Wu Shixiong’s face turned ashen.
Prince of Zhenxi Wu Yongyan threw his weight around in his fief in the south, but every three years, he would send his Son to the Imperial Palace to worship and pay tribute.
This year was different. The one who came was his eldest son, Wu Shixiong.
Wu Shixiong had enjoyed wealth and honor his entire lifetime and was a thoroughly spoiled Young Master.
Now that he heard someone had called him out by name and demanded his death, Wu Shixiong was so frightened that his legs went weak.
Old Eunuch Wei Jiuxian, standing behind the Empress, took two steps forward, his withered figure emerging from the shadows.
Liang Zhu could sense powerful power within Old Eunuch’s body.
Meanwhile, Long Baitian’s hand rested on the hilt of his precious sword, his face full of arrogance.
Liang Zhu glanced toward the palace gate and thought, That crazy woman, Azure Cloud Sword Saint, wouldn’t really be seeking her own death, would she?
There were two peerless masters here. If Azure Cloud Sword Saint came, it would amount to the two-on-one she had mentioned.
No matter how formidable Azure Cloud Sword Saint was, she still could not defeat two masters of the same realm.
But Liang Zhu soon discovered that he was wrong.
Azure Cloud Sword Saint Chu Xiaoxiang had not come to fight.
She had come to kill!
A figure in azure robes drifted gracefully into view.
Chu Xiaoxiang could not even be bothered to wear a mask. She came directly above imperial palace square.
That woman had come riding a flying sword!
Chu Xiaoxiang did not look fierce and evil. She appeared to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a baby face.
Presumably because she had practiced martial arts for a long time, Chu Xiaoxiang had an excellent figure. Her azure robes fluttered in the wind, accentuating her form.
Cyan battle qi coiled around Chu Xiaoxiang’s entire body, and her aura soared to the heavens.
What was more frightening was that several hundred weapons followed noisily behind Chu Xiaoxiang.
These were all weapons of the Imperial Forest Army, including long spears and straight blades. Cyan battle qi coiled around every one of them.
Liang Zhu’s scalp tingled.
He had heard that a titled sword saint could control swords from a distance, but controlling several hundred weapons at once like this was truly terrifying.
Wu Shixiong had no time to care about his dignity. Scrambling away, he hid behind Long Baitian and cried, “Uncle Long, help!”
The civil and military officials present cursed him inwardly as a fool.
By shouting like that, Wu Shixiong had obviously revealed that the Wu Family colluded with Long Baitian and had a close relationship with him.
Long Baitian snorted and walked toward the main hall entrance as battle qi began to rise throughout his body.
Long Baitian’s battle qi was earthy yellow.
This color was not the gold commonly seen in the Imperial Palace, but a dark yellow, earthy yellow.
As a Martial Saint, Long Baitian was not skilled at sword control, sword flight, or anything of the sort.
Long Baitian grabbed a long halberd from the hands of a warrior before the hall, raised his hand, and threw it toward Chu Xiaoxiang. “Within the Imperial Palace, what place is there for you, a remnant of Western Chu, to act so arrogantly?!”
The long halberd tore through the air, producing a sound like a sonic boom.
Liang Zhu knew that when the long halberd was thrown, its speed had already exceeded the speed of sound.
No wonder the Empress endured Long Baitian’s arrogance and tyranny in silence. This old fellow was not so easy to kill!
Chu Xiaoxiang, in the air, nimbly dodged the long halberd and then pointed toward Wu Shixiong.
Several hundred weapons came crashing down toward Wu Shixiong, blotting out the sky.
Furious at being ignored, Long Baitian flew forward and blocked Wu Shixiong, his earthy yellow battle qi suddenly surging!
Several hundred weapons crashed noisily into Long Baitian.
Liang Zhu actually hoped that Long Baitian would be smashed to death by those weapons.
But reality was cruel: after several hundred weapons crashed down, they piled into a small mountain around Long Baitian, yet could not harm him in the slightest.
However, Liang Zhu keenly noticed an opportunity: weapons were piled all around Long Baitian, obstructing his vision.
Although Long Baitian was a titled martial saint, he was still human, not a god.
Long Baitian did not possess omniscient eyes, so he still could not see Azure Cloud Sword Saint diving toward him.
Chu Xiaoxiang pointed her sword at Long Baitian from afar, and powerful sword qi locked onto Long Baitian and Wu Shixiong behind him.
The Empress watched the scene before her, a strange light gleaming in her eyes as she tightly gripped the armrests of the throne.
Old Eunuch Wei Jiuxian’s triangular eyes fixed on Long Baitian’s back, revealing a hint of deadly intent.
It was likely that half the people in the main hall hoped Long Baitian would be stabbed to death by a single sword strike.
Long Baitian had experienced countless battles. At the final moment, he finally sensed that something was wrong.
With a roar, Long Baitian’s hands took on the metallic sheen of cast bronze, tightly grabbing Azure Cloud Sword Saint’s sword.
A cold light flared in Chu Xiaoxiang’s eyes as she thrust the long sword forward with all her strength.
The sword blade rubbed against Long Baitian’s palms, unexpectedly bursting into sparks!
After the two struggled for a moment, Long Baitian raised his hand and threw Azure Cloud Sword Saint away.
Everyone saw clearly that Long Baitian’s hands were drenched in blood. He was injured.
But Azure Cloud Sword Saint Chu Xiaoxiang did not seem to be much better off: blood stained the corner of her mouth, and her figure was not as nimble as before.
Perhaps Long Baitian had deliberately made things difficult for Liang Zhu, or perhaps he had casually thrown her without meaning to. In any case, Chu Xiaoxiang flew toward Liang Zhu.
With a face cold as water, Chu Xiaoxiang casually swung her sword, intending to drive away the palace maids and eunuchs in front of her.
Quite a few palace maids fainted on the spot in terror.
Liang Zhu’s heart was filled with anger.
Chu Xiaoxiang’s gaze was contemptuous and dismissive.
With that casual swing of her sword, more than half of the palace maids and eunuchs standing outside the hall would probably be killed or injured.
But who would care?
In the eyes of the Sword Saints, these palace maids and eunuchs probably did not even count as Ants.
Looking at the palace maids who had spent every day together behind him, Liang Zhu made an extremely reckless decision: he would block Chu Xiaoxiang!
Liang Zhu charged toward Chu Xiaoxiang, spreading both hands outward in the shape of an "eight," as if he were gripping something horizontally.
Chu Xiaoxiang felt a violent tremor through her hand. There really seemed to be some kind of weapon in the little eunuch’s hands that had blocked her.
For approximately 0.001 seconds, the Heaven Measuring Ruler had appeared in Liang Zhu’s hand.
The Heaven Measuring Ruler was summoned by Liang Zhu and blocked a sword strike from Chu Xiaoxiang!
However, Liang Zhu had still underestimated the power of a titled sword saint.
Although it had only been a casual sword strike, Liang Zhu was sent flying on the spot.
Fortunately, because Liang Zhu had blocked that strike, the palace maids remained unharmed.
Sent flying by a single sword strike, Liang Zhu danced with joy in the air—he did not know sword flight, after all.
Immediately afterward, Liang Zhu saw Chu Xiaoxiang’s slightly curious eyes.
This titled sword saint grabbed Liang Zhu by the neck and, riding her flying sword, swept over the Imperial Palace’s city wall before disappearing from everyone’s sight…