Chapter 29: The Empress Crowns the World
Great Yan Dynasty, Northern Frontier battlefield
The battle on the battlefield had long since ground to a halt. Zhong Lishuang stood atop the city wall, her expression grave.
In the distance, within that blood-colored barrier, Her Majesty was still trapped inside.
The barbarians had long stopped attacking the city, no longer engaging in futile slaughter.
Their southward offensive had been designed to lure Zi Ruoyan into personally leading the campaign, allowing Jia Xu to trap her and complete the deal with Black Soul Hall.
Continuing the assault now would only mean throwing away their lives in vain, utterly pointless.
High in the sky...
Jia Xu gripped his bone staff with both hands, sitting cross-legged in midair. He had maintained this posture for a full three days.
For those three days, there had been no unusual activity within the Blood-Burning Spirit-Sealing Array.
That Empress Zi Ruoyan sat cross-legged with her sword resting on her knees, utterly motionless—this had gone on for three full days.
“Hm?” At that moment, Jia Xu's expression drastically changed as he looked ahead.
The Blood-Burning Spirit-Sealing Array before his eyes suddenly trembled violently.
Zi Ruoyan hadn't made a move; she remained seated cross-legged in place.
The cause of the barrier's shaking was actually the aura emanating from her, constantly battering the barrier.
Seeing everything happening inside the barrier clearly, Jia Xu paled in shock and couldn't help shouting, “This is impossible! You're so young, barely twenty years old!”
“And now, you're about to achieve Transcendence, advancing toward the Saint Entry Realm?”
“Unbelievable! An eighth-tier Transcendent Realm at twenty—you've already shaken the ancients and dazzled the moderns. You're already part of Southern Wildlands history!”
“Now, you're going to shatter your limits and become the youngest ninth-tier Saint Entry Realm expert in the world?”
“Zi Ruoyan, you truly live up to your fame as the world-renowned Empress. Your path to the Saint Realm is just around the corner!”
“Soon, the world will have one more Saint Realm powerhouse!”
Jia Xu could no longer steady his mindset. Zi Ruoyan was too young—a genius like this dealt a massive blow to an old fellow like him.
In almost an instant, his mental state nearly collapsed.
“Flee! I can't stay any longer. Once she completes her breakthrough, I'm as good as dead!”
“This Blood-Burning Spirit-Sealing Array of mine trapped her, but it also protected her. What cruel fate!”
The array he had created himself was now blocking his chance to interrupt her breakthrough.
Without hesitation, Jia Xu withdrew his bone staff and turned to flee. With his spiritual Qi erupting from his body, he shot away at incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the spot, turning into a streak of light that disappeared into the horizon.
As he left, he shouted, “Everyone, withdraw at once and return to the nation!”
The Sacred Master's words were the highest truth under heaven to the barbarians of the Barbarian Nation.
One by one, the barbarians turned and ran without a second thought.
“Hmph!” A cold snort rang out. Zi Ruoyan's eyes suddenly snapped open, her pupils filled with ice-blue color, faintly threaded with strands of golden light.
As her eyes opened, the aura within her body surged higher and higher, accompanied by constant cracking sounds.
Chains representing the Heavenly Dao Laws materialized around her with a clattering noise.
An illusory spiritual platform emerged, bound tightly by a chain.
Crack!
A shattering sound echoed as the chain on the spiritual platform snapped. The aura within Zi Ruoyan could no longer be suppressed, piercing the heavens like a mad storm.
Ice-cold sword intent shot skyward.
Bang!
Just the eruption of her frigid sword intent caused the surrounding Blood-Burning Spirit-Sealing Array barrier to shatter abruptly.
“Old thing, you run fast.” Zi Ruoyan's figure stood amid the shattered blood-red remnants, her long sword faintly shimmering with a deep blue glow.
Whoosh!
Zi Ruoyan raised her hand and slashed out with a sword strike across the vast distance.
Frigid sword Qi radiating chilling intent tore across the sky, hurtling toward the distant horizon.
The cold wave stirred up by the passing sword Qi swept over the fleeing barbarian warriors.
In an instant, a thousand li were frozen solid. Countless barbarian warriors turned into ice sculptures, then shattered to pieces under the force of the sword Qi.
In the distance, the Barbarian Sacred Master Jia Xu, who had fled ahead of time, suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back. He hurriedly turned to look.
The moment he looked back, his pupils contracted. He clearly saw a wave of chilling sword Qi speeding toward him from afar.
Jia Xu's heart jolted. He hurriedly swung his bone staff, surging blood-colored spiritual Qi erupting once more as his blood burned.
With his blood burning, it transformed into a beam of light that coalesced into a burly blood-shadow warrior, who threw a punch through the air.
Whoosh...
The sword Qi sliced through the blood shadow and continued straight toward Jia Xu.
Jia Xu frantically swung his bone staff forward, clashing with the sword Qi.
“Pfft!”
Jia Xu spat out a mouthful of blood. The bone staff in his hand froze solid and shattered to pieces.
His entire body was struck down, crashing into the mountain forest below and smashing out a crater.
Though the sun blazed brightly and the weather was warm, Jia Xu lay in the crater, breath fogging the air as he shivered uncontrollably, as if freezing cold.
“Ninth-tier Saint Entry Realm—truly terrifying.” Jia Xu circulated his remaining spiritual Qi to dispel the chill, his heart filled with shock.
Beyond the shock, his eyes were filled with desolation.
For the first time, he truly felt the vast gap between himself and a genius.
Zi Ruoyan had clearly been sealed and trapped by him, unable to leave—yet she had used the opportunity to break through, reversing the entire situation.
“The Great Yan Dynasty will only grow more lively from now on. The Barbarian Nation can't afford to provoke this vortex.” As Jia Xu regulated his spiritual Qi, he muttered to himself.
On the Northern Frontier battlefield, Zi Ruoyan didn't strike again, completely ignoring the fleeing barbarian warriors.
Right now, she had no time to waste on them.
Turning around, Zi Ruoyan flew directly to the city wall. “You handle the aftermath here. Once things are settled, lead the army back to the capital.”
“General Zhong, come with Us back first to deal with the unrest. Mobilizing troops will need you in charge.”
With that, Zi Ruoyan reached out and grabbed Zhong Lishuang, soaring into the air and speeding toward the Great Yan Dynasty's Imperial City.
She was anxious, hoping to stop the Poison Swamp Elder from wreaking havoc on Great Yan and prevent more common people from dying at his hands.
“Your Majesty, don't worry too much. Formations are in place everywhere—they'll at least delay the Poison Swamp Elder's actions somewhat.”
Zi Ruoyan, flying with Zhong Lishuang, shook her head. “The Poison Swamp Elder Xiang Yuanbai is still an eighth-tier Transcendent Realm expert, one of the Six Evils. No formation can stop him.”
“If not for the fact that We were already on the verge of breakthrough, Great Yan might have...”
Thinking of this, even Zi Ruoyan felt a lingering fear.
A fierce glint flashed in Zhong Lishuang's eyes. “Those Black Soul Hall beasts have been meddling in Great Yan's affairs more and more frequently lately.”
Zi Ruoyan took a deep breath. “All we can do now is hope Great Yan hasn't suffered too much loss.”
Two hours later
The Northern Frontier wasn't far from the Imperial City to begin with. With her recent breakthrough, Zi Ruoyan's flight carrying just Zhong Lishuang hadn't taken long.
However, upon her return, Zi Ruoyan discovered that the situation was not what she had imagined.