Chapter 344: Chapter 343 Impending Catastrophe
"Hahaha!" The men from the Dongzheng Court jeered.
Fear instantly gripped the young man. He hadn’t expected his proudest move to be countered so easily. Just then, the King-level master charged.
"Senior Brother, be careful!" the woman cried out, drawing her sword, but her blade was instantly snapped in half. The young man lunged forward but was no match for the King-level master, who sent him flying with a single blow. He crashed hard onto the sand, getting a mouthful of it for his troubles. The woman was pulled into the King-level master’s grasp, unable to move a muscle. If she dared to struggle, he wouldn’t hesitate to snap her neck.
The young man shouted, "Let go of my Junior Sister!"
"Let her go?" the King-level master sneered. "Then all our effort would have been for nothing. Go, deal with him!"
"Yes, sir!" At their leader’s command, his subordinates rushed forward and swarmed the young man. He was no match for them. In less than three minutes, he was brutally beaten and left sprawled on the ground.
Weakly, the young man threatened, "You dare to attack the Zhenwu Sect? Are you tired of living?"
"Chop off his fingers," the King-level master ordered. One of his subordinates stepped forward and, with a swift downward slice of his blade, severed three of the young man’s fingers.
"AAAGH!" the young man shrieked, a cry of pure agony.
"Senior Brother!" the woman cried out in alarm.
The young man’s bravado vanished. He dropped to his knees and begged, "Please, I’m begging you, let me go! Let my Junior Sister go!" He kowtowed repeatedly, his dignity shattered. The woman’s heart ached so much she couldn’t bear to look at him.
The King-level master said, "Aren’t you two madly in love? Today, I’ll test that love. Kneel and kowtow ten times, and I’ll let one of you leave. Have you decided?"
This guy really knows how to torment people. I’ll wait until they take things too far before I step in.
The young man immediately began to kowtow with tragic determination. He slammed his head against the ground until his scalp was bleeding, finally completing the ten heavy kowtows. As he finished, the men from the Dongzheng Court burst into wild laughter.
The King-level master then asked him, "You have one chance to live. You can give this chance to your woman, but that means you must die. Have you decided who to save?"
The young man glanced at the woman. She was already crying, her face a mask of devastation, unable to endure this moment of utter despair.
Then, the young man spoke. "I choose to save myself."
"Senior Brother!" The woman was stunned. Everyone fears death, but I remember him promising he would die for me. Why? Why is he only thinking of his own life at a time like this?
Enjoying the drama, the King-level master decided to twist the knife. "Actually," he said with a smirk, "there is another option. You could both die together."
"No! It’s better to live a bad life than to die a good death! I want to live!" the young man said with conviction.
"Senior Brother, how could you?" the woman asked, heartbroken. Even now, she still clung to his sweet promises. "Didn’t we agree to live and die together?"
But he just said, "Junior Sister, when disaster strikes, it’s every man for himself. You should... entertain these gentlemen. I’m leaving!"
With that, the young man scrambled to his feet and fled.
Just then, the King-level master kicked the broken sword from the ground, sending it flying like an arrow after the escaping Zhenwu Sect disciple. The blade pierced through the young man’s body. He collapsed into the desert sand in disbelief, his body quickly covered by the shifting dunes. Perhaps such a fate was destined from the start; he was simply a fool for thinking he could survive.
Ordinarily, I would have stepped in to save him. But a man who would abandon his woman to be humiliated just to save his own skin isn’t worth saving.
The woman cried out in despair, "Senior Brother!"
The King-level master laughed maniacally. "See? Your little lover didn’t give a damn about you. He abandoned you to save himself! But it’s too late for him—he’s dead now! Hahaha!"
The woman suddenly tore herself free and screamed, "I’ll kill you all!" She had clearly snapped.
As soon as she lunged, the King-level master slapped her across the face, sending her sprawling to the ground. His men immediately moved in to restrain her.
"Brothers, tonight we’re going to have some fun!" the King-level master declared, and his subordinates cheered with excitement.
At this, Ye Fan grew furious. It doesn’t matter who this King-level master kills, but he won’t do it wantonly in the Divine Land. In an instant, he erupted from beneath the dunes and flung a handful of sand.
ARGH! The men cried out in unison, clutching their bodies. To their horror, they found that grains of sand had embedded themselves in their flesh. They writhed on the ground, groaning in pain, all thoughts of the woman forgotten.
The King-level master was stunned. "Who’s there?" he bellowed.
"Me," a voice replied as Ye Fan slowly walked into view.
The King-level master looked him over and said coldly, "And here I thought it was someone important. It’s just another kid from the Divine Land. What, are you planning to play the hero and save the damsel in distress?" he asked, looking at Ye Fan with mockery.
Ye Fan replied coolly, "No, no. I’m not here to be a hero. I’m here because your pathetic little Dongzheng Court dared to humiliate someone from my Divine Land, and that really pisses me off. So, have you decided how you want to die?"
"How I want to die?" the King-level master scoffed. "You think you’re the one to do it?"
Without another word, Ye Fan charged.
"You’re courting death!" the King-level master shouted, not taking the attack seriously. He met Ye Fan’s advance with a palm strike of his own. The moment their hands met, the bones in his arm shattered, and he was sent flying backward. With a miserable scream, the King-level master ignored the shock washing over him. He clutched his ruined arm and struggled back to his feet. "You’re not King-level," he stammered.
"A little late to realize that, don’t you think?" Ye Fan replied.
The King-level leader’s tone changed immediately. "Since you are a supreme expert, this has all been a misunderstanding. Let’s let the matter end here. We are from the Dongzheng Court," he said, hoping the name would intimidate Ye Fan.
Ye Fan retorted, "The Dongzheng Court from the Northern Bear Country? Are they supposed to be impressive? I don’t think so. You’re nothing but dogs on a leash for the Dongzheng Emperor."
The King-level leader became enraged. "Would you dare say that to the Dongzheng Emperor’s face?" he roared.
"Why wouldn’t I?" Ye Fan said with a sneer. "The Dongzheng Emperor is just a slightly stronger dog, that’s all."
"Get him!" Hearing his emperor insulted, the King-level leader was overcome with rage. He ordered his remaining men to charge Ye Fan.
In response, Ye Fan swung down his Yuanhong Sword.
"Return to Origin!"
Instantly, the blade seemed to pierce the very heavens, and a massive sandstorm erupted. Swept up by Ye Fan’s incredibly fierce Sword Qi, how could the King-level master’s subordinates possibly stand a chance? In a single strike under the moonlight, the men from the Dongzheng Court exploded into a fine mist of blood, meeting a gruesome end.
