Chapter 71: The School of the Martial Market
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Zhang Ruochen’s Spiritual Power was so strong that he could immediately sense the dangerous aura drifting in the air. A heightened sense of alertness then arose in his heart.
When one’s Spiritual Power had reached the 30th level or above, he could sense an imminent danger in advance. He could also perceive the blessings and misfortunes of his surroundings.
The feeling of uneasiness grew stronger, even Zhang Ruochen’s hairs were standing on end. He stood up reflectively, startling Zi Qian who was sitting next to him. She instantly withdrew the Poisonous Bee Needle from her fingertips and hid them.
“Perhaps he sensed it? How is it possible?”
Zi Qian’s heart skipped a beat. She dared not make a move without planning things through.
Chen Libing’s eyes narrowed as he saw Zi Qian not taking any action. A murderous light flashed across his eyes.
Hiding his fingers in his sleeves, he ran his Genuine Qi and gathered it between two of his fingers. Quietly, he flicked out a Poisonous Bee Needle without making a sound.
Chen Libing was actually sitting right behind Zhang Ruochen, and the distance between them was extremely close.
In addition to that, the Poisonous Bee Needle was as thin as a cow hair. Even a warrior of the Black Realm would not be able to follow its flying path with their eyes.
If he was hit by the Poisonous Bee Needle, Zhang Ruochen would surely die!
However, a shocking reversal happened as Zhang Ruochen extended a hand and caught the Poisonous Bee Needle between his fingers.
It was worth mentioning that, up to now, Zhang Ruochen had never turned around. It seemed as though he had eyes on his back. He simply twisted his arm, extended two fingers, and caught the Poisonous Bee Needle with ease.
“No way! Even a warrior at the Completion of the Black Realm couldn’t have sensed the Poisonous Bee Needle at such a short distance, never mind catching it.” Chen Libing seemed shocked to his core.
Little did he know, Zhang Ruochen had Space Domain. He was aware of everything in his surroundings within a 10-meter radius, as it would be perceived by his Martial Soul.
The instant Zhang Ruochen felt a sense of danger, he quickly stood up and released his Space Domain.
Zhang Ruochen held the Poisonous Bee Needle between his fingers and turned around. With a cold glare, his eyes found Chen Libing and said, “Poisonous Bee Needle, no wind, no sound and can kill without a trace. Indeed a deadly poison. Are you a professional killer?”
Once Chen Libing knew his identity had been exposed, he immediately struck again. Holding the sword hilt, he sent a beam of sword radiance flying from his sleeve straight to Zhang Ruochen’s heart with a lightning speed.
Fish Intestines Sword Hidden in Sleeve!
The sword was hidden in the sleeve.
The blade was as slim as a fish intestine.
Even though Chen Linbing’s marital cultivation was only at the Advanced Stage of the Black Realm, he had once assassinated a warrior of the Dawn State of the Black Realm. He undoubtedly had achieved a high attainment in his sword technique.
One strike from his sword shed 13 sword shadows.
In a flash, the sword’s cold tip landed right in front of Zhang Ruochen’s chest.
Many people around them could not help but gasp in surprise.
Sitting cross-legged on top of the Blood-feathered Eagle, Elder Xie let out a roar and said, “How dare you!”
“Swish!”
A streak of Sword Breath flew out from Elder Xie’s hand and went through Chen Libing’s body.
A muffled shriek escaped Chen Libing’s throat. His body convulsed into spasms, and he fell flat on the Blood-feathered Eagle’s back.
Liu Chengfeng placed his fingers near Chen Libing’s nose, and said solemnly, “He’s already dead!”
Everyone’s gaze immediately turned to Elder Xie.
Elder Xie’s cultivation was incredibly strong. With just one strike, he killed a warrior of the Advanced Stage of the Black Realm. Adding to that, there was not a single wound found on Chen Libing’s body, which was very strange.
Elder Xie sheathed his sword in its scabbard, cast a cold glance at Chen Libing’s body, and said, “Since he used the Poisonous Bee Needle and Fish Intestines Sword Hidden in Sleeve, he must be a killer from the Hades Department. The Hades Department has long wanted to sneak their killers into the School of the Martial Market. Never thought today I would run into one. Death was too good for him.”
Then, Elder Xie’s gaze switched to Zhang Ruochen and asked, “Who are you? Why would the killer of the Hades Department want to assassinate you?”
Zhang Ruochen did not even have a chance to reply before Liu Chengfeng blurted out and said, “Uncle Xie, he is the Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery, also known as the Genius of Martial Arts.”
“Genius of Martial Arts?”
Elder Xie gave Zhang Ruochen a thorough once-over. To have reached the Initial Stage of the Black Realm at the age of 16 was indeed prodigious. However, that was far from being a Genius of Martial Arts.
The Yunwu Commandery’s Genius of Martial Arts, Elder Xie had only heard of one. That was Yunwu Commandery’s seventh son, who had reached the Black Realm at the age of 12.
The Ninth Prince who stood before him was far behind in comparison to the Seventh Prince. In Elder Xie’s opinion, even Zi Qian was more talented than Zhang Ruochen.
After giving a final glance to Zhang Ruochen, Elder Xie withdrew his gaze and said, “Throw the body of the Hades Department’s killer off the Blood-feathered Eagle.”
Elder Xie once again closed his eyes and did not say another word after giving his order.
“So strange, I swear I saw the Sword Breath passing through his body. Why didn’t it leave any wounds?” A warrior asked curiously.
Liu Chengfeng said in a scornful tone, “What do you know? That’s a martial technique of the low-class Spiritual, known as “Heart Broken Sword Technique”. Plus, Uncle Xie has already mastered this martial technique. “Killing only requires severing the heart, and there will be no blood after death. If you don’t believe me, go and feel the killer’s heart!”
The warrior went to touch Chen Libing’s chest and found that his heart had been shattered into two pieces.
Even though Zi Qian and Chen Libing were both genius killers of the Hades Department, there was little interaction between them. Therefore, they had no emotional attachment to each other. Zi Qian made no move and appeared very calm even after witnessing Chen Libing’s death.
“Luckily, I wasn’t the first one to launch an attack, otherwise, I would be dead by now.”
Zi Qian stole a quick glance at Zhang Ruochen. Even until now, she still could not understand how Zhang Ruochen managed to catch Chen Libing’s Poisonous Bee Needle.
Normally, only a strong warrior of the Earth Realm would be able to tell the sound of the poisonous needle with their heightened sense of hearing. Also, only a strong warrior of the Earth Realm would be able to dodge the Poisonous Bee Needle sent out by Chen Libing.
But, Zhang Ruochen was not a strong warrior of the Earth Realm.
He must have some other secrets that no one knew about. She could not afford to make any hasty decision before finding out his secret. If she failed, she would probably share the same fate as Chen Libing and die an unnatural death.
For Zi Qian, the most important task was infiltrating the Hades Department’s internal operation. As for killing Zhang Ruochen, of course, if she succeeded, that would be ideal. She would receive a great reward for that. But if she could not do it, it would not be too much of an issue either.
If Zi Qian could not kill Zhang Ruochen within a month, the Hades Department would naturally assign another more powerful killer to carry out the assassination.
“Now that Chen Libing is dead, my identity is even more secured. I must not let my identity be exposed,” Zi Qian murmured to herself.
Chen Libing’s body was thrown off the Blood-feathered Eagle. Upon seeing this, the crowd began to discuss the Hades Department. Many of them wore a serious expression that mingled with fear.
In Yunwu Commandery, the Hades Department was part of the Western Nine Prefectures and was one of the biggest assassination organizations. They once successfully assassinated a Commandery Prince. It caused a great uproar at the time, and ever since then, the name of the Hades Department had spread far and wide.
Of those who had been targeted by the Hades Department, very few managed to stay alive beyond a month.
Liu Chengfeng said, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. Once you enter the School of the Martial Market, even if the killers of the Hades Department have supernatural abilities, they won’t be able to get to you.”
“Hopefully that will be the case!” Zhang Ruochen smiled and said.
If the Hades Department’s killers could sneak into the exams and hide among the candidates, they certainly could infiltrate the School of the Martial Market as well. Zhang Ruochen simply did not believe that he would be safe and sound in the School of the Martial Market.
Just before this, the Hades Department’s killer was sitting right behind him but he had no idea. If it was not for the fact that his Spiritual Power had reached level 30 and his practice of Space Domain, he would be a dead person by now.
To be able to deploy the Hades Department killers, an immense price must have been paid.
Zhang Ruochen knew who it was. The Queen was surely involved in this.
“When I’ve reached the Heaven Realm, I’ll be sure to settle the score with her.” Zhang Ruochen clenched his fist tightly, a gleam of icing air visible in his eyes.
Omen Ridge was an ancient mountain range that stretched more than 120,000 miles. It was a vast territory, rich with Spiritual Qi. It resembled a great dragon, reclining at the north of Yunwu Commandery.
Including Yunwu Commandery, the 36 Commanderies were all located on the outside of Omen Ridge. They encircled Omen Ridge like a myriad of stars clustered around a moon.
Omen Ridge was the land of savage beasts. There were hundreds of millions of savage beasts within this vast territory. The 36 Commanderies would often send soldiers to guard the border of the Omen Ridge all year round. That was to prevent savage beasts from running out from the Omen Ridge and killing peasants.
Some large Suzerains were built along the boundaries of Omen Ridge.
For one, it was to prevent the savage beasts from invading the land of humans; for two, it was easier to train their disciples.
The School of the Martial Market was also built on the outside.
The Blood-feathered Eagle flew its passengers to the School of the Martial Market. The students were dumbstruck as they took in the scenery before them.
At first glance, they would see the ground dotted with old buildings. Some were colored glaze towers built in deep valleys; some were garrets built on cliff sides. There were also martial training arenas built on mountaintops.
Although they had not yet entered the School of the Martial Market, they could already feel great waves of power.
Elder Xie rose to his feet and stood tall on the back of the Blood-feathered Eagle. Withdrawing a token, he called out loudly, “I am Xie Nantian. Who is guarding the array now? Why haven’t you opened the doors?”
A young man around 20 years old, who was standing on a two-headed griffin, flew up from the ground and said, “Greetings, Master Xie! How come there are so few candidates from Yunwu Commandery this year? Master Situ has brought over 600 candidates from Square Commandery, and among them are some top martial arts geniuses.”
Meanwhile, the young man raised his hand slightly toward the ground, and let out a loud whistle.
The seven colored glaze towers located on different sides of the School of the Martial Market emitted a bright stream of light from their tips. The seven light columns were connected to form a huge array.
“Boom!”
At the edge of the array, a door of light, more than 100 meters long, was opened.
The Blood-feathered Eagle who was carrying the 67 candidates from Yunwu Commandery went into the door of light, and flew toward the White Stone Square built in a valley.
The moment the Blood-feathered Eagle flew into the School of the Martial Market, the light from the tips of the seven towers immediately disappeared. With a bang, the door of light also vanished into the air.