Chapter 26: Zhou Zhiruo Battles the Ghost King, Zhu Youwen

As soon as Gao Wu and his party exited the city gates, the Ghost King, Zhu Youwen, could wait no longer. Eager to ambush them, he set out immediately, accompanied by Zhong Xiaokui and the Water and Fire Judges.

Zhu Youwen calculated that with himself at the peak of the Xiantian realm, Zhong Xiaokui at the early Xiantian stage, and the two judges at the Qi Sea realm, dealing with a group of young upstarts should be effortless. Aside from the woman in white mentioned in the intelligence report, the others were nothing but ants.

The Ghost King, ranked twenty-first on the Earth Ranking, had always believed that he was only undervalued by the Baixiao Tower because he rarely showed his true strength. The Earth Ranking only listed those in the Xiantian realm; in the eyes of the Baixiao Tower, this meant there were only twenty people below the pinnacle who could defeat him. These twenty were all long-famed individuals of advanced age, and among them, there was no mention of this "Dragon Maiden."

Zhu Youwen was overflowing with confidence, but Zhong Xiaokui, following close behind, felt a sense of unease. "Ghost King, do not be careless. That young man is extremely strange. The two women he travels with seem to have appeared out of thin air—we cannot find any information on them whatsoever."

"Was it not said that he had been working as a waiter in Fengqiu County all this time?"

"I suspect that was merely a disguise. They may not even be the same person! The contrast in their behavior is too great."

"Hmph, no matter who they are, anyone who dares to kill so many of our Xuanming Cult members must be eradicated!"

The Ghost King was obsessed with martial arts and possessed a volatile temper. No one else dared speak to him in such a manner, but Zhong Xiaokui, ever loyal, was the only one who could be blunt in his presence. The Water and Fire Judges followed silently behind; while they could joke with Meng Po, they were always trembling with fear when facing the Ghost King.

The four moved with great speed and soon spotted the two luxurious carriages. The steeds were extraordinary, and the carriages themselves were exquisitely crafted.

"Bah, these rich kids really know how to enjoy themselves!" Fire Judge Yang Yan muttered, staring at the carriages moving slowly in the distance. Most members of the Xuanming Cult lived amidst poisonous mountains and insect-infested seas; they never had the chance to enjoy such luxuries, and whenever they left their mountain lair, they sought every opportunity to indulge in the world's excesses. This time, however, because their leader was the martial arts-obsessed Ghost King, they had been forced to skulk and suffer instead.

Zhu Youwen had no patience to wait for a secluded spot. Once the carriages were sufficiently clear of Feng City, he surged forward to block their path. Yet, the moment he approached, a fiery red figure shot out from the rear carriage. The woman brandished a wide, two-handed sword, slashing directly at the red-haired Ghost King.

The Ghost King was accustomed to exchanging words before a fight, but this time, he had run into Zhou Zhiruo, who engaged without uttering a single syllable.

"That man is the Ghost King!" Zhang Zifan leaped from the carriage and recognized him immediately.

Gao Wu was startled. "The Ghost King, Zhu Youwen?"

"That is the one. Ranked twenty-first on the Earth Ranking, at the peak of the Xiantian realm!" Li Xingyun frowned, watching the two figures clashing in the arena. He could not understand why they had been targeted the moment they left the city.

Gao Wu had never seen the Baixiao Tower's rankings. His concern was not the Ghost King before him, but the leader of the Xuanming Cult, the Underworld Emperor, Zhu Yougui.

"Brother Li, is the Underworld Emperor, Zhu Yougui, on the list?"

"He is. Ranked eighteenth on the Earth Ranking."

It seemed their strength was comparable. Gao Wu breathed a sigh of relief; as long as they had not broken through the Xiantian realm, there was still a chance to fight.

In the fray, the Ghost King’s "Nine Nether Profound Heaven Divine Art" was chilling and wicked. As he fought, an aura of the Nine Nether hell radiated from his body, like an evil spirit clinging to him, suffocating and ominous. Yet, Zhou Zhiruo’s "Nine Yin Manual" was equally bizarre and ruthless, her strikes accompanied by howling cold winds that were truly formidable.

Even those who had witnessed Zhou Zhiruo’s skills before could not bear to look at her in this state. In combat, she was a completely different person—like a vengeful ghost risen from hell.

"What kind of cultivation is Miss Zhou practicing? This is far too terrifying!" All lingering thoughts Zhang Zifan had harbored about her vanished instantly. *Yes,* he thought, *Sister Lu is definitely the cuter one.*

Gao Wu did not reveal the nature of her martial arts, smiling instead. "Look, there are three others on their side. Shall we go and test them?"

Zhang Zifan shook his head repeatedly. "No, no. Look, that is Zhong Xiaokui. Rumor has it she is always by the Ghost King's side and is fiercely loyal! She is a Xiantian expert. Among us, only the Dragon Maiden can face her." He pointed at the two figures behind her, one red and one blue, their faces obscured. "If I am not mistaken, those are the Water and Fire Judges of the Xuanming Cult, both at the Qi Sea realm! The sisters Qingguo and Qingcheng can handle them."

Gao Wu remained silent. What Zhang Zifan said made sense, but it felt wrong—were the three of them, the men, actually the weakest of the group?

As the combatants exchanged blows, the scene was filled with the wailing of ghosts and the howling of spirits. The dark energy blotted out the sky, plunging the surrounding hundreds of meters into a darkness that seemed to swallow all things.

Li Xingyun looked at Zhang Zifan, clearly frustrated. "Brother Zhang, you are the only one among us three who made it onto the Human Ranking. Surely you must step up and take one on?"

"Don't, Brother Li. Do not try to flatter me. I am only at the peak of Qi Induction. If I could reach the Qi Sea realm, perhaps I could fight, but as it stands, that would be pure suicide!"

It appeared that this Zhang Zifan, despite his white hair, was extremely conservative and unwilling to take even the slightest risk.

"Hmph, regardless, we cannot hide behind the women!" With that, Li Xingyun drew his sword, ready for battle.

"Childish. A gap in cultivation cannot be bridged by a sharp blade!"

Zhong Xiaokui, dressed in a tight red outfit with a cute, doll-like face and a stern expression, charged toward the carriages. Yang Yan and Yang Miao exchanged a glance. The Ghost King had not yet gained the upper hand, and while they wanted to wait and see, they were forced to charge forward when Zhong Xiaokui made her move.

Liu Yifei, her white robes fluttering, stepped forward to block them, as if a celestial being had descended to earth. Behind her followed the sisters Qingguo and Qingcheng—one tall and thin, the other short and fat—looking like fierce guardians of a deity.

Yang Yan even had the leisure to laugh. "This girl is not bad, so delicate, she looks like she could be crushed like a flower."

"Do not be careless. She is a Xiantian master, not someone we can easily defeat," Yang Miao said, remaining very calm. "The two ugly women behind her are our true opponents."

"How unlucky. I want to kill them the moment I see them!"

The Water and Fire Judges muttered to each other while Zhong Xiaokui approached with a blank expression. However, at the very moment they were about to clash, Zhong Xiaokui’s figure faltered. She was pulled off-course by invisible threads of Nether Water.

The Water and Fire Judges behind her could not react in time; unable to stop their momentum, they found themselves facing Liu Yifei and her companions directly. Zhong Xiaokui, meanwhile, had already changed direction to assist the Ghost King, Zhu Youwen.

The usually composed Water Judge, Yang Miao, shouted, "Zhong Xiaokui! You—you will meet a miserable end!"