Since he was still too far to be of help, he scooped up a rock on the way and lobbed it at Ming Chen as hard as he could. The man must have been too focused to notice. The rock struck him on the side of the head.
He screamed and turned enraged eyes on Wu Jian, but that was good. It meant Hou Jingshu was no longer in immediate danger.
He and Wu Meiying soon reached Ming Cheng and began their fierce confrontation. The man swung his sword down from above, but Wu Jian dodged to the side, kicked the pommel, and knocked it out of Ming Chen's hand. The weapon impaled the ground several chi away.
Wu Jian thought this would give them an advantage, but then pain seared his chest as he was kicked hard so hard his feet left the ground. He struck the ground back first and tumbled. The world became a blur of motion before he rolled to a stop some distance away. He couldn't get up immediately. The agonizing sensation of being unable to draw breath kept him pinned for several seconds.
Grimacing, he eventually climbed to his feet and saw Wu Meiying and Hou Jingshu keeping their enemy occupied. Cuts were appearing on their snow white skin. It angered Wu Jian. Seeing the people he loved get hurt made him so angry that he saw red, though he did his best to remain calm. This was a battle. This was war. He could not let anger cloud his judgement or his loved ones would die.
Wu Jian raced forward and scooped up some dirt. Wu Meiying and Hou Jingshu saw him coming and kept Ming Chen occupied, but the man seemed to have sensed what they were doing. He locked blades with Hou Jingshu, kicked Wu Meiying away, then tried to cut off the Shang Princess's arm.
That was when Wu Jian appeared.
"Eat dirt!"
He threw the dirt in Ming Chen's eyes. The man screamed and clawed at his eyes as he stumbled backward.
"Damn you! You fucking brat! You're courting death!"
Wu Jian didn't waste time. He rushed forward, spun around, and threw a double palm strike that slammed into Ming Chen's chest. The man doubled over and vomited blood as Wu Jian leapt away. Wu Meiying and Hou Jingshu took that chance to close the distance and finish him.
"Earth Dome!"
Striking the ground, the man erected a wall that surrounded him on all sides. It curved upward and created a dome that protected him from the two. Their foot and butterfly swords respectively bounced off the hard earth. They landed on the ground next to Wu Jian.
"I don't think we can break through that," Wu Meiying said.
"I know we can't break through that," Hou Jingshu rebuked.
"What should we do?" asked Wu Jian.
"Earth Spikes!"
Neither of the girls could answer before a dozen spikes shot from the ground. Wu Jian pushed the pair out of the way and leapt back. He was not fast enough. Biting back a yelp of pain as a spike impaled his left arm, he landed awkwardly on the ground and clutched the now bleeding appendage to his side.
It's just a superficial wound. Nothing too serious. But I can't afford to get too injured. We're already at a huge disadvantage in this fight.
A section of the dome in front of Wu Jian suddenly crumbled and Ming Chen burst out of it, rushing headlong toward him. There was madness in the man's bloodshot eyes.
Breathing heavily, Wu Jian rolled across the ground as the other man's sword sang of death. The jian sliced through the ground like it was made of butter. Wu Jian landed on his feet, but he stumbled. It took him a moment to realize his foot had become trapped by earth.
"Earth Entrapment," Ming Chen uttered victoriously.
He raised his sword, prepared to swing it down. He was so focused on Wu Jian that he didn't notice Wu Meiying until her foot crashed into the side of his head.
"Don't you dare harm my future husband, scum!!"
Wu Meiying landed on the ground as Ming Chen stumbled. He regained his balance quickly and prepared to attack her, but Hou Jingshu appeared to block his sword strike, redirecting the weapon over her head with a wide motion of her arms.
Ming Chen stepped back. He glared at the three with hatred burning behind his dark eyes.
"Haaah... haaaaah... you damn brats... You cannot beat me... you cannot even see the depths of my strength... haaaaah... you may have eyes, but they cannot see Mount Xiānjìng..."
Mount Xiānjìng was the mythical mountain range of the fairies—supposedly a race of magical beasts that were well-known for their illusions and trickery. Saying "You have eyes but cannot see Mount Xiānjìng" was the same as saying someone was blinded by their own arrogance.
"The one who doesn't have eyes is you," Wu Jian said, gulping for air. "Or have you not noticed how you've grown weaker?"
"Grown weaker? Ha! Ha ha! You think I've become weaker! Do not be ridiculous! I am as powerful now as I ever was! No! I'm even more powerful than I was before!"
With that, Ming Chen attacked them again, but just as Wu Jian had said, he had indeed grown weaker. His attacks were neither as strong nor as swift. Hou Jingshu was now able to match him blow for blow, and since she had two weapons to his one, she got several more cuts in. Wu Jian and Wu Meiying also kept the pressure off her, delivering punishing punches and kicks that left bruises on Ming Chen's flesh. By the time Ming Chen realized what was wrong, it was already too late.
"W-what did you brats do to me?!"
"Nothing much. We just poisoned you with a little something we learned from Tian Hao," Wu Meiying said with a dark grin.
MIng Chen snarled. "You!!!! Damn you!!!"
The man raised his sword high in the air as if to bring judgement down upon them, but Wu Meiying slid between his legs and kicked them out from under him. As he pitched forward, Hou Jingshu knocked his blade wide. Then Wu Jian leapt forward and kicked the man so hard in the throat that the sound of his larynx being crushed echoed around the battlefield.
Ming Chen fell backwards, twitched several times, and went silent. Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingsnu took gasping breaths of air. It hurt just to breathe. Only the knowledge that they were still on the battlefield kept them from letting their guard down.
"We... we did it..." Wu Jian gasped.
"Yeah... I don't know how... but we did," Hou Jingshu added.
Wu Meiying smiled as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It's because... because we're amazing together. That's why."
All of them shared a smile. Against all odds, against logic, they had fought someone at the fourth subrealm of the Hunger Realm and won. That was a feat unheard of as far as they were aware. Of course, they never would have won if it wasn't for the poison they learned about from Tian Hao when she poisoned the Wu Clan's farm. Even so, a victory was a victory.
There weren't any enemies near them at the moment, which meant they were able to survey the entire battlefield. So many people were all fighting at once in a chaotic throng. Father was standing several dozen feet away, locked in combat with a couple of Ming Family mooks. He might not have been at his peak, but he was still more than they could deal with. The two came in with their swords, but he just grabbed one by the wrist, twisted his arm, and used his enemy's weapon to impale the other through the chest.
However, the real battle was happening almost two hundred feet out.
"Wu Taohua is really incredible!" Hou Jingshu exclaimed.
"She's definitely strong," Wu Meiying said, nodding.
Wu Jian said nothing, but that was because he was stunned. Wu Taohua was battling against Hu Li while the three elders fought off former Elder Wei. She was amazing. Despite the fact that they were separated by three subrealms, she was not only still alive but didn't seem very injured. Some blood was running down her forehead and she had cuts running along her arms, but they were relatively minor wounds.
"Fire Storm!"
With a roar, Hu Li swung his massive sword down, unleashing a fierce wave of flames that would have engulfed Wu Taohua—had she not slipped inside of a shadow. Wu Jian needed to blink because he thought he was seeing things. The woman reappeared from within Hu Li's shadow and tried to attack him with her butterfly sword, but he spun around and shielded himself with his massive sword, which looked more like a slab of metal than any kind of blade.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Never thought I'd run into a shadow user here! You're quite good!"
"Hmph."
Wu Taohua didn't respond to Hu Li's taunts as she leapt back and tossed her blades. She didn't throw them at Hu Li but at her own shadow. They disappeared into her shadow and popped out of his. Hu Li tried to block them, but they swerved at the last second, curved around his sword, and impaled him through the torso.
"Impressive!" The man grinned as he stabbed his sword into the ground and pulled out the butterfly knives. Blood spurted from the wound, but he didn't seem to notice. "You attached a thread of chi to these little knives and used them to control their movements. That takes very precise chi control. I'm in awe. Why don't you stop hanging around with this destroyed clan and become my woman."
"I refuse."
"Such a quick response!"
"Besides, we're not the ones who are about to be destroyed."
"Oh, yeah?" Hu Li raised an eyebrow and spread his arms wide. "It looks to me like you are. You're outnumbered, outclassed, and few of you have the strength for a prolonged battle. What can you possibly do?"
Wu Taohua gave the man an uncharacteristic smirk. "We're not going to do anything." She pointed at something. "They are."
Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu saw them before anyone else—a large army of men and women dressed in the uniform of the Shang Imperial Army and bearing the flag of the Shang Kingdom. At the head of their procession was—
"That's Yu Chenguang!" Hou Jingshu exclaimed.
"Who is that?" asked Wu Jian.
"Yu Chenguang is the second-in-command of the Shang Kingdom Imperial Army and my father's most trusted commander," Hou Jingshu explained. "He is at the first subrealm of the Human Limit Realm and was also someone who watched me a lot when I was little. He's almost like my uncle."
Wu Jian sucked in a breath when he heard that this man was at the Human Limit Realm. That was a realm so far away from him that he couldn't even fathom it right now, a whole realm higher than Father and Wu Taohua. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say this one man could have easily destroyed every person present even if they ganged up on him together.
Yu Chenguan unsheathed a sword and raised it above his head. The weapon reflected the sun and seemed to draw the attention of everyone present. He then pointed his sword at the Feirce Tiger Sect and Ming Family forces.
"CHARGE!!!"
With a furious roar, the army that had arrived charged forward and began laying waste to the Ming Family, Juishi Family, and Fierce Tiger Sect. Thus, the battle ended in the Wu Clan's victory.
***
Former Elder Wei, Ming Shen, Hu Li, and the other leaders of the Ming and Juishi Families all perished in the battle. The remaining forces tried to flee, but Yu Chenguang ordered his men to chase them down. Not a single one was allowed to remain alive.
After the battle, Yu Chenguang was graciously invited to the Wu Clan compound as a guest of honor, which was how Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu found themselves sitting inside of a room alongside Yu Changuang, the Wu Clan elders, and Father.
"You look well, Lady Jingshu," Yu Chenguang said with a small smile. He looked nothing like the fierce commander who appeared before them like a tiger the other day.
Yu Chenguang looked young. His face retained hints of youthful exuberance, but his bearing was regal and strong. He was obviously older than he looked. His appearance was most likely due to his Human Limit Realm cultivation.
He had light brown hair tied into a ponytail that trailed down his back, brown eyes, and skin so white it looked like snow. Some might have mistaken him for a woman. His slender face was effeminate. Wu Jian would have even said the man was very pretty, though he didn't dare say that to his face.
Hou Jingshu's smile could have lit up the room. "Thank you. I'm doing very well."
All of their injuries had been healed by the healers Yu Chenguang had brought along. Even Father's injuries had been healed and his strength brought back to full. Hou Jingshu's cuts, bruises, and scrapes had faded entirely. Even the wound Wu Jian had suffered on his arm hadn't left a scar.
"I was very surprised to see you fighting so fiercely before I arrived." His smile, if possible, grew even softer. "You're not even at the Hunger Realm and yet you're already so strong."
Hou Jingshu looked down and blushed. Being praised by someone she saw as family must have made her quite happy.
At this moment, Father coughed into his hand. "I understand you likely came here to save Lady Jingshu from peril, but you also saved my clan. If there's anything I can do to repay you..."
Yu Chenguang shook his head. "It was actually sheer coincidence that we arrived in time to save you. My forces were already en route here when news of what was happening reached my ears. There is no need for thanks. More importantly, I came here to inform Lady Jingshu of a grave matter."
A sudden shift occurred within the man's demeanor. His expression turned dark. Maybe it was the light playing tricks on them, but a shadow appeared over his eyes and made him seem ominous somehow. Hou Jingshu gulped.
"W-what it is?"
"It's your father. I'm afraid he has fallen ill. The healers who have seen him said they do not believe he'll live for more than a year—two at most." Yu Chenguang's words caused all the blood from Hou Jingshu's face, and with the disappearance of her smile, the happiness and joy that had been ready to burst evaporated like steam on the wind.
♦__♦__♦
The battle might be over, but that doesn't mean everything is settled. New problems arise in the Shang Kingdom's capital.
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