# Chapter 742: Jiao Si, Peng Liu, Wu Ba
"He is that sword path prodigy from Liangyi Sect?"
Chen Kai and Chen Tianpeng's gazes also locked onto the young man standing beside Huang Yanchen, their hearts filled with considerable shock.
Was it possible?
Even the most powerful among them, Chen Kai, was only confident he could defeat Long San. But against the ancient descendant, She Er, even he had at most a fifty percent chance—the outcome was evenly matched.
Therefore, Chen Kai simply could not believe that this was the same Lin Yue who had defeated She Er and Long San.
Zhang Ruochen cast a brief glance at the three heirs of the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor and the twenty-four formidable battle generals behind them, yet still appeared perfectly calm. "Princess, let us go to the banquet."
For some reason, Huang Yanchen could sense something familiar from Lin Yue. It was precisely this faint, elusive feeling that made her trust him.
He was clearly a complete stranger—why could he give her such a feeling?
Though filled with doubts, Huang Yanchen still followed beside Zhang Ruochen, step by step, walking toward the mountain-climbing passage at the base of Book Mountain.
"Is it really that Lin Yue from Liangyi Sect? Could it be a case of the same name?" Chen Tianpeng swallowed lightly, finding it hard to believe that a powerhouse like Lin Yue would willingly serve as a mere guard for Huang Yanchen.
Huang Yanchen walked beside Zhang Ruochen, her sapphire-blue eyes showing a contemplative expression. After a moment, she finally sent a secret sound transmission to Zhang Ruochen, asking, "Who exactly are you? Why are you helping me?"
Zhang Ruochen's Formless Formless Thirty-Six Transformations had reached a considerable level of mastery, allowing him to change not only his appearance but also his aura.
Unless he deliberately revealed a flaw, not even a spiritual power saint like Shengshu Cainü would be able to recognize him.
As long as he was cautious, Zhang Ruochen had full confidence in hiding the truth from Huang Yanchen.
Zhang Ruochen held his left hand behind his back, his right hand carrying the Golden Snake Sacred Sword, appearing quite composed. He moved his lips slightly and said, "Ask nothing, say nothing. When the time comes to tell you, I certainly will. To be honest, you and I do have some connection."
Hearing Lin Yue's words, for some reason, Huang Yanchen instead breathed a slight sigh of relief. She thought to herself, "He finally admits we have a connection... what connection? When the Realm Son Banquet ends, I must go to my master and ask clearly."
At the base of Book Mountain, chaos reigned.
Within a five-li radius, cultivators were locked in battle, all trying to break through the encirclement and rush onto the ascending staircase.
One cultivator at the fifth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, seeing Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen enter this area, actually raised a black-scaled long spear and thrust it at Zhang Ruochen.
"Boom!"
Because the force was too great, the spear tip violently rubbed against the air, forming a concave air arc.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and spat out two words: "Move aside."
A powerful sound wave surged from his mouth. With the naked eye, one could even see the sound wave rushing forward.
A whistling sound rang out.
Including that cultivator at the fifth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, dozens of cultivators in front of Zhang Ruochen were all blasted away by the sound wave, sent tumbling into the air. The momentum was like a gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves, clearing a large area.
"Thump! Thump!"
Dozens of cultivators fell to the ground one after another, their robes tattered, with many fine bloody cracks on their skin. Of course, none were seriously injured—they merely looked somewhat disheveled.
Such a powerful strike naturally stunned everyone present. Many cultivators stopped fighting and turned to look at Zhang Ruochen.
"Who is this person? How can he be so powerful?"
"A single sound wave defeated dozens of Fish-Dragon Realm experts. Such profound saint qi is enough to rival a first-rank Half-Saint."
"His control over power is extremely precise—he only knocked people away without truly injuring them."
The three heirs of the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor and the battle generals behind them all showed expressions of shock.
Only at this moment could they finally confirm that the guard beside Huang Yanchen was indeed the sword path prodigy of Liangyi Sect, Lin Yue.
"This... how is this possible?"
Chen Lan'er bit her lip, unable to accept this fact.
What aspect of Huang Yanchen was superior to her?
Before, when the Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen, was alive, he had cherished her, held her in the palm of his hand, given her countless treasures, and even helped her become the heir of the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor.
After Zhang Ruochen died, another Lin Yue appeared, willing to become a mere guard for her sake.
Zhang Ruochen and Lin Yue—which of them was not a dragon among men? Which of them was not a rare extraordinary man in the world?
Chen Lan'er considered herself superior to Huang Yanchen in every way, yet why was she not as fortunate? She had never encountered a Zhang Ruochen, nor had she met a Lin Yue.
"A group of ignorant people—don't you know he is our Liangyi Sect's sword path prodigy, Lin Yue? Even She Er and Long San of the Demon Sect are no match for him, yet you dare block his path?" Qin Yufan said.
Qin Yufan was a peerless genius of Liangyi Sect, having achieved second place in the sword path competition at the eighth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, second only to Qi Feiyu.
Of course, after refining the Glazed Treasure Pill, Qin Yufan's cultivation had reached the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Qin Yufan did not know that Zhang Ruochen would not participate in the Realm Son Banquet. He glanced at him and smiled, "Junior Brother Lin Yue, this senior brother will go first to ascend Book Mountain. At the very least, I must contend for a King Seat to bolster Liangyi Sect's prestige."
"By all means, you go first."
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly, extending his hand in a gesture.
Qin Yufan turned around, facing Book Mountain. His smile faded, and a look of dominance appeared in his eyes. Holding the Saint-level Purple Thorn Sword, he roared, "Stand aside!"
He swung his sword forward, slashing out a purple sword qi that stretched like a long river.
"Boom!"
The sword qi extended from beneath Qin Yufan's feet all the way to the base of the Book Mountain staircase, forcibly carving out a passage. No one could block this sword—they all retreated to the left and right.
Such formidable power truly showed he had the strength to contend for a King Seat.
With a whoosh, Qin Yufan's figure flickered, and the next moment, he stood at the bottom of the staircase.
Then, Qin Yufan pushed forward in one breath, climbing several hundred meters until he reached the second level of Book Mountain, where he could already see the Genius Seats set up halfway up the mountain.
The Genius Seats numbered only three thousand, more prestigious than the Outstanding Seats.
Along the way, some experts sitting in the Outstanding Seats naturally tried to block Qin Yufan, but he forcefully repelled them all—none could stop his advance.
Qin Yufan looked upward. The Genius Seats were right before him; if he wished, he could immediately claim a spot. But he wanted to continue climbing and strive for a King Seat.
Suddenly, three massive figures appeared above Qin Yufan, like three small mountains blocking his upward path.
They were the Demon Sect's Thirty-Six Palace Guard Beast Generals: Jiao Si, Peng Liu, and Wu Ba.
Wu Ba had eight arms and eight legs, a towering body, with wisps of poisonous mist swirling around him. He looked down at Qin Yufan and snorted coldly, "The Divine Son has decreed: Liangyi Sect disciples must stop here."
Then Wu Ba glanced downward and said arrogantly, "If you want to participate in the Realm Son Banquet, pick a spot among the Outstanding Seats below."
Jiao Si and Peng Liu both laughed coldly, staring at Qin Yufan below with ill intent.
"On Liangyi Sect's own territory, the Demon Sect dares to be so arrogant—are they trying to humiliate Liangyi Sect?"
Qin Yufan mobilized all his saint qi, and a glazed light burst forth from his body, continuously pouring into the Purple Thorn Sword.
The inscriptions within the Purple Thorn Sword emerged one by one, like a spiderweb densely covering the sword's surface.
"Swoosh—"
The Purple Thorn Sword shot out rapidly, turning into a purple light shuttle that struck before Wu Ba.
"He's actually this strong..."
Wu Ba had never expected Qin Yufan's strength to be so great. His eight bone-like centipede legs moved quickly as he retreated backward.
At the same time, Wu Ba spat out a bolt of lightning that surged toward Qin Yufan.
With a bang, the Purple Thorn Sword pierced through the lightning and severed one of Wu Ba's centipede arms.
"How dare you!"
Jiao Si and Peng Liu charged out from the left and right simultaneously, each unleashing powerful martial techniques to attack Qin Yufan below.
Jiao Si and Peng Liu were both descendants of divine beasts.
Jiao Si's ancestor was the divine beast "Six-Claw Nether Flood Dragon."
Peng Liu's ancestor was the divine beast "Roc."
Although the divine beast blood within them was already quite diluted, they were still far stronger than ordinary barbarian beasts, enough to rival human sacred bodies.
"Divine Flood Dragon Nether Claw."
"Golden Roc Force."
The two Palace Guard Beast Generals each unleashed their ancestral ultimate techniques. Behind them, vast saint qi surged, manifesting the shadow of a massive black nether flood dragon and a golden roc.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
One man and two beasts exchanged over a dozen moves.
Finally, Jiao Si and Peng Liu broke through Qin Yufan's defenses. Both attacks struck Qin Yufan simultaneously, sending him flying backward with blood spraying from his mouth. He tumbled dozens of zhang through the air, flew off Book Mountain, and fell toward the ground.
When Qin Yufan landed, he was already at the foot of Book Mountain. He crashed into the ground, creating a large pit, with dust splashing in all directions.
Qin Yufan's Daoist robe was completely stained with blood. Dozens of bones in his body were broken. He tried several times but could not climb out of the pit.
A heaven-defying proud son of heaven had been beaten down like this.
Jiao Si stood at the mountainside of Book Mountain, flicking bloodstains off his body, and snorted coldly, "The Divine Son instructed that since this is Liangyi Sect's territory, we should give Liangyi Sect some face. Today, I'll spare your life temporarily. If we meet elsewhere in the future, you might not be so lucky."
Jiao Si's voice spread throughout Book Mountain, filled with provocation.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen's figure moved, appearing beside the large pit. He helped Qin Yufan up, took out a healing pill, and fed it to him.
After a moment, Qin Yufan slowly opened his eyes. His face was still as pale as paper. Seeing Lin Yue, the originally very weak man somehow found strength, tightly grabbing Zhang Ruochen's wrist. Gritting his teeth, he said, "The Demon Sect... goes too far... Junior Brother Lin Yue... you... you must teach them a lesson... for Liangyi Sect..."
Then Qin Yufan fell unconscious again.