The North-Stabilizing King chuckled lightly.
Li Qingyue couldn't hold it in anymore. She threw aside her princess decorum, grabbed onto the North-Stabilizing King's robe, and burst into loud sobs:
"Royal Uncle, I want to return to the palace!"
Li Ling held back his tears with great effort, stubbornly tilting his head up, lips trembling. The North-Stabilizing King smiled and patted his head, prompting Li Ling to throw himself into his arms, his shoulders trembling.
After all, they were both children under ten years old.
They had been ignorant of the world's dangers until now. After walking the edge of life and death today, though frightened, they now understood many of the life lessons their elders had tried to teach them.
No teaching compares to personal experience.
That was also the North-Stabilizing King's intention.
He didn't have the time to watch over his youngest son every moment. The boy had to learn to grow up. Otherwise, if he ever slipped away without his knowledge, regret would come too late.
Even so.
Seeing his youngest son in such a state, his heart ached, and his gaze toward the many Demonic Sect Heaven-Man experts grew colder.
At this moment.
The many experts engaged in battle had all taken notice of what was happening here.
That middle-aged man appeared without a sound and crushed a Heaven-Man Realm cultivator like a chick!
The power gap was terrifying.
"So this is the strength of the ninth on the Heaven-Man Ranking?" Ning Qi's gaze trembled in the Scripture Pavilion.
He had heard that the strength of those on the Heaven-Man Ranking shifted drastically every ten places. But until now, he'd only encountered those at the bottom. This was his first time witnessing the North-Stabilizing King in action, and the gap made him feel like that Heaven-Man expert was no stronger than a Qi Origin Realm fighter.
"Could he have already reached perfection in the Heaven-Man Realm?"
Ning Qi became even more cautious, suppressing his aura and fluctuations. With the North-Stabilizing King here, he didn't have to worry about anything else—he focused solely on pushing the Heavenly Sword against Elder Wang.
Eunuch Ye, Daoist Longshan, and the Butcher all looked reinvigorated upon seeing the North-Stabilizing King appear.
But the Demonic Sect experts were filled with disbelief.
Even Elder Wang couldn't help exclaiming in shock:
"North-Stabilizing King?!"
His voice turned sharp and distorted, tinged with fear.
The name of a man is like the shadow of a tree.
The North-Stabilizing King's reputation echoed throughout the Great Yan.
"Aren't you supposed to be guarding the Northern Barbarians? Why are you here?!"
Elder Wang's gaze landed on Li Ling and seemed to suddenly realize:
"You actually used your own son as bait?! What a schemer!"
The North-Stabilizing King snorted coldly:
"Impudent! You think you're worthy?"
"You dared to harm Ling'er—you all deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
He couldn't be bothered to explain. His left hand gently caressed Li Ling's head, while his right hand curled into a fist and slowly struck toward Elder Wang. Ｒ₳𝐍ổＢĚＳ
The punch seemed unremarkable, yet it contained profound intricacies.
But Ning Qi's gaze turned serious. He could see that essence, energy, and spirit had fused exquisitely with the power of heaven and earth in that punch. He took note of it, committing the move to memory.
Elder Wang's eyes widened in terror, pupils constricting.
He let out a screech, spitting out blood without hesitation.
Strands of heaven and earth power gathered at his sides, mixing with the poisonous mist to form a giant toad. The toad continuously spat green venom, creating layer after layer of barriers to block the incoming punch.
But it was useless.
Everything was reduced to dust beneath that fist. The green mist shattered, and the barriers collapsed one by one.
Elder Wang unleashed all his tricks, but he couldn't withstand the North-Stabilizing King's masterful punch.
The poison toad wailed and burst apart. The light-as-a-feather punch struck Elder Wang's body.
"Boom!"
A terrifying force exploded—Elder Wang's body was nearly split in two.
He spat blood in torrents, gravely injured.
Ning Qi's eyes flashed as he seized the opportunity. The Heavenly Sword tore through the air, striking Elder Wang from behind. Though the sword was peerlessly sharp, it still couldn't cut him fully in half.
Elder Wang suffered another hit, spitting out more blood. A blinding streak of blood-light fled into the distance—he didn't even dare utter a single threat and directly used a secret technique to burn his blood and escape. The other Demonic Sect Heaven-Man experts were left behind.
The North-Stabilizing King frowned slightly, a little surprised:
"Armor?"
That wasn't just any punch. It should have smashed him to pieces, or at least rendered him unable to move.
Yet Elder Wang, having taken a punch and a sword strike, could still flee.
He did have a few tricks up his sleeve.
The North-Stabilizing King watched the blood-light fade into the distance, and eventually gave up the idea of pursuit. With his strength, he could catch up—but after glancing at Li Ling and Li Qingyue beside him, he gave up.
"Forget it."
Just an old demon—not worth the trouble.
Still, he glanced deep into the Zhenwu Sect, his eyes flashing with surprise. That last sword strike had caught his attention:
"This Heavenly Sword True Person does have some skill. Especially that move just now, utterly devoid of aura—I couldn't even sense where he was. Interesting."
But he didn't dwell on it.
Anyone who reached such heights surely had their own trump cards.
At this moment.
The three remaining Demonic Sect Heaven-Man experts saw Elder Wang wounded and fleeing in an instant. All of them turned pale with fright and tried to flee.
But they neither had Elder Wang's strength nor his armor.
Three punches from the North-Stabilizing King, and Zhenwu Mountain instantly gained three more Heaven-Man corpses.
Such prowess left everyone awestruck.
All eyes turned to the imposing middle-aged man, filled with reverence.
Truly—slaying Heaven-Man experts like slaughtering chickens.
Only Ning Qi.
His gaze turned to the sky.
That was the direction Elder Wang had fled. Seeing the wreckage of Zhenwu Sect, cold killing intent surged in his heart. Now that the North-Stabilizing King was here, Zhenwu Mountain was secure. If the Demonic Sect dared come again, they'd have to pay the price.
That final sword strike had left a Sword Qi mark in Elder Wang's back.
Ning Qi quietly activated the Silent Technique and Body-Altering and Bone-Changing Technique, stepping out of the Scripture Pavilion.
…
In the night sky.
The blood-light shot away like a rainbow, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Elder Wang was still shaken, not yet recovered from the shock of the North-Stabilizing King's sudden arrival. That punch had nearly obliterated him.
"If not for the Green Thorn Armor, I would've died at Zhenwu Mountain."
"Dn North-Stabilizing King, dn Heavenly Sword True Person!"
He cursed in his heart, but didn't dare slow down, frantically operating the Blood Ignition Technique. He feared the North-Stabilizing King would chase him down and execute him.
His fear was so deep, he didn't even dare look back.
Though he couldn't sense the North-Stabilizing King's presence, that punch had left a shadow in his mind like a nightmare.
But unlike Old Demon Lin who had the Blood Demon Flower to support him, Elder Wang had no such boost. Running the Blood Ignition Technique meant burning his own blood essence, and his face turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He didn't know how far he had run.
Only when he realized the North-Stabilizing King truly wasn't following did he finally stop the technique.
By now, he looked emaciated. His already small frame looked even more shriveled, like a miniature skeleton from afar.
He had burned nearly half of his blood essence.
"D**n it. If I'd known the North-Stabilizing King wouldn't pursue, I wouldn't have burned my blood this long."
Elder Wang felt like crying.
Blood essence is the essence of life. If you lose more than half, your foundation suffers. He had shortened his lifespan greatly. But in his earlier panic, he hadn't dared stop.
Elder Wang landed on a mountain range and panted lightly.
Reflecting on the night raid on Zhenwu Mountain, he felt something was off. At first, he thought it was a trap by the North-Stabilizing King. But then he remembered he hadn't known the envoy group included his son and Princess Qingyue.
Did that mean... he was just plain unlucky?
The thought made him so angry he wanted to cough blood.
If only he had attacked a few days earlier.
But it was too late now. He could only suppress his frustration and rage, sit down, and focus on stabilizing his injuries. He would discuss the next steps with the sect upon returning.
Thinking of losing four Heaven-Man experts in just a few months, he felt like vomiting blood.
Cultivating a Heaven-Man expert was no easy feat.
After just a moment of recovery, Elder Wang's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively took to the air to dodge—sharp Sword Qi slashed down, splitting the tree where he sat in two. The Sword Qi howled into the forest, leaving behind a terrifying scar.
"Who's there?!"
Elder Wang roared. A tiger fallen to flatlands is bullied by dogs—he was having the worst luck, ambushed even here. If he hadn't been so cautious and sensed the fluctuation the moment the Sword Qi was released, he'd be injured again.
Ning Qi stepped through the air, now appearing as a white-haired old Daoist.
Elder Wang instantly realized:
"Heavenly Sword True Person?!"
He gritted his teeth.
He couldn't believe the North-Stabilizing King hadn't come—but this old freak had chased after him instead.
Ning Qi snorted coldly:
"Your reflexes aren't bad."
But he wasn't surprised. If it were that easy, Elder Wang would've died back at Zhenwu Mountain.
Elder Wang held his breath. Upon confirming it was only Ning Qi, he relaxed slightly. He remained wary of the Heavenly Sword—especially that earlier strike. In his injured state, he might not be a match and needed to find a way to escape.
But to his surprise.
The Heavenly Sword True Person showed no signs of condensing Sword Qi.
Ning Qi looked at the weakened Elder Wang and didn't waste words.
He communicated with the False Core within. Power of heaven and earth began to gather.
Ning Qi stepped into the sky. Faint roars of a True Dragon and Divine Eagle echoed. Lightning shimmered over his body. Elder Wang's eyes widened—before him, the old Daoist had vanished, replaced by a thunderous Divine Tiger. But what truly shocked him was Ning Qi's body growing larger with each step.
In just a few strides, the white-haired old Daoist had become a giant several zhang tall. Bulging muscles shimmered with lightning beneath his Daoist robe, his vital aura so overwhelming that Elder Wang couldn't help but gasp.
Wasn't this guy supposed to be nearing his end?
Ning Qi gave him no time to breathe.
He shot forward at breakneck speed, lightning-wreathed fist crashing down like a mountain.
He wanted to test the power of the Ape King True Form.
This secret technique had never been put into practice before. Now was the chance. He discovered that because it originated from the White Ape bloodline, it synergized surprisingly well with the False Core. The resulting power exceeded expectations.
"Boom!"
Elder Wang's expression changed drastically. His venomous palm strike was blown apart by Ning Qi's punch. Lightning erupted as the massive fist struck Elder Wang.
In the forest, Elder Wang was smashed across a hundred-zhang-long path, breaking countless trees and rocks, eventually embedding into a cliff wall.
He spat blood violently—his bones felt shattered.
Ning Qi raised a brow and commented:
"Not bad. You can take a beating."
Elder Wang struggled to get up. Looking at the towering Daoist, his pupils dilated—this was a humanoid beast. Even in his prime, he likely wasn't a match—let alone now, half-dead.
He had only one thought: run, run now!
He gritted his teeth and ignited blood, soaring into the sky.
But Ning Qi was already waiting. A tiger's roar shook the sky as he raised his leg like a thunder pillar and stomped down on Elder Wang's spine.
Boom—Elder Wang was slammed into the ground. Crawling up again, hair disheveled and clothes in tatters, the armor glowing faintly beneath surprised Ning Qi.
"Let's see how long you can last."
No matter how strong the armor, it had its limits.
Ning Qi flashed forward, shadowing him like a ghost. Another punch aimed at Elder Wang's head—thankfully, he was still conscious and dodged the vital spot, raising a fist to block.
As expected, Elder Wang was sent flying again, spitting a mist of blood.
In the forest.
The earth trembled—it was like two Beast Kings clashing. Exotic beasts hiding deep in the mountains fled in fright.
But they didn't know—this was one-sided suppression.
Ning Qi's plain and simple punches shattered all of Elder Wang's pride. All the bones in his body were broken—his injuries so severe, he wouldn't survive without treatment. He had lost all will to fight.
"No—Heavenly Sword True Person, you can't kill me! If you do, my Holy Sect's countless experts will one day raze Zhenwu Mountain to the ground!"
Elder Wang was gripped in Ning Qi's hand, begging in terror.
"Let me go, and all past grudges are wiped clean."
Ning Qi calmly stared at him and said flatly:
"I think you misunderstood."
Elder Wang was stunned.
Ning Qi gently closed his hand, squeezing—blood mist spread from his tiger's mouth. He opened his palm and looked at the corpse, whispering:
"The one who killed you... was the North-Stabilizing King."