Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 172 - Standing Out

When Qian Kun’s attack missed its mark and hit the stone wall, a large hole was created, sending rocks flying in all directions.

“You can’t escape from me!” Qian Kun declared, his speed surpassing that of the woman. He vanished and reappeared so quickly that only Liu Wuxie could keep up with his movements. One moment, he was behind her, and the next, he was in front of her, his palm coming down in a powerful strike.

Unable to evade this time, the woman had no choice but to channel all her true essence into her palm to meet the attack head-on. The collision of their palms sent a thunderous rumble echoing through the main hall.

Rocks fell from the ceiling, and the entire main hall was wrecked. The other women had long hidden in a corner, trembling in fear.

When the woman met Qian Kun’s palm strike head-on, she was sent flying, coughing up blood. It was clear that Qian Kun’s palm strike was more powerful than hers.

Qian Kun touched down on the ground, his gaze indifferent as he looked at the woman. “You’re from the royal family!” he declared. Through their clash, he had recognized the woman’s martial techniques as originating from the royal family of the Great Yan Dynasty

“That’s right. I’m the third princess of the Great Yan Dynasty, and I’m here to kill you all!” The woman retorted, wiping away the stain on her face to reveal a familiar visage. It was the same face Liu Wuxie had seen the day before. He hadn’t expected her to disguise herself and blend in with the captured women.

She must have known about the Scarlet Dragon Association’s plan to capture people and had gone to the village ahead of time. She had disguised herself and pretended to be one of the captured. While serving wine to Qian Kun, she had seized the opportunity to attempt an assassination. However, her plan had failed because she hadn’t known about the inner armor Qian Kun wore.

“I didn’t expect Princess Ruoyan to come to a place like this. Aren’t you afraid of dirtying yourself?” Lu Huangzhong asked with an eerie smile. The third princess of the Great Yan Dynasty was called Chen Ruoyan, the daughter of the current emperor.

“I’m acting on behalf of heaven to purge you people!”

After losing her longsword, Chen Ruoyan took an ordinary sword from the interspatial pouch.

The revelation of her identity as the third princess of the Great Yan Dynasty sent shockwaves through the main hall, as everyone present held a deep reverence for the dynasty.

“Princess Ruoyan, as long as you’re willing to leave now and swear never to step foot into the Dragon Head Mountain again, I can spare your life,” Qian Kun said. He didn’t kill Chen Ruoyan because he feared the Great Yan Dynasty’s power.

“Hmph, are you all afraid now? I’ll leave after killing everyone here.” Chen Ruoyan declared, showing no signs of backing down.

What a fool! Liu Wuxie cursed inwardly. Qian Kun’s decision to spare her wasn’t because he couldn’t defeat her but because he wanted to avoid conflict with the Great Yan Dynasty.

“Since Princess Ruoyan is determined to stay in my Scarlet Dragon Association, I can only apologize in advance,” Qian Kun said. “I’ve met many women in my life, and I’ve heard that Princess Ruoyan is as beautiful as a celestial fairy. Today, I must ask Princess Ruoyan to serve me.”

A cold light flashed in Qian Kun’s eyes. Does she really think I fear the Great Yan Dynasty to the extent of letting her look down upon me? Despite the dynasty’s numerous attempts to wipe them out over the years, he was still alive and well.

“I’ll kill you!” Chen Ruoyan roared. She was so furious that she began to tremble. Qian Kun’s demand for her to serve him was a direct insult to the royal family. She charged at Qian Kun in retaliation.

“Big Brother, leave it to me!” Ye Xiao tossed the sword away before grabbing Chen Ruoyan’s shoulder. Since his big brother had taken a liking to this woman, he naturally couldn’t injure her.

With her path blocked by Ye Xiao, Chen Ruoyan could only fight him head-on. They were evenly matched, and no one could defeat the other. However, this time, Chen Ruoyan had learned from her previous encounter and was more cautious in her approach.

Ye Xiao’s attacks were ruthless, targeting Chen Ruoyan’s private parts. This naturally infuriated Chen Ruoyan, but she was powerless to retaliate. Whenever she prepared to attack, Ye Xiao’s right hand would aim for her chest, forcing her to defend herself.

As Chen Ruoyan retreated, her space to maneuver dwindled. Despite her higher cultivation level, she was pushed to her limits. In this life-or-death battle, it wasn’t a friendly spar like in the arena, but a contest of who could be more ruthless.

Chen Ruoyan found herself cornered, a situation largely influenced by her upbringing. As the third princess, she was not inclined to resort to underhanded tactics.

“Third Princess, surrender!” As he forced Chen Ruoyan to retreat with a palm strike, Ye Xiao launched his hook once more. This time, its trajectory was even more unpredictable, leaving Chen Ruoyan with no room to dodge. If this attack hit Chen Ruoyan, she would undoubtedly sustain severe injuries.

The hook whistled through the air. With her back against the stone wall and her sword restrained by Ye Xiao, Chen Ruoyan could only watch as the hook aimed for the left side of her chest, covering several meters in an instant.

However, just when the hook was a few inches away from Chen Ruoyan’s chest, sparks flew with Ye Xiao’s hook flying away, smashing into the stone wall and leaving behind a huge crater.

This allowed Chen Ruoyan to survive. She was baffled when she opened her eyes, wondering who had saved her.

“Who is it?!” Ye Xiao took a huge step back to prevent sneak attacks.

Everyone looked at the dark corner on the right. A pebble had shot out from that direction, blocking Ye Xiao’s hook.

Emerging from the shadows, Liu Wuxie revealed himself. His initial plan of remaining hidden was no longer necessary, especially since his objective was to eliminate the three leaders of the Scarlet Dragon Association. However, Chen Ruoyan had acted before him, disrupting his plan.

He had initially planned to wait until they were drunk before striking, but now, with his cover blown and the situation escalated, he had no choice but to confront them directly.

“Lil’ Six, how dare you betray the association!” Lu Huangzhong roared, mistaking Liu Wuxie for the deceased goon.

“I’m not Lil’ Six. He’s already dead!” Liu Wuxie didn’t remove his disguise as he didn’t want to reveal his true identity.

“Another fly who sneaked in. Let me kill you!” Lu Huangzhong was furious because he was the reason why these two spies had managed to infiltrate Dragon Head Mountain. This had never happened before, and this was negligent on his part as the third leader.

This time, Qian Kun didn’t stop Lu Huangzhong from making a move.

“Appreciate your assistance, but you’re not strong enough. Escape while I hold them back!” Surprisingly, Chen Ruoyan was concerned for Liu Wuxie’s safety and urged him to flee while she held off their adversaries.

This unexpected concern warmed Liu Wuxie’s heart. He hadn’t anticipated such kindness from Chen Ruoyan, given her usually cold exterior. However, he chose to disregard her advice and unsheathed his blade.

Upon seeing the blade, Chen Ruoyan’s eyes sparkled with recognition. She remembered the weapon from their duel the previous day and knew that Liu Wuxie was no less formidable than her.

Performing the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance, Liu Wuxie left behind an afterimage and appeared before Lu Huangzhong.

“Third Brother, watch out!” Qian Kun’s warning rang out, but it was too late. Liu Wuxie’s blade had already sliced through Lu Huangzhong’s defenses and was descending upon his head.

This was precisely the effect Liu Wuxie had intended—catching his opponent off guard. Given that he was only at the first level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm, Lu Huangzhong had underestimated him, mistaking him for a mere subordinate of Chen Ruoyan.

But who would have thought that Liu Wuxie was stronger than he appeared, severing Lu Huangzhong’s neck with a single blade strike? By the time Lu Huangzhong realized the danger, it was too late. The aura of the blade obliterated his head, and his body rapidly withered, reducing to a pile of skin. This was because Liu Wuxie urgently needed to absorb the true essence of a Marrow Cleansing Realm expert to advance in his cultivation.

After consuming Lu Huangzhong, Liu Wuxie successfully made a breakthrough. He wasn’t lacking in resources after killing Fan Yeping, and the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron had already absorbed the spirit stones.

As Liu Wuxie’s cultivation began to rise, he swiftly reached the second level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm, but his strength grew more than one-fold. The sudden death of Lu Huangzhong caught everyone by surprise, including Chen Ruoyan.

Even she couldn’t kill Lu Huangzhong with one sword strike, and this made her wonder who Liu Wuxie was to be so powerful.

“Third Brother!” Ye Xiao roared. He had to watch Lu Huangzhong being killed and was powerless to do anything about it.

The main hall fell into silence as everyone’s breathing became hurried. When the group leaders looked at Liu Wuxie, their eyes contained a hint of fear.

“Who are you, and why did you intrude the Scarlet Dragon Association?” Qian Kun took a deep breath to suppress his anger. Anyone could tell that this matter wasn’t simple. These two people had managed to infiltrate their stronghold, one of them being a princess.

“I\'m nobody. Even if I tell you, you may not know me,” Liu Wuxie said. He was telling the truth because he only had some fame in the Imperial Academy. He couldn’t represent the Great Yan Dynasty, and there weren’t many who knew about him.

“You were sent here to kill us!” Qian Kun deduced, despite being unable to find any clues or determine Liu Wuxie’s identity from his tone and martial techniques.

“You can think of it that way!”

If Qian Kun knew that Liu Wuxie’s mission was to eliminate the three leaders after having killed members of the Xue Clan, he would likely be shocked to the point of spitting out blood.

Qian Kun, well-versed in the affairs of the Great Yan Dynasty, speculated on Liu Wuxie’s identity. “The royal family? Military? Or the Imperial Academy?” he questioned.

A smile rose on Liu Wuxie\'s lips, but he said nothing. This was because there was no need to explain to a dead person.

“Big Brother, don’t bother wasting words with him. We can force it out of him after capturing him. I have plenty of ways to pry open his mouth!”

Ye Xiao advanced towards Liu Wuxie, determined not to underestimate him as Lu Huangzhong had done.

However, Qian Kun intervened, “You’re not his opponent. I’ll handle him!” He moved to stand before Liu Wuxie, and as their eyes met, an invisible shockwave of true essence swept out between them. This alone was enough to suggest that Qian Kun was a formidable expert, potentially outmatching even ordinary experts in the fourth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. It made one wonder why someone of his caliber would choose to become a bandit.

Ye Xiao retreated to the side, blocking the exit to prevent Liu Wuxie’s escape.

Meanwhile, Chen Ruoyan seemed excited rather than worried. She found a clean spot and began to eat and drink heartily, disregarding her royal status. She had been famished, having not eaten for an entire day.

Liu Wuxie was taken aback by the sight before him. He had never encountered a woman as audacious as Chen Ruoyan, who could maintain her composure and even find the mood to eat amidst such chaos. Despite the unusual circumstances, he found her optimistic attitude admirable.

Meanwhile, Qian Kun calmly retrieved a pair of gloves from his interspatial pouch and put them on. These gloves were not ordinary; they were the source of his title, ‘Thunder Hands Qian Kun’.