While Qing Chibai was avoiding the iron pieces, Zhang Ruochen attacked and charged towards Qing Chibai.
“Dragon Shape and Elephant Shadow!”
Although the fourth movement of Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm was a low-class of Spiritual martial technique, it was as powerful as a mid-class Spiritual Stage martial technique.
Zhang Ruochen’s body seemed to be divided into two parts, charging at Qing Chibai from both the left and right. The human shadow on the left struck out Dragon Claw Hand while the right struck out Elephant Palm Print.
Oh no!
Seeing Zhang Ruochen charging, Qing Chibai’s countenance fell and he had to gather enough Genuine Qi to make movements hurriedly. All five fingers on both hands clenched into fists and released at the same time.
“BOOM!”
Palms and fists crashed into each other.
The technique Zhang Ruochen applied was Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm. Since Qing Chibai fended off with his hands hastily, he wasn’t strong enough to block Zhang Ruochen’s palm technique.
Under the impact of the mighty palm force, Qing Chibai spat out a mouthful of blood. His inverted body flew out toward the palace below.
Jinfeng Court was more than 80 meters high. If it weren’t for being hurt, he could have reached the ground safely by displaying Meteoric Rise.
However, he was not only injured but also unable to apply the body skill at all.
Once he fell, he was bound to be seriously injured, or possibly even dead.
In order to defeat Qing Chibai, Zhang Ruochen had been hit by two sword pieces and was injured as well. Despite this, he immediately jumped off the top of the palace and wanted to save Qing Chibai. After all, Zhang Ruochen did not hate Qing Chibai but instead, saw him as a strong opponent.
At the very last minute, Zhang Ruochen grabbed Qing Chibai’s sleeves slowing down his fall.
Shortly after, came a piercing sound.
The sleeves were torn.
“PHHHF!”
Qing Chibai fell into the pond, splashing water six meters high.
Zhang Ruochen fell to the water’s surface and stood on a wooden stick. He saw the piece of fabric in his hand, and then he looked out over the water.
He had reduced Qing Chibai’s falling force tremendously. Together, with the buffer of the pond water, he should be all right?
Not only was Zhang Ruochen nervous, so were the young geniuses. If Qing Chibai had fallen to his death, it would be a real joke if the word spread out.
Certainly, everyone admired Zhang Ruochen too. He had obviously defeated Qing Chibai, yet even with his injury, he’d saved Qing Chibai. This breadth of mind was very impressive.
Those who had looked down on Zhang before changed their minds in this moment.
“Waaa!”
Suddenly, Qing Chibai shot up from the water not far from Zhang Ruochen. He was only three meters away. “I haven’t lost yet!” he roared.
“WHEW!”
In his two fingers, there was a piece of dreadfully cold and broken sword. With Genuine Qi running and fingertips snapping, the broken sword was striking towards Zhang Ruochen.
It was the sword tip he had broken before.
He’d thrown the sword tip into the pond. Now he picked it up and turned it into a hidden weapon.
With such close distance, he could not even dodge it.
Zhang Ruochen could only try to avoid letting it hit the vital parts of his body.
“PFFFF!”
The 15-centimeter sword tip pierced into Zhang Ruochen’s chest. Blood gushed out from his body.
Qing Chibai fell onto the water surface with his hair disheveled and laughed with his face upturned. “haha! I am the strongest man among the younger generation. Zhang Ruochen, do you still have any strength to fight?”
Zhang Ruochen stared at Qing Chibai, his eyes filled with complication. There was a trace of firmness in his eyes. He clenched his teeth and unfolded his arms, the Spiritual Blood inside his body gushed out from the wound.
The rich Spiritual Blood was condensed into the Nine Handle Blood Sword around Zhang Ruochen’s body. With the sword tip facing downward and the handle upward, it spun around Zhang Ruocheng quickly
Qing Chibai regarded Zhang Ruochen standing opposite him. His expression changed. He immediately mobilized his Genuine Qi and displayed a defensive martial technique.
“CLASH!”
The Nine Handle Blood Swords came together and condensed into a handle.
Zhang Ruochen’s finger pointed forward.
The Blood Sword was like a beam of blood. It shot out and defeated Qing Chibai’s Genuine Qi.
“PUFFT!”
The Blood Sword penetrated Qing Chibai’s body and propelled him dozens of meters away with its powerful impact. His body hit a large rock on the shore.
A loud bang sound let out. Qing Chibai covered his bleeding abdomen with both of his hands. He fell from the boulder and fainted immediately.
No one had expected to see such a twist. It was just breathtaking. And finally, Zhang Ruochen won.
Especially considering at the last moment when Zhang Ruochen condensed his Spiritual Blood into the Nine Handle Blood Sword, and only one movement swiftly defeated Qing Chibai.
If he had used this movement at the very beginning, Qing Chibai would have been defeated long ago.
“Blood-condensed Nine Swords.” Tuoba Linsu observed. “This Blood Meridian is rare even since ancient times, and we surely have to admire it.”
“Zhang Ruochen didn’t want to show his last card at the very beginning,” declared Chen Tianshu. “But he never thought that Qing Chibai who was perfectly open in all his actions would sneak up on him at the end. So, Zhang Ruochen was actually attacking in anger at the end. He didn’t think much of it and applied the movement of nine swords flying together.”
Right now, no one in Jinfeng Court could remain calm. Everyone was still very excited. Especially since Zhang Ruochen’s last strike had been just amazing.
When the Nine swords were shot, who could stop them?
Even Qing Chibai had been defeated. Certainly, Zhang Ruochen deserved to be No.1 in the Sword Technique Conference.
The talent displayed by Zhang Ruochen shocked the Thirteenth Commandery Princess who had hated him very much before. Now she couldn’t utter a word.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his Genuine Qi and the broken sword inside his body quivered out.
A bloody broken sword fell to the ground with a clang.
Later, Zhang Ruochen sealed his Blood Meridians in the wound and swallowed a healing Pill.
When his condition was stabilized, Zhang Ruochen looked towards Qing Chibai who had been carried away by others. He shook his head with a few disappointment in his eyes.
Without a word, Zhang Ruochen left Jinfeng Court.
“Brother Zhang, you can’t leave yet!” Chen Tianshu stepped in front of Zhang Ruochen and glanced in the direction of the Thirteenth Commandery Princess. He murmured, “You are now the best warrior in the Sword Technique Conference. You have to marry the Thirteenth Commandery Princess.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “I attend the Sword Technique Conference did not for marry the Thirteenth Commandery Princess.”
Chen Tianshu said with a wry smile, “No matter what the reason is, you have become No.1 in the Sword Technique Conference. If you don’t marry the Thirteenth Commandery Princess, it means to show no respect for the Royal Family of Qianshui Commandery. If the Royal Family loses face, do you think they will let you go easily? I’m afraid the whole Yunwu Commandery will be diminished overnight, let alone you.”
Chen Tianshu had just finished speaking.
“BOOM!”
A loud noise broke out in the sky. In the void space two hundred meters above the ground, a tactical formation in the shape of a purple line appeared.
With the flickering of the purple line, a delicate pavilion emerged from the void space and suspended in the air. It looked like a palace inhabited by fairies.
Qianshui Commandery Prince and Ten Powerful Ministers in golden robes were all standing on the Flying Pavilion looking downwards. An ambience of valiant Martial Arts covered the entire palace.
The Young Genius below had just realized that the great man of Qianshui Commandery had been watching the Sword Technique Conference.
The golden light shining from Qianshui Commandery Prince gave people a powerful strain. He was in a very good mood and looked at Zhang Ruochen standing down below. “The world is full of genius nowadays which presents a flourishing scene,” he began. “Zhang Ruochen, you’ve defeated Qing Chibai, the top genius of Qianshui Commandery. I have great confidence in you. When are you going to marry the Thirteenth Commandery Princess?”
A Genius like Zhang Ruochen would definitely grow into one of the strongest in the future. Qianshui Commandery Prince would surely refuse to let him go and definitely wanted to take him as one of his own.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen would not marry the Thirteenth Commandery Princess. However, he couldn’t say anything like that unless he wished to offend Qianshui Commandery Prince.
If he did, he would harm himself and his family too.
Zhang Ruochen stood upright and slightly saluted Qianshui Commandery Prince who was standing above with joined hands. He said calmly, “To tell you the truth, there is a small misunderstanding between me and the Thirteenth Commandery Princess in which the Princess doesn’t like me either. If we get married, I’m afraid… that may not be appropriate.”
Then, Zhang Ruochen continued, “Commandery Prince, since you’ve been overlooking at the Sword Technique Conference this whole time, you should know that I didn’t want to participate in the competition. I was forced to do it. Actually, my purpose of attending this Sword Technique Conference was not to marry the Thirteenth Commandery Princess, but to meet you, Commandery Prince. I was hoping you could send reinforcements and offer help to Yunwu Commandery. If you could assist us, I will be deeply grateful.”
Hearing this, Minister Ning cried out loud in his mind. “This little kid is going to irritate the Commandery Prince!”
Minister Ning knew better than anyone else that Qianshui Commandery Prince didn’t want to know the purpose of Zhang Ruochen attending this Sword Technique Conference. He only wanted Zhang Ruochen to be his son-in-law and draw this top genius into his Royal Family.
For whatever reason, if Zhang Ruochen refused Qianshui Commandery Prince, he would be signing his own death warrant.
If you couldn’t use a genius for yourself, the best way to deal with it was to kill the genius.
Qianshui Commandery Prince was quite calm and showed nothing unusual on his face. “I’ve heard about the difficulty Yunwu Commandery is currently facing from Minister Ning, and I understand your feelings very well,” he said with a smile. “As long as you marry the Thirteenth Commandery Princess, you will become the Prince Consort of Qianshui Commandery. By then, I’m sure Square Commandery wouldn’t dare to attack Yunwu Commandery ever again. What do you think?”
Although Qianshui Commandery Prince seemed to be very calm, only Ten Powerful Ministers knew that the Prince was giving Zhang Ruochen one last chance to remain alive.
Zhang Ruochen certainly knew the consequence of refusing Qianshui Commandery Prince and hence felt tremendous pressure. He could ignore his own life, but he had to consider the lives of his family members.
Zhang Ruochen looked in the direction of the Thirteenth Commandery Princess again and shook his head. If he promised to marry the Thirteenth Commandery Princess, it would be against his conscience.
Zhang Ruochen had made his decision and was ready to give his answer.
“SWISH!”
Huang Yanchen flew down from the third floor of Jinfeng Court. Her long sapphire hair fluttered like a waterfall. She had a graceful figure and snow-white skin. She was devastatingly beautiful. She walked towards Zhang Ruochen and smiled at him slightly.
Then, Huang Yanchen acknowledged Qianshui Commandery Prince standing above. She said, “Father, actually, the cause of the disaster happening in Yunwu Commandery is because of me. Prince Huo Xing of Square Commandery was killed by me, not Zhang Ruochen. So, father, you have to help Yunwu Commandery!”
Everyone was stunned.
A thought came to their minds. Did Commandery Princess Yanchen also have a crush on Zhang Ruochen and want to steal her own sister’s Prince Consort?
Commandery Princess Yanchen had always been dominating in anything possible.