In the heavily guarded residence at Xianxia Pass, Yun Xiaolong, lying on a stretcher, tried to get up several times, but was gently dissuaded by the princess's guards.
Behind the white curtains, the Qin princess paced back and forth, her brows furrowed.
Although the orc army had retreated north, it still left behind many small scout units in the rolling mountains.
These small units were mainly tasked with monitoring the movements of the human army and gathering intelligence so that the orc army could eventually march south again and retake Xianxia.
Orcs are born to be the kings of the mountains; otherwise, they would not call themselves the "Mountain Gods." Since they intend to hide themselves, they are difficult to be discovered.
The human garrison at Xianxia Pass has launched several operations to try to wipe out these scouts, but with little success.
It's fortunate that Yun Xiaolong was able to escape unscathed from the orcs' siege.
"General Yun, are you saying that the person who saved you achieved a seventeen-kill streak, with each orc having a bloody hole blown open in their neck?"
"That's right, Your Highness!" Yun Xiaolong nodded hurriedly.
"Since that mysterious person adopted an assassination strategy, he shouldn't have been so ostentatious. Could it be that this was his first time fighting orcs, and he hadn't mastered his strength?" the Qin princess murmured. "Or perhaps he's skilled with a bone sword, and suddenly wielding a heavier steel sword is a bit rusty?"
Yun Xiaolong was taken aback. He hadn't thought about this question before, so he didn't know how to answer it.
Ding Bo, who was waiting nearby, had a sudden thought and was about to speak, but was stopped by the gesture of the Qin princess.
"Yunjiang, are you sure that the moment the mysterious man appeared, you saw a green arc of light in mid-air?"
Yun Xiaolong said with absolute certainty, "Your Highness, I am absolutely certain that I was prepared to die for you at that time. It was that green light that made me give up the idea of dying together with the enemy!"
"Alright, you should go and rest now." The princess ordered, and the weakened Yun Xiaolong was escorted away.
Ding Bo stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, that mysterious person's medical skills are quite good. General Yun's injuries have been brought under control in time."
The Qin princess smiled faintly and sat back down in her seat: "Uncle Ding, what do you think?"
Ding Bo cautiously said, "Your Highness, these are not enough to prove that the mysterious person is Chen Ke."
The Qin princess keenly sensed Ding Bo's change of heart: "But in your heart, you still believe that this mysterious person must be related to Chen Ke, right?"
Ding Bo was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Your Highness, we have calculated that Chen Ke arrived in the capital from Meicheng (Mei/Beauty City) overnight. This means that he must have relied on some kind of magic weapon, otherwise it would be impossible for him to travel three thousand miles in one night."
"According to our investigation, after the demon race withdrew from Mei City, during the domino battle organized by the Ziyun Sword Sect, a disciple from the Haotian Academy achieved twelve consecutive victories and won a wood-attribute magic weapon. Although that disciple claimed to be Xiao Yunlong, according to our investigation, it was actually someone else, and Chen Ke is the most suspicious!"
The Qin princess remained silent, but anger appeared on her beautiful face.
Such a genius, yet he acts so sleazy and secretive. Is that interesting?
Fortunately, she sent people to investigate everything carefully; otherwise, she would probably still be kept in the dark.
The Hidden Dragon Pavilion is also despicable. They should have more information, but they pretend not to know and refuse to reveal even a little bit more.
Ding Bo bowed and said, "Your Highness, Chen Ke has repeatedly thwarted the demon race's plots in Mei City. His concealment of his strength and identity was a last resort. It is precisely because of Chen Ke's disguise that the demon race did not regard him as a threat. Otherwise, the demon race and other forces would certainly spare no effort to eliminate Chen Ke, and even the Chen family!"
A tree that stands out in the forest will surely be felled by the wind. In the past hundred years of the Great Xia Dynasty, how many geniuses have died young?
To say nothing of the distant past, in the past three years, at least a dozen outstanding and talented students have died mysteriously for one reason or another.
A year ago, the Lu family, a military family in Yanzhou, was attacked by a caravan. The entire family of more than sixty people, including the pair of genius twins with amazing cultivation talents, were all killed outside the city.
Without the protection of a powerful force, even geniuses cannot go far in today's world.
The Qin princess sighed softly, letting out a resentful sound that she herself didn't even realize: "Of course I understand all this, but he has helped me time and time again, he shouldn't have kept it all from me without even showing his face!"
Ding Bo gave the princess a strange look. "You don't even want to see him, and you can't even find three good points about him. How can he confide in you?"
Ding Bo coughed and said, "Your Highness, regardless of the relationship between that mysterious person and Chen Ke, Chen Ke still cares about Your Highness."
Princess Qin blushed slightly. From childhood to adulthood, countless men had shown her concern, but none had ever stirred such a strange feeling within her as today.
Princess Qin's expression returned to normal, and she snorted coldly: "Ding Bo, immediately send a letter to Daxia City, demanding that you find out Chen Ke's whereabouts tonight. If he's not here, then wait until he returns. I refuse to believe that we can't catch him red-handed!"
...
ding!
[Congratulations, you have absorbed soul energy, increasing your maximum soul value by 2 points.]
ding!
[Congratulations, you have absorbed soul energy, increasing your maximum soul value by 3 points.]
ding!
[Congratulations, you have absorbed soul energy, increasing your maximum soul value by 2 points.]
In the deep cave, Chen Ke, carrying a blood-stained bone sword, drifted forward like a ghost.
Fueled by a blood-red killing intent, his attacks became faster, more ruthless, and more precise.
Whether they were bandits or refugees in their sleep, each had a red dot on their throat, thus ending their lives.
More than a hundred people were wiped out in the blink of an eye, and Chen Ke's soul value limit increased by 230 points!
If we add the 31 points he gained from killing orcs earlier, he will gain a total of 261 points of soul value on this trip.
Next time I come, my Soul Point cap should be able to break through the 1000 mark!
ding!
[Congratulations! Your mastery of the Qiankun Sword has been upgraded from 'Master' to 'Proficient,' increasing your Soul Value cap by 10 points!]
ding!
[Congratulations! Your mastery of the Killing God Technique has been upgraded from beginner to expert, increasing your Soul Value cap by 30 points!]
Chen Ke was overjoyed. The improvement in "Qiankun Sword" was within his expectations, since he used the sword most frequently, apart from movement techniques.
"Qiankun Sword" is his third "mastered" skill, which is actually quite rare compared to his peers.
What truly surprised Chen Ke was that the "Killing God Technique" had also improved.
"The Killing God Technique" is a scroll technique from the Haotian Secret Realm, and is actually a combination of two skills.
The Tai Chi bead between Chen Ke's eyebrows had grown larger, becoming more rounded and translucent, radiating a mysterious glow.
The gray half represents death devouring everything.
The green half represents the revival of withered trees.
Between gray and green, the red curve is more profound and clear, as alluring as blood, exuding a sharp killing intent, drawing a line between life and death.
Perhaps due to the improvement in his skills, the killing intent became more condensed, and Chen Ke's control over it became even stronger.
His sensitivity to the Tai Chi Beads had also significantly increased, to the point that he always had a premonition that he was about to gain some new insights.
But opportunities are rare and hard to come by. Without them, even the strongest premonition may not be confirmed until ten years later.
Therefore, it cannot be forced.
Chen Ke, dressed in a large cloak of invisibility, stood solemnly in the darkness until all the corpses had turned to ashes before walking outside.
On the open ground at the entrance of the cave, Chen Ke looked at the human bones with teeth marks scattered on the ground, and the skulls of two children floating in the cauldron, and his Adam's apple bobbed again.
They rolled up the firewood piled on the ground, put it all into the cave, lit it, and then sealed the cave with stones.
Chen Ke spat out a word, and the green leaves transformed into a divine boat, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the vast night.
Tonight's harvest was unexpectedly good; my Soul Value cap actually exceeded 1000 points. I can go explore Pearl City tomorrow night.
The thought of Pearl City having a large quantity of cheap spirit stones tempted him greatly.
Whether the Fuyou Divine Ship can be upgraded from the "One Reed" class (crossing the river on a single reed) to the "Pig Stud" class (pig feeding trough) depends entirely on this batch of spirit stones.
Name: Chen Ke
Realm: Sixth Level of Meridian Refinement
Spiritual Value: Wood: 180/180
Soul Points: 908/1007
Skill::
Masterful skill: "Photographic Memory"
Proficient in: "The Willow Clan's Medical Techniques", "Divine Speed and Illusory Shadow", and "The Sword of Heaven and Earth"
Master of: "Dragon Scale Whirlwind Armor", "Great Return to Emptiness True Scripture", "Haotian Divine Fist", "Killing God Technique"
Beginner's Guide: "Ghost King's Escape Technique" and "Thousand-Faced Guanyin Technique"