Chapter 542: Former Subordinates of the Past
It took Zhang Ruochen a quarter of an hour to kill the remaining four Red Scaled Fish Beasts.
Huang Yanchen immediately rushed over, joining Zhang Ruochen, and began collecting the scales, feathers, sinews, and Fire Spirit Pearls from the seven Red Scaled Fish Beasts.
"As expected of the number one on the Heavenly Ranking, to kill seven Red Scaled Fish Beasts in a row—admirable, truly admirable, this old man is impressed."
From within the white mist, an aged voice sounded.
Huang Yanchen looked toward the direction of the voice and said coldly, "Who is it?"
Huo Wuji and Huo Guang stepped out from the white mist.
Both were cultivators at the Fish-Dragon Realm, their inner auras able to communicate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, making their bodies as light as paper. Even without using any movement techniques, they could stand on the water's surface without sinking.
"So it's you two," Huang Yanchen said.
Zhang Ruochen remained very calm, as if he had long known Huo Wuji and Huo Guang were hiding in the shadows. He gave Huang Yanchen a look, signaling her to continue collecting the treasures from the Red Scaled Fish Beasts.
"Stop."
Huo Guang glared at Huang Yanchen and barked, "The treasures from the seven Red Scaled Fish Beasts now belong to us."
Huang Yanchen immediately grew furious and was about to summon her Sacred Sword to kill Huo Guang.
Zhang Ruochen stopped her, looked at Huo Guang, and said, "That goes against the rules, doesn't it? I killed the seven Red Scaled Fish Beasts. Why should I give them to you?"
Huo Guang laughed, "Because we are stronger."
Zhang Ruochen wore a rather amused expression and said, "If I'm not mistaken, your cultivation should only be at the third transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm. I could kill seven Red Scaled Fish Beasts—do you believe I could kill you too?"
"Haha!"
Huo Guang laughed loudly, then his eyes darkened. "Zhang Ruochen, what's the point of putting on a front? Do you think I don't know you've exhausted your true qi? Right now, you're just an empty shell. One punch from me, and I'll knock you down."
Huo Guang kept staring at Zhang Ruochen's expression, hoping to see a hint of panic.
To his disappointment, Zhang Ruochen remained quite calm, nodded, and said, "You're right. That battle just now did consume a lot of my true qi."
Huo Guang said, "In that case, hand over the treasures on you and tell me the secret of space power. Maybe I'll give you a quick death."
"Arrogant fool."
Huang Yanchen could no longer hold back. A powerful wind surged from her body, condensing into a dragon shadow over ten meters long.
"Roar!"
The wind turned into a dragon's roar.
Using the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow movement technique, she shot forward quickly, thrusting her sword toward Huo Guang's brow.
Huo Guang's expression changed slightly. He swung the Silver Bone Bow to block Huang Yanchen's sword.
But the moment the Silver Bone Bow touched the sword's edge, it snapped instantly.
"A Sacred Sword!"
Huo Guang never expected Huang Yanchen to have such profound cultivation, nor that she wielded a Sacred Sword.
When had Sacred Swords become so common?
Pale with fear, he retreated frantically.
Just as Huang Yanchen was about to pierce through Huo Guang's head, Huo Wuji, standing behind, roared, "How dare you!"
"How dare you!"
...
Though Huo Wuji only uttered two words, they transformed into a series of echoes.
Each sound overlapped with the next, condensing into a human-shaped sound wave.
The human-shaped sound wave was semi-transparent, flying out rapidly, and struck at Huang Yanchen with a palm.
Huo Wuji was using a Ghost-level lower-grade sound wave technique, the Sound Killing Strike.
This technique could turn a person's voice into powerful force, condensing it into various forms.
Condensing sound waves into a human shape was only the most basic method.
"Boom!"
Huang Yanchen blocked with her sword horizontally, colliding with the human-shaped sound wave. Under the impact of that powerful force, she was knocked back, landing behind Zhang Ruochen.
Huo Wuji looked surprised, scrutinizing Huang Yanchen carefully, and said, "At such a young age, to possess such powerful cultivation—this old man is quite surprised. But your strength is still a bit lacking; you're no match for me. If you flee now, you might still have a chance to survive."
"Is that so? I don't think so."
Huang Yanchen refused to admit defeat, raising her war sword to strike again.
"Senior Sister Yanchen, go collect the treasures from the Red Scaled Fish Beasts first. Let me handle them," Zhang Ruochen said.
Knowing Zhang Ruochen's strength was formidable and that dealing with Huo Wuji and Huo Guang wouldn't be difficult, Huang Yanchen withdrew her Sacred Sword, glared coldly at the two evil path cultivators, stepped back, and whispered, "Be careful. That old man is very powerful."
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
Huo Wuji, hands behind his back, frowned and said coldly, "Zhang Ruochen, even at your peak, you might not be a match for this old man. And now that you've consumed a great deal of true qi, you still dare to fight me? Isn't that a bit too arrogant?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly, extended one hand in a challenging gesture, and said, "Victory is confidence. Defeat is arrogance."
"This kid—could he still have some extraordinary trump card?"
A bad feeling arose in Huo Wuji's heart.
But having lived over a hundred years as an elder, Huo Wuji naturally wouldn't be intimidated by Zhang Ruochen.
Huo Wuji slowly raised his hands to his chest, gathering true qi into his chest and abdomen, and once again used the Sound Killing Strike.
"Kill!"
Opening his mouth, he released a sound wave filled with murderous intent.
That sound wave condensed into a seven-meter-tall warrior, clad in armor, wielding a curved hook demon blade, and charged at Zhang Ruochen with a howling sound.
The entire sea surface churned, the water rolling up behind the sound wave warrior as it surged forward.
Zhang Ruochen stood on the water, his white robe flapping noisily in the wind.
But his expression remained very calm, as serene as an ancient well.
"Whoosh!"
With a wave of his hand, an electric blade flew out, shattering the imposing sound wave warrior.
Zhang Ruochen took a step forward, closing in on Huo Wuji, and swung another electric blade.
Huo Wuji crossed his arms to block.
"Pfft!"
The electric blade pierced through Huo Wuji's protective Heavenly Gang, striking his arms and sending him flying backward.
Huo Wuji landed dozens of zhang away, his hands charred black by the lightning, emitting wisps of black smoke. At his wrists, the electric blade had cut deep bloody gashes, nearly severing the bones.
"Sizzle!"
Another electric blade flew toward his neck.
Suddenly, Huo Wuji bent his legs and immediately conceded, his voice trembling, "I admit defeat!"
Under Zhang Ruochen's control, the electric blade stopped, hovering above Huo Wuji's head, flashing with purple light.
Standing nearby, Huo Guang saw that Zhang Ruochen had made his grandfather kneel and concede in just three moves.
Terrified, he immediately knelt to save his own life.
If even his grandfather couldn't defeat Zhang Ruochen, then he certainly stood no chance.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Giving up so quickly?"
Huo Wuji took a deep breath, forcing a smile uglier than crying, and said, "You are a Spiritual Power Master. This old man losing to you is no injustice. Do with me as you will—kill or spare."
Huo Guang finally understood. Zhang Ruochen was not only a powerful martial artist but also a formidable Spiritual Power Master.
Even if Zhang Ruochen's true qi was truly exhausted, he could still kill them with just his spiritual power.
"I won't kill you, but I can't let you go either."
Zhang Ruochen spread his five fingers slightly, and the electric blade dissolved into wisps of electric threads, dissipating into the air.
Huo Wuji looked up and said, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Your strength is decent. For now, go to the Scroll World and help me build cities and caves."
Without giving Huo Wuji and Huo Guang much time to think, Zhang Ruochen directly sent them into the Scroll World, handing them over to Xiao Hei, where they became two laborers in the Scroll World.
Once inside the Scroll World, even Fish-Dragon Realm experts had to obey obediently, unable to resist.
Orange Moon Star Envoy killed the Iron Lady, retrieved the Wish-Fulfilling Vase, flew over, and handed it to Zhang Ruochen, saying, "Young Master, Huo Wuji and Huo Guang are just two wastes. Taking them in is a waste of the spiritual energy in the Scroll World."
Zhang Ruochen took the Wish-Fulfilling Vase, smiled, and said, "Not all evil path martial artists from the Black Market are irredeemable villains. Huo Wuji and Huo Guang are descendants of the Huo Saint Manor. Although the Huo Saint Manor has declined, as far as I know, it once produced a remarkable Saint."
Orange Moon Star Envoy was slightly surprised that Zhang Ruochen knew of the Huo Saint Manor and asked, "Young Master refers to the previous manor lord of Huo Saint Manor, Huo Qingyuan?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded, "Huo Qingyuan, also known as 'Green Ape Saint King,' was a fierce general under the Ming Emperor eight hundred years ago. He fought alongside the Ming Emperor on countless campaigns, earning countless merits."
"But after the fall of the Holy Bright Central Empire, the Huo Saint Manor was implicated, suffering heavy losses under the siege of the imperial army, with its top experts killed or wounded. To escape the court's pursuit, they had no choice but to join the Black Market."
"Since Huo Wuji and Huo Guang are descendants of Senior Huo Qingyuan, I must spare their lives no matter what."
After being reborn eight hundred years later, Zhang Ruochen had read many historical records from that era, so he naturally knew the fate of the Huo Saint Manor.
Orange Moon Star Envoy's eyes flickered, and she suddenly thought of something. Her expression changed drastically, and she exclaimed in shock, "As far as I know, eight hundred years ago, the Ming Emperor, one of the Nine Emperors, had an only son named Zhang Ruochen. You... and him..."