Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 213 Death (Please Subscribe)

Chapter 213: Chapter 213 Death (Please Subscribe)

Night had deepened.

Zhong Shenxiu suddenly stood up, touched his brow, and walked outside.

The sound of fluttering garments suddenly arose.

In a corner of the courtyard, in the darkness, someone appeared out of nowhere.

"Wushuang?"

Zhong Shenxiu heaved a sigh.

"Don’t come over, don’t light a lamp, don’t look at me... just listen..."

Yan Wushuang’s breathing was labored, her voice hoarse, "You cannot attend the banquet of the realm! The court has already resolved to eliminate the remaining Great Grandmasters... and your name is on the list. If you go... you’ll inevitably confront the Undying Evil Emperor!"

"I know..."

Zhong Shenxiu’s sighs grew heavier.

For the great scheme of the realm, the court didn’t hesitate to sacrifice so many from the closer Six Void Sect, the Wang and Song families, and the Imperial Family’s tributaries, naturally, they wouldn’t spare him.

A deadly duel with a Great Grandmaster would inevitably lead to casualties.

If there really was an Undying Evil Emperor, who else but he, Xun Liuyi, would step up? Should he allow other mainstays of the court to be sacrificed?

Besides, he, Xun Liuyi, had vanished for so long, and that in itself was suspicious.

Now was the time to prove his innocence with blood!

"I understand... but I harbor no treachery..." Zhong Shenxiu seemed to give a bitter smile, "In this life, my only desire is to pursue the ultimate in Martial Arts. Beyond that, I desire nothing else..."

"Desire nothing... else?"

Something in the darkness seemed to be squirming, cracking... Yan Wushuang’s voice came intermittently.

Indeed, this was Zhong Shenxiu’s thought.

He came into this world only to amass Martial Arts Divine Powers and Heavenly Show Points, never to vie for dominance over the realm. At most he thought about becoming something like the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch.

But now, to become that Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, he must break the court’s power, causing chaos and death throughout the realm.

And the benefits to be gained from such an act were hardly substantial.

Thus, weighing the pros and cons, Zhong Shenxiu had already made a decision in his heart upon his return to Little Mountain City.

Wasn’t it just acting?

Who couldn’t act?

If the court was going to move against him, he’d put on a show where the lord wishes for the vassal’s death, and the vassal can but die.

As long as they show him the "Heavenly Stele," he’d do whatever they asked of him. Even dying to prove his innocence wasn’t out of the question.

After all, the world was but a game; bowing his head was just part of it.

To die in such a display of loyalty could even earn him a posthumous title of undying loyalty, blessings to his entire family, and benefactions to his posterity—there was nothing wrong with that.

And whatever he wanted to take for himself, he had already taken. When he dusted off his hands and left, others would take care of the mess he left behind.

Hence, Zhong Shenxiu’s earlier thought was to perform a glamorous farewell.

However the court prepared for his death, he would comply. With extra pay, he could perform various deaths, keeping things fresh to the satisfaction of all...

But at this moment, he realized.

His game, in the eyes of others, was a living world and everything they gambled their lives to protect!

Snap!

Something seemed to burst in the darkness.

Zhong Shenxiu stepped forward, "Are you hurt? Let me have a look..."

"Don’t come over, don’t look at me!"

Yan Wushuang’s emotions suddenly flared, her voice tinged with sobbing: "I swore to serve the court to death, to be loyal to the Imperial Family... but I also swore to uphold justice and not wrongly judge a good person... you... are a good person... and shouldn’t die..."

Her voice became very intermittent, muffled.

"The affliction on you is complicated, and it needs early treatment."

Zhong Shenxiu furrowed his brows and took a step forward.

Yan Wushuang let out a shrill scream, "I’ve broken my vows and can no longer live; why can’t you let me die in peace?"

"Because... I already saw it..."

Zhong Shenxiu sighed.

A Great Grandmaster’s view of the world was different from that of ordinary grandmasters.

Thus, he had already seen Yan Wushuang’s current state.

Half of her body was covered in blood threads, the flesh bulging and wriggling, turning the once-beautiful Goddess Constable into a hideous beast!

No wonder she didn’t want to show her face to him.

"Backlash from possessing Jialan Fan Hand’s grandmaster body?"

Zhong Shenxiu didn’t approach but sighed, "How foolish of you..."

"I’ve delivered the message; let me leave and die quietly..."

Yan Wushuang’s blurry voice came through, seeming in the next moment to lose all reason, to die by entering the Demon Path involuntarily!

"I’m afraid it won’t be that easy."

Zhong Shenxiu’s spirit melded with the surroundings, and several grandmaster figures, blending with the environment, were forced to reveal themselves on the walls.

The leader was none other than the Great Divine Catcher Tie Xue!

"Yan Wushuang... you betrayed the Divine Capture Sect, betrayed the court, with the utmost sinister intentions. Your crimes are beyond pardon!"

Tie Xue’s expression was steely, and he bowed to Zhong Shenxiu, "Lord Minister, this is a Demon Path’s emissary, deliberately stirring your relationship with the court..."

Zhong Shenxiu chuckled, "Great Divine Catcher, do you think I look like a fool?"

"Lord Minister, you still have Shanyao Gang to look after. Isn’t it better for us to pretend ignorance and maintain this façade?"

A one-armed grandmaster sighed, the Divine Fortune Teller Zhuge WuLiang, who spoke with deep significance, "Think of your gang, think of your kin and disciples..."

The Imperial Court and the Divine Capture Sect certainly didn’t have a god’s-eye view, nor could they see through the inner workings of Zhong Shenxiu’s mind.

From the intelligence they had gathered, they only knew that Xun Liuyi came from a beggar’s background, nearly starved to death, and was taken in by the Shanyao Gang, who taught him martial arts. Grateful for this great kindness, his sense of identity with the Shanyao Gang was very strong, and he also had a somewhat ambiguous childhood sweetheart who was a senior disciple—Wei Hongyao. Even after the San Shan Sect attacked, he followed the remnants of the Shanyao Gang, diligently practicing martial arts, seeking to avenge the gang’s honor.

Later on, Xun Liuyi made a name for himself on the Martial Ranking, and even achieved the status of Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster. Despite being courted by the Imperial Court and various factions, he was unwilling to betray his sect, and merely took on the role of Guest Elder.

Within the Shanyao Gang, he took on disciples and enthusiastically arranged marriages for them, likely preparing them to be his True Disciples and inherit his mantle.

When the King of Ten Thousand Slaves from the Five Poison Sect attacked, he moved beforehand to avoid involving the sect.

Even after becoming a Grandmaster, for the sake of the sect, he risked his life fighting to the death in Miaojiang, earning inheritance Secret Techniques.

If this wasn’t called having affection and righteousness, what would be?

Even Yan Wushuang was moved to the core.

Such a big handle, of course, needed to be firmly grasped.

At the Grand Banquet of Martial Arts, it would be a great advantage, a pawn in front of the horses.

As for whether the Ten Thousand Poison Hand would turn on them—hah, the Imperial Court didn’t care about the death of so many ordinary people. As for the Emperor, he naturally had experts around to protect him, and at worst, he could be moved beforehand.

"I also think so... but how do I vent this layer of suppressed irritation?"

Zhong Shenxiu no longer looked at Yan Wushuang, slowly removing his gloves.

Now that the Ten Thousand Poison Hand was renowned throughout the land, every Martial Artist knew that when Xun Liuyi removed his gloves, it was time for him to make a move.

"Go!"

The Iron Blood Divine Catcher roared angrily and was the first to flee.

They had come to pursue Yan Wushuang, but to face a Great Grandmaster? It would be quicker and less painful to slit their own throats.

"You think you can escape?"

Zhong Shenxiu’s figure folded rapidly and he appeared in front of the Great Iron Blood Divine Catcher.

The Great Iron Blood Divine Catcher’s body erupted with Iron Blood Battle Qi, his Iron Melting Hand protecting his vital areas, and he shouted, "Xun Liuyi, do you really wish to become an enemy of the Imperial Court?"

"No use shouting, even if you were to scream your throat raw, no one would come to save you."

Zhong Shenxiu’s expression remained unchanged.

If he wanted, he could even confine the Grandmaster’s throat-ripping roar to within a few feet, not letting a single sound escape.

But he was too lazy to do even that.

At that moment, the altered Great Grandmaster’s spirit surged down like the great Yangtze River.

With a mere glance, the Iron Blood Divine Catcher’s immensely vigorous Iron Blood Battle Qi was shattered and he stood there, stunned and entirely unaware of how to resist.

Zhong Shenxiu stepped forward and with a pluck,

The head of the number one figure on the Earth List, the Great Iron Blood Divine Catcher of the Divine Capture Sect, was effortlessly taken.

The number one on the Earth List, the Great Divine Catcher Iron Blood, dead!!!

"No, make haste!"

Zhuge WuLiang looked back at this sight, nearly losing his soul from the shock.

In his memory, the Great Iron Blood Divine Catcher could even withstand three moves from a Great Grandmaster. How could he have been defeated so swiftly?

’Could it be... Xun Liuyi is even stronger than that Great Grandmaster from back then?’

An inconceivable thought surfaced in his mind.

Next, he saw Zhong Shenxiu waving a palm from afar.

The opponent’s right hand was fair and delicate, like a divine hand carved from jade, yet despite the tens of meters of distance, it was still incredibly fierce.

Pfft!

Under the Hundred-step Divine Palm, the other Grandmasters screamed in agony, turning to ash.

Only Zhuge WuLiang, desperately activating his Secret Technique, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and leaped off the city wall.

...

At an underground base.

"Mr. Zhuge?"

A group of elite members of the Divine Capture Sect saw Zhuge WuLiang returning covered in blood and were utterly stunned.

"Quick, use all other networks to inform the Divine Capture Sect and the Imperial Court, there’s been a change..."

Zhuge WuLiang’s face was a blotchy red, as he felt his life force rapidly fading. He frantically urged the informants of the Divine Capture Sect to send out messages: "Yan Wushuang has rebelled, Xun Liuyi has made a move, with a single palm strike three Divine Catchers are dead, and I am badly poisoned... The details of his martial skills are..."

Stuffing a message into the bamboo tube on a pigeon’s leg, he personally released it and made sure that several other messages were being sent out through different channels. Only then did Zhuge WuLiang breathe a sigh of relief: "Imperial Court, Your Majesty... your subject has been loyal to the end!"

Having faced the Great Grandmaster and locked by the soul from a thousand miles away, he didn’t think he could escape.

Being able to send out a message or two, letting people know Xun Liuyi’s background, and thus infer his Divine Skills’ weaknesses was the only thing he could do.

But as he waited for death, he suddenly thought of something: "That person is extremely vicious... why am I still alive after so much time?"

As he pondered, the image of that palm surfaced again in his mind.

Jade-like, moonlit, hand... utter terror...

Suddenly, Zhuge WuLiang found his legs beginning to dissolve...

"No... I can’t think of that palm... every time I do, I get poisoned?"

"Lord... ah... save me..."

Just then, the scribes beside him who were transcribing messages suffered the same fierce poison, screamed out loud, and immediately died.

"The Divine Skills of the Great Grandmaster, mysterious and unpredictable, why was I able to escape death? Could it be... he intentionally spared me because the information I passed on was like doses of poison?"

Zhuge WuLiang, worthy of the title Divine Fortune Teller, instantly understood and felt an even colder chill, screaming, "Quick... recall the messages!"

If they were allowed to spread, the spy network of the Divine Capture Sect was afraid to be wiped out!

But it was too late. To his horror, he discovered he couldn’t even raise his arms as his whole body turned pus and blood...

...

Within the Shanyao Gang.

Shi Yu and the others hurriedly donned their clothes and ran out, only to see Zhong Shenxiu walking out from the darkness with an expressionless face, holding a hideous corpse...