Chapter 11 The Number One Person Below the Martial Saint Realm: Zhao Qian!
Qingping Academy, Inner Academy, atop the mountain peaks.
Inside an octagonal pavilion shrouded in mist.
Song Baiyuan and Master Chen observed everything happening within Guxiang City.
When he saw Leng Yi take action, crippling Xiao Ce and the others as easily as chopping vegetables, Song Baiyuan could no longer maintain his composure and gasped in shock.
His usually free-spirited and uninhibited face was filled with disbelief!
"This guy is actually this strong?!"
He clearly hadn't expected that the taciturn young man following Ye Haocheng would possess such terrifying strength!
An instant kill of a Ninth Heaven of the Martial King Realm!
This strength had definitely reached the Martial Emperor Realm! Moreover, he wasn't just an ordinary low-tier Martial Emperor!
Compared to his shock, Master Chen beside him remained calm and unruffled, as if he had already known this would happen.
In those deep eyes, there was only a faint trace of approval.
Song Baiyuan recovered from his shock, a wry smile appearing on his face.
He slapped his thigh and laughed while scolding.
"Good kid! He really hid it well! He made me worry about him for nothing all this time!"
"With such a Martial Emperor Realm expert following him, no wonder he dared to walk out of the academy alone and provoke others so arrogantly! So this is where his confidence comes from!"
After learning about Ye Haocheng's trump card, the weight on Song Baiyuan's heart finally lifted.
With such an expert protecting him, at least at the Martial King Realm level, Ye Haocheng's safety should be assured.
However, just as he had breathed a sigh of relief...
Master Chen, standing to the side, gently shook his head.
"It's too early to be at ease."
Master Chen's voice was as calm as ever, yet it caused the sense of relief in Song Baiyuan's heart to vanish instantly.
"Hmm?"
Song Baiyuan's expression stiffened, and he looked at his teacher in bewilderment.
"Teacher, what do you mean? With that Martial Emperor Realm cultivator there, is it still not enough?"
Master Chen did not answer his question directly.
He simply turned around, his deep gaze seemingly able to pierce through time and space as he looked indifferently toward a certain direction outside Guxiang City.
He spoke slowly, his voice distant and solemn.
"Xiao Ce and his Imperial Guard squad were merely pawns placed in the open, vanguards used for testing."
"To ensure the complete erasure of the Ye family's sole bloodline, the true killers the Great Chu Dynasty sent to hunt him down have not yet appeared."
...
Outside Guxiang City, the East Gate Official Road.
This wide road paved with bluestone was the main artery of Guxiang City, usually bustling with traffic and merchants.
However, at this moment, the official road was deathly silent.
In the air, there seemed to be a lingering, faint scent of blood drifting from within the city.
Ye Haocheng and Leng Yi had just walked out of Guxiang City, not yet having traveled ten miles, when both of their footsteps stopped at the same time without any warning.
Leng Yi's eyes, which had always been as calm as still water, now became as sharp as knives, locking onto the path ahead.
Ye Haocheng slowly raised his head, his gaze crossing a hundred meters to look at the solitary figure standing in the middle of the official road ahead.
The moment he saw the person clearly, Ye Haocheng's face, which usually wore a look of indifference and composure, finally revealed an undeniable trace of astonishment.
He truly hadn't expected it.
He really hadn't expected it.
To kill him, the Great Chu Imperial Family had actually sent even this person into the territory of the Great Xuan Dynasty!
This move was simply too grand!
In the middle of the official road, a hundred meters away.
An old man stood there quietly.
He was dressed in a red sun official robe, the highest rank for an inner court official of the Great Chu Palace; the robe was embroidered with intricate cloud patterns and blazing sun totems in gold and silver thread, appearing incomparably luxurious.
However, this luxurious official robe looked unspeakably sinister and eerie on him.
The old man had a hunched figure and a withered face, his skin like old tree bark covered in deep wrinkles. His lips were extremely thin, and his eyes were deep-set, with a cold light flickering in his sockets like a venomous snake.
A faint, bone-chilling coldness was constantly radiating from his body to the surroundings.
Just by standing there quietly, he made the ambient temperature seem to drop several degrees.
This person was named Zhao Qian.
The current Grand Chief Steward of the Inner Palace of the Great Chu Palace.
In the Great Chu Dynasty, it was a name that could stop a child's crying and strike fear into the hearts of all officials.
He had been sent into the palace at a young age to become a lowly little eunuch.
Relying on schemes and ruthlessness far beyond ordinary people, as well as the appreciation and promotion of an old eunuch, he climbed up step by step, eventually sitting in the position of Grand Chief Steward—below one person, but above ten thousand.
His physical incompleteness had created an extremely twisted personality.
His cruel methods and malicious mind were well-known throughout the Great Chu Dynasty.
The divine ability he practiced, 'Three Thousand White Silks,' was even more mysterious and infinitely powerful. Innumerable imperial relatives and high-ranking court officials had died under this divine ability.
He was the sharpest and most poisonous blade in the hands of the Emperor of Great Chu!
In the cultivation world of the Great Chu Dynasty, there was a saying that went like this:
If a Martial Saint does not appear, Zhao Qian reigns supreme!
He was recognized as the number one person below the Martial Saint Realm!
"This old servant greets the Prince."
Zhao Qian seemed to have been waiting here for a long time.
He looked at Ye Haocheng a hundred meters away, and a smile that looked worse than crying squeezed onto his tree-bark-like face.
He bowed slightly toward Ye Haocheng, performing a palace etiquette.
His voice was sharp, feminine, and carried that unique rasp of a eunuch, like nails scratching on sheet metal, making those who heard it feel waves of discomfort and revulsion from the bottom of their hearts.
Ye Haocheng stared directly at that disgusting face, the astonishment in his eyes long replaced by cold killing intent.
He let out a cold laugh, his tone filled with undisguised disdain and loathing.
"To take my life, the Great Chu Imperial Family has truly spared no expense."
He paused, the curve of his lips becoming even more mocking.
"They even sent you over, an old shadow-dog who only knows how to wag its tail and beg for mercy within the palace walls!"
The words 'old shadow-dog' were like three poisoned steel needles, stabbing fiercely into Zhao Qian's already twisted heart!
"You!!!"
The fake smile on Zhao Qian's face vanished instantly without a trace!
His withered face suddenly became incomparably gloomy, and a malicious light burst from his eyes as he stared fixedly at Ye Haocheng, as if he wanted to swallow him alive!
"You little brat of the Ye Residence!"
Zhao Qian's voice became hoarse and shrill, filled with towering rage.
"Being able to live for this extra month is already a great mercy; you should be kneeling down in gratitude!"
His withered hands, like ghost claws, trembled slightly due to anger.
"If it weren't for my wariness of the one in Qingping Academy, hmph! A month ago, this old servant would have walked into the academy, personally twisted off your dog head, and completely ended your wretched life!"
Speaking of this, a deep trace of wariness instinctively flickered in Zhao Qian's gaze.
He turned his head and very subtly glanced toward the mist-shrouded peak of the Qingping Mountains behind Ye Haocheng.
Clearly, the existence that made him not dare to step a single foot into Guxiang City was Master Chen.
Immediately, he quickly retracted his gaze, that trace of wariness replaced by even more intense cruelty and pleasure.
He looked at Ye Haocheng, bared a mouth of grim yellow teeth, and laughed coldly.
"But now... hehe, it's just as well!"
"You death-seeking little brat actually dared to run out and deliver yourself to death! This time, no one can be blamed!"
"There is a road to Heaven but you won't take it; there is no gate to Hell but you insist on breaking in!"
As his voice fell...