āAhhh!ā The Golden Crow Crown Prince released a world-shaking scream. After all, considering what had just happened, all of his blood had been focused down there. That made it a serious injury, which could cripple him down there forever.
The one who had arrived was, of course, Zu An. He had followed the guard into the palace, taking in the surrounding territory while inquiring about Snowās whereabouts. An ordinary guard obviously wouldnāt know the details of the inner palace, but he had mentioned something strange. The crown prince had cleared out a secluded courtyard, and there werenāt any eunuchs or maids there; even the guards were stationed far away.
Zu An immediately connected the dots. The crown prince wanted a secluded place to do something dishonest. After all, Snow was the Elf raceās princess. If what he planned to do to her became known to the entire world, the royal family would lose a lot of face. They wouldnāt be able to explain things to the various clans.
Suddenly, though, Zu An had received a huge amount of Rage points from the Golden Crow Crown Prince, so he knew his target wasnāt too far away. After all, the Rage system collected soul fluctuations, so he wouldnāt be able to collect Rage points at such a great distance.
As such, after finding out where the courtyard was, he had immediately knocked the guard out. Whether or not it would end up affecting Heichi Ran, sparking an investigation into someone who could change faces, he couldnāt be bothered to worry about that. He only wanted to save Snow as quickly as possible, and was unwilling to waste even a second.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince had driven away all of the guards and servants so he could do as he wanted, but that had just made things easier for Zu An. Otherwise, if there were powerful cultivators everywhere, forcefully breaking through a defensive line would be difficult for him.
Fortunately, Zu An had arrived at the last moment. When he saw the Golden Crow Crown prince about to take advantage of Snow, blood rushed to his head and filled him with rage. He couldn't care less if this was some fiend race crown prince and struck decisively to kill. Unfortunately, the crown prince had a strange feather that blocked his lethal attack.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince was an outstanding individual in the fiend raceās younger generation, so it wouldnāt be easy for Zu An to win against him. After the Poisonous Prick was deflected, Zu An couldnāt use it a second time; however, he still managed to send a fist flying toward the crown prince.
After destroying the Golden Crow Crown Princeās lower body, Zu Anās right hand finally recovered. He thrust the Poisonous Prick at the crown prince again, intending to end his life.
Just then, someone let out a furious roar. āScoundrel, you dare?!ā
Then, an overwhelming force surged toward Zu An, who retaliated with a palm. The two forces clashed, resulting in a tremendous noise. All of the chairs, tables, and flower vases nearby were blown to smithereens.
Zu An felt his inner energies surge chaotically. He quickly recognized the attacker; he was the grandmaster protector who was always at the Golden Crow Crown Princeās side.
At almost the same time, a pair of giant eyes slowly opened in the clouds above the imperial palace. They resembled red phoenix eyes, but were longer and more narrow. Red light flickered within their pupils.
Representatives of the different clans in the Fiend King Court stood up and looked to the horizon, crying out in horror.
āWho provoked the Fiend Emperor into acting himself?ā
āDonāt tell me the human emperor has come in person?ā
ā¦
Just how many years had it been since they saw the Fiend Emperor himself act? None of them had ever seen him angry. The Fiend Emperor had already remained secluded in the palace for so long that some from the younger generation had already forgotten his terrifying presence. At that instant, however, countless fiends were forced to kneel from the pressure. They were left with a mix of terror and adoration, so moved that their entire bodies shook.
Inside the Snake raceās residence, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue suddenly stood up, their expressions grave.
āAs expected, the Fiend Emperorās reputation is well deserved. Judging from the pressure, he isnāt inferior to Zhao Han at all,ā Yun Jianyue said. She had fought against Zhao Han before, so she naturally had the ability to make that judgment.
āWhy did the Fiend Emperor suddenly make a move? At their cultivation realm, such individuals usually remain in seclusion to delay their heaven and man deterioration for as long as possible,ā Yan Xuehen said in confusion.
āMaybe a powerful enemy invadedā¦ā Yun Jianyue began, but she shook her head halfway through her sentence. Apart from Zhao Han, who in the current world could make the Fiend Emperor get involved personally? She walked over to the window and looked toward the imperial palace, noticing the chaos in the area, and said, āMaybe something happened in the imperial palace.ā
āWho in the world would be brave enough to cause trouble in the Fiend Imperial Palace?ā Yan Xuehen wondered, giving Yun Jianyue a look. The Fiend Imperial Palace was the same as the human raceās imperial palace, not one bit inferior to a forbidden region. Only someone as crazy as Yun Jianyue would dare to invade such a place.
Yu Yanluo walked over to the window, a hint of worry appearing between her brows. She asked, āDo you two thinkā¦ that itās Ah Zu?ā
āNo way. That guy is pretty smart. Why would he do something likeā¦ throw his life awayā¦?ā Yun Jianyue replied. She sounded quite confident at first, but in the end, even she wasnāt sure.
Yan Xuehen was alarmed. That guy was so brazen, he even dared to bully her! It really was possible that he would do such a thing!
ā¦
While the three women were worrying about him, Zu An held Snow in his arms as he ran for his life through the imperial palace.
The Golden Crow Crown Princeās strength was almost on par with his. There were two reasons why the crown prince had been injured so easily, though. First was because Zu An knew what kind of skills he had, and his skills just happened to counter the crown princeās. Second was because Zu An had launched a surprise attack and had the initiative.
Now that the Golden Crow Crown Princeās grandmaster protector had arrived, though, Zu An wouldnāt have a chance, and would only be risking death by persisting. Furthermore, the Fiend Emperorās terrifying pressure made all of his fine hairs stand on end. Why would he ever make the idiotic choice of staying behind and fighting to the death? As such, he had picked up Snow and fled.
The grandmaster intended to chase after him, but then he heard the Golden Crow Crown Princeās miserable screams. He quickly turned around, and when he saw the crown princeās badly mangled lower body, he jumped in fright, thinking,Ā The injuries were actually that serious?Ā He helped the crown prince seal up the bleeding while providing him with ki to stabilize his injuries.
āThat seemed to be Heichi Ran just nowā¦ā the grandmaster remarked. When he recalled what had happened, he recognized who it was. After all, Heichi Ran was the crown princeās trusted aide. They had been playmates from a young age.
āDonāt tell me that bastard was the one who coveted Princess Snowās beauty? Donāt worry about me and catch him! I want to dice his corpse into ten thousand pieces!ā the Golden Crow Crown Prince snarled, gritting his teeth. His eyes were full of bitter resentment.
He knew what kind of poison Princess Snow was affected by. If Heichi Ran brought her away, wouldnāt that end up benefiting him? Let alone the fact that he himself had been injured so badly. Forget about Heichi Ran, the entire Heichi clan could go to hell!
The elder frowned. He thought to himself that even though Heichi Ranās cultivation was quite good, inflicting such a serious injury on the Golden Crow Crown Prince in such a short time, and even calmly receiving a blow from him, should have been completely impossible. There were many suspicious things about the situation. However, the Golden Crow Crown Prince was furious, so he couldn't say too much. As such, he handed the crown prince to the Golden Crow Guards who rushed over, while he himself began to chase after the two that fled.
āLetā¦ Let me go,ā Snow murmured. As she leaned into his embrace, she could sense a familiar and intimate feeling coming from Zu Anās body. However, she knew that this person seemed to be the crown princeās trusted aide, so she just assumed it was due to that damn drugās effects. She was ashamed and panicked, worrying that if she waited any longer, she would lose her reason and let this manā¦
Suddenly, Zu An restored his original appearance and said, āSnow, it hasnāt even been that long. You canāt even recognize me anymore?ā
When she saw that face she had yearned for day and night, Qiao Xueying was instantly stunned. She murmured to herself, āAm I dreaming?ā
How could there be that much of a coincidence, though? Her lover had just happened to save her in her greatest moment of peril. It wasnāt like that even in the romance books Chu Chuyan loved to read! Worried that the drug might have made her mistake another man for Zu An, she gave him a pinch as she spoke.
Zu An cried out in alarm. āWhat are you doing? Are you attacking your own husband?!ā
āIām checking to see if this is just a dream,ā Qiao Xueying said with a blush. This guyās reaction was just as she remembered. So it really was him!
āThen why didnāt you pinch yourself?ā Zu An complained.Ā This girlās fingernails are way too long! That area looks as if itās about to bleedā¦
āAre you really scared of a bit of pain?ā Qiao Xueying replied while reaching out to embrace Zu Anās neck tightly, her voice delicate and sweet. When she saw his bright eyes and his smile, she didnāt want to be separated from him anymore.
Zu An was about to reply when his entire body went rigid. A terrifying, powerful, ice-cold divine sense swept over him.