Chapter 24

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Chapter 24: The Rising Wind

The sudden change caught everyone off guard.

It was so close, arriving in an instant. Had it been someone else, they might have struggled to react.

Even Chu Yuming, Wang Xiong, and the others failed to respond, their eyes widening in shock, unable to make a sound.

Instead, distant cries rang out, accompanied by the roars of bulls and the screeches of apes, but they were cut short.

However, Zhang Yang was different. His vision was extraordinary, his reflexes unmatched, and his movements lightning-fast. These three strengths allowed him to react instantly. Before the three-inch flying knife could even close the distance of half a meter, he pinched it between his fingers.

"Interesting. This imperial aura can attack on its own?"

Zhang Yang grasped the small knife firmly, feeling the powerful vibrations from the imperial aura as it struggled to break free.

He observed it closely, sensing its energy, and turned his attention to Yun Liuhuo’s storage bag. Reaching out with his left hand, he opened the bag and retrieved the Great Xia Martial Lord Seal.

Now, he could feel the connection between the two even more clearly.

It seemed the imperial aura could be controlled by the Great Xia Martial Lord Seal.

Not far away, Chu Yuming, Wang Xiong, Yang Shihu, and the others saw Zhang Yang ignoring them. They exchanged glances, seized the opportunity, and quickly fled.

At the same time, the roars continued.

A blue light dashed by—it was the fastest among them, the Ironback Blue Bull, charging directly at Yang Shihu, who had been attempting to draw his bow for a sneak attack on Zhang Yang.

This top archer of the Yang family was unfortunate. The Ironback Blue Bull, bearing the bloodline of an ancient giant elephant and having evolved with five Blood Spirit Flowers, possessed strength rivaling that of its legendary ancestor. The impact sent a chilling sound of bones shattering through the air. Before he died, Yang Shihu couldn’t even see what had struck him.

Elsewhere, the Night Stalker wielded a black spear, sweeping it toward Chu Yuming. The panicked Chu Yuming displayed remarkable agility, dodging in the nick of time. Although he avoided a fatal blow, the spear’s edge grazed his left arm, severing it completely.

Now, with both arms lost, how could he continue to fight?

Even as he gritted his teeth and endured the pain, he could only resist a few times before being pierced through by the Night Stalker’s spear.

Wang Xiong, powerful in his own right, fought fiercely against the Golden Ape King. However, when the Night Stalker and the Ironback Blue Bull joined in, his fate was sealed, and he was killed on the spot.

With the deaths of these three, the remaining opponents were insignificant. The golden apes, empowered by the Blood Spirit Flowers, overwhelmed them, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake.

Amidst the blood-soaked battlefield, Zhang Yang remained unfazed. His eyes were fixed solely on the Great Xia Martial Lord Seal, barely paying attention to the three-inch flying knife, which he simply held in his right hand.

"It is said that this item was personally crafted by the founding emperor of the Great Xia Empire and is connected to the imperial aura. It has been passed down through generations, totaling seventy-two pieces. Every martial lord who dies must have possessed one, and even if someone tries to take it away, it mysteriously returns to the royal family of the Great Xia Empire, where it is then used for rewards. As for the titles of the martial lords beneath the seal, only the imperial aura can modify them," the Night Stalker explained quietly as he approached.

Zhang Yang replied, "So, without this Great Xia Martial Lord Seal, does it mean that the Great Xia Empire will permanently lose a martial lord?"

The Night Stalker paused, having not considered this before. "It seems so, because every martial lord must have one of the seventy-two Great Xia Martial Lord Seals. So far, not a single seal has ever been lost, nor has any royal seal been missing."

"From now on, the Great Xia Martial Lord Seal will permanently be missing one!" Zhang Yang declared, suddenly exerting strength with his left hand.

The Great Xia Martial Lord Seal was indeed a treasure like no other. Although it wasn’t categorized as a traditional treasure, its nature was extraordinary due to the imperial aura. Since its creation, it had never been lost or damaged. Whether due to the deterrence of the Great Xia Empire or some unknown reason, it had remained intact for over a thousand years.

Destroying it would not be easy.

Yet, in the Vast Forest, all constraints were broken.

And Zhang Yang’s power was unparalleled.

Having entered the Returning to Origin realm, he had never gone all out—until this moment.

Furthermore, six divine powers burst forth simultaneously.

Cang Wolf Power!

Giant Elephant Power!

Demon Elephant Power!

Diamond Dragon Strength!

Ant King Power!

Baxiang Power!

All were unleashed at once, and at that moment, his five fingers radiated an eerie brilliance.

His fingers shimmered with a faint golden light, intertwined with shadowy images. As his realm rose, it seemed as though the six divine powers, stemming from six divine beasts, roared through the air. The Cang Wolf, Giant Elephant, Golden Dragon, Ant King, and Baxiang pressed down on the Great Xia Martial Lord Seal through his five fingers.

"Crack!"

The first fracture formed beneath his thumb.

Then, one after another, cracks spread as his other fingers exerted force.

"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The Great Xia Martial Lord Seal trembled as fissures widened rapidly.

In an instant, Zhang Yang clenched his fingers together.

"Snap!"

With a final, resounding crack, the Great Xia Martial Lord Seal shattered into fragments.

The three-inch flying knife in his right hand transformed into wisps of purple mist, which were instantly carried away by the wind.

The Night Stalker felt his heart racing. He knew that from this moment on, Zhang Yang would become infamous among the elites of the Great Xia Empire and even throughout the Southern Region.

The Great Xia Imperial Capital was one of the most prosperous cities in the Southern Region, if not the entire vast world.

Its level of prosperity was beyond the imagination of those who had never set foot there.

A city with a population exceeding one hundred million.

Four main streets cut through the city, bustling with pedestrians even at night, with shops brightly lit on either side.

It was just as lively and noisy as any other day.

But suddenly, the roar of a tiger echoed through the heavens, shaking the clouds and instantly silencing the city. The sound resonated deep within the hearts of the people, as if something precious had been lost forever.

In the next moment, beams of golden light erupted from all four corners of the Imperial Capital, shooting into the sky and forming the image of a golden tiger.

The golden tiger stood high above, roaring at the beings of the Imperial Capital. It glanced towards the palace before surging upwards and vanishing from sight.

Some, sensing the change, exclaimed, "The Great Xia Empire has permanently lost a martial lord!"

Others lamented, "The seventy-two lords since the founding of the Great Xia Empire have now become seventy-one!"

The Great Xia Imperial Capital trembled.

The Great Xia Empire itself shook.

In the lofty mountains, Mu Shaoyang, the Seventh Prince, led the Demon Slayer Team of one hundred thousand soldiers. They had just departed from the Green Sparrow Palace when the news of the Great Xia Empire permanently losing a martial lord reached them.

With just a thought, he knew it was Yun Liuhuo who had been killed, and that the Great Xia Martial Lord Seal must have been destroyed by Zhang Yang.

Although he had long predicted that Yun Liuhuo, Chu Yuming, Wang Xiong, and the others would meet their end at Zhang Yang’s hands, he didn’t care at all. To him, they were nothing more than a newly appointed lord and a few useless fools—like a pack of dead dogs.

But the destruction of the Great Xia Martial Lord Seal was undeniably a slap in the face—a slap so hard that it left his face burning with humiliation.

The Seventh Prince coldly commanded, "Send word for Jin Yuguan to lead thirty battle teams to the Vast Forest immediately. Zhang Yang must be eliminated."

"Let Qiu Lingshui, Lu Fang, Ning Feixiao, Ding Yunpeng, Leng Jiuyou, and the others not gather; they must reach the Vast Forest within half a month."

After issuing the command, the Demon Slayer Team moved.

The Seventh Prince said coldly, "Zhang Yang, I will make you understand how terrifying it is to provoke me."

From that moment on, the Vast Forest once again became the center of attention in the Great Xia Empire in an unprecedented way.

As the wind rose, who would soar ninety thousand miles?

As the wind rose, who would fall into the dark abyss of ignorance?