Chapter 9: Monsters Emerge from the Deep Mountains (Part 1)

Xu Wen was overjoyed, waving his hand and shouting, “Master Wang, over here! Master Wang!”

Lu Jianjia saw the old man frown slightly. The newcomer was a master from Meichang Academy, surnamed Wang.

It seemed the killing of Song Xuan had caused quite a stir; not only had people from the Song Clan arrived, but even a master from Meichang Palace had come.

She looked at Gu Shiyi in the center of the field. At this moment, the youth was like a rat caught by its tail, his whole body tense, his fists tightly clenched, clearly far from calm inside.

Lu Jianjia could not help muttering, “Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. It was this youth who killed the man, so what does it have to do with that young girl? This Master Wang’s way of doing things is… truly sickening.”

“Let go of Nie Nie!”

Gu Shiyi bellowed. Just as he was about to move, a figure flashed and landed beside the old man—it was Yun Zhenbian.

“Greetings, General Yun Zhenbian.”

Upon seeing Yun Zhenbian, Master Wang hurriedly bowed in greeting.

Young Master Yun Zhenbian of the Yun Clan was known to everyone throughout the entire Daxia Dynasty, leading the Prison Suppressing Emissaries to guard the Northern Prison.

Having stood firm for so many years in a place like the Northern Prison—where even pugilists paled at its very mention—his abilities could truly be called the pinnacle of the younger generation.

Yun Zhenbian completely ignored Master Wang’s greeting and bow.

He stared for a moment at Nie Nie, who was bound by Master Wang’s whisk, and suddenly said, “This child belongs to me.”

Master Wang was taken aback, but Yun Zhenbian’s fingers sliced down like blades through the air. True qi shot forth, actually cutting the whisk open.

A middle-aged woman sitting atop an Flame-Blaze Steed immediately leaped forward and whisked the young girl back onto the steed.

The woman took just one look at the young creature, her face turning cold. “A Fierce Savage?!”

The expressions of the many Prison Suppressing Emissaries all changed.

The woman snatched off the strip of cloth from Nie Nie’s head, immediately exposing Nie Nie’s third eye to everyone’s view.

“Three eyes!”

“How is that possible!”

“Dammit, could that kid be one too?”

…

The Prison Suppressing Emissaries immediately turned their eyes toward Gu Shiyi, some even revealing murderous intent.

Yun Zhenbian waved his hand. “No, he is a person of Daxia.”

“Let go of Nie Nie! If you’ve got anything, come at me!” Gu Shiyi threw back his head and roared.

A surge of Sword Gang suddenly flew in from the side, two sharp arcs of sword qi leaving terrifying cuts half a zhang deep into the ground.

Not far away, the youth holding a black sword spoke in an exceptionally cold voice.

“I will ask you one more time: what is your relationship with the Thousand-Slayer Shen Juezhuo!”

“The Thousand-Slayer Shen Juezhuo? Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“Yeah, feels like I’ve heard it somewhere.”

“Did you forget? The one four years ago who had the highest bounty on the bounty board, shaking the entire jianghu.”

A bounty hunter suddenly spoke up, causing everyone’s expressions to turn grim.

“The Shen Juezhuo who killed a thousand people with his bare hands and slaughtered an entire sect by himself? The madman who slaughtered the entire Body Refining Sect!”

“Besides him, I can’t think of a second person.”

_…

“Old Yang, who is Shen Juezhuo?” Lu Jianjia asked, turning her head.

Old Yang said, “A few years ago, he was a madman who made countless bounty hunters and jianghu figures in the Daxia Dynasty turn pale at his name.

He was originally a disciple of the second-rate sect Body Refining Sect. Suffering qi deviation during his cultivation, his mind lost its sanity, yet by a twist of fate he obtained the lost ancient top-tier profound manual, the Heaven-Collapsing Divine Art. After that, he became like a demon, completely out of control.

He slaughtered over a thousand disciples of Body Refining Sect to the very last, dyeing the mountains and rivers with blood in a terrifying display. The Bounty Hall put up the highest bounty for his head, yet countless gold-grade bounty hunters fell beneath his fists instead.

A few years ago, news of him suddenly vanished… Could it be… the technique that kid used earlier was the Heaven-Collapsing Divine Art?”

Recalling the youth’s terrifying punch, Old Yang suddenly came to a realization. “That’s it, that’s it! It is said that once Shen Juezhuo’s Heaven-Collapsing Divine Art is unleashed, the meridians throughout his body bulge, and when he strikes with a punch, it sounds like booming thunder—deafening and unstoppable!”

The youth holding the black sword sneered, saying murderously:

“My name is Lin Lin. Six years ago, I saw with my own eyes Shen Juezhuo beat my master to death using the Heaven-Collapsing Divine Art. I could never misremember—the fist technique you just displayed was precisely the Heaven-Collapsing Divine Art!”

An uproar erupted across the field.

“So that means this kid is that villain’s disciple?”

“Or his son! Who would pass down such divine martial arts to an outsider?”

“Damn it, kill him!”

…

Many people immediately began shouting curses in righteous indignation.

Lin Lin waved his hand while holding the black sword. The crowd behind Gu Shiyi caught the hint and scattered into the surroundings.

The Sword Gang of a Seventh-Grade Martial Master killed without a trace; naturally, they did not want to be caught in the crossfire.

“I was adopted by my master as a child, and he treated me with immense kindness. I swore I would avenge him. Three years ago, I also participated in the selection for the Ten Quasi-Martial Saints of the Daxia Dynasty.

But after defeating opponent after opponent, I suddenly realized that even if I spent a lifetime competing against these greenhouse flowers, I still wouldn’t be Shen Juezhuo’s match.

So, I went to the most dangerous place in the Daxia Dynasty—the Northern Prison.

Tempering myself for a year in the Northern Prison and facing countless terrifying Fierce Savages, my cultivation surged rapidly until I reached the realm of a Seventh-Grade Martial Master.

After that, I began searching everywhere for Shen Juezhuo, but there was no word of him, as if he had vanished into thin air. Today, I have finally met you!”

Lin Lin raised his black sword, his eyes turning fierce, as a monstrous killing intent transformed into a wild wind, sweeping across the area.

If a Sixth-Grade Martial Master was the limit of mortals, then a Seventh-Grade Martial Master had already completely transcended mortals.

Injuring people with qi, killing without a trace!

“Do you have any last words?”

Lin Lin’s icy voice seemed to have already pronounced Gu Shiyi’s end.

Everyone looked toward that scrawny youth; his body was trembling as he stared up at the sky.

Was he afraid?

It had to be!

The Prison Suppressing Emissaries were messengers who had crawled out of hell!

A cultivation of a Seventh-Grade Martial Master made one a top-tier expert across the entire Daxia!

When such an expert raised his sword, who wouldn’t be afraid?

“Nie Nie, don’t be afraid.”

The youth suddenly spoke. Lu Jianjia’s whole body shuddered, her beautiful eyes filled with complete disbelief.

What was he saying?!

Someone was trying to kill him, yet he was… worrying about that young girl?

Lu Jianjia focused her gaze, momentarily dazed when she saw the youth’s bright eyes.

Those bright eyes of the youth were filled with worry, fear, and heartache.

Boundless tenderness filled his eyes completely!

Compared to his previous cold, clear gaze, he seemed like an entirely different person.

“Die!”

Lin Lin suddenly shouted as his black sword came down. A terrifying surge of Sword Gang instantly tore the ground to shreds.

The powerful Sword Gang charged irresistibly toward the youth!

He would not be foolish like Jiang Chong, waiting for Gu Shiyi to adjust his breath and get prepared.

If you want to kill someone, you must catch them off guard!

Such was the strike of a Seventh-Grade Martial Master—simple, crude, fast as lightning, and impossible to withstand!

That terrifying Sword Gang could shatter walls and rip through solid steel!

“Eleven!”

The young girl atop the Flame-Blaze Steed cried out in alarm.

“Nie Nie, don’t be afraid! I will definitely not let them hurt you! At worst—I’ll just kill them all!”

The youth suddenly let out a hysterical roar, like a fierce tiger stepped on its tail, awakened in fury.

In the next instant, a wild wind soared into the sky!

He turned abruptly, facing the Sword Gang head-on.

“Courting death!” Lin Lin sneered. The Sword Gang was irresistible; once it reached him, there was only death!

“Don’t!”

The one who cried out was surprisingly Lu Jianjia.

She saw that facing the terrifying Sword Gang, Gu Shiyi actually raised his hand!

Lin Lin froze, and the many Prison Suppressing Emissaries atop the Flame-Blaze Steed were also slightly stunned. What was this kid doing? Trading injuries for a life?

Only Yun Zhenbian in the midair narrowed his pupils abruptly.

In the next moment, the youth violently thrust out his palm and clenched down hard against the Sword Gang.

“Boom!”

A surge of air blast violently burst from the youth’s hand, and the Sword Gang detonated!

“What!”

“How is that possible!”

“Shattered the Sword Gang with his bare hand?!”

“Ghost’s sake! Who said this kid was Sixth-Grade? He’s clearly Seventh-Grade!” Old Yang’s voice turned high-pitched and sharp; he had completely lost his composure.

The Ten Quasi-Martial Saints of Daxia were inhumanly strong?

This kid was the real monster!

The moment the Sword Gang was forcibly squeezed to explosion, Lin Lin’s pupils contracted into pinpricks, his mind going completely blank.

In that instant, the youth was already in front of him.

“You are no match for Eleven.”

Nie Nie up above happened to speak at that exact moment.

“Not good, Cold Moon!”

Lin Lin reacted quickly, turning his black sword as the terrifying Sword Gang drew a full moon, and Gu Shiyi’s fist slammed heavily onto the full moon.

In the next instant, a loud roar made Lin Lin’s ears go numb.

Heaven-Collapsing Divine Art!

With a “Boom,” the full moon exploded into fragments.

Taking advantage of this split-second opportunity, Lin Lin caught a fresh breath of true qi and flew backward to open up distance.

Nie Nie revealed a proud smile and uttered a line that left everyone deeply ashamed.

“Because as early as four years ago, Brother Gu killed Shen Juezhuo all by himself!”

At that moment, Lin Lin’s eyes widened, for the youth before him did not pursue, but stopped where he was, forming a sword gesture with his fingers, and assumed the exact same posture he had held earlier.

“Oh no!”

Yun Zhenbian’s expression shifted, and he leaped forward.

“Cold Moon.”

Gu Shiyi uttered the two words. In the next instant, Sword Gang spurted from his fingertips, transforming into a full moon!

The difference was that this full moon was fully over six feet wide.

The full moon swept directly toward Lin Lin’s neck!