No Respect for the Rules

"Damn it! How did Old Sword Master lose?!"

At the edge of the battlefield, the two Innate Masters fighting Sikong Wuhen were both startled.

They had completely suppressed Sikong Wuhen, battered him from head to toe, and were on the verge of finishing him off. They hadn't expected Old Sword Master to suddenly die.

The tide of battle turned in an instant. The two Innate Masters slowed their attacks and quietly retreated toward the edge of the battlefield.

Jianghu Martial Artists were the ultimate self-preservationists. Faced with an unexpected turn of events, they naturally put saving their own skins first.

With the pressure suddenly eased, Sikong Wuhen threw back his head with a wild laugh. Blood Qi erupted from his body, turning him into a man drenched in blood.

He had no idea who the Innate Master who'd suddenly arrived was, but since he was on their side, this was a tremendous stroke of luck.

Laughing, he charged at the two Innate Masters with his spear.

"Keep going! Don't you dare run!"

"Fool, you're actually rushing to your own death."

The female Innate Master furrowed her brows and unleashed Cloud Turning Palm. Countless Palm Seals shaped like white clouds shot from her hands. Just then, a massive Blazing Blade Qi swept across the battlefield, scattering the Palm Shadows.

Ye Kang said nothing. He charged straight at the two Innate Masters.

With his Blazing Blade perfected, his strength had reached the very peak of a Second-grade Innate. He had no fear of these ordinary Innate Masters and struck at them without hesitation.

Golden Light burst from his Imperial True Qi, causing the two Innate Masters' Qi to seize up for an instant.

"Not good!"

Feeling the Qi inside her body in disarray, the female Innate Master hurriedly retreated. She didn't even bother with her disciples, fleeing at once.

The other Innate Master was clearly a step too slow. He was struck by the wild Blazing Blade Qi. The weapon in his hands was a copper staff; he barely managed to raise it before the blade Qi cleaved a gash into it. The staff then slammed into his chest, breaking several of his ribs.

The sight left the Innate Master staring wide-eyed, a wave of terror rising in his heart.

Since becoming an Innate Master, he'd never suffered an injury like this—he'd been taken down in a single move. What kind of Martial Skill did this man practice?!

Ye Kang ignored him and simply tossed out a line. "General, this one's yours."

With that, he shot off like a flying swallow, pursuing the fleeing female Innate Master.

Not a single Innate Master who'd come here today could be allowed to live.

Innate Masters were dangerous. An Innate Master who became an enemy and then escaped was even more dangerous.

Watching Ye Kang leave, Sikong Wuhen roared with laughter. "You old bastards! Ganging up on me two to one was pretty satisfying, huh? Now it's my turn!"

His spear tore through the air and clashed with the copper staff.

Elsewhere, Ye Kang urged his Qi to its limit and quickly caught up with the female Innate Master.

Cold sweat poured down her face. She hurriedly shouted, "Young friend, spare me! I was only here to back them up. I never meant to target the Ninth Princess!"

"Do you even believe that yourself?"

Ye Kang was speechless. With death staring her in the face, she'd really stoop to telling any lie.

At a thought, Hundred Flowers Sword Qi shot out, piercing the woman's heart from behind.

Her white robes were whiter than snow. A drop of Heart Blood stained her chest as she shut her eyes in despair and plunged to the ground.

Ye Kang dropped after her and split her in two with a single slash.

Innate Masters couldn't be underestimated. Finishing them off was a must.

After killing her, Ye Kang returned to the battlefield and casually cut down a wave of fleeing sect disciples.

Their Sect Masters and other experts had all been slaughtered by Ye Kang. They'd long since lost any will to fight to the death and only wanted to escape.

Ye Kang wasn't about to let them go. Those two Third-Rank Innate Masters in the center were far too terrifying. He'd best stay out of their way and kill some sect disciples around the perimeter instead.

After all, killing experts earned rewards. Even a mosquito was meat; with a big enough pile, quantity could bring about a qualitative change.

And so, a Killing God clad entirely in black appeared on the battlefield.

Whenever Ye Kang spotted a sect disciple, he struck with his blade. More often than not, one swing killed several.

If he encountered someone with an escape technique, he sent Hundred Flowers Sword Qi after them, popping heads one after another.

The bloody scene left the soldiers trembling with fear, their legs quivering.

"Th-that's brutal!"

"So savage... Is he really an Innate Master?"

The sect disciples, terrified by the slaughter, were also scared out of their wits. They shouted at the top of their lungs.

"What kind of Innate Master slaughters juniors? You have no respect for the rules!"

"You're breaking the rules of the Jianghu! This is a major taboo!"

At their words, Ye Kang's smile grew even more chilling.

"Well said. But I'm not part of the Jianghu. I'm the Imperial Court's Dog."

Ye Kang's eyes were bloodshot. He killed even faster, Sword Qi streaking through the air as row after row of sect disciples fell.

And the system's voice never stopped.

Though these people weren't at the Innate level, he still earned ten or a hundred points of Comprehension at a time. Added together, the total had already reached eight thousand!

Ye Kang couldn't get enough. He could kill the Rebel Faction and earn Comprehension at the same time—two birds with one stone!

At the center of the distant military camp, the Ninth Princess and a group of Imperial Guards sat on horseback, watching in shock.

"Who is that man? How many has he killed?!"

"Good! The Rebel Faction deserves to die!"

The Imperial Guards clapped and cheered.

The Ninth Princess, however, had gone pale.

Was this guy really the bodyguard her mother had assigned to her? His bloodlust was far too strong. Her mother really did trust him.

Time passed quickly. Ye Kang alone killed several thousand of the more powerful members of the Rebel Faction.

The remaining sect disciples were too weak to matter, and they could barely yield any Comprehension. Ye Kang left them alone and let the soldiers deal with them.

Without their top fighters, these people stood no chance against the Battle Formation. Not one of them would be allowed to live.

After the slaughter, Ye Kang opened the panel and saw that his Comprehension had soared to ten thousand!

It was more than he'd ever had before, but still nowhere near enough to improve Hundred Flowers Sword Finger.

Only then did Ye Kang turn his attention to the central battlefield.

Sikong Wuhen had already killed the Innate Master with the copper staff with a thrust of his spear.

On the much larger battlefield, a white and a purple lotus of True Qi were still locked in a stalemate.

Although Mister Plainclothes was focused on resisting Old Wu's fierce assault, he hadn't shut out everything happening around him.

When he realized all the sect experts had been killed, he knew his plan had failed completely.

Fury filled his heart. He couldn't understand where his meticulously laid plans had gone wrong.

But what was done was done. He had no choice but to escape as quickly as possible.

"Senior Purple Demon, I miscalculated this time. Your martial arts are profound. Please forgive me for coming to seek your guidance another day."

As he spoke, the White Lotus behind Mister Plainclothes bloomed once more. His hair rapidly turned white, and his life force seemed to be drained from his body.

The price brought another surge of strength. The White Lotus spun with a thunderous roar, unleashing terrifying Qi that ripped the Purple Lotus apart.

With a muffled groan, Old Wu was sent flying and crashed to the ground.

"Old Wu!"

The Ninth Princess cried out in worry, but Old Wu raised a hand to stop her.

She struggled shakily to her feet, thin trails of blood at the corner of her mouth.

"Boy, after using Supreme Yin-Yang Chaotic White Lotus Skill twice, you've got almost no life left. Was it worth it?"

Mister Plainclothes smiled faintly.

"You cherish your life, Senior, but I don't. If the Great Cause can be achieved, what does my life matter?"

Then his cold gaze turned toward Ye Kang.

"I should leave now, but you've infuriated me so much that I can't let this go. If I don't kill you, you'll become a major threat to my sect someday."