ragginovel Chapter 389: Two Against One
Chapter 389: Two Against One
"And me as well!"
The moment Shang Qinghua saw Yue Mingxuan facing danger, there was no way he would stand aside.
He had invested so much effort into protecting Yue Mingxuan, only for Rong Zishen to appear and threaten to kill him.
He would never compromise with Rong Zishen.
Even for the sake of The Black Archon, he would never yield to the people of the Nine Abyssal Gate.
No matter what, Rong Zishen was still one of the Nine Abyssal Gate’s people.
Long ago, Shang Qinghua had believed Rong Zishen was the Second Prince of Dongyue.
Only now had he learned that Rong Zishen was the "civet cat replacing the crown prince" from years ago.
Old grudges and new hatred overlapped until Shang Qinghua felt that tearing Rong Zishen to pieces would still not be enough.
"You will pay for everything you’ve done."
Shang Qinghua’s eyes were already tinged with red.
The events of the past had never once left his mind.
Rong Zishen merely sneered.
Although Yue Mingxuan and Shang Qinghua were facing him together, Rong Zishen had not spent this period idly either.
His martial foundation had always been excellent and during his time within the Nine Abyssal Gate he had learned many of their secret techniques.
His former master had been Keshun Sanfeng who had taught him a great deal about those arts.
Only later did Rong Zishen realize that many of the techniques he had learned since childhood were perfectly suited to the Nine Abyssal Gate’s methods.
When the truth dawned on him, he understood that the mysterious master from his childhood had been Keshun Sanfeng all along.
"That’s exactly what I was about to say to you."
Even though he was outnumbered, Rong Zishen did not lose any momentum.
With a casual wave of his hand, several shadow guards appeared beside him.
Shang Qinghua answered with a wave of his own.
Both sides summon shadow guards, revealing that the struggle is larger than a personal duel.
Yue Mingxuan’s Ninefold Celestial Mystery has reached level seventh and his movements are no longer hesitant or soft.
He caught sight of several familiar figures: Moonless Cicada, Mo Yi, Xi Yu.
So they too were members of The Black Archon.
Previously, he had assumed they were forces cultivated solely by Shang Qinghua.
Only now did he understand that Shang Qinghua’s personal influence was merely the tip of the iceberg compared to The Black Archon itself.
No wonder so many people dreamed of becoming the Imperator Jin or the Imperator Huang of The Black Archon.
The position was simply too tempting.
To command such immense power was an irresistible temptation.
Even Yue Mingxuan felt how difficult it was to reject.
And for those whose hearts were already corrupted, such power was impossible to refuse.
That was why so many people wanted to kill Shang Qinghua and take the title of Imperator Huang for themselves.
Some had even tried to impersonate the long-missing Imperator Jin in order to seize control of The Black Archon.
Most of them, however, had been executed by The Black Archon itself.
The Black Archon’s power was already overwhelming.
Eliminating one or two impostors was hardly a difficult matter.
Yet Hu Mei’er had managed to remain in that position for quite some time, and it clearly was not only because he was clever and adaptable.
There had to be other reasons.
Yue Mingxuan vaguely remembered that Hu Mei’er had been discovered by the Nine Abyssal Gate.
Perhaps this was the true beginning of the war between The Black Archon and the Nine Abyssal Gate.
Or perhaps the people within The Black Archon had known Hu Mei’er’s real identity from the very beginning.
While Yue Mingxuan was still analyzing the situation, Rong Zishen attacked.
His movements were swift and vicious, every strike aimed to kill.
Yue Mingxuan retaliated again and again, while Shang Qinghua immediately moved to support him however he could.
Yue Mingxuan’s movements were agile enough to evade several of Rong Zishen’s deadly attacks almost immediately.
Rong Zishen’s techniques were terrifyingly fierce, yet Yue Mingxuan felt no fear at all.
His own strength was formidable now, and level seventh of the Ninefold Celestial Mystery was not something to underestimate.
He dodged with fluid grace, and his counterattacks were sharp and effective.
Little by little, his heart had become harder than before.
He was no longer as soft and hesitant as he once had been, and because of that, his techniques were no longer weak or yielding either.
There was a trace of killing intent within those techniques.
"Mingxuan, don’t push yourself too hard!"
Shang Qinghua immediately sensed that something seemed wrong with Yue Mingxuan’s condition.
A Yue Mingxuan who fought this desperately was an extremely rare sight.
Yue Mingxuan had never been a ruthless or bloodthirsty person.
Whenever he faced combat, he always preferred to avoid conflict whenever possible. If he could refrain from injuring someone, he would do so. Yet today was completely different.
Could something have happened while he was away?
He did not know exactly what had happened to Yue Mingxuan.
However, Yue Mingxuan’s current state genuinely worried him to no end.
As a result, Shang Qinghua’s attacks also became increasingly fierce.
It felt as though a world-shattering force had awakened within him, a power capable of reducing Rong Zishen before him to dust.
The force was difficult to describe, yet it allowed him to unleash an astonishing amount of strength in an instant.
And all of it was for Yue Mingxuan.
He wanted to protect Yue Mingxuan.
He wanted to prevent Yue Mingxuan from suffering any further pain.
"I never expected the famous Prince Shang to possess such impressive martial arts."
At last, Rong Zishen began to feel genuine pressure.
Facing Yue Mingxuan alone was still something he could handle relatively easily.
But adding Shang Qinghua into the battle made the situation far more troublesome.
He was not some invincible sage.
Although the techniques of the Nine Abyssal Gate felt strangely familiar to him and he could master them with remarkable speed, his internal energy remained limited.