Chapter 095
Chapter 95: Very Powerful
The assassin with a fierce, cruel face crashed onto the deck, tumbling into the water below. The shock from his fall made four other assassins lose their balance. With a series of loud splashes, they, too, fell helplessly into the waters.
“They’re all dead.”
Li Yuan Ling drew a gentle breath, her bright eyes fixed upon Li Mu Sheng, marveling aloud, “My dear sworn elder brother, your martial dao cultivation is truly higher than a dozen stories! Clearly, it was my vision that was shallow.”
Li Mu Sheng chuckled lightly, his eyes calmly sweeping their surroundings.
Nearby, Shu Wan’er and the two other young women were locked in fierce combat against Floating Boat City’s martial masters. Yet the three maidens clearly held the advantage. In fewer than a few dozen moves, they’d already wounded many opponents and appeared to handle the fight with ease.
Han Mei Yan and her companion faced opponents equally matched on the surface, exchanging blows back and forth. Yet, beneath the facade, they too were holding back.
At that moment, Zhang He was fiercely engaged with two assassins. As he seemed to “barely hold his ground,” he strategically retreated from the boat toward the platform of the Underground Palace.
Suddenly, as though miscalculating, Zhang He took a vicious slash upon his shoulder. Instantly, his clothes shredded apart, and blood sprayed forth.
With a cry of pain, Zhang He barely managed to deliver a palm strike, driving away the assassin who had approached closely. His footing faltered, and he tumbled from the edge, plunging toward the waters below.
The two martial masters showed no mercy, eagerly leaping into the water to deliver the killing blow.
Seeing this, Zhang He swiftly sank deeper beneath the water, swimming desperately downward, his relentless pursuers close behind.
Li Mu Sheng observed all this carefully, his eyes narrowing slightly, yet he made no move to intervene.
Clang!
A sound of metal scraping suddenly echoed above the Underground Palace. A massive Black Iron Ship suspended by countless iron chains emerged like an ominous dark cloud, hovering mid-air and blocking out the flickering glow of candles below.
Instinctively, Shu Wan’er and her companions lifted their eyes. There, at the edge of the Black Iron Ship, stood Tu Yao in a dark, flowing robe, gazing down indifferently upon those below.
Immediately, Shu Wan’er and her allies’ expressions shifted dramatically. With a sudden burst of power, they drove back their opponents and leaped off the wooden boat without hesitation.
Their feet skimmed gracefully over the water’s surface as though it were solid ground. Swiftly, like shadows, they fled at high speed toward the exit of the Underground Palace.
From another wooden boat, Han Mei Yan observed this scene closely. Glancing briefly toward Li Mu Sheng and noticing all his nearby enemies lying dead, her gaze sharpened slightly.
She stared deeply at Li Mu Sheng, then swiftly pushed her opponents back and, without hesitation, followed suit in retreat.
The martial masters from Floating Boat City gave immediate chase.
In moments, a profound quiet settled over the Underground Palace. Now, only Li Mu Sheng and Li Yuan Ling remained on their boat.
Li Yuan Ling glanced nervously around before turning her gaze upward to the Black Iron Ship hovering above the palace. Realizing how dire the situation had become, she stepped swiftly beside Li Mu Sheng, gripping his sleeve and shrinking slightly behind him.
“My sworn elder brother, if you’re not planning to flee,” she whispered urgently, “then it all depends on you.”
Meanwhile, within the Underground Palace, the surrounding Qi began to churn and rumble. Pebbles and dust danced restlessly on the ground, while ripples spread continuously across the water’s surface.
A powerful aura cloaked the underground space, filling the air with an oppressive, suffocating tension.
Li Mu Sheng raised an eyebrow and peeled Li Yuan Ling’s hand from his sleeve, mildly annoyed.
“My sworn younger sister, if others saw you acting so timid, they’d think I’m weak!” He lightly patted her back, adding, “Stand up straight and hold your head high! Do you not realize who stands beside you? How could you fear a situation as small as this?”
Li Yuan Ling pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. Remembering her dignity as the princess of Great Li, she straightened her spine, standing solemnly beside Li Mu Sheng, pretending calm as she stared toward the hovering ship above.
On the Black Iron Ship, Tu Yao turned toward the gray-robed elder, Sheng Shi An, who had risen silently to his feet, surprise coloring her expression. “Elder Sheng, why do you look so serious?”
At that moment, the darksteel chains around Sheng Shi An trembled ominously. The bronze rings on his arms spun furiously, and martial Qi surged into his body from every direction, gathering like a flood. Powerful cyclones of Qi swirled around him, causing his martial dao aura to rapidly ascend.
Slowly, Sheng Shi An raised his head. His previously dull eyes now shone blood-red. His weathered face was covered in deep wrinkles that seemed to channel streams of burning crimson Qi, like molten lava flowing beneath dry earth.
“When our people were slain just now, even I couldn’t discern how he made his move,” Sheng Shi An rasped in a hoarse, chilling voice, his fierce features emanating terrifying power. Turning to the uncertain Tu Yao, he warned deeply, “Be careful. That man is very strong!”
As his words faded, Sheng Shi An suddenly raised his hand. The bronze rings upon his arms abruptly detached, glowing fiercely with an emerald light. Tearing through the air, they shot directly toward Li Mu Sheng in the Underground Palace below.
In an instant, countless bronze rings spun at dizzying speed, breaking through the air like a storm. Their aura heavy and lethal, it seemed capable of crushing all beneath them.
As the princess of Great Li, Li Yuan Ling had always been cherished and protected; she had never faced such terrifying danger before.
She could already envision herself crushed beneath those fearsome rings. An icy dread crept up her spine, prompting her to urgently cry out, “Sworn elder brother, won’t you act already?”
“It’s just a minor issue. Don’t worry,” Li Mu Sheng reassured calmly, lifting his eyes toward the looming Black Iron Ship above.
In the next breath, the very space around their wooden boat froze.
Those rings, previously spinning into blurs, abruptly halted, floating motionlessly mere inches above their heads.
Li Yuan Ling, who had already begun to close her eyes, released a heavy sigh of relief. Yet, the near brush with death left her trembling, her heart pounding nervously as she gently patted her chest.
Li Mu Sheng tilted his head toward her, smiling faintly, “My sworn younger sister, you really ought to trust your sworn elder brother’s strength. If you can’t trust even my martial dao, honestly, I wonder who else in this world you possibly could.”