Chapter Ninety: Because... she is my wife!
The overwhelming power of Night Demon Nine raged through heaven and earth like a wind of terror more dreadful than any hurricane.
One palm strike.
Only one palm strike.
The fearsome surge of vital energy that had been suppressing the six men was sent crashing down from the sky with irresistible force, as if it would grind all resistance to dust.
“Ants,” Night Demon Nine said with utter contempt, looking at them as though they were insects. His expression was as cold as ice, without the slightest ripple of emotion, as if he were gazing upon the dead.
Spurt after spurt of blood erupted as figures were blasted to the ground. Their aura withered and collapsed, and their faces turned deathly pale.
“You...” Duan Ya glared at Night Demon Nine, eyes wide with fury. After a long moment, he spat out only that single word before coughing up another mouthful of blood.
How profound was Night Demon Nine’s vitality? Refined and nourished by the tempering of the Wave-Embracing Chart, his cultivation, though only at the early Heaven-Human Realm, already possessed the strength of the later stage.
His physical force was even more unmatched, enough to completely crush any peak Heaven-Human Realm existence. Naturally, the vitality within him was no ordinary thing.
Under that one strike of the Netherworld Desolation Heaven Palm, there was naturally power beyond compare.
That was why he could blast apart six people with a single palm.
“Convinced or not?”
“No.”
“Then let us do it once more.”
Having said that, Night Demon Nine stepped forward, and a long staff appeared in his hand. The pupils of the others contracted instantly, fear flashing across their faces.
“That is enough!”
Suddenly, several voices rose in unison.
Night Demon Nine turned toward the direction of the Heavenly Jade Hall, and cold light immediately flickered in his eyes. Those eyes, like beams of light, shot toward the speakers.
A suffocating pressure descended at once.
“If they refuse to submit, then make them admit defeat!”
“This...”
At once, hesitation appeared on the faces of the several men.
To make these proud prodigies admit defeat was no easy matter. After all, they had come all this way bathed in praise, never having suffered a single defeat, and had long since grown into arrogance and pride.
How could they possibly yield?
As expected, the next moment, while Night Demon Nine was speaking, they seized the opening and forcibly suppressed their injuries, exploding outward all at once.
But Night Demon Nine had been watching everything below at every moment. How could he not have noticed their movements?
“Seeking death!”
Night Demon Nine snapped at once, the staff whirling in his hand. The Star Staff Technique erupted instantly, and a rain of staff shadows crashed down from the heavens.
“We... do not submit!”
They roared in fury, the vital energy within their bodies burning away without the slightest reservation. They gambled their lives and charged straight at Night Demon Nine.
But they had miscalculated.
Night Demon Nine’s power had already surpassed theirs by far. The Star Staff Technique, borrowing vital energy to transform into stellar force, burst forth in an instant.
Boom!
The six figures were once again sent plummeting under Night Demon Nine’s assault, with no surprise at all.
Spurt, spurt, spurt...
A succession of blood sprays rang out as their bodies fell away.
“Holy Son!”
“Holy Son!”
...
The great figures of the six sects watched their own holy sons decline once more and let out furious roars, rushing forward in haste.
Bang!
But their descent was too swift.
In only a few breaths, they had smashed heavily to the ground.
“Zhu Qing, is this the matchmaker you chose for your sect’s saintess?”
“He is a man, yet he blocks every path for your sect’s saintess. What difference is there between choosing and not choosing?”
“The Heavenly Jade Sect deserves destruction!”
...
The six men glared at Zhu Qing with blazing fury, voicing their outrage. Yet the loudest among them were only those from the three sixth-grade sects; the others merely echoed them.
After all, the Heavenly Jade Sect’s standing still remained there.
Who would dare speak recklessly? Apart from the several extraordinary sixth-grade sects present, the others were merely following the crowd. After all, no one minded the spectacle becoming more chaotic.
But now they were not merely watching a show. They were condemning Zhu Qing, intending to force her to retreat.
“You may go tell Mu Wan in the prison. If she agrees to let you bully her son, I shall have nothing more to say!”
Zhu Qing was also a hard-edged woman and naturally would not bow her head. More importantly, this was already a decision made out of helpless necessity.
If the Heavenly Jade Sect were not in such peril, how could she possibly have let Luo Qingyu do this? After all, Luo Qingyu was a disciple she had brought up herself.
Moreover, the one in the prison had repeatedly warned her that if the Heavenly Jade Sect were truly about to be destroyed, then she would emerge once to protect it, and afterward she would leave.
And Luo Qingyu was entangled with that woman by countless threads, for Luo Qingyu’s cultivation and strength were not taught by Zhu Qing.
Zhu Qing was only Luo Qingyu’s nominal master; the one who truly instructed her was Mu Wan in the prison.
Thus, she had no right to say too much, for that woman’s identity was not ordinary.
“Hmph, do not think to suppress us with Mu Wan. She is nothing but the daughter abandoned by that great lord, and she still wants to borrow his prestige?”
“Call Mu Wan out and let us see whether she dares to say a word. After today, the Heavenly Jade Sect will no longer exist among the sects bearing the Heavenly character!”
“...”
One burst of indignation after another erupted. They glared at Zhu Qing in anger, each of them gathering up their holy sons and fleeing in haste.
Sword Drawing Art!
Seeing them preparing to leave, Night Demon Nine’s killing intent showed no restraint at all as he slashed out with a sword.
At once, sword intent surged to the heavens. Blades of light filled the sky and surrounded all directions like a vast sword formation, blanketing the world as it poured down!
“No!”
Zhu Qing looked at that sword of Night Demon Nine. Though it seemed like only a single strike, it fell like a storm of swords, instantly overwhelming everything.
Ah!
Spurt!
...
At once, cries of agony exploded.
Several sage lords were actually wounded in their very foundations by Night Demon Nine’s unexpected strike, yet their speed of escape became even faster.
For the instant Night Demon Nine struck, Zhu Qing had already activated the great formation.
“Zhu Qing, you old vixen, the day we come again will be the day the Heavenly Jade Sect is destroyed!”
...
The sky boomed with their furious shouts. Hearing them, Zhu Qing could only sigh. A perfectly proper martial contest to choose a spouse had turned into a contest of trouble and provocation.
“Master...”
“It’s all right. Take him and go down.”
...
“Who is Mu Wan?”
“Why does everyone fear her so much?”
“Is he really Mu Wan’s son?”
...
Whether they were prodigies of the younger generation or powerful figures of the sects, all of them now wore expressions of doubt and murmured to themselves.
Yet there were still those who remained displeased, and at once they pointed at Night Demon Nine and shouted:
“Luo Qingyu is the saintess of the Heavenly Jade Sect. By what right do you stand in for her? By Mu Wan?”
As soon as these words were spoken, many voices rose in response.
Heh.
Night Demon Nine looked at them with ridicule and gave a cold laugh.
“She? She is not anyone of mine...”
“What?”
Even Luo Qingyu was slightly startled. Looking at Night Demon Nine, confusion and a trace of sadness appeared in her eyes.
“Then by what right do you fight in her place? Because of Mu Wan? Because you are the abandoned child of the Heavenly Jade Sect?”
“Heh heh...”
Night Demon Nine laughed again, his gaze toward Luo Qingyu filled entirely with warmth, and then he continued.
“She, ah, is one of my little followers...”
“She is my small shadow... in short, she has many identities...”
“But in the end, after all is said and done... probably not for much longer, either...”
Following Night Demon Nine’s words, everyone fell into thought. Among the many female disciples, one was especially puzzled.
But in Zhu Qing’s eyes, a brilliant light had already appeared. Looking at Night Demon Nine’s overbearing figure, she understood what Luo Qingyu had meant.
This person, relying on Heaven-Human Realm cultivation, had crushed his peers and even injured sage lords. His strength was terrifying beyond measure. To be able to do this at such a young age, there must certainly be some monstrous figure standing behind him.
Thus, the Heavenly Jade Sect should be safe for now.
Zhu Qing’s imagination ran wild, and her eyes brightened with excitement.
“She has been draped in silk and fed on delicacies since childhood, and I am no worse off...”
“She is now a peerless empress, or rather a hands-off empress, and fortunately she has such a reliable husband as me...”
“Now, do you understand who she is to me?”
“She is my wife!”
“Though we have not yet formally married, it is more or less the same. If you do not believe me, ask her.”
Night Demon Nine stepped through the void toward Luo Qingyu, his gaze gentle. The crowd followed his eyes, each face full of expectation.
They were waiting for an answer.
“I have known him since childhood, and when we grow old, we will grow old together.”
With only those words, the prodigies of many sects felt as though their hearts had shattered. Their expressions turned exceedingly ugly, as though something they cherished had been stolen away.