CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 39 BATTLE ZHANG QINGFENG

With a severe tone, he spat out each word deliberately, "Li! Xin!!"

The two who attacked him, Qing Yu and Zhang Qingfeng, naturally did not recognize each other.

Although Qing Yu could be said to be the hottest topic in the worldly society at the time, the number of people who had truly seen Qing Yu’s face were few. If it weren’t for Xuan Guang, that old and tricky man, constantly having people watch Qing Yu, after Qing Yu descended the mountain, he could have roamed freely and openly.

Another person, Li Xin, had just come to Zhang Qingfeng’s mind. Li Xin, the extraordinarily talented illegitimate son of the Li Family, was the biggest topic of conversation amongst the upper class in Yang City.

Zhang Qingfeng’s eyes were filled with a menacing intent as he stared at Li Xin and barked, "You little brat! Seeking death!!"

After Qing Yu made his move, he had already taken the opportunity to put on a black mask, covering his face. Zhang Qingfeng naturally took this disgraceful assassin to be one of Li Xin’s men.

Li Xin quietly watched Zhang Qingfeng, his fists clad in fine steel gloves raised, the intent clear.

"Very well, very well," Zhang Qingfeng laughed in anger, "Today, I will cleanse the household on behalf of Brother Li and kill you, his disloyal and despicable bastard son."

Qing Yu had no interest in listening to his nonsense. Divine Transformation activated, his figure shifted, and with the Bishui Sword in hand, he thrust towards the heart as fast as lightning.

Zhang Qingfeng tried to draw his sword that was placed beside his saddle, only to realize his right hand had unbeknownst to him lost sensation.

The three black spots on the back of his hand told Zhang Qingfeng that the silver needle from earlier was poisoned.

Failing to draw his sword in time, Zhang Qingfeng made a split-second decision to block the incoming long sword with his numb right hand.

The Bishui Sword pierced through the palm; Qing Yu twisted the sword edge, enlarging the wound.

Zhang Qingfeng, unharmed in his other hand, caught the follow-up punch from Li Xin, used the force to leap back off his horse.

Pressing on several acupoints to stop the bleeding in his left hand, Zhang Qingfeng looked at the bloody hole in his right palm.

"It won’t work, I might die here. This is the only way left..."

Qing Yu swung his long sword, flicking off the dark blood, and proposed with a smile, "Patriarch Zhang, surrender. If you peacefully surrender, we assure you that Young Master Zhang’s life will not be harmed, how about it?"

Qing Yu knew well the proverb that villains often die because they talk too much, though Zhang Qingfeng was not from the Righteous Sect.

This time, however, the poison Qing Yu used was not the sedative he had used previously against Li Pingsheng. Sedatives emphasized being colorless and tasteless, utterly silent. Assassination, naturally, required a deadly poison, the more lethal the better.

Given his level and time, although Qing Yu had access to Ping Yizhi, medical texts, and the Lianhua Treasure Book, he couldn’t concoct a blood-sealing deadly poison in a brief moment, yet it was extremely fast-acting and highly toxic.

Under these circumstances, his words were intended to buy time, allowing the poison to have a more thorough effect.

However, Qing Yu did not expect, his words seemed to make up Zhang Qingfeng’s mind.

Zhang Qingfeng, with a determined look, reached into his bosom and pulled out a bottle.

"Not good, let’s go..."

Sensing trouble, Qing Yu signaled to Li Xin to take action, unable to wait for the poison to fully take effect.

"Hey, too late..." Zhang Qingfeng sneered as he looked at the two charging towards him, bit off the bottle’s cork, and swallowed the elixir inside.

His body suddenly trembled, an invisible surge of energy dispelled the rising dust around him, Zhang Qingfeng’s aura began to rapidly increase further and further, looking as if he was about to break through from the Postnatal Realm to the Innate Realm, yet it suddenly stopped.

"Damn, outwitted," Qing Yu’s heart sank. Even though he hadn’t broken through to the Innate Realm, Zhang Qingfeng’s current aura was incredibly powerful for the two of them.

Zhang Qingfeng’s inner strength surged like a torrential river, rapidly circulating through his body’s meridians; even his previously numb right hand began to regain sensation, his fingers slightly twitching.

Zhang Qingfeng sneered, "You two sneaky vermin, are you ready to die?"

His words were certain, as if Qing Yu and his companion were already trapped turtles.

In fact, at this moment, Zhang Qingfeng was also secretly bleeding inside.

Advancing from the Postnatal Realm to the Innate Realm required opening the Heaven and Earth Two Bridges and drawing in the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into one’s body. The Patriarchs of the four major families of Yang City, claimed to be at the Postnatal Ninth Layer, just one step away from the Innate. However, they knew that their position at the Ninth Layer was achieved through accumulated resources. Although it wasn’t entirely baseless, they were certainly at a disadvantage among those at the Postnatal Ninth Layer.

Opening the Heaven and Earth Two Bridges required powerful inner strength.

Li Pingsheng had agreed to side with the court and received benefits, which gave him the confidence to seclude himself and break through to the Innate.

Zhang Qingfeng, being the first to switch loyalties, also helped bridge connections and secured the support of the Li Family—how could he not reap the benefits?

The Chong Yuan Pill he had just taken was the greatest benefit. It could provide Primordial Energy to help the user open the Heaven and Earth Two Bridges.

Had it not been for his beloved son’s mishap at Chun Gui Pavilion, Zhang Qingfeng would have already secluded himself to seek a breakthrough.

Now, the Chong Yuan Pill could only help him survive this assassination attempt—forget about breaking through to the Innate. Thinking of this, Zhang Qingfeng almost wished he could devour Qing Yu and his companion alive.

Qing Yu was also quite skilled in medical arts and roughly guessed the effects of the Chong Yuan Pill. He said to Li Xin, "The elixir he took should provide Primordial Energy and increase inner strength. Let’s keep moving to outlast its effects. Once it wears off, his end will come."

The bystanders had already hidden themselves, leaving only the three of them and two corpses on the street. Zhang Qingfeng, not far away, clearly heard Qing Yu’s words.

"You guessed accurately. Too bad I won’t let you live that long. Die!"

No sooner had he spoken than Zhang Qingfeng charged like a wild rhinoceros, his robust inner strength giving him substantial confidence.

"Split up."

The two dashed off in different directions.

"Don’t think you can run..." Zhang Qingfeng made a swift decision and chased after Qing Yu.

From their exchanges, Zhang Qingfeng confirmed that Qing Yu was the leader between the two, not Li Xin as he had initially believed.

The loss of an opportunity to break through to the Innate, combined with the pain of a pierced palm, naturally led him to pursue Qing Yu, the orchestrator of it all.

"Damn, he’s like a mad dog," Qing Yu cursed under his breath.

The strong inner strength translated into powerful momentum, significantly speeding up Zhang Qingfeng’s movements.

But Qing Yu was no easy target, proficient as he was in the Exorcism Swordsmanship, which emphasized unmatched speed, in both sword and movement. Especially skilled in Divine Transformation, Qing Yu excelled at short-distance positional shifts.

Zhang Qingfeng felt Qing Yu to be as slippery as an eel, eluding capture just as he seemed within reach, with constant shifts in position.

Periodically, Qing Yu would unexpectedly strike with his sword, aiming at extremely vulnerable spots—either the eyes or just below the abdomen, causing Zhang Qingfeng extreme anxiety.

Zhang Qingfeng had a much greater chance of catching Li Xin, since Li Xin did not have Qing Yu’s speed. But pursuing Qing Yu was a miscalculation.

He had even considered changing his target to Li Xin.

Every time Zhang Qingfeng turned to pursue Li Xin, Qing Yu would land behind him, his sword moves cruel and deadly, each strike aiming to kill.

Under such harassment, catching Li Xin was impossible.

As time passed, Zhang Qingfeng’s confidence turned to irritation and unease.