This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder
chapter-502

Xia Yushan didn’t have time to care about Zi Zun as a foot slammed into his chest. He flew backward and flipped several times on the ground before skidding to a stop on his feet. Although he didn’t leak any blood from his lips or anything similar, a dense, spiderweb-like crack filled his chest.

Xi Longtian didn’t continue to press him and instead unleashed several more slices. He only had time to unleash one more slash before Zi Zun’s form flashed away. “As expected of the Law of Lightning. Its instantaneous speed is enviable.”

He turned around and stared at Zi Zun, who had reappeared next to Xia Yushan. The corner of his lips quirked upward. “But you shouldn’t be feeling good now, right?”

Zi Zun gritted his teeth. He could feel a foreign qi inside his body, continuously attacking his electrified body. He had to use more qi to overpower the black qi in his body and destroy them before they destroyed his body. The high usage of qi almost made him want to turn the technique off and change his lightning body back to one of flesh and blood. However, Zi Zun didn’t. He knew that if he allowed the black qi to touch his immortal body, it would injure him even more.

At the epitome of the Thunder Duke’s inheritance, he would be able to merge nine thunders into a divine thunder and use it to shape a new body. Not only would he gain a permanent elemental body that did not require constant qi consumption, unlike the forced transformation he currently had, but he would also enter the Divine Realm.

“Brother Xia, can you delay him for a minute?” Zi Zun asked.

Xia Yushan wanted to answer, but Xi Longtian took action. He did not have the mercy to let his enemies strategize. Still, Xia Yushan gave an imperceptible nod as he strode forth and clashed sword against saber.

Zi Zun flashed away until he was outside the palace. A hint of urgency appeared on his face. Although he trusted Xia Yushan’s defensive capabilities, it did not detract from the huge threat he felt from Xi Longtian. Both he and Xia Yushan had miscalculated Xi Longtian’s power.

Once outside, he flew high into the sky and closed his eyes. Storm clouds gathered at a visible pace. Although the cultivators of the Xi Dynasty noticed him, not even a single one was in the Immortal Realm and could do nothing against him. Even if the Xi Dynasty received a first-rate cultivation method, the amount of talented people who could reach the Immortal Realm was still too low.

When the storm clouds condensed to the peak, lightning struck. It rained down and hit Zi Zun. However, it did not cause him any injuries. Quite the opposite in fact. The lightning transformed into qi and supplemented his dipping reserves and purified his body, expelling the black qi inside.

The nine different lightning inside his body resonated with Zi Zun. Originally, he only transformed his body using one of the nine lightnings, but now, he integrated two more. Two lines of colored lightning appeared all over Zi Zun’s body, and he gritted his teeth as he felt the massive burden. As if in representation of the massive power in his body, a visible lightning field covered his entire body and his hair elongated until it reached his knees.

If he could sustain the previous transformation for hours. Now, he could only last for ten minutes at most.

With renewed confidence, Zi Zun’s figure disappeared with the accompaniment of thunder. The people in the capital crouched and covered their ears as the sound exploded in their ears. Their bodies trembled with fear as they wondered if disaster had come.

When Zi Zun entered the palace again, he saw Xia Yushan blocking Xi Longtian with his sword. However, for every slash he blocked, two more struck his body. Now, cracks filled his figure, turning his pristine white robes ashen gray.

“Brother Xia!” Zi Zun shouted as he attacked.

He appeared next to Xi Longtian in a flash and released a punch. Xi Longtian had noticed him the moment he arrived, and was already moving his saber in a defensive position, but Zi Zun was faster. His fist flew toward Xi Longtian’s chest, unobstructed.

Xi Longtian’s body blurred, and he crashed several meters deep into the walls.

Zi Zun did not press his advantage and quickly checked Xia Yushan, who had knelt down and had to use his sword as a crutch to prevent himself from collapsing. Xia Yushan coughed and glistening silver liquid drops appeared on the ground.

“Brother Xia, you should retreat first.”

“What about you?” Xia Yushan asked. “Xi Longtian’s strength is beyond what we thought. I’m not sure you’re his opponent, even in your current state.”

Zi Zun did not deny Xia Yushan’s words. “My power has increased, my offense is still only at the peak monarch level, but my speed is unmatched, even among emperors. If I cannot defeat him, I’ll just flee.”

Xia Yushan, who had experienced Zi Zun’s speed before, nodded. “Okay.”

“You really don’t take me seriously, do you?”

Both Zi Zun and Xia Yushan felt their hearts grow cold when they heard Xi Longtian’s voice so close to them. Zi Zun turned around to defend, but halfway in his movement, a saber had already cut him in half. Xia Yushan could only react instinctively and back away, but it was still too late.

“Ahhh!” Xia Yushan screamed in pain. Right hand still holding his sword, he covered the stump where his arm once had been. On the floor, his dismembered arm lay with silver blood leaking out.

“Go!” Zi Zun shouted. He had condensed himself again and attacked Xi Longtian.

Xia Yushan gritted his teeth and, after a moment of hesitation, a talisman appeared in his hand. Not a second later, spatial energy covered him and he disappeared from the Xi Dynasty palace. He didn’t even take his arm with him, fearing that Xi Longtian would take this chance to attack him.

With Xia Yushan gone, Zi Zun went all out. He would burst with speed, appearing all over the battlefield. So swift was his speed, it appeared that he had clones attacking Xi Longtian from all angles.

Xi Longtian had given up on most of his defense. He only used his sword to block Zi Zun when he attempted to attack his head and allowed the other punches to land on his body freely. Each punch from Zi Zun carried tremendous force, and upon contact, they would release a burst of lightning, but it was as if Xi Longtian was unaffected by the punches and lightning.

“Why? How can you withstand my attack so easily?” Zi Zun asked, bewildered beyond all measure.

A slash answered Zi Zun’s question. After the slash, Xi Longtian’s calm voice entered his ears. “You’re just too weak.”

Anger erupted in Zi Zun’s mind, but when he saw the cold light on Xi Longtian’s saber, his mind immediately cooled. Although his attacks landed on Xi Longtian more than the saber struck him, the saber slash always left black qi in his body.

He couldn’t understand. Why was he so much faster than Xi Longtian, yet he still was at a disadvantage?

As if knowing his thoughts, Xi Longtian said, “Don’t you get it? You’re too weak to handle the power in your body. You are faster than your mind can process. Every time you move, there will be a delay. For people weaker than you, it won’t be a problem, but against someone like me, you’re just a jumping clown.”

Zi Zun didn’t allow his anger to affect his actions again. After a few more strikes, Zi Zun flashed again, but this time, he wasn’t anywhere in the palace.

Xi Longtian’s eyes darkened. “You think you can come and leave as you please? You must pay a price for your arrogance.”

He inserted the saber beside his waist, as if there was a sheathe. Power aggregated in his body as he prepared to unleash a killing blow. Although Zi Zun had fled far away, he could still sense the latter. Who told him to be such a beacon of energy?

Even in the distance, Zi Zun felt the threat. He couldn’t help but unconsciously speed up.

Just as Xi Longtian prepared to attack, he felt a sense of crisis overcome him. He disrupted his technique, causing qi to explode outward and resulting in a backlash, but he didn’t care as he flipped away. He didn’t just stop at a flip, but literally rocketed away over a hundred meters.

Where he once stood, the space in a hundred meters froze. It only lasted for a second before it collapsed in on itself, creating a void. The void emitted a powerful suction that deformed the palace. The palace wasn’t even an immortal artifact, so it quickly collapsed under the power.

Xi Longtian furrowed his brows as he stared at the center of the implosion. He ignored the collapsing structure. When stone and wood fell near or atop him, they disintegrated into dust, no matter the size. Even if the entire palace collapsed on top of him, he would not be injured.

Although it had been only for a moment, he had seen a hand sleeved in purple disappearing out of the corner of his eye when he dodged. It wasn’t that he was attacked that puzzled him, but the sense of familiarity.

Only the roar of the collapsing palace answered him. Ten minutes later, Xi Longtian stood atop the palace rubble.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?” a survivor and the captain of the royal guards asked with worry.

Xi Longtian didn’t answer him. Instead, he gazed over, causing the captain and other people who arrived to shiver in fear. “Men, imprison him on suspicion of treason. Two people broke into the palace to assassinate me, and yet, you, the captain, didn’t even know.”

The blood drained from his face. Even as the soldiers quickly grabbed both of his arms, he shouted, “Your Majesty, I didn’t know! I wasn’t involved. Give me a chance. I’ll prove my innocence!”

His pleas fell on deaf ears. Ignoring Xi Longtian, all the people present lowered their heads, not daring to contradict or plead for the captain’s release or innocence.

“What are you standing here for? Hurry and go build a new palace and hire new servants and guards.” Upon feeling the emperor’s icy gaze, all of the people left except for a few guards.

Xi Longtian ignored them and stared at the sky. “Who are you?”

The space tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Xi Dynasty rippled. A bubble formed and soon popped, revealing Xia Yushan. He staggered and barely managed to stabilize himself by stabbing his sword into the ground. The sheen on his body disappeared, and he spat out a mouthful of red blood.

Xia Yushan continued to cough, even falling onto his knee. With trembling hands, he took out a pill from his spatial ring and stuffed it into his mouth. Only then did a hint of rosiness return to his cheeks. However, he didn’t move. Instead, he sat down and started to recover his qi.

That recovery didn’t last long as he snapped his eyes open. Without delay, he gripped his sword and slashed upward, unleashing a sword light. The light sliced through the air and split the cloud above him.

The moment the sword light split the cloud, it seemed to have hit a barrier. No matter how much it struggled, it was at an impasse. Soon, the qi sustaining it died out and the sword light vanished, revealing a figure. Or rather, figures. Three people, each one wearing a robe adorned with clouds.

The one in the lead exuded the aura of an immortal monarch. She stood taller than most women. She was beautiful, no doubt, but her beauty was better described as handsomeness. Though, no one would not mistake her as a woman.

Xia Yushan recognized her. “Yun Xialan!”

“We finally meet, disciple of the Buzhou Immortal Sect Master,” Yun Xialan said, eyes cold.

Xia Yushan’s eyes also became cold and a sinking feeling appeared in his stomach. “Why are you here in the territory of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, Holy Cloud Saintess?”

“Of course…” Yun Xialan let her words draw out, stretching the suspense. A cold smile appeared on her face. “It’s to kill you!”