Chapter 134: 125 Heart, Above

The cold wind rushed into the forest, stirring layers of withered yellow leaves on the ground.

Fine dust and debris were blown up, forming floating substances akin to yellow snow.

Zhang Rongfang gazed through the eyeholes of his mask, watching Zhao Tianming whose face was twisted with emotion.

“Since you did what you did that day, you should have expected this day to come.”

He stepped closer, his boots crushing the dry leaves beneath them, only for the fragmented pieces to be swept once more by the wind, blown forward.

“It’s you!!” Zhao Tianming shouted suddenly, his voice twisted with fury, pointing at Zhang Rongfang.

“It’s all you!! If you hadn’t appeared back then, how could I! How could….”

Bang!!

In an instant, a figure rushed in front of him, grabbing his throat with one hand, lifting him high into the air.

Poof.

Another short sword silently stabbed into Zhao Tianming’s heart.

The hilt was twisted forcefully.

Blood oozed from the edge of the wound, gradually staining his clothes red.

Zhao Tianming struggled, ambushed at the peak of his emotional outburst, overwhelmed by the disparity in strength, unable to muster even the slightest resistance.

“Please.. spare… my… family…” He raised his hand, trying to reach Zhang Rongfang.

But his arm dropped powerlessly halfway.

“I promise you. Your family will be spared.” There was a glimmer of reluctance in Zhang Rongfang’s eyes as he spoke softly.

Within a single day, he had witnessed too much slaughter and death.

Hearing those words, Zhao Tianming finally closed his eyes slowly, tilting his head, completely silent.

Zhang Rongfang released his grip, sighing, letting him fall to the ground.

Without a glance at the corpse, he turned swiftly and departed.

Earlier, he had just received the news, prompting him to rush here to deal with Zhao Tianming.

Zhao Tianming thought he could escape, but unfortunately, Tan Yang City is now filled with people from the Golden Wing Pavilion.

The power of the Golden Wing Pavilion radiated throughout the city, making it impossible for anyone to escape the surveillance of the dead soldiers and intelligence personnel.

Traversing swiftly through the forest for dozens of breaths, Zhang Rongfang soon arrived at a burning ruin.

All around the ruins were collapsed buildings, broken beams, burning walls, and piles of smoldering debris.

And corpses scattered everywhere.

At the forefront of the ruins, a broken plaque on the ground clearly displayed the characters: Zhao Family Manor.

Zhang Rongfang quickly found a fire pit, reaching out to grab the hand-copied scripture from his chest.

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, a voice sounded behind him.

Zhang Rongfang felt a chill running up from his spine to his head.

He released his grip and turned around slowly.

Standing behind him was Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang.

She wore a pure white dress, spotless, with long hair fluttering in the wind, pinching a golden needle between her fingers.

Her gaze was deep, watching Zhang Rongfang.

“Did you…. just go and kill someone?”

Zhang Rongfang was silent for a moment.

“Subordinate…. just received a message from subordinates, so I went to preemptively deal with a traitor.”

Tong Zhang quietly watched him, eyes unblinking, the clear black pupils reflecting the silhouette of the person before her like a mirror.

The wind aided the flames, growing stronger and stronger.

Zhao Family Manor was gradually consumed by fire, even the last remnants.

The two of them exchanged gazes for several seconds.

Zhang Rongfang was the first to lower his head in respect.

For some reason, he always felt a perpetual sense of fear and trepidation before Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang.

As if… as if she might strike at any moment.

“You are a good child… a good child… should not do bad things…”

“…Yes!” The horror in Zhang Rongfang’s heart gradually subsided and disappeared.

His body’s instincts faintly sensed the lifting of danger, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing he had passed the test.

Originally, he had always followed Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang, but just now he seized the moment of her brief departure to pursue and eliminate Zhao Tianming, an act of obvious disrespect.

As a member of the organization, acting without consulting a superior at such a time.

If faced with someone more hot-tempered, he would have been instantly suspected of collusion, leaking information to the enemy.

“Let’s go….” Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang turned and continued walking towards the wooded hills on the left of Zhao Family Manor.

Her steps seemed gentle, but the distance covered was far greater than imagined.

Almost like floating, a light touch of the toes sent her gliding several meters.

Zhang Rongfang had to employ his body technique to barely keep up behind her.

“The hidden cults in Zhao Family Manor have all been eradicated. Why did you tell him you were willing to spare his family?”

Celestial Maiden suddenly spoke, nearly causing Zhang Rongfang to tremble all over, pausing in his tracks.

He opened his mouth, his throat feeling unbearably dry, unable to utter a word.

“Are you afraid?” Celestial Maiden did not turn around, “You did nothing wrong, why fear?”

“Subordinate…..” Zhang Rongfang wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right excuse or words.

Her ability to perceive hidden emotions made him increasingly cautious and uneasy.

“Subordinate merely thought, since he was going to die anyway, it was better for him to die with some peace of mind. This way, perhaps he wouldn’t turn into a ghost to haunt me later.”

Zhang Rongfang carefully phrased his response.

This answer clearly surprised Celestial Maiden.

She looked at Zhang Rongfang with an unusual gaze.

“Do you believe there are ghosts in this world?”

Zhang Rongfang paused in silence for a moment and replied.

“Subordinate does not know…. However, since action is being taken, it’s best to eliminate all potential future troubles. So, even in the unlikely event of ghosts, letting him depart peacefully could reduce risks and complications.”

Even such bizarre idols have appeared, what else is impossible?

The look in Celestial Maiden’s eyes became a bit strange.

It was as if she truly now regarded this guy as talented.

“Let’s go.”

She said no more, continuing forward.

The two proceeded one after the other, soon arriving at a completely unfamiliar small village.

Ahead of them, a team of dead soldiers clad in gray-white armor had already arrived.

The ground was littered with the bodies of villagers.

Old people, children, women, farmers, most had been beheaded while a few had their throats slit.

Zhang Rongfang even saw two infants in swaddling clothes, also cleaved into two with a single strike….

He sighed internally. Looking ahead, he saw Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang had already met up with a robust dead soldier leader at least two meters tall.

The leader was whispering a report to her.

The sound was too faint, the wind too loud, making it hard to hear clearly for a moment.

Zhang Rongfang was in no mood to eavesdrop right now; he just wanted to find a chance to completely burn the scripture he held in his arms.

This scripture didn’t even allow handwritten copies, clearly indicating that the content absolutely must not be known to anyone.

Handwritten copies could easily have errors; even such risk couldn’t be allowed to leak.

What does this mean?

It means that the Golden Wing Pavilion and the Spirit Court are unwilling to take any risks.

By now, if Zhang Rongfang couldn’t guess the background of the Golden Wing Pavilion, then he had really lived in vain for all these years.

Not long after, the two finished their conversation, and the commander led a team of men and turned away.

Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang continued leading Zhang Rongfang in a different direction, heading elsewhere.

Near Tan Yang, Rixing Town is also a bustling place close to the city.

Upon reaching the town.

At a spacious manor, Zhang Rongfang once again saw the Snake King of the Black Ten Sect.

The once mighty Snake King had lost all his previous glory by now.

He and several other Black Ten Sect subordinates were surrounded in the middle of the manor’s square.

His long hair was loose, and his body was covered in blood and filth.

“Come on! You lunatics!?”

Snake King Xue Jinghao roared in anger.

He was panting heavily, and over a dozen armor-clad, ashen warriors lay fallen around him.

Numerous crossbow bolts and arrows were scattered around. Clearly, many crossbowmen and archers were still nearby, ready to aim here at any moment.

Among those besieging the Snake King were two commanders clad in armor.

The two stood shoulder to shoulder, one holding a long metal bow, aimed toward the center of the field.

The arrival of Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang and Zhang Rongfang instantly made the two halt and turn to look this way.

With a crash.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Snake King Xue Jinghao dashed to the left, hurling a black ball from his hand.

The black ball exploded, releasing a cloud of black smoke, concealing his figure.

Using the cover of smoke, he charged toward the right side of the encirclement, attempting to break through the warriors and escape.

Thunk!

Just then, the sound of bowstrings being released suddenly rang out around.

A dense rain of arrows, like a swarm of locusts, traced a fine arc, enveloping a range of several tens of meters around the Snake King.

The Snake King quickly brandished his blade, cutting down and deflecting the incoming arrows.

Yet after one volley, another followed.

He had no choice but to halt, continuously fending off the fired arrows.

Bang!

The sound of a gunshot exploded among the rain of arrows.

The bullets were faster than the arrows, scattering like buckshot.

Snake King blocked several shots in succession, with blood splattering across his body.

The other Black Ten Sect experts around him could finally hold on no longer, falling to the ground one after another.

After three volleys of arrows and two rounds of gunfire ceased.

Snake King Xue Jinghao was finally drenched in blood, exhausted, kneeling on the ground with disheveled hair, barely human.

By this time, his outer robe was shredded, revealing the black inner armor beneath.

If not for that inner armor, he might have been finished long ago.

Hiss!

The curved blade in his hand stabbed into the ground.

“Do you have the guts to face me in a fair fight!!” he roared, blood trickling from his mouth and nostrils.

Yet his gaze was firmly fixed on Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang and Zhang Rongfang as they approached.

Seeing the mask on Zhang Rongfang’s face, he finally understood something.

“Golden Wing Pavilion…!!”

Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang glanced sideways at Zhang Rongfang.

“Do you want to go up and take revenge?”

Back then, Snake King Xue Jinghao had injured one of Zhang Rongfang’s hands, which had yet to heal.

Now was the time for revenge.

Zhang Rongfang looked at Snake King in the arena, hesitated for a moment.

“This opponent is of Super Grade level, I can’t match him, better let it pass.”

If he could be easily crushed, why take the risk himself?

That was his thought.

“It’s fine.” Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang softly said. “You’ll eventually have to face it, go try it now.”

Eventually? But this is a Super Grade expert!

Her words carried implications that instantly stirred Zhang Rongfang’s heart.

He looked again at the exhausted and injured Snake King, and then stepped forward.

Walking until he was only a few meters away from the Snake King, he stopped.

“My right wrist can’t exert much force, and you’re injured now too, so we’re even. Only then would this fight be fair.”

He vaguely guessed in his heart, this might be a test by the Celestial Maiden for him.

If he won… perhaps he’d gain a lot!

The Snake King, watching him, finally recalled who this person was.

“Back then, I should have finished you off thoroughly, that was my mistake!” he propped himself up, feeling like his organs were on fire.

His body had suffered significant internal injuries, naturally diminishing his strength.

But it didn’t matter. This person in front seemed to hold a high position. As long as he captured him, he would have a chance… just a chance…

“Today, let me correct that mistake!!”

Boom!

He stomped, cracking the ground.

The light of his blade, like a black snake, stabbed at Zhang Rongfang, the tip leading.

The attack seemed explosive, yet only about as fast as Level Eight.

The blade tip, pitch-black and stained with some blood, arced toward the midpoint between the two of them in a flash.

Zhang Rongfang’s expression was solemn, gripping the dagger, his eagle claw curved, advancing to meet the attack.

“Beleaguer!!”

No sooner did he step forward when an intense shout burst in his ear.

He saw the Snake King halfway through his charge, suddenly swelling, his muscles bulging.

The redness in his eyes deepened, and the speed of the black blade increased dramatically.

That seemed to be… Extreme State!!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep