Chapter 751: Runes Master

"Get lost!" Yu Ruqing was clearly in a foul mood, given Zu An's uncertain fate. Seeing the burly man charge at her with a menacing look, she directly raised her hand and drew a talisman in the air.

The obscure and profound runes glowed with a purple light, and a transparent film seemed to appear out of thin air around them.

A flicker of contempt appeared in the short, muscular man's eyes. He thought that even heavy shields arranged in a military formation couldn't withstand his full-force blow, let alone something that looked like it could be poked through easily.

He swung his hammer again, but just in case the talisman had some hidden power, he added an extra third of his strength.

In his decades of combat, there was nothing that couldn't be shattered by his hammer; if there was, another blow would surely do it.

But the expected loud crash and shattering sound never came. He felt as if all his strength had been absorbed by a ball of cotton.

His eyes nearly popped out as he watched his hammer indent the film to its absolute limit, yet the film stubbornly refused to break.

He exerted all his might, and the film continued to yield inward, almost touching the woman and Zu An inside, but then it stopped, unable to advance even an inch further.

"Watch out!" a companion's startled cry came from nearby.

The short, muscular man also sensed something was wrong and instinctively tried to retreat. But the moment he withdrew his strength, the film, which had felt like cotton, suddenly transformed.

Like a spring compressed to its absolute limit, it violently recoiled the moment it found an opportunity.

He felt an overwhelming force surge towards him instantly. Having just expended almost all his energy, he had no way to resist. With a thud, he vomited blood profusely and collapsed to the ground like a broken sandbag.

He struggled to get up, but after a long struggle, he couldn't. Instead, his body convulsed, and he continuously spat out bloody foam, even mixed with fragments of internal organs.

Zu An "watched" in utter astonishment, wondering what kind of technique this was; it felt both beautiful and incredibly powerful.

At that moment, the men wielding the gold-and-silver rings and the red-tasseled spear rushed to their companion's side. The spear-wielding man crouched down and quickly assessed his condition:

"At least sixty percent of his bones are shattered!"

"His internal organs are also damaged."

"Even if he survives, he probably won't recover to his prime."

The man with the gold-and-silver rings narrowed his eyes, glaring at Yu Ruqing. "You little wretch, what a vicious move!"

Yu Ruqing scoffed. "Your companion brought this upon himself. This talisman's power is deflection. The force of the counterattack he received depended entirely on how much strength he put into his strike. If he hadn't attacked so mercilessly, he wouldn't have injured himself this badly."

Zu An secretly marveled. He hadn't expected it to be a skill akin to "using one's own methods against them." Why were all his confidantes so outstanding?

"A Runemaster?" the other man, holding the red-tasseled spear, frowned.

The atmosphere among the group immediately grew solemn. There were many cultivators in this world, but Runemasters were exceedingly rare. In the military, weapons, armor, and formations all required Runemasters to inscribe arrays on them. The imperial palace and the mansions of royalty and nobles were protected by defensive arrays set up by Runemasters, with higher-level arrays signifying greater status for their owners.

Low-level Runemasters were one thing, but high-level Runemasters, unlike other cultivators, could not be mass-produced. They were primarily concentrated at the National Royal Academy, treated like treasures, and officially recognized as strategic national resources. Consequently, these individuals often carried themselves with extreme arrogance, sometimes even disregarding the imperial court's authority.

The woman before them had just easily conjured a talisman that heavily injured a seventh-rank master, clearly indicating she was a high-level Runemaster.

But weren't all the Runemasters at the National Academy old men? Was there even one woman so young and in her prime among them?

The man with the gold-and-silver rings also changed his previous demeanor, speaking in a softer tone. "Master, we have no prior grievances. Why don't we let this matter rest? We won't pursue your injuring our companion, and you..."

Mid-sentence, he suddenly raised his hand, and the two gold-and-silver rings in his grasp swiftly launched themselves at Yu Ruqing.

He had clearly only held two rings before, but in that instant, they split into countless gold and silver rings, appearing almost simultaneously at Yu Ruqing's vulnerable ribs.

Zu An was so furious he nearly opened his eyes to curse aloud. This guy was utterly shameless, pretending to negotiate terms only to launch a sneak attack the moment his opponent was distracted by thought.

Fortunately, in that critical moment, Yu Ruqing tapped her toe and swiftly retreated sideways.

Yet the countless gold and silver rings relentlessly pursued her like maggots clinging to bone, overlapping to form two long, yellow and white serpents.

Numerous "smaller serpents" even branched off in advance, waiting at various points where she was most likely to land and leverage herself, collectively forming an inescapable net that spread towards her.

But to their surprise, Yu Ruqing didn't land at all. Instead, she lightly tapped her toes in mid-air, causing shimmering runes to appear beneath her feet as she walked through the air. Her posture was graceful, like a goddess of the Luo River stepping lightly on the waves.

Seeing that his surprise attack had failed, the man with the gold-and-silver rings flicked his wrist. Countless illusionary rings from outside flew back to his wrist, finally reforming into two bracelets.

The man with the red-tasseled spear was both shocked and enraged. "Are you mad? Offending a Runemaster?"

The gold-and-silver rings man's face darkened. "Do we have any other choice now? If we don't kill her to silence her, none of us will survive."

The red-tasseled spear man sighed. "So be it. Success or death. Let's attack together!"

The moment he finished speaking, a glint of cold light appeared first, followed by his spear striking out like a dragon!

Even as an enemy, Zu An had to admire him. When not in action, the man seemed like a quiet, handsome individual, but the moment his spear moved, he exuded a fierce, unstoppable momentum, truly embodying the spirit of "charge forward with no retreat! Fight to the death, or perish!"

His spear technique had clearly been honed on battlefields, forged through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Zu An's heart sank. The siege crossbows, the *Pudao* blade formation, the short man's melon-head hammer, and now this man's spear technique – there were too many military shadows.

Could it really be the Qin family targeting him? If so, how would Chu Yan and You Zhao, caught in the middle, cope?

However, he couldn't dwell on those thoughts, as the man with the gold-and-silver rings also made his move. The rings attacked Yu Ruqing's vital points from various unexpected angles, while the death sworn warriors deployed their *Pudao* blade formation, pressuring her and limiting her dodging space.

Yu Ruqing's expression grew solemn. Her slender fingers rapidly formed seals and wrote in the air before her, and soon, shimmering runes appeared, floating in the air all around.

"Be careful, don't let her complete the array!" The man with the gold-and-silver rings was both alarmed and enraged, repeatedly trying to attack the runes in the air to disrupt the formation. However, the runes seemed intangible, allowing his gold-and-silver rings to pass straight through them.

Yet, the surrounding elemental energy clearly began to stir restlessly, and the air gradually turned chilling, indicating that these runes were not illusions. His opponent was gathering a truly terrifying attack.

No wonder the world so greatly feared Runemasters; their methods of attack were simply too mysterious and profound, leaving no trace to follow.

However, he wasn't desperate. His initial panic and rage vanished, replaced by a subtle, eerie smile that slowly appeared on his face.

He looked in a certain direction and sharply commanded, "Fire!"

Almost simultaneously with his command, a massive black beam shot out from a nearby pavilion, carrying a terrifying force as it appeared directly in front of Yu Ruqing.

He had deliberately feigned panic and helplessness moments before, all to incrementally force his opponent into this specific position.

It was clear that with so many masters attacking in concert, even a high-level Runemaster would unwittingly fall into their trap.

While Runemasters possessed many techniques, their bodies were far weaker than normal cultivators. If she were struck by this siege crossbow, capable of smashing even city gates reinforced with runes, it was unlikely she could utilize any of her vast abilities.

Yu Ruqing's expression drastically changed. Most of her focus had been on setting up the surrounding array; the last rune was half-drawn, and once the array was complete, these individuals would be powerless to resist.

But to her shock, something went wrong at this critical moment!

She had already struggled to evade the masters' desperate attacks. Now, her strength was waning, and the siege crossbow was too fast; she had no time to dodge.

"My life is over!"

She instinctively glanced back at the corner, wanting to catch one last look at that man before she died...

Huh, where did he go?

"Are you looking for me?"

At that moment, a gentle voice sounded in her ear. She felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace as the terrifying siege crossbow whizzed past them.