At the same time, Su Yi noticed that as powerful as Qing Jin’s aura was, she was still only in the early stages of the Qi Accumulation Realm.?It’s no wonder Cheng Wuyong mistook her for a seventeen-year-old Martial Dao Grandmaster. With a spiritual physique of that level, the realms of mundane martial artists are insufficient to describe her.
Of course, with the power of her spiritual physique, she unquestionably far surpassed mundane martial artists of the same cultivation!
When Qing Jin stepped onto the battlefield, the scholar and his followers’ expressions turned grim.
But then, the woman who’d just tried and failed to kill the purple-robed youth laughed coldly, “Sixth Highness, do you really think we’d carry out this operation without taking into account the most threatening member of your party?”
As she said this, she gazed into the crowd of guests who’d long since fled to the far end of the terrace. “Senior, please strike!”
Everyone instinctively glanced over.
Off in the distance, there was a disturbance among the crowd, and they quickly cleared a path. The only one who didn’t move was a man in hemp clothes.
His complexion was dark, and his temples were starting to gray. He carried a four-foot cloth bag on his back, but his appearance wasn’t otherwise noteworthy.
When he sensed that everyone was looking at him, the man frowned, let out a long sigh, then approached with large strides.
Thud! Thud! Thud!?With each footstep, the thick wooden deck shook, and his aura rose another level.?Beneath the crowd’s transfixed gazes, the man seemed to transform into a mountain. Even as he walked, he seemed towering and steady, and he emanated a suffocating pressure.
“A Grandmaster!” Cheng Wuyong’s expression turned unsightly.
While they were dining here just a few minutes ago, he shockingly failed to sense the Martial Dao Grandmaster mixed into the crowd!
No, that’s not it. Earlier, Master Su suggested that we leave this place. I’m afraid he realized a long time ago that trouble lurked on the ninth-floor terrace too.
He couldn’t help but glance at Su Yi again, but Su Yi looked as composed as ever.
At the same time, Su Yi’s voice echoed through Cheng Wuyong’s ears. “If we really can’t avoid trouble, all you have to do is protect your family’s young miss and Huang Qianjun.”
Cheng Wuyong’s heart shook, but he instantly relaxed.
“A Grandmaster!” Yuan Luoxi, Huang Qianjun, and the other guests only just reacted. Without exception, their expressions changed, and they felt a chill reach all the way to their extremities.
Upon becoming a Grandmaster, a martial artist was like a soaring dragon!
Within the Great Zhou Dynasty’s borders, only factions with a Grandmaster to hold down the fort were considered ‘major.’
Even if you searched all nineteen cities of Cloudriver Prefecture, you’d find?but?a handful of Martial Dao Grandmasters.
Yet now, a Grandmaster had appeared on the ninth-floor terrace, right in front of them.
“They sure went all out!” The purple-robed youth’s expression changed, and his eyes blazed with fury.
They’d actually sent a Grandmaster to assassinate him! It was clear how poisonous the other party’s heart was and how determined they were to end him!
“I knew it would be like this.” Qing Jin whipped around, her knifelike eyes boring into the man in hemp clothes.
She sneered, her disdain readily apparent on her beautiful face. “A Grandmaster is as lofty as the sun. They should be open and candid as they gaze down upon the masses. But look at you, hiding in the crowd with your tail between your legs. You’re only just showing your face now? You might have a Grandmaster’s cultivation, but you sure aren’t worthy of a Grandmaster’s reputation.”
Her words were utterly domineering.
The crowd’s expressions shifted, but the hemp-clad man looked as staunch and unmoving as a boulder. He said flatly, “Dragons are ever-changing and adaptable. They can be large enough to stir up winds and clouds or small enough to hide in the most minute of crevasses. The same applies to the Grandmasters of the world: we come in all stripes. Miss, your sweeping generalizations have blinded you to the greater picture.”
The night was dark and somber. The air was rife with tension, and a storm was imminent.
“A dragon? Hah? That’s a word mundane martial artists use to compliment others. Describing yourself as a dragon is a bit much. Ridiculous!” Qing Jin made no effort to hide her disdain. She was stunning, beautiful, and forceful.
She tossed her pot of wine, which landed steadily on a table. Then, she raised her thin, jade-like finger and rubbed the jade circlet on her left wrist.
Sparks flew.
Clang! Clang!
When the noise and sparks faded, she held a pair of sabers, one in each hand.
The sabers were curved like crescent moons, and dense but faint spiritual firelight glowed along the blades. When she held them both, it looked as if she were gripping a pair of crescent red moons!
The Twin Scarlet Moonblades!
“On a night like this, decapitating a Grandmaster before having my drink actually sounds rather pleasant.”
Her voice was lazy and magnetic, and her clothes swayed as she moved. Those slender curves were now shockingly imposing.
Her twin sabers buzzed, clear and melodious.
Everyone held their breath. They felt something prick at their skin, as if sharp knives were pressed against their throats; it was suddenly difficult to even breathe.
Even Cheng Wuyong and Zhang Duo, Qi Accumulation experts, tensed up as waves of pressure slammed them right in the face.
Suddenly, Qing Jin charged, her hair flying into the air.
Whoosh!
She was so fast, she left an afterimage in her wake. Her sabers crossed, and she attacked mid-charge.
It was as if a pair of scarlet crimson moons had slashed through the night sky. Their radiance stung the eyes, their glow illusory and ethereal as it descended into the mundane world.
Flowing Scarlet Arcs!
This was an upper earth-grade secret technique, and she’d already achieved proficiency in it. When she unleashed it, she fully realized its subtle mysteries.
The man in hemp clothes narrowed his eyes, then reached behind him.
The four-foot cloth strapped to his back burst into shreds of fabric, and a short black halberd appeared in his hand.
Clang!!!
An ear-splitting collision rang out, the sound piercing metal and shattering stone.
The man in hemp clothes retreated several steps backward before finally stabilizing himself. His energy churned, and his short halberd buzzed and shook.
When he looked at Qing Jin, he saw her standing tall and holding her twin sabers, their energy filling the air around her. Her bright eyes glinted like blades, beautiful but imposing.
She’s so strong!?Without exception, everyone who witnessed this was stunned.
A Martial Dao Grandmaster, pushed back in a single attack!
Before they fought, Qing Jin’s appearance set her apart from the masses. If the terrace was a stage, she was the stylish, eye-catching lead actress.
But when she attacked, she was sharp and despotic, attacking in a flash of arced light. She put many of the men present to shame; they could only sigh over their own inferiority.
“She’s amazing!” Yuan Luoxi’s eyes sparkled as she cried out in excitement.
Clang!
Qing Jin didn’t pause her offensive. In combat, every inch of her billowed with grim murderous intent, her twin sabers filling the air with illusory red crescent moons, each swing faster and more despotic than the one before.
They weren’t just sharp; they were as domineering as a wildfire!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Saber clashed against?halberd?in rapid succession, like the beating of a drum. The sound echoed throughout the night sky, churning the blood and stinging the ears.
The onlookers watched as fiery blade shadows intercrossed. Qing Jin perfectly resembled a bolt of lightning, fierce yet intangible.
The man in hemp clothes was forced back several more times.
But he was utterly terrifying too; he was steady as a mountain, with the force of a boulder. No matter how fierce the sharp storm of cuts was, it had yet to do him any real damage.
Suddenly, his eyes crackled with electricity, and his voice boomed like thunder. “For someone of the Qi Accumulation Realm to possess such power is terrifying indeed, but alas, you are not fit to provoke a Grandmaster!”
Boom!
He stomped against the deck, and his aura shot up another level. He suddenly swung his halberd.
At that moment, it looked as if he were wielding a bolt of black lightning!
Bang!
They clashed, and Qing Jin froze in mid-air before hurtling backward.
This attack had sent her flying!
The entire terrace fell silent. Even the birds went quiet.
Cheng Wuyong and Zhang Duo’s expressions shifted.?This… This is the power of a Grandmaster!
Meanwhile, those on the scholar’s side inwardly sighed in relief.
Just now, Qing Jin’s offensive had been too powerful. Just watching made their hearts shake with terror and left them barely able to breathe.
Fortunately for them, the tides were starting to turn in their favor!
“Hmph. It seems that’s all you’ve got. Time is precious, so I’ll kill you now!” Qing Jin’s bright eyes blazed with killing intent.
She shot forth in a flash, sabers swinging. 𝘦𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝗇𝓔t
But this time, overflowing rosy light surged around her, as if she were the rising sun. Her glow was particularly dazzling against the night skies.
Yet she simultaneously seemed more ethereal and indistinct, as if she were made of misty clouds.
The true meaning of mist, a power that originates from her bloodline. It’s this trump card that gives her the confidence to fight Inner Furnace Realm opponents.?Su Yi inwardly nodded. He’d anticipated this development.
But didn’t her foes have trump cards of their own?
After all, they were here to assassinate an imperial prince, and it was obvious that they’d been preparing for this for quite some time. They had to have more up their sleeves than a single Martial Dao Grandmaster.
Clang!
As Su Yi pondered, the battle erupted once more.
After unleashing the power of her innate talent, the true meaning of mist, Qing Jin’s power noticeably went up a level. As she fought the enemy Grandmaster, she didn’t just hold her own; she even had a slight advantage.
Their fight drew every eye on the terrace. Everyone watched nervously.
A moment later—
Traces of blood trickled from the corners of the Grandmaster’s lips.
This scene stunned everyone present. He was a Martial Dao Grandmaster, yet he’d suffered internal injuries in battle!
But against all expectations, the man in hemp clothes showed no signs of anger or surprise. Instead, he let out a long sigh. “Fine. I agreed to this operation. Why cling to life any further?”
His voice was melancholy, but as he spoke, his energy seemed to boil like wave-tossed seas. A destructive aura then spread throughout the terrace.
“A secret art at the expense of your own life?” Qing Jin’s beautiful brow furrowed, her pretty face suddenly solemn. She attacked with all her might, the Twin Scarlet Moonblades striking like a rain of shooting stars.
Clang!
But after the next startling impact rang out, it was her slender figure that was sent staggering back. The blood drained from her face, and her bright eyes widened in disbelief.
In contrast, the man in hemp clothes was like a raging, inextinguishable wildfire. He gripped his halberd and charged at Qing Jin with the intent to kill.
He was like a demonic god!
Boom!
He waved his halberd, which flashed with bright light, striking like a sudden crack of thunder.
Qing Jin gnashed her teeth, but she didn’t dodge. She clashed with him head-on.
Bang!
She was sent flying once more, and she coughed up blood. Her beautiful face was now deathly pale, and her brow contorted in a rare display of shock and anger.
Both the purple-clad youth and Su Yi’s companions felt a chill, and their expressions shifted.
The scholar and his followers looked on, murderous and ready to strike at any moment. They planned to seize this opportunity to capture tonight’s main prey.
The hemp-clad man’s indifferent voice resounded throughout the battlefield as he attacked once more. “A life for a life, a worthy sacrifice!”
Clang!
He raised his black short halberd, and a limitless flood of staunch baleful energy slashed towards her.
There was nowhere for Qing Jin to run.
His attack looked simple, but it covered all directions, like an inescapable net. Her only choice was to resist head-on.
A hint of bitterness rose unbidden on her lips.?It seems I underestimated how terrifying Grandmasters are….