Chapter 370: Aid
On the Silver Moon Ship, flames burst forth in all directions.
A flock of Crimson Blaze Crows, like fireballs, swooped past, emitting harsh "cawing" sounds as they attacked the talented disciples on the ship.
Among them, a man with four eyes, whose martial arts cultivation had reached the Heavenly Extreme Realm Middle Stage, was also a genius nurtured by the Martial Market Academy of Nanyun Commandery. Although young, his combat power was fierce and formidable.
He wielded a ten-foot-long Wind-Fire Staff, swinging it continuously to knock the Crimson Blaze Crows away. At his feet lay the corpses of over a dozen Crimson Blaze Crows.
Yet, he lasted less than two breaths before a golden Crimson Blaze Crow flew out. With a single claw strike, it hooked into his neck, pierced through his chin, and lifted him into the air.
In an instant, he was carried dozens of feet high, letting out screams of agony.
"Ah! Elder Crane... Senior Brother... save me..."
The golden Crimson Blaze Crow tossed him up, extended both claws, and tore his body in half. He fell into the flock of crows, was devoured, and not even a single bone remained.
The Wind-Fire Staff fell from above, clattering onto the deck with a "clang."
A proud son of heaven who had a chance to enter the Sacred Academy, before truly rising, had died such a violent death.
Seeing this, more than half of the disciples on the Silver Moon Ship were terrified, their faces turning pale.
"Chen Yumin... just died like that... ah... Senior Brother, save me..."
Just moments ago, a strikingly beautiful proud daughter of heaven, who hesitated for a mere instant, was seized by two Crimson Blaze Crows and torn apart, becoming their meal.
At this moment, He Yunlou was struggling to hold back the Crimson Blaze Crow King, with no chance to rescue them.
As for the senior brother, Zi Hansha, he too was surrounded by Crimson Blaze Crows, barely able to fend for himself, and even less willing to risk saving others.
Called the senior brother, Zi Hansha was naturally a top-tier expert. Not only had his cultivation reached the Heavenly Extreme Realm Small Extreme Position, but he had also cultivated his Martial Soul.
Moreover, this man was calm and composed. Even when surrounded, he remained unflappable.
Clearly, he was also someone with rich combat experience, having fought countless battles and faced life-and-death dangers.
In a short time, Zi Hansha had already killed over forty Crimson Blaze Crows. With every move, a crow fell.
The talented disciples instinctively gathered around him, feeling safer by his side.
"Senior Brother, save me..."
Another cry for help came.
Zi Hansha glanced toward the source of the sound. A dozen feet away, a young woman as beautiful as a celestial fairy was being besieged by four golden Crimson Blaze Crows.
After fighting for so long, everyone had developed some judgment about the crows' combat power.
Any golden Crimson Blaze Crow was almost always a fourth-rank savage bird.
If it were another disciple, he might have ignored it. But that woman was Xue Yingrou, known as the number one beauty of Nanyun Commandery.
Not only was she beautiful, but her talent was also extremely high—a true proud daughter of heaven. Countless martial artists regarded her as their dream lover.
The love of beauty is universal. Otherwise, why would there be the saying, "Even heroes struggle to resist a beauty's charm"?
Zi Hansha was no exception. Seeing Xue Yingrou in danger, he immediately took out a battle scroll, held it in his hand, and infused it with true qi.
"Swoosh—"
The battle scroll unfurled, releasing eight fourth-rank savage birds, "Ice Birds," which drove back all the Crimson Blaze Crows surrounding Zi Hansha.
Seizing the opportunity, Zi Hansha charged toward Xue Yingrou.
But he had only taken three steps before being surrounded again by the flock of Crimson Blaze Crows, trapped and unable to move.
As for the eight Ice Birds, they had long been shattered by the surging crows, turning into wisps of true qi and blood mist that dissipated into the air.
Just moments ago, Zi Hansha was struck on the shoulder by a golden Crimson Blaze Crow, breaking through his protective Heavenly Gang.
Fortunately, he had a protective treasure on him that blocked the blow; otherwise, one of his arms might have been crippled.
Zi Hansha glanced at Xue Yingrou, showing a helpless expression, and gently shook his head. Then, he ignored her, focusing his mind on fending off the overwhelming attacks of the Crimson Blaze Crows.
Saving a beauty in distress was a good thing, but one must act within one's limits.
Risking his own life was not worth it. After all, Zi Hansha was destined to become a king of the Sacred Academy and absolutely could not die here.
Seeing Zi Hansha retreat, Xue Yingrou was utterly despairing. Under the assault of four golden Crimson Blaze Crows, she shrank into a corner of the bow, barely defending herself. Her once-perfect delicate body now bore three bloody wounds.
Just then, Lei Jing's explosive roar rang out: "Beast, how dare you oppose the Martial Market Academy? You're asking for death!"
"Rumble!"
Thunderous sounds echoed in the sky as Lei Jing unleashed his Blood God Shadow and clashed with the Crimson Blaze Crow King.
At the same time, in the distance, Zhang Ruochen, clad in a silver robe and holding a sword, stepped through the void and charged toward the Silver Moon Ship.
His sword remained sheathed.
Even so, just swinging the scabbard, he could send Crimson Blaze Crows flying, their flesh and blood splattering.
When Zhang Ruochen was still thirty feet from the Silver Moon Ship, a large number of Crimson Blaze Crows flew toward him, attacking. Some spat flames, others struck with claw marks.
Zhang Ruochen lightly stepped on the back of a Crimson Blaze Crow, leaped up, and struck out with a palm.
"Soaring Dragon in the Sky."
A dragon-shaped phantom over ten meters long flew from Zhang Ruochen's palm, killing fourteen Crimson Blaze Crows, turning them into a rain of blood that scattered across the sky.
Zhang Ruochen glanced toward the Silver Moon Ship, seeing that the Martial Market Academy disciples were barely holding on, on the verge of collapse.
After all, they were fellow disciples of the Martial Market Academy. If he could help, he naturally would.
"Swoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen drew his Abyssal Ancient Sword, turning into a series of afterimages, and rushed toward the Silver Moon Ship at supersonic speed.
In an instant, the afterimages converged, forming Zhang Ruochen's body.
By then, he had landed on the bow of the Silver Moon Ship, standing upright with a poised and graceful elegance.
Behind him, over twenty Crimson Blaze Crows fell from the sky like rain.
"Such fast sword speed!"
The talented disciples on the Silver Moon Ship naturally noticed Zhang Ruochen's rescue and also witnessed his exquisite swordsmanship.
In just an instant, with hardly anyone seeing how he drew his sword, he had already killed over twenty Crimson Blaze Crows.
How incredibly powerful!
Zhang Ruochen naturally saw Xue Yingrou being besieged by four golden Crimson Blaze Crows. Since he was closest to her, he immediately rushed over.
Golden Crimson Blaze Crows were all fourth-rank savage birds.
Among the four besieging Xue Yingrou, two were fourth-rank lower-grade, one was fourth-rank middle-grade, and one was fourth-rank upper-grade.
The fourth-rank upper-grade one was the most dangerous, almost equivalent in combat power to a Heavenly Extreme Realm Large Extreme Position martial artist. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to suppress Xue Yingrou so thoroughly.
Moreover, at the fourth-rank savage bird level, the Crimson Blaze Crows' defenses greatly increased. Ordinary True Martial Treasures striking them were like hitting metal, unable to harm them.
If Xue Yingrou hadn't had protective treasures and a tenth-rank True Martial Treasure-level battle sword, which made the four golden crows somewhat cautious, she would have been killed long ago.
Even so, she was now only struggling in her death throes.
"Pfft!"
Zhang Ruochen took a step forward and swung his sword, each strike killing at least one Crimson Blaze Crow.
More and more crows surrounded him, but they couldn't stop his advance. Instead, the number he killed grew.
By the time he reached Xue Yingrou, he had already killed over a hundred Crimson Blaze Crows.
Xue Yingrou, standing in the corner, saw Zhang Ruochen's unparalleled bearing, and her heart was immensely shaken. It felt like "a sword comes from the west, the Sword Saint is invincible."
Yes, at this moment, Zhang Ruochen was like a young Sword Saint, his swordsmanship reaching the realm of perfection.
Just as Xue Yingrou was momentarily stunned, a fourth-rank middle-grade Crimson Blaze Crow extended a half-meter-long claw toward her head.
The claw was extremely sharp, gleaming with golden light.
One could imagine that if it struck, Xue Yingrou's head would surely be pierced.
Xue Yingrou was so frightened that her face lost all color, but she was helpless. Not only had she exhausted her protective treasures, but she was also severely injured, unable to dodge.
"It seems I'm going to die here today..."
She thought to herself.
"Swoosh!"
A flash of sword light passed before her eyes, its sharp brilliance forcing her to immediately close her eyes.
"Bang!"
When she opened her eyes again, the golden Crimson Blaze Crow had fallen to the ground. On its head was a sword hole, from which blood flowed.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed Xue Yingrou's arm, pulled her to his side, and protected her. "Be careful."
Zhang Ruochen struck out with two more sword strokes, killing two more golden Crimson Blaze Crows.
Now, only the fourth-rank upper-grade Crimson Blaze Crow remained, circling above Zhang Ruochen and Xue Yingrou.
However, it seemed somewhat wary of Zhang Ruochen and didn't attack immediately. Instead, it drove other third-rank upper-grade Crimson Blaze Crows to besiege him.
"Swoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen released his true qi, forming a five-meter-diameter cyan protective Heavenly Gang that shielded both him and Xue Yingrou.
Sheathing the Abyssal Ancient Sword, Zhang Ruochen struck out with Ten Meridian Sword Waves.
"Supreme Quiet Meridian Sword Wave."
Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger, sending out a bowl-thick sword wave that knocked down seven or eight Crimson Blaze Crows.
The Ten Meridian Sword Waves had reached the Great Perfection realm, connecting all ten fingers, becoming a ghost-grade lower-rank martial technique.
With a casual finger strike, the power unleashed was extraordinary.
"Yin Meridian Sword Wave."
"Middle Spirit Meridian Sword Wave."
"Supreme Abyss Meridian Sword Wave."
"Lesser Moon Meridian Sword Wave."
...
Thirteen consecutive sword waves struck out, killing countless Crimson Blaze Crows. The ground was covered with a thick layer of crow corpses.
Even the fourth-rank upper-grade golden Crimson Blaze Crow died under Zhang Ruochen's sword waves.
Xue Yingrou stood beside Zhang Ruochen, completely stunned, witnessing him slaughtering on all sides, almost invincible. No matter how many Crimson Blaze Crows flew in, they couldn't harm him in the slightest.
"So powerful! Even the senior brother probably isn't as strong as him. Could he be the heir of some sacred clan?"
Although Xue Yingrou was a proud daughter of heaven, she couldn't help but admire Zhang Ruochen's strength. At this moment, she slightly raised her head, her eyes shimmering, filled with adoration for him.
Just as she had once admired Zi Hansha.
In a world where martial arts reigned supreme, who would worship the weak instead of the strong?
"A man like this should truly be called a proud son of heaven!" Xue Yingrou thought to herself.
The Martial Market Academy disciples, seeing Zhang Ruochen's immense power, immediately gathered around him, hoping to survive this calamity under his protection.