Chapter 398: The Wounds Worsen

Chapter 398: The Wounds Worsen

2024-08-28

As the Celestial Blade Technique unfurled, the pressure it unleashed was far beyond what a sixth-ranked martial artist could achieve.

Before Su Chen made his move, everyone from Wulanshan Mansion was almost certain that Su Chen wouldn't dare to show his face.

Not only would he not dare to launch a sneak attack on them, but he wouldn't even have the courage to reveal himself.

But at this moment, the facts were right before their eyes.

Su Chen didn't conceal his identity or appearance, openly revealing himself to everyone.

The excruciating pain caused Cai Zheng to start screaming, and his instinctive reaction was to strike back.

In that instant, Su Chen had already drawn his long sword, further enhancing his Cloudwalking Steps to the extreme, and fled into the distance.

The entire incident happened suddenly, and the whole process lasted no more than four or five breaths.

The people from Jiangan City and the locals from Xiangyuan City who had come out of the city were now covered in goosebumps. This was the first time they had witnessed such an intense battle between martial artists, right before their eyes.

Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.

If they had been the targets, they would have likely lost their lives.

As for the group from Jiangan City, including Chen Xia and the uncles and aunts beside her, they were not only covered in goosebumps but were also drenched in cold sweat.

Some even seemed to have forgotten how to breathe, their bodies tense and unable to exhale.

They weren't blind; in those few breaths, they had clearly seen that it was Su Chen.

Moreover, Chen Xia and the uncles and aunts beside her felt that Su Chen had intentionally glanced at them.

That single glance was like being thrust into an ice cellar, causing them to shiver.

At this moment, Cai Zheng swallowed a pill and, with his injured leg, began to shout.

The wound on his leg, pierced through, continued to gush out fresh blood.

Even a fifth-ranked Snow Essence Perfection expert was afraid.

His face was filled with more fear than anger.

The people from Wulanshan Mansion reacted quickly; the pressure released by the fifth-ranked expert earlier had already alerted them.

Seeing Cai Zheng limping with his injured leg, they all froze.

Cai Zheng, the strongest among them, had his leg directly pierced through.

Even under the flickering firelight, blood continued to drip down.

"Elder Cai, this..."

"It must be Su Chen. It's that Su Chen who ambushed me. He went southeast!"

Cai Zheng's face was deathly pale, his state poor due to both fear and blood loss.

But even so, he still pointed southeast, indicating the direction for them to pursue.

Two guards were there to support Cai Zheng.

"You go after him, and I'll take Elder Cai to rest."

One of them quickly made arrangements, and the two split up.

As the other guard leaped over the city wall of Xiangyuan City and stepped outside, a gust of cold wind blew, snapping him out of his daze.

Among them, including the Martial Hall Master, the strongest was Cai Zheng.

In other words, even Cai Zheng, when faced with this person's ambush, had suffered such a severe injury.

So, he decided to pursue alone.

If he couldn't find him, it would be fine, but if he caught up and encountered an ambush, he might be attacked again.

He was grateful that the cold wind had snapped him out of his daze.

He immediately hid outside the city, not daring to pursue further.

After half an hour, he would return and claim that he couldn't find him, a perfectly reasonable excuse.

At this moment, chaos erupted within Xiangyuan City, with various noises drawing the attention of many locals who poked their heads out to watch.

On the first floor of the wine pavilion, mats were quickly laid out for Cai Zheng to lie down.

The wound on his thigh continued to gush blood.

The people from Wulanshan Mansion took out the medicine they had brought and applied it to Cai Zheng's injury.

The initial ease on their faces had completely turned into solemnity.

What made their hearts even heavier was Cai Zheng's thigh wound, which seemed to be bleeding uncontrollably.

They could only find some cloth strips and tightly wrap and bind it to stem the bleeding.

This way, they barely managed to stop the bleeding.

Cai Zheng's face was now completely bloodless, and his condition looked dire.

His words seemed to lack strength.

The first floor, usually a dining area for customers, was now occupied by the people from Wulanshan Mansion, standing silently.

The events unfolding before their eyes had completely exceeded their expectations.

The information they had received was about dealing with a young man from Zhou Kingdom, with a strength of at most sixth rank.

Even the younger generation of Zhou Kingdom was only at the sixth rank, so how much importance should they attach to this?

"Take Elder Cai upstairs to rest and let him calm down a bit."

The Martial Hall Master gave instructions, but his brows remained furrowed as he spoke.

Gazing at the group from Jiang'an City, including Chen Xia, they trembled.

"You were right there, you saw it clearly.

Tell us, what exactly happened?"

The Martial Hall Master's gaze fell upon Chen Xia and the others, his eyes even carrying a hint of menace.

"Su Chen stabbed that man with a sword and then flew away."

The speaker was Uncle Zhuzhu, his words straightforward and direct.

His voice still trembled, and he now wanted nothing more than to return to Jiang'an City; he had no desire to continue working for Wulanshan Manor.

All the previous reassurances they had given now seemed like empty words.

They had claimed that Cai Zheng was the strongest among them.

They had even asked Cai Zheng to accompany and protect them.

And now this had happened.

The strongest among them had been stabbed in the leg, a direct blow to their faces.

It was a blatant refutation of their previous claims.

"Is that it?"

"Yes."

The Martial Hall Master's expression was even more solemn than before, his face grave.

Not only were those from Jiang'an City feeling anxious, but even he himself was a bit flustered.

However, in front of everyone, the Martial Hall Master maintained his composure, not showing any signs of weakness.

In reality, if Cai Zheng could be ambushed and injured, they were equally vulnerable to the same danger and crisis.

They, too, could have been injured by Su Chen's sneak attack!

Amidst the silence, the bodyguard who had gone to track Su Chen returned.

"Well? Did you find any traces of that person?"

Seeing the Martial Hall Master approach and ask, the bodyguard replied seriously.

"I chased in the southeast direction for about ten li, but I didn't see any traces at all.

It was pitch-black, and finding him was nearly impossible.

Unless we had chased him immediately..."

The Martial Hall Master nodded, understanding the situation.

In truth, this bodyguard hadn't actually pursued Su Chen; he had hidden outside the city, too afraid to venture out.

Throughout the night, the faces of Wulanshan Manor's people grew increasingly grim.

Each person's mind raced with thoughts, pondering the situation from every angle.

But regardless of their thoughts, they all knew they were facing a significant problem.

That night, the Martial Hall Master gathered everyone who had been at the scene.

Along with all the other Wulanshan Manor disciples, those who had witnessed the incident were asked to describe it again, one by one.

Not only were those from Jiang'an City present, but also the commoners from Xiangyuan City who had witnessed the event.

Everyone's accounts were similar.

Chen Xia from Jiang'an City and the others were certain that the attacker was Su Chen.

"That person was indeed Su Chen.

We've seen him before, so we know what he looks like."

Those from Jiang'an City seemed unconvinced, their faces even showing a hint of helplessness.

The group from Jiang'an City remained anxious, their hearts heavy with worry.

If they were asked to investigate at the city gates again, they might not make it out alive.

The night's questioning left Wulanshan Manor's people increasingly anxious.

It was already time for breakfast, and the wine pavilion's servants rearranged the tables.

The broken tables and chairs could only be silently lamented.

As the meal was served, Wulanshan Manor's people sat at the tables, their appetites seemingly diminished.

The disciples who had been so confident the day before now lacked their former arrogance.

They had attempted to assassinate Cai Zheng, a powerful expert at the Perfect Realm of the Snow Intention.

Which one of these young people had the ability to do such a thing? Their attacks would have been noticed by Cai Zheng midway, who would have counterattacked.

The gap in strength was evident to everyone.

Not only was Cai Zheng beyond their capabilities, but even the bodyguards accompanying them were likely out of their league.

In the silence, a Wulanshan Manor disciple finally spoke up, unable to contain himself any longer.

"Hall Master, are we really stronger than Su Chen?"

The night before, the Martial Hall Master had confidently asserted that their young generation's raw strength was superior to Su Chen's.

He had told everyone that their youth's strength would undoubtedly surpass Su Chen's.

It was just that Su Chen's experience would far exceed theirs.

But now, it seemed that experience wasn't a factor.

Could it be that Cai Zheng's experience was lacking? As a bodyguard, he had likely encountered more than that young Su Chen.

The severity of Cai Zheng's injuries could only indicate that Su Chen had the ability to harm him.

And if they fought Su Chen, they might very well die.

The Martial Hall Master furrowed his brows, naturally aware of this possibility.

Not only were these young people at risk, but even he, the Martial Hall Master, must remain vigilant.

Su Chen's surprise attack and assassination attempt could also cost him his life, or at the very least, leave him severely injured.

The gazes of the surrounding young disciples all fell on the Martial Hall Master.

They wanted to hear his response.

The Martial Hall Master hesitated for a long time, and in his words, he still wanted to round off his previous statement.

"You all should have heard what that Sun Xuerong said before, that the number one genius of Zhou Kingdom, is her disciple, the one called Fu Jianyun."

"So this Su Chen, his true strength is definitely lower than Fu Jianyun's."

"I guess, is there something else strange about this Su Chen?"

The Martial Hall Master's words, however, did not convince these young people.

"That Sun Xuerong is Fu Jianyun's master, who knows how much of what she says is true or false."

"This person was able to injure Zheng Bodyguard, how could he possibly be worse than this Fu Jianyun?"

After one person finished speaking, another disciple beside him continued.

"Hall Master, I'm thinking of something.

If this Su Chen is really that weak, why would Wulanshan Mansion insist that we must catch him?"

It was said that this person had offended Mo Yuan Senior Apprentice.

"With a strength similar to Fu Jianyun, after offending Mo Yuan Senior Apprentice, how could he still be alive?"

This statement seemed to hit the nail on the head, causing the surrounding crowd to fall into deep thought.

If Su Chen was really that weak, would Wulanshan Mansion still make such a big move?

"Hall Master, now, aren't we in some danger?"

One of the disciples added.

This statement caused the faces of many present to lose some color.

When dealing with others, one must also consider the possibility of retaliation.

"Don't talk nonsense, with us here, what's there to fear?"

The Martial Hall Master spoke to reassure them, knowing that he couldn't let this anxious mood spread.

"Even Zheng Bodyguard was injured, Hall Master..."

"Don't say it, we've already arranged for people to go to the capital, support will arrive in a few days."

"Don't be timid in front of others, it's embarrassing for the Jin Kingdom's warriors."

After the morning meal, the original inspections were completely halted.

The entire Wulanshan Mansion team's morale had taken a heavy blow.

Originally, when they came here, they had never worried about their own safety.

But now, they had to consider this problem.

As long as there was a surprise attack, no one dared to be certain that they could handle it better than Cai Zheng.

Additionally, this was Zhou Kingdom.

In such a small country, to be injured by a younger generation.

It would be embarrassing to say the least, and unlike being injured in a large country like Chu Kingdom.

So many people from Wulanshan Mansion, who would be willing to take the risk, to venture into danger?

At this moment, Su Chen disguised himself again and went to the vicinity of the wine pavilion where they were staying to gather information.

This time, Cai Zheng's reaction to the attack was slightly beyond Su Chen's expectations.

He could react, but it wasn't fast enough, so he was still injured by Su Chen.

Regarding his current strength, Su Chen also had some self-awareness.

His strength, if he didn't borrow the power of Heavenly Destiny, could only handle a Fifth Stage Initial Realm.

After borrowing Heavenly Destiny, it should be roughly equivalent to a Fifth Stage Intermediate Realm.

To injure Cai Zheng, a Fifth Stage Perfect Realm warrior, he must rely on an ambush to assist.

These thoughts, Su Chen had them all figured out.

Facing the enemy head-on, he would still face many crises.

Cultivation, still couldn't be relaxed.

The good news was that his actions this time had given the people of Wulanshan Mansion enough intimidation.

All the inspections had already stopped.

Last night, the people of Wulanshan Mansion had already spread the news in various ways to the capital.

Thus, it should be considered a temporary relief for Ah Niang and Little Sister's crisis in the capital.

In the next few days, Su Chen would continue to look for opportunities to take action against the people of Wulanshan Mansion.

To fan these flames, to attract as many people from Wulanshan Mansion in the capital as possible.

Noon.

The Martial Hall Master received some bad news.

Zheng Bodyguard's injury was still worsening, the blood at the wound, had not stopped even after several hours.

And the blood had turned black and smelled foul.

"What's going on, where are Wulanshan Mansion's detox pills?"

"Already taken, the effect is not very obvious, only slightly recovering for a few hours, then it worsens again."

Hearing this, the Martial Hall Master's expression grew even more serious.

From Cai Zheng's condition, it was clear that Su Chen could not only injure them, but the poison on his weapon would also cause them great torment.

The people of Wulanshan Mansion, their hearts were truly in a panic.

Many of them, even considered sneaking back to Jin Kingdom.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end