Chapter 567: Chapter 437: Battle for Survival
Hong Qingyun had just emerged from his seclusion and naturally did not know that Hong Shisan had defeated Hong Mingyue.
"Ming Yue lost?" Hong Qingyun was shocked, looking at his most beloved granddaughter with disbelief.
Hong Mingyue was still holding the Crown Prince, Xiahou Qi, hostage, but her haggard appearance and dim eyes undoubtedly revealed her earlier embarrassment.
Hong Mingyue gave a wry smile, looking at her grandfather, who used to dote on her. Despair, heartache, and indifference flashed through her eyes, all the encouragement she once saw was notably absent.
It took her thirteen years to become a prodigy in everyone’s eyes.
Yet, just because of one failure, all her efforts were utterly negated.
"Grandfather, Ming Yue was inferior in skill and has disappointed you." When Hong Mingyue uttered these words, her heart bled, her eyes reddened, and the hand that restrained Xiahou Qi trembled even more violently.
"Hong Shisan, you have repeatedly humiliated the people of the Hong Residence, I will not tolerate it. I give you two options: the first is to take your own life, and I will spare your followers. The second is for you and your followers to be sent to your deaths together," Hong Qingyun said coldly, a chilling murderous intent in his eyes.
"Hong Qingyun, you old fool, I can’t believe you’d say such a thing. To think you, as a senior who has been famous for so long, are now threatening a junior who could be your grandson to take his own life. So, you want a fight? Then come, have a few exchanges with this old man," Military Marquis Gu Cangtian retorted, his brows furrowed in anger.
As Gu Cangtian spoke, Lan Yingwu, who stood aside, heard a faint sound—it was Gu Cangtian communicating secretly through sound transmission.
"Yingwu, when I engage Hong Qingyun, you and the others, find a way to rescue the Crown Prince, and ensure the safe departure of the Crown Prince, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager. As long as we keep our green hills alive, we’ll have no worries about firewood," came Gu Cangtian’s aged voice.
Hearing Gu Cangtian’s voice, Lan Yingwu was taken aback.
Gu Cangtian’s words implied he was prepared to make a last stand, evidently ready for a fight to the death with Hong Qingyun.
Lan Yingwu wanted to object but found himself choked with words, unable to speak. He could only nod heavily in agreement.
"Gu Cangtian, it’s you who are seeking death; don’t blame this old man for not showing consideration for a fellow senior," Hong Qingyun said, showing a sudden flash of murderous intent. After breaching into the Divine Power Realm, he was lacking a sparring partner. Today, he would use Gu Cangtian to demonstrate his power.
Gu Cangtian’s figure moved, shooting into the air like a spear.
Hong Qingyun chuckled proudly, and his body, tall as a Cang Song pine, trembled slightly. The surging Primordial Power within him filled the entire sky in an instant.
Clouds shattered around him as Hong Qingyun’s arms shook, and with a thunderous boom, he threw a punch that seemed as heavy as Mount Tai, resonating thunder in the sky, as if ten thousand horses were stampeding over.
This punch of Hong Qingyun was the Xuan Yang Bomb Fist of the Hong Residence, the same Ultimate Skill previously used by Hong Yulang when he fought Ye Lingyue.
But while the same Fist Technique had been used by Hong Yulang and Hong Fang, it was entirely different when wielded by Hong Qingyun.
With a mighty blast of his fist, a hundred layers of fist shadows emerged, each shadow exploding like a Thunder Bomb.
Even using mere Seventh-Rank Martial Arts, a Divine Power Realm Martial Artist could achieve the effect of Fourth Tier Martial Arts.
Gu Cangtian’s expression grew stern. With a fierce shout, his arms suddenly grew scaly, he retreated explosively, and met the attack with a solid punch.
It was the Qilin Arm, the celebrated Ultimate Skill that Military Marquis Gu Cangtian had mastered in his later years.
Seeing Gu Cangtian’s punch, a hint of ridicule flickered through Hong Qingyun’s eyes.
BOOM—
Multiple fist shadows collided in the sky, and the entire sky burst into golden light, turning the sky above Xia Capital into a sea of gold.
In Daxia, the clash between the two great masters created shockwaves that reached far and wide, destroying countless homes outside of the Imperial Palace ten miles away in an instant.
Seventh-Grade Martial Arts against Fourth-Tier Martial Arts, yet there was not the slightest disadvantage.
Hong Qingyun, having broken through to the Divine Power Realm, truly was extraordinary.
Hong Shisan, watching from underground, also felt his heart and mind shake.
Father and daughter Hong Fang looked up to the sky, their faces filled with joy.
Just then, two figures rushed towards Hong Mingyue.
"Protect the Crown Prince."
It turned out to be Lan Yingwu and Ye Huangyu, one from the left and one from the right, attacking Hong Mingyue.
"Courting death!" Upon seeing this, Hong Fang sneered, ready to repel both of them.
"Hong Fang, your opponent is me." Nie Fengxing charged furiously, his figure swift as lightning, blocking in front of Hong Fang and having a solid palm clash with him.
"Nie Fengxing, if you wish to die, I shall fulfill your wish." Seeing Nie Fengxing, Hong Fang couldn’t help but be overcome with eagerness. From his sleeve, he slid out a Spirit Sword, its lone flash engaging Nie Fengxing in combat.
The two masters of the Reincarnation Realm surged with Primordial Power, fighting furiously, leaving no room for others to intervene.
"Hong Mingyue, let go of the Crown Prince." Lan Yingwu and Ye Huangyu faced off directly against Hong Mingyue.
"Whether we let him go is for us to decide. Just two Martial Artists of the First and Second Reincarnation barely daring to oppose Three-Life Valley." Luo Song and the elder from Three-Life Valley laughed coldly, landing beside Hong Mingyue.
Luo Song and the elder didn’t know that the Hong Residence would choose to usurp power during the Imperial Examination.
Previously, Luo Song and the elder might not have involved themselves in this affair since the Three Sects and Nine Schools were devoted to cultivation and generally didn’t interfere with secular imperial power struggles.
But this coup in Daxia was somewhat different.
Firstly, Hong Mingyue and Luo Song were engaged, and they were to be husband and wife. Luo Song had long coveted Hong Mingyue and was not about to give up at this moment.
Secondly, Hong Qingyun had broken through to the Divine Power Realm, and although just a basic semi-Divine Power within it, this meant Hong Qingyun was now one of the few mighty figures on the Qing Province Continent, which made him more than qualified to collaborate with Three-Life Valley.
Luo Song and the elder, one at the Reincarnation Three Paths and the other at the Reincarnation Fourth Path, were far more powerful than Lan Yingwu and Ye Huangyu. With their appearance, Hong Mingyue’s expression instantly relaxed.
"If they are not enough, what if I joined with a few others, would that suffice?" Suddenly, several figures appeared above the Imperial Palace Training Ground.
Master Long Yu, with several old alchemists from the Alchemist Tower, rushed over.
The Hong Residence plotted rebellion, and Chou Alchemist, having received Hong Fang’s orders, aimed to take advantage of the chaos to seize the Alchemist Tower and become its new Chairman.
Chou Alchemist’s actions enraged Master Long Yu and several other veteran alchemists.
These old alchemists, usually as elusive as a dragon showing only its head, now stepped forward without hesitation amid the crises of Daxia’s political instability and Chairman Xiahou’s misfortunes.
With the addition of three or four Eighth to Nine Rank old alchemists, the previously confident Luo Song and the elder from Three-Life Valley drastically changed their expressions.
~September monthly ticket bonus Chapter 15. Sigh~ I originally intended to finish the ending of this volume, but from last night until now, I really don’t have the strength, let me go to sleep. Shamelessly, for the first time in my life, I ask for legitimate subscriptions and rewards; once again, I emphasize that rewards and monthly tickets can only be done through Android and PC platforms, not available on Apple devices. Today’s data is very important, facepalm, rolling out~