So fierce?
Lu Zheng had assumed there would at least be a few ceremonial words before the fight began, yet it was either a sneak attack or an immediate outburst. Did people in ancient times really play so dirty?
The Lushui River God, however, had come prepared for war. He swung his dragon-headed guandao, and a circulating torrent instantly formed a vortex shield in front of him, blocking the opponent’s strike.
“I am the Lushui River God! Who are you, trespassing on my domain?” the River God bellowed.
“A river god appointed by the Great Jing court has no authority over me!” the burly man in green rasped. “Leave this secret realm at once. Once my business is done, I will depart of my own accord. Otherwise, do not blame me for wiping out your entire River God lineage!”
Lu Zheng nodded. Clearly, this was someone who listened to no reason.
That actually made things simpler.
“Bold!” the River God roared.
Previously, he had only intended to rescue Zhu Yushan and stay out of whatever grudge existed between this burly man and the old turtle if possible.
But now, after those words, the nature of the matter had changed.
It had become a question of face.
Neither the dignity of the Great Jing court nor his own as the Lushui River God could be so easily discarded.
The River God brandished his long guandao and shot forward like lightning, closing the distance in an instant. With a mighty downward chop (whether or not there was a Mount Hua around here), the blade swept up a torrent of water, carrying immense pressure and sharpness as it cleaved straight at the burly man’s head.
“Bring it on!”
The burly man wiped his right hand through the air, and a dark-green steel whip appeared in his grip. He raised it single-handedly and actually parried the River God’s full-strength blow.
The next moment, his left hand clawed at empty space and produced a serrated blade. His expression turned ferocious as he slashed at the River God’s neck.
Lu Zheng’s fingers twitched, ready to intervene, but before he could act, the River God flicked his guandao and used the butt to deflect the serrated blade.
Though inferior in raw strength, the River God possessed profound cultivation and rich battle experience. He was not about to fall in a single exchange.
Meanwhile, the River God Mansion’s water soldiers poured steadily into the secret realm. The moment they entered, they formed up, waving their Primordial Water Array flags. Very soon the flags linked their qi, enveloping the soldiers in shimmering watery light while streams of water surged toward the two combatants, buffing the River God and hampering the burly man.
Lu Zheng relaxed his hand and continued to guard the River God’s flank.
After all, he was the one who had discovered this place, so a share of the destiny light was surely his. Under the circumstances, he would slack off whenever he could.
Moreover, the River God was his elder. Since the man showed no sign of losing, Lu Zheng was unsure whether it was proper for him to step in.
Fortunately, bolstered by the Primordial Water Grand Array, the River God straightened up proudly. His dragon-headed guandao danced like the wind, trading blows with the burly man in a deadlock.
“The River God fights well!”
Lu Zheng could not help praising, then turned with a smile to Li Hanyu. “Why did you never pass this skill on to Brother Zhu?”
Now that they were inside the secret realm, the threat to her husband was pinned down, and with a great expert like Lu Zheng guarding her father, Li Hanyu’s tension had long since melted away.
Hearing his words, she only smiled and replied, “Yushan thinks about the imperial examinations every day. It was already hard enough to get him to practise qi and study the law. Asking him to wield a blade in battle? He hasn’t the talent for that. Only my father can do it.”
Though she said this, her face was all smiles. Clearly she was extremely satisfied with her husband. Half of her words were for Lu Zheng’s ears, and half for her father’s.
On the other side, the burly man held a slight advantage against the River God, yet he could not finish the fight quickly.
Seeing the young man and woman cheerfully chatting, he burned with rage and lost patience waiting for the array-holding soldiers’ qi to weaken. He pointed a finger, and a jet-black current spun rapidly into a black water drill, trailing a wake as it shot mercilessly toward the Primordial Water Grand Array.
Lu Zheng’s eyes flashed. The next instant he stood between the drill and the array.
He might not intervene directly in the River God’s duel, but protecting the grand array was well within bounds. He could hardly stand by and do nothing.
Underwater, many spells were inconvenient. Cloud spells, wind spells, even thunder spells were hard to deploy. No wonder Sun Wukong, for all his power, admitted he was poor at aquatic combat.
Fortunately, if Lu Zheng lacked anything, it certainly was not variety of techniques.
He patted his gourd, and a cyan flying sword shimmering with silver light shot from its mouth, turning into a streak of cyan shadow that stabbed straight at the tip of the black water drill.
A direct clash, metal against metal. The Silver Feather Azure Dawn Sword met the drill head-on.
Clang!
A flying sword could naturally be used underwater. A clear sword cry rang out, and the collision even produced the sound of striking iron.
“A sword cultivator?”
The burly man’s eyes twitched. Only now did he realise that Lu Zheng’s flying sword was extraordinarily sharp. A single strike shattered his water drill, and the sword qi was dense and ferocious. His cultivation was not the least bit inferior to his own.
Lu Zheng stood with hands clasped behind his back. After dispersing the drill, the Silver Feather Azure Dawn Sword circled once and returned to hover three feet before his chest, rising and falling gently, its tip pointed menacingly at the burly man.
The next moment, seeing how powerful Lu Zheng was, the three hundred water soldiers’ morale soared. The Primordial Water Grand Array immediately diverted more power to bolster the River God.
The River God’s guandao whirled like a storm, carrying unstoppable momentum as it chopped toward the burly man.
A fierce glint flashed in the burly man’s eyes, yet he was forced steadily backwards.
Lu Zheng’s gaze sharpened. “Lord Father-in-law, careful!”
The next instant, the dragon-headed guandao swept horizontally from the right. The burly man raised his steel whip vertically to block the blade, then jammed his serrated knife against it, locking the guandao for a fraction of a second. Suddenly, a massive scaled tail unfurled from behind him and whipped into the River God’s body.
Boom!
The River God was sent flying, but his armour flashed with flowing light, absorbing most of the force. Protected by his demonic power, he suffered no real injury.
Having repelled the River God, the burly man shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, charging straight at the Primordial Water Grand Array.
He had seen clearly: although Lu Zheng appeared formidable, he was unfamiliar with water techniques. Relying on Lu Zheng’s protection, the array had deliberately lowered its own defences, giving him precisely the opening he needed.
If he could tie down Lu Zheng and scatter the grand array, the River God’s combat strength would drop by at least thirty percent, and the array’s restraints on him would vanish.
With one side weakened and the other strengthened, even facing both the River God and Lu Zheng together, he was confident he could drive them out of the secret realm.
Then, once he sealed the entrance, he would have all the time he needed to kill that old turtle and the meddling scholar.
“Die!”
Dark-green scales emerged across the burly man’s body. He raised his steel whip as if to strike Lu Zheng, while his serrated knife stirred the water. Several more black water drills silently took shape, aimed squarely at the Primordial Water Grand Array.
