The woman was like a dragon, exhaling a luminous pearl from her mouth.
Guloshi Li Yuanying once recounted to the Crown Prince a hundred different human appearances, yet the latter only remembered six, and had truly encountered only one: the Gonggong appearance. Two people fit this description—his younger brother Xu Longxiang, and Lu Doudou, the servant with twin pupils from the Lu family of Qingzhou. Both possessed extraordinary natural strength. Even without martial cultivation, they could lift cauldrons weighing a thousand jin and tear apart tigers and leopards with their bare hands, as if blessed by divine power. However, the woman before him, hailing from the Chess and Sword Academy, possessed not only the rare Tianren appearance coveted by Daoist adepts, but also the Dragon Concubine appearance sought after in the Tantric traditions of union. To put it simply, such a person was like a living ginseng walking the streets—how could she not tempt the greed of others?
Moreover, possessing both appearances simultaneously, unless she had a body as strong as Huang Man’er’s, she simply wouldn’t be able to endure it. The fact that she had survived and remained lively until today could only be attributed to the legendary black pearl said to have been placed in the mouth of the Qin Empress eight hundred years ago. Rumors told of tombs of former dynasties being plundered, but no news of the pearl ever surfaced in the world.
When Xu Fengnian saw the pearl leave her lips and her eyes lose focus, he instinctively tried to force it back into her mouth, but it was already too late. Her once lifeless eyes suddenly transformed into one crimson and one violet, glowing with eerie brilliance. Startled, Xu Fengnian reacted swiftly. Unable to stop the dragon’s breath from expelling the pearl, he immediately pressed his left hand on the hilt of Spring Thunder and with his right hand, struck her chest with force, attempting to disrupt the surging energy within her body. At that moment, he had no time to consider whether the softness beneath his palm was tender or firm, nor did he care about the propriety of physical contact between man and woman. One moment’s hesitation could cost him his life.
Xu Fengnian stood motionless, sweat beading on his forehead. He had absorbed eight-tenths of the Great Huang Ting energy given to him by Wang Chonglou, yet even in a direct clash of energy with this woman, he was still at a complete disadvantage. Her dual-colored eyes rolled slowly, like a vengeful ghost returning from the underworld to the realm of the living, gradually adjusting to a world so different from the netherworld. Not only was his right hand, which had touched her chest, stuck fast, but his left hand on Spring Thunder was also immobile. He stood like a statue before her, in a posture that seemed affectionate but was in fact perilous. Her eyes finally focused, staring directly into Xu Fengnian’s face, while the pearl danced joyfully around her, leaving trails of glowing light in the twilight.
The woman, who could no longer be called Huang Baozhuang of the Chess and Sword Academy, extended a slender finger and gently touched Xu Fengnian’s forehead.
The energy within Xu Fengnian’s body nearly exploded inch by inch, producing a sound like soybeans popping in a pan. It was evident how abundant his energy was, and how excruciating the pain must be—like enduring a thousand cuts instead of a single blade. Recently, he had been studying Wang Xianzhi’s sword manual, especially the page detailing the energy flow of the Dragon-Rolling Wall. This had allowed him to endure the bone-deep tremors that would make ordinary people faint. The more he endured, the more unbearable the torment became.
Apparently surprised that Xu Fengnian had not been killed with a mere flick, the woman tilted her head stiffly and slowly. Then she looked down and saw Spring Thunder inching out of its sheath at a visible pace, only to retreat halfway again and again, struggling to finally extend two and a half inches. Her patience was exhausted. In a flash, she struck his hand, and Spring Thunder instantly returned to its sheath. Not only that, but the residual force from the blade’s impact against the sheath caused the short sword to swing upward in an arc from Xu Fengnian’s left waist. Then, with her left hand, she gently pushed against his chest.
Xu Fengnian was sent flying, his body and sword crashing backward into the stone stele of the “Buddha Niche Inscription.” The sturdy three-inch-thick stone slab did not merely break—it shattered into countless pieces under the chaotic energy within Xu Fengnian’s body.
After landing, Xu Fengnian remained calm, suppressing the pain and adjusting his energy flow. He placed his left hand on Spring Thunder and looked up to see her not rushing to attack. He raised his right hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. He wondered how the Chess and Sword Academy had raised such a monster. She twisted her neck, looked at Xu Fengnian, and her lips curled slightly, as if mocking his weakness. She extended a finger and pointed beyond the city wall, kindly reminding him to try to escape.
Xu Fengnian did not disappoint her. He leapt toward the city wall, his foot touching the battlements—but then he twisted midair. Spring Thunder slid smoothly from its sheath by three inches as his body lunged fiercely at the mysterious woman. Escape? With her ruthless methods, the moment he landed, he would be dead. At five paces away, just as Spring Thunder was about to be fully drawn, she took a single, effortless step forward. Her slender, delicate hand pushed outward, causing Xu Fengnian’s body to hesitate, precisely delaying the moment the sword was fully unsheathed. With her other hand, she pulled him toward her as if drawing water from a well. The woman accelerated suddenly, striding forward, her arm swinging sideways in a powerful strike that slammed into Xu Fengnian’s chest. His body arched backward like a bowstring drawn to its limit, flying backward once more. She continued forward, seemingly strolling leisurely, yet moving so fast that the eye could barely follow. She “slowly” approached Xu Fengnian’s floating body, delivering a brutal elbow strike to his waist. Xu Fengnian crashed into a wall, leaving a dent, kneeling on one knee, spitting out a large mouthful of blood. A crimson puddle stained the bluish bricks, a shocking sight.
She raised a finger and beckoned.
Xu Fengnian silently used the tip of Spring Thunder’s scabbard to push himself up, straightened his back, and focused entirely on the essence of the Dragon-Rolling Wall technique from the sword manual, his energy sea boiling.
Swallowing clouds and dreams, shaking the Kunlun Mountains.
Xu Fengnian no longer reached for Spring Thunder. He raised his hands in a martial stance, his feet kicking up two puffs of dust.
At this critical moment of life and death, her stomach suddenly growled. She sighed softly, and the overwhelming killing intent that had filled the city wall vanished like mist. She looked down at her stomach and muttered, “I’m hungry.”
Xu Fengnian’s energy wavered, and in an instant, her face was right before his eyes. She gripped his arms tightly, her voice hoarse and erratic: “I’m hungry, and when I’m hungry, I especially like to kill. How about I tear off your arms?”
Xu Fengnian’s expression hardened with cold resolve. He feigned a relaxation of his energy, then suddenly tightened it all. He inhaled sharply and clenched the pearl between his teeth. If she tore off his arms, he would use all of the Great Huang Ting energy to shatter the pearl.
She asked, “Do you really think I’d let you have your way?”
When they first met, it was Xu Fengnian who spoke while she remained silent. Now the roles had reversed—now she spoke, and he was mute.
She smiled, released his arms, and without any visible energy movement, the pearl drifted from Xu Fengnian’s control and returned to her, joyfully circling around. She leapt onto the city wall, bent down, and said, “Count yourself lucky. I once made a promise to her: I wouldn’t kill the first person I saw after expelling the pearl.”
Xu Fengnian wasn’t foolish. He knew this woman from the Chess and Sword Academy had a dual personality. He certainly preferred dealing with the shy and gentle version of her. The one before him now must have at least reached the Qi Xuan realm. Spitting out the pearl was like releasing a great demon. No wonder she had urged him to flee earlier. Xu Fengnian wasn’t particularly attached to the pearl said to preserve youth, though he had wanted to witness the mystery of the Tianren and Dragon Concubine appearances. But he never expected a single pearl to cause such a catastrophe. Killing across realms was thrilling, but the truth was that Xu Fengnian was not yet capable of it.
She teased, “Not killing you doesn’t mean I won’t make you suffer. But you do have some skill—you endured my single finger strike. You should have drawn your sword and attacked from the start. Why did you hesitate? Pitying beauty? How foolish. You’ve reached the point of sword cultivation where you must deliberate each move. Isn’t that the same path Li Chungan took after reaching Qi Xuan, sealing his sword and sheathing it? Right, you just displayed the Prototype of Li Chungan’s Dragon-Rolling Wall technique in the Xishu palace. What’s your relationship with that old man? Tell me, and if I’m in a good mood, I might teach you a few techniques that rival the Two-Sleeve Green Snake.”
Xu Fengnian tightened his grip on Spring Thunder.
The woman stood on the city wall, her crimson and violet eyes chilling, smiling down at him. “Oh, looks like that old man really means something to you, huh? You’re willing to risk your life for him? What’s so great about him? He entered the Jinguang realm at sixteen, Qi Xuan at nineteen—same as me. And he didn’t reach Tianxiang until twenty-four, which was even later than me. ‘Heaven never gave birth to Li Chungan, so the sword path has been dark for ten thousand years.’ How amusing. Seems like your Liyang Dynasty just doesn’t have any real experts—except for Wang Xianzhi.”
Xu Fengnian, who had remained silent, finally opened his mouth. Blood that had already risen to his throat spilled out—not because he wanted to stay silent, but because he couldn’t speak anymore. He formed a few words with his lips.
She extended a finger, the pearl spinning around it. She smiled sweetly, “Oh, you’re saying ‘Go to hell.’”
After she spoke, Xu Fengnian’s sleeves flapped violently. He closed his mouth again, and blood trickled from his lips, even darker than before.
She curled her lip, sneering, “You just don’t know who I am. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have so much stubborn pride.”
She jumped down from the city wall, stretched lazily, took the pearl in her hand, gently rubbed it against her cheek, and sighed wistfully, “Time to go back.”
The pearl returned to her mouth, and the brilliance in her eyes gradually faded, returning to dullness. The woman with the green waist sword stood there, bewildered. Finally spotting Xu Fengnian sitting on the ground, she ran to him with teary eyes, tightly closed her lips, and began gesturing in the air. Xu Fengnian, still cautious, understood her message: “Don’t kill me. I’m sorry. If I speak or die, she will come out and kill many people.”
Xu Fengnian inwardly sighed in relief that he hadn’t attacked her when she returned to her senses. Her deliberate provocation had indeed been a plan, perhaps even a calculated attempt to give him a chance to kill the other her. This terrifying female demon was not only powerful but also cunning.
The woman before him now was relatively ordinary, a female swordsman from the Chess and Sword Academy. She was merely at the Jinguang threshold, like himself. In close combat, Xu Fengnian was ninety percent certain he could kill her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have subdued her so quickly when she was holding the pearl and not yet transformed. Clearly, she was inexperienced in the martial world, typical of the favored disciples trained in top sects. They advanced rapidly along the martial path, but once they encountered a fellow cultivator of the same realm who had fought their way through the martial world, they were doomed to die. And considering her rare condition, it was already generous of the Chess and Sword Academy not to chain her like a beast.
Xu Fengnian spat blood and smiled bitterly, his sorrow profound. The young Huang Baozhuang, who had grown up in the Chess and Sword Academy without much worldly experience, felt infinite guilt, completely forgetting that this sword-wielding man had brought the disaster upon himself. The two extremes were stark: one her, who had once wreaked havoc in the world; the other her, who only knew how to bury herself in sword practice, following the Chess and Sword Academy’s rigid rules, obeying her master’s every word, and after her master’s death, wandering aimlessly like a blind person, hiding to cry in secret.
This her, at this moment, forgot her modesty and shyness, trembling as she reached out to wipe the blood from this stranger’s face, but she couldn’t clean it all. Xu Fengnian gently raised his hand to stop her clumsy help, smiling wryly, “It’s okay. Once you get used to spitting blood, you’ll be fine. I won’t die.”
Curious, Xu Fengnian asked, “Who is she?”
Huang Baozhuang remained silent, tears welling up.
Xu Fengnian didn’t press further. In the Liyang Dynasty, the demonic sects had been greatly weakened, especially after the Six Great Demon Lords ascended the Golden Summit, all slain by Qi Xuanzhen alone. After Xu Xiao’s campaign against the martial world, any sects with even a hint of demonic association hurriedly changed their names and kept a low profile. But the Northern Yan Empire was different. The Northern Yan court not only supported a few major sects to monopolize the martial world, but also largely ignored so-called demonic sects, allowing those openly practicing cannibalism or sexual cultivation to thrive. The Northern Yan court always followed the principle that martial world matters should be resolved by martial world people themselves. In the recent Northern Yan martial ranking, besides the top ten martial experts, ten great demonic masters were also listed. Any one of them could have been executed ten times over in the Liyang Dynasty. At the top was Luo Yang, who, with bare hands alone, swept through the Eastern Jin, Treasure Bottle, Orange, and Dragon Waist provinces, and finally marched to the imperial city, killing indiscriminately. It was only when the martial god Tuoba Busi personally intervened at the palace gates that this purple-robed demon was finally stopped.
The Northern Yan Empress watched from the city wall, patiently refraining from deploying the six thousand armored guards protecting the imperial city. She said, “Killing one Luo Yang with six thousand soldiers—how many of my brave soldiers would be lost? Would my mighty Northern Yan not lose twelve thousand fine warriors?”
Such a martial world, such a Northern Yan, was worth seeing with one’s own eyes.
“Fengnian, have you ever thought about it? With thirty thousand Northern Liang cavalry, always fearing betrayal from behind, can they really withstand the full might of the Northern Yan Empire marching south?”
That night, in a secret conversation that lasted until dawn, Xu Xiao asked this question at the end.
Xu Fengnian shifted slightly, leaning against the wall, finally stopping the flow of blood from his mouth. He casually wiped his lips with his sleeve and smiled bitterly, “Earlier, I acted impulsively and was disrespectful. Please forgive me.”
Huang Baozhuang shook her head, pointed at Xu Fengnian’s face, and continued gesturing, “Your mask is broken.”
Earlier, at the base of the Yanhui Pass wall, he had changed into a disguise mask carefully crafted by Shu Xiu. After the battle with her, it was already broken by seventy or eighty percent. Xu Fengnian carefully tore it away piece by piece. With her pointing and guiding, his original face gradually emerged, pale and weary.
Xu Fengnian extended his hand. She thought he wanted help standing, so she reached out too—and was suddenly pulled into his arms.
Huang Baozhuang stiffened, her body trembling.
Xu Fengnian smiled softly, “I know what you want to say. You don’t like me. I didn’t say I liked you either. But I’ve spilled so much blood—I at least want to get my investment back. I don’t do losing deals.”
The exhausted Crown Prince closed his eyes.
He remembered Xu Xiao saying that when he was young, the first time he met his wife, he was beaten half to death.
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