Chapter 76

**Bang!**

Two powerful forces collided, creating a violent shockwave.

All the leaves were reduced to powder.

The warrior from Sifang County retreated more than ten steps before he could勉强 stabilize himself. It was as if he had been struck by a massive hammer in the chest, his internal blood and qi churning, suffering from severe internal injuries.

In contrast, Zhang Ruochen remained standing in place, appearing calm and composed, not even a corner of his clothes was damaged.

"How is this possible? A warrior at the early stage of the Profound Realm, how could he be so powerful?" The warrior from Sifang County, clutching his chest, stared at Zhang Ruochen in disbelief.

Zi Qian stepped out from behind the warrior and said, "Don't you know he was once the top of the Yellow List in Yunwu County? Ignorance is also a sin."

"More strong opponents?"

The warrior from Sifang County's face changed, a single word forming in his mind.

Escape!

He immediately executed a body technique, his feet stomping the ground, and his body shot out at a speed of thirty-two meters per second.

However, Zhang Ruochen was even faster, quickly catching up to him and striking a point on the third segment of the warrior's spine with his finger.

**Bang!**

The warrior let out a惨叫, his body going limp as he fell to the ground.

"You... You crippled my Central Heaven Meridian..." The warrior, lying on the ground, trembled with hatred, staring at Zhang Ruochen.

If a warrior's Central Heaven Meridian is crippled, their cultivation will never progress again, rendering them half-useless.

**Puff!**

Zi Qian swung her sword, decapitating the warrior. Bright red blood gushed from his neck.

"You..."

Zhang Ruochen stared at Zi Qian and said, "His Central Heaven Meridian is crippled, he no longer qualifies to be a student at the Martial Market Academy, and he can no longer threaten us. Why did you have to kill him?"

Zi Qian coldly sheathed her sword and said, "He reached the late stage of the Profound Realm at a young age, so he must have a significant force behind him. If he doesn't die, he will definitely seek revenge on us."

Zhang Ruochen was speechless.

To be honest, what Zi Qian did wasn't entirely wrong. However, Zhang Ruochen felt that the man's crime didn't warrant death, and crippling his Central Heaven Meridian was already a severe punishment for a warrior.

Zi Qian searched the warrior's body and found twenty-one spirit crystals, five hundred silver coins, and a box containing beast eyes.

She opened the box, and a smile appeared on her beautiful face. "Six beast eyes, equivalent to three second-tier lower-grade barbaric beasts."

Zi Qian immediately put the box away and then looked at Zhang Ruochen. "You're a prince, so you shouldn't lack money, right?"

Zhang Ruochen replied, "No, I don't."

"Since that's the case, I'll take the spirit crystals and silver coins!" Zi Qian unceremoniously took all twenty-one spirit crystals and five hundred silver coins.

Zhang Ruochen was a bit curious. "Are you short on money?"

Zi Qian sternly said, "Without cultivation resources, even the most talented warrior cannot become strong. To obtain cultivation resources, one needs to spend a lot of money. Of course, princes like you, who are born with abundant cultivation resources, can't understand the importance of money in cultivation."

"His battle saber is yours."

Zi Qian kicked the corpse's hand, sending the third-grade True Martial Treasure-level battle saber flying toward Zhang Ruochen.

Zhang Ruochen accepted it without hesitation, storing the battle saber in his spatial ring.

Zi Qian's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the ring on Zhang Ruochen's finger. "A spatial treasure?"

"Yep!"

Zhang Ruochen didn't hide anything. "If you want it, I can give it to you."

Zhang Ruochen took off the white ring with phoenix patterns and handed it to Zi Qian, smiling. "To be honest, this spatial ring has too many patterns, making it more suitable for women to wear!"

Zhang Ruochen didn't mind, as it was just a spatial ring, and it was even a half-finished product. Giving it away wouldn't hurt him, and he could always refine another one in a few days.

However, to Zi Qian, a spatial treasure was invaluable and extremely rare.

"Is he really giving it to me for free? Could this Ninth Prince really be a bit foolish?"

Zi Qian stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen and found that he was smiling faintly, seemingly genuinely wanting to give her the spatial ring.

Zi Qian gave Zhang Ruochen a cold look and didn't take the spatial ring from his hand. "Don't you know that men shouldn't casually give rings to women?"

After saying this, Zi Qian walked over to the silver dragon lion and dug out a piece of spirit meat weighing three taels from its body.

Zhang Ruochen's hand hung in the air, slightly stunned, then he laughed. "I just saw that you were carrying too many things, so I wanted to give you a spatial ring to store your items. Where did your mind go? Besides, I'm only sixteen, how could I have any ulterior motives toward you?"

Zi Qian's eyes grew colder, and she threw the spirit meat to Zhang Ruochen, extending her hand. "Let me see that spatial treasure."

Zhang Ruochen took the spirit meat and handed the spatial ring to Zi Qian.

"How do you use it?" Zi Qian asked.

Zhang Ruochen replied, "Just inject true qi into the ring."

Zi Qian injected true qi into the spatial ring, and a faint white light immediately appeared on its surface.

She extended her hand into the spatial ring and found that the internal space wasn't very large, only about the size of a small room, unlike the legendary spatial treasures that could hold mountains and the heavens.

However, using the spatial ring to store personal items was more than enough.

Zi Qian naturally liked the spatial ring very much and was reluctant to return it to Zhang Ruochen. She stared at him and asked, "What will you do without the spatial ring?"

"I have other spatial treasures!"

Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly, took out all the items from the spatial ring, and stored them in the internal space of a spatial crystal.

Zi Qian took back the spatial ring and began putting her items into it one by one. Soon, her hands were empty, and she was left holding only the phoenix-patterned jade ring.

"Truly a remarkable spatial treasure, it's truly amazing!" Zi Qian held the spatial ring, growing more fond of it with each look.

Then, she took out thirty spirit crystals from the spatial ring and handed them to Zhang Ruochen. "I won't take your spatial ring for free. Here are thirty spirit crystals for you."

Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "If I were selling it, the spatial ring would be worth at least two hundred spirit crystals."

Zi Qian's eyes turned cold as she looked at the spatial ring in her hand. "If you want two hundred spirit crystals, I don't want this spatial ring!"

Zhang Ruochen laughed. "If I were selling it, it would indeed be two hundred spirit crystals. But I'm giving it to you for free, so I don't want a single silver coin."

"You..."

Zi Qian clenched her teeth and said, "Fine! I'll take it! Why are you giving me such a valuable item?"

Zhang Ruochen continued walking, his expression calm. "We just clicked."

Zi Qian said, "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you and take all your other treasures?"

Zhang Ruochen glanced at her and said, "People who repay kindness with enmity are few. There are more good people in this world. I don't believe I'm that unlucky to run into one... What are you doing?"

Zi Qian's sword was already out of its sheath, pointing at Zhang Ruochen's neck. A slight movement, and his head would fly off.

Zhang Ruochen stared at Zi Qian, not panicking, remaining calm.

He secretly injected true qi into his soul meridian, releasing his martial soul to form a spatial domain within a ten-meter radius.

If Zi Qian dared to move, Zhang Ruochen could strike her down even faster.

Zi Qian didn't notice the spatial domain, her eyes filled with a conflicted expression. She stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen, then sheathed her sword. "Ninth Prince, you're too naive! Human hearts are treacherous, and one must always be cautious. Have you always been training in the palace, never venturing out to hone yourself?"

Zi Qian sheathed her sword, and Zhang Ruochen also dissolved the spatial domain, saying calmly, "Yes!"

Zi Qian was speechless and didn't bother with Zhang Ruochen. "Let's continue hunting the warriors from Sifang County!"

Zhang Ruochen stared at Zi Qian's back, touching his chin, a smile appearing on his face. "Her sword technique is identical to that of the Hell Gate assassin, Chen Libing. Only professional assassins can train their senses to such a degree. It seems my guess was correct; she is indeed an assassin from the Hell Gate."

Zhang Ruochen, who had already died once, couldn't be as naive as before.

From the moment Zi Qian intentionally approached him, he had been on guard, but he couldn't confirm that she was an assassin from the Hell Gate.

After continuous probing, Zhang Ruochen finally confirmed Zi Qian's identity.

Even if she was an assassin from the Hell Gate, Zhang Ruochen was not afraid, considering it a form of training for himself.

"Miss Zi, wait! Why are you walking so fast?"

Zhang Ruochen immediately caught up.

The first round of the exam lasted three days.

On the first day, before nightfall, Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian encountered two more warriors from Sifang County. The result was obvious; both warriors died under Zi Qian's sword.

The beast eyes, crystals, and silver coins were taken by Zi Qian.

The weapons and medicinal pills of the two warriors were all given to Zhang Ruochen.

"It's night, finally time to rest properly," Zhang Ruochen said.

Zi Qian rolled her eyes at Zhang Ruochen. "After nightfall, most warriors have the same idea as you, seeking safe places to rest. This is the best time for us to hunt them. Tonight, we need to kill at least twenty warriors from Sifang County to complete our task."

"Where did this task come from?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

Zi Qian replied, "A task we set for ourselves. Sifang County not only seized Yunwu County's mines but also took seven cities, causing countless soldiers and civilians to die. Don't you want to avenge them? Prince Huo Xing has declared he will kill you. Don't you want to kill him? Don't you want to give Sifang County a painful lesson?"

Zhang Ruochen was speechless.

After a moment, Zhang Ruochen said, "Let's fight!"