Chapter 20

"Your Majesty, my daughter has a strong temper and competing with the princes might be inappropriate. Shouldn't we...," Lou Chongxiao was somewhat uneasy.

"I actually like Baiyue's character. What if they are princes? I think they are far inferior to Baiyue. If she performs well in the future and her martial arts improve, I will even grant her the title of princess, and her rank could surpass yours," the ministers all heard the Heavenly Fu Emperor's affection for Lou Baiyue.

The barbarian general fled into the mountains, and many princes pursued him, while the Heavenly Fu Emperor and the nobles and high officials watched the chase, immediately gauging the princes' martial arts skills.

Among them, Lou Baiyue took the lead, her movements swift as dust, and in just a few moments, she caught up with a lagging barbarian general.

The general was greatly startled, his ferocity aroused, and he fiercely grabbed with both hands, attempting to tear Lou Baiyue apart.

However, Lou Baiyue did not dodge but charged forward, colliding with the barbarian general, who was instantly reduced to a bloody mess in mid-air.

The eyes of the many nobles and high officials gleamed with admiration.

"Lou Baiyue's martial arts are truly terrifying."

"How can Lou Baiyue's martial arts be so powerful? Look at her strength; no grandmaster can match it. Her movements are nearly perfect, in harmony with the Dao, and her killing is ruthless."

"Yes, such martial arts are already at the peak of grandmaster level, and she seems to have even gained qi perception. I think she might even step into the Dao realm."

"Look, she has killed another barbarian general."

"Is the Emperor planning for her to take the lead in this hunt? Even the princes are being outshone by her."

"What about the Nineteenth Prince? He seems to be doing well too."

Lou Baiyue displayed her prowess, and Gu Chensha also caught up with a barbarian general, intending to slay him. If successful, this would be his first "kill."

At least these barbarians appeared no different from humans on the surface.

The barbarian general that Gu Chensha caught up with was covered in tattoos of venomous snakes and howling wolves, with skin as rough as a wild boar's, making it difficult for blades to penetrate. He exuded a fierce aura, opened his bloodthirsty mouth, and emitted a pungent smell. His hand strikes and kicks were swift and powerful, with angles that were hard to predict.

He was also a grandmaster of martial arts, with a style that was wild and rugged, carrying an ancient aura. This was the characteristic of barbarian martial arts, wild and cruel, bloody and fierce, devoid of human traits, purely the survival of the fittest among ancient beasts.

"Rushing River Style." Gu Chensha dodged the attack, struck several palms, and the palm shadows stirred like a river, creating massive waves that instantly enveloped the barbarian in layers of palm shadows.

The Giant Spirit Palm of the Giant Spirit Skill has three forms: Moving Mountain, Rushing River, and Inverting Sea. He had used Moving Mountain to block the Five Ghosts' Capture, and now the power of Rushing River was even greater than Moving Mountain.

He unleashed a total of ninety-nine palms in one breath.

How could the barbarian general withstand such a torrent of attacks? At least forty to fifty palms broke through his defenses, striking vital points all over his body.

Crack... The barbarian general's bones and meridians shattered, and he collapsed in the snow, his last breath cut off, killed on the spot.

At the moment of personally killing the barbarian general, Gu Chensha felt a slight mental stir, a clear sense of life ebbing away. This was something he could not experience by killing beasts, as the barbarian general was human, with intelligence and the ability to transform the world. The experience of killing a human was vastly different from killing a beast.

In the forest, the princes were engaged in combat, each trying to kill as many barbarians as possible to gain credit and the Hundred Tribulations Golden Pill.

This Golden Pill, when consumed, could save decades of hard training and provide a solid foundation for stepping into the Dao realm.

If this Golden Pill appeared in the martial world, it would immediately spark countless bloody battles, and many martial arts experts would die for it.

However, in the imperial court, the Golden Pill was common, and no power in the world could match the Great Yong Dynasty.

"Has the Nineteenth Prince mastered the Rushing River Style?" The faces of several nobles and high officials changed. "The Giant Spirit Palm's Moving Mountain, Rushing River, and Inverting Sea forms require immense physical strength to execute. In the past, very few grandmasters in the Xian Dynasty could continuously strike ninety-nine palms with the Rushing River Style."

The Giant Spirit Palm was indeed powerful but extremely draining. Each strike, palm, or kick could exhaust a grandmaster, and even a martial arts grandmaster could only strike a few dozen times. Someone like Gu Chensha, who could attack ninety-nine times and remain calm, was one in a million.

"Your Majesty, it seems the Nineteenth Prince has truly awakened the Giant Spirit bloodline and will be of great use in the future." Lou Chongxiao cautiously asked, "If the Nineteenth Prince can communicate with the Giant Spirit, Your Majesty can use this divine power channel to locate the Giant Spirit's domain in the temporal chaos, seal it, and prevent it from causing chaos in the world. This would dismantle the remnants of the Xian Dynasty and eliminate the Giant Spirit's influence among the people."

"Your words are quite insightful, showing that you are gradually beginning to understand the mysteries of the gods and your cultivation is deepening." The Heavenly Fu Emperor slightly praised, "I have recently infiltrated 90% of my divine spirit into the temporal chaos to locate the nest of the Great Maha God. Once this god is severely injured, I can destroy the barbarian nation in the spring, eliminating the border troubles that have plagued generations, achieving a great feat that even the ancient emperors could not accomplish."

"Has Your Majesty's Great God-Slaying Technique finally reached its highest level?" Lou Chongxiao immediately knelt, "So, Your Majesty's true divine spirit has already gone to the Great Maha God's nest?"

"Indeed." The Heavenly Fu Emperor looked around, seeing that the nobles and high officials had all knelt with Lou Chongxiao, "I will fully engage in slaying the god, and there will be those with ulterior motives who will try to disrupt it. This winter and next spring, you must be cautious and prevent any unrest in the country. Have the governors and generals inspect and reorganize the troops."

"Yes."

"I am just reminding you; now, rise and watch the princes' skills." The Heavenly Fu Emperor's gaze turned to the distance. Although his presence was imposing, 90% of his spirit was focused elsewhere, and he did not notice the subtle changes in Gu Chensha. Otherwise, even though Gu Chensha had mastered the Sun and Moon Transformation to perfectly hide his aura, it would be difficult to completely conceal it from this emperor of the ages.

The slaughter in the forest continued.

Gu Chensha had just killed a barbarian when he heard continuous screams, and the princes had all made their kills.

"Lou Baiyue's martial arts are formidable; she has already killed five barbarian generals. The Tenth, Eighteenth, Fourteenth, Eighth, Ninth, and Thirteenth Princes each killed two or three. I'm at the bottom?" Gu Chensha looked around, seeing that each prince was using their true skills, trying to kill as many barbarian generals as possible to obtain the Hundred Tribulations Golden Pill, which even the princes coveted.

At this moment, Gu Chensha truly understood the strength of these princes.

Each barbarian general possessed the strength of a grandmaster, and they were wild and cruel, with rich combat experience. Even a grandmaster of the same level might not be able to defeat them. In the martial world, a battle between grandmasters of the same level would take hundreds of moves to decide a winner, and killing an opponent of the same level would be extremely difficult. Yet, the princes, all grandmasters, killed barbarian generals as easily as slicing through melons.

For example, the Eighteenth Prince, Gu Hongsha, practiced the Dragon King Skill, and his attacks were accompanied by a dragon's roar, his punches swift and powerful. He broke through the barbarian general's chest in just a few breaths and a dozen moves.

The Tenth Prince, Gu Zhensha, was clearly more skilled. With a few steps, his body was enveloped in thunder, and he caught up with the barbarian general, decapitating him in three moves.

Only when surrounded by three to five barbarian generals did his attacks slow down.

In this forest, over a hundred barbarian generals were released, and each of the dozen princes had to face seven or eight, or even more. Even the strongest martial arts grandmaster would struggle against such a group. As the saying goes, "Two fists cannot defeat four hands," let alone ten.

At first, the princes were fierce, killing one after another, but then the barbarian generals, realizing that fleeing meant certain death, became even more determined, gathering in groups of three to five to surround and kill the princes.

By numbers and strength, the barbarian generals had the upper hand, putting significant pressure on the princes.

This was intentional on the part of the Heavenly Fu Emperor. How could he let the princes easily obtain the Hundred Tribulations Golden Pill? This was a real combat training ground, and with more practice, they would grow rapidly.

The Great Yong Dynasty's royal family trained the princes very rigorously, making them all highly skilled, and with the resources of the royal family, they far surpassed martial arts experts in the world.

Gu Chensha wanted to observe the strength of Lou Baiyue and the other princes but found himself surrounded.

Six barbarian generals formed an array and surrounded him.

Their positions resembled the Six Directions Array, forcing him into a smaller and smaller circle. This was a killing formation derived from large-scale battles.

In a chaotic battlefield with hundreds of thousands of people, small groups of soldiers would form coordinated attack and defense formations, increasing their chances of survival and killing.

However, this was not the Six Directions Array but the Six Beasts Array, derived from the combined hunting of tigers, wolves, leopards, lions, jackals, and snakes.

The six barbarian generals moved with exquisite footwork, their momentum like iron chains, making Gu Chensha feel immobilized. No matter which direction he tried to break out, he would face a combined attack from all six.

"If I use the Sun and Moon Refinement and Sun and Moon Transformation techniques, defeating the six barbarian generals would not be difficult, but using the Giant Spirit Skill would be more challenging. However, using such ultimate techniques in front of the nobles and high officials would not remain hidden. I cannot expose myself; my father is a master of all knowledge and can certainly trace the origin of my martial arts, which would be troublesome," Gu Chensha understood his situation.

"Kill!"

The six barbarian generals, seeing that Gu Chensha was surrounded and locked in by their momentum, immediately unleashed intense killing intent. Their twelve hands struck simultaneously, aiming at every vital point on his body with palms, fists, fingers, and kicks.

"Inverting Sea Style!" Gu Chensha let out a clear whistle and unleashed the most dominant palm technique of the Giant Spirit Skill, aiming to break through a gap.