Chapter 59 : Chapter 59
Chapter 59: Cheng Zhenjiang and His Wife Depart, and the Battle Begins in Earnest!
The dignified Young Northern Alliance Leader of the northern Jianghu, a famed young hero of the Great Qian Jianghu—
a peerless prodigy ranked thirtieth on the Human Ranking—
had actually lost to a ruthless wretch with no father and no mother!
Despair and fury surged through Cheng Feng.
He simply could not accept such defeat and humiliation. The blow was too great, and he fainted on the spot.
“How is that possible?”
The martial artists watching the scene all stood there dumbstruck.
None of them had imagined that Cheng Feng, ranked thirtieth on the Human Ranking, would not be Cheng Yu’s match.
In their eyes, the just gained many allies, while the unjust stood alone.
How could an Imperial Hound of the court, a man utterly devoid of chivalry and brutal beyond measure, possibly possess such strength?
“The Young Northern Alliance Leader lost! How can that be possible?”
“Cheng Yu’s strength is probably enough to place him among the very top of the Human Ranking!”
“With talent like that and such ruthless cruelty, he will surely become a mortal threat to all us Jianghu martial artists in the future!”
They were afraid.
Cheng Yu was vicious by nature, raiding households and exterminating sects at the slightest provocation. He had already swept Qingjiang Prefecture clean.
If he were allowed to grow any further, what path to survival would remain for those who had offended him?
“Feng’er!”
When Zhao Xichun saw Cheng Feng’s life-preserving Inner Armor shatter and his body fly backward, his life and death unknown, it felt as though an invisible hand had seized her heart in a death grip.
She hurried over and gathered Cheng Feng into her arms, filled with heartache and sorrow.
“Feng’er, don’t be afraid. Mother is here.”
At the same time, Cheng Zhenjiang—who had returned to Sword-Forging Manor—heard from a servant that the brothers were killing one another and rushed back without the slightest delay.
The moment he arrived, he saw Cheng Feng lying heavily wounded on the ground.
For once, even his imposing, dignified face showed panic.
He hurried to Zhao Xichun’s side and lifted Cheng Feng into his arms.
“Come. We’re going to Divine Physician Mountain to find Divine Physician Ma. We absolutely cannot let this leave behind any lasting injury!”
With that, he cast Cheng Yu a deep look.
Then, with a movement of his feet, he carried Cheng Feng away at top speed.
Zhao Xichun, frantic with worry, immediately followed after him, but then suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned back and looked at Cheng Yu with boundless sorrow.
“Mother will never give up hope. We will always be mother and son!”
After saying that, she too quickly vanished into the distance.
As for Cheng Yue, she had already left earlier with her younger sister.
She could not let go of Cheng Yu’s words about the lives of those million laborers.
The indifference shown by everyone present—including Cheng Zhenjiang—was completely different from the benevolence and righteousness she had always been taught to believe in.
With her heart thrown into turmoil and confusion, she simply could not remain here.
So, under the escort of servants, she had already left ahead of time with Cheng Si, whose illness had flared up again.
Thus, Cheng Zhenjiang’s entire family had departed from Sword-Forging Manor.
The moment they left, Sword-Forging Manor and the people from the other sects were no longer able to remain calm.
Great Hero Cheng was gone, but Cheng Yu was still standing there perfectly fine!
【The host defeats a powerful enemy, proves that the Jinyiwei now possess a peerless genius, reward: Internal Energy!】
Cheng Yu’s Internal Energy increased again, reaching the level of the late Fourth Rank.
After watching Cheng Zhenjiang and the others depart, he sheathed his Xiuchun Saber.
Then he looked coldly at the assembled martial artists.
“The time for one stick of incense has passed. Tell that Dragon Whale Island Master to cripple his own martial arts and get out here.”
His voice was not loud, but its chill carried clearly to every person present.
“Or have you already made your preparations to have your households raided and your sects exterminated?”
The moment those words were spoken, the martial artists—already rattled by Cheng Zhenjiang’s departure—fell completely into panic.
“He’s about to make his move! What are we supposed to do now?”
“If any one of our sects gets singled out by him, it’ll be total annihilation!”
“If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve come to wade into this mess.”
The Dragon Whale Island Master clutched his wound and looked fearfully at the others.
“D-don’t panic. We can’t throw away the dignity of us Jianghu people...”
He could already tell. These people wanted to sell him out!
“Enough!”
He Qin suddenly shouted, silencing the uproar.
“Do you think he is really fixated on demanding a man for no reason? He is clearly trying to force all of us to bow our heads!”
“If we hand over one, then what happens when he finds an excuse to demand another?”
“What will the Jianghu think of us then?”
He looked at the others in anger. These people had come for nothing but trouble.
“With so many of us here, are we really going to be frightened out of our wits by a mere handful of Imperial Hounds?”
“If word of this got out, would you not be ashamed?”
At his rebuke, the other martial artists fell silent and looked at one another.
It truly was humiliating.
But numbers were no use. If any one of their sects was targeted by that Jinyiwei expert from the Great Qian Capital, disaster would certainly follow.
“But Manor Master He—”
“There is no ‘but.’ Aren’t you all simply afraid of retaliation from the Great Qian royal house and the court? Then set your minds at ease. My Sword-Forging Manor will bear it!”
He Qin spoke in a grand, righteous tone, choosing to shoulder the consequences himself.
At once, the others brightened with delight. Sword-Forging Manor truly was one of the great Jianghu sects. It had backbone after all.
“In that case, we certainly won’t disappoint Manor Master He!”
“With all of us acting together, what are a few Imperial Hounds worth?”
Only then did He Qin nod in satisfaction.
But in his heart, there was not the slightest trace of boldness or chivalry.
All he could think about was the Dragon Vein in the mountain.
Only with the Dragon Vein could he wield the Dragon Abyss Sword and restore Sword-Forging Manor to its former peak.
Before that happened, no matter how great the price, he absolutely could not allow the Jinyiwei to learn the truth about the Dragon Vein!
“When the time comes, we’ll join forces to deal with that Jinyiwei expert. As for the rest of them, they are nothing but chickens and dogs!”
“Yes!”
Everyone’s confidence immediately steadied.
He Qin was a top Eighth Rank expert, and with so many Seventh Rank fighters backing him, they could absolutely kill Fan Xiu.
Once that powerful expert was tied down, they could conveniently get rid of Cheng Yu, this scourge, ahead of time.
“Disciples and followers of Sword-Forging Manor, come out and meet the enemy!”
At He Qin’s command, the disciples of Sword-Forging Manor poured out in near-full force and stood ready for battle.
He was going to test these Imperial Hounds of the court.
Let them see whether the swords of Sword-Forging Manor were sharper, or the Xiuchun Saber swifter!
When Cheng Yu saw this, he only smiled and shook his head.
“So you’ve all made up your minds to serve as accomplices. Fine, then have it your way. It saves me the trouble—now I can wipe all of you out in one sweep right here!”
“Insolent brat, do not run wild!”
He Qin had already resolved not to compromise and had torn away all pretenses.
At last, he fully assumed the bearing of a great sect master, an Eighth Rank Earth Ranking martial artist.
“A mere pack of Imperial Hounds from the court are not worth a single blow before the disciples of Sword-Forging Manor!”
At this, Cheng Yu let out a cold laugh and shouted loudly:
“All of you, loose your arrows! Empty your quivers!”
At his order, the bows and crossbows that had long been poised to fire unleashed themselves in full. A rain of arrows blotted out the sky and came crashing down like a storm.
Countless disciples of Sword-Forging Manor had no time to react. They cried out in terror and scattered in panic.
Many of them were instantly shot full of arrows, bristling like hedgehogs.
He Qin and the others hurried to use their Internal Energy to block the incoming arrows, but even they could not cover everything.
Wave after wave of arrows kept falling, and many more disciples were struck and killed.
“Cheng Yu, I will kill you!”
Seeing this, He Qin was nearly maddened with rage and roared himself hoarse.
His heart was filled with regret. The court had shown weakness for a hundred years, and all the sects had done since was fight one another over profit.
Who still remembered this kind of relentless battlefield suppression beneath a storm of arrows?
Cheng Yu truly was vicious!
“To capture bandits, first capture their leader! Follow me and kill that Jinyiwei expert and the brat surnamed Cheng first!”
“Understood!”
The crowd responded to He Qin’s command and surged together toward Fan Xiu and Cheng Yu.
One mere Eighth Rank expert thought he could stand against all of them?
Ridiculous!
“Let you court dogs see the might of us Jianghu martial artists!”
With so many of them against a single Fan Xiu, the advantage was theirs!
Seeing so many people rush at him, Fan Xiu cursed Cheng Yu inwardly.
He hurried forward and met He Qin and the others with a single exchange of his Cold Ghost Claw, but he came off worse and was forced back several steps.
“Now that you’ve delivered yourselves to our gates today, you are helping Sword-Forging Manor display its heroic might!”
Taking advantage of superior numbers, He Qin arrogantly shouted in triumph.
“Is that so?”
Yet Cheng Yu showed not the slightest fear.
He said calmly, “Lord Ai, enough watching from the sidelines.”
The crowd froze for an instant.
What did he mean?
In the next moment, a ghostly figure drifted in from the side like a phantom and seized the throat of an unguarded Seventh Rank martial artist.
Crack!
“Ah!”
Under that immense force, black qi coiled around him. The martial artist had not even been able to defend himself before his neck was snapped.
“Who is that?!”
He Qin and the others were horrified, their eyes full of disbelief.
A figure clad in a dark crimson Python Robe, with a Xiuchun Saber at his waist and a golden Jinyiwei command token hanging there as well, appeared at Cheng Yu’s side.
At once, everyone felt as though they had plunged into an icy abyss.
It was over!
Why was there another Eighth Rank expert?!