Chapter 1585 - Imminent Conflict!

Dingdingding!

Countless bolts of Sword Qi resounded like musical notes as they exploded toward Wang Chong.

Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu1—as expected, the Confucian Sect has some good things!

Sitting on his horse, Wang Chong squinted his eyes, utterly unaffected by the Shao Music. With his current level of Psychic Energy, the things that could affect him were few and far between, and Shao Music was not one of them.

“It’s a good art! Alas, the user’s martial arts are lacking!”

With this indifferent comment, Wang Chong opened his eyes, opened his right hand, and reached with deceptive speed into the air.

Bang!

There was a thunderous boom, and a moment later, everyone could see that Wang Chong’s palm had firmly grasped a silver-white sword out of the empty air.

This sharp sword seemed like nothing but a wooden cudgel in Wang Chong’s hand, and it was completely frozen in the air. And Sword Ghost, who was holding the sword, was also frozen in a strange posture, his head facing down and his feet facing up like he was nailed in place.

“How is this possible?”

Sword Ghost’s eyes flashed, a look of extreme shock on his face as he stared at the young noble on horseback.

He had used the fiercest of Sword Qis, and not even steel could endure this blow. But Wang Chong had caught his sword like an eagle snatching a chick. Sword Ghost was even more shocked because he knew that this terrifying assassination art was bursting with explosive Stellar Energy.

For Wang Chong to catch the sword barehanded was an incredibly foolish action.

But only now did Sword Ghost realize that when his Shao Music Sword Qi clashed with Wang Chong, the Stellar Energy was all devoured, unable to cause even a small ripple.

It was like Wang Chong’s body was a bottomless pit.

There was nothing normal about this, and not even within the Confucian Sect had Sword Ghost encountered anything so bizarre.

There was only one explanation…

Wang Chong was far stronger than he was!

Sword Ghost’s heart sank like a stone.

For the first time, Sword Ghost began to panic as he looked at this youth. He had never had much regard for this noble of the Great Tang, so he had never once believed that he wasn’t a match for Wang Chong. Thus, he had impulsively charged over.

“Not good! Retreat!”

“Not good! Sword Ghost is in trouble!”

Elder Song and Bamboo Mirror paled. They had tried to stop Sword Ghost the moment he charged forward, but Sword Ghost moved too quickly. Even worse, Sword Ghost had a rash personality and simply had no idea who he was dealing with.

“Stop him!”

Elder Song and the others cast aside their apprehensions and began to shoot out of the crowd toward Wang Chong.

In the distance, all of Sword Ghost’s initial rage and impulse had vanished without a trace.

Retreat!

As Sword Ghost paled, this was the only thought left in his mind.

He let go of the sword and tried to shoot backward.

“Hmph, you think you can run?”

Wang Chong coldly sneered. He had even slain a Subtle realm expert like the Tiger Immortal with a single blow, and Sword Ghost wasn’t even in the Subtle realm.

Buzz!

Just as Sword Ghost was retreating, Wang Chong instantly attacked.

“King of Foreign Lands, show mercy!” A cold and aloof voice came from the direction of the palace gate, and its owner instantly began to move with lightning-fast speed toward Wang Chong and Sword Ghost.

“Young Master!”

“Young Master is here!”

Elder Song and the others were ecstatic to hear this voice, and they now charged at Wang Chong without apprehension.

“Hmph, what does it matter if you’re here!?”

Wang Chong had noticed Li Junxian the moment he had appeared, but he could not possibly allow him to save Sword Ghost.

“Ah!”

In a golden flash of light, Wang Chong thrust his palm down toward the earth.

Boundless Stellar Energy descended, swatting the retreating Sword Ghost out of the air and into the ground and causing him to scream in fear.

Boom!

At almost the same time, a milky-white bolt of Stellar Energy shot toward Wang Chong like a ray of light.

Wang Chong confidently smiled and thrust out his left palm. Golden Stellar Energy howled out and collided with the milky-white Stellar Energy.

There was yet another immense boom. Wang Chong remained as firm as a mountain upon his White-hoofed Shadow, and the distant Li Junxian also stopped, his face cold and aloof.

As for Sword Ghost, Wang Chong reached out and drew him into his hand. Sword Ghost was now his captive, with all his meridians and Stellar Energy sealed.

All the Confucian Sect members felt their hearts grow cold, and with no time to think, they rushed toward Li Junxian’s side.

“Wang Chong, release my subordinate!”

Dressed in his court robes, Li Junxian icily stared at Wang Chong.

“It’s the Secretariat Advisor!”

The spectating crowd was getting more and more restless. Countless eyes had instantly recognized one of the current powers of the Imperial Court, the Secretariat Advisor.

The militarist-Confucian conflict had taken place between Li Junxian as Secretariat Advisor and Wang Chong as Advisor-in-Waiting, and now, these two were once more clashing outside the gates of the Imperial Palace.

The atmosphere instantly became tense as the crowd focused on Wang Chong and Li Junxian, who was slowly making his way toward him.

Even the panicked Hu and foreign spy captains sensed the change in the air and turned to look.

He finally appeared!

Within the crowd of Hu, Mochi Xiangyang breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Chong was truly too domineering, so domineering that he seemed unstoppable. In all the realm, only Li Junxian could contend against him.

Wang Chong ignored everyone else, his eyes focused on Li Junxian. Unless there was a special incident, officials taking part in a court session could not leave. Li Junxian should have never appeared here in normal circumstances, but Wang Chong was unsurprised by this development.

The Confucian Sect had far greater control over the Imperial Court than one could imagine, and there was nothing strange about him getting permission to leave early.

Wang Chong glanced at Sword Ghost, whom he had seized by the neck like a chicken, and indifferently asked, “You say that this man who defies his betters is your subordinate?”

“Bastard! Just who are you calling a man who defies his betters?!”

Sword Ghost was infuriated by these words. Although Wang Chong had sealed his Stellar Energy, he had not taken away his ability to talk.

“Hmph, I’m a rank-one noble of the Great Tang! And what are you that you dare to attack me!?”

Wang Chong didn’t even glance at Sword Ghost, but his words instantly caused Sword Ghost’s expression to freeze.

Yes, although the Confucian Sect was a faction beyond the reach of the Imperial Court and had never been controlled by secular authorities, this was the capital of the Great Tang. Wang Chong was a King of the Great Tang, his status far surpassing his.

Su Shixuan suddenly stepped forward and sternly said, “Your Highness, in this subordinate’s view, this is an assassin who was sent after Your Highness. If we investigate his background, we should be able to find some clues as to who hired him.”

Bzzzz! Sword Ghost and Li Junxian both paled, while Wang Chong gave a chilling smile.

In the past, Li Junxian had once directly moved against Wang Chong’s subordinates in order to deal with him, even imprisoning some of them.

Wang Chong was simply returning the favor and letting Li Junxian understand what it felt like to have his subordinates imprisoned.

“Wang Chong, you bastard! I was the one who did this! It has nothing to do with the young master! If you have a problem, just blame me!” Sword Ghost yelled.

Wang Chong, continuing to ignore him, handed him to Su Shixuan.

“Come; take this man away!”

On the other side, Li Junxian scowled.

“King of Foreign Lands is truly a crafty man. So have you come to take revenge, then?” Li Junxian coldly asked.

“He tried to assassinate this king, or have I unjustly accused him? Secretariat Advisor, as an important official of the court, do you not even understand the laws of the Great Tang?” Wang Chong retorted.

Li Junxian’s face turned even colder. Not even Li Junxian could deny that Sword Ghost had attempted to assassinate Wang Chong.

“Secretariat Advisor, Secretariat Advisor, save me!”

A cry for help tinged with a Hu accent came from nearby. Pusan Tuoye and the other foreign royals that Wang Chong had arrested were calling out to Li Junxian for help.

They didn’t recognize Sword Ghost, but they did recognize Li Junxian, and this was the only person who could save them at this time.

“King of Foreign Lands, I’ll set aside this matter for now, but you must immediately release Pusan Tuoye and the others! Come! Untie the Princes and Princesses!”

Li Junxian was enraged to see the foreign royals tied up, and he waved his arm. Elder Song and Bamboo Mirror immediately led the Confucian Sect members in moving to untie Pusan Tuoye and the others.

“Hmph, who dares!?”

Wang Chong’s eyes chilled and he immediately flicked his finger. Boom! A dazzling bolt of white Sword Qi shot through the air and drew out a line several inches deep in the ground.

______________

1. Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, and Yu are the five notes of the Chinese musical scale.↩