Chapter 248: Chapter 182: True Qi Mark (2)

But True Qi Transformation could actually create a living creature, however briefly.

Zou Feng felt that a phrase like ’How terrifying!’ would be perfectly fitting for the moment.

As for who had left this mark on Yuwen Zheng, who could it be?

It wasn’t hard to guess. Considering Yuwen Zheng’s status as a Martial Scholar and the fact that he dared to openly practice a cultivation skill that transformed one into a dragon…

Who else could it be but a member of the Great Yan Dynasty’s Royal Family?

Zou Feng had long heard that one of the requirements for some of the cultivation skills practiced by the Great Yan Royal Family was to have the royal bloodline, or to be “bestowed” the right to cultivate by the Royal Family. Moreover, most of these skills were related to dragons.

’Fortunately, I was vigilant beforehand. I had a feeling that someone of Yuwen Zheng’s status wouldn’t just be carrying a simple Jade Talisman. That’s how I avoided suffering a major loss.’

’To be honest, even if that attack had hit me, it wouldn’t have been enough to take my life.’

’But if I’d been caught off guard, injury would have been inevitable.’

’Besides, getting hurt would be the least of my worries. The mark definitely has a tracking function. If a few experts from the Royal Family suddenly showed up during the hostage exchange with Yuwen Boxi, then I’d be completely screwed…’

At almost the exact moment the mark was triggered…

「In Su Jin City, Great Yan Jiangdong.」

Atop the Observatory Tower, which had been built specifically for a certain person, a woman was taking a leisurely bath. Her beauty and disposition were so exceptional that she could fulfill most people’s fantasies of what a “Fairy” should be.

But upon closer inspection, one would find that the pool’s water was no ordinary substance. It was composed entirely of the collected blood of some kind of Demon Beast.

Forget ordinary people; even a Gang Qi Realm Martial Artist wouldn’t last long in this blood pool.

Once their Gang Qi Body Protection gave out, their bodies would be corroded by the Demon Beast Blood, and they would die a gruesome death.

Yet this woman was soaking in it with complete ease, a look of blissful comfort occasionally appearing on her face.

Surrounding the blood pool were a dozen or so attendants, every one of whom could be described as a handsome man.

However, these handsome attendants were all trembling with fear, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

They were terrified that a single careless act, like a sneeze, would disturb the woman’s leisurely enjoyment.

But though everything had been perfectly fine just a moment ago, the woman in the blood pool suddenly raised an eyebrow. Then, the entire pool exploded with a deafening BOOM.

The blood that filled the air and the surging shockwave sent the attendants wailing uncontrollably. But they immediately clamped their hands over their mouths in terror, not daring to continue making such a “ruckus.”

Using the shower of blood as cover, the woman had already wrapped herself in a long robe, concealing her tantalizing figure as she stepped out of the ruined pool.

She glanced at the panic-stricken attendants with utter disgust, barely resisting the urge to slap them all to death.

“Attendant!”

A female guard with her hair in a topknot materialized like a ghost.

“Investigate! Find out if something has happened to the Yuwen Family!”

The female guard immediately acknowledged the order, then vanished as phantom-like as she had appeared.

The surrounding attendants, however, keenly picked up on the anger in her tone.

They immediately dropped to their knees in unison, kowtowing and begging for mercy. “Princess, quell your anger! Princess, quell your anger…”

This woman was none other than Gongsun Jinghong, daughter of the Great Yan Dynasty’s Sixth Prince, who had been granted the title Princess Zhuque.

In truth, while members of the Royal Family enjoyed uniquely favorable conditions for practicing the Martial Dao, not every one of them was a genius.

Members of the Royal Family who lacked Talent or had no desire to pursue the pinnacle of the Martial Dao were a dime a dozen.

But Gongsun Jinghong was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding descendants of the Great Yan Royal Family.

However, her standards were quite high. At twenty-eight, she was still unmarried.

In reality, her conditions weren’t complex—there were just three.

Of her generation, a Martial Dao genius, and a handsome man.

Individually, none of the conditions were hard to meet, but finding someone who met all three at once was ridiculously difficult.

Now, at long last, a suitable candidate who met all three criteria had appeared: Yuwen Zheng, who had practically secured the title of Martial Champion Scholar.

Although Yuwen Zheng was only at the Fifth Grade for now, with his Talent, his future promotion to a High Grade was a sure thing.

After all, let alone becoming a Martial Champion Scholar, even just qualifying as a Martial Scholar required one’s potential to be a key evaluation criterion.

Therefore, when her father, the Prince, took the initiative to arrange this marriage for her, Gongsun Jinghong—already a High Grade Martial Artist—did not object.

In her eyes, this Yuwen Zheng was… barely adequate.

Thus, several months ago, with their fathers making the arrangements, the two were betrothed from afar.

They were only waiting for Yuwen Zheng to achieve the rank of Martial Champion Scholar, after which their wedding would be held.

As the prospective husband of a princess, one of the rewards Yuwen Zheng received after his engagement to Princess Zhuque was that very mark on his left arm.

Although the mark was primarily arranged for Yuwen Zheng by her father, the Sixth Prince, it also contained a wisp of Gongsun Jinghong’s own True Qi.

Therefore, when the mark was triggered, Gongsun Jinghong sensed it immediately.

While she was annoyed that someone had dared to make a move against the Yuwen Family’s prospective Martial Champion Scholar—her future husband—Gongsun Jinghong’s prevailing emotion was actually one of intense curiosity.

’Who in the world has such guts, daring to offend both the Yuwen Family and the Royal Family at the same time!?’

’And another thing… Yuwen Zheng, the prospective Martial Champion Scholar, my own fiancé… and *this* is all he’s got!?’

Gongsun Jinghong, who already had exceedingly high standards for her future husband, was actually more annoyed by Yuwen Zheng’s pathetic display.

’After all, if word of this got out, I’d lose all face.’

In any case, the triggering of the mark meant Yuwen Zheng was likely either already done for or on his way there.

By comparison, Gongsun Jinghong would rather have it revealed that Yuwen Zheng frequented brothels than have her fiancé be so utterly useless in a fight.

Meanwhile, Zou Feng was checking the List of Gods.

He figured that since he had caused such a huge incident and even triggered the mark on Yuwen Zheng…

…the member of the Great Yan Dynasty’s Royal Family who placed the mark would surely develop immediate killing intent toward him, and thus appear on the List of Gods.

But after checking, he saw that while a few new, unfamiliar names had indeed appeared on the List of Gods, none bore the surname “Gongsun.”

’What’s going on?’

’Could it be that the member of the Royal Family doesn’t yet know it was me, the General Leader of the Hongxing Gang, who destroyed the mark?’

’Without a clear target, they haven’t made it onto the list.’

’Or could it be that the person who placed the mark never really cared about Yuwen Zheng in the first place, and won’t bother with revenge just because the guy ran into trouble?’

Since he still had to get back on the road, Zou Feng couldn’t be bothered to overthink it for now. He walked back to Yuwen Zheng.

The commotion had jolted Yuwen Zheng awake again.

And the look in his eyes now was one of genuine despair.

Before, with the mark as his ace in the hole, Yuwen Zheng had known that it wouldn’t be long before powerful experts arrived to rescue him.

And if Zou Feng suddenly changed his mind and tried to kill him, the mark could have delivered a fatal, unexpected blow.

But this Poison Cultivator, using some unknown means, had not only found the mark but had also prematurely triggered the killing move hidden within it.

Now, he truly had nothing left to rely on…

The more Yuwen Zheng thought about it, the more wronged he felt. He soon looked like he was about to burst into tears.

He had been on the verge of becoming the Martial Champion Scholar, marrying Princess Zhuque, and reaching the pinnacle of his life.

And now, all of that was going to vanish into thin air, just because his brother had provoked some gang leader from a small county?!

Watching the tears well up in Yuwen Zheng’s eyes, Zou Feng felt not a shred of pity.

’If I’d fallen into the hands of this father and son, my fate would have been far worse.’

’Besides, when Yuwen Boxi captured the Hongxing Gang members, who were our brothers who died resisting supposed to cry to?’

Grabbing him as one would a baby chick, the rested Zou Feng set off again toward Yuan Guang County.

Along the way, Zou Feng had expected to be caught by that Fourth Grade Expert from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect. He’d thought a bitter fight would be unavoidable.

After all, he had spent a good deal of time recovering with the Nine Yang Primordial Energy Pill and searching for the mark, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if he were overtaken.

In the end, however, the Fourth Grade Expert from the Sword Sect never caught up, which left Zou Feng somewhat puzzled.

’Could it be that guy chickened out and never intended to pursue me with his full strength?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep