Chapter 504: Ruins Realm Patrol Army
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pondering Xiao Hei’s words. He felt there was some truth to them.
He harbored hatred toward Chi Yao, which naturally led to bias.
Once bias set in, judgment could become flawed, causing him to stray further from the truth.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Since we’ve uncovered this secret, we have to investigate it. Besides the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, the Imperial Court’s Ministry of War has designated other ruins realms as forbidden zones with many restrictions. These realms likely have similar altars built within them. However, the priority now is to return to the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain—we can’t delay any longer!”
“Calculating the time, the ruins realm ship from the Myriad Realms Tavern should still be a few days away from arriving at the Wood Essence Ruins Realm. How do we get back?” Xiao Hei asked.
A smirk curled at the corner of Zhang Ruochen’s mouth. “Aside from the Myriad Realms Tavern’s ship, the patrol army of the Wood Essence Ruins Realm must also have ruins realm ships. Huh!”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes narrowed as he looked toward the horizon. On the skyline, two rows of black dots were rapidly converging on them.
Those were two patrol squads. Clad in battle armor and wielding long spears, they stood atop the heads of Purple Scale Bi King Beasts, swiftly closing in on Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei.
“I am Fang Li, captain of the First Patrol Squad. Who goes there ahead? Report your name immediately!”
Even from a hundred miles away, Fang Li’s voice pierced through the void like a thunderclap, reaching Zhang Ruochen’s ears.
Zhang Ruochen felt his eardrums ache and his blood churn. He had to circulate his cultivation technique to neutralize the shockwave.
“What a formidable expert. The Ministry of War has dispatched such a powerful figure to patrol the Wood Essence Ruins Realm. This clearly shows that the Wood Essence Ruins Realm hides a major secret.”
Zhang Ruochen dared not be careless. He immediately ordered Xiao Hei to stop, hovering in midair as he warily prepared for action.
The ten soldiers of the First Patrol Squad fanned out in a semicircle, stopping a hundred zhang away from Zhang Ruochen.
At the center stood Captain Fang Li, tall and imposing with long, thick arms. He carried a silver spear as thick as a bowl, like a peerless war god.
Just one glance at him sent a chill down Zhang Ruochen’s spine. He could clearly sense that this man’s cultivation had reached the Fish-Dragon Fourth Transformation.
Yet his strength was more than ten times greater than that of the Tree Ancestor, who was at the Fish-Dragon Fifth Transformation. They weren’t even in the same league of power.
Someone like him could kill the Tree Ancestor with a single move.
This was a battle-hardened expert. The sheer aura he exuded could make the faint-hearted kneel and beg for mercy.
From another direction, the soldiers of the Second Patrol Squad flew over, also forming a semicircular formation.
The captain of the Second Squad was scrawny, with a sallow, emaciated look.
But his strength was no less formidable. He too was a Fish-Dragon Fourth Transformation cultivator, on par with Fang Li of the First Squad.
“What do we do? Fight our way out?” A fierce glint flashed in Xiao Hei’s eyes.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Not yet. Wait a moment.”
A soldier from the First Patrol Squad rode a Purple Scale Bi King Beast toward Zhang Ruochen and said coldly, “Didn’t you hear our captain’s question? If you don’t state your name, you’ll be treated as a stowaway.”
With that, the soldier executed a Cloud-Turning Capture Hand technique. His arms crossed, and wisps of flame erupted from his claws as he reached for Zhang Ruochen’s shoulders.
Zhang Ruochen stepped back, dodging the soldier’s claw strike.
At the same time, he struck out with a palm. With a bang, it hit the soldier’s chest.
The soldier flew backward, landing back on the back of the Purple Scale Bi King Beast.
“How dare you fight back? You’re asking for trouble.”
The soldier’s eyes turned cold. He pulled a long spear from the chains embedded in the beast’s back, gripping it with both hands as he prepared to charge again.
“Long Yun, you’re no match for him. Fall back at once!” Fang Li, the captain of the First Patrol Squad, said in a deep voice.
The soldier named Long Yun held great reverence for Fang Li and dared not complain. He immediately withdrew.
Fang Li’s gaze, sharp as a hawk’s, fixed on Zhang Ruochen. “Long Yun’s martial cultivation has reached the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection. Though he’s not on the Heavenly Ranking, he’s a veteran of dozens of battles on the ruins realm battlefield. You repelled him with a single move—you must be an expert on the Heavenly Ranking, right?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Even if I’m on the Heavenly Ranking, so what? Without reaching the Fish-Dragon Realm, I’m still just a mortal martial artist.”
“At least you have some self-awareness. Since that’s the case, I won’t need to act. Come with us,” Fang Li said.
Fang Li didn’t think Zhang Ruochen was connected to the incident in the Black Wood Plain, but he labeled him a stowaway and intended to take him back for imprisonment.
At any other time, Zhang Ruochen wouldn’t have minded going with them. Given his identity, the Martial Market Bank would surely negotiate with the Ministry of War, and he’d be released soon.
But now, he was in a hurry to return to the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain. If he was treated as a stowaway, it would take a long time to get back.
Fang Li was an impatient man. Seeing Zhang Ruochen’s prolonged silence, a chill crept into his eyes.
For stowaways, it was either capture or kill.
He slowly raised his hand. As he channeled his energy, the clouds in the sky trembled and condensed into the shape of a palm print.
That palm-shaped cloud, dozens of zhang across, hovered above Zhang Ruochen’s head like a Five Finger Mountain.
A ghost-rank lower-grade martial technique: Startling Cloud Palm.
Clearly, Fang Li had mastered the Startling Cloud Palm to perfection. More importantly, his cultivation was immensely deep, far beyond mortal limits. Executing this technique unleashed earth-shattering power.
“I’ll have to gamble on this.”
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath and produced the token of the Yunwu Commandery Prince. “Captain Fang, what are you doing? I, the Prince, am only here to train in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm. Have I offended you?”
Seeing the token in Zhang Ruochen’s hand, Fang Li’s eyes narrowed, and he lowered his hand.
The massive palm print in the sky gradually dissipated.
All pressure vanished.
“Yunwu Commandery Prince.” Fang Li examined the token closely and frowned slightly.
In the First Central Empire, noble titles were divided into: Heavenly King Title, Domain King Title, and Commandery Prince Title.
Each title was further divided into three ranks.
The token in Zhang Ruochen’s hand represented the rank of “Lower Commandery Prince,” the lowest among the three titles and nine ranks.
In other words, the lowest tier of nobility.
But even the lowest nobility was still nobility, granting the right to train in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm.
For a martial artist to obtain a noble title, even the lowest, was as difficult as reaching the heavens. They had to accumulate enough military merit on the ruins realm battlefield to have a chance at enfeoffment.
Holding a title meant being an official of the First Central Empire, with many special privileges, including access to places ordinary martial artists couldn’t go.
Zhang Ruochen hadn’t registered with the Ministry of War to train in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm. In fact, he was gambling that Duanmu Xingling had used the Moon Worship Demon Sect’s connections to register him.
Because Duanmu Xingling had been to the Wood Essence Ruins Realm and mentioned that Zhang Ruochen wasn’t registered with the Ministry of War.
This suggested she had used the Moon Worship Demon Sect’s influence to check the Ministry of War’s registration records.
Since she had agreed with Zhang Ruochen to return to the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain within ten days, she must have registered him and possibly even set up some measures in advance.
Of course, this was all speculation on Zhang Ruochen’s part. He wasn’t sure, so he had to gamble.
After all, both patrol squad captains were Fish-Dragon Fourth Transformation cultivators, and not ordinary ones at that—they had the ability to fight across realms.
If he could avoid battle, it was best to do so.
Fang Li’s expression shifted. “Ye Chuan, is the name Zhang Ruochen, the Yunwu Commandery Prince, on the Ministry of War’s registration list?”
Ye Chuan, the captain of the Second Patrol Squad, took out a jade scroll, examined it, and nodded. “Yes.”
Fang Li looked back at Zhang Ruochen. “Since you’re the Commandery Prince of Yunwu Commandery, I won’t make things difficult for you. But I have some questions. Did you just come out of the Black Wood Plain?”
Zhang Ruochen put away the token and smiled. “I only noticed a great commotion in the Black Wood Plain and thought a treasure might have appeared, so I came to try my luck. But I didn’t dare go deep—I heard it’s quite dangerous inside.”
Fang Li stared intently into Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, trying to see if he was lying. “The tree people in the Black Wood Plain have died in large numbers. A top-tier expert must have broken in. Did you see anyone suspicious?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “No. Captain Fang, do you have any more questions? If not, may I leave?”
“No more questions,” Fang Li said.
After Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei left, Ye Chuan, the captain of the Second Squad, rode his Purple Scale Bi King Beast over to Fang Li. Staring at the distant black dot, he said, “Fang Li, do you believe him?”
Fang Li’s expression was stern as he shook his head. “Hmph. He may have hidden it well, but I still find him suspicious. This man is only at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection, yet even I can’t see through him. Someone like that claims he didn’t dare enter the Black Wood Plain—do you believe that?”
Ye Chuan’s hand silently caressed the long spear in his grip, a smile on his face. “Of course I don’t.”
As he uttered the first word, “Of,” his spear shot out swiftly.
By the time he said the last word, “don’t,” with a squelch, the spear had pierced through Fang Li’s spine from behind.
Under the immense force, Fang Li’s body snapped in two.
A top-tier expert fell in an instant, unaware, never expecting to die at the hands of his own comrade.
With a casual flick of his arm, Ye Chuan sent Fang Li’s corpse flying.
Holding the blood-drenched spear, Ye Chuan smiled. “Of course I don’t believe him—because he’s clearly a stowaway. But since the Saintess has ordered me to assist him and cover his identity, I have no choice but to kill you.”