Chapter 2267 (Raw 2373): Never-ending Murderous Intent
“What is a Fiend?
“Idle clouds change to wild cranes; the lush mountains and green water question the heart!”
The person coming was Fiendish Saber Xi Mu’s disciple, Lu Benwei. He finally broke the small world’s barriers from the outside.
“Ka ca!”
Lu Benwei came out from the treasure pearl. It looked like his saber would strike the Silver Dragon King, severely injuring him. However, the Silver Dragon King was a veteran expert, after all. In the time it took for a spark to fly, the Silver Dragon King turned into a silver dragon image.
The Silver Dragon King seemed to teleport as he dodged the strong and sharp saber light. When the saber light charged over again, its might had already decreased significantly.
“Bang!”
When the saber struck the Silver Dragon King’s chest, it gave off a loud ringing sound. The saber hit armor, unable to penetrate any further.
The Silver Dragon King vomited a mouthful of blood as the attack knocked him back, sending him crashing into the lake.
Then, there was another loud sound. Before the Silver Dragon King could store power for a counterattack, Lu Benwei launched his second move.
“What is a Fiend?
“The flowers fall as a lone person stands; swallows fly in pairs in the drizzle.”
A strong wind blew, and falling flowers filled the air. The falling leaves drifted on the wind like rain, appearing lonely. This saber strike flew out amid the falling flowers stirred up by the wind and rain. As pairs of swallows spread their wings, the saber strike turned into a falling raindrop.
Lu Benwei spread his arms wide, and two afterimages moved like swallows. Then, he turned into a raindrop, falling towards the Silver Dragon King on the lake.
When Xiao Chen saw this scene, he felt slightly startled. This scene seemed familiar, but it was different from what he remembered.
Be it the first move or the second move of the Fiendish Saber inheritance, Lu Benwei comprehended them differently from Xiao Chen.
The first move that Xiao Chen comprehended was All Things Rejoicing Together. The idle clouds, the wild cranes, the lush mountains, and green water existed together. Everything could be used and were not separate.
However, Lu Benwei used it to question the heart, to question himself and his opponent.
For the second move, Xiao Chen comprehended a prideful, stubborn tyranny that looked down on the nine heavens, a raindrop breaking the firmament.
Lu Benwei comprehended indifference, unaffected by the world. The wind might blow strong, and the clouds never part, but my heart belongs to me; I will not go with the flow.
Neither of the two different sets of comprehensions was superior. It just suited the user better.
However, after Lu Benwei executed the Fiendish Saber’s two moves, the two different scenes made Xiao Chen’s eyes light up.
From the looks of things now, the might of Lu Benwei’s Fiendish Saber inheritance was much stronger due to his 6-Vein Sovereign Emperor cultivation.
With Xiao Chen’s current cultivation, he would find truly injuring the Silver Dragon King difficult, even with the Fiendish Saber inheritance.
However, this was different for Lu Benwei.
“Ka ca!”
When Lu Benwei’s saber landed, the Silver Dragon King’s armor broke. Then, the saber light instantly pierced the Silver Dragon King.
“Bang!”
The Silver Dragon King roared, in dire straits. He countered with a palm strike, his five fingers turning into silver dragon claws piercing into Lu Benwei’s chest.
Lu Benwei snorted coldly. Enduring the pain, he tried to attack again.
However, Lu Benwei suddenly sensed danger. His figure flashed as he quickly moved back. He saw a flash of arcing light pass where his head had been. Then, the light spun, winding around the Silver Dragon King.
Sikong Shu calmly made a move and rescued the Silver Dragon King.
Then, the Snow Python entered the lake water and disappeared, going far away.
“Whoosh!”
Xiao Chen’s figure flashed, and he landed beside Lu Benwei. When he saw the five bloody holes in Lu Benwei’s chest, he asked, “Big Brother Lu, are you alright?”
“It’s fine. I won’t die. I underestimated the Silver Dragon King’s strength a little.”
Lu Benwei sheathed his saber and said calmly, “I’ll go look for a place to treat my injuries first. Now that the small world is broken, those two probably won’t dare to try again.”
“Alright.”
Xiao Chen entered deep thought as Lu Benwei disappeared. Big Brother Lu is very elusive. During normal times, even I don’t know where he is.
However, this is fine. That way, the people who mean me harm will find it hard to notice his presence.
If not for Big Brother Lu making a move this time, things might not have ended well.
Xiao Chen had not expected the Purple Gold Dragon Emperor to be so unscrupulous, sending the Silver Dragon King to kill him.
Fortunately, he was in the imperial capital Yan City and with the Ninth Prince.
“That was the Fiendish Saber Xi Mu’s disciple, right? Unexpectedly, there is such an expert by Lord Xiao’s side, protecting you in secret,” the Ninth Prince said, curiosity flashing in his eyes as he watched Lu Benwei leave.
Finding this strange, Xiao Chen asked, “Could it be that the Ninth Prince does not have any expert guards?”
This question made Wang Yan feel somewhat embarrassed, not knowing how to answer.
The Heavenly Book Scholar smiled bitterly at the side and said, “Xiao Chen, even the Royal Clan has a limited number of Great Perfection Sovereign Emperors. How could they arrange for every prince to have one such guard? Aside from a favored few, the Royal Clan will not arrange for Great Perfection Sovereign Emperors to guard the princes. In fact, most of such guards are obtained by the princes’ own influence. However, it would be costly to recruit a Great Perfection Sovereign Emperor.
“Even if the princes managed to recruit a Great Perfection Sovereign Emperor, these people would only take action at critical moments. They cannot possibly remain by the princes’ sides at all times.”
So, that is the case. This dispelled Xiao Chen’s confusion over why he did not see any experts by Wang Yan’s side during the battle earlier.
This made sense. Even in the imperial capital Yan City, how many Great Perfection Sovereign Emperors could there be?
Making a Great Perfection Sovereign Emperor accompany one at all times was even more difficult.
“Unfortunately, these brothers of mine died undeserved deaths. It was not worth it.”
A slightly troubled look flashed in Wang Yan’s eyes. The shock waves of the earlier battle had swept out and destroyed the corpses of his secret guards, not leaving anything behind.
“Sorry. I implicated the Ninth Prince this time.”
Xiao Chen was very apologetic. Sikong Shu and the Silver Dragon King’s target was him; the secret guards were just collateral damage.
“It’s not really your fault. In the end, it is because I am not popular in the imperial capital. If I were First Brother or Eighth Brother, those two would not have dared to mess around like that.”
Wang Yan remained calm, not showing any intention of blaming Xiao Chen.
The Heavenly Book Scholar said, “There might be another prince backing them in this matter. If not for the backing of a prince, Sikong Shu and the Silver Dragon King could not have silently placed a small world at the lake.”
“First Brother’s wedding is approaching. There are all sorts of people appearing in the imperial capital these days. This is probably just the start,” Wang Yan sighed, not appearing surprised.
Xiao Chen said seriously, “Ninth Prince, I think I can agree to the matter that we discussed earlier.”
Wang Yan immediately felt elated. Then, he asked, “Are you saying that you are willing to come to the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb with me?”
“Yes. However, I have a condition.”
“What is the condition? Tell me.”
After Xiao Chen stated his condition, the Ninth Prince pondered it for a while. Then, he said, “Alright, I can promise you that. As long as you promise to come with me to the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb, you will be my guest at that time.”
“Great. I’ll see you then.”
Xiao Chen immediately turned and left, not lingering.
The Ninth Prince and the Heavenly Book Scholar entered deep thought as they watched Xiao Chen leave.
“Unexpectedly, that is what he needs me to do for him. Chang Ji, does it benefit him?” Ninth Prince Wang Yan asked, feeling confused.
The Heavenly Book Scholar shook his head and replied, “There are no benefits at all. It might even lead to his death. I can never fathom his thoughts or read his fate…”
Wang Yan said calmly, “It does not matter. Given this, there is no need to worry about his cultivating a Demonic Dao Cultivation Technique. A person that can raise such a condition should not be one that gets influenced by the people of the Demonic Dao.”
“Ninth Prince, which prince do you think is behind this matter?”
Wang Yan replied coldly, “Aside from Little Thirteenth Brother, which other prince would be so bold, daring to make such a rash move in the imperial capital? It looks like the alliance between First Brother and the Smiling Daughter Pavilion made him anxious enough to disregard everything else for the sake of gaining more assistance.”
The Heavenly Book Scholar nodded and said, “I guessed the same. However, I did not say it earlier as I did not want Xiao Chen to know.”
“Don’t tell Xiao Chen about this for now. Given his character, he would probably go and seek trouble for Little Thirteenth Brother tonight.”
—
Elsewhere, Sikong Shu and the Silver Dragon King fled far away from the lake center.
When the two reappeared, they were in a remote courtyard. Several people were waiting for the two at the pavilion.
If Xiao Chen were here, he would easily recognize two out of the three leaders.
As for the last leader, Xiao Chen probably could guess who it was.
Of the three, the youngest was the favored young son of the current Yan Emperor, the Thirteenth Prince Wang Yi, just as Wang Yan guessed.
The one on the left was someone familiar to Xiao Chen—Bai Yunfei, the White Marsh Beast Empire’s crown prince.
The one on the right wore golden robes that had purple decorative motifs around the collar. With the combination of gold and purple, he looked eye-catching.
This person was Bai Yunfei’s good friend, the famous Dragon God Crown Prince of the Divine Dragon Empire, Qin Ming.
“Teacher, did you succeed?” Bai Yunfei asked after rushing over. Some anticipation gleamed in his eyes when he saw Sikong Shu.
On the other hand, Qin Ming appeared much calmer. He observed the expressions of Sikong Shu and the Silver Dragon King and already knew the answer.
“We failed.”
“There was a Great Perfection Sovereign Emperor following him at all times. At the crucial moment, the Ninth Prince even defended him.”
Sikong Shu and the Silver Dragon King reported the outcome with unsightly expressions. After all, they were two 6-Vein Sovereign Emperors who had gone to kill a junior, yet they still failed. No matter how they looked at it, it was something extremely embarrassing.
However, the Thirteenth Prince Wang Yi felt relieved upon hearing that. If they had succeeded in the assassination and it was investigated, it would be troublesome.
Then, he stepped forward and said, “Seniors, I have already assisted with whatever I can in this matter. As for what you promised me—”
Before Wang Yi could finish, Qin Ming interrupted, “Thirteenth Prince, don’t worry. Since we are here already, we will definitely assist the Thirteenth Prince in ascending the throne. This failure does not affect our cooperation. There is no need to worry.”
The Thirteenth Prince smiled and said, “Good. I can rest assured, then. Stay in the imperial capital for now. You can come and look for me if you need anything.”
After the Thirteenth Prince left, Bai Yunfei said in a flustered and exasperated manner, “Even with all this, you failed to kill him. It looks like there are no more chances in the imperial capital Yan City.”
Qin Ming countered indifferently, “There’s no rush. I have a feeling that he will go to the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb. At that time, we will have plenty of opportunities. We can even openly kill him.”