Chapter 318: To be a maid, pouring tea and serving water, playing the flute and pipe—wouldn't that be wonderful?

A small town.

The setting sun is like blood.

"Master, we have already lost; we are no match for the Young Master."

Wanwan tilted her pretty face upward and tugged at Zhu Yuyan's cloud-patterned sleeves: "Let's surrender. The Young Master's martial arts are peerless; even the Three Great Grandmasters are no match for him. We must preserve our lives so that we can revitalize the Yin Gui Sect."

"Wan'er, your master has not yet lost, and the Yin Gui Sect has not yet lost. Who will ultimately claim victory remains to be seen."

Zhu Yuyan stood in the middle of the small town, her hair in a high bun, her face covered by heavy veils, her white dress like that of an immortal; against the backdrop of corpses and fresh blood, she appeared all the more cruelly provocative.

Even if the experts of the Yin Gui Sect had been utterly defeated, she, their Sect Leader, had not lost. And as the head of the Eight Great Masters of the Demon Sect, she was not without a chance to turn the tables.

What's more... Zhu Yuyan's beautiful eyes flashed. Even if she were no match for Yu Liancheng, wouldn't it be simple to escape? Why submit to a fellow who is arrogant, conceited, and headstrong?

"You have lost." Yu Liancheng stared straight into Zhu Yuyan's eyes, his own flashing with a profound and sharp light. It was as if he could see through her skin to the thoughts within: "As a Grandmaster of your generation, you are afraid before the battle has even begun. Your confidence has plummeted to the bottom, and your spirit, True Qi, and Qi and Blood cannot unite. You can only unleash at most eighty percent of your full combat power; how then could you possibly defeat me?"

What he said was indeed the truth; for an expert, confidence is of vital importance.

Just like when Ba Fenghan dueled Qu Ao in the original timeline; Qu Ao was a master of martial arts, yet when facing Ba Fenghan, who had not yet reached his peak, he was defeated by the weaker opponent and thoroughly crushed, retreating back to Tiele in disgrace.

And an important reason why Qu Ao lost was that he had previously lost to Bi Xuan, causing his confidence to plummet to the bottom. Ba Fenghan, on the other hand, was full of fighting spirit, his momentum like a rainbow.

And now, having witnessed Yu Liancheng's martial arts, Zhu Yuyan was already considering retreat before the fight; the sliver of a chance she had originally possessed was now completely gone.

"Whether I win or lose, we shall see after we fight."

A deep blue light welled up in Zhu Yuyan's eyes. As she exerted the Heavenly Demon Great Art to its limit, an invisible force field swirled around her, pulling at everything tangible and intangible.

With a soft shout, Zhu Yuyan's figure transformed into a streak of white light, crossing a space of over ten zhang, and suddenly appeared before Yu Liancheng.

Her beautiful eyes emitted a look that seemed both pitiful and resentful. Her sandalwood lips sang softly, and her delicate body danced slowly, graceful and alluring, in a manner that would confuse and fascinate anyone, turning a man's tempered steel into soft, winding silk.

The air was also filled with a strange, fragrant scent that pierced the heart and soul, causing one's spirit to fade away.

Most peculiar of all were Zhu Yuyan's slender, jade-like hands; under the reflection of the blood-red setting sun, they shimmered with a moving radiance that transcended the mortal world. Countless changes emerged from between her hands, all of them exquisitely beautiful, yet containing some unspeakable secret of the heavens and earth, making one feel as if they were falling into another world.

At this moment, this head of the Eight Great Masters of the Demon Sect, the Yin Empress Zhu Yuyan, was unleashing her lifelong cultivation, every part of her body attacking Yu Liancheng.

Such a terrifying strike would force even the likes of the Three Great Grandmasters to temporarily avoid its edge, waiting to regain their footing before launching a counterattack.

Yu Liancheng, however, did not.

Golden light suddenly shot from his eyes, and his entire being radiated a majestic, awe-inspiring power, like a Vajra descending into the world.

In the next moment, his five fingers rotated and suddenly clenched tight. His fist intent accumulated to the extreme in an instant, and he blasted a punch toward Zhu Yuyan.

If one were to say that Zhu Yuyan's attack was like a raging tide or a bursting flood crashing down.

Then this punch from Yu Liancheng was the Sea-Calming Treasure—without beginning or end, primordial and infinite, capable of suppressing all shocks in heaven and earth.

Under this punch, the air currents surged out like a tsunami, and the space began to tremble violently, as if it were about to shatter into pieces at any moment.

Bang!!

Without a doubt.

All of Zhu Yuyan's flashy, intricate offensives were like snow under the scorching sun, melting away layer by layer under this punch.

Her delicate body was also struck heavily, flying sideways and crashing through a courtyard wall, falling into the garden of a wealthy household. The remaining force did not cease, and her back slammed into a rockery; the rockery was instantly shattered by her protective energy, exploding with a boom.

Without a doubt, in this head-on confrontation, Zhu Yuyan was miserably defeated.

If this scene were to spread throughout the martial arts world, it would surely cause a massive uproar. Zhu Yuyan, as the head of the Eight Great Masters of the Demon Sect and one of the world's most renowned figures, had been defeated so miserably after only one exchange.

"I said it before: you were afraid before the battle began. Without an invincible confidence, how could you possibly compete with me?" Yu Liancheng walked toward the courtyard. Although he clearly only took three or four steps, he crossed over ten zhang of space and stepped into the courtyard.

Zhu Yuyan secretly circulated her Heavenly Demon Energy to calm her churning Qi and Blood. She looked at Yu Liancheng with an expression of disbelief, her face changing, her tone losing some of its coldness: "Imperial Tutor, Yuyan..."

She was not a person who did not know the times, and she cherished her own life; she knew when to bow her head.

"I knew that Sect Leader Zhu would not be so proud and arrogant as to refuse to admit defeat, so I had to beat you into submission first." Yu Liancheng's demeanor was calm and composed. Before Zhu Yuyan could finish speaking, he backhanded a palm strike.

He already had plenty of experience in disciplining such strong-willed women.

One must thoroughly crush their dignity and leave an indelible, irresistible impression in the depths of their hearts; otherwise, even if they submit and admit defeat for a moment, they will turn heartless and ruthless in the future.

Although this palm strike was delivered from a distance of two or three zhang, the palm force was condensed and did not dissipate; it was grand and imposing, full of pressure, like a small mountain crashing down.

The severely injured Zhu Yuyan used her light-body technique to dodge the palm strike with great difficulty.

Bang!

However, another palm strike followed, sending her flying away entirely.

"Sect Leader Zhu has good light-body skills. Take a few more of my palms." Yu Liancheng chuckled, launching one long-range palm strike after another.

Zhu Yuyan forcibly raised her True Qi, fleeing in a disheveled state.

She felt stifled to the extreme, even harboring the thought of using "Jade Stone Burns Together" to head to the Yellow Springs with Yu Liancheng, but the opponent kept his distance from her at all times.

Bang!

Zhu Yuyan was sent flying again, collapsing on the grass. She spat out a mouthful of blood, staining her white dress red.

At this moment, the Yin Empress's hair was disheveled, her white dress stained with dust, and even her veil had been blown away by the palm wind, revealing a beautiful jade face that now bore a look of terror, no longer possessing that ethereal, aloof, and high-and-mighty air.

"Is he really going to kill me?"

Facing the continuously surging Po Kong Palm force, Zhu Yuyan could not help but feel a sense of despair in her heart.

She had originally thought that as long as she submitted to him, she could save her life, but who would have thought that Yu Liancheng would not give her a chance to speak at all.

"It seems I am going to die here today."

Another palm strike arrived, and the power of this strike was even three parts greater than the previous ones. Zhu Yuyan had exhausted her last bit of True Qi and could barely move a finger; she could only close her eyes and wait for death.

Boom!!

However, this palm strike slammed into the soil nearby. Immediately, waves of dirt rolled and swept up, scattering onto Zhu Yuyan and adding even more mud spots to her white dress.

"Is Sect Leader Zhu closing her eyes and waiting for death? Rest assured, I will not kill you."

Yu Liancheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Zhu Yuyan with a half-smile: "The Yin Gui Sect is no big deal, but it would be a pity for a woman like Sect Leader Zhu to die. Why not join my ranks, become a maid, pour tea and serve water, play the flute and pipe—wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"You..." Zhu Yuyan's beautiful eyes widened, her teeth gritted. Suddenly, her eyes rolled back, and she seemed to have fainted—perhaps from anger, perhaps from her injuries.

As for whether she was truly fainted or faking it, Yu Liancheng couldn't be bothered to care.