Chapter 333: Smashing Through The Walls
Seeing that Zen's sword was coming at him with such mighty force, the old man felt a tinge of surprise.
In fact, even if it had been some other master in his place, with greater powers at his disposal, he would also find Zen's unfathomable, ingenious and seemingly basic movements of swordsmanship strange.
This wasn't so because Zen's abilities and moves were unbreakable. Even tactically the most sound of his moves would fail to make up for the enormous and undeniable strength gap that lay between the two.
As Zen flicked the sword at him, the old man turned around with his short yet powerful stature to dodge the incoming attack. At the same time, he did something mentally and a short spear popped out of nowhere, lunging straight at Zen's Streamer Sword.
Clink!
The pointed head of the spear collided with Zen's streamer Sword and let out a crisp tinkling sound. Though neither of the two weapons stopped in their paths, the spear slightly sank down. The old man seemed surprised. Obviously, he hadn't expected that Zen's long sword could contain such mighty force. His face darkened a little and he sneered as he injected a bit of grey-colored life vitality into his short spear. Now, he decided to beat back Zen's sword by relying on his life vitality.
Zen backed a few steps when faced with that force. Then, without taking a breath, he lunged at the old man with his sword once more.
One strike, two strikes, three strikes, four strikes…
Every move that Zen made was impeccable and his performance of basic swordsmanship was, perhaps, second to none. Unfortunately, such basic moves were of no use and his attacks were constantly deflected by the old man's life vitality.
Zen's face was clouded. His level in the martial arts really was very low.
Even though he excelled at swordsmanship, which had given him the confidence and the ability to win over the aged man's short spear, in this fight, his opponent didn't seem fazed about his talent in this area at all.
What they were doing was equivalent to a skilled boxer fighting with a two-meter high giant of a man. In such a case, techniques failed to come into play.
Zen didn't give up though. With each passing deflection, his strikes came fiercer than ever, exerting all his efforts. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
Women all tended to fantasize, and Aura was no exception.
She had fantasized about numerous scenes in which Zen was fighting, but never had she ever dreamed of the things she was witnessing in those moments.
Her hand was firmly in Zen's grasp, his grip unyielding. Her palm was wet with Zen's sweat and with her own.
Seeing that Zen's sword was fiercely whooshing forward and flashing brilliant silver streaks in the air, Aura felt greatly delighted. Although she knew that Zen was not a match for the old man, she still felt surprised that Zen had grown and cultivated so fast. Today, he was developed enough to possess the strength to confront the old man.
Half a year ago, Vale had suppressed him easily, and he was at the initial level of the Illuminating Soul Realm then. But today, Zen had the courage to battle against a master at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm.
At that moment, Aura didn't mind the fact that she had been under house-arrest at the Burning Sky Palace the last several weeks. She was happy to see Zen's growth and it had taken all the sadness and boredom off her mind.
However, no breakthrough occurred in the fight even though a long time elapsed. Zen grew anxious, while the old man looked more at ease than ever before. The short spear had blocked all of Zen's strikes. It was like a cage that firmly locked Zen within its control.
The old man smiled with derision. He now had the situation under his control. Zen was still so young and he believed that he wouldn't be able to break the lock formed by his short spear.
While the old man showed his smug face, Zen's eyes flashed a hauntingly beautiful white light. A shadow of a figure rushed out from his body. At the same time, the Blood Drinking Sword sprang out from his space ring. Lily, freshly unleashed from inside him grabbed the Blood Drinking Sword before she reached her highest point and stabbed at the old man.
All this happened so sudden and so fast that from the moment Lily took the sword to the time she directed the sword towards the old man, it seemed that time had not passed.
As a master at the peak of Illuminating Soul Realm, the old man had a sharp sense. Even though he had used his short spear to lock Zen's sword, he still had enough extra energy to mobilize his senses. He could handle anything at ease even at the mere rustle of a few leaves caused by someone stealthily approaching him.
But it never occurred to him that a person would rush out from Zen's body. This was incredible.
More unsettling was the strong malicious aura that person was emitting.
So the first reaction the old man had was not to attack, but to hold his short spear horizontally, trying to deflect Lily's stab.
The problem was that his short spear was only a low-level fairy weapon.
Even though he was at the peak of Illuminating Soul Realm, he had very few spears at his disposal, let alone a short spear equivalent to a middle-grade fairy weapon. It was considered highly difficult to obtain such weapons. However, Lily was no ordinary person.
And what she held in her hands was a middle-level fairy weapon. Moreover, the cultivation technique Lily was utilizing in her attacks was a kind of malicious aura. It was, to use the common phrase, super-powerful.
As soon as the sharp blade of the Blood Drinking Sword touched the wooden hilt of the short spear, there was a flash of red light and the low-level fairy weapon directly broke into two parts.
The old man reacted quickly. At the very moment his short spear was broken, he immediately retreated a few steps back. But he was too slow compared to Lily, and the Blood Drinking sword still stabbed into his chest and drops of blood came out from the wound. The old man crazily fled backward, and Lily ran behind him in hot pursuit. She followed closely behind at a brisk, powerful pace, her pretty figure dancing every step of the way. She was determined to catch him and kill him.
“Let's go!”
Lily's dancing steps and movements seemed delicate but her swordsmanship was very powerful. However, even she was not a match for the old man. She had just happened to pop out and catch him off guard. After the latter had come back to his senses, Lily might not be able to withstand his attacks.
Holding Aura's hand, Zen raced away rapidly. Aura could feel a mighty force drag her forward. She didn't need to take any steps to follow him, since that mighty, invisible force was pushing her and she felt like she was riding on a cloud.
After running for a while, a vermilion wall appeared in their path and blocked the way. All the walls in the palace were painted in vermilion and were one meter thick. However, Zen didn't stop. When he finally approached the wall and got close enough to it, he simply bumped into it without any hesitation at all. As a result, the wall cracked open and a big hole appeared in it.
Zen grew more and more uneasy, looking like a caged beast. He had brought his strength and speed into full play. While Aura, who was standing behind him, cracked into a smile.
She had been caught in the Shine Palace for quite a period of time and today, she felt very pleased to see that Zen had grown so strong. She was blissfully happy. She looked as if she was intoxicated. She followed Zen silently as she watched his broad back. It almost seemed to her that she really didn't care whether they could get out of the Burning Sky Palace or not.
More importantly, Aura was clear that it was impossible for Zen to get out with her.
“Your Highness, let us go and stop this man.”
The guests of the Feathery Star Hall volunteered to accompany the old man behind Zen.
Ray turned a deaf ear towards them. He was busy gazing firmly at Lily who was now fighting with Uncle Kyle.
Kyle was the old man Zen had been fighting. He was a trusted follower of Ray, and also an elder of the family.
As Lily initiated her sword dance, Kyle panicked. Now, with his spear broken into two by her sword, it was very difficult for him to deflect Lily's sword dance.
But after several rounds, Kyle finally took control with his life vitality. He became more valiant in the fight. Gusts of winds came from his palms and streams of life vitality escaped from his body which helped him withstand the attacks of Lily's sword dance. He was finally successful in forcing Lily to retreat.
At this moment, Lily's eyes, which were originally full of malicious aura, suddenly flashed a dark shade of red. She turned into a dot of red light and whirled around the Drinking Blood Sword, rushing out of the Feathery Star Hall. As Lily was Zen's sword spirit, their hearts were connected. Zen clearly knew that Lilly would not be able to hold on for too long, so he immediately summoned her back.
Kyle cupped his hands and bowed to Ray, “Your Highness, please let me go and catch Zen.”
Ray shook his head and refused, “No. We have already created quite a stir with the loud noise your fighting made. I have sent a message to Hendy.”
“Hendy? Your Highness, do we really have to bother Hendy for this matter?” Kyle was slightly surprised.
“Yes. We didn't have to do that earlier on. But now, a group of hateful eunuchs have come in the middle. What else can I do?” Ray sneered.
Kyle frowned as Ray's words sank into his mind. If the eunuchs got a hand in this matter, there was going to be great trouble.
“Come with me tonight. Things are getting a little tricky now.” Ray floated up in the air and flew out of the Feathery Star Hall. Although he had never taken admission into the Cloud Sect, as the most competitive prince of his generation, he still was pretty talented. And the resources that came into his hands were no less than the resources that any elite disciple of the Cloud Sect could enjoy. He had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm long ago.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Several walls were smashed into pieces with loud crashes accompanying each hit.
Seeing them whirling through the palace, many maids and eunuchs shrieked in horror.
When he was hitting the walls, Zen was also applying a slight vibration with his hands. At the moment he touched the wall, his body vibrated intensively with a low amplitude. Therefore, the impact on the wall was destructible. And every time Zen casually smashed into the wall with his body, the wall cracked into a hole as big as two meters high.
Zen's face and head were covered with ash and mud, and he looked like something the cat had dragged in. Aura was in stark contrast to him though. She was following closely behind him, looking immaculate, with no signs of dirt or ash on her at all.
"Why is this accursed Burning Sky Palace so big?' Zen got frustrated now. He had gone in a straight line the moment he had gotten out of the Feathery Star Hall and he had broken dozens of walls along the way. It was beyond him why he hadn't walked out of the Burning Sky Palace yet.
“The Feathery Star Hall is situated at the left-front of the Burning Sky Palace. You're heading into the very depths of the palace since you took a right. If you continue on this route, I'm afraid you will have to walk through the whole palace before we see the light of day. No wonder you feel that the palace is so big,” Aura replied slowly with a graceful smile.
Zen lost his head upon hearing her. “Oh my goodness! Why didn't you tell me that earlier?” He was depressed. It turned out that he had been headed the wrong way all the time. He was going into the depths of the Burning Sky Palace instead of getting out. What a disappointment!
“It's okay…” Aura replied in a low voice.
“Okay? Why? If we had taken the right turn earlier on, we might have already gotten out of the Burning Sky Palace!” While talking, Zen smashed against another wall and they entered into a beautiful and delicate garden. The idyllic scene in the garden was quite a feast to the eyes, with several birds singing in the air, flowers casting forth their fragrance, and trees throwing a pleasant shade on the ground. They felt as though they had entered a fairyland.
Under a willow tree sat a young man wearing a purple hat. In front of him was a string plucked instrument. He was plucking those strings gently with his slender fingers and a sad melody engulfed the air.
Looking at the young man, Zen suddenly stopped. It was not that he was afraid of the young man. He could sense that the young man's strength was at the initial level of Illuminating Soul Realm at best. And Zen would certainly not take him seriously.
It was the three people who were standing beside the young man that made Zen hesitate. Those men were clad with kohempcloth archer uniform. And they were wearing a black belt connected by white jade on their waists.
Zen could not figure out the real strength of these three men. He could only sense from the aura they were emitting that the strength of the two men standing on the side were relatively weaker. And the man who was standing in the middle was even stronger than Elder Xu, and among the masters Zen had seen, he might be only lesser to Kenneth.
“I said it was okay, because I knew you would not be able to get me out of the Burning Sky Palace...” Aura replied sweetly with a gentle smile.