It took Chu Yuqin a long while to recover from her shock.
A cold glint flickered in her eyes. The ninth-rank warrior who had attempted to assassinate Lu Chen was already dead, but the one standing before her now—he couldn't be allowed to walk away.
Though no one could say for certain what Lu Chen had used, the fact remained—it had enabled a mere ordinary man to kill a ninth-grade warrior.
That alone proved its terrifying power.
If word of this ever got out, it would send shockwaves through the entire martial world.
At that moment, Bai Hong was still frozen in disbelief. Liu Tong, a ninth-rank like him, had dropped dead in an instant. Only now did he realize how dire the situation was, and his instincts screamed at him to run.
But just as he turned to flee, something strange stirred in the air—it began to rain.
Only, it wasn't water.
Raindrops and flower petals danced in the sky, a surreal downpour drifting softly around him.
Before Bai Hong could fully react, several streaks of white light flashed around him. His expression twisted in panic.
"Not good!"
A soft, chilling voice followed behind him.
"Nine Swords—Flowers Rain Down."
The illusion of gentle rain turned ferocious, the petals becoming phantom blades as they slashed toward him from all directions.
In a clash between ninth-grade warriors, the line between life and death often lasted no longer than a heartbeat.
The brief moment when Bai Hong was distracted—that was all Chu Yuqin needed.
She had unleashed her most powerful sword technique.
As Bai Hong's body collapsed before her, Lu Chen stood dumbfounded.
He hadn't even seen Chu Yuqin draw her blade. All he had caught was the afterimage—white sword lights slicing through Bai Hong's body before he hit the ground.
So this is the strength of a ninth-rank warrior...
Terrifying.
Though he had just killed a ninth-rank himself, he had used a gun—an external tool. Deep down, Lu Chen knew he needed to improve his martial skills quickly.
A firearm might be a trump card, but it wasn't a foundation.
If he could catch someone off guard, even a ninth-rank wasn't impossible to kill. But if they were alert, if they were prepared—he wasn't confident it would work the same.
Especially after witnessing Chu Yuqin's blade speed.
Whatever pride he'd felt after killing Liu Tong vanished in an instant.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Blood Moon Tower's remaining forces panicked upon seeing their two strongest warriors fall.
"The mission's failed! Retreat—retreat quickly!"
An eighth-grade assassin who had been trading blows with Li Feng turned and bolted into the woods without hesitation. He knew if he stayed, he wouldn't leave alive.
Chu Yuqin's voice rang out coldly, commanding the palace guards and escorts.
"Don't let any of them escape. Kill them all."
The momentum shifted instantly. Under Chu Yuqin's orders, Li Feng led the remaining soldiers and royal guards to hunt down the fleeing assassins.
Most of the Blood Moon Tower's fighters were just third or fourth rank. They were never meant to win the battle—they were just meant to delay the escort team long enough for their elites to assassinate Lu Chen.
Now that their elite force had fallen, their only option was to flee.
At the same time, Lu Chen noticed the eighth-grade warrior from before trying to escape.
He calmly stepped out of the carriage, his eyes steady, and pulled out the Barrett sniper rifle.
He hadn't tried this weapon before. Now seemed like the perfect time.
Chu Yuqin had been preparing to give chase, but when she saw the black, stick-like object in Lu Chen's hands, she froze mid-step.
Lu Chen lay prone, resting the barrel on the ground, and calmly took aim.
Boom.
A low, thunderous sound rang out.
The fleeing eighth-grade assassin's head exploded like a watermelon.
Chu Yuqin stood rooted to the spot.
At such a distance—gone in a single shot?
She had watched Lu Chen grow up with her own eyes. Never once had she seen him wield such terrifying weapons.
Eighth grade? Ninth grade?
In front of him, they were nothing more than ants.
As she stared at the long, black weapon in his hands, even a ninth-grade powerhouse like Chu Yuqin broke into a cold sweat.
She knew what kind of terrifying strength warriors of the eighth and ninth rank possessed. Even a seasoned ninth-grade fighter could hold their own against a grandmaster-level expert.
Yet now, these warriors—whom great factions would kill to recruit—were falling like flies at the hands of a boy who had never even practiced martial arts.
She had deliberately kept Lu Chen away from martial training, wanting to shield him from the pain and hardship that came with it.
And yet, here he stood—with a power that could shake the very foundations of their world.
An ordinary person, armed with such a weapon... what would happen once this technology spread?
The entire martial world would be turned upside down. The age of warriors would crumble.
The realization made her scalp go numb.
Still, this wasn't the time for contemplation.
Without hesitation, Chu Yuqin soared forward to finish the job.
With the ninth-grade warriors gone, the remaining assassins were nothing in her eyes.
She was like death incarnate—wherever she passed, Blood Moon Tower agents fell like wheat to a sickle.
Before long, all the assassins had been slaughtered.
But the battle had come at a price. Li Feng's guard unit had been reduced to just over a hundred men, while only fifty or sixty of the royal guards had survived.
The ground was littered with bodies.
Lu Chen stood amidst the carnage, expression blank.
He felt nothing.
He understood this well—the road to becoming emperor is paved with blood.
This skirmish was merely the beginning.
As he stared at the corpses, lost in thought, a graceful figure approached him from behind.
"Chen'er," Chu Yuqin's voice came gently, tinged with worry and a trace of resentment, "tell me the truth—are you hiding something from me?"
Her gaze locked onto him.
She had raised him like her own son, arranged everything for him within the palace, and yet… he had never breathed a word about this weapon.
There was no need to ask if it belonged to him. Obviously not.
All she wanted now was to know who had given Lu Chen these terrifying weapons—and why.
There's no such thing as a free gift in this world.
Whoever provided them must have had their own motives. And that terrified her.
She didn't want Lu Chen dragged into a storm bigger than he could handle.
She just wanted to bring him to Beijun and let him live a quiet, stable life.
Lu Chen stiffened at her words.
He hadn't expected her to ask so soon. He had only wanted to test the rifle, not deal with the aftermath.
They were eighth and ninth-grade warriors, yet killed in an instant—what would happen if others learned of this?
He turned to look at Chu Yuqin and gave her his most innocent, radiant smile.
"Aunt Chu, what could I possibly be hiding from you?"
Chu Yuqin narrowed her eyes.
She didn't believe him for a second.
"Then tell me," she pressed, "those two weapons you used earlier—where did they come from?"
Lu Chen feigned ignorance.
"Weapons? What weapons?"
She rolled her eyes at him.
"Do you take me for a blind woman?"
With a sigh, Lu Chen pulled the black Desert Eagle from his coat and casually removed the magazine.
"You mean this thing?"
﹌﹌﹌
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