Meanwhile, along the post road outside the Imperial City, two figures galloped out, one after the other.
Inside the main hall of the Pang family, Pang Jinbiao was furious, shattering the long table before him with a single slap.
Having lost two core geniuses in succession, there was no way the Pang family would swallow this blood debt.
“Notify the Seventh Elder and have him personally lead men out of the city to intercept her! The moment that little wench steps out of the Imperial City's boundaries, kill her immediately and bring her head back to make an offering to my son!”
The Seventh Elder of the Pang family was a peak Seventh Realm martial Grandmaster. Upon receiving the order, he did not delay for a moment, immediately leading his men out of the city using movement techniques.
But just as the Seventh Elder and his men rushed out of the dense forest surrounding the outer walls of the Imperial City, a royal guard clad in golden armor stood quietly in the middle of the road ahead, which they had to pass.
The guard's hands rested on the longsword at his waist, and a faint flowing light circulated around his body. The aura he radiated was not the blood qi of a mortal martial artist at all, but rather the spiritual pressure belonging to a cultivator.
The Seventh Elder came to a grinding halt, his expression shifting slightly as he asked in a deep voice, “You are an Inner Palace Imperial Guard. What is the meaning of blocking our path here?”
The golden-armored guard lifted his eyelids and gave him a cool glance. “Elder Pang, are you not already clear in your heart about the meaning?”
The Seventh Elder's brow furrowed tightly as he prodded, “Is the Fourth Prince determined to protect that woman? Could it be that the unconditional request she made after winning the championship was for the imperial family's protection? But she clearly chose to go to the Cangyun ruins!”
The golden-armored guard shook his head. “That is not the case. Su Yueli did not request the imperial family's protection, but she is, after all, the champion openly chosen in this tournament.”
The meaning behind his words was already very clear. If the champion met with an accident right at the foot of the Imperial City immediately after leaving it, wouldn't that be a public slap to the imperial family's face, leaving the world's rogue cultivators cold-hearted?
The Seventh Elder suppressed his anger and asked through gritted teeth, “Then what do you want?”
The guard held up three fingers. “His Highness the Prince has ordered that within three days, no one is allowed to lay a hand on her within a hundred-mile radius of the Imperial City. After three days, her life or death will be up to fate, and the imperial family will absolutely not interfere.”
“Three days?”
The Seventh Elder laughed in sheer anger. “With that little wench's speed, three days is more than enough for her to use the key and enter the Cangyun ruins! Once the formation seals it off, we won't be able to get in at all!”
The guard patted the hilt of the sword at his waist, his expression cold. “That is none of my concern. In any case, the order I received was to hold this position for three days. If Elder Pang wants to force his way through, you are welcome to test whether the laws of Great Li and this immortal master's flying sword are sharp enough.”
Facing an Inner Palace Imperial Guard of the cultivator class, even though the Seventh Elder possessed a Seventh Realm martial cultivation, he did not dare to act presumptuously at this moment.
Martial artists and cultivators were simply not on the same level.
If they offended the prince, the Pang family's good days in the Imperial City would come to an end.
“Fine, very well! Let's go!”
The Seventh Elder bit his teeth in secret resentment, but there was nothing he could do. He could only suppress his bellyful of rage, turn around with his men, and rush back to the Pang residence to report.
Su Yueli knew absolutely nothing of the storm brewing behind her.
She did not rest along the way, pushing her Fifth Realm Martial Opening blood qi to its absolute limit. Her footwork was swift as the wind, making her look like a green afterimage as she galloped across the official roads and the wilderness.
Taking only a day and a night, she arrived at the location marked on the parchment map.
This was a primitive, deep mountain range hundreds of miles away from the Imperial City.
All around, ancient trees towered into the sky, jagged rocks stood in disarray, and a thick white mist swirled through the valleys. An ordinary person entering would lose their way in the blink of an eye.
Following the mist to the end of the valley, an ancient stone gate loomed impressively between the steep cliffs.
The stone gate was carved with dense, ancient runes, exuding an aura of a thousand years of wear and tear.
Su Yueli stepped forward, pulled out the bronze key from her robe, and inserted it into the hole in the center of the stone gate.
With a click, accompanied by the sound of interlocking mechanisms, the runes on the stone gate glowed with a faint light.
Immediately after, the massive stone slowly slid open to both sides, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Su Yueli slipped inside sideways.
The moment she entered, the massive stone gate behind her rumbled and shut tight once more.
The aura of the surrounding formation circulated, completely isolating the space inside from the outside world.
Su Yueli took in her surroundings.
This was a ruins that had been forcibly leveled. Looking as far as the eye could see, she could spot countless broken walls, collapsed palace complexes, and fractured, massive stone pillars.
Every single one of them spoke of the tragic and brutal scene from a thousand years ago, when the Cangyun Ancient Kingdom was destroyed by the iron cavalry of Great Li.
Fortunately, the worldly energy here was indeed very dense, and the stray blood qi drifting in the air was also suitable for a martial artist to absorb.
Su Yueli took a turn around the outer perimeter of the ruins and found it extremely quiet, encountering no living creatures whatsoever.
Only then did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief. The prince of Great Li had previously mentioned that there were some low-level demon beasts in the deeper parts of the ruins.
Su Yueli had a clear understanding of her own combat strength.
She was currently nothing more than a Fifth Realm martial artist of mortal flesh, yet even a low-level, First Realm demon beast had combat strength equivalent to a First Realm cultivator who had entered the Dao.
There was an essential chasm between martial artists and cultivators.
If she were unfortunate enough to run into a First Realm demon beast now, with her current methods, she would probably find it extremely difficult to win even if she exerted every ounce of her strength.
The outer perimeter held no danger, which was perfect for her current stage.
Su Yueli found a flat gravel plaza on the edge of the ruins. The view all around was open and wide, making it highly suitable for practicing martial arts.
Putting down her pack, she took out the Earth-grade high-rank Shadow Fist Blades and slipped them onto both hands.
In the days that followed, Su Yueli's life became monotonous and regular.
During the day, she would stay on the plaza, practicing her punches like a madwoman.
At first, the weapon clashed slightly with the force of her own cultivation technique. When she blasted out her short-range force, the fist blades would often vibrate violently, causing her power to disperse.
But with tens of thousands of punches, adjusting her breathing, and figuring out the mechanics of exerting force, Su Yueli gradually adapted to this divine weapon.
Now, with a single punch, a dazzling, dark light would flicker at the tips of the fist blades, accompanied by a faint, sharp sound of breaking through the air. Its lethality was several times greater than when she used her bare fists.
When night fell, Su Yueli did not act blindly arrogant.
She merely restrained her blood qi and carefully wandered around the architectural debris on the outer perimeter of the ruins.
Several days passed in a row, and aside from finding some weathered, broken weapons of ordinary iron, she did not discover any of the so-called opportunities of the ancient kingdom.
As for the deeper parts of the ruins—the inner perimeter that exuded a faint demonic aura—she did not even spare it a glance.
She was still too weak right now; going in would be tantamount to seeking death.
Standing on a ruined beacon tower, Su Yueli looked at the empty palace ruins in the distance and shook her head.
“It seems I was overthinking. This place has been sealed off by the Great Li imperial family for over a thousand years. If there really were any heaven-defying treasures or powerful cultivation technique opportunities, those people from the imperial family would have probably swept it clean until not even the dregs remained. How could anything be left for now?”
Su Yueli laughed self-deprecatingly, though she did not feel too disappointed.
Seeking the immortal path and pursuing longevity was never something one could pin their hopes on illusory luck.
Only one's own body and strength were the most real capital.
Putting aside her stray thoughts, Su Yueli returned to the gravel plaza and fell into her stance once more. Accompanied by the sound of her breathing, she continued to monotonously swing her fists in this silent, ruined kingdom.
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