Chapter 106: Tan Jun vs. the Enchanting Princess

“Boom!”

The Princess of the City hurriedly intercepted the palm strike.

A faint purple-black palm shadow surged toward her, forcing the Princess to stagger back several steps.

“Hmph, this is just the beginning,” Tan Jun sneered maliciously.

With each palm strike, Tan Jun seized the advantage relentlessly. Suddenly, he stomped his feet hard, unleashing a powerful gust that stirred dust from the ground. Like a lightning bolt, he dashed to stand before the Princess in an instant.

But the Princess of the City was no ordinary opponent; her reflexes were equally swift. She arched her graceful body backward and slammed a palm onto the ground. A burst of force propelled her backward, her body suspended midair as she kicked toward Tan Jun.

Tan Jing’s expression shifted slightly. Though his cultivation level surpassed hers, being struck solidly by that kick would not be pleasant.

Tan Jun had no choice but to halt his assault and block the incoming kick.

“Bang!”

Using the recoil from the kick, the Princess flipped backward, barely steadying herself. As a princess of the Great Xia Empire, though she had not mastered the royal family's supreme technique, the “Heaven-Shaking Emperor Art,” countless martial manuals filled the imperial library. The Princess had chosen a moderately advanced mystical technique well-suited to a woman’s physique—the “Purple Moon Illusory Scripture.” While not as formidable as the “Heaven-Shaking Emperor Art,” it was still a rare and valuable skill.

That said, the “Heaven-Shaking Emperor Art” was fierce and domineering, ill-suited for women, and was exclusively passed down to the crown prince’s lineage. Even the current three princes had never acquired it.

The “Purple Moon Illusory Scripture” circulated energy rapidly; purple light radiated brilliantly around the Princess. Born of royal blood, she naturally carried an aura of nobility. Under the glow of purple light and veiled in mystery, she appeared even more regal, momentarily captivating Tan Jun, though the feeling quickly passed.

A purple silhouette flashed, and the Princess charged at Tan Jun, resolved to gamble everything. To escape the Evil Wind Cave today, she had no choice but to defeat and capture Tan Jun. Though she knew this was unlikely, she was not one to surrender to fate.

“Overestimating yourself! Even with Murong royal family’s ‘Heaven-Shaking Emperor Art’ or my ‘Ten Thousand Serpent Strike,’ I fear nothing,” Tan Jun sneered mockingly.

“Zzzzzz!”

Tan Jun assumed a serpent-like posture, emitting a sharp, hissing sound like a snake flicking its tongue.

At that moment, the Princess’s storage ring glimmered. Three gleaming silver throwing knives appeared in her hand. Channeling her innate energy into her palm, she flicked her wrist, sending the silver daggers flying toward Tan Jun like arrows released from a bowstring.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Tan Jun’s expression remained unchanged as he silently commanded, “Ten Thousand Serpent Strike!”

Behind him, a purple-black serpent shadow emerged, its menacing form writhing as if alive.

“Roar!”

A deafening serpent’s roar echoed as the shadow opened its massive jaws.

Suddenly, the three silver daggers were forcibly diverted from their path and swallowed by the serpent’s mouth.

“Trifling tricks! Today, not even the Heavenly King can save you!” Tan Jun thought fiercely.

The Princess’s expression remained calm, fully aware the daggers were merely a delaying tactic.

Her hands quickly formed a seal, and a basin-sized purple moon materialized before her, radiating surging, overwhelming energy that revealed its extraordinary power.

“Mid-level mystical martial skill: Purple Moon Meteor Strike!” she murmured.

The daggers had only served to buy time to unleash this deadly technique.

With a graceful push of her palm, the purple moon shot toward Tan Jun at incredible speed, bathing the entire cave in an ethereal violet glow.

The greatest strength of the “Ten Thousand Serpent Strike” was not its rank but the purple serpent shadow behind the practitioner that became part of their very body once the skill was mastered. When perfected, the “Ten Thousand Serpent Strike” was the ultimate martial art.

Tan Jun shaped his palm into a serpent’s form. The purple-black light shimmered as the twin serpent shadows behind him ignited, seeming truly alive as they lunged toward the purple moon.

“Boom!”

The serpent shadows collided with the purple moon, shaking the entire cave. Rocks began to fall from both sides.

Dust filled the air, obscuring the combatants’ conditions.

After a long moment, when calm returned, the black-robed youth stood firm, the purple serpent shadow behind him radiating overwhelming power—this was Tan Jun, the young sect leader of the Flying Serpent Sect.

Opposite him, the Princess remained uninjured, but beneath her veil, her face was pale, lips drained of color. The impact of the “Ten Thousand Serpent Strike” had taken its toll.

“Though ‘Ten Thousand Serpent Strike’ is not fully mastered, you are no match for me. Once I perfect it, I will set up a challenge at the Imperial Academy in the capital and take on all the young elites of the Great Xia Empire. Then, Shentai will be beneath my feet. But alas, you won’t live to see that day!” Tan Jun smiled cruelly.

He envisioned the future—Shentai under his heel, the Heavenly Gang Sect wiped out, and the entire Great Xia Empire under his control. His whole body trembled with anticipation.

“Roar!”

The purple-black serpent shadow, as if stirred by Tan Jun’s ambitions, raised its head and let out a piercing cry.

A trace of despair flickered across the Princess’s face. Tan Jun was simply beyond her ability to resist, and four other Flying Serpent disciples watched hungrily from behind him.

The Princess seemed to have made a crucial decision. She took a deep breath.

She had never fully controlled this martial skill herself and had never succeeded in its use. It was a complementary technique left on the last page of the “Purple Moon Illusory Scripture” by an ancient predecessor. The technique was said to require mastery at the advanced mystical level, and the predecessor warned that improper control could endanger one’s life—it was only to be used in life-or-death moments. This was her trump card.

Now, at such a critical juncture, she could no longer hesitate.

No expression betrayed her beneath the veil as an uncanny silence enveloped the cave.

Tan Jun furrowed his brows, suddenly sensing impending danger—a sensation most acute to those who cultivated serpent-based martial arts.

Suddenly, a purple light curtain burst forth behind the Princess, far more intense than before, causing even Tan Jun to narrow his eyes.

Her cold lips beneath the veil parted to reveal three words: “Phantom—Shadow—Dance!”

As she spoke, the entire cave seemed to pulse with a deadly chill.

Tan Jun was startled; the scene shifted. The Princess suddenly split into three, transforming into three rapidly spinning purple silhouettes.

Gradually, the three purple shadows encircled Tan Jun, whose expression darkened.

“Could it be a cloning technique?” he wondered.

One of the shadows suddenly struck.

“No matter what tricks you employ, the outcome will not change!” Tan Jun snorted coldly.

He activated the “Ten Thousand Serpent Strike” again, and the serpent shadows behind him lunged toward the three whirling shadows.

Yet, the three shadows proved intangible, and the serpent shadows passed through them effortlessly.

“What! They’re all illusions!” Tan Jun was momentarily stunned.

In that brief moment of distraction, a purple shadow struck from behind him.

“Bang!”

Tan Jun felt a palm slam into his back.

He was shocked; though the serpent shadows had just passed through that purple figure, it had a tangible impact, as if struck by a real hand.

Before Tan Jun could ponder further, another purple shadow attacked again...