Chapter 613: Great Grandmaster

Zu'an was beside himself. Under such public scrutiny, how could he possibly let these people kill the Crown Prince? If he did, the Emperor would surely flay him alive later.

So he had no choice but to step forward and stop Qiu Honglei and her companions. At the same time, he secretly sent a message using his elemental energy: "Honglei, you must leave now. Zhu Xiechixin is back, and you have no chance."

"It's not too late to kill the Crown Prince and this woman before we leave. Then you can come with us," Qiu Honglei replied, her face expressionless, seeing that he was still protecting the Crown Princess.

Qiu Honglei's fury visibly mounted.

Zu'an understood her anger. If he hadn't unexpectedly intervened and disrupted their plans, their assassination attempt would very likely have succeeded. So, their frustration was understandable.

However, from his perspective, he couldn't simply stand by and do nothing. This was the inherent difficulty of being on opposing sides; it was impossible to please everyone.

Meanwhile, more Embroidered Uniform Guards and imperial guards arrived, and the situation gradually began to shift against the Demonic Cult.

Zu'an grew anxious: "Honglei, if you don't leave now, it will be too late."

Initially, he worried they might harm the Crown Prince and Princess; now his concern shifted to Qiu Honglei.

Qiu Honglei bit her lip, evidently wavering.

Just then, the long-haired woman's cool, clear voice came from nearby: "A gentleman is respectful and temperate, gaining the benefit of humility from the Heavenly Dao."

Upon hearing this, the assassins below all paused, then launched an even more furious assault.

"Everyone, be vigilant and protect the Crown Prince and Crown Princess!" Other imperial guards immediately focused all their efforts on defense.

Zu'an, however, found this strange. The Demonic Cult had clearly lost its advantage, so why were they still attacking with such ferocity? Did the cult members truly not care about their subordinates' lives? But her own disciple was among them.

He quickly urged Qiu Honglei: "Since your master doesn't care about your life or death, why are you sacrificing yourself for her? Quickly find a way to leave; I'll cover your retreat."

Hearing the concern in his voice, Qiu Honglei felt a warmth in her heart, and her expression softened considerably. "You've misunderstood," she explained, "This is the pre-arranged retreat signal for the operation. Everyone is now looking for an opportunity to withdraw."

Zu'an finally understood. If they had openly declared a retreat, the imperial guards would have been greatly emboldened and, in their spirited pursuit, the assassins might not have been able to escape at all.

By feigning a desperate, last-stand fight, they confused the imperial guards about their true intentions. The guards became hesitant to adopt aggressive tactics, prioritizing the safety of the various nobles, which, in turn, created an opportunity for the assassins to escape.

As expected, the black-clad assassins soon found opportunities to withdraw one after another. A group led by Qiu Honglei remained behind, systematically covering their retreat, clearly demonstrating their rigorous prior training.

Seeing this, Zhu Xiechixin roared in fury: "You want to leave? All of you, stay!"

He directly waved his hand in their direction, and a colossal fiery palm descended from the sky. Under its immense pressure, those below were utterly powerless to resist, as if they were about to be instantly crushed to ashes.

Yet, the black-clad assassins showed no panic, continuing their orderly withdrawal.

Just then, the long-haired woman's voice rang out: "Your opponent is me!"

A streak of cold light shot from the Eastern Palace wall. With his keen eyes, Zu'an recognized it as the flying sword that had nearly claimed his life moments ago.

The sword now pulsed with swirling light. Already shorter than a typical blade, it seemed even more minuscule before the colossal fiery palm.

Yet, this tiny sword directly pierced the massive fiery palm, creating a hole that rapidly expanded. Finally, as if a fundamental rule had been broken, the fiery palm completely dissipated.

Zhu Xiechixin was dumbfounded.

Zu'an, however, felt a sense of relief. He had just been pursued relentlessly by that sword, feeling completely trapped, and had thought himself a mere novice. He never expected Zhu Xiechixin to fare similarly.

Zhu Xiechixin frowned, his gaze fixed on the long-haired woman. "Are you truly just a Grandmaster?"

The long-haired woman replied calmly, "If you want to know, then fight. You're being so indecisive, hardly befitting the fearsome Grand Marshal of the Embroidered Uniform Guards."

Zhu Xiechixin's eyes narrowed, and a murderous intent arose. With a flick of his sleeve, a dark iron chain shot out, directly coiling around his opponent.

Zu'an's heart leaped in surprise: "Soul-Snatching Chain!"

He had previously seen Huang Huihong and her subordinates use the Soul-Snatching Rope Formation in Brightmoon City, which indeed yielded an effect greater than the sum of its parts. Furthermore, the Soul-Snatching Chain could, to some extent, obstruct the flow of cultivators' elemental energy, making it a truly remarkable and unorthodox weapon.

It now seemed that the Soul-Snatching Chain became the standard weapon for most Embroidered Uniform Guards precisely because of Zhu Xiechixin. He had developed a version suitable for lower-level cultivators based on his own weapon, truly living up to his reputation as a master of his generation.

However, he immediately noticed that the Soul-Snatching Chain in Zhu Xiechixin's hand was different from the ones he had seen previously. Its tip bore a dark scythe, only the blade edge of which was white, and the entire weapon radiated an aura of death.

It was truly a chain meant to claim souls!

Zhu Xiechixin's face was grim. He hadn't wielded his personal weapon in many years, but this long-haired woman was too bizarre. He dared not show the slightest carelessness; if these assassins escaped, he knew he couldn't bear the responsibility.

Seeing the Soul-Snatching Chain approach, the long-haired woman evidently had no desire to directly counter it. With a light step, she retreated several yards.

Zhu Xiechixin flicked his wrist, and the Soul-Snatching Chain instantly extended several yards, just barely encircling the long-haired woman's waist.

A slight smirk touched his lips. This woman was still too careless, having not anticipated his Soul-Snatching Chain's unpredictable extension. "Hmph," he thought, "once ensnared by the Soul-Snatching Chain, your elemental energy will be suppressed, and you won't be able to escape in the slightest."

Simultaneously, the massive, grotesque, and chilling scythe swept towards her waist. The stark contrast between the long-haired woman's slender waist and the enormous scythe created a powerful visual impact.

Zhu Xiechixin licked his lips, a glint of madness in his eyes. He no longer cared about taking her alive. Killing such a top-tier expert would greatly benefit his cultivation. He could vividly imagine it: once this woman was bisected by his scythe, her beautiful, cascading hair splattered with blood, it would form the most tragically beautiful tableau. At that very moment, his Grandmaster realm would be completely solidified.

Zu'an's heart skipped a beat. Though he had nearly been killed by her sword just moments ago, he still couldn't bear to see the long-haired woman on the verge of death. He hoped she would manage to escape.

At this moment, a little white figure appeared in his mind, saying, "She's Honglei's master. If she dies here, Honglei will be heartbroken."

Quickly, another little red figure appeared, scoffing with a cold laugh, "Save it. You just think she's beautiful; you're lusting after her body, you pervert!"

The little white figure weakly retorted, "Nonsense, her face is covered. How can I tell if she's beautiful or not?"

The little red figure retorted mockingly, "With that figure, that aura, and those beautiful eyes, do you really need to see her face to know she's beautiful?"

The little white figure fell silent.

As Zu'an's mind staged this internal drama, the scene before him was already shifting. Zhu Xiechixin's expression changed as he realized something was amiss.

By then, the long-haired woman had been cut in two by the spinning scythe. However, the expected deluge of blood did not materialize. The woman's form gradually vanished, replaced by a broken pillar bound by the Soul-Snatching Chain.

"The Art of Substitution?" Zhu Xiechixin exclaimed in surprise, quickly dodging to the side.

Simultaneously, a graceful figure with flowing long hair appeared behind him, thrusting a sword.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiechixin dodged swiftly, but even so, a long bloody gash appeared on his ribs.

He narrowed his eyes, not even glancing at his wound, but fixing his gaze intently on the long-haired woman. "You're not a Grandmaster; you're a Great Grandmaster! Who exactly are you?"

***

I'd like to preface this by explaining why so many assassins were able to infiltrate the imperial palace and why the Emperor has not yet intervened. There have been numerous hints throughout the chapters, and the upcoming plot will reveal these details one by one. This situation is the culmination of various factions' schemes.

I'm addressing this now because I recently made the mistake of looking up this book on some external platforms and found numerous critical comments, cursing it in varied and unimaginably harsh ways. I won't dwell on past criticisms, but regarding the recent plotline with assassins in the imperial palace, I saw some readers give it one star and furiously denounce it as "toxic and idiotic," questioning how so many assassins could possibly infiltrate the palace. They then vehemently advised others not to read such "poisonous weeds." It would be one thing if these were comments from legitimate readers, but the critical point is that they were found on a pirated platform...

Writing has become increasingly difficult; it's impossible to lay down proper foreshadowing. Forget about seeing revelations several chapters later; many readers don't even have the patience to finish a single chapter, and the slightest dissatisfaction triggers a torrent of furious criticism.

This is also why I feel compelled to give a disclaimer every time I introduce certain plot developments. There's simply no other way; I've been intimidated by some of these reactions.

In fact, many fellow authors have advised me that the current market predominantly favors simple, straightforward plots: a villain emerges, the protagonist immediately shows off and triumphs over them, resolving the conflict within a chapter or two. Then, that villain quickly leads to a host of new antagonists, perpetuating a cycle of grandstanding, humiliating foes, and leveling up. It's easy for the author to write, and readers enjoy the quick gratification.

However, as a reader, I personally never particularly enjoyed such narratives. Of course, I'm not suggesting they are inherently bad; as an author, I deeply understand that making this genre truly exceptional is incredibly challenging, and I doubt I could achieve that myself.

My primary intention is to write the kind of books I enjoyed reading back when I was a reader myself.

Every reader has unique tastes. To those who enjoy this book, I extend my heartfelt gratitude. To those who do not appreciate this writing style, I apologize for wasting your time and perhaps displeasing you. Simply click the 'x' in the upper right corner; there are many other excellent works available for you to read.