Did You Ask His Majesty?

Ding Xiu gripped his saber with both hands and smiled at Zhao Jingzhong, but bone-chilling murderous intent filled his eyes. "To kill you, of course! Eunuch Zhao, can't you even tell that?"

Bewildered, Zhao Jingzhong snapped angrily, "You took my silver, yet you're attacking me? Have you no honor?"

"You wrong me, Eunuch. I do have professional standards."

Ding Xiu smiled. "You gave me two hundred taels to kill Li Zhong. Now, isn't Li Zhong dead?"

Professional standards, my ass!

Zhao Jingzhong seethed. "What about Liu Xi?"

Ding Xiu smiled and pointed at the nearby battle. "Don't worry, Eunuch. Liu Xi will be dead soon."

Zhao Jingzhong turned to look. Under Yu Huatian's ruthless sword attacks, Liu Xi was retreating steadily, utterly unable to fight back. Wounds already covered his body, leaving him drenched in blood.

At this rate, his death was only a matter of time.

"You set me up?!"

Zhao Jingzhong gritted his teeth. "I want to buy my own life. Name your price!"

"Certainly, but business must be done one deal at a time."

Ding Xiu smiled. "Lord Yu of the West Depot gave me two thousand taels for your life, Eunuch Zhao. Only after I've killed you can I take the next job."

"You..."

How could Zhao Jingzhong fail to realize now that Yu Huatian had schemed against him too? Wasting no more words, he kicked his spear up, caught it in his hand, and attacked Ding Xiu.

"You overestimate yourself!"

A mocking smile touched Ding Xiu's lips as he slashed backhanded. This time, Zhao Jingzhong was prepared and gripped his spear tightly to keep it from being knocked away again. Instead, the ferocious force sent him flying backward, coughing blood.

Horror filled Zhao Jingzhong's heart. Instantly recognizing the gulf between himself and Ding Xiu, he scrambled up and tried to flee. But this time, he had no chance. He had taken only two steps when a chill brushed his neck, and his head shot into the sky.

Still clutching the spear, his body ran another two steps on momentum before collapsing with a thud.

Zhao Jingzhong was dead!

"Senior brother!"

Though Zhao Tong had Wei Ting pinned down, she occasionally checked on Zhao Jingzhong's fight. When she turned this time, she happened to see Ding Xiu behead him with a single slash. Her expression changed, and she cried out in alarm.

Yet in a battle between experts, a single moment of distraction was often enough to prove fatal.

Zhao Tong seized that moment when Wei Ting froze. His double-ended spear stabbed into her back and pierced through her chest.

Wei Ting lowered her head and stared blankly at the bloodstained spearhead protruding from her chest. Her strength gradually drained away. Just as she was about to summon all her remaining strength to turn and deliver one final slash, Zhao Tong kicked her from behind, sending her stumbling to the ground.

As the world spun around her, Wei Ting's gaze dimmed. She seemed to see the figure who had raised her from childhood in the night sky. "Adoptive father..."

Thud-

Zhao Tong withdrew his spear and glanced at Wei Ting's corpse, showing not the slightest tenderness toward the fallen beauty. He stabbed her in the chest again, confirmed she was dead, then turned to join Tan Luzi's battle.

Usually occupied with the West Depot's administrative affairs, Tan Luzi had reached mid-stage innate in his True Qi cultivation, but his martial skills were only average. Facing the innate expert under Liu Xi alone was proving difficult.

With Zhao Tong joining him, however, the pressure on Tan Luzi eased considerably. He tightened his grip on his sword and attacked in anger. Together, they overwhelmed the innate expert and soon cut him down.

"Aah-"

At the same time, a scream rang out nearby.

Liu Xi's last innate expert made one careless move. Ma Jinliang seized the opening, his twin swords flashing through the air to cleave the man in two.

With that, all four innate experts had fallen.

Ma Jinliang and the other two gathered together. They glanced at Ding Xiu, who had already sheathed his saber nearby, ignored him, and turned toward the final battlefield.

Rumble-

A battle between grandmasters was on an entirely different level from one between innate experts.

Liu Xi was even stronger than Zhao Huaian, who had previously died under Yu Huatian's sword. Moreover, the Energy-Absorbing Great Method he practiced allowed him to absorb energy from a distance.

Although Yu Huatian's cultivation was firmly established and the astral energy of his Sunflower True Energy protected him, preventing Liu Xi from draining his True Qi, the Energy-Absorbing Great Method still stirred the True Qi within him and kept him from concentrating it.

This irritated Yu Huatian immensely. He simply stopped trying to suppress Liu Xi with True Qi and instead fought him with the Sunflower Manual's seventy-two sword forms.

Even so, there was no telling how many experts' internal energies Liu Xi had absorbed. His True Qi was a jumble of different energies, and he was like a cockroach that refused to die, slowly repairing himself even as he sustained wounds. That was why he had lasted so long against Yu Huatian.

By now, however, without any way to replenish his True Qi, Liu Xi's lamp was nearly dry of oil.

Bang!

Finally, Liu Xi had expended too much True Qi, and his body-protecting astral energy shattered completely.

Yu Huatian seized the opening without hesitation and slashed. Liu Xi had no time to react and was sent flying, another bloody gash opening across his chest, almost deep enough to expose bone.

Swish-

A cold gleam flashed through the night.

Liu Xi's pupils dilated as he watched the deadly sword light grow before his eyes. Terror filled his gaze, but his mind was utterly blank. He had no idea how to react.

"Wait!"

A clear voice suddenly rang through the blood-reeking courtyard.

Immediately afterward, a brilliant saber light tore through the air, attempting to block Yu Huatian's attack.

"How dare you!"

Ma Jinliang and the others flew into a rage and instantly drew their swords to act.

But before they could move, another figure moved faster.

Clang-

Two brilliant saber lights collided in the night, producing an ear-piercing clang.

A moment later, Ding Xiu grunted. The newcomer's slash drove him back more than a dozen paces, leaving a row of deep footprints in the ground.

Yu Huatian heard the commotion too, but paid it no attention. Without even looking at the newcomers, he brought his sword down swiftly, slicing through Liu Xi's neck as easily as cutting tofu.

Swish-

Liu Xi's expression remained blank. He felt no pain at all. Only after a long while did a thin line of blood slowly appear around his neck. A moment later, his head dropped off with a thump, his eyes wide open in death.

Blood instantly spurted several feet into the air from the headless corpse!

[Fortune from Liu Xi +3500.]

Ignoring the notification in his mind, Yu Huatian stepped farther away to keep the blood from staining his clothes.

He handed his sword to Tan Luzi beside him, accepted the silk handkerchief the latter offered, and leisurely wiped his hands clean. Only then did he raise his head to look at the two uninvited guests before him.

They were two young men of similar build.

The difference was that one wore white. Handsome and refined, he looked every inch a graceful young gentleman. He held a Japanese sword and was glaring furiously at Yu Huatian.

The other wore a hooded cloak and a long black robe, his expression indifferent. The Blood-Sweat Treasure Saber in his hand was already drawn. Clearly, he was the one who had driven Ding Xiu back.

Their appearances gave Yu Huatian a vague idea of who they were, but he paid them no heed. Returning the handkerchief to Tan Luzi, he said evenly, "Clean up the battlefield. Check how many people died and how they died. Record everything in detail. Tomorrow, I'll enter the palace for an audience with His Majesty."

"Yes, my lord!"

Tan Luzi bowed respectfully, then turned away to give the orders.

"You..."

Seeing Yu Huatian ignore them outright, the young man in white immediately grew angry. The young man in black looked colder still.

"I told you to stop! Why did you still kill him?!"

The young man in white could no longer contain himself and demanded an answer.

Swish!

But the instant he finished speaking, a sword on the ground suddenly shot into the air and hurtled toward him.

His expression changed. Before he could act, however, the man in black beside him slashed out, shattering the sword.

Bang-

As the fragments scattered, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Yu Huatian looked utterly unconcerned. He watched the young man calmly. "Who the hell are you? Just because you tell me to stop, must I obey?"

Repeatedly belittled, the young man in white's expression also turned cold. "I am Duan Tianya, an imperial secret agent of the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa. On the prince's orders, I have come to stop this conflict at the East Depot. As the West Depot's superintendent, you came to the East Depot and killed people without authorization. Do you have any regard for the prince?!"

The Dragon Guard Mountain Villa!

Hearing that name, Ma Jinliang and the others' expressions changed.

Only Yu Huatian remained unperturbed, as calm as ever.

"Oh, the Heaven First-Rank secret agent, Duan Tianya."

Yu Huatian glanced at the cold-faced young man in black. "Then you must be Earth First-Rank, Guihai Yidao?"

Guihai Yidao remained silent and indifferent.

Yu Huatian did not mind. He turned to the more talkative Duan Tianya and said evenly, "The Dragon Guard Mountain Villa may have the authority to monitor the realm and execute first, report later, but that authority doesn't extend to me, does it?"

Duan Tianya said coldly, "The prince possesses an iron certificate and an imperial sword bestowed by the late emperor. He established the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa by imperial decree to safeguard the Ming realm. Anything that threatens its stability falls under the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa's jurisdiction!"

Yu Huatian's expression turned cold as well.

"The Iron Gallant Divine Marquis has an imperial sword, but His Majesty has also granted the West Depot the authority to execute first and report later!"

"The Dragon Guard Mountain Villa monitors the realm and safeguards the Ming's stability. The West Depot likewise supervises all officials and has the authority to arrest, interrogate, and execute!"

"Furthermore, I am the superintendent of the West Depot, appointed by His Majesty himself and answerable directly to him. If the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa wants authority over my West Depot, did you ask His Majesty?"

"You think you can use the Iron Gallant Divine Marquis to pressure me?"

Murderous intent blazed in Yu Huatian's eyes. He stared at the two men and said coldly, "In rank, I am the Iron Gallant Divine Marquis's equal. You two are merely dogs under his command. Has he never taught you the proper way to greet a superior?!"

"If this happens again, I'll slaughter you like pigs and dogs. Don't say you weren't warned!"

Both men's expressions instantly turned ugly. Yet beneath Yu Huatian's oppressive gaze, a chill ran through their bodies, and neither dared utter another threat.

Through those eyes brimming with dominance and murderous intent, they could sense that Yu Huatian truly dared to kill them.

Yu Huatian's strength was unfathomable. With so many West Depot experts present as well, if he wanted them dead, they likely would not escape.

"Trash!"

Seeing that just a few words had frightened them into silence, a trace of disdain flashed through Yu Huatian's eyes. In the end, they were only "weapons" raised by Zhu Wushi, with little experience of people or the ways of the world.

With temperaments like that, no wonder they both ended tragically in the original series!

"Go back and tell the Iron Gallant Divine Marquis that I killed Liu Xi. If he objects, he can come to the palace tomorrow too, and we can confront each other before His Majesty!"

"As for you two, remember tonight's warning. If you shout and make a scene in my presence again, don't blame me for refusing to spare your lives out of respect for the Iron Gallant Divine Marquis!"

"Get lost!"

With that, Yu Huatian ignored the two men's ugly expressions, waved a hand, and turned to leave.

"Let's go."

"Yes, my lord!"

The West Depot personnel quickly assembled and began withdrawing in an orderly fashion.

Ding Xiu glanced at the saber in Guihai Yidao's hand nearby. After a moment's hesitation, he followed the departing West Depot personnel.

Duan Tianya and Guihai Yidao stood where they were, silently watching the West Depot leave. Their faces were icy and their eyes burned with anger, but neither dared act on it.

Only after everyone from the West Depot had disappeared did Duan Tianya cast a cold glance in its direction. His face dark, he said, "Let's go. We'll report to our adoptive father!"

Guihai Yidao glanced at him without a word. Pushing off with his toes, he bounded across the rooftops and vanished into the night.

PS: The book has started its trial recommendation run. During this period, continued readership is the main factor determining whether it advances to the next round. I hope everyone will avoid saving up chapters and open each new chapter to keep reading. Thank you, bosses.

Also, the update schedule will be fixed during the new-book period: two chapters a day, released promptly at midnight and 6 p.m.

(End of chapter)