Free Web NovelChapter 139: Chapter 139: Emissary of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land
Everyone present was stunned.
The feud between Shen Daoxing and Celestial City Academy had long since spread throughout the imperial city. With Ren Changfeng appearing in the Imperial Mausoleum, his objective was self-evident.
No one had expected that Celestial City Academy would send its headmaster to personally kill a disciple from the Sword Institute.
And most crucially, he was the one who ended up dead.
Ren Changfeng was a master of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
Shen Daoxing had killed an opponent a full major realm above his own!
Killing an opponent of a higher level was not unheard of; the Martial Kingdom’s former number one genius, Xia Junze, had been capable of it.
However, killing an opponent a full major realm higher was exceedingly rare in the entire history of the Martial Kingdom.
As far as they could recall, only Yun Jingmeng, from several hundred years ago, had ever accomplished such a feat.
And who was Yun Jingmeng? She was a Great Sword Immortal who had eventually left the East Continent, a Sword King whose talent was seen only once in a generation.
The Martial Kingdom Emperor nodded repeatedly, unable to hide the admiration in his eyes as he looked at Shen Daoxing. ’It seems my decision to betroth the Ninth Princess to him was the right one after all.’
"Headmaster!"
"Headmaster!"
Chen Guanggu and Bai Bo cried out in alarm and scrambled to Ren Changfeng’s side. Staring at his gruesome corpse, they couldn’t believe that their own headmaster, Ren Changfeng, had personally made a move and still failed to take down Shen Daoxing.
"How dare you! Shen Daoxing, you’ve killed our Celestial City Academy disciples again and again. We were prepared to let the past go and spare your life, yet now you’ve struck down our headmaster! You are truly ruthless!"
Chen Guanggu pointed a trembling finger at Shen Daoxing and spat out the words.
Bai Yi laughed and couldn’t help but taunt, "Your Celestial City Academy letting the past go? It’s more like you were helpless against our Shen Daoxing!"
"You..."
Chen Guanggu was so furious he was left speechless.
"Shen Daoxing!"
At that moment, an enraged voice suddenly boomed through the sky like a thunderclap on a clear day.
In the distance, from the direction of Celestial City Academy, a streak of rainbow light shot up and blazed across the sky.
In an instant, Ma Zheng’s figure appeared before the crowd.
His eyes narrowed sharply when he saw Ren Changfeng’s mangled corpse.
"Shen Daoxing!"
Ma Zheng bellowed, abruptly reaching out a massive hand to seize Shen Daoxing.
Shen Daoxing’s killing of Xia Junze had been unexpected enough. Now, even Ren Changfeng had died by his hand. Ma Zheng knew that if this boy wasn’t eliminated today, he would become a grave threat in the future.
There was still a considerable distance between Shen Daoxing and Ma Zheng, yet as Ma Zheng’s hand reached out, the world seemed to freeze. Unable to move a muscle, Shen Daoxing was hoisted into the air by an invisible hand.
"Old Man Ma, you dare!"
Seeing this, Bai Yi’s expression hardened. He drew his sword and slashed down at an empty point in the void.
Shen Daoxing felt the pressure on his body release, and the force binding him vanished.
Then, Bai Yi slowly stepped between Ma Zheng and Shen Daoxing, glaring coldly at Ma Zheng. "Old Man Ma, as long as I, Bai Yi, am here, you can forget about harming my disciple!"
At the same time, the Martial Kingdom Emperor also stepped forward slowly. "Elder Ma, we had an agreement. The grudge between Shen Daoxing and your Celestial City Academy was to be resolved with a life-and-death duel between disciples. Now that Xia Junze is dead, the matter is settled. For Celestial City Academy to then send someone to assassinate him is already a breach of that promise. Why be so aggressive? Let it go!"
The Martial Kingdom Emperor’s tone suddenly sharpened. "And don’t you forget, We personally stated that anyone who dares to violate our agreement will be an enemy of the entire Martial Kingdom and an enemy of Our Royal Family. The Martial Kingdom will mobilize its full power to eliminate them."
However, Ma Zheng paid the Martial Kingdom Emperor no heed, coldly stating word by word, "Today, Shen Daoxing must die!"
In an instant, his aura surged, and he pressed a hand down through the void.
Both Bai Yi and the Martial Kingdom Emperor’s faces changed. Under an incomparable force, both were driven back several steps, completely unable to withstand Ma Zheng’s power.
"Hmph!"
Suddenly, a cold snort echoed. The withered old man who had been watching from the sidelines slowly took a single step forward. With just that simple step, the power Ma Zheng had unleashed shattered instantly.
"What’s this? Ma Zheng, you won’t even give our emperor a sliver of face? Do you take our Royal Family for a mere decoration?"
The withered old man stepped forward, looking coldly at Ma Zheng.
With Ma Zheng showing such contempt for the Royal Family, the withered old man, as an ancestor of the Royal Family, naturally could not stand by and do nothing. ’More importantly,’ he thought, ’the Dragon Vein Origin on Shen Daoxing absolutely cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of an outsider.’
"Gu Zhenxing!"
Only then did Ma Zheng notice the withered old man, and his expression froze. ’If it were only Bai Yi, I would have ways to deal with him. But with the sudden appearance of Gu Zhenxing... this is an expert at the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm.’
No matter what tricks he, Ma Zheng, had up his sleeve, it would be incredibly difficult to kill Shen Daoxing with both of them here.
But how could Ma Zheng be willing to let it go just like that? The enmity between Celestial City Academy and Shen Daoxing was already a feud to the death.
’Shen Daoxing is so young and can already kill Ren Changfeng. If we let him continue to grow, what will become of us? At this rate, our entire Celestial City Academy might be wiped out.’
Just as Ma Zheng hesitated, a fierce gale suddenly whipped across the mountaintop.
"SCREEE—"
A long, piercing crane’s cry echoed between heaven and earth.
Everyone was startled.
Shen Daoxing looked up toward the cry. Far in the distance, a white dot appeared in the sky. In the blink of an eye, that dot had grown to fill his entire field of vision.
It was an enormous Xianhe, flapping its wings as it descended to the ground. The Xianhe was so massive that when Shen Daoxing looked from side to side, he couldn’t even see its full form.
The Xianhe’s descent brought with it a terrifying pressure that left Shen Daoxing breathless, as if it would crush him to the ground.
"Where is the Emperor of the Martial Kingdom?"
A majestic voice rang out. Shen Daoxing then saw a man in a white Daoist robe appear atop the Xianhe’s head, his hands clasped behind his back.
"We are here!"
Hearing the voice, the Martial Kingdom Emperor’s expression changed. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Emperor of the Martial Kingdom, have you prepared the Celestial Essence Spirit Spring that the Sacred Land requires this year?"
The man in the white Daoist robe didn’t even dismount, speaking lightly from his high perch atop the Xianhe’s head.
"This..."
Instantly, a troubled look appeared on the Martial Kingdom Emperor’s face.
Shen Daoxing was shocked. ’The Martial Kingdom Emperor is the ruler of a nation, yet he’s so deferential to this man. What is this person’s origin?’
"He’s an envoy from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land!"
Bai Yi spoke, his expression growing grim, as if he were looking at someone he would rather not have to face.
’An envoy from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land!’
Shen Daoxing’s heart sank as he felt things were taking a turn for the worse.
He knew that some powerful entity backed Celestial City Academy—an entity whose protection the Martial Kingdom needed to survive in this part of the world. That was why the Martial Kingdom Emperor had tolerated the Academy time and again.
And it was because of this powerful entity that Celestial City Academy had been able to seize Celestial City Mountain, which had originally belonged to the Sword Institute.
