Two Silver-Grade Mystics sent to deal with me?! They certainly think highly of me! Jun Xie gave a wry smile internally. To deploy such experts against a mere profligate wastrel—the mastermind behind this assassination must have deep pockets!
Two Gold-Grade masters, seven Silver-Grade experts, a total of nine high-tier Mystics acting in concert against an entirely unprepared convoy, one lacking any accompanying bodyguards, was essentially a guaranteed victory, like throwing an egg against a stone!
Two longswords flashed with silver light, plunging downward fiercely! Behind their masks, two pairs of eyes burned with savage bloodlust—a blow meant to kill instantly!
Facing the two charging blades, a dozen countermeasures flashed through Jun Xie’s mind in an instant. But then he reconsidered: any one of those methods would inevitably expose him.
The current Jun Family was a source of immense reassurance to the Emperor. Although the family had declined, Jun Wu Yi was paralyzed, and Jun Mo Xie was hopelessly dissolute and incapable of cultivation. No heir meant that the aged Jun Zhan Tian held absolutely no ambition! This was why the Emperor felt secure enough to entrust the entire nation's military command to him. But if it were discovered that Jun Mo Xie was actually a dragon among men, that existing trust would instantly curdle into profound suspicion! After all, Jun Zhan Tian’s position within the military was terrifyingly significant!
And if Jun Xie were to reveal his true strength before the eyes of the Princess's guards now, in a sense, it would be coercing the Emperor into moving against the Jun Family!
Therefore, he could not!
Jun Xie made his decision in a split second.
Jun Xie displayed extreme panic, scrambling backward clumsily. Suddenly, his foot seemed to catch on something, causing him to stumble and fall backward. It seemed intentional, yet unintentional, perfectly positioning him so that one of the longswords scraped past the very skin of his scalp. Simultaneously, he secretly channeled the Heaven-Opening Creation Art to shield his internal organs, twisting violently. The other longsword hissed as it pierced diagonally into his chest!
While it appeared severe, it hadn't even grazed bone. With the Heaven-Opening Creation Art running at full capacity, a rich white mist instantly flooded Jun Xie’s limbs and viscera, filling every meridian, rapidly repairing his body…
Just then, the other attacker launched a full-force double kick to his chest. Jun Xie let out a muffled groan, spitting a mouthful of blood before falling backward, rolling until his white robe was stained crimson, then flipped over, head down, utterly still.
The two assassins exchanged a look, their expressions unmoved. Without a word, they rushed toward the carriage where Princess Ling Meng was being besieged.
In their minds, Jun Mo Xie, the most notorious, idle dandy in the capital, having taken a sword to the chest and then absorbing nearly a full-power kick from a Silver-Grade Mystic, must surely have shattered internal organs and held absolutely no hope of survival? Thus, the assassins didn't even deign to look back, turning immediately!
Neither of them noticed that just as the two kicks landed on Jun Xie’s body, the fabric over his chest suddenly puffed out strangely, then settled. As the feet connected, the cloth actually convulsed five or six times in an instant, dissipating the vast majority of the force.
Princess Ling Meng’s current escort consisted only of the most common palace guards. Only the two leading men were strong, yet they were still merely two Silver-Grade Mystics. Caught completely off guard by the ambush of two Gold-Grade powerhouses and seven Silver-Grade experts, they were instantly thrown into disarray. The rest, though numerous, were essentially useless in this fight.
The strange thing was, ever since the black arrow had pierced the carriage, there had been absolute silence from within; no one knew if Princess Ling Meng was dead or alive.
The guards at the front of the carriage fell one by one. The two masked leaders exchanged glances, then simultaneously leaped high into the air. Golden light shimmered around them as they soared like eagles snatching rabbits, diving toward the carriage.
The guards cried out in terror, simultaneously shouting warnings while desperately throwing themselves forward, trying to sacrifice their lives to stop the assault; but with their low levels of Profound Qi, how could they possibly block two Gold-Grade powerhouses? The difference in strength was too vast, and they were scattered like breaking waves. The two black-clad figures swiftly landed atop the carriage. Their four hands struck out, swords flashing, a burst of golden light erupting. The magnificent carriage was instantly torn to shreds. Gorgeous strips of fabric flew across the night sky, and amidst the glimmer of gold and silver, it carried a strangely poignant beauty!
A black light suddenly shot out—the black arrow that had entered the carriage now reversed like a venomous dragon, spewing back out and darting toward the two black-clad figures still suspended in mid-air.
Swords flashed, and with several crisp clacks, the arrow fragments were severed. At that very moment, amidst the floating tapestry of silk, a slender figure abruptly shot upward, wrapped in brilliant silver light, moving swiftly yet gracefully. Princess Ling Meng’s eyes flashed with hatred and unwillingness. In her hands, she wielded twin shortswords, their cold light gleaming. A brilliant silver radiance erupted as she thrust fiercely toward the two assassins.
This princess, who appeared so frail and delicate, was actually a Silver-Grade Mystic! Unexpectedly, despite her youth, the Princess was a martial prodigy; in terms of personal cultivation alone, she might surpass even the other martial genius, Dugu Xiao Yi!
The two assassins grunted simultaneously, parrying the blows. With two sharp pangs, the three figures separated, drifting in three different directions. Princess Ling Meng’s delicate body landed, swaying slightly. A tempting flush of rose color instantly bloomed on her fair face, only to vanish back to deathly white moments later. Clearly, she had suffered internal injuries! Even with her prodigious talent, she was still only an early-stage Silver-Grade Mystic fighting two Gold-Grade experts simultaneously. Even if the opponents’ force was already waning, and the Princess struck unexpectedly, the reactionary force alone caused her to suffer a great loss!
The gulf between Silver-Grade and Gold-Grade was a fundamental separation—there was absolutely no comparability!
The two masked assassins retreated only to advance again. Their toes pushed off the ground with a boom, leaving two small depressions in the earth. Their figures flashed forward like lightning, covering ten feet of space. Their two longswords, blazing with golden light, showed no hint of chivalry or mercy as they stabbed ruthlessly toward Princess Ling Meng’s delicate body.
In the previous exchange, Princess Ling Meng had already sustained serious internal injuries and had no time to regulate her Qi. Having no other choice, she gathered all her remaining strength and managed to dodge backward slightly, but she still could not evade the assassins’ fatal strike. Worse, as she forced her Qi upward, the Profound Qi within her body became even more disordered and completely beyond her control, churning chaotically. The agony was like being twisted by a knife, leaving her utterly powerless. In that instant, despair washed over her: Am I really going to die like this? A look of forlorn exhaustion crossed her face, and she stood motionless, watching the two longswords pierce toward her, making no further attempt to evade!
She possessed no strength left to evade!
A Silver-Grade Mystic facing two Gold-Grade Mystics—even if uninjured, even with the most exquisite evasion skills, it was futile!
The swords were inches away. Princess Ling Meng could even clearly see the cruel, triumphant gleam in the eyes behind the assassins' masks, seemingly relishing the prospect of personally slaying such a peerlessly beautiful woman!
“Your Highness!” Several guards shrieked desperately, rushing forward heedlessly, but it was too late…
Was everything truly too late?!
Once this beautiful woman was dead, their mission would be completely accomplished, and their future secured—endless glory and wealth awaited! And now, all they needed was to thrust their swords forward one inch, and it would all be over! Even if she was the daughter of the Heavenly Fragrance Sovereign, even if she was a martial genius, one breath gone, and all was nullified!
Although the two assassins were highly trained, first-rate killers, Gold-Mystic powerhouses, habitually ruthless and bloodthirsty, slaying a Princess at this moment still brought an uncontrollable ecstasy to their eyes.
At this moment, nearly every eye in the vicinity was fixed on Princess Ling Meng. No one noticed that at this very instant, the body of Jun Xie, whom everyone considered dead, lying on the ground, subtly shifted. A cold glint shot from his fingertip, arcing upward, circling fifty feet in the air before suddenly transforming into a dazzling blue light, whistling down toward the space between the assassins and the Princess.
(Recommendation for a female-oriented novel: Author: Hutu Title: The Contract Master Descends Book ID: 1514474 Advertisement: Stirring up a financial storm in another world with great uproar!)