Chapter 10: Monsters from the Deep Forest (Part 2)

With a swish, a massive surge of air drew a six-foot full moon. The terrifying Sword Qi emitted a buzzing hum that echoed continuously, carving a huge arc into the ground.

Yun Zhenbian had appeared in Lin Lin’s place at an unknown moment. His upper body leaned back as the swirling Sword Qi sheared off a large section of hair right from his forehead.

Meanwhile, Lin Lin descended slowly from twenty feet up in midair.

_“Ruuuumbllle~”

_The Sword Gang burst forth, blowing the roof of the distant inn into splinters!

Silence fell over the surroundings, leaving only the youth in the field with a face full of fury.

_“Fuck!”

_A loud shout shattered the silence as Yun Zhenbian rubbed his scalp, where a patch the size of a fist had been shaved clean, cursed angrily.

_Outside the crowd, Lin Lin scrambled up from the ground and stared at Gu Shiyi, his expression filled with shock, unable to utter a single word.

_Had it not been for Yun Zhenbian, he would already be lying on the ground as a corpse, just like the previous two!

_The area fell completely silent; not a soul uttered another word.

_Countless figures looked at Gu Shiyi in the middle of the field, the expressions on their faces undergoing an earth-shattering shift.

_A Seventh-Grade Martial Master!

_Heavens!

_The top powerhouses of second-rate factions were only Seventh-Grade!

_This kid’s strength was enough to found his own sect in a remote place like this!

_The surroundings were dead silent; many onlookers clutched their chests.

_The youth’s consecutive displays were giving their hearts a hard time.

_Yun Zhenbian walked slowly over to Gu Shiyi, whose body remained tense, his expression grim.

_Yun Zhenbian grinned, showing a smile. “How old are you?”

_Gu Shiyi knitted his brows tightly.

_Yun Zhenbian glared and pointed at Nie Nie up in the sky. “You don’t want her back?”

_Gu Shiyi said with a dark expression, “I won’t let you hurt Nie Nie even if it kills me.”

_“I’m not trying to do anything to a little girl. I’m asking you again, how old are you?”

_“Seventeen.”

_An uproar erupted across the scene.

_“Dammit, how old? Seventeen?!”

_Yun Zhenbian couldn’t refrain from cursing aloud.

_“A Seventh-Grade Martial Master at seventeen! Looking across the entire Daxia Dynasty, there has never been such an extraordinary genius!”

_“How old is the leader of the Ten Top Youths? The youngest is at least nineteen, right?”

_“I remember back then, when General Yun was seventeen, he was only Sixth-Grade…”

_…

_Lu Jianjia was also slightly dazed, looking at Old Yang in disbelief. Stroking his beard, Old Yang said:

_“The Ten Quasi-Martial Saints are all scions of prominent families with supreme talent, nurtured with medicinal pills since childhood, taught by famous masters, and every one of them has undergone power infusions, yet they barely managed to reach Sixth-Grade.

_He is all alone, destitute to such a degree, carrying a burden on top of that, yet Seventh-Grade…”

_Old Yang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said:

_“A monster! And this kid is a seasoned veteran who roams the jianghu—ruthless, vicious, with no mercy whatsoever. The number of people he’s killed is probably higher than what an old coot like me, buried up to my neck in dirt, has seen!

_Deep mountains and old forests spawn monsters. Truly, deep mountains and old forests spawn monsters…”

_Lu Jianjia blinked her lovely eyes, her feelings deeply complex.

_Looking at it now… Senior Brother Song Xuan… didn’t die unjustly.

_A thought suddenly struck her: if this youth had already reached such heights without a family’s backing or famous masters’ guidance, how far would he go if he received powerful support?

_She looked up and caught sight of Yun Zhenbian. Yun Zhenbian chuckled; clearly, their thoughts aligned.

_“What is your name?”

_“Gu Shiyi.”

_“Your surname is Gu?” Yun Zhenbian’s expression shifted slightly as he glanced at Gu Shiyi’s fingers.

_The fingers were slender and long, showing nothing out of the ordinary. A trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

_“Why are you called Gu Shiyi?” Yun Zhenbian asked again.

_“Why are you called Yun Zhenbian?”

_“Hahaha…”

_Yun Zhenbian laughed heartily.

_The Prison Suppressing Emissaries all shook their heads. General Yun displaying such an attitude clearly meant he had developed an appreciation for talent; otherwise, he would have turned hostile long ago.

_Sure enough, Yun Zhenbian suddenly stowed his smile and unclipped a Black Dragon Token from his waist.

_“Gu Shiyi, hear my command!”

_Gu Shiyi froze on the spot, while the Prison Suppressing Emissaries atop their Flame-Blaze Steed pulled back on their reins and drew their weapons one after another.

_Streams of True Qi gushed forth like a vast ocean, weighing down so heavily that everyone struggled to breathe.

_The blindfolded man shouted, “The Black Dragon Token is present, equivalent to His Majesty’s personal arrival! Who dares not kneel?!”

_A terrifying murderous aura surged from the numerous Prison Suppressing Emissaries simultaneously, causing everyone present to drop to their knees and bow.

_The Prison Suppressing Army formed by the Prison Suppressing Emissaries answered solely to the Emperor of Daxia—not even princes or generals could dream of mobilizing them!

_To see the Black Dragon Token was to see His Majesty in person!

_Gu Shiyi frowned, standing rooted on the spot, refusing to kneel.

_For a Martial Master, momentum was paramount in battle. If he were truly to fight Yun Zhenbian, once he knelt and lost his momentum, he would suffer a massive disadvantage.

_Yun Zhenbian glanced at the youth and instantly understood his concern.

_This kid was really something—if the Prison Suppressing Emissaries wanted him dead, so many of them would have swarmed him long ago.

_He did not press the matter, chuckling as he spoke:

_“Gu Shiyi has slain a disciple of the Song Clan and a student of Meichang Palace, committing murder in the streets with total disregard for the law. His crime warrants death!

_However, as our country is in dire need of talent and considering his youth, the death penalty is spared, though punishment remains unavoidable. He is exiled to Northern Prison to serve as a Prison Suppressing Emissary!”

_Everyone was stunned.

_Yun Zhenbian walked straight up and wrapped his arm around Gu Shiyi’s neck.

_Gu Shiyi’s body shuddered, growing completely rigid.

_He patted Gu Shiyi’s chest and said, “Don’t be nervous, we’re family from now on. Did you think a Prison Suppressing Emissary was an official post? Haha, you’ve got it dead wrong. We are all evil ghosts that crawled out of hell.

_Out of ten Prison Suppressing Emissaries, nine are vicious, depraved villains. Otherwise, how could we guard Northern Prison, or fight those blood-drinking, raw-flesh-devouring savages? Cowards and weaklings can’t survive in Northern Prison.”

_Lin Lin got up and walked over, staring at Gu Shiyi without uttering a single word.

_Yun Zhenbian smiled and clapped his shoulder. “Kid, I told you long ago there’s always someone better. But a monster this ruthless is indeed rare. Losing to him makes sense, so don’t take it to heart.”

_Then he patted Gu Shiyi’s chest again and said, “Don’t mind him, this kid is a lunatic too, killing people at the drop of a hat. You two are birds of a feather, so you should get along just fine.”

_“Did you really kill Shen Juezhuo?” Lin Lin suddenly spoke up.

_Gu Shiyi nodded and pointed at his own chest. “He punched right through my chest.”

_Lin Lin stared at the gruesome scar on Gu Shiyi’s chest. After a long moment, he asked unreconciled, “You killed him all by yourself?”

_“Yeah.”

_“Fuck!”

_Lin Lin couldn’t help but blurt out a curse.

_Four years ago—two years after his master was killed—he was still living under Shen Juezhuo’s shadow, yet this kid had already slaughtered Shen Juezhuo back then?

_Lin Lin sighed, turned around, and walked away without looking back. “You avenged my master. From now on, you are my friend.”

_Gu Shiyi froze.

_Friend?

_He didn’t seem to have… many friends.

_“Ahem…”

_A sudden burst of coughing rang out. Everyone looked up to see Song Kaiming, clad in white robes, tightly knitting his brows.

_Yun Zhenbian chuckled and scratched his head. “Ah, my bad, Brother Song. This… I was so taken by his talent that I forgot about your Song Clan’s grudge.

_Look, I’ve already presented the Black Dragon Token and inducted this kid into Northern Prison. Could we call this feud with the Song Clan settled?”

_Song Kaiming frowned. “Brother Yun, someone listed in my Song Clan genealogy is dead.”

_Yun Zhenbian gave a sheepish smile. “Wasn’t he just a useless concubine-born nobody? It’s not like you had any real relationship with him. You’re just trying to save face. I’ve already exiled the kid, so why don’t you be the bigger man and let it go?

_It’s rare for me to take a liking to a promising talent, so consider it doing me a favor. Besides, as you know, Northern Prison is basically King Yama’s palace. Out of ten Martial Masters who go in, not a single one comes back intact.

_Sending this kid to Northern Prison is hardly any different from killing him. Haha, so consider your vengeance served.”

_“And what if I say… no?” Song Kaiming said suddenly, narrowing his eyes.

_Yun Zhenbian froze for a moment, and all the Prison Suppressing Emissaries directed icy glares at Song Kaiming.

_The atmosphere chilled once more.

_Yun Zhenbian cupped his hands and straightened his back.

_“Song Kaiming, take the face I give you. Even your eldest brother Song Wensheng wouldn’t dare speak to me like that. If you piss me off and I refuse to give you face, what are you gonna do about it?”

_“Well… at any rate, a student of Meichang Academy has died. We must at least investigate this thoroughly,” Master Wang, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly chimed in.

_Yun Zhenbian raised an eyebrow.

_“Slap!”

_A slap struck Master Wang, sending several front teeth flying. Master Wang spun several times in midair before crashing with a loud rumble, smashing through a house on the ground.

_Standing where Master Wang had been was the hunchbacked old man, who lazily let out a yawn at an unknown moment.

_“Ah—I’ll make you—”

_Master Wang scrambled up from the rubble and roared in anger, but before he could finish his words, he suddenly realized several gazes locked onto him.

_He looked up to find several Prison Suppressing Emissaries glaring at him maliciously. He instantly shut his mouth, enduring the pain without daring to speak another word.

_An old man atop a Flame-Blaze Steed took two puffs from his dry pipe, blew out a stream of smoke, and chuckled softly:

_“It really is nicer staying in Northern Prison. When you run into someone who doesn’t understand human speech, you just give ’em a sword slash and end it right there. How refreshing.

_Now that we’re back in Daxia territory, how come General Yun’s words don’t carry weight anymore? How strange.”

_Pale with pain, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, Master Wang kept his face flushed red and his head lowered, not daring to utter a single word.

_Yun Zhenbian flashed a grin of white teeth and turned to Song Kaiming.

_Song Kaiming kept his brows tightly furrowed for a long moment before letting out a sigh.

_Just then, a cry of a phoenix resounded, and a golden phoenix the size of a palm flew in from the horizon.