Chapter 301: How dare he!

Inside the second floor of the main building of the Chen Guo Star-Plucking Tower.

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao was busy processing the avalanche of star-light transmissions arriving like snowflakes, issuing order after order through them while simultaneously recording them on another jade tablet.

It was only because his Nascent Soul cultivation was powerful that he could manage; if it were anyone else, they would have been overwhelmed.

The Nine-Star Tide had already entered its second day, and the number of Star Domain Gates opening was decreasing.

Yet, for Chen Guo, every single one that opened was a burden.

In the entire second-floor hall, there was only the Grand Master and Peng Lao.

One was commanding, and the other was holding down the National Dao Academy; there was little mobile force left.

Fortunately, the benefits gained earlier thanks to Xu Jin—the addition of two Seventh Tier and several Sixth Tier experts—were now manifesting.

After breaking through to the Sixth Tier, Dong Zhao, a former disciple of the Grand Master, possessed extraordinary combat power; he had already completed his first mission to seal a Star Gate and, without returning, was directly ordered by Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao to redeploy and support another location.

Similarly, Meng Yanhui and Kou Jing, who had broken through to the Seventh Tier, had also redeployed to support a second location.

Cheng Yuexiao still remembered that during the last Nine-Star Tide, he, as Grand Master, hadn't even had the luxury of sitting back and watching; he had been forced to take action himself.

Along the way, he had constantly redeployed to kill enemies and seize opportunities to command and coordinate.

After several days, he had been in a daze, and after the battle, he had slept for an entire day before recovering.

This Nine-Star Tide was completely different.

And the next one.

During the next Nine-Star Tide, it should be even more composed.

After all, the various benefits brought by that super genius Xu Jin had only just begun to show; after two or three years of full digestion, the Chen Guo nine years from now would be a brand-new Chen Guo.

Thinking of this, a heartfelt smile appeared on Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao's face.

Suddenly, Cheng Yuexiao looked up at the water clock, his brow furrowing abruptly. Why hadn't Xu Jin returned yet?

It had been over a quarter of an hour since Xu Jin sent the star-light transmission to leave Guan County.

Theoretically, a quarter of an hour was more than enough time to arrive.

Could something have gone wrong?

"Peng Lao, ask Xu Jin where he is and why he hasn't arrived yet."

Cheng Yuexiao ordered casually, then sank his consciousness into his Star-Plucking Token to continue processing the avalanche of official business arriving within it.

Peng Lao immediately set aside his current task and, after receiving the order, sent a star-light transmission to Xu Jin.

But his brow immediately furrowed.

He tried again, but the transmission failed, and his expression turned serious.

"Palace Master, I cannot make contact."

"Cannot make contact? What do you mean?" Cheng Yuexiao looked up, stunned.

"Palace Master, the star-light transmission failed to send!" Peng Lao said.

Cheng Yuexiao was stunned. In an instant, he set aside his official duties and sent a star-light transmission to Xu Jin himself, which also showed as failed.

Cheng Yuexiao's expression turned incomparably ugly in an instant.

He was the only one who understood this situation; even Peng Lao did not.

A failed star-light transmission meant that Xu Jin's Second Tier Star-Plucking Token was no longer within the coverage area of the Star-Plucking Tower.

But based on Xu Jin's previous location, that was fundamentally impossible.

Unless a supreme expert had ambushed Xu Jin, killed him instantly, and thrown his Star-Plucking Token into a Sumeru space, this situation would not occur.

However, Xu Jin had several Sixth Tier emblems on him, possessed a powerful Nascent Soul, and had the warning of the Lingji Star Palace's Mingji Star Pattern; theoretically, even a Seventh Tier expert could not ambush Xu Jin.

Unless it was an existence at the level of Tianyang Xingjun Tianyang or Tianyang Xingjun Cangming who had launched the ambush!

Only then could they kill Xu Jin before he could even send a warning or a request for rescue via his Star-Plucking Token!

Was that possible?

Yes!

Normally, Tianyang Xingjun Tianyang and Tianyang Xingjun Cangming could not enter the country without passing through a portal without him noticing.

But if they concealed their tracks, completely suppressed their aura, and flew at low speed, they could sneak into Chen Guo silently.

Someone like Tianyang Xingjun Tianyang really did have that possibility...

But even so, even for Tianyang Xingjun Tianyang, there wouldn't have been enough time, yet now...

In an instant, all the color drained from Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao's face.

He stood up abruptly, but as he did, a wave of dizziness hit him, and it took a breath before he could stand steady again.

"Peng Lao, you take charge. I am going to find Xu Jin."

In a flash, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao used his Star-Plucking Token to select Yangjiang Commandery in Chen Guo's Danzhou, a Star Gate appeared, and he stepped into the teleportation!

Bang!

Like hitting a stone wall, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao was bounced right back!

The teleportation failed.

Cheng Yuexiao stood frozen.

In his panic and confusion, he was unable to react for a moment.

Peng Lao stepped forward to steady Cheng Yuexiao, asking in surprise, "Palace Master, the teleportation didn't work? Could it be that something happened to the Star-Plucking Tower?"

It was precisely this sentence from Peng Lao that made Cheng Yuexiao react, and a glimmer of hope rose in his heart.

If something had happened to the Star-Plucking Tower, then Xu Jin might not be in a situation of certain death.

But the problem was, how could something happen to the Star-Plucking Tower?

The Star-Plucking Tower had existed for thousands of years and had never had an accident; unless it was man-made!

At this thought, the color drained from Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao's face once more.

If it was man-made, then in all of Chen Guo, the only ones capable of doing this were himself, Cheng Yuexiao, and the one in the Imperial Palace.

The next instant, Cheng Yuexiao sank his consciousness into his Star-Plucking Token and directly invoked his authority as the main tower master to check the status of the Danzhou Yangjiang Commandery branch.

Upon seeing it, his face turned livid.

It had been shut down!

It had been forcibly closed by someone and was in a locked-tower state.

The only one who could bypass him to close and lock a branch of the Star-Plucking Tower was that Emperor.

His thoughts raced, but Cheng Yuexiao still couldn't understand what Emperor Qian'an was trying to do.

Was it for the Golden Star on Xu Jin?

But Xu Jin had already deduced the Earth Source Star Pattern.

He just hadn't had the chance to send it up yet.

"No matter, I must save Xu Jin first!"

This was the Grand Master's immediate decision.

But there were two ways to save Xu Jin: one was for Cheng Yuexiao to teleport to Danzhou, as the branch there was operating normally.

This way, he could teleport to Danzhou without alerting Emperor Qian'an, and then fly at full speed for about two hundred breaths to reach Yangjiang Commandery.

The second way was for Cheng Yuexiao to directly use his main tower authority to restart the Yangjiang Commandery branch; this way, he could arrive in a few breaths, but the drawback was that it would alert Emperor Qian'an.

After weighing it for only an instant, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao made his decision.

The second path.

Whether it alerted him or not, he didn't care.

He had to ensure Xu Jin's safety first.

If a Seventh Tier or even Eighth Tier expert had taken action, two hundred breaths would be enough to kill Xu Jin a hundred times over.

"Peng Lao, issue an order: the National Dao Academy is under full martial law!

Activate the National Dao Academy's protective formation!

From this moment on, no one is to enter or leave the National Dao Academy without my order; kill anyone who tries to force their way in!" While issuing the order, Cheng Yuexiao threw out his own seal and temporarily handed it to Peng Lao to hold!

"Yes!"

Peng Lao held the seal with both hands, his expression also serious to the extreme.

The next instant, Cheng Yuexiao directly exercised his authority as the main tower master to restart the Danzhou Yangjiang Commandery branch, and the Star Gate flickered and reappeared.

But before stepping into the Star Gate, Cheng Yuexiao paused and added, "Peng Lao, even if someone comes from the Imperial Palace, they are not to enter!

If they force their way in, kill them!"

The next instant, Cheng Yuexiao stepped into the teleportation Star Gate and vanished instantly, leaving only Peng Lao behind, gasping for air.

Was that person in the Imperial Palace causing trouble?

But regardless, Peng Lao would firmly and resolutely execute the Grand Master's order; this was the tradition of the Danxia Palace!

Inside the Imperial Palace, Emperor Qian'an, who was looking toward Danzhou from the Deyue Tower, felt his Star-Plucking Token vibrate slightly. He sank his consciousness into it, and his face turned incomparably ugly.

The half-day ban he had placed on the Yangjiang Commandery branch using his authority had been forcibly lifted, and it had been restarted.

In all of Chen Guo, only Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao could do this!

He had been discovered!

What made Emperor Qian'an, Gao Ye, even more furious was that Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao knew full well that he had issued the ban, yet instead of coming to ask him, the Emperor, for instructions, he had directly broken it!

It was simply becoming more and more arrogant.

He didn't put him in his eyes at all!

After his fury, Emperor Qian'an's brow locked tight in an instant.

The matter of the Yangjiang Commandery branch had been discovered, which meant his scheme in Yangjiang Commandery was about to be exposed.

If that matter were exposed, it would be troublesome.

Emperor Qian'an was not at all worried about his own safety.

He was worried that if the matter were exposed, his grand plan would be ruined. If Chu Zheng didn't break through this time, it would be even harder in the future!

And there was his imperial son, the fourth son who resembled him the most, Prince Xin!

The Grand Master couldn't do anything to him, the Emperor, but dealing with Chu Zheng and the fourth son, Prince Xin, was really...

Suddenly, Emperor Qian'an looked toward the void behind him and whispered, "Old Superintendent, Chu Zheng's matter might have been discovered by Cheng Yuexiao. Old Superintendent, why don't you make a trip? No matter what, you must stop Cheng Yuexiao from ruining this matter."

The hunched Eighth Tier Old Superintendent emerged from the void and bowed slightly to Emperor Qian'an. "Your Majesty, according to the ancestral laws, the holder of the Nine-Sheng Bianzhong cannot be attacked by the old servant unless they commit treason."

"Old Superintendent, you also know the current situation. If Cheng Yuexiao ruins this this time, let alone breaking through, Chu Zheng might even lose his life!"

"Your Majesty, the Grand Master is the pillar of the country and the anchor of Chen Guo. Your Majesty should discuss state affairs with the Grand Master more often in the future!" the Old Superintendent said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

This completely enraged Emperor Qian'an, who shouted, "Old Superintendent, are you going to disobey my order too?"

"Your Majesty, the old servant's mission is to protect Your Majesty and the safety of this Imperial Palace! As long as the old servant is in the Imperial Palace for one moment, I will not let the events of twenty years ago repeat themselves." After speaking, the Old Superintendent bowed and retreated, hiding back into the void.

Leaving only Emperor Qian'an there in impotent rage, his face looking ugly to the extreme.

However, Emperor Qian'an still wanted to make some effort.

He sank his consciousness into his Star-Plucking Token again and instantly sent an order to Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao.

【Grand Master, I have an urgent matter. Come to the Imperial Palace to see me immediately.】

Several breaths passed, and there was no response.

Emperor Qian'an sent another decree, 【Grand Master, return to the Imperial Palace immediately. This is an imperial decree; there is an urgent matter.】

Still no response, which made Emperor Qian'an's face look ugly to the extreme!

In the valley east of Yangjiang Commandery, watching the fourth son, Prince Xin's head being crushed by Xu Jin, the Inner Court Grand Superintendent Chu Zheng felt a chill shoot straight to his brain.

The fourth son, Prince Xin!

The future Crown Prince!

He had just been finished off by Xu Jin!

He had committed regicide!

This was equivalent to regicide!

For Grand Superintendent Chu, who had served the royal family since he was young and had long been imprinted with the ideology that the royal family was supreme, this was too explosive!

He even felt a moment of fear!

In an instant, Chu Zheng wanted to kill Xu Jin!

Only by killing Xu Jin could he slightly appease Emperor Qian'an's fury!

At this moment, Chu Zheng could no longer care about the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Blood Formation.

But as he was about to break away from the formation, Chu Zheng still hesitated for a split second.

If he broke away from the formation now, all his previous efforts would be wasted!

If the breakthrough failed, then his value...

His future...

But the problem was, if he didn't kill Xu Jin, he wouldn't be able to break through anyway.

Just as Chu Zheng was hesitating, the Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant he had sent out earlier suddenly turned into star-light and landed, bowing as he said, "Grand Superintendent, no aura of any expert above the Seventh Tier has been detected in the vicinity."

Earlier, Chu Zheng had sent this person to scout.

There were two purposes: one was to scout, and the other was to lure the enemy.

If Cheng Yuexiao really came, this Seventh Tier attendant would be the first to be discovered, and he could take the opportunity to escape!

Now it seemed that Cheng Yuexiao hadn't discovered them, but that Xu Jin was just unlucky and had stumbled in himself.

"Go, kill Xu Jin! Be careful, he has a Sixth Tier emblem." Chu Zheng ordered with a ferocious voice.

"Yes!"

The moment the Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant received the order, Chu Zheng's Star-Plucking Token suddenly flickered.

This made Chu Zheng's face change abruptly, because he knew very well what this meant.

He sank his consciousness into it, and it was a star-light transmission from Emperor Qian'an.

The star-light transmission contained two pieces of content.

【What is the situation? Have you broken through? How is Prince Xin? Cheng Yuexiao might have gone over; evacuate.】

Seeing the second half of this star-light transmission, Chu Zheng instantly felt his whole body turn cold!

On the other side of the valley, Xu Jin, who had just crushed the fourth son, Prince Xin's head, and casually killed several Fourth Tier experts who were rushing over like madmen, also felt his expression turn tense to the extreme.

His consciousness was sunk into the Chaos Star Fall, and he was clutching a nurtured Sixth Tier emblem in his hand.

He was ready to escape at any time.

As long as Chu Zheng rushed over, Xu Jin planned to use two Sixth Tier emblems to block the enemy and then use the Chaos Star Art to escape!

Two nurtured Sixth Tier emblems should be able to stop Chu Zheng for a split second, winning him time to escape.

Xu Jin had already calmed down by now and had thought it through.

After escaping, he must find a way to notify the Grand Master.

The Star-Plucking Tower in Yangjiang Commandery had been sealed, so the one in Danzhou shouldn't be.

The Danzhou branch had frequent traffic and high usage frequency; if it were sealed, the National Dao Academy would surely discover it immediately.

Just at this moment, Xu Jin saw that Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant rushing toward him to kill him.

If there were only one enemy, Xu Jin might use all his skills to tangle with this Seventh Tier Second Layer expert!

With so many nurtured Sixth Tier emblems, various Sixth Tier Star Arts, and various super-strong Star Arts brought by the Eighth Tier Star Pattern, Xu Jin didn't believe he couldn't grind him to death!

However, there were too many enemies right now.

Except for Xu Jin, everyone else in the field was an enemy.

While tangling with this Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant, as long as one Fifth Tier expert took a sneak attack, Xu Jin might be finished.

Therefore, the moment he saw the Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant rushing over, Xu Jin made a decision.

Escape first!

The next instant, Xu Jin prepared to blast out the nurtured Sixth Tier emblem to block the enemy, then invoke the Chaos Star Art to escape, and then use stealth to sneak away.

Xu Jin had already planned out the whole series of actions.

But just at this moment, Xu Jin's Star-Plucking Token suddenly flashed rapidly.

It flashed three times in a row.

Urgent!

Xu Jin's expression suddenly turned to wild joy.

There was a star-light transmission coming to the Star-Plucking Token, which meant that the ban on the Yangjiang Commandery branch of the Star-Plucking Tower might have been lifted!

He could reconnect with the outside world.

He could warn the Grand Master.

The moment his consciousness sank into it, what he saw was a star-light transmission from Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao.

【Are you still alive? If you are alive and in danger, use the Small Dou Zhuan Xing Yi emblem immediately!】

Just by looking at it, Xu Jin understood.

He understood everything!

The Grand Master had come!

And he was within a thousand miles.

The next instant, Xu Jin took the Small Dou Zhuan Xing Yi emblem directly out of his Sumeru space, and the moment he took it out, he crushed it to invoke it!

Almost simultaneously, a massive spatial fluctuation rose instantly.

That Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant had already rushed to within two or three hundred meters and was about to launch a full-force attack on Xu Jin, but he felt a bit strange, wondering why Xu Jin didn't run or dodge!

However, he didn't care anymore.

The Grand Superintendent had given the order, and he had to execute it!

He just needed to kill Xu Jin with all his might!

Suddenly, a strong spatial fluctuation rose, and a figure actually condensed beside Xu Jin.

In another split second, this Seventh Tier attendant, who had just been about to use all his might to kill Xu Jin, suddenly revealed a look of terror.

"Grand... Grand Master!"

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao appeared instantly.

Just by taking one look, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao immediately made a deduction, his brain roaring, and his fury surged to the sky, unable to be suppressed.

Boom!

He slapped out with one palm!

This Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant wanted to run.

But the moment he turned around, cyan brilliance wrapped around him instantly, followed by flaming light that crashed down, then pierced through his body, directly splitting him into countless fragments, and the massive flaming light incinerated this Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant into nothingness once more!

Killed in an instant!

First, the Grand Master had attacked in anger.

Second, this Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant had been scared out of his wits upon seeing the Grand Master appear, turned and fled, and offered no resistance, which was why it had such a miraculous effect!

In the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Blood Formation in the valley, Grand Superintendent Chu Zheng, who had just finished replying to Emperor Qian'an, had originally thought of escaping after replying, but he hadn't expected Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao to arrive so quickly!

Without hesitation, Chu Zheng broke away from the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Blood Formation and wanted to escape!

Clang!

The roaring sound of the Nine-Sheng Bianzhong rang out instantly.

"How dare you, eunuch!"

Accompanied by Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao's angry roar, the Nine-Sheng Bianzhong flew out four-colored star-light, which instantly crashed like a meteor directly onto the Inner Court Grand Superintendent Chu Zheng, who was turning to flee!

Cheng Yuexiao attacked with all his might.

Chu Zheng, however, was not like that Seventh Tier Second Layer attendant; he had been prepared!

The moment he fled, he defended with all his might, and a Sixth Tier Star Tool appeared behind him!

But the next instant, the four-colored meteor blasted out by the Nine-Sheng Bianzhong shattered Chu Zheng's Sixth Tier Star Tool and defense like dry wood.

The second four-colored meteor chased after him and directly shattered Chu Zheng's physical body.

Chu Zheng, left with only his head, was instantly stunned!

Was he this strong?

When did the Grand Master become this strong?

As a Seventh Tier Ninth Layer peak expert, he couldn't even last two moves under the Grand Master?

The next instant, a four-colored giant hand grabbed Chu Zheng's head!

The terror in Chu Zheng's eyes turned into despair in an instant!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 302 =====