Nine old men landed, sporting cruel looks at the trio. Among them, one guy with scattered hair, the strongest, stepped up and spat, âHumph, you must have a death wish to destroy Crown Princeâs manor. Where is His Highness?â
Ugh!
Tuoba Liufengâs heart sank, feeling sweat trickling down his spine. Just this guy alone was enough to deal with them, a peak Radiant Stage expert.
In a couple of years he should be a true Ethereal Stage expert as well, becoming one of the empireâs legends, one of the best.
With him here, the three had no chance of getting away. Tuoba Liufeng sighed at the grim outlook, his hopes gone.
[I wonder if Zhuo Fanâs sudden arrival was a blessing or a curse.]
His sister was free of the crown prince for now since Zhuo Fanâs intervention, but now the Touba family would be killed because of his aggressive handling of the crown prince. They might even be labeled as traitors.
Touba Lianâer understood they were in serious danger and her eyes still gave contemplative look to a somewhat oblivious Zhuo Fan.
âI asked you a question. Whereâs His Highness?â Seeing them silent, the old man roared.
Tuoba Liufeng shook, finding speaking difficult.
Touba Lianâer pointed to where the crown prince was lying with a cold face, âOver there. I onder if you still recognize him.â
âT-thatâs Crown Prince?â
They all gasped at the sobbing, gruesome mish-mash of features that barely hinted at what once was.
Their elegant and handsome crown prince was now reduced to this⌠thing. Those eyes were swollen out of their sockets, the nose more twisted than a ravine, and the former spotless denture turned into a bloody hole.
The only reason they even noticed him was because Touba Lianâer pointed out.
Stunned seeing a face only a mother could love, the old man roared, âItâs Crown Princeâs signature feature. How, who, what gave you the nerve to harm the Crown Prince like this? Youâre done for!â
Whoosh~
The old manâs anger exploded, âTalk, who did this? Iâll peel his skin and crush his bones. Itâll be ages before Iâm through with him!â
Tuoba Liufeng panicked under the nineâs auras. Zhuo Fan was still in his own world, contemplating more important stuff.
âVenerables, I did it. If you want to kill someone, kill me!â Lianâer scrounged up her courage and declared.
Tuoba Liufeng cried, âSisterâŚâ
âItâs fine.â
Lianâer cut him off, âThis is all my fault. Tianyu used to say women were deadly and now I have to admit they were right. If it werenât for me, the Touba family would never have ended up like this. Itâs all my fault and I should settle itâŚâ
Lianâer spoke with sadness and despair. Tuoba Liufengâs clenched fists shook, feeling utterly useless.
Lianâer wanted to use her life to settle it all and save the Touba family. No, the family was already finished. She was giving him and Zhuo Fan the chance to get away.
But how could her brother just let his sister take the blameâŚ
Tuoba Liufeng roared at Zhuo Fan, âZhuo Fan, you bastard, is that how a man behaves, letting a woman take the fall for you?â
âBrother!â Lianâer cried out, having made up her mind. So why was her brother dragging Zhuo Fan into this?
Tuoba Liufeng was firm when he saw Lianâerâs despair. Harming the crown prince was a heavy crime, akin to assassinating a royal member, or rebelling. He could not let it hang over Lianâerâs head. All of this happened because Zhuo Fan showed up.
The nine venerables finally noticed Zhuo Fan that they ignored since he looked so quiet to the side.
The nine people tensed.
[8th layer Radiant Stage! He does have the power!]
The leading elder squinted and snickered, âI see whatâs going on. Youâre the one who made a mess of Crown Princeâs manor. Ha-ha-ha, I knew it was odd for a girl to admit it. When the guard reported to us, he said that none of them could fight back. How could a wee girl be so tough? Seeing your high cultivation, it all makes sense. If we nine hadnât come, none in the Crown Prince manor would be able to hold you, ha-ha-haâŚâ
Zhuo Fanâs mind was still processing.
The leading elder took it for cowardice and mocked, âHa-ha-ha, here I thought you had guts when attacking Crown Prince but now I see youâre full of it. Itâs understandable, as not even an 8th layer Radiant Stage cultivator can escape from us nine. Being scared is normal. But to have a girl take the blame for you, talk about useless, ha-ha-haâŚâ
The other eight looked at Zhuo Fan with the same disdain as their leader.
âSir Zhuo, I brought the snow lotus seeds!â
A whoop of joy sounded in the distance. Sixth prince skipped over to Zhuo Fan in excitement.
Zhuo Fan woke up at last, staring only at the sixth princeâs figure, âTook you long enough. Hurry up and throw them in. I want to see just how fancy this thing is.â
Ugh!
The mockery was stuck in the nine eldersâ throat seeing him ignore them. The two soon joined and started throwing seeds into the lake while watching for any signs. The eldersâ faces sank.
[For godâs sake, here we thought he was scared when in fact he didnât give a damn about us. Heâs toying with us!]
âBoy, donât think that your high cultivation is enough to do what you want in Quanrong. You ruined Crown Prince manor and Iâll have you pay for thatâŚâ
âSixth prince, I heard this is eye candy. Isnât that so average?â
âUhm, Sir Zhuo, this is a true marvel, I promise. Itâs a true rare spectacle in this world that wonât disappoint, he-he-heâŚâ
âOh, Iâm relieved. Letâs just watchâŚâ
Zhuo Fan and sixth prince were curious about the lake, even ignoring the elderâs raving curses.
Blatant disregard, that was what this was.
The old manâs face twitched as he barked, âLetâs get this damn faker, men. I want him dead!â
âYes, sir!â
The other elders bowed and shot for Zhuo Fan. Their mighty auras, filled with bloodthirst, covered the sky.
Lianâer cried, âLook out, Zhuo Fan!â
âOh no, the bloodthirst is affecting the lake and itâs too scared to react.â The sixth prince shivered and cried.
Zhuo Fanâs face twitched and his face sank. Turning around, and seeing the incoming eight elders, he roared, âDamn geezers, stop bothering me!â
Hu~
A mighty gale shot out that went through the eight elders.
The old men lost their lives before even knowing what happened, slumping to the ground like a ton of bricks.
Tuoba Liufeng and Lianâer were shellshocked.
[W-what was that?]
Bang!
A crisp sound echoed and the leading elder felt his legs soften, kneeling on the ground. He was in the lead when the gale had struck him as well. Now he looked deathly pale and overcome with horror, âN-no way! T-thatâs soul impact! An Ethereal Stage expert?!â
Zhuo Fan went back to his problem, the lake. He asked, âSixth prince, now itâs quiet. Will it show up?â
âYeah, soon.â Sixth prince grinned.
The two looked like they came to sightsee. They were calm and the mood was calm too, finally.
Only Tuoba Liufeng, Lianâer and the surviving elder looked at Zhuo Fan with fear.
[This guy is even more terrible than before!]
All kinds of thoughts ran through Tuoba Liufengâs mindâŚ
Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.