Chapter 55

Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the direction of the arena.

On the arena, two figures silently collided, and in just an instant, they crossed paths.

Immediately after, they separated at an even faster speed.

Zhang Ruochen stood where Ale had been standing, and Ale stood where Zhang Ruochen had been standing. Both remained motionless.

"Why aren't they moving? Could it be that they've already decided the winner?"

"What incredible speed!" Shui Wenxin stood below the arena, staring at Zhang Ruochen and Ale.

With his cultivation, he could barely see the traces of their sword movements. However, if he were to try to block either of their swords, he would only have a forty percent chance of success.

The other sixty percent would mean death.

"Who won?" Lin Nushan stood up from her seat, her beautiful eyes fixed on the arena, a look of anticipation on her face.

Ale, who had been standing straight, glanced at his chest, feeling a surge of pain. Blood then gushed from his chest, staining most of his clothes red.

"Thud!"

He fell to the ground, extremely unwilling, one hand tightly gripping his sword, the other hand pressing against his chest, his eyes still fixed on Lin Nushan below the arena.

In the end, he had lost, unable to fulfill his promise to her.

A thin line of blood appeared on Zhang Ruochen's neck, just a shallow cut that had only broken the skin.

"Why didn't you... kill... me?" Ale, lying on the ground, stared at Zhang Ruochen.

In fact, Zhang Ruochen could have emerged unscathed. To do so, he would have had to kill Ale with one strike.

However, he did not do so. After his sword strike, he forcibly changed his move, causing his sword to deviate slightly, which is why Ale's sword had cut his neck.

Zhang Ruochen glanced at him and said, "I never kill!"

Actually, Zhang Ruochen had another half-sentence he did not say: "Unless I encounter someone who deserves to die."

"I owe you a life, and I will... repay you... in the future." Ale clenched his teeth, like a stubborn lone wolf, and crawled off the arena, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and glanced in the direction of Lin Chenyu and Lin Nushan.

The Lin family's heart was indeed cold and ruthless, as they did not even send a servant to help the severely injured Ale, but instead watched him crawl off the arena.

Of course, he did not bother to intervene, as everyone has their own path.

Next was the tenth martial duel.

In the Yellow Rank Martial Arena, only two Yellow List martial artists had not yet fought: Sima Di, ranked fifth, and Yun Tian, ranked twenty-first.

The one to fight was naturally the more powerful Sima Di.

Sima Di was also a top-tier powerhouse, with combat strength comparable to that of a martial artist at the early stage of the Profound Realm. Unfortunately, even Shui Wenxin and Ale had been defeated by Zhang Ruochen, so he naturally stood no chance.

Without any suspense, Zhang Ruochen easily defeated Sima Di, becoming the first Yellow Rank martial artist in Yunwu County to consecutively defeat ten Yellow List martial artists.

Zhang Ruochen not only received a new Yellow List iron token but also a huge reward of one million silver coins.

The new Yellow List iron token bore the words "Yunwu County, Yellow List First, Zhang Ruochen," which was a form of honor for him.

As for the huge reward of one million silver coins, it was exchanged for one thousand spirit crystals. After all, one million silver coins were too heavy, enough to fill a large cart, while spirit crystals were much more convenient to carry.

Zhang Ruochen deposited eighty million silver coins into the Three-star Noble Card at the Martial Market Bank and carried two hundred spirit crystals with him, preparing to go to the Qingxuan Pavilion to buy some elixirs to prepare for advancing to the Profound Realm.

"Ninth Sister, it seems you also had a good harvest?" Zhang Ruochen saw the Ninth Princess counting her spirit crystals with a satisfied look and walked over.

"Just won twenty spirit crystals, nothing compared to you, Ninth Brother." The Ninth Princess squinted her eyes, looking very excited. She had bet on Zhang Ruochen to win and ultimately won the bet.

Twenty spirit crystals were a huge sum for a princess.

Zhang Ruochen said, "I'm going to the Qingxuan Pavilion to buy elixirs. Do you want to come along?"

"Sure! I just made some money, so I can buy a Three Pure Qi Elixir to advance to the Great Yellow Rank." The Ninth Princess said happily.

Zhang Ruochen said, "Since I won one million silver coins, I'll treat you. Ninth Sister, just tell me which elixir you want."

"Ninth Brother, you're really too good!" The Ninth Princess pounced on him, like a fledgling bird seeking shelter, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Boom!"

A thunderclap echoed in the sky, followed by a fierce wind and a torrential downpour.

When Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess left the Yellow Rank Martial Arena, the rain was pouring heavily.

The streets were flooded with water. Leaves swirled in the wind and fell into the murky water, being crushed into mud by a passing carriage.

"Hit him! Break his legs! This is really infuriating me. He's so useless, he can't even defeat Zhang Ruochen." Lin Nushan stood in the rain, speaking coldly.

A servant held an oiled paper umbrella over Lin Nushan's head, shielding her from the wind and rain.

Four strong Lin family guards, following Lin Nushan's instructions, grinned and continuously swung their iron rods, striking Ale's body.

"Thud! Thud!"

Ale lay in the rain, his legs broken, his head bleeding, and his body beaten to a pulp.

"What a joke, a so-called 'Death Swordman.' You're just a slave! If it weren't for Miss picking you up, you would have starved to death in the snow!"

"You're so powerful, right? Where's your sword? Kill me! Ha ha!"

"Hit him, beat this useless thing to death."

...

The four guards used all their strength to swing their iron rods, laughing wildly.

Lin Nushan stood nearby, tall and attractive, her face clear and beautiful, staring at Ale lying in the rain with a look of disdain. "If it weren't for your cultivation talent, why would I have kept a slave? Now that Zhang Ruochen has severed your meridians, what use are you? Hit him, beat him to death."

Ale lay in the muddy water, his eyes open, staring at Lin Nushan standing not far away, then closed his eyes.

Blood flowed from his body, turning the rain within a three-meter radius red.

A muscular guard, holding a blood-soaked iron rod, walked to Lin Nushan's side and bowed. "Miss, it seems he's already dead!"

"He's really a waste." Lin Nushan stared at Ale lying in the rain, speaking coldly.

"Swish!"

A magnificent gilded carriage passed through the rain, stopping in the middle of the street.

Lin Chenyu lifted the curtain, revealing a handsome and stern face, and said with a dark smile, "Nushan, it's time to go back!"

Lin Nushan nodded, not even glancing at Ale lying in a pool of blood, and boarded the carriage.

The carriage wheels turned, and the magnificent carriage quickly disappeared at the end of the street.

Not long after, four snow-white ghost rabbits pulled an ancient carriage out of the Yellow Rank Martial Arena, stopping beside Ale.

Zhang Ruochen got out of the ancient carriage, looked at the blood-covered Ale, and extended a finger to his nose.

"He's still breathing, not dead yet." Zhang Ruochen said.

The Ninth Princess, sitting in the carriage, lifted the curtain and said, "Ninth Brother, his hands and legs are broken, and he's severely injured. He definitely won't survive. Even his master doesn't care about him, why should we?"

"If we don't help, he'll definitely die. Send two people to take him back to the palace. Whether he lives or dies depends on his will."

Zhang Ruochen took out a bottle of elixirs, containing ten second-grade healing elixirs, Holy Nirvana Pills, each worth two thousand silver coins.

He placed one Holy Nirvana Pill in Ale's lips and put the bottle away.

The Ninth Princess immediately sent two guards to carry Ale onto another ancient carriage, which then headed towards the palace.

Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess drove the Cloud Rabbit Moon Carriage towards the elixir market.

"Drip, drip, drip!"

The rain continued to fall.

Pedestrians and carriages became fewer and fewer, and they finally arrived at a quiet street.

In the darkness, a green figure quickly flashed, leaping down from a wooden tower and lightly landing on a four-story pavilion.

It was one of the Empress's four disciples, Han Qingluo.

Han Qingluo's green robe was drenched by the rain, outlining her curvaceous figure, her high breasts, and slender waist, making her look like a beautiful ghost in the night.

Her face was covered by a veil, revealing only her beautiful eyes, which stared at the ancient carriage passing below.

"Swish!"

Her hand touched her waist, pulling off her sash, and with a flick of her wrist, the sash transformed into a green soft sword.

She kicked off the ground, flying towards the ancient carriage.

Then, she leaped into the air, descending from seven meters above the carriage, and swung her sword down.

"Crack!"

The ancient carriage split into two halves, flying to either side.

The servant driving the carriage was killed by the sword's aura, her body split in two.

However, the carriage was empty, and there was no sign of the Ninth Prince's body.

"Did he escape in advance?" Han Qingluo landed on the ground, standing in the middle of the street, looking puzzled.

Just as Han Qingluo was puzzled, Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess emerged from the rain.

"Who are you?" The Ninth Princess asked, very angry.

"Huh!"

Han Qingluo let out a light exclamation, not understanding how Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess had escaped her fatal strike.

In fact, Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess had been in the carriage the whole time, not expecting an assassin to attack them. However, at the moment Han Qingluo struck, Zhang Ruochen sensed her killing intent.

So, he grabbed the Ninth Princess, broke through the carriage wall, and escaped from the back of the carriage, avoiding the assassination.

Zhang Ruochen sized up Han Qingluo and said, "A Profound Realm assassin?"

Han Qingluo exuded a killing aura, her eyes cold, clearly not an ordinary martial artist but a killer who had taken countless lives.

Assassins are inherently terrifying, unpredictable, and have countless methods of killing. They can kill higher-level martial artists from a lower level.

A Profound Realm assassin is naturally very terrifying!