Chapter 300: Apricot Manor
Life was too fragile! The girls couldn't overcome the knots in their hearts and personally ended their own lives. No one could stop someone who wanted to die.
Their blood dyed the snow red, and even more drops flowed in a dazzling manner. The stench of blood was absent. On the contrary, there was a faint, sentimental fragrance that lingered in the air.
Zhao Tian clenched his fists and was about to break his teeth from grinding them. Why did they have to die? It was because of the heretics. As a man, he failed to protect them. How could he be considered a man any longer?
"Ahhh!" He screamed with bloodshot eyes.
The four beautiful girls were alive just a moment ago, but they have now fallen to the ground and became as cold as ice. After dying, there were smiles of respite on their faces.
Feng Feiyun asked: "What's your name?"
"Martial Tower, Zhao Tian."
"Take care of their bodies and bring them back to the Wanxiang Pagoda." A glint appeared in Feiyun's eyes as he dragged his saber into the mansion and declared: "A life for a life. Four girls have died, so forty heretical members shall be buried with them!"
This was ten lives to pay for one!
Zhao Tian stared at the back of the armored soldier while being full of admiration. There were still true men in this world that weren't afraid of the heretical schools.
***
Today, the princess invited the world's heroes to gather at the Apricot Mansion. The majority of the young prodigies at Trinity came running not only for the five spirit grasses, but also to see the rank four beauty of the Jin Dynasty.
The mansion had opened its gates without any guards, anyone could enter today. Feng Feiyun noticed a red apricot garden decorated with white snow after entering. The imagery of white flakes dancing with red petals was quite beautiful.
It took him half an hour before crossing through this garden to reach a large lake. He then traversed two steep mountains full of flowers before seeing a palace with red walls and green tiles as well as birds flying in the sky. There must be more than one hundred pavilions and buildings here.
This manor was gigantic since it was the city lord's private property. An ordinary courtyard couldn't compare to it.
Feng Feiyun tried his best to calm his anger by taking this stroll and looking at the sceneries while listening to the zither music. He closed his eyes and immersed himself before he reached one of the buildings. The music stopped at this point.
"Boom!" A fight with spirit techniques was taking place in the sky that could be heard from the distance.
It was a fierce battle that had been going on for a while now. Dozens of matches had taken place. As he made his way closer, the sound of battle became clearer.
There were many young cultivators along the way, including heretical prodigies wearing their black cloaks and students from the Dao Gate with their daoist robes. There were also nuns dressed in white from the Beastmaster Camp as well as many young geniuses from the Wanxiang Pagoda...
They were rushing over with many different methods, such as flying or riding cranes. Some stood on the back of skeletal centipedes, so no one paid attention to Feng Feiyun. All of them had strong backings for they were top geniuses in the present. A Thousand-man Commander was no different than wild weed and couldn't get into their sight.
Beyond this section of buildings was an open field. This was finally the Apricot Manor with young and famous heroes everywhere.
Princess Luofu was seated in a pavilion. She was wearing a golden dress, making her seem just like a fairy. Her hair was as black and smooth as a waterfall and a yellow veil was covering her face. A dragon's aura was being exuded from her body. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to help themselves from kneeling in her presence.
Attendant Yu, adorned in a blue-dove robe, stood with a smile next to her. Eight inner-court experts with their black armor were also standing behind the pavilion in a line like eight unstoppable gods of war. They all emitted supreme battle intents.
No one dared to approach the princess. There was a woman dressed in white next to her, holding a violet zither. She also had a veil alongside an ethereal temperament.
There were too many cultivators here. Feng Feiyun was standing below an old apricot tree in the distance, so he could only see slightly moving figures and had no way of squeezing in.
Many important characters were present, such as four of the lords from the halls of the Senluo Temple. The third, fourth, seventh, and tenth lords were the ones present. They were the strongest among the heretical younger generation and had other experts beside them.
The halls were independent of each other despite having frightening power. However, in order to contend with the pagoda, they temporarily joined together. Alas, they had been separated for more than a thousand years and were quite wary of one another. A few halls were even antagonistic towards each other. There was no way for them to command great solidarity.
In addition to the heretical schools, the Beastmaster Camp, the eighteen marquis' groups, the four great clans, and other powers also sent their young prodigies to this place. One could see from this that the princess' influence among the younger generation was extraordinary.
"The princess is the host for today, you heretics are being too arrogant. Will you not even show the princess some consideration?" The third prince of Dashi, Zhuo Jiwen, shouted.
"Haha! The winner takes all. The top experts from your disciples have lost six matches in a row... what can I say? The pagoda has truly fallen, they don't have anyone capable at all. Sigh, how can you blame us for being arrogant?" Hong Mofeng sneered. A red plume of flames blossomed in his palm as he directly wounded a rank 36th expert from the pagoda. This person fell to the ground and quivered with their scorched body.
As one of Xue Changxiao's protectors, Hong Mofeng was a top fighter of the Fourth Hall. Few could compare to him in both willpower and cultivation.
"Today, the princess is trying to find the strongest expert at grand achievement God Base. Of course, this includes everyone in the world. Our heretical school is unbeatable, so why can't we join? Don't tell me your pagoda is afraid of us?"
"Your prodigies are trying to get revenge but lost six times in a row again. This is your own fault for being so weak."
"The princess is the supreme prodigy of the pagoda, I'm sure she is magnanimous enough to include our heretical schools in this competition?"
All the heretical disciples were laughing with derision and scorn. They knew the pagoda had people who would want to wash away the shame from before. Moreover, they also wanted the five spirit roots from the princess and teach this proud imperial daughter a lesson about the might of their schools.
The princess eventually spoke: "The enmity between the pagoda and the heretical schools will be dealt with three months later at the sacred lake. We will find out who is the king and who is the bandit then. However, anyone who can claim the throne at the grand achievement God Base level will be able to take these five spiritual roots."
Hong Mofeng stood in the center of the courtyard and deliberately scanned his eyes over the pagoda's disciple with a smile: "Looks like my heretical school will reign over this stage today. The pagoda really can't find anyone who can put up a fight. I only needed to use fifty percent of my strength to take down six heaven-defying geniuses from there..."
"I'll take you on." Zhuo Jiwen couldn't listen any longer. His white daoist robes began to flutter. With a whoosh, he had already leaped above her head and unleashed a crushing palm attack.
As the third prince of Dashi, he showed great talents at a young age and joined the pagoda for cultivation. This made him even stronger as one of the leading experts of his school.
"Boom!" Hong Mofeng kicked out a plume of flames that rose to the sky. His qi image, the Crimson Heavenly Sea, emerged. His body looked like a blue sky with crimson clouds floating on top of him. It looked like a sunset as well as a fiery sea from the earth's core.
Zhuo Jiwen didn't expect Hong Mofeng to be this strong. Mofeng's qi image was too intimidating, so he was struck by the wave of fire. A part of his hair was burnt clean.
The princess slightly frowned as if she could see the result already. Sure enough, not long after, Jiwen was hit again by Mofeng's Worldshaking Sixflames. Half of his body was burned as blood began to drip down.
Jiwen was horrified. This sixflames technique was horrifying, even the protective runes on his body couldn't stop it.
During his momentary lapse of concentration, Mofeng unleashed a palm that contained the force of eight qilins, causing him to spit out blood. Seven or eight more wounds emerged on his body as it nearly split apart.
This young hero was now lying on the ground and kept on coughing up blood. His attempts to climb up kept on failing.
The whole audience became speechless!
Jiwen was the future successor of Dashi, a top master at the pagoda. Many had heard of his name, but he ultimately lost in a miserable fashion.
Was it because the heretical school was too strong, or was it because the disciples from the pagoda were too incompetent?
"Haha, seven battles, seven defeats. Number one sacred ground in the world? Bullshit! They can only lick our feet. Well, maybe not, haha, their tongues are probably too rough... Ah!" A heretical disciple was laughing, but he suddenly screamed and fell to the ground. A glare had directly killed him by making his head burst open.
This was a heavenly gaze as sharp as a sword! Just one glare was able to kill a heretical disciple. The people here couldn't figure out where it came from.
"Who says the pagoda doesn't have anyone who can fight?" A cold voice sounded and intimidated the scene.
Feng Feiyun activated his spiritual senses and looked towards the apricot thicket in the distance. He slightly smirked; this guy actually came.
"Who is sneaking around? Roll out here!"
"Just a cowardly rat who won't be able to—"
"Pluff! Pluff! Pluff!" More intents shot through the sky and pierced these grand achievement God Base cultivators from the heretical schools. Their hearts exploded as they fell to the ground.
A few of the heretical lords wanted to rescue them but were too late. This glare was too horrifying, just like one from a Ghost King.