Ever since his last collaboration with Chen Ming, when they had swallowed up the spiritual vein before them, Chen Ming had vanished without a trace. Before coming to the spiritual vein, Huang Jin had even wondered whether something had happened to him.
Now, hearing the Ninth Princess of Xia mention that name, a flicker of surprise surfaced in his eyes before vanishing in an instant.
Seeing the yellow-robed elder's expression, understanding flashed through Xiao Minghuang's eyes, as though every pearl of wisdom lay within her grasp.
"You are surnamed Huang, named Jin, the New South City Lord of the Golden Elephant Kingdom. Thirty days ago, you exchanged letters with Chen Ming, ordering evil cultivators to plunder near Beiyang City and extract the power of ordinary people's blood and vitality, delivering it into Chen Ming's hands in exchange for his help in swallowing this spiritual vein."
"City Lord Huang, I wonder whether what this princess has said is true?"
The moment those words fell.
The entire venue erupted in uproar!
Even Wang Bao revealed a look of shock. He had never known that an outer sect elder of his own sect had secretly colluded with evil cultivators.
What had originally been a martial contest over a spiritual vein had continued to escalate, uncovering Huang Jin's identity as an evil cultivator. It was clearly about to turn into a campaign to exterminate evil cultivators.
Faced with the accusation, Huang Jin's expression suddenly calmed, and a smile appeared on his wrinkled face.
"The Ninth Princess is joking. This old man was born in the Golden Elephant Kingdom and joined the Dragon Tiger Sect in my youth. I never left the sect during that time, and later I was sent to govern New South City. Both the Dragon Tiger Sect and the Golden Elephant Kingdom have records of this matter. The Ninth Princess speaks with such certainty—do you have evidence?"
"Evidence?"
"This princess's words are the evidence!"
Xiao Minghuang gave a cold shout and abruptly widened her eyes. She stood like a peerless supreme empress, golden light blazing within her pupils as though stars glittered there. A beam of dazzling starlight descended from the heavens, seemingly connecting her to eternal stars beyond measure and beyond distance.
In an instant.
Her aura surged explosively. Raising the long blade in her hand, a ten-meter golden Sword Qi appeared out of nowhere. An ancient and boundless aura spread across several hundred meters, carrying endless killing intent amid endless splendor as it slashed down through the air at the yellow-robed elder!
Want His Highness to Act? Are You Worthy?
"Seven Stars · Alkaid Sword!"
Xiao Minghuang softly chanted, and the golden Sword Qi bolstered by the Power of Stars abruptly fell. Wrapped in resplendent starlight, its might reached an unimaginable extreme.
Even Huang Jin, a Spring Gushing Peak Realm expert, could not help but tremble beneath the wildly surging aura, as though he feared that utterly unmatched strike.
"This starlight is terrifying to such a degree!"
Huang Jin swallowed hard, his scalp tingling. He wanted to dodge, but behind him stood the severely wounded Wang Bao. If he avoided the Sword Qi, Wang Bao would surely die on the spot!
In the blink of an eye.
He made his decision!
"Fierce Tiger Breaks the Void!"
Huang Jin threw back his head and roared. The thunderous tiger roar shook everything within a hundred li. His fists were like a divine tiger descending from the mountain, condensing a gigantic tiger head in the air before smashing it forward!
He had cultivated this Fierce Tiger Fist Technique for many years and had already reached minor accomplishment. Even when fighting opponents of the same realm, he had never been weaker than them.
He believed that once this punch landed, it would definitely shatter that dazzling starlight.
Before the boundless, resplendent Sword Qi, the tiger head did not last long at all. It soon crumbled inch by inch, like something made of paper.
Feeling that he was about to fail in blocking the starlight Sword Qi's slash, Huang Jin hurriedly shouted:
"Ninth Princess, I have already yielded the spiritual vein with both hands. It is better to resolve enmity than knot it further. Could you spare us? The Dragon Tiger Sect will certainly present a generous gift!"
Dazzling starlight shimmered over Xiao Minghuang's snow-white skin, making her seem like a peerless female emperor, not someone of the mortal world. She spoke calmly:
"If there is a generous gift, I will naturally take it from your corpse."
Before her words had even faded.
She raised her long blade high and slashed down once more!
The previous Sword Qi had yet to disperse when another arrived, crashing continuously against Huang Jin's spiritual energy barrier.
After three breaths.
Crack!
His spiritual energy protection shattered with a sound!
The resplendent starlight blade shadow descended through the air, sweeping across Huang Jin's arms and unleashing a tremendous impact that sent his entire body flying. He retreated dozens of meters before smashing viciously into a massive boulder.
Huang Jin was slammed deeply into the boulder. The golden radiance around his body dimmed, and his spiritual energy weakened. The dazzling Sword Qi had directly severed both his hands. Scarlet blood gushed endlessly, dyeing the ground red in the blink of an eye.
"My hands! My hands! Ahhh!!!"
Huang Jin's eyes nearly split apart. He struggled in agony but could not rise. He could only keep twisting his neck and wailing in despair.
As a Body Refining Martial Artist, having both hands forcibly severed in battle was even more unbearable than death. It was a humiliation.
Once his hands had been severed, they could never regenerate unless he had a Body Regrowth Pill.
But such a pill was a Mysterious Tier High-grade medicinal pill. It was impossible for it to be used on a mere Spring Gushing Realm yellow-robed elder.
The scene before them stunned everyone present.
[|%
The two were separated by an entire major realm. This was not something ordinary martial arts or magic treasures could make up for.
On Beiyang City's side, only Ye, the two Lin women, and Lin Zhengquan knew that Xiao Minghuang possessed a Heaven Tier spiritual root and talent far beyond ordinary people. Yet even they could not have imagined that she could cross an entire major realm and defeat Huang Jin.
Among everyone present, only Wang Bao saw a few clues.
He looked toward the scarlet figure standing at the center of the field, his expression ugly beyond compare.
"At the very least, she has cultivated an Earth Tier martial art to Major Accomplishment and comprehended a divine ability. On top of that, she possesses a Top-grade Yellow Tier Magic Treasure. Such a monster—even within the Dragon Tiger Sect, perhaps only Eldest Senior Brother could defeat her!"
Wang Bao could not understand why such a peerless monster could appear in the martial-path-declining Thirty-Six Kingdoms. Could this woman truly have been born bearing Heaven's mandate?
In an instant, a thought arose in his heart.
"No! I must report this to the sect and ask a Spirit Seed Realm senior to act and kill this monster. Otherwise, my sect may face a calamity that topples the sky and overturns the earth someday!"
The next moment.
Wang Bao stuffed several medicinal pills into his mouth in one breath, all spiritual pills meant to restore spiritual energy and heal injuries.
His aura gradually recovered, and he moved to flee from the place.
At the same time.
Xiao Minghuang, who had remained serene and composed at the center of the field, spoke once more.
"I said that none of you will leave here today."
Then.
Xiao Minghuang withdrew her aura and tossed the long blade in her hand high into the air. It landed before Lin Zhengquan.
"City Lord Lin, clear the field!"
Lin Zhengquan, who had been stunned all this time, suddenly snapped awake when he saw the golden long blade hovering before him.
Gripping the long blade, he hurriedly answered:
"As you command!"
"Men of Beiyang City, follow me and slaughter these thieves from the Golden Elephant Kingdom!"
Before his words had even faded.
Countless soldiers sprang into action. Hundreds of Body Tempering Realm martial artists drew the swords from their waists together, their might vast and impossible to resist.
Seeing the imposing military force of Beiyang City, the armored soldiers of the Golden Elephant Kingdom all revealed fearful expressions. Huang Jin had already been defeated—how could Body Tempering Realm martial artists like them withstand the blades of Spring Gushing Realm experts?
In the blink of an eye.
Lin Zhengquan led Beiyang City's forces in a killing charge. With a wave of his hand, he slashed out a beam of blade light that killed dozens of Golden Elephant Kingdom armored soldiers.
Just as the two armies were locked in battle.
Wang Bao took advantage of the chaos and darted into the dense forest.
As the shouts behind him grew increasingly distant, Wang Bao wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a breath of relief. His pupils were filled with lingering fear as he muttered:
"The Ninth Princess of Xia is truly a heavenly being!"
"I must immediately report such a monster to the sect and ask my masters to act and execute this woman!"
The moment his words fell.
Leaves suddenly drifted down within the dense forest. After a string of footsteps, a clear, pleasant voice filled with killing intent rang out.
"If you had not spoken that last sentence, I could have let you die a little more comfortably."
Then.
Layer upon layer of withered yellow leaves receded like the tide. A beautiful figure slowly approached. The young woman wore a vivid red dress, her skin as fine and smooth as white jade. She held a dark-blue long blade that exuded a cold, damp aura, like an ice blade from the netherworld's Yellow Springs sent to claim lives.
Upon seeing that figure and sensing the aura radiating from her body, Wang Bao's expression swiftly changed from initial shock and despair to delight and pleasure.
"I was wondering who it was. So it was Miss Lin?"
Wang Bao's expression returned to calm. He let out a soft breath and said with a grin:
"What? Did Miss Lin follow me here because you want to join my Dragon Tiger Sect?"
"Or do you think I am so dashing and extraordinary that you wish to offer yourself to me?"
The young woman standing with her blade in hand was none other than Lin Wanqiu, who had come to hunt down Wang Bao.
She spoke indifferently:
"You are already at death's door, yet you still spout nonsense. By His Highness's order, I have come to kill you!"
At those words.
Wang Bao's face turned cold, his gaze darkening as he said in an icy voice:
"If the Ninth Princess of Xia had come in person, I might fear her somewhat. But with you, a mere Body Tempering Realm cultivator, you want to kill me?"
Hearing that, Lin Wanqiu remained calm. She stepped forward with her blade and said evenly:
"You want His Highness to act? Are you worthy?"
Azur Lane Begins with Calling Mama
(Azur Lane fanfiction, not a recovery story! There is romance, but it is not a romance novel. It leans toward plot, with plenty of sweetness and just a little angst...
Raising! Shota! Beautiful boy! Growth!!! He will grow up! The pace slows down somewhat toward the end~~)
There's Another Pill in His Highness's Arms?
During the earlier martial contest, Wang Bao had personally seen Lin Wanqiu defeat a Body Tempering Peak Realm martial artist with a single punch.
But if that made him fear Lin Wanqiu, then that would be greatly mistaken.
As a Qi Refining Seventh Layer Realm expert, he had already opened seven apertures. Spiritual energy swirled within his Dantian, and every gesture overflowed with spiritual energy. He was far beyond what a mere Body Tempering Realm martial artist could compare to.
So what if Lin Wanqiu held a magic treasure long blade? As a disciple of a great sect, he could tell that the dark-blue long blade was merely a Yellow Tier mid-grade treasure. It was far inferior to the Top-grade Yellow Tier long blade in Xiao Minghuang's hand.
Moreover, Lin Wanqiu was only at the Body Tempering Peak Realm. Whether she could fully wield all the power of a Yellow Tier mid-grade magic treasure long blade was still uncertain.
In the blink of an eye.
Wang Bao cracked his fingers, producing a series of cracks. He sneered and said:
"Hmph! Little girl, your mouth is really hard!"
"Let me see whether your blade is as hard as your strength!"
Lin Wanqiu stood with her blade in hand and said nothing more. A faint dark-blue cold gleam curled around its edge.
"Divine Tiger Descends the Mountain!"
Before you continue