When he saw Zu An’s expression change, a hint of joy finally appeared on the face of King Qi’s heir. “It seems you’ve realized it as well. I didn’t want to cause this big of a scene in the capital, but you’ve forced my hand! I will let you witness the terror of an eighth-ranked cultivator!”

As the words left his mouth, he exploded towards Zu An with the force of a cannonball. At that speed, not even Chu Youzhao or Murong Qinghe could react in time.

Zu An was astonished. His opponent’s speed had increased severalfold. With no time to evade, he clenched his teeth and thrust his sword at his opponent’s vitals. When two warriors clashed, the more courageous one would often emerge the victor. He refused to believe that a rich brat like his opponent would be willing to risk their own lives.

“Peasants from the streets always gamble with their lives,” sneered King Qi’s heir. “What a pity. Before absolute strength, everything else is meaningless!”

As he spoke, he easily blocked the Tai’e Sword. At his current speed, his opponent’s self-sacrificing strike was laughable.

He swung a fist forward. White colored energy surged around it, the result of the speed of his fist breaking past the sound barrier. It was similar to a sonic boom caused by fighter jets.

Zu An reached out his own hand to block, but he was too late. His opponent’s fist smashed into his chest.

With the sharp crack of splintering bone, Zu An’s body was flung through the air like a broken sandbag and crashed heavily into the ground.

“Brother-in-law!” Chu Youzhao went pale with fright. She could see the stream of blood leaking from Zu An’s mouth as he fell from the sky.

She ran forward and stood in front of Zu An. “My Lord, please be magnanimous.”

“Big brother Chu!” shocked, Murong Qinghe ran forward as well. The strength of an eighth-ranked cultivator was truly terrifying. An idle shockwave released from their attacks could be fatal.

Even so, she still subconsciously ran over to protect Chu Youzhao.

King Qi’s heir stopped a zhang in front of the two of them and frowned. “In consideration of the Qin and Murong clans, I can pretend that the two of you said nothing earlier on. Step aside.”

Murong Qinghe quickly tugged Chu Youzhao. “Exactly! Big brother Chu, this is a battle between your brother-in-law and this young lord and heir! You can’t do anything even if you stay here. We need to step aside.”

She said this not just out of consideration for Chu Youzhao’s safety, but also because the Murong clan backed King Qi’s faction. There was no way she would risk souring this relationship by going against King Qi’s heir.

As for Zu An, even though what would happen to him was regretful, he had no one but himself to blame for being so arrogant.

To an obsessed martial artist like her, in such fights, there was only victory or defeat.

“No!” Chu Youzhao screamed. Even though she was so scared that her entire body was shaking, she still refused to budge an inch.

She didn’t know if she was doing this because of her eldest sister, or because her brother-in-law had saved her life several times. She only knew that, if she backed down, she would surely regret it for the rest of her life.

Zhao Zhi’s expression turned cold. “Young master Chu, do what you should do before you are forced to!”

The Chu clan of Brightmoon City was strong in their own right, but they had refused King Qi’s offers over and over again. King Qi’s faction was already growing increasingly impatient with them.

He wasn’t giving her a chance out of consideration for the Chu clan, but because of the Qin clan.

However, if Chu Youzhao still refused to back down, there was no way the two heads of the Qin clan could fault him for whatever happened.

The pressure of the eighth-ranked cultivator was causing Chu Youzhao to shake uncontrollably. She wished her big sister were here with her. She was still young, and her cultivation wasn’t considered high. The man in front of her could crush her with a single finger, which shook her to her core.

However, she quickly realized that it wouldn’t make a difference even if her big sister were here. Even she wasn’t a match for an eighth-ranked opponent!

Despite the depth of her fear, she still stubbornly spread out her arms and refused to move.

“Big brother Chu!” Murong Qinghe began to panic. She even wondered if she should knock him out and bring her away. Even if he blamed her afterwards, at least he would be alive!

Suddenly, a voice came from behind the two of them. “Youzhao, is that really all the confidence you have in your brother-in-law?”

Chu Youzhao trembled and turned around in disbelief. She saw Zu An standing behind her, smiling.

“Brother-in-law!” Chu Youzhao exclaimed incredulously, overcome with joy. “You’re okay?”

Zu An gave a slight nod. “Don’t worry. His punch only tickled a little. It wasn’t a big deal.”

Zhao Zhi, who was smiling arrogantly, narrowed his eyes. “How can that be?”

He was sure that his punch had shattered his opponent’s sternum. How could this guy be back on his feet? Not only that, but his aura somehow seemed denser than before.

Zu An paid him no attention. He said to Chu Youzhao, “Youzhao, stand aside. I have some things to settle with this young heir.”

He had to admit that this Chu clan little sister had seemed like a little brat, but beneath her tough outer shell, she was extremely soft inside. It seemed saving her hadn’t been in vain.

“Okay!” Seeing that he was fine, Chu Youzhao bounded off to the side.

Murong Qinghe was speechless. You didn’t move at all when I tried to convince you, but just a word from your brother-in-law, and you’re more than happy to do so?

When they vacated the battlefield, Zu An looked at the young heir. “It’s time for us to settle things.”

“Why do you look completely fine?” Zhao Zhi hadn’t panicked at all when his opponent had stabbed him earlier. Everything still seemed under control. Now, however, he was beginning to feel the first tendrils of anxiety. The unknown would forever be the greatest source of fear.

Zu An chuckled. “You have no one but yourself to blame for being so weak. Your punch only tickled.”

Zhao Zhi almost choked. His fist could bring down a city wall, yet this guy was saying it only tickled! “Hmph, I don’t know what kind of secret method you used to recover so quickly, but we’ll see how many more of them you can take.”

He was flying at Zu An as soon as the words left his mouth. In his eyes, no ability that produced such ridiculous effects could be without cost. Zu An would fall sooner or later.

For Zu An, however, the Primordial Origin Sutra’s powerful restorative ability synergized well with the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. The former helped him take a beating, while the latter increased his strength. This seemed like a good opportunity to cultivate both the Primordial Origin Sutra and the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.

Then again, his little sister-in-law was watching, and so were the rest of them. It would look terrible for him if he was to be beaten up too badly.

Forget it, my reputation is the most important thing.

Zu An really couldn’t bring himself to let himself be humiliated in front of everyone, so he decided to end matters quickly.

Zhao Zhi was shocked to discover that his opponent’s power and speed had grown severalfold. In fact, he was already on par with him. Add to this his bizarre movement technique, and King Qi’s heir quickly found himself at a disadvantage.

He was only at the initial stages of the eighth rank, while Zu An was already at the peak of the seventh rank. Furthermore, Zu An’s cultivation could not be equated with that of an ordinary cultivator, as he was far stronger than others with the same cultivation level as himself.

In terms of pure cultivation, King Qi’s heir was still weaker.

Of course, the young heir didn’t know this. The longer the fight went on, the more anxious he became. When his body was covered in injuries, he finally felt true fear. With a roar, he stopped trying to match Zu An at close range, and unleashed his ultimate move.

“Holy Lightning of the Hegemon!”

His body slowly rose into the air. He spread his arms, and his entire body was suffused with purple light. His figure was absolutely dazzling, as though he had turned into a giant ball of lightning.

Thick streaks of lightning rushed out in all directions from him like chains, wrapping themselves around everything within a dozen zhang. Electricity crackled about within this zone, and the area was turned into a sea of lightning.

Zhao Zhi gritted his teeth and said, “All this dodging and running around. Who cares how impressive your movement technique is? In this sea of lightning, there’s nowhere to hide! You will now pay the price of angering me!”

Chu Youzhao’s face turned completely white, illuminated by the storm of lightning. Murong Qinghe had already learned her lesson, and held on to her firmly.

The woman in the carriage lost her serenity. “Hurry, save him!” she cried out.

The driver wore a grim expression. Just as he began to rise, he stopped. “I might not have to interfere.”

…

Inside the sea of lightning, Zu An sighed and said, “Do you know what I hate the most in this life? Goddamned lightning!”

The first thing that had happened to him when he crossed over was to be struck by lightning. He never wanted to experience that again.

“You hate it, but it is precisely my lightning that will punish you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. How does that feel?” King Qi’s heir could finally vent some of his anger. This kid had pierced him again and again with his words. It was about time he made him pay the price for offending him. “I will give you one last chance. If you kneel down and kowtow a hundred times, I might just spare your life.”

It had been a long time since he had been pressured into such a corner. He had to thoroughly humiliate his opponent in order to assuage his anger.

Zu An chuckled. “Then I’ll give you a chance as well. If you kneel down and kowtow to me a thousand times, then I'll spare your life as well.”

King Qi’s heir erupted with anger. “Since it is death you’re seeking, I will grant you your desire!

“God of thunder, aid me!”

He raised his hands towards the heavens. Thunderclouds rumbled in the skies above. All those present could sense the terrifying pressure.

With a crackle of electricity, a malevolent face appeared within the storm of lightning.

Suddenly, a massive ball of water appeared, striking the young heir who was floating in midair.

It soaked him through in an instant. The lightning that was arcing towards Zu An instantly changed direction, concentrating on him instead.

“Motherfucking…” King Qi’s heir only had time to utter a single curse before he was cooked from the outside in. He fell from midair like a rock.