Storming Jade Elegance Estate

The tall, powerful horse snorted, playfully trampling the fallen leaves underfoot.

Nearly sixty Eastern Depot Agents and chief constables from the Western Depot crushed dry leaves beneath their feet as they appeared at every gate of Jade Elegance Estate.

Chen Yi had privately asked Min Ming about Jade Elegance Estate's background. Learning that goods would be loaded and unloaded today, he had patiently waited an entire day so he could catch them red-handed with the contraband.

His remark, "Then what business is it of yours if I bring armed men?!" had infuriated all the estate guards, but when they saw the Embroidered Uniform Guard following him in a menacing wave, they could not help retreating several steps.

Chen Yi drew his saber and pointed at Jade Elegance Estate's main gate.

"The Eastern Depot is investigating a case. No one is to obstruct us."

The estate guards' faces tightened. Holding spears and staves, they did not know what to do. There was a large quantity of Five-Stone Powder inside Jade Elegance Estate today. If they allowed these Embroidered Uniform Guards inside to investigate, even Prince Jing's Manor's all-reaching influence would not save the estate from being left half-dead.

"My lord, please allow me to report your arrival first..."

Seeing the menacing Embroidered Uniform Guards, the head guard broke into a cold sweat and changed his tone.

"Once you've finished reporting, what will be left for us to investigate?"

Chen Yi countered, then pulled on the reins, facing the gate and preparing to ride inside.

"My lord, you mustn't!"

The head guard panicked and immediately advanced with his spear to block him.

Then he heard an icy sentence.

"Anyone who brazenly takes up arms against the Two Depots and One Guard and obstructs an investigation is to be executed on the spot."

Chen Yi's voice was cold.

As his words fell, Min Ning drew her saber and slashed.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the head guard had no defense. With a single Wind- and Rain-Scattering Saber strike, both his spear-wielding hands were severed and fell to the ground. A scream abruptly rang out.

Chaos erupted in an instant, and a fierce battle broke out outside Jade Elegance Estate.

With the sounds of hacking and killing ringing out beyond the estate, how could the Feng father and son inside remain undisturbed?

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard? Who brought the Embroidered Uniform Guard here?! Who dares bring them to investigate Jade Elegance Estate?!"

Estate Master Feng demanded in an icy voice.

"Master, it's... it's that Western Depot Thousand Household, Chen Yi! He brought that Min Ning and a group of Embroidered Uniform Guards to surround the estate!"

The steward spoke, trembling with fear.

Estate Master Feng's expression darkened. He paced back and forth in the hall, thought rapidly, then ordered:

"Send someone out through the side gate first. Hurry and tell them to stop unloading."

"But Master, there's still plenty of goods on the estate. What should we do with those? Sink them in the lake?"

"They could still find them in the lake. We absolutely cannot let them discover these goods! Call everyone out. My son and I will both fight. We'll battle them until the fish dies and the net breaks!"

Estate Master Feng spoke in a near roar, then quickly took up his weapon and headed for the Martial Practice Field.

His son Feng Luo's face was equally dark. He drew his sword and followed his father.

The wolfdogs barked frantically in unease.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards from the Eastern and Western Depots had launched a surprise attack to begin with. Now, like a force sweeping through rotten wood, they cut down swathes of Jade Elegance Estate's guards.

Chen Yi slashed into a guard's chest and wrenched his saber free. Looking back, he realized they had already fought their way to Jade Elegance Estate's Martial Practice Field.

In the pavilions beside the Martial Practice Field, the scholars and poets who often drank wine and composed verses praising chivalry were all cowering beneath the tables at the sight of the bloody scenes.

Another estate guard charged from the side with a spear, roaring, but Chen Yi stood unmoving.

Thinking he had succeeded, the guard thrust fiercely. Before he could get close, however, the gleaming Embroidered Spring Saber, Thoughtless, flashed before his eyes.

Min Ning severed both his hands, then knocked him to the ground and drove her saber point down into his throat.

Chen Yi glanced at the severed hands on the ground and asked:

"Why do you always cut off their hands?"

"...I learned it from you."

Min Ning caught her breath and spoke quietly.

Clearly, the saber strike that had slain the Ghost General in Huai River Village's ancestral shrine had once again left an exceptionally deep impression on this Martial Dao prodigy.

Chen Yi smiled and said:

"Don't learn the surface. Learn the true intention. As you said, 'With reason in a single saber strike, Wind- and Rain-Scattering Saber.'"

Min Ning glared at him.

"You're not allowed to tease me!"

Chen Yi was about to reply when he saw one man in armor carrying a spear and another wielding a sword charging toward the Martial Practice Field with soaring momentum.

Of the Feng father and son, Estate Master Feng Ying was renowned for his Sixteen Wumen Spears. He was a Sixth Grade expert even by the standards of the martial world. His spear technique was known for its speed and ferocity, and there was a tale of him shattering a three-inch-thick wall with a single thrust.

His son Feng Luo was an outer disciple of the Nameless Old Matron, with his name entered in the Magpie Pavilion's rolls. This was a secret organization painstakingly cultivated by Empress Dowager An, its secrecy unparalleled. It had several experts above the Fifth Grade, and even Third-Grade Minor Grandmasters. All Magpie Pavilion personnel acknowledged the Nameless Old Matron as their godmother.

At the sight of Chen Yi, Feng Ying's expression turned vicious. He charged first with his spear, its momentum fierce and unyielding. His body followed the weapon as it tore through the air with a succession of piercing whistles.

Facing the incoming thrust, Chen Yi not only did not retreat, but stepped forward instead, raising his saber to meet that ferocious spear head-on.

Though it looked as if he were throwing his life away, Min Ning was not worried in the least. He had already defeated the Ghost General, so what was a human by comparison?

She raised her saber and turned to face Feng Luo. Thinking of the strike with which Chen Yi had slain the ghost, she sank her qi into her dantian.

Chen Yi faced Feng Ying, and Min Ning faced Feng Luo. All four paired off and fought.

As the ferocious spear thrust came at him, Chen Yi did not dodge. Instead, he raised his saber and unleashed Wind- and Rain-Scattering Saber, slashing straight into the spear's point.

Bang!

The instant metal clashed, joy appeared on Feng Ying's face. His fierce thrust was powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone, let alone an Embroidered Spring Saber. The spear was the king of all weapons; naturally, it stood above a saber's edge.

Yet in the next instant, his expression abruptly froze.

Immense force surged through the blade. The sturdy hard rosewood spear shaft actually began to bend, and then a crack visible to the naked eye appeared in its middle. That slash had nearly cleaved his spear clean in two.

The spear shaft shook violently, splitting the webbing of Feng Ying's hands and drawing blood. He staggered back several steps and was about to withdraw his spear, but Chen Yi was already pressing forward.

Seeing this, Feng Ying bellowed to bolster his momentum once more. His spear stirred a biting wind as he thrust straight ahead, attempting to force Chen Yi back.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yi pivoted and raised his saber to bind the thrust. Before Feng Ying could turn his thrust into an upward sweep, Chen Yi was already before him. Raising his other hand, he smashed a punch into Feng Ying's face!

The Cangshan Fist struck, snapping Feng Ying's head back and breaking the bridge of his nose. His footing instantly faltered. Chen Yi drove a knee into him, and Feng Ying fell to the ground in an instant.

Whether Embroidered Uniform Guards or Jade Elegance Estate's guards, everyone who saw this was shocked.

Estate Master Feng was a Sixth Grade expert, only one step away from having his name entered in the Directorate of Celestial Observations' register. Yet now, in just a few exchanges, he had been defeated so easily!

On the other side, Feng Luo saw this and let out a hoarse cry, his attention slipping for an instant.

Min Ning seized the opportunity and closed in, binding Feng Luo's sword before kicking his wrist hard, disarming him on the spot. She then raised the back of her saber and smashed it into his face. Feng Luo's head spun from the blow, and he collapsed to the ground.

With both Feng father and son subdued, the battle at Jade Elegance Estate swept toward its end like a force crushing rotten wood.