“Junior Sister…” Xiao Chen looked at the shattered jade pendant and felt a warmth in his heart, but it was immediately replaced by an even stronger killing intent—this was Jiang Li’s affection, but it was destroyed by these assassins!
"Hmph, without your trump card, let's see how long you can last!" Zhao Feng, who was on the flying boat, saw clearly that the Heart-Protecting Jade had shattered, and a cruel smile appeared on his face. "Kill him!"
At his command, the Shadow Pavilion assassins lurking around him ceased to hide, and the remaining four Nascent Soul assassins launched their attack simultaneously! Poisonous claws, hidden arrows, throwing knives, and internal energy strikes... deadly moves came from all directions, sealing off all possibilities for Xiao Chen to dodge!
Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed, and he gripped his rusty iron spear tightly. He could sense that these assassins were extremely well-coordinated, clearly long-time partners in a deadly fight; he had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.
"It seems that I have no choice but to take the risk..." A thought flashed through Xiao Chen's mind—to break the first seal on the rusty iron spear!
Master once said that this spear is sealed with an ancient spear spirit. Once the first layer of the seal is broken, its power is comparable to a Nascent Soul magic weapon. However, if he forcibly activates it with his current Nascent Soul cultivation, he is very likely to be backfired by the spear spirit. At best, he will be seriously injured; at worst, his Dao foundation will collapse, or even... he will die and his Dao will be destroyed!
But now, there is no turning back!
A resolute glint flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes, and his spiritual power began to surge wildly into the rusty iron spear. The rust on the spear shaft faintly glowed red, and a dormant, ferocious aura began to awaken...
"Who dares to hurt my senior brother!"
Just then, a clear, angry shout rang out like thunder, and a figure in red appeared instantly in the center of the arena as if traversing space!
Jiang Li!
"Junior Sister!" Xiao Chen was both surprised and delighted.
"I'm here!" Jiang Li stood in front of Xiao Chen, her red robes fluttering, her cold eyes sweeping across the entire scene. "Anyone who dares to touch a member of my Qingyun Sect will have to ask the sword in my hand first!"
Zhao Feng's expression changed slightly as he looked at Jiang Li who had suddenly appeared: "Another one from the Southern Region? Nascent Soul stage? Hmph, she'll just be throwing her life away!" He shouted at the Shadow Pavilion assassins, "Attack together! Kill her too!"
The Shadow Pavilion assassins, upon receiving the order, pounced again, their attack even more ferocious than before!
Just then, a deep blue soul flew out from the jade pendant at Jiang Li's waist and instantly condensed into Xiao Zhan, who was wearing silver armor. He exuded a suffocating pressure—an aura far surpassing that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, clearly a half-step Void Refinement cultivator!
"You lowly villains, how dare you harm His Majesty's fellow disciples?" Xiao Zhan's voice was like a booming bell, carrying the murderous aura accumulated over three thousand years. With one step, the arena trembled violently!
"Above the Nascent Soul stage?!" The Shadow Pavilion assassins' expressions changed drastically, and fear appeared in their eyes for the first time—the intelligence they had received did not include such a person!
"Die!" Xiao Zhan didn't bother with any more words. In a flash, he appeared in front of the assassin who had just ambushed Xiao Chen and threw a punch!
This punch, though seemingly ordinary, contained the unique combat skills of the Empress's personal guards. Before the fist even arrived, the assassin, who was in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, was already locked in by an invisible force and had no way to dodge!
"Bang!"
The fist imprint landed on the assassin's chest, shattering his protective spiritual energy like paper. The assassin let out a shrill scream, his body flying out like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a rock wall in the distance, turning into a pile of minced meat—he didn't even last a single round!
The entire room fell silent!
Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events—a mid-stage Nascent Soul assassin was killed with a single punch? What kind of power was that?!
"Who else?" Xiao Zhan's gaze swept over the remaining Shadow Pavilion assassins and the Nascent Soul elders of the Profound Heaven Sect, his eyes looking at them as if they were already dead.
"Attack together!" The remaining three Shadow Pavilion assassins exchanged glances, knowing they couldn't escape, so they could only burn their essence blood and unleash their strongest killing moves, attacking Xiao Zhan simultaneously!
Xuan Yangzi of the Xuan Tian Sect also gritted his teeth and attacked, condensing his early-stage Nascent Soul spiritual power into a black spear that pierced straight into Xiao Zhan's back—he didn't believe that this person could block the attacks of four Nascent Soul cultivators at the same time!
Xiao Zhan sneered, his figure weaving through the encirclement, his silver armor flashing, each punch landing with deadly force!
To deal with the second assassin, he dodged the poisonous claws by sidestepping, and then struck the assassin's throat with his elbow. With a crack, the assassin's neck bone broke, and he died on the spot—two rounds!
To deal with the third assassin, he grabbed the opponent's long sword and, with a slight effort, snapped the fine iron sword in two. Then, he struck the assassin in the chest with a palm strike, and the assassin coughed up black blood and flew backward, his life extinguished—three rounds!
To deal with the fourth assassin and Xuan Yangzi's black spear, he formed a claw with his left hand, grabbed the spear, and with a burst of spiritual power, Xuan Yangzi felt a tremendous force, the black spear shattered inch by inch, his arm throbbing with pain, and he was forced to retreat repeatedly! At the same time, he threw a punch with his right hand, hitting the last assassin squarely in the face, his brains splattering out—five rounds!
In less than ten breaths, four Nascent Soul assassins, plus a Xuan Tian Sect elder at the early Nascent Soul stage, were all defeated by Xiao Zhan! Although Xuan Yangzi did not die, his right arm was broken, his face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with extreme fear as he looked at Xiao Zhan.
"Half...half-step Void Refinement!" Xuan Yangzi exclaimed in shock, his voice trembling—such a level of cultivation was extremely rare in the entire Northern Region, how could it suddenly appear beside a female cultivator from the Southern Region?!
Zhao Feng stood on the flying boat, completely dumbfounded. He had imagined countless outcomes, but never had he expected such a terrifying being to appear, one who could even defeat a Nascent Soul elder! Looking at the familiar silver armor on Xiao Zhan, he suddenly recalled a long-forgotten legend, and his face instantly turned deathly pale: "You...you are..."
Xiao Zhan ignored him, turned around and walked to Jiang Li's side, knelt on one knee, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am late in protecting you! Please forgive me!"
"His Majesty?"
"He called her Your Majesty?!"
The entire audience erupted in uproar! Everyone was stunned by the address "Your Majesty," their eyes filled with disbelief as they looked at Jiang Li—how could a female cultivator from the Southern Region be addressed as "Your Majesty" by a half-step Void Refinement expert?
Jiang Li waved her hand, her voice calm yet carrying an undeniable authority: "Get up, it's not your fault." She looked at Xiao Chen and, seeing that he had only been poisoned in his left arm and was otherwise unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief. "Senior brother, are you alright?"
Xiao Chen was deeply shocked by what he saw. He finally understood that the secret his junior sister held was even more astonishing than he had imagined. But now was not the time to ask questions, so he shook his head and said, "It's nothing, just a minor injury."
Looking at Xiao Chen, Jiang Li, and the demon-like Xiao Zhan on the stage, Zhao Feng finally felt fear. He knew that not only would he fail to kill Xiao Chen today, but he would also likely lose all face for the Xuan Tian Sect!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com