Chapter 295 - To Win Her Favor
Chapter 295 To Win Her Favor
In a clean and tidy room, Yan Wushuang was sitting cross-legged with countless little glitters of spiritual energies swarming lazily around him, entering his body from the pores of his skin. The glow from the wisps of little stars illuminated his lean and handsome face.
His eyes blinked open suddenly and he quickly dug out a white stone from within his robes. The stone glowed faintly in his hands, but growing brighter by the second.
His countenance shifted. Scrambling for his sword, he dove out the door.
Inside the Yanling Chamber, Chu Xun’s Divine Sense warned him about his presence being discovered. He quickly put away the jade chests containing the Spirit Fluxes and seized a piece of black cloth to mask his face before bolting for the entrance.
Deep in the Yanling Chamber, a stone door swung open to emit Yan Wushuang. The sight of the Spirit Basin empty, the Soul-nourishing Lotus gone, and the guardians of the Basin all unconscious filled him with rage as his aura burst forth from him like a ferocious beast.
He quickly examined two of the men and learned that they were only fainted, not dead, and heaved a sigh of relief. Injecting spurts of Internal Breath into them, he picked up his weapon and chased after Chu Xun.
With his Divine Sense still projecting inside the Chamber, Chu Xun “saw” how Yan Wushuang had first stopped to save his men and he liked the man even more.
Yan Wushuang had proved himself a good leader who held the well-being of his men in the highest regard, a benevolent leader of men.
Then he sensed Yan Wushuang coming for him, and he streaked away as quickly as he could.
Yan Wushuang sped out and saw a dark-cloaked figure escaping towards the outside of the residence, and he cried angrily, “STAND RIGHT THERE!”
He fired a blast of energy from his sword that shone in the night, the projectile tearing straight at Chu Xun’s back.
Chu Xun evaded the blow and sped on. The blast hit the ground and created a long trench, kicking up sand and dirt into the air.
That alerted the sentinels who scrambled this way to help.
“Stop, thief! How dare you intrude the Yan Family residence!” snarled a First-grade Human King, his fist coming after Chu Xun.
Only, Chu Xun easily sidestepped him and whizzed right past him.
Most, if not all of the residence’s sentinels were all Grandmasters, and that made all of them virtually defenseless before Chu Xun’s mighty powers.
And indeed for Chu Xun, he found as if he had stepped into a clearing without any mode of hindrance or impediment that would hold him back. Twirling and spinning around, he effortlessly flitted past the sentries while ducking amongst them for cover.
That prevented Yan Wushuang from launching any attacks lest he wounded his own men.
“Stand down, all of you!” bellowed Yan Wushuang.
The sentries immediately avoided Chu Xun, giving him a wide berth whenever he came near.
“And where do you think you’re going?!” Yan Wushuang swung his three-feet long weapon that hummed as a bolt of energy launched from its tip.
Chu Xun ducked again, and the Sword Qi shaft smashed into an ancient tree, dismembering it into halves.
“WHO ARE YOU!?” Yan Wushuang bellowed.
Chu Xun ignored the question, merely emitting a few cackles that sounded anything but his own before he bolted further towards the gates of the residence.
Yan Wushuang gave chase.
With blazing quickness, both men covered hundreds of meters with every step, dashing out of the residence and plunging into the darkened streets outside.
Suddenly, Yan Wushuang accelerated. He closed the distance and swung his weapon, and as a Seventh-grade Human King, any single one of his attacks was incredibly powerful.
A shrill scream from an energy bolt tearing through the air raced straight for Chu Xun’s back, the blade of light destroying every fen and leaf in its path.
Chu Xun spun back and fired a white blast of energy—a blast of True Energy. Yet, the Sword Qi bolt shredded it like paper and continued swooping at him.
Dammit, Firmament Chain, Chu Xun griped quietly as he evaded the blow. Your absorbing of part of my True Energy whenever I use it is weakening me!
Is running the only way for me?
Chu Xun wheeled back around and continued running.
With Yan Wushuang just right at his heels.
With just a couple of breaths, he caught up to Chu Xun again, swinging his sword and casting another energy bolt at him.
With a sudden burst of speed, Chu Xun evaded the attack with a sidestep that reached more than a hundred meters.
That shocked Yan Wushuang. This intruder’s... he’s definitely powerful, he realized. He noticed how Chu Xun had been evading his attacks without much difficulty and could only guess that Chu Xun’s lack of reprisals could only be the unwillingness to not allow him to read moves.
That allowed Yan Wushuang understood that he could wreak whatever damage he could – and he did. He launched one destructive salvo after another, eager to force Chu Xun to fight back.
Yet Chu Xun tenaciously refused to retaliate, only focused on fleeing.
They were about to delve deeper into the bowels of the city when Yan Wushuang’s patience finally waned. He raised his weapon and it hummed as energy coursed through its blade.
Swoosh!
The blade of his sword came up, and tens of thousands of Sword Qi shafts sprayed out of its tip like a multitude of silvery needles spraying into the air, illuminating the night sky, and striking fear into anyone who might have seen them.
Chu Xun turned around suddenly and flailed his arms.
Rumble!
The air in the night sky quivered and twisted convulsively. Bolts of electricity danced around in the air every now and there and thunders rolled overhead.
A gigantic and terrible fist materialized in the sky with lightning arcing around it, coming furiously down at the thousands of Sword Qi shafts racing towards it.
Rumble!
The tens of thousands of energy bolts collided with the monstrous fist, eliciting a deafening explosion and a raging storm of winds amidst the otherwise still and starry night.
Making full use of the aftermath of Yan Wushuang’s attack, Chu Xun turned into a bolt of light, streaking as fast as he could with terrifying speeds that landed him thousands of meters away when he finally hit the ground, where he quickly vanished into the city.
The sword in Yan Wushuang’s grasp trembled and hummed with fury. Seething, he realized he had found the identity of the intruder.
“Zang Fengling, how dare you make enemies of us, the Yan Family!”
With that, he renewed his pursuit of the intruder, following him into the city.
...
Inside a richly-furnished suite, Zang Fengling pummeled a fist into the surface of the table before him, destroying the ornate furniture into bits.
Boiling with rage since his return from the meeting at the residence of the Yan Family, he could hardly focus on his meditation, his mind swimming with the thoughts of the unknown stranger who had scampered away with the Crimson Draconic Ginseng which he had so painstakingly prepared for his own.
In the end, two poor servant girls had been sacrificed on the altar of his rage and lust for two hours before his anger finally subsided a little.
He had just enjoyed a bath before going to the couch to laze and rest after his exertion, only to be haunted once more by the memory of losing both his prized Ginseng and pride, and the coffee table ultimately became the latest victim of his rekindled flames of rage.
The pair of maids, both wrapped in towels that barely concealed their curvaceous figure, came out of the bathroom after him and the sight of their shapely bodies made Zang Fengling feel his carnal hunger rearing its head like a monster again.
One of the maids was about to speak when her face turned aghast and she screamed, “Young Master, look out!”
Crash!
The massive glass pane of the french windows burst into a fountain of shards and something black shot through the chaos, bearing straight at Zang Fengling.
But he already sensed the stranger coming before the maid’s warning. He snorted coldly, his hand coming up to catch something black flying at him.
Before he could examine what it was, a sudden eruption of force from the unknown thing he caught shocked him, tossing him off the couch and slamming him into the wall.
Crack!
The luxurious sofa was utterly destroyed and webs of cracks spread upon the wall.
Zang Fengling’s face was an uneven red and white from having his face hit into the wall, and blood began dribbling out of the corner of his mouth suddenly.
“Master!”
The sight of him being wounded left the servant girls terrified.
Zang Fengling seethed with anger, yet surprise and trepidation lingered inside him. He had used only three-tenths of his powers just now to catch the black object having underestimated its force, and realized that his assailant was very powerful.
He looked at the object in his hands and what he saw only added more tinder to his flames of fury and exasperation. It was a jet-black pole, still stained with dregs of mortar and some slivers of blood; something which could’ve easily be found in construction sites.
What a disgrace. I’m a Seventh-grade Human King, for crying out loud! Yet here I am, attacked with just some lousy rod and caught wounded!
His chest heaved and puffed like a pair of bellows, panting heavily with fury and malice; a brimming intent to kill the man who did this.
Swoosh!
Clutching the iron rod, clothed in his bathing robe, he leaped out of the broken window, tossing himself off the 22nd floor.
Zang Fengling landed hard on the ground with a crash so great that he created a large crater.
“COME OUT!”
Rage swirled uncontrollably inside him as he let loose a thunderous roar into the air, sending shockwaves that rippled across the entirety of Yanxue City while obliterating a good many window panes and glasses.
Swoosh!
A Sword Qi missile – brutal and yet powerful – came screaming right at him.
Without even turning his head, Zang Fengling swung the iron rod furiously with boiling indignation.
Boom!
The brilliant bolt of light burst into harmless glittery residues, and the iron rod missing part of its end.
That was Yan Wushuang. He had been pursuing Chu Xun until he came here and saw Zang Fengling screaming like a madman, noticing the weapon responsible for many a swelling on the heads of his men.
Before beginning his chase, he had examined briefly Yan Dong’s and Yan Xi’s injuries and found furious and ununiform swellings on the backs of their heads. It was only when he saw the crooked iron rod in Zang Fengling’s grasp, was he finally certain that he had found the culprit of this whole debacle.
“What in the world are you doing, Yan Wushuang?!” Zang Fengling looked up, fuming.
Wearing a similarly ugly look himself, Yan Wushuang growled grumpily, “I could ask you the same question.”
Yan Wushuang eyed Zang Fengling frostily, obviously annoyed that the latter pretended to know what was happening. Without any warning, he swung his sword again.
“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, YAN WUSHUANG?!” Zang Fengling roared. How dare this brash fool attack him!? First, he javelined an iron rod at me, and now he swings his sword at me?!
Knowing that he need not hold back, he mustered his powers, and his aura burgeoned, and he leaped at Yan Wushuang.
Bang! Bang!
Everything shook from the force both men hurled fiercely at each other, and everything turned into a mess as if a hurricane was sweeping by.
Yan Wushuang’s sword snapped furiously like a serpent, stabbing relentlessly at its foe.
With a snarl, Zang Fengling launched an unstoppable salvo of attacks of his own, aiming exclusively at Yan Wushuang’s vital points.
Both men fought with true grit and anger, exhibiting true intent to kill and slaughter.
But with strengths on par with each other, it would take a long time before the outcome of their battle finally emerged.
It did not take long for word of their cataclysmic battle to reach all corners of Yanxue City, alerting all warriors nearby who came to watch, including the Lady of the Moon, Yao Baiyue herself.
“Why are they fighting each other suddenly?” asked a voice.
Everyone shook their heads, looking equally befuddled.
Yao Baiyue was just as flabbergasted. Everyone departed the Yan Family residence right after the meeting, including both her and Zang Fengling. But what caused them both to fight?
“Lady of the Moon.”
Hearing a voice uttering her moniker made her turn and she saw it was Chu Xun. Seeing how refreshed he looked now just after his duel with Zang Fengling earlier during the meeting, she could only breathe heavily with amazement at his extraordinary toughness and endurance.
Yet, not knowing Chu Xun’s name, a polite smile was all she could proffer.
Chu Xun strolled over to join her in witnessing the ferocious battle. Putting up a dubious facade, he asked, “What’s going on? Has the meeting not ended yet? Wow, to think that their fight reaches even into the city. So, what’s the prize this time?”
Yao Baiyue breathed hard, not knowing how to respond. Fool, can’t you see that they are fighting for their lives, she brooded quietly. Anyone with half a brain could clearly see that. Nevertheless, the reserved and cultured Lady of the Moon explained with all the patience she could muster.
“Ah?!” Chu Xun gasped when he finally heard the story, “So even you are not sure too, Lady? But surely there’s a reason to a fight that resembled a heavy blood feud.”
That remark made everyone narrowed their eyes at him, some almost groaning, as if we can’t see that. Surely no fool would be so eager to seek Death, if not for specific reasons.
“Ah! I know!” Chu Xun clapped his hands together dramatically.
Every head around him turned to face him, among them Yao Baiyue as well.
“I’m guessing they’re fighting for you, Lady of the Moon,” Chu Xun gave Yao Baiyue a look.
“For me?” Yao Baiyue nearly yelped with fright.
“I daresay Zang Fengling is interested in you too. That is what this fight is all about: a fight to win your favor. It’s just like how male lions would fight each other on the savannah only to win over a lioness. It usually is a fight to the death.”
That left every warrior who heard him dumbfounded with their jaws hanging wide. If not for the news that spread about his victory over Zang Fengling in the duel earlier, many would have thrown themselves at the fool who dared insult the name of the Lady of the Moon.
Even Yao Baiyue was flaring that she felt her stomach ailing with discomfort; a wonder that even the reticent and composed Lady of the Moon felt the urge to hit someone. How dare this fool compare me with beasts like a lioness!
“What do you think about my theory, Lady of the Moon?” Chu Xun asked, his eyes flashing with clear earnest.
It was all Yao Baiyue could do to prevent herself from collapsing with exasperation, her teeth gritting with suppressed annoyance and rage.