Chapter 615: New Crescent Moon

Meanwhile, at the East Palace, Zhu Xiechi also attempted to intercept the assassins being escorted away, but he was unfortunately stopped by the long-haired woman.

His gaze turned cold, and the Soul-Snatching Chain in his hand moved unpredictably, appearing and disappearing like a phantom, as if it were truly a Grim Reaper's scythe from hell.

Unfortunately, every one of his attacks was blocked by that light, nimble short sword.

The short sword was not held in hand, yet it seemed to possess a spirit, flying automatically around the long-haired woman. Each time, it perfectly intercepted the cunningly angled Soul-Snatching Chain.

Zhu Xiechi frowned deeply, mentally searching for any woman in the world who used such a short sword and possessed Grandmaster cultivation. But after thinking for a long time, he couldn't recall anyone who fit this description. While a few candidates came to mind, none perfectly matched the woman before him, always differing in some aspect.

After blocking more than a dozen moves, the long-haired woman gave a faint smile and said, "I'm done playing with you."

She sensed that the others under her command had already gone far, but it seemed something unexpected had happened with her apprentice, and she needed to go and help.

But as soon as she moved, Zhu Xiechi blocked her path.

The long-haired woman frowned and said, "Why bother? You should know you can't stop me. If we truly fight and you accidentally injure your foundation, you might not recover for decades."

Zhu Xiechi's face was grim. "Your cultivation level is indeed rarely seen in my life," he said. "Unfortunately, while I might not be able to stop you, don't forget this is the Imperial Palace. Do you think His Majesty cannot stop you?"

The woman let out a soft laugh. "You don't need to bluff me," she said. "I know His Majesty is currently... unable to come here."

"Is that so?" Zhu Xiechi suddenly pulled out a bright yellow imperial edict, quickly unrolled it, and began to read: "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees..."

The woman's expression changed drastically. With her knowledge, she naturally knew this was an Embroidered Uniform Guard acting on behalf of the Emperor, but such a measure was almost never used. How could it be such a coincidence that Zhu Xiechi happened to be carrying such an edict?

She dared not delay. The short sword in her hand transformed into a streak of light and shot towards Zhu Xiechi, hoping to silence him before he finished speaking.

Unfortunately, Zhu Xiechi was also a Half-Grandmaster, so it wouldn't be so easy for her to instantly kill him.

As the flying sword reached him, a giant golden palm had already emerged from the imperial edict.

Previously, the flying sword had pierced through the fiery palm Zhu Xiechi conjured, but facing this golden palm, it hummed and vibrated with a mournful whine.

Soon, the golden palm made contact with the sword tip, then continued forward without stopping. The previously invincible flying sword instantly shattered into pieces, and the golden palm continued its advance, arriving before the long-haired woman in an instant.

Zhu Xiechi kept his eyes fixed on the long-haired woman. Logically, if a vital flying sword is destroyed, its owner should suffer severe damage, even losing the ability to resist on the spot. But why did this woman seem completely unharmed?

Could it be that this flying sword was not her vital weapon?

The long-haired woman was not unharmed; on the contrary, her heart pounded, and her expression was grave. She spread her arms and slowly rose, her long hair, reaching to her hips, swayed without wind, and then a crescent moon rose behind her.

"Huh, why is there another moon?" many people in the East Palace exclaimed, rubbing their eyes and thinking they were seeing things.

The crescent moon emitted a clear, tranquil glow. The long-haired woman, already possessing a graceful and beautiful figure, was now bathed in translucent white moonlight. Even in her dark night-suit, she looked like an immortal fairy descended from the Moon Palace.

Bathed in this beautiful moonlight, many people in the East Palace were astonished to find their companions seemed to be unable to move. No, their movements seemed to have become incredibly slow, even slower than a snail.

Zhu Xiechi was greatly alarmed. He naturally understood what was happening: a light-element practitioner, solidifying time!

Of course, this was not true time solidification, but rather the ability to make an enemy's movements extremely slow within a certain range, as if time itself had been frozen.

Light-element practitioners were already rare, and those who reached this realm were even rarer. A person suddenly popped into his mind.

No wonder she always used a flying sword as her weapon; she only resorted to the Crescent Wheel in the most critical moments. He should have guessed it was her a long time ago!

Yun Jianyue, the Demonic Sect Master!

At this moment, the golden palm also seemed to be affected by the tranquil moonlight, its speed gradually slowing down.

Unfortunately, the long-haired woman could not rejoice, because even though the palm's speed had slowed, it was still slowly pressing forward.

The palm was not too far from her, and even at a snail's pace, it wouldn't be long before it reached her.

Gritting her teeth, she waved her hands, and the bright crescent moon behind her directly slammed forward, colliding with the palm in a thunderous crash.

Then many people in the East Palace found themselves deaf. It took a long time before they could hear sounds again, but their heads were still ringing, and many people's ears were bleeding.

And the East Palace buildings, which were inscribed with protective formations, had been leveled by the aftermath of the battle.

One must know that despite so many fierce battles before, not a single tile on the East Palace buildings had been damaged, clearly demonstrating their extremely strong resilience.

But even the strongest has its limits; how could it withstand the aftermath of a battle between those above the Grandmaster realm?

Zhu Xiechi, meanwhile, spat out a mouthful of blood. He had just acted to protect the remaining people in the East Palace from being shaken to death by the battle's aftermath, and thus sustained a considerable injury himself.

At this moment, the golden palm gradually dissipated, and the long-haired woman was also gone.

Then, in the void, the Emperor's face slowly materialized. The giant phantom slowly said, "That person is gravely injured and cannot run far. Zhu Xiechi, you must capture her!"

"As you command, long live Your Majesty!" Zhu Xiechi knelt and saluted.

Everyone else in the East Palace also knelt down, each of them both excited and shocked. Everyone said the Emperor was the strongest in the world, but how many had truly witnessed him in action?

That long-haired woman was incredibly powerful and arrogant just moments ago, but unfortunately, she was still no match for a single strike from the Emperor.

The people in the East Palace couldn't help but feel a sense of honor and immense pride. Some masters even, having witnessed that scene, found that their cultivation bottlenecks, dormant for years, showed signs of loosening.

Zhu Xiechi also gained a lot, but he didn't have time to process his recent insights. While arranging for the Right Guard General and the Grand Tutor's Assistant to escort the Crown Prince to safety, he simultaneously led his subordinates to begin searching for the long-haired woman.

Although he had also been injured just now while saving others, his injuries were certainly negligible compared to those sustained by the long-haired woman. If he encountered her again, the woman would surely die.

He even suspected that after taking a full-power strike from the Emperor, the long-haired woman might not even fare well against some ordinary palace guards now.

On the other side, Qiu Honglei had just seen a massive flaming long saber slash past her side. Before she could react, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

Her heart leaped in alarm, and just as she was about to strike back, she heard a familiar voice beside her ear: "It's me."

Qiu Honglei's half-raised hand instantly stopped, and she exclaimed with mingled surprise and joy, "Ah Zu!"

This guy isn't completely heartless, is he? I thought he only cared about protecting the Crown Princess, but it turns out he didn't forget about me.

"Shhh!" Zu An gestured for her to be quiet, knowing that Cheng Xiong, the eighth-rank Left Guard General, was still pursuing them.

Just now, he had deliberately used the Flaming Saber, a technique he had never used before, to avoid revealing his identity.

Having many skills makes one so capricious!

But he needed to find time to write down the cultivation levels and combat skills he displayed for each of his different identities in a small notebook. Otherwise, if he ever mixed up his identities and used a unique skill from the wrong one, he'd be done for.

Zu An weaved through various complex narrow paths with Qiu Honglei, but he wasn't confident he could shake off Cheng Xiong. The man was the Left Guard General of the palace, more familiar with the palace's terrain than he was.

He even considered leading him to a secluded spot to see if he could finish him off, in case he truly couldn't shake him.

After all, he was only an eighth-rank. Although Zu An was one rank lower than him, he wasn't without a fighting chance, and with Qiu Honglei assisting, the chances were still quite good.

However, an eighth-rank expert would certainly have their own trump cards and methods; it would be troublesome if he accidentally got away.

Just as he was hesitating, a terrifying tremor came from the direction of the East Palace. The entire Imperial Palace, no, everyone in the capital, trembled under that immense pressure.

"Let's go!" If it were before, Zu An would probably have reacted similarly. But he had seen the Emperor act once before in Mingyue City and had recently met him in the Imperial Study, so he was already accustomed to his aura. Therefore, while Cheng Xiong behind them was awed by this overwhelming aura, he unhesitatingly pulled Qiu Honglei and completely escaped from Cheng Xiong's detection range.

"Was that the Emperor's doing just now?" Qiu Honglei's voice trembled. She had already guessed it, but still couldn't believe it.

Before Zu An could answer, the Emperor's command to Zhu Xiechi to capture the long-haired woman echoed throughout the entire Imperial Palace.

"Oh no, that's my master!" Qiu Honglei exclaimed in great alarm, hastily trying to run back. "I need to save my master!"