Chapter 42  : Chapter 042: Grab and Run

“Yang Zhen, stop right there!”

Another earth-shattering roar rolled down from the sky. The deafening sound wave, coupled with the shock of True Essence, sent shivers down the spine.

The booming voice startled Yang Zhen, but when he looked up and saw who it was, he burst into laughter.

Ma Dexing, in his current state, looked anything but graceful and profound. Perched on his flying sword, he didn’t appear as an expert at all. Instead, he resembled an enraged lion, fierce and explosive.

Clearly, Zhang Zongjin must have woken up and informed Ma Dexing about the Blood Silkworm incident.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ma Dexing realized he had been duped by Yang Zhen. He had mistakenly killed the wrong person in front of such a large crowd, slapping Duan Langcai to death. His rage was understandable.

Onlookers including Wang Shuiyan turned pale, baffled by why Yang Zhen had offended such a formidable figure. Elder Ma Dexing of the Donglin Sect, with his cultivation at the Golden Core Stage, had long been a respected senior in the entire Nether Sun Country. Wang Shuiyan and the others were shocked to see Yang Zhen infuriating him to such an extent.

A gleeful expression flashed in the eyes of Young Master Lu, who turned to Wang Shuiyan, remarking, “This Yang Zhen truly is a disaster. Wherever he goes, chaos follows. Now he’s even offended the elder of the Donglin Sect. He clearly has a death wish. At least he has some self-awareness, knowing that he is a bad omen.”

A woman standing nearby chimed in with a fearful tone, “Indeed, Shuiyan, you actually invited such a man to travel with us. We’re lucky he left on his own.

Otherwise, if Elder Ma’s wrath had been directed at us, neither you nor I could have borne it.”

Staring at Yang Zhen’s retreating figure, Wang Shuiyan said with some annoyance, “Young Master Yang hasn’t offended any of us. Why are you kicking him when he’s down?”

Hasn’t offended?

Young Master Lu and the woman exchanged a glance, their faces flickering

with unease.

‘Offended’ was an understatement. Young Master Lu felt humiliated, as if Yang Zhen had stolen his love away. Not only was he eager to kick Yang when he was down, but also he wished to stamp on Yang’s corpse if Yang Zhen were to be killed by Ma Dexing.

“Miss Wang…Regardless, Yang Zhen has provoked Elder Ma’s wrath, prompting him to chase after Yang with his flying sword. Yang Zhen is doomed,”

Young Master Lu regained his gentle and refined demeanor, advising Wang Shuiyan, “We should leave this place quickly. Elder Ma isn’t someone we can afford to offend.”

Wang Shuiyan hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, declaring, “I have a feeling Yang Zhen won’t die so easily.”

“He won’t die?” Young Master Lu burst into laughter, responding, “Then let’s wait and see. If Yang Zhen manages to escape from Elder Ma, I will…” “You will what?” Wang Shuiyan stared at Young Master Lu calmly.

Stung by Wang Shuiyan’s indifferent stare, Young Master Lu clenched his teeth and blurted out, “If Yang Zhen survives, I’ll slap myself twice and promise to never mention Yang Zhen again.”

The crowd gasped in disbelief, then quickly came to terms with it. As Young Master Lu pointed out, Yang Zhen, having offended a Golden Core Stage master, stood no chance of survival. Even if Young Master Lu longed to slap himself a thousand times over, Yang Zhen wouldn’t live to give him that opportunity.

By then, Ma Dexing had caught up, hovering in mid-air and shouting, “Young Yang Zhen, stop right there and accept your death!”

“Pah!”

Unaware that he was under the watchful eyes of Wang Shuiyan and the others, Yang Zhen spat back, pointing at Ma Dexing’s nose, “You think I’m an idiot, huh? I won’t stop. If you’re so great, you stop instead!”

Ma Dexing snorted coldly, stopping his sword in mid-air and pointing furiously at Yang Zhen, “I’ve stopped as you wished, do you dare to make a mockery of me?”

Yang Zhen burst into hearty laughter, nearly tripping over in his mirth, “You old man, you really are something. You actually stopped when I told you to.” ■’You… you insolent brat, I’ll make you wish you were dead!”

“Afraid of you, old man? Come chase me if you dare!”

Pfft!

Unable to hold back her laughter any longer, Wang Shuiyan chuckled at the sight of the audacious Yang Zhen.

Young Master Lu and the others stared in dumbfounded amazement as Yang Zhen and Ma Dexing chased and cursed each other, finding it hard to process the scene.

Yang Zhen… had actually dared to swear at Ma Dexing and even made a fool of him?

Ma Dexing was no fool.

At first, the crowd hearing Yang Zhen imploring Ma Dexing to stop assumed that Yang Zhen intended to fight to the death with Ma Dexing. They hadn’t even had a chance to revel in their misfortune when they saw Yang Zhen turn around and run even faster.

Such a move was executed with pure, unadulterated deftness.

Boom!

Enraged, Ma Dexing casually waved his hand, unleashing a torrential wave of energy. A terrifying wave of True Essence gathered in mid-air, forming into a long spear, which rapidly rushed towards Yang Zhen. The raging waves of energy emitted a series of piercing noises, demonstrating their terrifying power.

Yang Zhen’s heart chilled. He could sense that if this force hit him directly, he wouldn’t be able to withstand it, even with his perfect Ancient Elephant Thunder Body, simply because the difference in their strengths was too great. Without the time to turn around, Yang Zhen could only rely on his instinct to sense the approaching danger. A cloud suddenly exploded under his feet, and within the rolling waves of energy, he lurched forward.

Roar!

A thunderous noise echoed through the valley, and Yang Zhen’s body was hurled into the air, eventually landing in a heap on the ground, his wooden blocks scattered all over the place.

Wiping a trace of blood from his mouth, Yang Zhen stooped to pick up the fallen wood and propped it on the ground, while casting a cold glare at Ma

Dexing.

Ma Dexing let out a cold laugh, looking down contemptuously at Yang Zhen from mid-air, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes. “Run, you bastard!”

Many people enjoyed the game of cat and mouse, as the feeling of manipulating others was indeed satisfying. Ma Dexing was one of them. The more desperately Yang Zhen fought, the happier Ma Dexing felt.

However, to Ma Dexing’s surprise, Yang Zhen didn’t reveal the angst of a cornered animal. Instead, he looked at Ma Dexing with even more composed eyes.

“That was just a warm-up. Why would I need to run from an old geezer like you?”

Yang Zhen burst out laughing, leaning on his wooden stick with one hand and pointing at Ma Dexing with the other. “Come on, old man. I’ll let you have three strikes!”

“What?” Ma Dexing was stunned. He thought he had misheard. Seeing the look on Yang Zhen’s face, he abruptly exploded with rage.

The spectators, including Wang Shuiyan, were taken aback. They had seen arrogance before but never on this level. Yang Zhen, a practitioner at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, was facing a powerful existence at the Golden Core Stage, and he was offering him three free strikes?

Was this not equivalent to seeking death?

Wang Shuiyan looked at Yang Zhen with a strange expression, seemingly trying to discern where Yang Zhen’s confidence was coming from. But she failed. Yang Zhen’s confidence appeared natural and was not feigned.

■’You’re a tricky, cunning brat. You think I need your indulgence? Don’t even dream that I will be provoked into giving you three free strikes. Let me make it clear to you, you are doomed!”

With that, Ma Dexing slowly landed on the ground. His sword below his foot suddenly erupted in a blaze of blue light, charging towards Yang Zhen. Electricity filled the air and the explosive release of True Essence was like the surging of thunderbolt.

“This sword is named Thunderstruck. It is a high-ranking heaven-level magic weapon. Dying under this sword can also be considered as your good fortune!”

“It’s over!”

Wang Shuiyan’s face changed as she closed her eyes, unwilling to witness the following scene.

However, at that moment, Yang Zhen suddenly let out a loud laugh. He slammed his right hand down on his wooden stick, “Old bastard, you’ve been tricked!”

Hum!

An eerie wave of energy was emitted from the wooden stick in Yang Zhen’s hand, spreading in all directions. The stick shattered into countless tiny fragments. Although Yang Zhen’s face turned a little pale, a smirk appeared on his lips.

The Thunderstruck sword, which was as ferocious as a raging dragon, unexpectedly clattered to the ground in front of Yang Zhen. Yang Zhen picked it up and started running.

“What… what just happened?”

The spectators, including Young Master Lu, wore baffled expressions on their faces..