Translator: Seventh Peril Editor: Anuvrat
“*Bang——*”
The fierce claw was like an eagle’s talon, aiming for Ye Zhong’s throat. However, just as it was about to meet Ye Zhong’s throat, Ye Zhong’s long green steel sword trembled slightly, but did not strike out, just placed flatly in front of his body like that. However, the lean man’s expression changed drastically. His original pouncing figure stiffly halted, yet he stomped on the ground and took a few steps back. He then stared at Ye Zhong with fear in his eyes.
At that moment, he had a strange feeling. If he continued to attack recklessly, before his claws landed on Ye Zhong’s throat, his heart would be struck by the tip of the long green steel sword. Such a feeling made the lean man change his moves instantly. He then stared at Ye Zhong, full of caution and solemnity. Before making his move, Ye Zhong was nothing more than a piece of trash in his eyes. There was nothing to be concerned about. However, the two sides hadn’t even exchanged one move, and he already understood that this guy in front of him was definitely not easy to deal with.
“What’s going on!?”
“That guy should have the strength at the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering. How could he be scared like that?”
“However, that little fellow, you shouldn’t judge him by his 13-14 years old appearance. Don’t tell me you have forgotten what happened at the city gate yesterday?”
“It was said that a man and a woman did it at that time. Could it be those two?”
The crowd at the back broke out in a flurry of discussion. It was clear that Ye Zhong did not lose in an instant, it was totally out of their expectations.
Ye Zhong swept an indifferent glance at the lean man, yet he no longer cared about him. He casually swung the long green steel sword in his hand and walked slowly towards the nearly a hundred black-robed men behind the lean man, as if he did not fear them at all.
“This bunch of unlucky bast*rds.” Su Yu could sense the Murderous Aura emanating from Ye Zhong. Even she could not understand why her Junior Brother’s Murderous Aura was so strong. This level of calmness and decisiveness far surpassed those of the same age. It was not something that an ordinary aristocratic clan could cultivate.
At that moment, Su Yu also moved and stood in front of the lean man, looking at him with a pitiful expression. If this guy knew her Junior Brother’s legend of one-hundred-step rampage, even if he had ten times the guts, he still wouldn’t dare to do it, right?
“Brat! You impudent!”
When the black-robed men behind saw this, they exchanged glances with each other and their expressions became cold. Although they didn’t know what had just happened, they knew that the little guy in front of them was provoking them.
“*Woosh——*”
The next moment, two black-robed men pounced forward, one from the left while the other on the right with evil grins. The blade lights in their hands turned into the long curves of light and swept towards Ye Zhong’s chest.
Ye Zhong remained calm, gently raised the long sword in his hand and casually swung out towards the front. The tip of the sword pointed at the wrist of the left-side black-robed man with an extremely astonishing angle. Then, he turned around, with a flip of his hand, the slash struck and the right-side man screamed, as his entire arm was chopped off by Ye Zhong.
Two people were heavily injured by a single move, but Ye Zhong acted as if he did not have the slightest feeling. He took a half step forward, and the long sword in his hand swung out like a stream of light, ready to take their lives in the next instant.
“Friend, please show mercy!”
At this critical moment, a calm voice suddenly came from within the valley. The voice was gentle, but it carried a supreme aura with it.
Ye Zhong frowned slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to go for the kill. Instead, he shook off the blood on his sword and stared at the deep valley ahead. Just now, he had the illusion that if he were to forcefully make a move, he might be struck by lightning. And this feeling was not good.
At this moment, the two injured black-robed men had already covered their arms with pale faces as they quickly retreated. The nearly a hundred black-robed men also quickly spread out and half-knelt on the ground.
“Young Lord! Your subordinate is incompetent.” The lean man’s expression changed slightly at this moment. After which, he swiftly half-knelt on the ground before he gritted his teeth and spoke.
“Hehe, Hou Wu, you can leave now. This can’t be blamed on you. If you meet a disciple of the Xingxiang Sect, even if this Young Lord personally takes action, it might not necessarily be useful, let alone you?”
Faint laughter rang out. Then, a figure wearing a purple-gold robe slowly walked out from the valley. Behind him was a beautiful woman in a white dress, closely following him. She held a bamboo umbrella to shade him from the sun.
The young man was around 20 years old. Even though he looked ordinary, there was a kind of elegant demeanour between his brows that only the superior had. Although he stood there casually, the nearly hundred black-robed men mechanically moved to his rear as if they turned into the automata.
“Fifth Layer of Body Tempering!”
Feeling the faint aura that was dormant on the man’s body like that of a ferocious beast, Ye Zhong frowned slightly. It was very troublesome to deal with such a person. Even the current him doesn’t have absolute confidence that he would be able to win.
“Miss Su Yu, long time no see.” The man slowly walked to the front of the valley and swept his gaze over Ye Zhong. After a brief pause, his gaze landed on Su Yu, and he laughed softly.
“Hollow Prince!?” [1]
“Hollow Prince?” Hearing that, Ye Zhong frowned slightly. From Su Yu’s expression, it seemed that this person was someone important?
“He is one of the Four Grand Princes of the Lei Tian Dynasty, the Hollow Prince, Lei Ruoxu.” Su Yu’s face was gloomy as she explained softly, “Simply put, he is one of the four most talented people in the younger generation of the Lei Tian Dynasty. Before this, he came to our Xingxiang Sect to worship the mountain [2], we were already acquainted back then.”
“One of the Four Grand Princes of the Lei Tian Dynasty?” Hearing this, Ye Zhong’s calm eyes finally lit up with a tinge of astonishment. The overall strength of the Lei Tian Dynasty was greater than that of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The four strongest members of the younger generation were extremely strong.
“Hehe, long time no see. Yet, Miss Su Yu was able to recognize me at a glance. What an honor for this Young Lord.” Lei Ruoxu, who was wearing a purple robe, slowly stepped forward. When his gaze landed on Su Yu, a faint fiery light appeared in the depths of his eyes.
“With your status in Xingxiang Sect, you appeared in the Southern Border this time wouldn’t be just to bring this young man with you, right?”
Seemingly not noticing the burning sensation in Lei Ruoxu’s eyes, Su Yu smiled sweetly and said, “It’s just my Junior Brother and I doing the Sect Mission, I didn’t expect to meet you blocking the way here. From the looks of it, if we don’t hand over the entrance map, the magnificent Hollow Prince isn’t going to let us pass, right?”
“Hahaha, Miss Su Yu, with our relationship, why would you say such polite words?” Lei Ruoxu chuckled softly with a warm smile. “If Miss Su Yu is interested, how about you cooperate with me? No matter what we find in the Innate Temple’s Ruins, we will split it equally?”
Su Yu frowned, then laughed and said: “Cooperation is not necessary, this time we just came out to experience the world, I hope that Hollow Prince will consider that you and I are acquainted with each other, How about giving the way?”
Then, he nodded and gestured to invite Su Yu in. He smiled and said, “Since Miss Su Yu has no interest in cooperating, then I will not force anyone to do anything. Please! Within Qingxuan Mountain Range, whenever you want to work with me, I won’t have any problems.”
Following Lei Ruoxu’s action, the black-robed men who were half-kneeling on the ground quickly stood up. After which, they each moved to the side, revealing the deep valley.
“In that case, thank you, Hollow Prince. If there is a need for cooperation, I will not be polite.” Su Yu smiled sweetly before slowly walking towards the valley.
Ye Zhong frowned but soon followed Su Yu into the valley.
“*Whoosh——*”
However, the moment Ye Zhong took a step forward, Lei Ruoxu suddenly flicked his finger, and the sound of something tore through the air could be heard. Then, a cold flash of blade light moved towards Ye Zhong’s feet as fast as lightning.
“Be careful!” Su Yu, who was standing in front of him, instantly reacted. However, it was already too late for her to save him.
Ye Zhong, on the other hand, brandished the long sword in his hand, shattering the cold light with a single slash. However, at the same time as the sword broke the cold light, the long green steel sword in Ye Zhong’s hand shuddered slightly, and cracks appeared everywhere.
Ye Zhong furrowed his brows for a moment and casually threw the sword in his hand on the ground. He then lifted his head and looked at Lei Ruoxu indifferently, with a serious look in his eyes. This Lei Ruoxu was indeed very strong!
“Lei Ruoxu! What do you mean!?” At that moment, Su Yu’s beautiful eyes also froze and her beautiful face instantly turned frosty. She stared at Lei Ruoxu and spoke coldly.
“Heh, Miss Su Yu, seeing how we have a past friendship, it’s naturally no problem to let you pass over. If you want to bring a little Junior Brother from the same sect over, this Young Lord naturally can’t stop you……” Lei Ruoxu smiled, but when his gaze fell on Ye Zhong, a hint of amusement flashed deep within his eyes, “It’s just that this Junior Brother of yours is a little too ruthless with his actions just now. He cut off one of my men’s arms, and if I can’t get justice for my men, I’m afraid it would be unfair?”
“You——” Su Yu raised her long, shapely eyebrows and was about to shout.
However, Ye Zhong took a step forward and waved his hand to stop Su Yu from speaking. He then stared at the Hollow Prince and spoke blandly, “Then what kind of an explanation do you want?”
“Heh, you’re finally not standing behind a woman anymore? I thought you were going to let Miss Su Yu handle this for you!” Lei Ruoxu revealed an indifferent smile, “How about this, as long as you can receive three moves of this Young Lord, today’s matter will end like this. How about it?”
TL note(s):
[1] 公子 (gōngzǐ) or “prince” here is not a son of the king or emperor but a son of the prince or duke and has no right to succeed the throne.
[2] 拜山 (bài shān) literally means “worship the mountain”, a synonym of “mountain-sweeping” or “tomb-sweeping” that is the Chinese traditional act of remembering ancestors such as cleaning and sweeping of graves, ancestor worship, offering food to the deceased, burning joss paper.