Chapter 599: Schemes Deep as the Sea! A Great Confucian’s Lifeblood! Crisis! A Young Daoist! A Cold and Aloof Celestial Maiden!

But the burly man gave him no chance. The sword light ten zhang in length flashed. The sword qi instantly tore a deep fissure into the ground.

Mr. Jinyan had no choice but to use righteous qi to dodge. Yet the burly man’s movements were incredibly fast, closing the distance to just a chi away from Mr. Jinyan. In his hand, the long sword became a blur.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of sword strikes rained down on Mr. Jinyan.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ear-piercing sparks flew from his chest with each impact. A Confucian master at the advanced second realm should have an overwhelming advantage against most opponents.

Yet here he was, flustered and on the defensive against this single man. The attacker showed no shame whatsoever. He was clearly a powerful cultivator, yet he hid among ordinary wandering thugs, striking only through sneak attacks.

All these advantages combined put Mr. Jinyan at a disadvantage, and his life was hanging by a thread.

“Cease the fighting!” Mr. Jinyan shouted in a deep voice.

The long sword in the burly man’s hand suddenly grew as heavy as Mount Tai. It could no longer pierce through. Not just the burly man, all the fierce riders on the field dropped their weapons immediately.

The only exception was the mysterious figure posing as Mount Wen Academy student Wang Wencai, who now emitted a white light, forming a shadowy afterimage that lunged toward Mr. Jinyan.

Mr. Jinyan’s heart stirred.

He mobilized his righteous qi to form a protective barrier and coldly said, “Purity of Mind.”

The figure of Wang Wencai suddenly froze in midair. The murderous intent in his mind vanished instantly, leaving him in a profound, mysterious state. He thought of nothing, and wished to do nothing.

Most importantly, he felt a deep revulsion toward his own previous actions.

Suddenly...

Whoosh!

A streak of sword light flew in, forcing Mr. Jinyan to retreat several steps. It was precisely that mysterious rider disguised as an ordinary wandering thug.

This rider’s qi and blood burned like a blazing furnace, clearly an unparalleled expert who had achieved mastery in the Martial Dao.

Especially the long sword in his hand, its edge was fully revealed and indestructible. It was absolutely no ordinary weapon.

Mr. Jinyan had only just retreated ten zhang when suddenly, a massive vine burst from the ground. It was covered in countless spikes, gleaming with a greenish light. It was obviously laced with deadly poison.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

More than a dozen thick vines erupted from the earth, smashing toward Mr. Jinyan. Such mysterious and unpredictable methods made Mr. Jinyan’s heart tremble as he glanced at the burly man.

He’s a geomancer!

Mr. Jinyan realized inwardly.

The burly man leapt continuously across the enormous vines, changing positions several times in an instant. His long sword tore through the air, slashing toward Mr. Jinyan.

“Kill all of these scholars. Leave none alive,” the man posing as Wang Wencai said coldly.

Mr. Jinyan’s expression changed drastically. If it were other cultivators, they might not care in the slightest about the lives of these students at such a moment.

But the scholars of Mount Wen Academy were all personally nurtured by him; they were, in every sense, his cherished disciples. And Mount Wen Academy embodied all the painstaking effort of his years in seclusion.

“You despicable scoundrels!” Mr. Jinyan shouted angrily.

Gripping the brush in his hand, he wrote several large characters in midair.

A piece of writing appeared in the sky, its golden brilliance instantly enshrouded the entire Mount Wen Academy. The dozens of riders were completely blocked outside the academy grounds. Even Wang Wencai and the towering rider were stopped beyond the barrier.

“Mr. Jinyan, if you surrender without resistance, I can guarantee the safety of everyone in the city. I can spare the students of Mount Wen Academy as well. I won’t touch them. Well? What do you say?” Wang Wencai said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Jinyan shouted coldly, “You think you can deceive me with such heartless threats?”

Though he could not bear to see the students of Mount Wen Academy die miserably before his eyes, Mr. Jinyan also knew that if he surrendered, this mysterious person would never honor his promise.

Wang Wencai only smiled, saying nothing. Instead, he waved to one of the riders beside him.

“Go. Bring the citizens of the city over. Let Mr. Jinyan see clearly how I kill.” Wang Wencai’s smile was icy, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

Mr. Jinyan furrowed his brow. This group was clearly more than just these few dozen riders; the city likely held a large number of reinforcements.

“What exactly is going on? How do these people possess the military crossbows and firearms of the imperial court?”

Mr. Jinyan’s mind was filled with doubt and alarm. Moreover, he sensed that this group had extensive experience dealing with cultivators.

Their attacks were methodical and strategic, not the reckless strikes of wandering

jianghu

ruffians, nor the rigid discipline of ordinary soldiers.

If anything, they resembled professional assassins.

Wang Wencai, in truth, was the fourth son of the Zhou family, highly valued by the family Old Ancestor, Zhou Yushu. The tall, burly cultivator beside him was Xiahou Zhen, the Third Devotee of the Zhou family.

Xiahou Zhen was a powerful demonic cultivator, able to manipulate vines, and had also cultivated martial arts; he was a top-tier martial expert. Even against a distinguished great scholar like Mr. Jinyan, he had full confidence he could kill him outright.

High cultivation level did not always guarantee skill in magical dueling, and Xiahou Zhen excelled at killing through magical combat.

At this moment, Mr. Jinyan fully realized the gravity of the situation. If things went wrong, the citizens of Pu City and the students of Mount Wen Academy could all face disaster.

The more anxious Mr. Jinyan became, the more composed the fake Wang Wencai appeared.

There was mockery in his eyes. He still had dozens of mounted riders in the city, who were wandering

jianghu

fighters trained as professional assassins and part of the Zhou family’s secret forces.

These people were masters of killing, trained specifically for murder. Especially in street-to-street combat, even an imperial army would be no match for them.

Even cultivators, when confronted by such specialized killers, could easily be struck by unforeseen, deadly techniques. Some of these assassins were cultivators themselves.

Thus, Zhou Yushu was extremely confident in today’s battle in Pu City.

Even without resorting to these specialized methods, his sheer strength alone could wear down the great scholar.

But handling the matter efficiently and decisively would also enhance his prestige and status within the Zhou family.

“How about it, Mr. Jinyan? Have you made up your mind?” Zhou Yushu asked politely.

But before he could finish, a round, bloodied object rolled across his feet. It was a human head, eyes wide open. Judging by its appearance, it was the subordinate who had just gone to notify the city riders.

Zhou Yushu turned to look and saw a young, elegant Daoist walking slowly toward him, accompanied by a coldly graceful, ethereal celestial maiden-like woman.

Even with Zhou Yushu’s cunningness and experience, his mind could not fully predict what they were about to do. Upon seeing the beautiful celestial maiden-like woman, Zhou Yushu’s heart could not help but flutter, a desire to possess her stirring within him.

But the young Daoist’s expression was cold and stern. Though he gave off no particularly imposing aura, he exuded a tremendous pressure, forcing Zhou Yushu to suppress these lascivious thoughts.

“Who are you!?” Zhou Yushu shouted sharply.

At the same time, he subtly gestured, and several of his subordinates raised their military crossbows, shooting toward the young Daoist.