Zhu Chong let out a hoarse, desperate roar.
He never dreamed that the person he sent out to assassinate Xiong Taitou would turn out to be his youngest son, Zhu Beng—normally the most doted upon and cherished of all his children.
This son of Zhu’s was exceptionally smart since childhood, possessing a photographic memory.
Not to mention the Zhu family’s ancestral skills in making a living, which he managed with steady hands.
From a young age, Zhu Beng was accomplished in poetry, songs, essays, and Daoist writings.
His talent in martial arts was even more outstanding.
He began practicing martial cultivation at six, and by ten had begun nurturing his primordial energy.
Thanks to countless resources from the Grand Chancellor’s mansion, at seventeen he had stepped into the Pulse-Opening Realm.
Now, just twenty years old, he was already a Pulse-Opening expert at the Sixth Heaven level.
More importantly, two years ago he had apprenticed under the great swordmaster from Haojian Palace in Eastern Shenzhou who was traveling through Haojing.
In just two short years, Zhu had cultivated the “Yangwu Sword” technique from Haojian Palace to a profound level.
Though his cultivation remained in the Pulse-Opening Realm, through secret sword techniques he could unleash sword radiance that tore through the air and killed like a true master of the Scripture-Opening Realm!
Such a prodigy, skilled in both the literary and martial arts, was loved by Zhu Chong to the bone.
Among the younger generation of the Zhu clan, Zhu Beng’s status far surpassed that of Zhu Yu; he was a strong contender to inherit the family headship of the next generation.
Xiong Taitou was ruthless and fierce.
Watching Zhu leap forward, thrusting his sword at Xiong Taitou, Zhu Chong’s heart clenched painfully.
He berated the guards around Zhu with a torrent of curses and already decided in his mind that those guards were to be exiled forty thousand li away as severe punishment for their failure.
As Zhu was punched by Xiong Taitou into vomiting blood and flying backward, his fate unknown, Zhu Chong let out a startled bellow “Ah!” and his vision darkened, nearly fainting on the spot.
He screamed hoarsely, “Son!” Careless of his dignified position as Grand Chancellor, he suddenly widened his eyes, grit his teeth, and leapt straight down from the high tower.
His hands smashed out from his sleeves, striking fiercely towards Xiong Taitou in midair.
“Confucius said, ‘The people, must not be left uneducated!’”
Suspended in midair, Zhu Chong shouted out this maxim recorded by his family’s venerable sage ancestor who had traveled the world for six hundred years to teach disciples, passing on knowledge and enlightenment.
It was now a supreme doctrine in literature and education.
“People must not be left uneducated.”
These words held an inexplicable power.
Xiong Taitou, who had been toying with iron pellets and laughing wildly, suddenly felt a dizzy haze cloud his mind.
Instinctively, he wanted to straighten his clothes, lower his weapon, and kowtow to Zhu Chong descending from the sky.
But in the next moment, a fierce murderous aura surged from his heart, dispelling the strange sensation Zhu’s words had caused.
Xiong Taitou shouted a rude curse towards Zhu Chong’s mother, then shot a volley of more than a dozen iron pellets from his right hand.
They tore through the air, rippling shockwaves erupting around them.
These iron pellets broke the sound barrier, hurtling toward Zhu Chong’s chest as he descended.
Zhu Chong’s eyes reddened; he stared unblinkingly at Xiong Taitou.
“Confucius said, ‘A disciple must not disobey or rebel against their superiors.’”
With a gentle flick of his right hand, a faint glow swirled around his pale, well-preserved palm—soft and smooth as that of a young maiden.
The iron pellets shook violently in midair.
Still tens of yards from Zhu Chong’s body, they suddenly reversed course with over double the speed they came at, slamming relentlessly back toward Xiong Taitou.
Caught off guard, Xiong Taitou was stunned.
Even from dozens of yards away, Zhu Chong’s palm force was enough to reverse his iron pellets?
Xiong Taitou roared.
He also practiced a brazen, rough style, and speed in footwork was his weakness.
The dozen or so iron pellets crashed down on him before he could dodge, striking his body hard enough to send sparks flying off his brass armor.
His arms and legs clanged loudly under the impact.
Since bursting into the Grand Chancellor’s mansion, Xiong Taitou had pushed forward like an unstoppable force, never retreating once.
But now, struck by his own iron pellets rebounding, he staggered back several steps, his massive frame trembling and shock written all over his dark, grim face.
“Heh, heh, heh! The martial feats of Dayin have become a bunch of fat pigs! Meanwhile all you ‘literati disciples’—your martial cultivation is outrageously high! You’re trying to overturn heaven itself!”
Zhu Chong pressed down with one palm while soaring in the air.
Xiong Taitou punched upward toward the sky, but all he heard was a loud ‘boom.’ His body swayed, while Zhu Chong grunted softly and rebounded back three zhang [about nine meters], floating lightly back over ten yards before landing beside a severely injured Zhu Beng coughing up blood.
Zhu Chong didn’t care about Xiong Taitou.
He crouched down, swiftly checking his treasured son over with both hands.
His right arm was broken into three segments; his right shoulder blade was shattered; three ribs on his right side were fractured.
When he landed, he fell on his left side and a jagged rock crushed and broke his left ankle.
Beyond that, all his internal organs suffered violent shock, and there was serious internal bleeding.
Zhu Chong’s face went pale.
He quickly took out a purple jade bottle from his sleeve, extracting three small spicy pills about the size of soybeans, and stuffed them into Zhu Beng’s mouth.
Above in the tower, Bai Changkong and others looked down at Zhu Chong’s rapid aid.
Bai Changkong quietly said, “The Grand Chancellor’s cultivation is truly incomparably strong… Do you all know why the young master would be here tonight? Normally, he is the most impatient with us old timers.”
The purple-robed ministers all shook their heads.
They had come to the Grand Chancellor’s mansion to witness the excitement of ‘ghost hunting’ in the imperial city, but who knew why Zhu Beng was actually here?
Xiong Taitou laughed loudly, charging boldly at Zhu Chong who was busy saving his precious son, and shouted, “Purging the court, killing traitors, wearing purple robes? You’re the real traitor of the nation!”
He dropped the cumbersome large hemp sack he had carried and rapidly closed in on Zhu Chong.
Inside the tower, several Grand Chancellor mansion guards flew out wielding weapons, coordinating to block Xiong Taitou.
On the jagged mountain stone steps and trail, a dozen or so burly men charged forward.
Each man stood over eight feet tall and was covered in tightly coiled muscles.
Their faces were fierce and menacing.
They rushed to the mountain peak, looked at the guards from the Grand Chancellor’s mansion, and shouted, “Attack!”
A sharp slicing sound pierced the air as dozens of hefty specially made flying knives launched forth.
Each weighed over three jin [roughly 1.5 kg], tempered with lethal poison, and glowed with an eerie blue-green light, they streaked chaotically toward the mansion guards.
The guards’ full attention was on Xiong Taitou; they never dreamed such a formidable opponent was among the assassins storming the Grand Chancellor’s mansion.
The dozen or so huge men who charged to the peak showed strength not weaker than a high master at the Scripture-Opening Realm, judging simply from their brute force.
With such cultivation, the mansion guards could only scramble to defend against this sudden attack by so many powerful men.
Dense flying knives swept in, causing several guards to frantically dodge.
Xiong Taitou laughed wildly as he burst past the guards, snapping his foot in a wide arc aimed at Zhu Chong’s head.
“Whoever you are, die!” Xiong Taitou roared madly.
Suddenly, a muffled roar like crashing waves exploded in everyone’s ears, as if dozens of giant dragons were screaming right beside them, stirring up a violent storm.
Everyone’s eardrums buzzed loudly.
At that moment, three ghostly blue water dragons shot rapidly at Xiong Taitou’s side as he leapt.
They carried terrifying force and sharp edges, swaying their heads and tails to seize and strangle him.
Xiong Taitou cursed, slapping the ground with both palms to unleash a blast wave that forcibly lifted his bulky body three feet into the air.
The three water dragons grazed close, blood spraying out.
Even his body, which couldn’t even be pierced by a crossbow bolt, was torn by three shallow bloody gashes.
“Sneaky assassins, so shameful!” Xiong Taitou spat curses while still midair.
“Battle formations and fighting—what’s shameful or not? Do you think I’m one of your underworld thugs, following some code of honor?”
Lu Tai appeared like a ghost beside Xiong Taitou.
With every word he spoke, he punched Xiong Taitou three times.
Each punch swirled with a dark blue water aura, holding immense concealed power.
By the time he finished his sentence, Lu Tai had already delivered dozens of blows to Xiong Taitou, his Canghai Energy surging explosively.
Each punch layered upon the last, forming an overwhelmingly terrifying barrage.
With a tremendous roar, Xiong Taitou’s huge body was blasted dozens of yards away.
Coughing blood, he flew off the mountain peak, flailing wildly as he fell from a hundred zhang height to the ground.
Even while midair, Xiong Taitou’s piercing roar echoed across the fields, “Wind’s tightening, retreat! This guy’s claws are tough as iron!”
The dozen or so burly men who had just rushed to the mountain peak and thrown their flying knives shivered and turned to leave immediately.
Only those assassins who shouted “Purge the court!” continued to charge recklessly toward the mountain.
Meanwhile, all around, the Canglang Riders had finished encircling, along with three thousand mounted Canglang warriors.
They fought with order and ruthless efficiency, mercilessly exterminating the assassins who had invaded the Grand Chancellor’s mansion.
Suddenly, agonized screams could be heard incessantly.
Zhu Chong’s hands moved quickly, setting bones for his precious son in the frantic chaos.
Raising his head, he stared fiercely at Lu Tai. “Marquis of Tian’en? If you kill that bastard, I owe you a favor!”
The dignified Grand Chancellor of Dayin openly expressed owing a favor, showing how furious he was about Zhu Beng being beaten and just how deeply he hated Xiong Taitou.
Lu Tai nodded with a slight smile. “Rebels and traitors must be killed by all.”
Taking a deep breath, Lu Tai leapt into the air like a huge stone, jumping down from the mountain peak.
‘Ding ding,’ rang several sounds—the sharp clangs as Lu Tai used his sword to hack at the rocky mountain to lessen the fall’s impact.
After more than a dozen such maneuvers, Lu Tai landed and charged at the recovering Xiong Taitou.
Xiong Taitou, coughing and spitting blood, had tried to cushion his fall by grabbing the mountain along the way, but still landed heavily.
All the assassins, Canglang Riders, and Grand Chancellor’s guards heard the dull thud of Xiong Taitou smashing down from above.
His current state was dire—he not only coughed blood but also bled from his nose and ears continuously.
“Court’s hounds,” Xiong Taitou cursed Lu Tai, then spun around and took off running.
His footwork wasn’t great, but his sheer strength made his straight-line speed terrifying.
With a ‘swish’ sound, Xiong Taitou crashed through dozens of guards blocking his path and in just a few steps broke out of the mansion, disappearing into the darkness outside.
Lu Tai sneered and gave chase, following Xiong Taitou’s fleeing direction.
On the mountain peak, Zhu Chong’s furious roar could still be heard: “Whoever kills that bastard will receive great merit… If you can capture him alive, I guarantee you wealth and a bright future!”
Up again on the shelves.
Mid-month update.
I miscalculated the word count, please give some votes for encouragement! Any kind of vote is welcome!
(End of chapter)