From the fake emperor to the concubine

They had thought dealing with a young man in the late stage of the Integration Realm would be easy, but they hadn't expected his strength to be so terrifying. His strange spatial and temporal power was also completely unpredictable.

"Attack together!" the two shouted, joining forces to attack Zheng Yi from both sides.

But Zheng Yi was not afraid at all. His sword flashed, deflecting their attacks one by one, while constantly looking for opportunities to counterattack.

On the other side, Zheng Bowen and the others were also engaged in a fierce battle with the four late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Although Zheng Bowen and the others were not as skilled as their opponents, their excellent teamwork, coupled with Zheng Hongzhi's array support, allowed them to fight to a standstill.

The man in black robes stood at a distance, coldly watching the battlefield.

He had thought it would be an easy massacre, but he hadn't expected to encounter such a formidable opponent. Especially the young leader, whose strength far exceeded his expectations.

"Looks like I'll have to take action myself." The man in black robes snorted coldly, and with a flash, he joined the battle.

His target is Zheng Yi.

"Soul-Shattering Palm!"

The man in black robes unleashed a palm strike, a terrifying force sweeping across the area. This palm strike contained all the cultivation of his mid-stage Integration Realm cultivator, its power astonishing.

Zheng Yi's expression changed slightly. He was engaged in a fierce battle with two cultivators at the early stage of the Integration Realm and was unable to spare any attention, so he had no time to dodge this palm strike.

"A spacetime barrier!"

He activated the power of space and time, forming a transparent barrier in front of him.

boom--

The palm strike hit the barrier, unleashing a deafening roar. Zheng Yi's spacetime barrier trembled precariously, and he himself was thrown back several steps by the impact.

"Such a powerful attack." Zheng Yi felt a chill run down his spine.

The black-robed man was stronger than he had imagined. Although both were at the mid-stage of the Integration Realm, the opponent's combat experience was clearly far greater.

"Boy, you do have some skill," the man in black robes sneered, "but you're still far from being able to compete with me."

He rushed towards Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi gritted his teeth and prepared for battle. He knew that the longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would be for them if they couldn't resolve it quickly.

"Space-Time Sword Technique - Rift!"

He unleashed all his power and slashed at the giant black python with his sword.

The sword light collided with the giant python, unleashing a blinding burst of light.

boom--

The two forces canceled each other out, creating a massive shockwave. The surrounding stone houses trembled violently.

"Good lad, you actually managed to block my attack." A hint of surprise flashed in the black-robed man's eyes, but more so, a bloodthirsty excitement. "Interesting, very interesting."

He quickened his pace, striking Zheng Yi with one palm after another, forcing him to retreat step by step.

Zheng Yi's situation was becoming increasingly dangerous. He not only had to deal with the attacks from the man in black robes, but also had to be wary of the two early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. Although he was very strong, fighting three opponents at once was still quite difficult.

"Damn it." Zheng Yi gritted his teeth.

If he were fully recovered from his injuries, dealing with these three would be no problem at all. But now his injuries have only healed by about 70-80%, and his strength has been greatly reduced.

Just then, a white figure rushed out of the stone house.

It's Su Wanqing.

Although her injuries had not yet healed, she still forced herself to join the battle. In her hand now was a longsword, its blade gleaming with a faint, cold light.

"Why did you come out?" Zheng Yi asked in surprise.

“You fought to save me, how can I hide behind?” Su Wanqing said. “Let me help you.”

She made her move; her sword flashed, forcing back one of the early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Su Wanqing!" The man in black robes saw Su Wanqing, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Very good, you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, saving me the trouble of looking for you."

"Han Qing, don't be too smug," Su Wanqing said coldly. "I'll settle things with you sooner or later about what happened today."

"You've figured it out?" Han Qing laughed loudly. "You? A piece of trash who can't even withstand a single move from me?"

"Just because she can't handle it doesn't mean we can't," Zheng Yi said coldly.

He launched a sudden attack while Han Qing was distracted.

"Time-Space Sword Technique - Ultimate Secret - Time-Space Annihilation!"

He concentrated all his power into this sword, which shone brightly and contained destructive spacetime power.

Han Qing was shocked and quickly raised his hand to defend himself.

boom--

The sword light struck Han Qing's palm, unleashing a deafening roar. Han Qing's body was sent flying backward, tumbling several times in mid-air before regaining his balance.

"puff--"

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his face turned pale.

"How...how could you...?" Han Qing stared at Zheng Yi in disbelief. "You're clearly only at the late stage of the Integration Realm, how could you possibly have such powerful attacks?"

"Because you're too weak," Zheng Yi said coldly.

He gave Han Qing no chance to catch his breath and attacked again. This time, his target was the two cultivators at the early stage of the Integration Realm.

"Space-Time Sword Technique - Rift!"

Two sword lights flew out, slashing towards the two cultivators respectively.

The two were shocked and quickly tried to dodge. But Zheng Yi's sword was too fast, and they couldn't avoid it at all.

puff-

Two sword lights struck simultaneously, killing two cultivators at the early stage of the Integration Realm instantly.

"No!" Han Qing roared, trying to rush up to help, but it was too late.

On the other side, Zheng Bowen and his team also achieved victory.

With the support of Zheng Hongzhi's formation, they successfully killed three cultivators at the late Nascent Soul stage. The remaining cultivator, seeing the situation was dire, turned to flee.

"Trying to run? Not so easy." Chen Feng sneered, summoning his flying sword and pinning the man to the ground.

On the battlefield, only Han Qing remained.

He looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, his face filled with terror and resentment.

"Who...who are you people?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"I already said, I'm just a random cultivator passing by," Zheng Yi said calmly. "You shouldn't have come here looking for trouble."

"You...you can't kill me!" Han Qing cried out urgently. "I'm a member of the Han family. If you kill me, the Han family will not let you get away with it!"

"The Han family?" Zheng Yi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of power do they have?"

"The Han family is one of the nine great families of Tianyuan Domain!" Han Qing said. "My father is an elder of the Han family. If you kill me, he will definitely avenge me!"

"The Nine Great Families?" Zheng Yi sneered. "I thought they were some formidable forces. These mere nine families dare to be arrogant in front of me?"

He spoke with an imposing air, as if the nine great families were nothing in his eyes.

Han Qing was so intimidated by his imposing manner that she was speechless for a moment.

“Fellow Daoist Zheng,” Su Wanqing stepped forward, her eyes filled with hatred, “can I handle this person?”

Zheng Yi glanced at her and nodded: "He's your enemy, you handle him."

"Thank you," Su Wanqing said.

She walked up to Han Qing, the longsword in her hand trembling slightly. "Han Qing, do you remember what you did?" she asked coldly.

"Su Wanqing, I... I was just following orders," Han Qing said in a disheveled manner. "If you have any grudges against me, go find my father. It has nothing to do with me."

"Acting under orders?" Su Wanqing sneered. "You killed my entire family and destroyed my clan, and now you say it has nothing to do with you?"

"Me, me."

"What?!" Su Wanqing's voice turned icy cold. "Han Qing, today is your death day."

She raised her longsword and slashed down.

"No--"

Han Qing's screams abruptly ceased. His head flew into the air, gushing blood.

The direct descendants of the Han family, one of the nine great clans, died by Su Wanqing's sword.

Su Wanqing looked at Han Qing's corpse, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.

Although her enemy was dead, the pain in her heart could not be healed.

Her family, her relatives, are all gone.

"Miss Su, please accept my condolences." Zheng Yi stepped forward and said softly.

Su Wanqing came to her senses, turned around and bowed deeply to Zheng Yi.

“Thank you so much for your help, Young Master Zheng,” she said. “I will never forget this kindness.”

“No need to be so polite,” Zheng Yi said. “We were just doing what we were supposed to do.”

He glanced at the corpses on the battlefield and frowned, saying, "These people all need to be disposed of; we can't leave any trace. Otherwise, if the Han family tracks us down, it'll be very troublesome."

“I’ll handle it,” Zheng Bowen said.

Together with Xiao Tianxing, he put all the corpses into storage bags and then buried them in a secluded place.

After everything was settled, everyone returned to the stone house.

Su Wanqing looked at Zheng Yi and the others, her eyes filled with gratitude.

“Young Master Zheng, you offended the Han family to save me,” she said. “This favor is too great; I don’t know how to repay it.”

“No repayment is needed,” Zheng Yi said. “We were simply helping someone in need.”

"But."

“There’s no ‘buts’,” Zheng Yi interrupted her. “Right now, your most important thing is to rest and recover. We’ll talk about other things after you’re healed.”

Su Wanqing remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

“Okay,” she said. “Then I’ll stay here a few more days until I’m healed before leaving.”

“No rush,” Zheng Yi said. “You can stay until your injury is fully healed.”

Su Wanqing looked at Zheng Yi, a strange look flashing in her eyes.

This young man was unlike any other cultivator she had ever met. Although he was powerful, he lacked any arrogant airs. He was sincere and kind-hearted, making people want to get close to him.

“Young Master Zheng,” she said softly, “you are a good person.”

Zheng Yi paused for a moment, then smiled.

“I’m not a good person,” he said. “I just did what I thought was right.”

He turned and walked out of the stone house, leaving Su Wanqing alone there lost in thought.

Outside the stone house, Zheng Bowen and others were repairing the formation damaged in the battle.

"Master, the Han family members are dead. They certainly won't let this go," Zheng Bowen said worriedly. "Should we go somewhere else?"

“No need,” Zheng Yi said. “Even if the Han family investigates, they can’t possibly find this place so quickly. Besides, my injuries haven’t fully healed, so I shouldn’t travel long distances.”

"What if the Han family really comes looking for us?" Zheng Hongzhi asked.

"Send them away once they've come," Zheng Yi said calmly. "I want to see just how capable this Han family really is."

There was a hint of disdain in his tone.

Although the Han family was one of the nine great families, he was not afraid. After this battle, he had a clearer understanding of his own strength. As long as it wasn't a Mahayana stage expert, he had the ability to fight them.

"Alright, don't think about it too much," Zheng Yi said. "Let's fix the formation first, then continue to rest. We'll talk about other things later."

Everyone nodded and got to work.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the cracks in the stone house, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Su Wanqing woke up early and lay on the simple stone bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Yesterday's battle seemed still vivid in her mind; Han Qing's flying head still filled her with mixed feelings.

Her enemy was dead, but she didn't feel as relieved as she had imagined.

Because Han Qing was just one of the people sent by the Han family to hunt her down; the real mastermind was Han Lie, an elder of the Han family. That old man had long coveted the Su family's inheritance, and taking advantage of the Su family's weakness, he colluded with external enemies and slaughtered the entire Su family overnight.

She was the only survivor.

"Father, Mother, Brother," Su Wanqing murmured softly, her eyes gradually welling up with tears.

She fought back her tears, refusing to let them fall. She told herself that now was not the time to cry. She had to live and avenge her family.

Voices could be heard outside the stone house; it was Zheng Yi and the others getting up.

Su Wanqing composed herself and walked out of the stone house.

In the courtyard, Zheng Bowen and Xiao Tianxing were starting a fire and cooking. Liu Ruyan was helping them, while Zheng Hongzhi was checking the defensive formation. Chen Feng had somehow acquired several wild rabbits and was skinning and cleaning them.

Zheng Yi sat alone on a large rock, meditating with his eyes closed.

"Miss Su, you're awake?" Liu Ruyan greeted Su Wanqing warmly. "Come and eat something; your injuries haven't fully healed yet, you need to eat more."

"Thank you." Su Wanqing walked over and sat down by the fire.

Zheng Bowen handed her a bowl of hot meat porridge, which Su Wanqing took and sipped.

The porridge was very fragrant; it was made with wild rabbit meat and some herbs. Although simple, it was a rare delicacy in this wilderness.

"Miss Su, how is your injury?" Zheng Bowen asked.

"Much better," Su Wanqing said. "Thanks to your care, I should be fully recovered after a few more days of rest."

"That's good." Zheng Bowen nodded.

After breakfast, everyone got busy with their own tasks.

Su Wanqing sat by the fire, watching Zheng Yi and the others busy at work, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

These people were complete strangers to her, yet they were willing to risk their lives for her and the Han family. She truly didn't know how to repay this kindness.

"Miss Su, what are you thinking about?" Liu Ruyan walked over and sat down next to her.

"It's nothing," Su Wanqing shook her head, "I was just thinking about how to repay your kindness in saving my life."

"What's there to repay?" Liu Ruyan said with a smile. "It's only right that we help you; no repayment is needed."

“But you offended the Han family because of me,” Su Wanqing said with some guilt.

"So what if we've offended them?" Liu Ruyan said nonchalantly. "Anyway, we're already being hunted down; one more enemy won't make a difference."

"You're being hunted down too?" Su Wanqing asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Liu Ruyan sighed, “we’ve offended the Town Commandery and the City Lord’s Mansion of Qingyun City, so we’re hiding here to avoid trouble.”

Su Wanqing then realized that Zheng Yi and the others were also refugees. No wonder they were hiding in such a remote place. (End of Chapter)