Promise!

Chapter 281, Return

"Nine-bend dragon, emerge!"

Facing Zhuang Jin's ordinary move, Xuan Yuan Zhengji was already on high alert. He used his ultimate move, and in an instant, the ground rolled, and a large number of vine roots broke through the soil, forming a winding, crisscrossing vine dragon that was dozens of feet long. Purple and blue energy gathered in its mouth, like a dragon pearl, and swallowed him up.

Those thousands upon thousands of ice swords, which contained no divine essence, shattered upon impact with the surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy).

"go with!"

The next moment, Xuanyuan Zhengji's mind moved, and he switched from defense to offense. The Nine-Bend Vine Dragon split into nine azure dragons, breaking through and entering Zhuang Jin's ice and snow domain. Although the power of this same level was weakened, it was not directly frozen, and it soared and broke through.

"What a trick!"

Zhuang Jin focused his mind and felt as if a drop of water had fallen into his sea of ​​souls, spreading endless ripples before becoming clear as a mirror. He entered a state of 'supersensory perception', and everything in the outside world seemed to slow down.

Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!
Nine azure dragons soared and clashed, turning the place upside down, causing the earth to shake and the terrain to change drastically. Zhuang Jin moved through it all, shifting and dodging as if strolling in a garden, calm and elegant.

'As expected of a prodigy with an innately powerful divine soul, able to maintain extrasensory perception for such a long time?!'

As a trump card for Yin God martial artists, 'super-sensory' means that Yin God martial artists like Xuan Yuan Zheng Ji usually only use it for a moment or a few moments. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to track him so slowly. But Zhuang Jin seems to be able to maintain it in a semi-normal state.

"Nothing more than that!"

Zhuang Jin didn't even feel any pressure. He calmly broke free from the nine azure dragons and said to them, "Governor Xuanyuan, please take another move from me. The sword energy of Upside-Down Mountain will last forever!"

With a single finger, amidst a thunderous roar, an iceberg weighing hundreds or even thousands of tons from the Yunchi Mountains was directly moved over and flipped upside down.

The sharp end of the iceberg pointed downwards, breaking apart from the bottom up. The divine energy that had been dispersed into the domain transformed into millions of ice swords that rained down like crystal, covering everything like a torrential downpour. At this moment, within a domain spanning several miles, only the incomparably dazzling sword energy remained between heaven and earth.

When Xuanyuan Zhengji first heard Zhuang Jin's words, he subconsciously assumed that it was a martial skill at the Yin God level and thought that Zhuang Jin was lying about his breakthrough. However, seeing this scene, even he, who was extremely cunning, strategic and well-mannered, could not help but swear.

What the hell is this 'Inverted Mountain Sword Qi Endures Forever'?!

This is essentially a saturation attack: using the power of heaven and earth to mobilize the domain, with the force of flying bricks.

This time was different from the initial probing. Zhuang Jin had learned some techniques and no longer used purely ice-attribute energy from the primordial energy of heaven and earth. Instead, he infused it with the divine energy of the diffused domain, which this time had the power to break through and damage even the soul.

"Nine-Bend Vine Dragon, withdraw!"

With a single thought, Xuanyuan Zhengji dispersed the nine azure dragons and summoned them back to guard him. His body merged with the dragon pearl in his mouth. However, even the Nine-Bend Vine Dragon body, a Yin God martial art, was rapidly worn down and shattered by countless light swords that emitted a glassy glow like a torrential rain.

—This is an extreme humiliation. Zhuang Jinli's powerful brick-throwing attack directly broke through his Yin God Martial Skill's ultimate move!
He had already suffered injuries to his soul during the attack by Shangguan Jinfeng, Cen Chongxuan, and Ge Daoqian. Now, facing this sword energy that broke through his soul's defenses, he was shaken and coughed up blood.

"go!"

Staying any longer might mean certain death, so Xuanyuan Zhengji dared not think about the 'Yin-Yang Cleansing Jade' anymore. With his broken body, the Nine-Bend Vine Dragon, he bought himself a moment. Then, his figure was enveloped in a green light and disappeared in the next moment, appearing on a giant tree a mile or two away.

Then, using several giant trees as nodes, it flashed continuously and sped away.

"Ran?"

Zhuang Jin frowned slightly, looking at Xuan Yuan Zhengji's speed. He realized that he had not yet mastered the Yin God level movement techniques and was still a bit behind, so he couldn't keep up.

"Never mind, keeping this person around will still be of some use."

He went out today and consulted Shangguan Jinfeng, who agreed to keep an eye on things. However, Xuanyuan Zhengji still came looking for him. What role did Shangguan Jinfeng and the other two major families play in this? Did they have a tacit understanding or cooperation with Xuanyuan Zhengji?
Now that Xuanyuan Zhengji has returned injured and suffered a great loss, wouldn't he turn against them? Would he no longer be controlled by the three great families? This would also disgust the three great families.

More importantly, Zhuang Jin has broken through to the Yin God Realm, and his fate is sealed. He is no longer someone you can control. Without breaking ties, he is still considered a member of the Shangguan family, and can be considered one of our own. If we let Xuan Yuan Zhengji go, this outsider, then he will be there to protect us from the attention of the three great families.

Putting everything else aside, with Xuanyuan Zhengji around, would the three great family heads dare to use that move with the three attributes of wind, thunder, and ice, relying on the trump card of the Suspended Sky Mirror, against themselves? Aren't they afraid that Xuanyuan Zhengji will steal the credit?

"Furthermore, Xuanyuan Zhengji is a member of the royal family and currently the governor of Cangzhou. To truly execute him would be a challenge to the authority of the Great Qian Dynasty. The three great families might use this as a pretext to stir up trouble and report him to the authorities, using him as a tool to kill."

'In short, keeping this person around for now is more beneficial than harmful. He's ultimately just a fraud. Once I've mastered the Yin God martial art, I can kill him whenever I want.'

Zhuang Jin thought to himself, then suddenly looked deeper into the Funiu Mountains and sensed an aura—a Vajra Realm beast.

He immediately understood: the three great family heads would not venture too deep, lest they disturb the Vajra Realm beasts in the triple dead zone of the Funiu Mountains. His previous battle had alerted the Vajra Realm beasts.

"Perfect opportunity to test my skills!"

The previous battle had given Zhuang Jin confidence, and he was even quite unsatisfied. He had just warmed up when Xuan Yuan Zhengji ran away. Now, facing a Vajra Realm beast, he could finally put his skills to the test.

He prepared himself, muttering to himself, "A Vajra Realm beast can't possibly be... as worthless as Xuan Yuan Zhengji, can it?"

If Xuanyuan Zhengji, who was currently fleeing for his life, were to hear these words, he would probably spit out a mouthful of blood.

……

"This is... the Mischievous Ape King?!" Zhuang Jin looked up.

It was a terrifying black ape, ten zhang tall, with blood-red eyes and fur the color of steel. Its entire body was pitch black and its strange power burned like flames. It used both feet and claws to whistle past in a zigzag pattern, bringing with it a gale and uprooting large swathes of trees.

"go with!"

Zhuang Jin's domain enveloped everything. The experience gained from the previous battle, combined with the divine power that permeated the domain, allowed for more precise control. In an instant, ice and snow were created, and the birds, insects, flowers, trees, and even the wind, air currents, and the primordial energy of heaven and earth were all frozen by the domain, as if time and space had frozen.

"Roar!"

The Mischievous Ape King entered the domain, momentarily sluggish. Then, golden light flashed across its body, creating a black hole-like gravitational pull. The domain's power became ineffective, and its suppression and weakening effects became negligible.

'What a mischievous ape king!'

Zhuang Jin inwardly admired them, for the other party was within their own domain, and he could clearly sense it: 'If martial artists cultivate Qi, reaching the Yin Spirit realm where the power of their soul merges with heaven and earth, achieving oneness with nature and transforming into a domain; then, exotic beasts cultivate the body, reaching the Vajra realm where skin, flesh, bones, and internal organs are unified, which can be seen as an inner world.' 'The inner world of an exotic beast is sufficient to resist the Yin Spirit domain, which is why Vajra realm exotic beasts are almost unaffected by the Yin Spirit domain.'

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but he didn't hesitate at all. He raised his hand and summoned a thousand-ton iceberg to hang upside down. Sword energy fell like a rain of stars, and then the entire iceberg pressed down.

Wow!
The King of Chaos shimmered with golden light, and the sword rain mixed with divine power shattered upon his body like ripples. Then, facing the icebergs that fell thousands or even tens of thousands of tons, his ferocious aura of fighting against heaven and earth swept across him. He neither dodged nor avoided the attack, but instead leaped into the air and slammed his fists into the air.

boom!
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!
With a deafening roar, a massive explosion spread outwards, its force overwhelming the world. The thousand-ton iceberg was shattered, turning into large shards of ice and rocks that fell, triggering a near-avalanche-like upheaval on Yunchi Mountain.

"Certainly!"

Zhuang Jin's domain power enveloped everything, freezing and collapsing wherever it passed.

Wow!
The Chaotic Ape King, however, instinctively released the power of its inner world, creating a distorted force field. Large boulders separated its body, and it landed on a protruding ice peak. It seemed that the shattering of the mountain had triggered its berserk factor. It pounded its chest with its claws to release its emotions, and its roar created ripples in the air.

It can be said that such a roar, which contains a violent and bestial will, can even damage the soul. An ordinary innate corpse-slaying martial artist could suffer the same soul injury as Ao Zhiqi if he were to be directly attacked.

However, Zhuang Jin remained unaffected, his gaze turning cautious: 'Its hardness is like gold, its strength is supremely rigid; it is truly a Vajra. This Vajra Realm beast is indeed far superior to a mere imposter like Xuan Yuan Zhengji.'

He entered his 'super-sensory' state again, dodging the Chaotic Ape King's triple pounce attack with a blink of an eye, and soared into the air: 'Take this one more time, Five Finger Mountain!'

This time, Zhuang Jin used almost the full power of a basic attack, using the power of his domain to move the five peaks of Yunchi Mountain. The five peaks flew together, blocking the Chaotic Ape King and suppressing it.

The Mischievous Ape King crashed into five thousand-ton mountains in succession, was smashed down, and landed on its knees. Then the five mountains followed closely behind, like Mount Tai pressing down on it. They took root on the ground and merged together under the power of the domain, but in its struggle, deep cracks burst forth.

"Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams, seal!"

With a thought, Zhuang Jin mobilized the power of water, fire, and wind within his domain, pressed down with both hands, and with a loud boom, the five mountains suddenly closed together, and the cracks healed.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

Just as it was about to be sealed away, in that instant, the Chaotic Ape King roared in extreme rage, its body expanding in golden light, growing from ten zhang tall to a size that seemed to embody the heavens and the earth, and in the blink of an eye, it grew to tens or even hundreds of zhang like an inflating balloon.

Then the five mountains were burst apart, and the earth shook violently as they shattered. The aftershocks and shockwaves, if viewed from a distance, looked like a dozen or so mushroom bombs exploding.

'What a ferocious monkey! My Eight Gates Sword Formation is not yet fully mastered, and I lack offensive methods. It seems I cannot defeat you today.'

Zhuang Jin watched as the ferocious, chaotic ape king repeatedly pounced and slammed its fists, causing the earth to shake and large sections of the mountain to collapse. He also sensed the aura of a Vajra Realm beast emanating from the depths of the three dead zones of the Funiu Mountains, so he lost interest in playing anymore.

"Enough, enough, stop, stop! Take this God-Slaying Thorn!"

When he was in the Innate Corpse-Slaying Realm, he cultivated a secret technique for mental attacks. Now, he used his divine soul power to activate it, intending to influence the Chaotic Ape King and help him escape the battle.

hum!
The power of the divine soul gathered and transformed into an invisible small sword, which pierced the forehead of the Chaotic Ape King.

The next moment, the once rampant and arrogant Mischievous Ape King's eyes flickered and dimmed, its body swayed, and its once expansive form rapidly shrank. After a breath or two, its pupils returned to normal, stabilizing its shape, and it let out a furious roar.

'So, relatively speaking, the weakness of Vajra Realm beasts lies in their souls.'

Zhuang Jin secretly memorized it, broke away, and disappeared in an instant.

His previous battle with the Chaotic Ape King, though seemingly long, actually lasted only about a hundred breaths. Now, having broken free, he headed straight for Cangzhou City.

"I return today, completely different from when I left. I truly deserve the title of 'Return of a King.' Xuanyuan Zhengji, and the three great families, are you ready for my return?"

……

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Zhengji fled back to Cangzhou City in a sorry state.

At this moment, the Qingming Festival memorial service is still underway. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of thousands, including martial artists and ordinary people, hundreds of thousands, of people have gathered. Then, they see Governor Xuanyuan Zhengji, who left early under the pretext of "feeling unwell," reappear now stained with blood.

The moment he made his disheveled appearance, hundreds of thousands of martial artists and ordinary people were shocked and couldn't understand how a martial artist of the level of a governor of a state could be like this.

The three heads of the great families were shocked and stood up. They knew something about Xuan Yuan Zhengji's departure earlier, and their first thought was, could it be that he had run into a Vajra Realm beast?

"You old scoundrel Cen, you old hag Shangguan, you've tricked me!"

On his way back, Xuanyuan Zhengji became increasingly suspicious, believing that Cen Chongxuan and Shangguan Jinfeng had conspired to trap him.

He originally planned to return to his residence to recuperate, but he was afraid that Zhuang Jin, that hothead, would rush in and kill him. Therefore, he was willing to sacrifice his reputation in order to ensure his safety and gain some initiative in dealing with the three major family heads.

As for exchanging safety, as the governor, and during a public memorial service, how could he possibly kill Zhuang Jin in public if Zhuang Jin came after him? Once Zhuang Jin calms down, there will be hope for compensation and reconciliation.

To gain the initiative? I've clearly been tricked by Cen Chongxuan and Shangguan Jinfeng this time, so even if it's not that, it has to be that way.

It's true that he was in the wrong regarding Li Shizong's previous matter, but this time he was severely tricked and made to appear in a sorry state in front of others. After this back and forth, the three major families will no longer be able to control him or make him submit and give in.

Because of the delay caused by Xuanyuan Zhengji's decision, just as the three great family heads were about to inquire—

"Wow!"

The fire phoenix flew over, with Zhuang Jin standing on its back, hands behind his back, his robes fluttering, and an aura of Yin God martial artist in perfect harmony with heaven and man descended: "Governor Xuanyuan, you're quick to run away. Aren't you going to give an explanation for what happened before?"

This fluctuation, this aura, and this attitude of being utterly impolite to Xuan Yuan Zhengji, publicly questioning him and demanding an explanation—all of this points to something unbelievable: Zhuang Jin has already surpassed the limits of the scattered martial artists in the state city and reached another realm.

The hundreds of thousands of martial artists and ordinary people below the stage were just shocked by Xuan Yuan Zhengji's injury, and whispers had just begun to rise. Now, seeing Zhuang Jin appear and reveal his Yin Shen realm, such a shocking change left them speechless and dumbfounded.

……

(End of this chapter)