Chapter 34: Powerful Armored Warriors

The moment the armored soldier spoke, the Pacification Commissioner Yu Jin and the four grand eunuchs struck without hesitation, their movements like a thunderclap.

Moving with such speed that they left only afterimages in the great hall, the five of them leaped from various directions, charging straight toward the soldier shrouded in black mist.

The sound of wind and thunder suddenly exploded. Yu Jin's right palm visibly expanded to the size of a large palm leaf; around his hand, martial qi condensed into a cyan-colored palm print, striking down with a weight as heavy as a mountain.

Meanwhile, the four grand eunuchs, including An Quan, practiced the Sunflower Yin Qi, which was incomparably frigid. They shaped their qi into fists, palms, fingers, or claws, all aiming directly for the soldier's vital points. In an instant, the temperature in the hall plummeted, as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

It was evident that once the soldier stopped hiding and truly revealed his strength, Yu Jin and the others felt an immense threat emanating from him.

Consequently, they held nothing back. They decided to launch a coordinated siege immediately, determined to succeed in a single strike and capture him as quickly as possible so they could proceed to interrogate his accomplices.

However, faced with the combined assault of the five top experts of the Imperial Brocade Guard, the soldier remained unmoved. From beginning to end, he merely stood his ground, showing no intention of fleeing.

A mocking smile curled upon his face, which was shrouded in black mist.

In the next instant, the phantom iron chains condensed from the mist began to spin rapidly. Instead of retreating, they surged forward like long whips, lashing out to entwine the approaching five.

"Careful! Do not let that Beiqi Meditative Qi touch you!"

Yu Jin warned in a heavy voice. The martial qi within his dantian surged outward, condensing into a layer of protective cyan qi around his body.

His palm print continued to descend without hesitation, crashing down upon the head of the black-mist-shrouded soldier.

At the same time, the four grand eunuchs did the same; while projecting their qi for protection, they struck at the soldier's vital acupoints from four different directions using their Sunflower Yin Qi.

Yet, to the shock of the five, their attacks landed on the soldier's body like stones sinking into a vast ocean, causing no ripple at all.

The soldier remained standing exactly where he was. Aside from the blue bricks beneath his feet sinking half a foot into fine powder, he showed no sign of injury whatsoever; instead, the mockery on his face grew even more intense.

Startled, Yu Jin and the eunuchs immediately attempted to withdraw.

But the phantom iron chains, condensed from black mist, coiled around their protective qi and clung to their bodies, momentarily imprisoning them and making escape difficult.

In the blink of an eye, the soldier unleashed five consecutive punches, shattering the protective qi surrounding the five men until it dissipated completely.

Terrified, Yu Jin and the others hurriedly circulated their internal qi to bolster their defenses.

Seeing this from not far away in the hall, Gong Lishan's expression suddenly became extremely grave. He said, "This man's Beiqi Meditative Qi is too formidable. Although he hasn't truly reached the Grandmaster realm, the sheer magnitude of his qi is no inferior to that of a Martial Grandmaster."

"Then what should we do now?" Ji Feiyun frowned.

Without much thought, Gong Lishan replied, "We must assist them. Otherwise, the five of them will be exhausted to death by his Beiqi Meditative Qi."

With that, he was the first to charge out, calling to the other experts in the hall who had reached the Xiantian realm: "Everyone, attack together! Try to wear down his strength!"

Upon hearing this, the guards and minor eunuchs in the hall immediately struck, rushing toward the soldier in unison.

Simultaneously, the protective qi that Yu Jin and the others had just managed to condense was blasted apart by another punch from the soldier.

"If you can't even kill me while I'm standing still, why bother seeking death?"

The young soldier sneered. He turned and exchanged a blow with Gong Lishan, who had already reached him.

A thunderous explosion rang out as the collision of qi sent shockwaves through the hall, shattering a large area of the ornate, hollowed-out windows and doors.

Gong Lishan was clearly outmatched; he was sent flying backward, barely managing to stabilize himself in mid-air several yards away.

*Crack!*

At that moment, ferocious cracks began to spread across the floor tiles, radiating outward from the soldier toward the edges of the hall.

With a series of snapping sounds, the floor tiles exploded, flying in all directions like projectiles.

Before the guards and minor eunuchs of the Imperial Brocade Guard could even get close to the soldier, they were struck by these tile fragments, which acted like hidden weapons. Unable to withstand the terrifying force, they were sent flying.

In an instant, cries of pain echoed throughout the hall. The minor eunuchs and guards were struck one after another, suffering significant internal injuries and coughing up blood.

Seeing this, Ji Feiyun, who was about to strike, stopped abruptly. He instead flashed to Gong Lishan's side and said, "This man is too powerful. He is clearly a Martial Grandmaster. We cannot be his match. Our only option is to call for reinforcements."

With a flick of his sleeve, Ji Feiyun sent a bamboo tube flying through a broken window, which then ignited, shooting a plume of crimson smoke into the sky.

The soldier, shrouded in black mist, glanced toward the smoke and let out a cold laugh.

"It seems I'll have to speed things up before your Six Doors experts arrive."

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldier suddenly threw a punch. This time, the erupting qi was even more powerful than before, sending all five of Yu Jin's group flying.

The phantom iron chains condensed from the black mist acted like bone-eating maggots, rapidly eroding the bodies of Yu Jin and the others.

At the same time, the soldier stomped his foot and launched himself forward like a cannonball, appearing before Gong Lishan and Ji Feiyun in a heartbeat.

His twin fists, billowing with black mist, struck out. The two men barely had time to react by raising their arms to block, but they were powerless to resist and were violently sent flying.

Then, with the black mist surging around him, the soldier moved with even greater speed, appearing beside Ji Feiyun and the other man in mid-air.

Seeing the soldier about to strike his head with another punch, Ji Feiyun and the other man were struck with terror.

Right at that moment, a gray-robed elder suddenly appeared behind the soldier like a ghost, thrusting a sword forward silently like a venomous snake.

This strike was incredibly fast and filled with a murderous intent that left no room for evasion. For the first time, the soldier showed a look of panic; he only had enough time to circulate his qi to its limit to shift his body sideways.

In the next instant, blood sprayed everywhere as the soldier's entire arm was severed by the sword.

"You seek death!"

The soldier roared in fury. His pitch-black Beiqi Meditative Qi gathered like a devouring whale into his remaining arm, and he spun around to strike the gray-robed elder with a punch.

A ferocious, chilling phantom of a black tiger emerged from the surging Beiqi Meditative Qi, appearing as if it intended to tear apart everything in its path.

The gray-robed elder seemingly did not want to be tainted by the Beiqi Meditative Qi; he raised his palm to strike the black tiger phantom just enough to deflect it, using the momentum to retreat rapidly.

However, his brow suddenly furrowed, for the soldier was also retreating backward with even greater speed.

The elder hurriedly halted his movement, but in that blink of an eye, the soldier had already vanished from sight.