“Stop them. Since you’ve decided to come, don’t even think of leaving.” Zhou Yuan’s eyes flashed coldly when he saw them flee.
Wei Canglan and the Black Venom King nodded in acknowledgement before immediately giving chase.
In the air, Zhou Qing coldly looked over, his gaze locking onto Qi Yuan as his grip around the spear slowly tightened.
He indifferently said, “I allowed you do as you please in the Great Zhou Empire for the past few years. Allow me to personally correct all of these mistakes today.”
Vigorous scarlet-red Genesis Qi surged around him as the faint sound of rumbling thunder echoed, giving off an imposing pressure.
Swoosh!
Zhou Qing took a step forward, his figure transforming into a streak of scarlet that headed straight for Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan’s expression immediately turned to terror when he sensed this. Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed his Genesis Qi to the limit and frantically fled.
However, the current Zhou Qing was much stronger than before, far surpassing a three layer Alpha-Origin like Qi Yuan. Thus, it only took several breaths for Zhou Qing’s figure to appear right behind the latter.
Zhou Qing was expressionless, the long spear in his hand akin to a dragon of fire and lightning, rippling the surrounding space as it dove towards Qi Yuan.
The ferocity of the attack caused Qi Yuan to be filled with horror. Metallic runes of light exploded from the sword in his hand as he frantically poured Genesis Qi into it.
Swish!
Qi Yuan thrust his sword. All of his Genesis Qi had been poured into this very strike and it could be said to be deadly without equal.
Clang!
However, it was as if lightning exploded the moment the spear tip touched the sword as a surge of astonishing power cackled.
Bang!
Space violently warped and rippled. Qi Yuan let out a miserable cry as the Black tier Genesis sword in his hand disintegrated.
Terrified, he hastily shouted, “I surrender your majesty, I surrender!”
Unfortunately, the only response was a decisive fatal thrust from Zhou Qing’s spear. With a squwelch, it pierced Qi Yuan’s heart. Violent blazing Flame-Thunder Qi crazily poured into Qi Yuan’s body, scorching away everything inside in a short few breaths.
The terror on Qi Yuan’s face turned rigid at this moment. He grasped the spear that had penetrated his chest, his eyes staring at Zhou Qing as he mumbled, “Zhou Qing… king Wu will not let you off!”
Zhou Qing was expressionless. With a jerk of the spear, Qi Yuan’s body fell from the sky, his life fully extinguished.
“King Qi has been executed. Kill everyone who does not surrender!” Zhou Qing’s icy voice thundered across the battlefield.
The morale of the originally fleeing king Qi army hit rock bottom when they heard of king Qi’s death. Countless individuals fell to their knees and cast off their weapons and armor, making the ground look like a complete mess.
The Alpha-Origin Zhao Tianlun trio were surrounded by Zhou Yuan, Tuntun, Wei Canglan and the Black Venom King, each of the trio cutting a more sorry figure than the previous.
While Zhao Tianlun was evading, he angrily shouted, “Zhou Qing, don’t push it! If you kill us, king Wu will not let you off!”
“Even if I do not kill you lot, neither king Wu nor myself will let this matter rest!” Zhou Qing let out an icy chuckle. With a swing of the spear in his hand, he too joined the encirclement. The Alpha-Origin Zhao Tianlun trio were quickly defeated and subsequently killed after a dozen exchanges.
Three Alpha-Origin experts fell one after another, their blood spraying onto the ground below. Countless individuals in the Great Qi rebel army shuddered as they lay on the ground, not daring to make even the smallest of movements.
The imperial guard surged out from the city like a flood and swiftly took control of the battle field.
It was at this very moment that the flames of rebellion were finally smothered.
The many residents inside the city exploded into earth-shaking cheers when they saw this.
“All hail the king!”
“All hail the prince!”
Amongst cheers that filled the sky, Zhou Qing landed on the city wall, his only arm holding the Nine Flames Spear as a smile appeared on his determined face. The gloominess that had entrenched itself between his brows for far too long had completely vanished.
After this battle, the king of Great Zhou from many years ago had finally returned.
“Congratulations father. You will surely ascend to your peak again after dispelling the shadow in your heart.” The silver armor Zhou Yuan also landed and grinned at Zhou Qing.
“Yuan’er, I really have to thank you this time.” Zhou Qing sighed. If not for Zhou Yuan, victory would have been Qi Yuan’s even without the king Wu Imperial Decree.
Moreover, Zhou Qing would naturally not receive the chance to break free of the shadow in his heart.
Zhou Yuan smiled before he turned towards the corpses of Qi Yuan and the rest. “Although we managed to suppress king Qi’s rebellion, news of this will definitely spread to king Wu’s ears.”
There was a little graveness in his eyes. Though Qi Yuan and the rest had been troublesome to deal with, they were a problem that could be solved. In comparison, the Great Wu Empire was akin to a giant mountain crushing down upon the Great Zhou Empire’s heart, and was an extremely dangerous entity.
The current Great Wu Empire was enjoying a golden age of prosperity and had numerous powerful practitioners. The Great Zhou Empire was far too weak in comparison.
Zhou Qing slowly said, “The Great Wu Empire is currently occupied with other top tier empires such as the Sword Empire and has no time to worry about us for the time being. As long as I recover my strength, any petty tricks they try will not be able to affect us.”
“However… when they are finally able to find some time to deal with us, I’m afraid that they will attempt to deal a fatal blow to the Great Zhou Empire.”
Zhou Yuan nodded. Soon after, he chuckled and said, “It seems that we still have a little room to breathe…”
Crack!
Suddenly, he heard a faint crack. His eyes narrowed when looked down and saw the crack that had appeared on the silver ring on his finger.
“I used up so much power that even the Genesis artifact has been damaged.”
Zhou Yuan let out a bitter laugh. He could feel his Spirit gradually begin to weaken as a piercing pain erupted. He knew that this was the repercussions of forcibly strengthening his Spirit to use Silver Shadow.
“Father… I’ll be leaving the subsequent clean up to you.”
The silver armor on Zhou Yuan’s body began to melt, transforming back into silver liquid as his body was revealed. His complexion was frighteningly pale, while the spot between his brows had become very dim.
“Yuan’er?” Zhou Qing was alarmed by this appearance.
Zhou Yuan no longer had any strength to reply. His eyelids gradually lowered, darkness completely engulfing his vision as his body fell to the ground.
Right before he passed out, Zhou Yuan helplessly sighed in his heart.
“Still too weak…”
Chapter 111 The Old Man in Gray Robes
King Qi’s rebellion had ultimately been quelled. News of this outcome shook the entire Great Zhou Empire, making the various factions dumbstruck. No one had expected the seemingly unstoppable king Qi to met such a fate…
One must know that the royal clan had previously been unable to anything to king Qi. If not, the former would not have tolerated the latter growing so powerful.
However, the power displayed by the royal clan during the battle stunned everyone.
In their shock, the various factions began to realise that the seemingly waning royal clan was in actuality not as weak as they had expected.
As the saying went, a malnourished camel was still bigger than a horse. The once titan-like entity that was the Great Zhou royal c
lan was not to be underestimated even after experiencing so many failures and setbacks.
Thus, the factions that were originally planning on taking advantage of the situation had no choice but to retract their ready claws, afraid that someone might catch a glimpse.
Everyone knew that after purging the cancerous king Qi, the royal clan would soon regain its authority in the Great Zhou Empire. Any factions that dared to challenge them would likely end up with the same fate as king Qi.
Hence, the atmosphere in the Great Zhou Empire seemed to become substantially better for a while. No one dared to go against the king’s orders, afraid they might become the next target of the royal clan.
...
“Unconscious for an entire month…” Hundreds of flowers bloomed in a certain courtyard within the royal palace where Zhou Yuan sat on a stone chair, his face filled with lamentation.
It had been a whole month since king Qi’s rebellion was quelled. He had spent all that time in an unconscious state, not awakening till today.
This was evidently the price of forcibly strengthening his Spirit to control Silver Shadow.
“This is already pretty lucky. If you had not practiced the Primal Chaos Divine Grindstone Visualisation Method that made your Spirit much tougher than normal, I’m afraid it won’t be the case of being unconscious for a month, but forever.” A monotone voice was transmitted from behind Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan smiled awkwardly as he turned his head to see Yaoyao walking over. The young lady’s slender figure looked even more exquisite than usual when wrapped by her green clothes.
Yaoyao stared straight at Zhou Yuan and solemnly said, “I advise you to not use this method in future. Your Spirit is still too weak to control Silver Shadow. If you keep forcing yourself, your Spirit might even be irrevocably damaged, a situation that would be very unworthwhile indeed.”
Zhou Yuan could sense Yaoyao’s seriousness and knew that she was showing concern for him. He smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry, it will only be a last resort.”
After all, the previous battle had been far too important. If he had not borrowed Silver Shadow’s power, king Qi’s side would have absolutely dominated them. If that happened, the ones who ended up crumbling first would be them.
Such an outcome was unimaginable. It was likely that the royal clan would be annihilated.
Zhou Yuan would never allow that to happen. Hence, even while aware of the extreme risk, he was still duty-bound to use Silver Shadow.
After all, there were responsibilities he needed to shoulder as the prince of the Great Zhou Empire.
“It isn’t all bad news though, it seems... that I have ascended to the mid Qi Nourishing stage.” Zhou Yuan grinned. As he extended his hand, one would see dark gold Genesis Qi rising from the center of his palm. At closer inspection, strange blood-red threads were visible within the Genesis Qi.
Yaoyao offhandedly said, “Mid Qi Nourishing stage… do you feel restricted after falling to this level from being able to kill an Alpha-Origin?”
Zhou Yuan pondered for a while before shaking his head. “It was true that borrowing Silver Shadow’s power made me very powerful, but such power is ultimately not my own. So don’t worry, I will not be drunk with such external power and allow myself to stray.”
He waved about the rising dark gold Genesis Qi on his palm as he grinned. “This is the power that truly belongs to me. It may be very weak now, but I believe that the day will come when it becomes very strong.”
Yaoyao’s snow-white chin nodded as appreciation appeared on her perfectly beautiful face. She was satisfied with Zhou Yuan’s mentality. If he allowed his heart to sway, huge problems would plague his cultivation journey.
The two continued to converse for a while until Yaoyao suddenly recalled something. “Since you’ve awoken, you should go visit Su Youwei. She seems to have encountered a little trouble.”
“Youwei? What happened? Is it the repercussions of the attack she performed that day?” Zhou Yuan hastily asked in alarm. He knew that Su Youwei had borrowed an unknown power and slayed Lin Nian with a single strike from her sword. It was clear that such power did not belong to Su Youwei.
Yaoyao began to explain, “The blow she performed back then should be from the Yangming Sword in her body. She was subsequently unconscious for a few days but managed to awaken quite some time ago and there weren’t much after effects.”
Zhou Yuan breathed a sigh of relief before he proceeded to ask, confused, “Then what trouble is there?”
Yaoyao gently stroked the languid Tuntun as she said, “Go take a look.”
Zhou Yuan was somewhat bewildered but still nodded in acknowledgement. He was after all planning on paying Su Youwei a visit to thank her since she had done such a huge service to the Great Zhou Empire.
With these thoughts in mind, Zhou Yuan decided to delay no further. After bidding his goodbyes to Yaoyao, he left the royal palace, heading straight for Su Youwei’s residence.
South of the city, outside a clean courtyard.
Zhou Yuan knocked on the courtyard door and waited for a brief moment, before hearing the soft sound of quickly approaching footsteps. The door was opened and a pair of bright, pretty eyes on a face that was beautiful regardless of anger or happiness was revealed.
It was Su Youwei.
She was first stunned when she saw Zhou Yuan outside the door, before joy and surprise quickly flooded her eyes.
“Your highness, you’ve awoken?!”
Zhou Yuan smiled and nodded. He breathed a small sigh of relief upon seeing Su Youwei’s lively and energetic appearance before he said, “Big sis Yaoyao says you’ve encountered a little trouble?”
“Just tell me if there’s anything bothering you. There is no problem I cannot solve in the Great Zhou Empire.” Zhou Yuan thumped his chest and grinned.
Who could have expected that Su Youwei would frown upon hearing this as she sighed. “I’m afraid that your highness won’t be able to help...”
Zhou Yuan scratched his head, utterly bewildered. There should no longer be anyone foolish enough to offend the royal clan in the current Great Zhou Empire, right?
“Please come in first your highness.” A soft laugh escaped Su Youwei’s slightly pursed red lips as she opened the door and let Zhou Yuan in. She led the way along a little cobbled path as they entered the rear courtyard.
There were two recliners in the rear courtyard where two elderly men were leisurely lying.
One of them was Su Youwei’s grandfather, a very familiar individual to Zhou Yuan. Upon seeing him, the former gave a kindly greeting which was met by smile from Zhou Yuan. Subsequently, he cast his gaze towards the other elderly man in gray robes.
There were no Genesis Qi undulations around this old man, but a piercing pain was transmitted from Zhou Yuan’s Spirit when he saw the former. His Spirit trembled, giving Zhou Yuan a fierce warning.
It was obvious that this seemingly ordinary old man was not ordinary at all.
Shock and fear filled Zhou Yuan’s heart. When had such a terrifying powerful individual appeared in the Great Zhou Empire? According to his estimates, even Zhou Qing was nothing compared to this mysterious old man in gray.
While Zhou Yuan’s expression turned grave, the gray robed old man lazily raised his head, his murky eyes casting a glance at Zhou Yuan before turning to Su Youwei as he lethargically stretched and sighed.
“Little lass, is it because of this kid that you’re unwilling to leave with this old man?”
Chapter 112 Su Youwei’s Destiny
In the courtyard, Zhou Yuan vigilantly watched the gray robed old man before him. Though there were no Genesis Qi undulations from the latter’s body, he clearly understood that it was because the old man’s Genesis Qi had been perfectly concealed.
The gray robed old man was evidently an individual of unfathomable depths whose strength likely exceeded even the Alpha-Origin stage.
“Elder…” Zhou Yuan cupped his fists together, his expres
sion respectful as he cast a glance at Su Youwei and said, “May I ask what elder wants with Youwei?”
The gray robed old man smiled indifferently as he replied, “I plan on taking her away. A place like this will only waste her talent. She should not be squandering away her time here.”
Zhou Yuan was taken aback by the old man’s words. Complicated feelings soon rose in his heart as he looked towards Su Youwei. The dirty little girl he had pulled up in front of the clinic back then had now begun to reveal the radiance that belonged to her alone. Zhou Yuan had known from the very beginning that Su Youwei’s talent was extraordinary.
It was only a matter of time before her dazzling radiance was revealed.
Given Su Youwei’s talent, if she was born in another family and had the chance to come into contact with cultivation earlier, she would have long become a goddess that countless geniuses could only look up to.
While a prince from a tiny empire such as himself would likely be incapable of drawing even a single glance from her.
As Zhou Yuan sighed in his heart, he gave a little nod and said, “To be viewed so highly by elder is Youwei’s fortune.”
It was indeed as this gray robed elder had said. Su Youwei’s talent was akin to a precious pearl left to collect dust if she stayed in the Great Zhou Empire.
A phoenix should be perched atop a chinese parasol tree and not a dead tree.
Zhou Yuan was truly happy for Su Youwei.
The gray robed elder chuckled and said, “But she is not very willing.”
Zhou Yuan was taken aback. When he looked towards Su Youwei, she avoided his gaze, her tiny mouth pouting slightly as she said, “I did not say that I won’t.”
The gray robed elder nodded. “But she has a condition…”
He stared at Zhou Yuan before continuing, “She wants me to bring you along.”
Zhou Yuan let out a bitter laugh. How could he not guess by now that Su Youwei had also realised how unfathomably powerful the gray robed old man was. It would be a blessing for him if he could tag along too.
The gray robed elder smiled a little, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Yuan as he said, “Truthfully speaking, you are also no ordinary individual. As one that once possess the sacred dragon blessing, your talent cannot possibly be too pathetic.”
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 67
