28: Chapter 28 Royal Archives: This Debt Must Be Repaid in Blood

Crack.

The iron scroll completely shattered in his palm.

That wasn't mere brute force, but the strangling power of the Chaos Devouring Sword Intent pushed to its limit.

Amidst the iron dust fluttering through the air, a wisp of purple-gold gas, barely visible to the naked eye, tried to escape; that was the "Emperor's Dragon Qi" that the Great Xia Imperial Family had condensed onto the Imperial Seal over a hundred years.

Trying to run?

Since it belongs to an enemy, it's the best nourishment.

A ruthless glint flashed in Ye Feng's eyes. Black light surged from his fingertips like a greedy, gaping maw, instantly and forcibly devouring that wisp of purple Qi that symbolized imperial majesty into his body.

As the Dragon Qi entered his body, it felt like boiling oil being poured over his heart.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, a majestic and cold Face was forcibly outlined by this power.

It was a middle-aged man, sitting high on a Dragon Throne, looking down on all living beings as if they were mere blades of grass.

The Emperor of Great Xia, the Xia Emperor.

Ye Feng memorized this Face.

Not to worship it, but to one day cut it down into the dust with his own hands.

Just then, the hidden door in the Library Pavilion, disguised as a bookshelf, was kicked open.

Amidst the flying wood splinters, a nauseating, metallic scent of blood rushed in first.

Following it were three pitch-black Bone-Piercing Steel Needles, silent and invisible, flying in a triangular formation straight toward the vital point at the back of Ye Feng's heart.

Such speed, such lethal methods.

This was intended to nail a person to the wall.

The attacker didn't want to leave anyone alive at all, and didn't even deign to ask who he was.

Ye Feng didn't look back, nor did he dodge.

Turning back to defend now would be half a beat too slow. Since he couldn't dodge, he would use his flesh, just tempered in the Earth Fire, to take it head-on!

He arched his back suddenly, his entire spinal dragon letting out a loud crack, and his muscles tightened instantly like rock.

Ding, ding, ding!

Three crisp sounds of metal clashing.

The poison needles, sharp enough to pierce metal and stone, tore through Ye Feng's clothes but got stuck in his back muscles, which were as tough as refined iron, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch.

Pain, yes, a heart-piercing pain.

But pain is often the best stimulant.

Using this massive impact, Ye Feng shot forward like a cannonball, charging ahead instead of retreating, slamming hard into the carved mahogany window frame in front of him.

Crash—

The window frame shattered, and Ye Feng's figure, covered in wood splinters and broken glass, leaped directly into the sky hundreds of feet high.

Below was the most luxurious Imperial Garden of the Great Xia Palace.

The whistling wind scraped past his ears. While in mid-air, Ye Feng forcibly adjusted his posture, plummeting like an extraterrestrial meteorite straight toward a bluestone-paved path below.

As luck would have it, a ceremonial procession was passing by.

Before the sixteen strong men carrying the magnificent Palanquin could even stop, the black shadow falling from the sky smashed down right in front of them.

Boom!

Dust rose everywhere, and stone fragments flew.

The sixteen porters, who possessed Body Refining realm cultivation, were knocked off balance, and the Palanquin shook violently, nearly flipping over.

"How bold! Who dares to disturb—"

Before the maid beside the Palanquin could finish her scream, she was stopped by a pale, almost translucent hand.

The curtain of the Palanquin was lifted by a slender hand.

Revealing a Face that was cold and stunning, yet completely devoid of color.

Xiao Yue.

The daughter of the Great General of the State, and also the famous ice beauty of the capital.

The moment she appeared, a visible white cold mist overflowed from the carriage, and the blooming peonies around them were instantly covered in a layer of white frost.

Ye Feng slowly stood up from the dust-filled crater.

The two met eyes.

There was no cliché surprise, only two completely opposite auras clashing violently in the air.

The "Nine Yin Cold Malice" that had been suppressed within Xiao Yue's body for eighteen years sensed the violent and scorching "Chaos Fire Poison" within Ye Feng, and it instantly boiled as if it had met its natural enemy.

One cold, one hot.

One Yin, one Yang.

Two invisible energy fields strangled each other in the Void Realm between them. The hard bluestone tiles beneath their feet let out a series of overwhelmed cracking sounds, and a several-meter-long crack spread out like a centipede.

Such overbearing cold energy.

The Sword Intent inside Ye Feng automatically protected its master, and a faint crimson glow appeared on the surface of his skin.

At that moment, a sinister figure flew down from the broken window of the Library Pavilion.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Eunuch Xiao held a fly-whisk, his Face full of Killing Intent, followed by dozens of Black-Armored Imperial Guards, like dark clouds pressing down on the city.

This lapdog of the imperial family certainly had a sharp nose.

Ye Feng glanced coldly at Eunuch Xiao in mid-air, his right hand already resting on the soft sword at his waist.

Since he couldn't run, he would fight his way out.

"Stop."

A cold voice rang out abruptly, not loud, yet carrying an unquestionable authority.

Xiao Yue stepped out of the Palanquin, ignoring the tense atmosphere. Her eyes, which seemed frozen for a thousand years, stared fixedly at the crimson glow on Ye Feng's body.

"This heat... can suppress the Cold Poison."

She didn't want to know who this youth was, nor did she care what he had done.

She only knew that this might be her only hope of living past twenty.

Eunuch Xiao landed and stared sinisterly at Ye Feng, his voice shrill: "Eldest Young Miss Xiao, this person broke into the Forbidden Palace at night and is a wanted criminal. This humble servant advises you not to meddle in affairs that don't concern you."

"Affairs that don't concern me?"

A mocking curve appeared at the corner of Xiao Yue's mouth. She casually untied a heavy black iron token from her waist and, without looking, threw it directly at Eunuch Xiao's feet.

"Look closely."

"This is a newly recruited shadow guard of my General's Mansion who lost his way because he didn't know the rules."

"If Eunuch Xiao wants him, feel free to go to the Great General's Mansion and ask my father for him."

Clang.

The token hit the ground. The vigorous character "Xiao" on it made Eunuch Xiao pull back his foot, which he had already stepped forward.

The Command Token of the Great Xia's Grand Marshal of the Military.

Even if this old eunuch had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to publicly disregard the Face of Great General Xiao.

Xiao Yue's red lips parted slightly as she uttered a single word.

Eunuch Xiao's already feminine Face twisted a few times before he finally glared hatefully at Ye Feng and flicked his fly-whisk: "Since he is the Eldest Young Miss's person, then it is a misunderstanding."

"Withdraw!"

The black-armored guards retreated like a tide.

The Imperial Garden returned to a deathly silence.

Ye Feng didn't even glance at the token on the ground. He turned and left, his figure blending into the massive shadows of the palace walls in a few leaps.

No thanks, no nonsense.

Xiao Yue stood where she was, watching the direction the youth had disappeared, without stopping him.

"Interesting."

She coughed lightly twice, her pale fingertips pinching that wisp of scorching aura remaining in the air.

"As long as you are still in the capital, you won't be able to run."

After leaving the palace gates, Ye Feng didn't immediately return to the Sect's station.

He stood at the end of the bustling Vermilion Bird Street, looking back at the palace that crouched like a giant beast in the night, his eyes cold.

What the Great Xia Imperial Family owed the Ye family was not just lives, but also the martial resources built up over a hundred years by squeezing the people's wealth.

To seek revenge, having only a surge of hot blood was a death sentence.

One needed money, resources, and the strength to pierce through the heavens.

"Since you sit upon the world's wealth, I will first cut off your source of income."

Ye Feng tightened his black robe and turned toward the most bustling part of the western city.

There stood a nine-story building, brightly lit as if it were day.

Duobao Pavilion.

Great Xia's largest den of extravagance, and a place where countless Cultivators became rich overnight or lost everything.

He had heard that there was a special gathering tonight, where countless "scraps" from various ruins were piled high like mountains, waiting for people with either no eyes or a Wisdom Eye to open blind boxes.

For Ye Feng, who possessed the Chaos Devouring Sword Body, that place wasn't a gamble at all.

It was a floor full of gold, just waiting for him to bend down and pick it up.