Chapter 56

Han Qingluo did not say a word. The soft sword in her hand trembled straight, and she attacked directly, the sword body slicing through the rain.

Coldness emanated from the sword, turning five raindrops into ice beads, like five hidden weapons, flying towards Zhang Ruochen and the Ninth Princess.

Four ice beads aimed at Zhang Ruochen, one ice bead flew towards the Ninth Princess.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Ruochen took a step forward, standing in front of the Ninth Princess. He channeled his true qi to his palm and struck out, shattering all five ice beads from three meters away.

"Clang!"

Suddenly, a sword sound rang in Zhang Ruochen's ear.

Han Qingluo, who had been standing in the middle of the street, vanished and reappeared behind Zhang Ruochen like a ghost, thrusting her sword.

The sword tip aimed at Zhang Ruochen's nape.

Without turning around, Zhang Ruochen immediately raised his arm and clamped the sword tip with two fingers.

"Do you think I'm Liu Chengfeng?" Han Qingluo sneered.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

The green soft sword, like a venomous snake, rapidly spun and coiled around Zhang Ruochen's arm.

If the soft sword wrapped around his arm, Han Qingluo only needed to pull the sword sharply, and Zhang Ruochen's entire hand would be crippled.

Her sword technique was excellent, but Zhang Ruochen was even more skilled.

He released the sword tip and simultaneously thrust his two fingers through the coiling soft sword, striking Han Qingluo's wrist.

True qi burst from his fingertips, creating a deep blood gash on Han Qingluo's wrist.

Han Qingluo's arm holding the sword immediately lost strength, and with a clatter, the green soft sword fell to the ground.

"You..."

Han Qingluo could not have anticipated that Zhang Ruochen not only had profound cultivation but also such rich combat experience.

The assassination failed.

Han Qingluo's toes touched the ground, and she immediately leaped up, landing on the roof of an ancient building and fleeing into the rain.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Zhang Ruochen, holding the Flash Soul Sword, also leaped onto the roof, stepping on the glazed tiles and chasing after her at high speed.

Thirty-six meridians activated simultaneously, making Zhang Ruochen's speed even faster than Han Qingluo's.

"How can someone at the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm be so fast?"

Seeing Zhang Ruochen getting closer, Han Qingluo became anxious and pulled out nine fine golden needles from her hair.

True qi surged from her body, enveloping the nine golden needles, and she shot them at Zhang Ruochen.

"Whoosh!"

In the rainy night, a martial artist's vision was already blurry, making it impossible to see the nine rapidly flying golden needles. However, Zhang Ruochen was different. He had opened the eye meridian, giving him astonishing eyesight even in the rain.

"Clang clang!"

A single sword swing deflected all nine golden needles.

Zhang Ruochen continued his pursuit.

It was a strange scene: a Black Extreme Realm assassin was constantly fleeing, while a peak Yellow Extreme Realm martial artist was chasing her.

"Although the Ninth Prince is only at the peak of the Yellow Extreme Realm, his combat power is more terrifying than a mid-stage Black Extreme Realm martial artist. I must escape and inform the Empress Dowager."

She immediately infused her true qi into her blood.

Her blood boiled, increasing her speed by fifty percent, instantly pulling away from Zhang Ruochen.

"Boiling blood! Indeed, she is at the Black Extreme Realm, seemingly just entering the early stage."

Yellow Extreme Realm martial artists mainly cultivate meridians.

Black Extreme Realm martial artists mainly cultivate blood qi.

The hallmark of the early Black Extreme Realm is boiling blood. The blood qi in the body flows rapidly like boiling water, allowing martial artists to burst with greater power.

Some top experts on the Yellow List might be able to defeat early Black Extreme Realm martial artists, but it is difficult to kill them.

Once an early Black Extreme Realm martial artist activates their blood qi and bursts with speed, it is impossible for Yellow List martial artists to catch up.

Even a genius like Zhang Ruochen was slightly slower than Han Qingluo at this moment.

Zhang Ruochen stopped, standing at the edge of a tall pavilion, a smile on his lips. He pulled out a handful of silver coins from the inner space of the time crystal.

"You can use hidden weapons, so can I!"

All thirty-six meridians in Zhang Ruochen's body activated, infusing true qi into the silver coins, which he then scattered.

"Whoosh!"

The silver coins rained down towards the fleeing Han Qingluo.

"Thud thud!"

Two silver coins struck Han Qingluo's back, tearing through her clothes and embedding into her flesh, leaving two bloody holes.

"Ah!"

Han Qingluo spat out a mouthful of blood, falling from the air and crashing onto the street.

She lay face down, back up, motionless, as if dead.

Zhang Ruochen also landed, cautiously approaching her.

"Who wants to kill me?"

Zhang Ruochen turned Han Qingluo's body over, face up, intending to remove her veil and see her true face.

Not good!

Just as Zhang Ruochen reached out, Han Qingluo's eyes suddenly opened, and she slashed at his neck with her hand.

Zhang Ruochen seemed to have anticipated this, also slashing with his hand.

"Clap!"

Han Qingluo's arm bones shattered, and she let out a scream, "Ninth Prince, you didn't die today, but someone will come to kill you."

Zhang Ruochen said sternly, "Who ordered you to kill me?"

Han Qingluo, lying on the ground, suddenly trembled and then remained still.

"Chirp chirp!"

In the next moment, before Zhang Ruochen could remove her veil, her body melted into a pool of black poison blood, even her clothes corroded away, leaving nothing behind.

The Ninth Princess caught up from behind and asked, "Where is the female assassin?"

Zhang Ruochen pointed to the pool of black poison blood on the ground, "She had a poison pill in her mouth. Once her mission failed, she would bite it to destroy evidence. Who could train such a loyal assassin?"

The Ninth Princess was a bit frightened and handed the soft sword that the female assassin had dropped to Zhang Ruochen, "This is her soft sword!"

"Oh!"

Zhang Ruochen took the soft sword, infused true qi into it, and the sword immediately emitted a faint coldness.

"A third-grade True Martial Treasure, with nine inscriptions on the sword body."

Zhang Ruochen carefully examined the soft sword but found no clues.

The Ninth Princess said, "Who would try to assassinate the Ninth Prince?"

"There might be a way to find out," Zhang Ruochen said.

The Ninth Princess was puzzled, "The female assassin is dead, and all clues are cut off. Can we still find the mastermind?"

Zhang Ruochen smiled, "Now, only we know the female assassin is dead, but the mastermind doesn't. To find out who the mastermind is, we just need to lure them out. Ninth Sister, this time, you need to help me put on a show!"

Although the Ninth Princess didn't understand Zhang Ruochen's plan, she decided to cooperate with him.

...

An hour later.

In the Empress Dowager's palace, a palace maid in court attire knelt on the ground, somewhat panicked, "Empress Dowager, something terrible has happened. Han Qingluo's assassination failed."

The Empress Dowager sat calmly on her chair, unperturbed, "With her cultivation, she failed. Hmph! This Ninth Prince seems quite formidable!"

The palace maid continued, "It is said that the Ninth Prince was severely injured and fell unconscious. Before he fainted, he saw Han Qingluo's true face."

"What?"

The Empress Dowager's expression changed, "What about Han Qingluo?"

The palace maid said, "According to the Ninth Princess, Han Qingluo was captured by General Luo Tong, one of the ten generals of the Imperial Guard, and taken to the Heavenly Prison. The King has already learned of this and is furious, ordering a thorough investigation into the mastermind."

The Empress Dowager's eldest disciple, Zhao Lin, who was in her thirties, stood behind the Empress Dowager, "Empress Dowager, General Luo Tong is a rough man. He has never met Qingluo. Even if he captures her, he won't recognize her. However, if the King arrives and identifies her... the consequences will be unimaginable!"

The Empress Dowager's face darkened, "Zhao Lin, you have been with me for thirty years. Among my four disciples, your cultivation is the highest, reaching the early Earth Extreme Realm."

Zhao Lin said, "What does Empress Dowager mean?"

The Empress Dowager said, "The Heavenly Prison is dangerous. Only your cultivation can break in. I want you to do whatever it takes to rescue Qingluo before the King sees her. If you can't rescue her, kill her and destroy the evidence."

"Understood."

Zhao Lin paused, then added, "The Ninth Prince has seen Qingluo's true face and knows she is a palace maid. If he wakes up..."

The Empress Dowager stood up, coldly snorted, "I will send your two younger sisters to eliminate him, ensuring he never wakes up. Those who oppose me will not have a good end."

"That puts my mind at ease!"

Zhao Lin bowed to the Empress Dowager, immediately changed into night clothes, and left the palace, heading for the Heavenly Prison.

The Empress Dowager then dispatched her second disciple, Yao Su, and third disciple, Zhao Wuxia, to kill the Ninth Prince before he woke up.

Yao Su's cultivation had reached the peak of the Black Extreme Realm.

Zhao Wuxia's cultivation had reached the mid-stage of the Black Extreme Realm.

The four disciples were the Empress Dowager's four sharp blades. Except for Han Qingluo, who was a later recruit, the other three disciples had followed the Empress Dowager for over twenty years, all of them top experts. Almost all of the Empress Dowager's enemies had been killed by them.

As long as they were around, no one could shake the Empress Dowager's position in the court.

The Empress Dowager was confident in their strength.

In the palace, the Empress Dowager waited for three hours without any news, finally sensing something was wrong, a sense of foreboding growing in her heart.

By morning, news finally came.

The three disciples were ambushed and surrounded by a large number of Imperial Guards.

To avoid exposing the Empress Dowager, they all bit down on poison pills and died.

In one night, all four disciples were dead.

Upon hearing this news, the Empress Dowager almost fell from her seat, closing her eyes, her voice trembling, "Immediately... immediately send a message to the Seventh Son, ordering him to return to the palace..."