"Daoist Xuanxiao, should we..."
"Master Fakong, should we..."
Just as the two old eunuchs were struggling to resist Xu Xiao's gravitational pressure, the monk and the Daoist in the distance spoke at the same time.
They glanced at each other, each seeing a hint of some unspoken meaning in the other's eyes.
Should they wade into these muddy waters? The intruder this time seemed no ordinary opponent!
The relationship between the imperial protectors and the Zhao Song imperial court was not one where they shared in each other's glory and ruin.
At least, that was true of this monk and Daoist. Old General Qin from before was a subject of the Zhao family, while the two old eunuchs were attendants from within the palace.
Their families had received the Zhao Song imperial court's favor for generations, so they had also been the first to strike without hesitation.
But the monk and the Daoist were different. The two had agreed to protect the reigning emperor in exchange for the favorable treatment offered by Zhao Song. There was no reason for them to stake their lives.
"Daoist Xuanxiao, judging by the situation, the intruder has come with ill intent. We won't gain anything by rushing in. Why don't we wait and see how things develop?"
"Master Fakong is right. This villain's origins are strange, and his methods are unheard of. Rather than rush to attack, we should observe from the sidelines and join forces once we spot an opening."
The two had come to the same conclusion. They exchanged a glance and even retreated some distance.
Forget the notion that unparalleled martial arts experts were bound to be noble and unafraid of death.
Quite the opposite. At their level, perhaps only a chance to advance their martial arts further would make them risk their lives.
Everything else was in vain. Be it religious traditions, faith, or loyalty to the sovereign and service to the nation, at their age, they had long since seen through it all.
Coming to the Zhao family to enjoy the imperial family's favors and privileges was merely a transaction. Losing their lives and the internal energy they had painstakingly cultivated for eighty or ninety years over such meager benefits was clearly not worth it.
Moreover, both had heard the two old eunuchs' cries and already knew that the intruder was not using martial arts either, so he could not arouse any interest in them.
The two had even resolved to turn tail and run the moment the old eunuchs could no longer hold out.
After all, the world was vast. With their martial attainments, they could still live as they pleased without the Zhao Song imperial court.
Just as the two were watching and preparing to flee, the old eunuchs confronting Xu Xiao could no longer hold out.
That was especially true of the old eunuch who had opened the fight by scattering golden needles. He cultivated soft, yin-based internal energy and specialized in speed and hidden weapons.
Neither advantage was of any use in the present situation. Relying on internal energy and his physical body alone, he was finding it difficult to withstand the pressure of ten tons of gravity.
"Looks like you martial arts experts really are hard to kill. Even that wasn't enough to take you down. Let me add a little more pressure!"
Xu Xiao could already see that the two below were struggling to hold on. He suddenly withdrew the crushing force, and the iron sheet hovering nearby shot forward once more.
When the pressure suddenly vanished, the two old eunuchs, who had been using their full strength to resist, could not rein it in quickly enough. The old eunuch who had already been unable to endure it was hit especially hard. His internal energy lost its opposing force, and his body lurched forward in a stumble.
With that, his whole body was left open!
"Watch out, A Lin!"
The old eunuch beside him, his two lean arms bare, let out a roar. Ignoring his own disordered breath, he swung his bare arms straight at the iron sheet.
Clang, clang, clang!
Though they were made of ordinary flesh and blood, his arms produced the sound of metal striking metal when they hit the iron sheet. Clearly, the old eunuch's external martial arts had reached a remarkable level.
"A Guang, you can't hold it off!" the old eunuch beside him cried urgently in a high-pitched voice, but he was still too late.
The iron sheet that the old eunuch named A Guang had just knocked away flew back again, while Xu Xiao clenched his hand in the sky.
This time, his only target was the old eunuch who had stepped forward.
You like sticking your neck out, do you? The rafter that sticks out rots first.
Xu Xiao did not care what martial arts he had practiced. His approach was to strike unexpectedly and catch his opponent unprepared.
Old Eunuch A Guang was busy circulating his cultivation method and using his body-tempering external arts to knock the iron sheet away when he suddenly felt the vanished crushing pressure return.
The pressure around his body surged, and the circulation of his internal energy faltered. At the same time, his protective true Qi instinctively spread outward.
But a realization flashed through his mind: It's too late.
Sure enough, the next second, the iron sheet seized the instant his internal energy stagnated, broke straight through his protective true Qi, and sliced through his body.
There was little resistance. It passed through him only a fraction slower than it had passed through Old General Qin, but a body of flesh and blood still could not stop the iron sheet controlled by Telekinesis.
Old Eunuch A Guang had been able to knock the iron sheet away with his arms earlier partly because his unique cultivation method, external training, and abundant internal energy worked together, and partly because he had combined firmness with softness at the instant of contact to slap it away rather than withstand it head-on.
Now his internal energy had stagnated, and the iron sheet had attacked him instead of him knocking it away first, leading to a completely different outcome.
A mist of blood sprayed out. Several bowl-sized holes appeared in Old Eunuch A Guang's body, and he slowly collapsed to the ground.
But because Xu Xiao had deliberately avoided striking his heart and other vital points, the old eunuch would not die just yet.
"A Guang!" On the other side, A Lin, the old eunuch with the soft, yin-based cultivation, saw his companion fall and hurriedly threw himself toward him.
You're next.
Xu Xiao did not care about moving, heartfelt friendship or any other kind of feeling. He only wanted to kill the other man.
Strike while he's down and take his life!
The old eunuch named A Lin was so worried that he lost his composure, or perhaps he no longer cared about the attack that was about to come.
The next second, the iron sheet passed through his body just as it had before, and the two men fell atop one another.
"A Guang~" "A Lin~"
There might or might not have been something between the two, but Xu Xiao did not care. He had only left them alive because he had his eye on their internal energy.
After confirming that the two would not die for the time being, Xu Xiao turned his gaze to the monk and Daoist, who were leaping away into the distance.
"Trying to run! Isn't it a little too late for that?"
Xu Xiao accelerated and immediately gave chase.
He had yet to find the emperor of Zhao Song. If those two watched the show for so long and then ran off just like that, wouldn't he be letting them off too easily?
Running was no match for flying. With Xu Xiao giving chase at full speed, it took only five seconds for him to appear directly above them.
To pursue them, he had temporarily left the three women on a ceremonial pillar. How could he allow the two to escape?
"If you two keep running, I'll kill you without mercy."
A voice brimming with killing intent rang out from the sky. Hearing it, the monk and Daoist on the ground had no choice but to stop.
The two moved closer together, covering each other as they confronted Xu Xiao.
"Please spare our lives, expert. There's no grudge between us. There's no need to kill us all, is there?"
The monk's and Daoist's hearts were in their throats. Neither had expected Xu Xiao to catch up so quickly.
"I can spare your lives, but you'll have to pay me a sufficient price."
Xu Xiao thought it over in the sky and agreed. He had been in the imperial palace for quite some time already. If he delayed any longer and the emperor hid himself, he would have no way to find him.
"All right, name it. As long as it's within our power, we'll certainly meet your demand, expert!"
The monk and Daoist below considered it for two seconds before immediately agreeing.
They had no choice. From what they had just seen, even together they could not defeat him. They would probably end up like the three before them, so they might as well be straightforward and agree to his demands.
"I'm looking for the emperor of Zhao Song. Do you have any news of him, or a way to help me find him?"
"Well..."
"Hmm?"
"Yes, yes, yes! This humble monk has a way. Please, hear me out..."