The Great Ruler (Web Novel)

It was night. The four figures stood like spectres in the huge tree. Their bodies were hidden from head to toe in black robes — even their faces couldn’t be seen. The only parts of their bodies that were exposed were their eyes, which were filled with baleful aura.

Frightening Spiritual Energy ripples fluctuated around the four of them. Based on those levels, all of these people had reached the Heavenly Fusion Stage Late Phase!

Mu Chen narrowed his eyes at their formation. If you put them in with any of those previous adventurer parties, they’d definitely take the lead position. So why had four of them suddenly appeared?

They hadn’t provoked any powerful forces along their journey, so why was trouble knocking on their door?

“Who are you?!” Mu Chen’s voice was solemn as he coldly growled. If he’d been facing just a single Heavenly Fusion Stage Late Phase opponent, he could’ve defeated them without much effort. But there were four of them. Furthermore, from the looks of it, those four were highly experienced. The baleful aura in their eyes had obviously been earned through long years of knowing massacre. They were completely different from the Heavenly Fusion Stage Late Phase upperclassmen of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy!

However, those four black shadows acted as though they hadn’t heard Mu Chen. On the other hand, the baleful aura within their eyes grew even denser.

Mu Chen’s and Su Ling’er’s hearts sank at seeing their formation. Those guys were excellently trained, not an ordinary adventurer party.

“Kill them!”

An ice-cold sound suddenly came from the mouth of a black shadow. Then, the four of them exploded in motion. With a flex of their fingers, black spears materialised in their hands. Their Spiritual Energies surged, melting into multitudes of illusionary spears that covered the skies and the earth, enveloping the two of them.

Mu Chen’s expression changed at the straightforward actions of the four shadows. He formed a claw, condensing with dark light. The Nine-layered Pagoda surfaced in his palm, exploding with a downward force.

Dang! Dannng!

Numerous spears hit the Nine-layered Pagoda, but only caused it to shake a little. The surface of the pagoda wasn’t damaged in the slightest.

Rustle!

But, the four of them weren’t the gentle and kind types; the moment they saw Mu Chen’s impenetrable defense, two of them changed direction. The spears made a detour around Mu Chen and shot towards Su Ling’er, who was being protected behind him.

Su Ling’er responded to the situation by hastily putting her jade-like hands on the long fire-red whip at her waist. With a shake of her jade-like hand, the whip whistled out like a fiery python. It carried surges of Spiritual Energy and collided with the two spears.

Bang! Bannng!

A berzerk Spiritual Energy emanated from the collision, toppling the large trees in the vicinity. The two spectre-shadows skimmed forward, pressing closer to Su Ling’er. The tips of those spears shined with a chilling light and were aimed at Su Ling’ers vitals.

Faced with two Heavenly Fusion Stage Late Phases, Su Ling’er had instantly landed herself in a very disadvantageous position. It was even more dangerous when you compared the ruthlessness of their attacks against her own. Her delicate face turned a little pale.

Shhhhuuuu!

Two chilling spears shot forward and penetrated the defense that Su Ling’er had set up with her fire-red whip. The spears shot towards her shoulder at lightning speed, bringing a strong and sharp gale.

Su Ling’er’s enthusiasm had declined as she faced those fearful attacks. She quickly stepped back, then jumped as she realized that she’d already backed up into the trunk of a tree. Her charming face turn exceptionally pale.

Daaang!

However, just as the spear was about to hit Su Ling’er, the Nine-layered Pagoda descended from the sky and enveloped her.

Daang!

The black spears that had flown with their frightening Spiritual Energy ripples heavily collided with the pagoda; however, they were dispersed by the rippling layers of dark light.

The pagoda made of dark light rapidly shrank. A figure flew up to Su Ling’er and pulled her into his embrace by her slender waist. Then, the figure fled into the dark forest, like a cunning rabbit.

“Chase them down!”

When the four figures realised what’d happened, they growled and quickly gave chase.

Mu Chen held onto Su Ling’er as he flashed through the forest. He lowered his head, glanced at the slightly pale and shaking young girl as he asked, “Are you alright?”

Su Ling’er shook her head and replied, “Thank you. What should we do now?”

Their opponents were four Heavenly Fusion Stage Late Phase experts. Between the two of them, Su Ling’er was also a Heavenly Fusion Stage Late Phase, but she wasn’t very experienced in combat. She probably couldn’t even defeat one of the four. Meanwhile, Mu Chen had quite a few cards up his sleeve, but he knew he wouldn’t have time to prepare them; their opponents weren’t looking for a fair and honorable fight.

Their situation was extremely unfavourable.

“Can we last until Big Sister and the others find us?” Su Ling’er asked in a low voice. If Su Xuan and the rest were with them, they wouldn’t have to fear those four.

“Our opponents are very experienced. Their target is clear. First, they lured your sister and the others so that they could easily deal with us. They probably planned to capture us first, then restrain your sister and the others.” Mu Chen’s deep reply came as he continued to flash through the forest, like a hunting leopard.

“If I take you with me, they’ll probably catch up soon.”

Su Ling’er showed an anxious expression at Mu Chen’s words. “What should we do?”

“I’m going to put you down, first.” Mu Chen cautiously looked behind them. Four figures were rapidly catching up.

“Ah?” Su Ling’er looked confused. Her delicate face instantly turned as white as snow and her beautiful eyes surged with moisture. She grabbed Mu Chen’s clothes, “Mu Chen, you bastard! Fine! Put me down now, I don’t need you to save me!”

Mu Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her expression. He helplessly replied, “What are you thinking? If I take you with me, they’re going to overtake us sooner or later. The only thing I can do is hide you somewhere, while I lure them away. After that, you need to find your sister and the others as soon as possible.”

Su Ling’er’s delicate face turned red; however, she still couldn’t care about anything else as she anxiously said, “No, it’s too dangerous for you to lure them all by yourself.”

She’d just witnessed the strength and intimidation of those four. Their bloodlust was surging and their methods were ruthless. You couldn’t get that way just by sparring with the upperclassmen of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy.

“I know what I’m doing.”

Mu Chen shook his head with an unquestionable tone in his voice. His figure continued to flit across the forest. With a pulling motion of his palm, he drew out some sort of green leaf from among the underbrush. Then, he quickly ground the leaves and sprinkled the peculiar-smelling juices over Su Ling’er.

“These juices will conceal your scent. Later, when I leave you somewhere, you’ll need to hide yourself and suppress your Spiritual Energy. That way, they won’t be able to find you.” Mu Chen explained as he finished what he was doing.

Su Ling’er dazedly watched Mu Chen complete the task with an extremely proficient technique. She slightly raised her head and saw Mu Chen’s handsome face under the shine of moonlight. However, the current Mu Chen was filled with a cold intent, replacing his usual gentleness. The sharpness was like a polished longsword, quietly hiding its edge within its scabbard.

“Mu Chen, this is a Middle Rank Spiritual Artifact that I exchanged at the Spiritual Value Hall. You should use it.” Su Ling’er brought out a cyan longsword. A vague, but piercingly sharp sword aura emanated from it.

Mu Chen nodded. He’d never used a Spiritual Artifact before, but one had suddenly appeared before his eyes. At least he could use it to increase his fighting strength by a bit.

“Be careful.”

Mu Chen’s speed abruptly increased. With a turn of his body, he leaned slightly. The instant he had entered the darkness, he threw Su Ling’er from his arms.

Su Ling’er twisted her body in mid-air and quietly landed in a large tree. Then, she concealed herself within the tree’s dense foliage. She also quickly suppressed the Spiritual Energy circulating in her body.

She nervously directed her line of sight downwards. Soon, four spectre-like shadows bypassed her in their pursuit. When they arrived in the area, their bodies slightly paused and their eyes swept the area. Then, they resumed their pursuit in the direction that Mu Chen had gone.

As they distanced themselves, Su Ling’er faintly heard a deep and low voice that sounded on the wind. “Quick, we’re running out of time. We have to get rid of those two as soon as possible!”

Su Ling’er didn’t immediately leap down from the huge tree; instead, she remained among the leaves for a period of time. She knew that Mu Chen had placed himself in great danger just to get her to safety. She couldn’t be reckless and cause Mu Chen’s plan to fail.

“Mu Chen, you have to be careful!”

Su Ling’er’s small fists were tightly clenched as her charming eyes looked in the direction that Mu Chen and those four specter-like shadows had disappeared in. Her eyes were filled with nervousness and worry.

Rustle!

She waited for quite a while more. Once she was sure that everything had calmed down, she leapt vigorously from the tree. Then, she rapidly skimmed in the direction of their camp.

“Mu Chen, you have to hold on there. I’ll get my sister and the others to rescue you right away!”

Mu Chen’s figure moved like a black leopard among the shadows of the gloomy forest as he quietly skimmed through. His palm slowly clutched the cyan longsword at his waist as he looked behind him. Back there, the sonic booms sounded even more urgent than before. Four bodies were faintly discernible as they gave chase.

“So, they’re here?”

Mu Chen said to himself in a soft voice. Then, he stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. A trace of scarlet light surged forward in his black pupils. He was like a fierce and malicious wolf about to set upon its prey.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been like this. Since you guys are chasing so hard and unwilling to let go, let’s find out who’s the real hunter!”

An excited curve rose on Mu Chen’s lips. He’d already been suppressing the urge to hunt for quite a long time now. When he was in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, he’d had the identity of a student. But, out here, there was nothing he had to worry about anymore!

Moonlight shined down through the tiny cracks in the forest, forming a chilly arc of light on his handsome face. That side appeared very cold at this moment.

Now, the Blood Calamity of the Spirit Road was going to reveal his fangs.