillars. Wang Jinyi’s single spear technique turned a stretch of street dozens of meters long into a chaotic storm of sand and stones, causing immense destruction. Countless martial artists watching were injured by the wind blades from the technique, and some were even cut in half, dying on the spot.
“This is terrifying! That’s the power of a martial arts myth! Everyone, retreat! Staying here will cost you your lives!”
An old man at the Earth Realm shouted, then quickly retreated into the distance. Martial arts myths were rare in the entire Cloud Wu Commandery, with only a handful existing, each a master-level figure.
Hearing that the spear-wielding man was a Heaven Realm martial arts myth, everyone was terrified and fled into the distance.
“A martial arts myth personally making a move against the Ninth Prince—the Ninth Prince’s prestige is truly immense.”
“Zhang Tian Gui must have hired so many experts from who knows where. The Ninth Prince probably doesn’t even have a chance to escape!”
Most of the martial artists who had come to watch quickly retreated far away. Only a few, confident in their own strength, remained nearby, wanting to see if the Ninth Prince could dodge the attack of this spear-wielding martial arts myth.
“Shua!”
Before everyone’s eyes, a flash of sword light shot out. The sword’s radiance was so blinding that it forced people to close their eyes, leaving their vision blank. When they regained their sight, the Ninth Prince was still standing in place, but the spear-wielding martial arts myth had fallen to the ground, now a headless corpse.
“Bang!”
A bloody head, like a leather ball, fell from midair, bounced once on the ground, and rolled to the spot under Wang Jinyi’s armpit.
Seeing this, everyone drew in a cold breath. A Heaven Realm martial arts myth… dead just like that? Who had killed him? No one believed Zhang Ruochen had done it; they only thought there was an expert hidden in the shadows.
Only a few high-level martial artists had vaguely seen Zhang Ruochen draw his sword, and they were utterly shocked. His sword speed was as fast as wind and thunder, as swift as lightning. Wang Jinyi hadn’t even had time to defend himself before his head flew off.
The martial artists from the Four Directions Commandery were also stunned, finding it hard to believe. Wang Jinyi was no weakling, yet he couldn’t even last a single move against Zhang Ruochen.
“Hmph!”
Jin Chuan snorted, riding a two-headed ice plain wolf out from behind the Prince of the Four Directions, looking down at Zhang Ruochen. “Old man will test you.”
Jin Chuan extended his ten fingers, then suddenly bent them into claws.
“Chi chi!”
His fingers were wrapped in true qi, with fine electric sparks flowing across his skin. His aged hands seemed to transform into electrified tiger claws. The stone slabs on the ground also crackled with electric light, like purple snakes slithering toward Zhang Ruochen.
Jin Chuan had once been ranked tenth among the top experts of the Four Directions Commandery, his martial arts cultivation far surpassing Wang Jinyi’s. Even before he made a move, he had already created a massive commotion.
“Shua!”
Zhang Ruochen struck first, stepping forward and turning into a series of afterimages. In an instant, he was in front of Jin Chuan.
“Such speed!”
Jin Chuan’s expression changed. He crossed his hands and immediately unleashed his strongest technique, the Ghost Soul Claw Art. His hands became like metal claws, crackling with electricity, as they met the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
The Ghost Soul Claw Art was a mid-grade spiritual technique. Once mastered to perfection, it could strengthen a martial artist’s hands, making their fingers harder than ordinary steel.
Zhang Ruochen sliced through the electric light on Jin Chuan’s claws, striking between his hands and breaking his technique.
“Puchi!”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were cold and merciless. He pressed the war sword down, further shattering Jin Chuan’s protective heavenly shield. The blade fell from the top of Jin Chuan’s head, through his chest and abdomen, and struck the ground with a thunderous roar.
A pit five meters in diameter appeared on the ground.
“Crack! Crack!”
The stone slabs around the pit all shattered and rose up, forming a ring of dust and smoke.
“Is this… the power of the Ninth Prince’s single sword strike?”
The martial artists standing nearby were all dumbfounded, terrified. Even the mounts of the Prince of the Four Directions and his men were startled, neighing and retreating.
“Hua!”
Jin Chuan, who had been sitting on his beast, now had a blood line running down the center of his body. He split in two, falling into the large pit, his internal organs spilling everywhere.
One of the top ten experts of the Four Directions Commandery couldn’t even withstand a single sword strike from Zhang Ruochen and had fallen.
“How could Zhang Ruochen have become so powerful?”
The Prince of the Four Directions’ expression also changed. He gritted his teeth, his hands trembling slightly. The power Zhang Ruochen had unleashed in that sword strike far exceeded his expectations. Even he might not be able to block it.
Hatred fully ignited the killing intent in Zhang Ruochen’s heart, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes grew denser.
“All of you can die now!”
Zhang Ruochen roared, gripping his sword with both hands. He poured true qi into the Abyssal Ancient Sword, activating all the inscriptions within it.
He swung the sword in a single slash.
Countless violent sword qi burst forth, forming semi-transparent sword shadows that surged forward like a raging storm.
“Bang! Bang!”
Amid the sword qi, screams rang out continuously.
When everything fell silent, aside from the Prince of the Four Directions, who was still standing alive on the ground, all the other martial artists from the Four Directions Commandery had become corpses, lying in pools of blood. Each body bore at least ten sword wounds. Some had even been dismembered by the sword qi, reduced to chunks of flesh—it was impossible to tell whose body was whose.
The Prince of the Four Directions was in a particularly sorry state. His cheeks, shoulders, and legs were all cut by the sword qi. His robes were tattered, stained with blood. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
His martial arts cultivation had reached the Great Extreme Position of the Heaven Realm, and he had the strength to fight across realms, standing at the peak of the Heaven Realm. How could he have been injured by a junior at the initial stage of the Heaven Realm?
Generally, martial artists who reached the Great Extreme Position of the Heaven Realm were at least first-class geniuses, and many were second-class or even third-class geniuses. In his youth, the Prince of the Four Directions had been a two-and-a-half-class genius.
Before the Prince of the Four Directions could recover from his shock, Zhang Ruochen flickered and appeared beside him, swinging his sword again.
After witnessing Zhang Ruochen’s overwhelming strength, fear had already taken root in the Prince of the Four Directions’ heart. He no longer dared to fight Zhang Ruochen and immediately activated his movement technique, fleeing rapidly toward the palace.
“Still trying to escape? Today, you die!”
Zhang Ruochen stomped on a stone slab, bending his body slightly, and shot forward like an arrow. In an instant, he caught up to the Prince of the Four Directions.
“Flying Dragon in the Sky.”
Zhang Ruochen struck out with his palm, and a phantom of a flying dragon materialized in the air, emitting a dragon’s roar as it flew toward the Prince of the Four Directions ahead.
Feeling the palm force behind him, the Prince of the Four Directions immediately turned and struck out with both palms.
“Shocking Cloud Palm!”
Two streams of true qi surged from his palms, merging into a spherical white light. The flying dragon phantom slammed into the white light, tearing it apart into wisps of luminous mist.
“Bang!”
The Prince of the Four Directions was sent flying backward by Zhang Ruochen’s palm force, landing ten zhang away.
The Prince of the Four Directions’ martial arts foundation was deep. As he hit the ground, he tapped his toes, stabilized his center of gravity, spun around, and continued fleeing toward the palace.
“Zhang Ruochen is too strong. I’m no match for him.”
The Prince of the Four Directions felt his arms go numb from the pain. He knew that only by escaping into the palace and relying on the palace-protecting formation could he hold off Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Tian Gui and the Queen stood on the city wall, having clearly witnessed the battle. The Queen was already pale with fear, trembling all over, cold sweat dripping from her forehead.
Zhang Tian Gui also drew in a cold breath. “Activate the palace-protecting formation immediately! We cannot let Zhang Ruochen break into the palace!”
“But… the Prince of the Four Directions is still outside…” said a Black Market expert.
Zhang Tian Gui’s eyes turned icy. “Forget about him! If we let Zhang Ruochen into the palace because of him, we’ll all die.”
Seeing Zhang Ruochen about to reach the palace city wall, Zhang Tian Gui felt a surge of fear and flew into a rage. “Damn it! I told you to activate the palace-protecting formation! Didn’t you hear me?”
The Black Market expert, feeling Zhang Tian Gui’s fury, quickly withdrew to arrange for the activation of the formation inscriptions guarding the palace.