Nine Astra Skies

Xie Jian did not try to provide any assistance when he saw Xie Dao taking on Great Emperor Mingwu who had just advanced his rank. Instead, his cold piercing gaze landed on Nie Qingyun and the others.

When Nie Qingyun felt Xie Jian's glare, he instantly felt a chill creeping from behind his back. He had just witnessed Xie Jian kill the people on his side!

Affected by Xie Jian's intimidating aura, the gold-armored imperial bodyguards backed down one after another. Most of them were only Ninth Level, how were they supposed to stand up against a Mystique Venerable Rank fighter?

The battle continued to rage on around them as the harsh clanking of steel against steel rang constantly.

On the side of the Nanman Kingdom, alongside Xie Dao and Xie Jian were five Heavenly Venerable Rank fighters and more than thirty Earthly Venerable Rank fighters. They tore their way through the gold-armored imperial guards.

"For His Majesty, we'll fight till our death!" The host of gold-armored imperial guards did not cower in the face of death. They stubbornly stalled the Heavenly Venerable Rank fighters. One after another, they collapsed onto the ground, their spilled blood pooled into a crimson red river.

This was a one-sided slaughter. These gold-armored imperial guards could never hope to match up against the Earthly and Heavenly Venerable Rank opponents!

On Great Emperor Mingwu's side, including Nie Qingyun and the elder transformed from the Eclipsing Firebird, they only had the equivalent of three Heavenly Venerable Rank fighters. Including Master Apothecary Xuanyi and the others, they had a little over twenty Earthly Venerable Rank fighters. The gap in strength was still too large and they were at a great disadvantage in this battle.

Nie Qingyun knew that at his current strength, there was no way he could stand up against Xie Jian. With the situation here being so chaotic, there was no way that the Daemon King His Majesty would not be aware of it. His Majesty must just be watching him from some hidden corner. This was the time to prove his unwavering loyalty. How could he show his fear?

"Just a little amateur. You think I, Master Nie Qingyun, am going to be afraid of you? Come at me if you dare, see how Master Nie Qingyun deals with you!" Nie Qingyun called out. With a Daemon King backing him, he felt extremely confident even when confronting a Mystique Venerable Rank fighter. If he knew that Ye Chen was not a Daemon King, he probably would have a difficult time keeping up this arrogant attitude in front of a beginner Mystique Venerable Rank fighter.

For a mere top Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter to have such an arrogant attitude facing Xie Jian, this guy must have a death wish. When Xie Jian grunted, a wave of overpowering aura shot out like a bolt of rumbling thunder.

Nie Qingyun's face immediately turned paperwhite. Such overpowering Celestial Chi! Even if he had reached top Heavenly Venerable Rank, he was still far beneath Mystique Venerable Rank.

"Fatty, how dare you show me that kind of attitude with your feeble strength? Why don't you look in a mirror?" Xie Jian mocked and looked at Nie Qingyun with contempt in his eyes.

Xie Jian expected Nie Qingyun to be intimidated. Unexpectedly, Nie Qingyun responded with a sharp glare with a deeper, darker contempt. Those sharp eyes looked down on him.

"Bah!" Nie Qingyun spat at Xie Jian. Even though his Celestial Chi could not compete against Xie Jian, his mouth made up for what difference there was. "Brat, you better start begging Master Nie for forgiveness. Master Nie just might spare your miserable life. Else I'll drown you with my piss!"

Xie Jian's face turned purple with rage and he roared angrily, "D*mn fatty, keep up that cocky attitude and I'm going to kill you!" Xie Jian flew. The greatsword in his hands cast a gigantic shadow as he sliced it down at Nie Qingyun.

"Oh my God!" Nie Qingyun knew that he was no match for Xie Jian. If not for having Ye Chen backing him up, there was no way he would say such things to anger Xie Jian. If it came down to a fight, all he could do was run. His fat body instantly leaped meters away. For someone who weighed near three hundred kilograms, he was rather agile. As he ran, his mouth did not let up its manners. "My boy, even if you can't win in an argument with Master Nie, no need to be so rude!"

"A truly noble man doesn't talk with his fists!"

"If you keep chasing me, Master Nie is going to piss himself!" Nie Qingyun continued to dodge. Even though he was just top Heavenly Venerable Rank and weaker than Xie Jian, he was relatively nimble. Within a moment, he had pulled a great distance away from Xie Jian.

"D*mn fatty, let's see if you stop running!" Xie Jian was boiling with anger at this point as he went after Nie Qingyun.

"Boy, let's see if you stop chasing!" Nie Qingyun struck back immediately.

"I'm going to rip out your little sharp tongue!" Xie Jian's anger was close to blowing his top. A "zip" sound followed as he launched a bolt of sword energy toward Nie Qingyun.

Nie Qingyun felt a ferocious Celestial Chi approaching behind his back. He jumped up in fear and quickly leaped to the side to dodge it. "Whoosh!" The bolt of sword energy grazed the front of his chest. It tore the fabric of his shirt apart in an instant. Just several inches and it would have sliced off chunks of flesh.

Nie Qingyun heaved a cold sigh of relief as that was close. He turned into a nervous wreck. Why was the Daemon King, His Majesty still not showing up? Have I failed his evaluation?

"Boy, you're still too slow. It's Master Nie's fault for not teaching you well!" Even though Nie Qingyun was afraid for his life knowing that he cannot defeat Xie Jian, he continued to run his mouth and agitate Xie Jian.

Unlike Nie Qingyun who had the gift of a sharp cunning tongue, Xie Jian usually did not speak much. He screamed in anger and continued to throw the same insults, calling Nie Qingyun a d*mn fatty as he chased him.

"Boom boom boom!"

Bolts of sword energy sliced the ground apart leaving nasty wide cracks wherever they landed.

Nie Qingyun was inches away from death and several times, he was almost sliced in half. His body broke out in cold sweat in fear but his mouth continued to prattle on. Nie Qingyun had always been a talkative person when he was in the sect. Whenever he met Ye Chen, he felt intimidated in the presence of a Daemon King so he kept his tongue in front of Ye Chen. Now, facing Xie Jian, he let the floodgates open and threw all sorts of profanity at him. Since he knew that he could not defeat him, he did not bother trying to fight him. As he ran, he continued to throw insults at him. "Years ago, I gave birth to your daddy with your granny. I wonder why your daddy didn't decide to just abandon you when he gave birth to a little rabbit like you?" Nie Qingyun ran as fast as he spoke. As Xie Jian continued to shoot bolts of sword energy at him, Nie Qingyun grew nervous. The more nervous he became, the faster he spoke.

If someone could be killed by insults, Xie Jian would probably have died a thousand times and more by now.

"Ahh! This is pissing me off!" Xie Jian was fuming. Despite his powerful Celestial Chi, the fat Nie Qingyun always managed to just barely slip away. He was also largely affected by Nie Qingyun's constant prattling. Each time he tried to calm his nerves, Nie Qingyun managed to come up with a new insult that stung his nerves so much that all the stillness in his heart had instantly evaporated.

Nie Qingyun continued to run like a madman. His heart was like a fully drawn bowstring, about to snap any moment.

"Where are you my Daemon King, His Highness? If you still don't appear, I'm going to be sliced in half!" Nie Qingyun cried out in sorrow. At that moment, the energy inside him suddenly boiled fervently. The Purple-gold Divine Pill he had consumed earlier seemed to react as well. He heard an abrupt blow in his dantian as the energy in his body suddenly rose tremendously. He noticed himself running considerably faster as well.

'Beginner Mystique Venerable Rank! I've advanced my rank. It's Beginner Mystique Venerable Rank!'

While Nie Qingyun continued running and evading Xie Jian's attack, in his mind, he was crying out in joy. To think that he would advance his rank in this critical moment!

'I understand now!'

'I get it, it must be His Highness!'

'The reason that the Daemon King His Highness just stood by and watched was that he knew I was close to advancing. He wanted to use the boy chasing after me to prompt my advancement!'

'Thank you, His Highness! Bless His Highness and his greatness!'

'His Highness loves me like a father!' At that moment, Nie Qingyun wanted nothing more than to run to Ye Chen's side and kneel to kiss his feet!

For years now, Nie Qingyun had been stuck in Heavenly Venerable Rank, unable to break through. To be able to advance today, Nie Qingyun was ecstatic and jumping in joy. He decided that all the credit went to none but Ye Chen.

'How could I bring shame to His Highness?' With his right hand, Nie Qingyun retrieved a Tier Three spirit artifact longsword from his Heaven-Earth Pouch. He immediately turned around and charged toward Xie Jian.

"Xie Jian, boy! Take this!" Nie Qingyun felt something in him change. He was suddenly filled with courage despite having just advanced to beginner Heavenly Venerable Rank and still being unfamiliar with his newly gained strength. He was certain that Ye Chen was observing him. He cannot cause the Daemon King His Highness to lose face!

"Thump thump thump!"

Their energy collided and sent sparks flying everywhere. The battle that broke out in the garden became extremely chaotic. The people of the Nanman Kingdom and the Daemon Fire Sect could not understand just how the Xiwu Empire had suddenly managed to gain two beginner Mystique Venerable Rank fighters. This cast doubt on what they initially thought was an easy certain victory.

Ye Chen's Astral Body had already extended over the area. With his mind, he made the Golden Sun Condor soar into the sky and sweep down on the Earthly Venerable Rank fighters of the Nanman Kingdom. One after another, they died to the razor-sharp claws of the Golden Sun Condor.

"Kill the giant condor first!" a Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter of the Nanman Kingdom ordered. He let loose a wave of Celestial Chi. "Thump thump thump!" Tens of gold-armored imperial guards of the Xiwu Empire were blasted away, screaming in agony.

The Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter's body was covered in crimson red blood and he looked as vicious as the grim reaper. He lifted a gold-armored imperial guard, roared, and tore the gold-armored imperial guard into halves.

"Who can stop me?" His pupils grew wide in rage.

The group of gold-armored imperial guards exchanged glances with each other. Even though their faces were painted white with fear, they did not retreat.

"I stand with my brothers, we fight as one and die with no regrets!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Even though they knew they could not defeat the Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter, more than ten gold-armored imperial guards held their spears and stabbed at the Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter.

"Know your place!" the Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter howled as he grabbed the numerous spears that came at him. He growled menacingly as he lifted all of the gold-armored imperial guards in the air and unleashed a ring of Celestial Chi around him. "Boom boom boom!" The gold-armored imperial guards cried in pain as they were sent flying more than twenty meters away, crashing onto the ground.

These gold-armored imperial guards were considered the elite squad of the army and their bravery knows no boundaries. Still, the gap between them and a Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter was too large.

At the same time, the elder had transformed to his Eclipsing Firebird primal form and was battling another Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter. Roaring flames soared into the air.

Ye Chen came running from afar. His Astral Body had already seen what was going on.

"His Highness is here!" the Eclipsing Firebird's eyes flashed as he spoke. He was the first to sense Ye Chen's aura.

Ye Chen noted the chaotic situation and locked onto one of the Heavenly Venerable Rank fighters. "Swoosh." He threw out a Flying Dagger.

A bolt of light beamed outward.

The bolt of light flashed through the night sky like a firefly buzzing by.

"Swoosh." It flashed and carried a gentle breeze with it.