Chapter 42: Zhou Qin’s Regret, Leeching Royal Privileges

“Senior Brother Fang!!”

A disciple behind Gu Fan, who had been blocked by a Soul Puppet, let out a sorrowful roar.

“Gu Fan! You deserve death! I’ll fight you to the end!”

“Glazed‑Gold Body! Sixth Transformation!!”

Boom! Two Soul Puppets were violently toppled by a powerful force.

Then that disciple transformed into a streak of golden light, silver blade in hand, slashing toward Gu Fan!

Clang!

Gu Fan’s two fingers precisely clamped down on the thunderous blade.

As the two forces collided, blade‑aura poured out recklessly.

The hillside behind Gu Fan had been split in two by the escaping aura of the blade.

“Such a pity. If that had been a seventh transformation—perhaps I could have seen blood.”

The disciple, seeing that his all‑out life gamble had been caught by only two fingers, instantly lost spirit and vigor.

He had risked everything on that blow, and now it was caught.

The outcome needed no further thought.

“Gu Fan, Liuli Yuan will never let you go!”

Gu Fan chuckled softly, flicking the silver blade with a flick of his hand.

In that instant the silver blade shattered into fragments and fell apart.

“You’re stronger than Jialan Gate—at least you have some backbone.”

“So, I’ll leave you in one piece!”

At that moment, the final shard of the blade fell. Mid‑air, Gu Fan curled a finger and flicked—and the falling shard transformed into a streak of silver light!

Pff!

With that, the last disciple of Liuli Yuan collapsed weakly to the ground, his throat already pierced.

Meanwhile, Lin Yi, in white robes like a drifting dragon, was holding a long sword.

For a time he seemed unusually calm despite facing two attackers simultaneously.

Gu Fan shook his head helplessly—he always had to urge Lin Yi on.

“Lin Yi, play at your pace. I’m going to find Shangqing Sect.”

As soon as Lin Yi heard this, he tensed.

The long sword in his hand became even sharper.

Two disciples of Chiyang Palace, hearing Gu Fan’s voice, felt their hearts sink.

They were done for!

Gu Fan being alive meant that the two from Liuli Yuan were certainly dead.

They couldn’t gain the upper hand even with Lin Yi’s help against one.

If Gu Fan entered the fray, wouldn’t death be certain?

The thought left them panicked.

At that moment, Lin Yi unified with his sword.

In an instant, his body seemed to vanish, leaving only countless sword‑lights roaming!

Pff pff!

Two sounds of metal slicing through flesh and bone rang out.

Lin Yi hovered in the air, flicked his long sword, and a string of blood droplets fell to the earth, forming a crimson line.

Behind him, two corpses crashed to the ground.

“Dare to fight me and still be distracted? Want to die!”

Gu Fan disdainfully threw a stone, hitting them.

“Stop showing off. Hurry up, the last one’s coming. Five thousand spirit stones await once they’re dead.”

“Okay, okay, coming. I’m going to check the corpse first.”

…

Outside the island, on a high platform:

The Fourth Prince stared at the light screen, his expression frozen.

In just ten minutes, all the numbers under his name had been erased!

“Impossible… This can’t be happening…”

At that moment, the Third Prince beside him laughed joyfully.

“Brother Fourth, keep your composure. Haven’t you just reassured me?”

Hearing Zhou Sheng’s words, Zhou Qin trembled with rage.

“Third Brother is so happy. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were the Crown Prince.”

“You!”

As the two argued, another shout rang out.

“Heavens! The Second Prince’s tallies have increased dramatically!”

“The truth is out: the Fourth Prince’s men were probably slaughtered by the two Demonic‑Path Twin Stars!”

“The Second Prince is truly the greatest dark horse this year! He’s thrown the Third and Fourth Princes off their horses!”

“Now this is interesting—on one side is the prince most likely to become Crown Prince, and on the other, the one widely considered least likely.”

“Haha, though it’s dramatic—weakest versus strongest—I still think the Fourth Prince’s advantage is unshakeable. Lian Huo at Half‑step Primordial Yang is already beyond the Spirit‑Sea Realm; what can the Demonic‑Path Twin Stars do to win?”

On the high platform, the Fourth Prince looked toward Zhou Rong through the light screen.

“Second Brother, you really hid your cards well!”

“Haha, Fourth Brother flatters me. This is all thanks to your subordinates being unruly and offending Gu Fan and Lin Yi. Otherwise, those Twin Stars of the Demonic Path might have ended up as your retainers.”

Zhou Rong chuckled softly.

At this moment, he no longer concealed his true demeanor.

He had endured humiliation for a full ten years!

Ever since suffering a severe injury in childhood, he had restrained himself.

But now, he could no longer hold back!

Gu Fan and Lin Yi’s strength had far exceeded his expectations.

They had actually slaughtered all the retainers under the Third and Fourth Princes!

Only now did he truly reveal his stance!

If he didn’t act arrogantly now when he was in power—then when?

Zhou Rong’s words were like needles stabbing directly into Zhou Qin’s heart.

Back when the Demonic‑Path Twin Stars were at the Hero Gathering Pavilion, he had indeed sent someone to make contact.

But because he already had candidates from the Five Major Righteous Sects under his command, he didn’t pay it much attention—let alone visiting them personally like the Second Prince had done.

And now, the very two people he had looked down on had utterly defeated all his Guest Cultivators!

Shattering his dream of becoming Crown Prince!

The more he thought about it, the uglier Zhou Qin’s expression became.

At this moment, Zhou Jing, squinting with a smile, said:

“Second Brother seems to be celebrating too early. Although these Twin Stars have surprised everyone with their strength, don’t forget that my side still has a complete roster of retainers.”

“Hehe, Big Brother is right. Let’s just wait and see.”

Zhou Rong didn’t get angry.

At this point, he no longer harbored any doubt about the strength of Gu Fan and Lin Yi.

He knew that Zhou Jing still had a Half‑step Primordial Yang cultivator under his command—but for some reason, he just had a strong sense of confidence.

Just then, the voice of an old eunuch rang out.

“Your Highnesses, mind your words. His Majesty has arrived.”

At those words, all four princes immediately fell silent and looked toward the main seat.

There, a middle‑aged man with slightly graying hair, clad in a golden robe embroidered with dragons and exuding imperial majesty, arrived at the central throne.

This man was none other than the Emperor of the Great Qian Empire—Emperor Kunwu.

Following closely beside him sat an elder with an abyss‑like presence.

At the sight of him, the pupils of the princes contracted sharply.

This was none other than the acting head of the Shangqing Sect, a True Yang Realm expert—Daoist Yuqing!

The two seemed to exchange a few pleasantries before falling silent again.

This scene caused Zhou Rong to grow worried.

With such a major figure from the Shangqing Sect present, would Gu Fan and Lin Yi be targeted when they came out?

If it were just ordinary Guest Cultivators dying, it wouldn’t matter—so long as he could claim the position of Crown Prince.

But these two had been sent by his mother’s old acquaintance.

From what his mother said, she seemed to value them highly.

If they really died under his name, he feared his mother would be in a difficult position!

While Zhou Rong was worrying about what was to come on the outside—

On the island, Gu Fan and Lin Yi, seeing that the sky was darkening, had no intention of continuing the hunt.

They simply summoned back all the White Bone Soldiers to check the spoils.

Moments later, a hundred White Bone Soldiers returned.

Before them, a mound of spiritual herbs had been piled into a small hill!

Lin Yi stared at the mountain of spiritual herbs, too shocked to close his mouth for a while.

“Brother Gu! You practically plowed through the entire island’s spiritual herbs! We’re rich!”

Even Gu Fan hadn’t expected that a hundred White Bone Soldiers would gather so many spiritual herbs.

Looking at the pile, it was worth at least ten thousand spirit stones!

“Damn, robbery really is the quickest way to make money! Lin Yi!”

“Right here!”

“Grab the gear and start packing like hell!”

“Got it!”

Immediately, the storage pouches in the two men’s hands began to glow continuously as piece after piece of spiritual herbs was stored away!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep