Defiant Martial God
Chapter 71: Suddenly Revealing The Identity of a Princess
Ruo Feng stopped in front of the four and chuckled before asking politely: "Hey, did you guys come in from the outside?"
The four were startled and muttered in their hearts, 'What nonsense. Of course we came in from the outside. How could we be entering from the inside?
However, seeing Ruo Feng's polite attitude, somebody still replied, "Right, what do you want?"
"I just wanted to ask, what's the situation outside?" Ruo Feng continued to smile and maintain his polite attitude.
"The situation outside?" The man's eyes flashed sharply, "So that means you have only been staying inside until now?" After he uttered this, the eyes of the others in the group glittered sharply.
"Yeah, that's right. Is there a problem?" Ruo Feng replied, puzzled by their question.
"Surround him!" Somebody shouted loudly and immediately, Ruo Feng was encircled by them.
Ruo Feng didn't understand the sudden change, his face quickly becoming cold, "Everyone, what are you doing?"
"Hehe." The leader stepped forward, a sinister smile on his face, "You're called Qin Yu, right?"
Ruo Feng was startled, and instead of replying, he asked his own question. "How do you know Qin Yu?"
"Right now, there's probably nobody outside that hasn't heard his name. So are you him or not?" The man shouted loudly in a deep voice.
This made Ruo Feng even more confused, "You guys all know Qin Yu?"
"You really are a f*cking idiot, how many times must Laozi ask you? Guys, don't speak any more nonsense with him, capture him first before we continue the talk." The leading man was the first to pull out his sword and he dashed up forward, intending to hack Ruo Feng in half.
The others followed one by one, armed with a myriad of weapons as they charged at Ruo Feng.
"You're all seeking death!" Ruo Feng's sword welcomed the leader who initiated the attack.
A clang sounded out as the weapons met with flying sparks. The leader's arms turned numb as he was forced a few steps back.
Taking this opportunity, Ruo Feng's figure flashed as he escaped from the encirclement while dodging the other three's attacks. His speed was alarmingly fast and frightened the three.
After their fright, a series of whoosh sounded from within the forest. In the next moment, their group of four was instead now surrounded by four others, including Ruo Feng.
"Who are you guys?" The four sensed the strong auras of the three who suddenly appeared and a trace of terror appeared on their faces.
Qin Yu saw the four they had encircled and found that they were rather weak. Apart from the leader, who was at the initial stage of Immersion Realm, everyone else was only at the apex of the Origin Realm.
These weren't the strongest of the elite that they had fought with earlier within the pagoda. They were only ordinary talents. However, there were still very few who could reach the initial stage of Origin Realm before turning twenty.
"Weren't you guys asking for Qin Yu? I'm Qin Yu." Qin Yu stepped forward, an evil smile blooming on his face.
Their bodies trembled as they stared at Qin Yu, only to discover he was only at the peak of Origin Realm. Their eyes flashed with astonishment. He's so weak?
Then, they saw the two beautiful, fairy-like ladies next to him and found that they were strong Immersion Realm experts.
"So it's actually just a useless bum relying on two women." Somebody muttered, his eyes filled with contempt.
"I'll give you guys a chance. Tell me, how did you know my name?" The sinister smile suddenly disappeared from Qin Yu's face as a cold light appeared in his eyes. A bone-chillingly cold aura surged directly towards the leader.
The leader's heart shook as his pupils shrunk. His body couldn't help but tremble as a trace of shock appeared in his eyes. He looked at Qin Yu in a daze, asking doubtfully, "You're just an Origin Realm cultivator, so how could your aura be so strong?
"Reply to the young master Qin's words. Otherwise, Laozi will slice you in two!" Ruo Feng saw the group's leader stand still in bafflement. He shouted angrily as he pointed his sword towards the group's leader, giving him a big fright.
"I'll speak, I'll speak. I-it's like this. Outside, it's currently widely spread that Qin Yu took the spirit tool, so…" The leader spoke up to here and didn't speak further.
"So you guys wanted to grab it, right?" Qin Yu sneered and finished his words.
"No, no, we just came in here casually." The other was still quibbling.
"Speak less nonsense and continue. What more?" Qin Yu shouted sternly, almost causing the others to jump in fright.
"Yes, yes, I'll speak, I'll speak." The leader continued, "Somebody also put a bounty on your head, saying you killed the pagoda master. If somebody brings back your head, five Black Grade Promotion Pills will be given out as a reward."
"Ha, what a heavy move." Qin Yu laughed loudly.
"Something's amiss." Qing Yun seemed to sense something and joined the conversation. "Since everyone outside knows, why did only a few weaklings like you guys come in?"
After Qing Yun's words, the scene fell silent for a moment. Qin Yu and the others stared at the leader, waiting for his reply.
The leader was silent for a long time before finally replying vaguely under the combined oppression of Qin Yu and the others, "We…we were only here to scout the road. It's said that Qin Yu was extremely powerful and killed both the blood demon and the pagoda master. S-So…"
"So- your ass. If you continue dilly-dallying like an old woman, Laozi will just directly slice you apart." Ruo Feng interrupted angrily.
"Forget about it, there's no need to ask again." Qin Yu interrupted the two, his icy gaze staring at the leader of the group. His tone was flat but filled with power, "Just speak, how many people are outside waiting for you to report back?"
"R-Right now, there still isn't a lot. R-Roughly two hundred or so." The leader's voice trembled.
~~~
"Hmph, how ridiculous. You want to save them, yet they came here to attack you." Qing Yun's words were naturally said to Qin Yu.
"No, no, Miss Qing, Da Ge, don't misunderstand. It's definitely because they didn't get the whole story and were deceived." Mu Rongyue didn't wait for Qin Yu and the others to react as she spoke hastily.
Qing Yun had a strange expression on her face. This Mu Rongyue was always as kind-hearted as a Bodhisattva. 1 These days, she understood something—the reason why Qin Yu agreed to protect these people was all because of Mu Rongyue.
"Miss Mu, don't misunderstand, but why do you want to protect these people?" Qing Yun finally couldn't help but ask. For the past few days, she had always been keeping it in as she felt it wasn't nice to ask her directly.
"Because they are my Qiongxi Country's future hope." Mu Rongyue's tone was serious as she replied.
"What does Qiongxi Country's future have to do with you?" Qing Yun continued to question.
"Of course it has to do with me, since I'm the Princess of Qiongxi Country." Mu Rongyue knew that she couldn’t hide her identity forever, so she finally decided to reveal it.
"What?" Qing Yun's beautiful face turned stiff as she stared at Qin Yu, the expression on her face somewhat skeptical: "She's really the Princess?"
Qin Yu smiled and nodded, and with an absolutely certain tone, he replied. "She really is the Princess"
"This is the Imperial Palace's golden tablet that proves my identity as the Princess." Mu Rongyue pulled out a sparkling golden tablet, "Furthermore, the surname 'Mu' is the royal family name and my surname is precisely that 'Mu'."
"I can testify that she is our Princess. I am the Imperial Palace's Silver Ranked guard, Ruo Feng." Ruo Feng stepped forward. His hand flashed as a silver token appeared in his hands, "This is mine."
The Imperial Palace guards were divided into three ranks of bronze, silver, and gold, and silver guards were considered as middle-grade soldiers. For Ruo Feng to become a silver ranked guard at only twenty years of age meant that he was truly talented.
This time, Qing Yun didn't continue to question them. In fact, Mu Rongyue and Ruo Feng didn't even need to reveal their royal tablets. Qin Yu's words were enough for her to believe them.
Right now, she was secretly very indignant as she looked at Qin Yu with a trace of grievance in her eyes.
They've traveled together for so many days yet they had always kept her in the dark. It was really annoying.
Qin Yu could only force out a smile. Mu Rongyue wanted to hide her identity. If she was not willing to reveal her identity, it wouldn't be good for others to expose her.
Seeing Mu Rongyue suddenly announce her status, the other group of four were shocked. Nobody knew who did it first but with a plop, they all fell to their knees and cupped their fists in greeting. "Respects to the Princess."
These were all contestants who participated in the Martial Exam and so their goal was naturally to fight for position and wealth within King City. Right now, they were meeting with the grand and stately Princess—it was a big opportunity.
"Respects to the Princess." The other three finally reacted and knelt down in a flash like the four in front of Mu Rongyue.
Qin Yu smiled bitterly and spoke to Mu Rongyue, "Little Yue, I'll leave them to you. If you really want to protect them, you'll have to let them know the whole story."
"Alright, Da Ge." Mu Rongyue understood what Qin Yu meant and immediately stepped forward, "You may stand. I wish to clarify the current situation to all of you. You can convey my words to the others afterward."
"Yes, Princess." The four voiced their agreement loudly.
Then, Mu Rongyue began to change their minds by telling them the whole truth about the conspiracy behind the Martial Exam.
After finding out the truth, the four were completely shocked and almost couldn't believe it. Originally they had fought bitterly, going through battle after battle until they had the qualifications to enter the Illusionary Battlefield, yet all of that was actually in vain. The most unacceptable thing was this was all just a vicious plot to slaughter them all. Two of them were rather weak-willed, and after learning about the truth, they became extremely dispirited and gloomy and one of them almost fell apart.
Ruo Feng then helped to restore their confidence. He guaranteed that so long as they stood by the Princess's side to fight against the hunters, the Imperial Palace would foster them as talents and there was even the opportunity to become a guard of the Princess. Naturally, Mu Rongyue also gave her guarantee.
After Mu Rongyue gave her guarantee, the four immediately made their loyalty clear and stood in front of her, pledging their service.
After introductions were made, the group leader's name was found to be called Zuo Kui. 2
Zuo Kui followed Mu Rongyue's orders and brought the other three outside of the mountain range. They promised to let the people outside know of this so they wouldn't try to attack Qin Yu again, but rather unite together and rebel against the hunters. That way, they could kill the hunters and overturn the conspiracy.
Watching them leave, Qing Yun frowned elegantly. She couldn't help but ask Mu Rongyue as their figures disappeared into the forest, "Do you really believe them?"
Mu Rongyue muttered to herself resolutely for a moment before replying, "Although I'm not completely certain, from their actions just now, I believe them."
"And you?" Qing Yun looked at Qin Yu beside her.
Qin Yu's face was calm as he sighed, "Let's change our direction and go to the pagoda in the middle of the Illusionary Battlefield."
"What, you want to go there?" Qing Yun was startled, her face turning pale. He wanted to go to the place where thousands of people had killed each other, forming an utterly cruel, awful scene.
But Qin Yu didn't seem to care as he already changed the direction of his footsteps, and begun walking to the pagoda.
Editor's note: Buddhist term for an enlightened being. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva ↩ Translator's note: Just thought his name was kinda funny as it literally translates to left crotch lol (who'd name their kid that?). I mean I guess it's also a constellation so but still… hah 左奎 ↩