Simultaneous Transmigration: The Re-merging of 99 Selves

Chapter 177 The Threat of Shi Zhixuan

Shi Zhixuan attacked suddenly. Zhao Yu didn't have time to get up. He raised both palms and poured all of his Northern Darkness True Qi into his palms to take the blow.

"Bang!"

The immense force of the collision caused the entire hall to tremble slightly.

The table shattered instantly, sending wooden pieces flying everywhere. The chairs on both sides were thrown out by the blast and slammed hard against the pillars.

The blue bricks beneath Zhao Yu cracked, his body sank slightly, and his arms went numb, but he managed to withstand the attack.

Looking at the others in the hall, although Shi Zhixuan did not deliberately target them, the aftershocks of their fight alone made everyone unsteady on their feet and stagger.

Even worse, some who tried to forcefully resist that internal force ended up spitting out blood.

Having failed to achieve his goal with his first strike, Shi Zhixuan did not linger in the fight.

Using the momentum, he flipped in mid-air and darted back to the roof through the hole, his movements as swift as a ghost.

Then, his chilling laughter drifted from afar, carried by the wind through the courtyard: "Boy, you'd better stay alert every day. Sooner or later, I will take your life!"

The laughter faded into the distance, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

The lobby was in a mess, with dust falling everywhere.

Qing'er slumped to the side, her face pale with fright. The civil and military officials below were also stunned and didn't come back to their senses for a long time.

Zhao Yu slowly withdrew his hand, moved his slightly numb wrist, and his face was gloomy.

The assassination techniques of the Butian Pavilion are indeed as renowned as they seem.

He had just returned to the city when Shi Zhixuan followed him. It seemed that this evil king had really gotten entangled with him.

Cui Shanwei straightened the tent flap, which had been knocked askew by the gust of wind, and hurried forward, his face filled with undisguised worry: "Is the steward alright?"

"I'm fine." Zhao Yu withdrew his hand, moved his slightly numb wrist, turned to look at Qing'er who was still slumped on the ground, and reached out to help her up.

The girl was slender, her fingertips were slightly cool, and she trembled slightly when he grasped her wrist.

Are you alright?

Qing'er's eyes reddened, and she said in a trembling voice, "This...this servant is alright, thank you for saving me, Steward."

Zhao Yu held her wrist tightly, gently pulling her to his side as a way of comforting her.

He then turned to Cui Shanwei, speaking calmly: "That man was a formidable enemy of mine. I had already shaken him off, but I didn't expect him to chase me all the way to Gaoyou. He is indeed quite troublesome."

He did not explicitly state Shi Zhixuan's identity or background.

The name of the Evil King carries too much weight in the Demonic Sect and among the elite circles; mentioning it would only increase the panic among his subordinates and would not help the situation.

Cui Shanwei frowned, his expression growing increasingly grave: "Judging by this man's martial arts skills, he is unparalleled in this world. Apart from the commander-in-chief, I doubt anyone in the army could withstand even a single move from him. What if he infiltrates the city, stirs up trouble, assassinates officials, and disturbs the peace of the people? What then?"

"He wouldn't dare." Zhao Yu's eyes were slightly cold, and his tone was firm.

This is not an overestimation.

Shi Zhixuan had just attacked and left without lingering, clearly out of concern for Zhao Yu's Soul Transfer Technique, fearing that Zhao Yu would trigger his personality split again, and therefore dared not fight for long.

As for not harming others, that's not the mark of a master.

The Evil King has always acted ruthlessly; if he truly wanted to coerce Zhao Yu by using others, he would have done so long ago.

The reason they've only targeted him is simply because they're afraid to harm him.

Shi Zhixuan knew that Zhao Yu knew Shi Qingxuan's whereabouts, and he also knew that when Zhao Yu was driven to a dead end, he might resort to desperate measures and expose his beloved daughter's whereabouts to the public.

When it really comes to that, his kind personality completely loses control, and in the struggle between good and evil, it is Shi Zhixuan himself who collapses first.

Although the two did not explicitly agree, a strange tacit understanding had formed between them: the grudges would be settled only between the two of them, without involving others.

These thoughts need not be revealed to Cui Shanwei.

Zhao Yu simply said, "He's only targeting me; he won't harm the officials and common people in the city. You don't need to panic too much; just continue with your business as usual."

Cui Shanwei was skeptical, but seeing Zhao Yu's certainty, he had no choice but to suppress his unease and nod in agreement.

"Yes. Steward, this man is troublesome. Should I send someone to recruit some skilled martial artists from the martial arts world to protect him?"

"No need," Zhao Yu waved his hand. "Ordinary martial arts masters are no different from paper in front of him; they would only be throwing their lives away if they came. I will handle this matter myself; you don't need to worry about it. Just focus on managing internal affairs, training the troops, and preparing provisions and weapons."

He paused, then added with a more serious tone, "And there's Du Fuwei. Since he's been probing me while I'm away, I'll go and confront him personally once I'm free. This time, I'll thoroughly subdue him so he'll never dare to covet the west again."

Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials below exchanged glances, their eyes filled with renewed confidence.

Everyone witnessed the power of Shi Zhixuan descending from the sky and shattering the main hall with his palm, yet the steward was able to withstand the palm strike head-on without being at a disadvantage, and even forced the attacker to flee after the first blow.

Such martial arts skills have long exceeded everyone's imagination.

With such a powerful lord by his side, what did Du Fuwei have to fear?

In an instant, the people's hearts, which had been unsettled by Zhao Yu's disappearance, were calmed down considerably, and their cohesion was even stronger than before.

The group bowed and accepted the order, then withdrew in turn to handle their official duties.

Cui Shanwei also hurriedly went to arrange city defense and food supplies, and soon only Zhao Yu and Qing'er remained in the main hall.

Zhao Yu stood amidst the rubble and broken tiles, his face ashen.

I spoke lightly just now, but Shi Zhixuan's threat is far more difficult to deal with than it appears on the surface.

The Butian Pavilion specializes in assassination, and Shi Zhixuan is a master of this art. His lightness skill and movement techniques are unparalleled in the world, and he doesn't have the airs of a grandmaster. He is willing to humble himself and carry out assassinations.

From now on, he must be constantly on guard against a deadly attack from the shadows, whether he is eating, sleeping, or handling affairs.

Over time, the mental and emotional damage can be unimaginable.

The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; this situation is not easy to resolve.

The simplest solution is naturally to withdraw and return to the Southern Song Dynasty world. No matter how capable Shi Zhixuan is, he cannot traverse the myriad worlds.

But how could Zhao Yu accept this?

The martial arts level in the Tang Dynasty world far surpasses that of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. The Longevity Manual, the War God's Manual, the Heavenly Demon Art, and various other unique skills are infinitely profound and can even touch the realm of immortality.

Not to mention that the chaotic end of the Sui Dynasty was the perfect opportunity to vie for supremacy.

How can we give up our hard-won foundation and the higher level of martial arts within our grasp just because of Shi Zhixuan?

We must find a way to completely solve this problem.

"Manager—"

A timid, soft call pulled Zhao Yu back to reality.

He looked down and realized that he had been holding Qing'er's wrist tightly the whole time. The girl's brows were slightly furrowed, clearly because her wrist was sore from being held for so long.

"It was my oversight." Zhao Yu released her hand, looked at her slightly reddened wrist, and said calmly, "Come on, let's go to the back room, I'll take a look at you. You were caught in the shockwave just now, and you were close by, so I'm afraid you might have some hidden injuries. I'll use my internal energy to help you regulate your meridians."

Qing'er's cheeks flushed instantly, her head drooped, and her voice was barely audible: "I...I'm fine, no need for you to worry, Steward. It's just a minor bump, nothing serious."

"It's alright." Without waiting for a reply, Zhao Yu strode towards the back hall. "Come in with me."

Qing'er bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and then followed with her head down.