Defiant Martial God

 

After Li San left, Qing Yun rushed Mu Xingde into using the shortest time possible to finish his morning ablutions. 

As Mu Xingde’s newly wedded Princess Consort, Qing Yun was the apple of his eye. To him, she was always right and he did everything she said without protest.

Very soon, the two of them finished their preparations. They had a simple breakfast, and they hurriedly departed from the Prince’s Manor.

Outside the manor, a cavalry of fifty men had already been waiting for some time. There was also a carriage in their formation. This carriage was pulled by two strong and handsome looking horses.

By all rights, this carriage ought to be the Prince’s royal coach. However, Mu Xingde was not the person sitting in it right now. It was someone else.

When Mu Xingde and Qing Yun stepped out of the Manor and walked toward the carriage, even Prince Mu Xingde, who was usually so authoritative and imperious, kept his airs away and behaved with humility and courtesy. He stood before the carriage and bowed dutifully. “Grandmother Jiang, thank you so much for coming here yourself to deal with this matter.”

“My prince, there is no need to stand on formalities. These old bones have been keen on meeting that new Spirit Realm cultivator, Qin Yuandao.” An elderly woman’s hoarse voice could be heard from within the carriage.

 

Qing Yun had been standing behind Mu Xingde, and when she heard the old lady speak, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her chest. He had kept his promise and managed to convince the only highly skilled Spirit Realm cultivator of the prince’s household to lend a hand.

Now, her only concern was whether or not they could make it in time to Luosang City if they were to leave right now. All would be lost if Qin Yu attacked the Qin Family before their arrival. It was fortunate that Luobei City and Luosang City were not too far from each other, and to travel from one city to the other was possible within half a day.

“My Prince, it’s getting late. Shall we set off?” Qing Yun could not help but hurry him a little.

“No problem.” Mu Xingde answered straight away. He quickly flew onto his horse - as a martial cultivator himself, horse riding was not a problem for him. It was only because he was a lazy person that the progress of his cultivation was slow, so slow that even at the age of thirty, he still remained in the Origin Realm.

Qing Yun immediately got on her horse as well.

“Ride! We head for Luosang City.” Mu Xingde sat on the horse, and with a wave of his fleshy hand and with his authoritative command, he urged his steed forward. As he led the charge, the guards behind him hurriedly followed along. The air was filled with the sound of neighing and the slicing of hooves. In the haze of dust clouds thrown up by the galloping horses, the team shot out of Luobei City like an arrow from a bow, and they headed straight toward Luosang City.

……

 

Dawn had only just arrived, but to the west of Luosang City, quite a number of people were already rushing to their destination. These people had all heard of Qin Yuandao’s grand wedding, and they had traveled through the night to turn up and support the event. After Qin Yuandao’s cultivation level reached that of the Spirit Realm, both the power he had demonstrated and the conspicuousness of his actions ensured that his name was spread far and wide within a short period of time. There were some who feared him, some who hated him, and even more who wanted to curry favor with him.

Those who wanted to curry favor never had an opportunity to do so in the past, but now, it was the best time for them to do some bootlicking. Hence, crowds of people swarmed towards Luosang City with their generous gifts throughout the night.

It was at this time that a procession was making its way along the road connecting Luosang City and Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. It was made up of over twenty travel-worn men escorting two horse-drawn carriages’ worth of precious gifts, and they were racing towards the city as fast as they could.

“My brothers, put your backs into it and make haste. In another two hours, we’ll be able to reach Luosang City, and we can enjoy Old Master Qin’s wedding and his celebratory wine,” the one leading them yelled out in encouragement. They had begun their journey after nightfall, and they had hurried the whole way. Some of them were clearly exhausted. They walked as if they had been drained of energy, and even the rallying cry from their leader did not have much effect; they only sped up by a little.

Rumble, rumble…

Without warning, a thunderous rumbling that sounded like the quaking of mountains could be heard from behind them. That shook the men out of their exhaustion, and in an instant, they were all awake and alert again. 

“What’s going on?” One after another, they turned behind to look.

In the distance, dust clouds and dirt suddenly billowed out into the sky.

“What… what is that?” Someone spotted the shadows from within the clouds and cried out in alarm.

“Mounted soldiers, wait no, demonic beasts, a large number of beasts. Soldiers mounted on demonic beasts!”

“Run, oh, quick run!”

A person in the crowd snapped out of their shock. Soon, the rest of them followed, screaming and fleeing for their lives in all directions.

“All of you, come back! The gifts need to be protected. These are priceless treasures that will be presented to Old Master Qin as his wedding gifts!” The leader of the escort team wailed loudly, but right at this moment, everyone’s priority was to save their own skins. Who would bother with those useless “precious gifts”?

Rumble rumble… This was the rumbling caused by the beast-riding soldiers who were almost upon them. Their formidable presence was like the roaring of a mountain flash-flood, mowing down and swallowing everything in its way. 

“No!” The leader was so frightened that his insides grew cold and even he no longer cared about the gifts. He whipped his horse hard and urged it to catch up with those who had run away. Because his horse was superior to theirs, he was quickly able to take his place at the head of the fleeing team again.

Behind them, the sound of something whistling through the air assaulted their ears, and the wide sky darkened instantly. They raised their heads, and for as far as their eyes could see, a rain of razor-sharp arrows darkened the air, all headed straight for them.

“No-”

The frantic mess of fleeing men cried out in despair. Amidst their shouting, the sharp arrows whistled through the air and pierced their bodies. One by one, bodies dropped from their horses as corpses.

Rumble, rumble…

The beast-riding soldiers closed in like a wild hurricane, bringing clouds of dust with them. They trod on the ground beneath their feet, and they trampled on the corpses beneath their feet as they rumbled forward. 

Their destination? 

Luosang City.

……

 

In Tie Shou’s Workshop within Luosang City, Qin Yu’s room.

Qin Yu sat with his eyes closed, the Blood Devouring Demonic Blade was suspended in the air before him. Its blood-soaked aura ebbed and flowed, painting his fresh and pleasant face in a wash of red light, as if it were covered in blood.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and his keen, cold gaze landed on the naked blade of the Blood Devouring Demonic Blade. It vibrated intensely in its place for a short time before gradually calming down. Its blood-soaked aura dimmed as well, until all the crimson light it had been emitting before completely disappeared. All that was left was that huge red saber floating in mid-air.

“Go back,” Qin Yu gritted out this chilly command.

The Blood Devouring Demonic Blade did not obey those orders immediately. Instead, it froze where it floated and did not move, as though it was extremely reluctant to leave. Qin Yu’s pupils dilated, and his icy glare was like a hail of icicles. With that, the Blood Devouring Demonic Blade dared not dally any longer. It transformed into a flash of light and disappeared with a hum into the dimensional ring on Qin Yu’s finger.

After a whole night’s study of the Blood Devouring Demonic Blade, Qin Yu had gained a certain amount of understanding about it. Unfortunately, it was hardly enough, and he could not say for certain that no unexpected situations might arise later on. But now, there was not enough time for him to investigate further; the strung arrow must be shot, and he could only accept this as a risk in his fight.

Don don don. A series of gentle knocks rang from outside the door. 

“Who is it?” Qin Yu’s gaze fixed itself at the door.

“Qin Yu, it’s dawn. Everything has been prepared. We can get started now.” Outside, Tie Shou’s voice rang out.

“It’s dawn?” Killing intent surged up in Qin Yu’s cold gaze as an enchanting flame flickered in the depths of his pupils, “Qin Family, I’ve returned. Die!” 

 In a spacious, open-air room within the Qin Family Estate, Qin Yuandao was being dressed in crimson wedding robes. A few people were fitting him into it when suddenly, he sucked in a cold breath, his body trembling slightly. 

“Esteemed Elder, what happened? If the clothes aren’t comfortable, do you want to try on a different set?” One of the older female servants who was fitting him hastily asked.

“Killing intent.” Qin Yuandao ignored the servant, his face suddenly darkening. “What powerful killing intent.” An ominous sense of foreboding suddenly appeared in his heart. 

He sensed the killing intent, but he couldn’t anticipate, no, nobody could anticipate that today, on his wedding day,  his Qin Family and Luosang City would face a disaster bathed in blood. Three forces were about to converge on the city. The prelude to the massacre quietly passed, a herald for the destruction soon to come. This disaster would sweep across the Qin Family, Luosang City, and even all of Qiongxi Country.