Chapter 0211: Tianling Empire

Chapter 0211: Tianling Empire

Since entering the third zone, Qin Yun had frequently heard distant roars from beast hordes. He kept his guard up, ready to react swiftly if he sensed any Demon Beasts nearby.

"Is something wrong with the Soul Pursuit Rune? It's leading me toward the Second District. Could Yin Sheng be there?"

Qin Yun watched the Soul Pursuit Rune slowly drift deeper into First Town, unsure whether to follow it further.

"If it were nighttime, I could use my shadow power to remain undetected by the Demon Beasts. Even with the many powerful Demon Beasts in the Second District, I could sneak in without being noticed."

Finally, Qin Yun decided to head to the Second District.

Under the cover of night, he concealed himself in the darkness and sprinted toward the Second District.

He had initially planned to explore the Second District, but after encountering several powerful Demon Beasts in the third zone, he hesitated, deciding to wait before entering the Second District.

Knowing that Yin Sheng was in the Second District, he had no choice but to proceed.

As dawn approached, Qin Yun's mental energy detected the presence of a spirit beast nearby!

"I need to get away from this group of Demon Beasts quickly!"

He quickly took a detour to put some distance between himself and the Demon Beasts, and by the time it was fully daylight, he found a basement to hide in.

After all, with only the seventh level of the Martial Body realm, and unable to use his shadow power during the day, it would be extremely dangerous if he were discovered by the Demon Beasts. Therefore, he had to hide as soon as it became daytime.

Most of the buildings here had deep basements used for storing food and wine, providing easy hiding spots for him.

During the day, Qin Yun hid in the basement, using his free time to craft spirit runes.

The runes he was crafting were all high-quality beast skin spirit runes. Only runes of this caliber stood a chance against ninth-order Demon Beasts.

Crafting a high-quality beast skin spirit rune took a considerable amount of time and energy.

After spending half a day crafting runes, Qin Yun suddenly felt a faint tremor.

He didn’t pay much attention to it and continued crafting. Even if the noise outside grew louder, going out in broad daylight would be too dangerous.

During the day, Qin Yun couldn’t fully conceal his presence. If he encountered a Demon Beast with sharp senses, it would be easy to lose his life.

By the time Qin Yun finished crafting the high-quality Immobilization Rune, it was night again.

The faint tremors he had felt earlier continued intermittently, growing slightly stronger now.

"There must be a large battle happening in the distance. For it to last this long, could it be that two groups of Demon Beasts are fighting?" Qin Yun checked the Immobilization Rune to ensure there were no issues before putting it away.

He took out the Soul Pursuit Rune, confirmed Yin Sheng’s direction, and set off immediately.

In the pitch-black night, Qin Yun, like a shadow, perfectly blended into the darkness, dashing forward at full speed.

"Strange, the tremors I’m feeling are getting stronger. Could I be approaching the site of the battle?" Qin Yun glanced at the swirling clouds in the sky and felt the wind, suspecting that Yin Sheng and the others might be fighting a beast horde.

With suspicion and a hint of anticipation, he sped up, dashing forward across the ground.

About two hours later, he heard roars coming from ahead and quickly took out the Soul Pursuit Rune!

Seeing the rune shine brightly, his heart was filled with quiet joy!

"Indeed! Yin Sheng is right ahead!"

Qin Yun stowed the Soul Pursuit Rune, slowed his pace, and raised his guard as he neared the battlefield up ahead.

As he got closer, gusts of sand and dust whipped past him, mixed with thick smoke and a powerful Demon Beast aura.

Amidst the swirling sand and smoke, flashes of light occasionally erupted, the result of intense battles where internal energy was unleashed.

"More than one warrior at the Martial Warrior Realm!" Qin Yun was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Yin Sheng to be traveling with so many high-level warriors, which explained why Yin Sheng felt confident enough to venture into the third zone.

Qin Yun slowed down, retrieved the Soul Pursuit Rune, and reconfirmed Yin Sheng’s location.

Once he had confirmed, he picked up the pace and carefully made his way forward.

Before long, he arrived at the heart of the battle.

The area was choked with flying sand and debris, and the battle raged fiercely. The darkness of night, combined with the chaotic auras, allowed Qin Yun to remain well-hidden.

"There are at least three Martial Warrior Realm warriors in this group. They must be fighting a spirit beast; otherwise, the commotion wouldn’t be this intense."

Qin Yun thought to himself as he released his mental energy to pinpoint Yin Sheng’s location.

He quickly confirmed Yin Sheng’s position.

Yin Sheng and several other warriors at the eighth and ninth levels of the Martial Body Realm were locked in a fierce battle with several dog-like beasts.

The dog-like beasts were two to three meters long, covered in tough, armored skin, and wielded several-meter-long spiked tails that could extend and retract, lashing out with deadly precision.

Suddenly, one of the dog-like beasts whipped its massive tail, sending a barrage of spikes flying!

The spikes appeared to be charged with energy, exploding on impact.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, several nearby buildings crumbled, sending up a cloud of dust.

Yin Sheng hurled several Storm Runes, quickly dispersing the dust. Then, one of the dog-like beasts bared its fangs and charged forward with a ferocious roar.

Qin Yun clutched an Immobilization Rune tightly but hesitated to act.

He wasn’t confident in his chances of success and feared being spotted by Yin Sheng’s allies.

The dog-like beasts were all ninth-level Demon Beasts with keen senses. It wouldn’t be good if they caught his scent!

For now, he hadn’t found a good moment to strike and could only continue observing.

As he observed carefully, Qin Yun suddenly sensed someone approaching. Startled, he quickly turned to see a young man in silver armor.

Despite using his shadow power to blend into the darkness, it seemed he had been detected, which was why he was alarmed.

The silver-armored man, around twenty years old and at the seventh level of the Martial Body Realm, could only be here for one reason: he was part of Yin Sheng’s team and likely held a significant position.

"A ghost beast?" the silver-armored man muttered, then abruptly threw a pale golden net at Qin Yun.

Qin Yun was stunned. He hadn’t expected the silver-armored man to have actually spotted him. Moreover, the net was clearly an impressive spiritual artifact.

Though he dodged immediately, the net was deceptively small, expanding rapidly as it descended and releasing a barrier-like force.

Qin Yun sprinted a hundred meters in an instant but was still ensnared by the net!

As soon as he was caught, the net began to tighten, and bolts of lightning crackled from it.

"General Yin, check it out! I caught a fish, hahaha!" the silver-armored youth laughed.

"Crown Prince, what are you doing here? It's way too dangerous!" Yin Sheng shouted anxiously as he rushed over. "Let’s get you out of here, now!"

The silver-armored youth was none other than Ling Yuan, the Crown Prince of the Tianling Empire!

Ling Yuan, his face now twisted with displeasure, grabbed the net and dragged Qin Yun along as he followed Yin Sheng to put some distance between them and the battlefield.

Once caught in the net, Qin Yun was hit by the electric currents it released. Fortunately, his Mingyang Inner Element emitted a decomposing energy that neutralized the lightning, reducing its strength.

After leading Ling Yuan away from the battlefield, Yin Sheng warned, "Crown Prince, we brought you here by the Emperor’s orders, but you need to cooperate with us. Staying away from the fighting is the safest option. If anything goes wrong, we’ll all be in trouble."

With a smug grin, Ling Yuan tossed the person he was holding to the ground and laughed triumphantly, "Check this out! I caught someone!"

With a smug expression, he grabbed the net and dragged Qin Yun along, following Yin Sheng to distance themselves from the battlefield.

Once caught in the net, Qin Yun’s Shadow Power faded, revealing his presence.

When Yin Sheng saw Qin Yun’s face, his shock quickly turned to rage. "It’s him! He’s the one who led the wolf pack attack on us, costing us several warriors!"

After saying that, Yin Sheng kicked Qin Yun hard. "Crown Prince, you’re incredible! You’ve finally caught the bastard we’ve been hunting!"

Ling Yuan scrutinized Qin Yun’s face and gasped, "It’s him! Qin Yun! I’ve seen his portrait before. This is Qin Yun!"

Yin Sheng was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the infamous Qin Yun to be standing right in front of him!

"This is perfect, hahaha!" Ling Yuan cackled. "If I kill Qin Yun, I’ll be famous! I’ll bring glory to the Tianling Empire. This trip will have been worth it!"

Hearing that, Yin Sheng joined in the laughter and kicked Qin Yun again. "What are you staring at? The Crown Prince of the Tianling Empire is the grandson of the headmaster of the Ling Martial Academy and is destined to become a Blue Spirit Saint. He’s way above your league!"

Qin Yun glared at Yin Sheng, his eyes filled with murderous intent. This was the man who had nearly killed Meng Feiling and Sister Li.

The thought of Meng Feiling’s weakened and injured state sent a surge of anger through him.

"Haha, the mighty Crown Prince? Married to Xiao Yuelan? Now that you’ve caught me, you’re nothing!" Ling Yuan laughed, delivering another vicious kick to Qin Yun.

Tormenting the famed genius gave Ling Yuan an immense sense of superiority, and he grew more and more aggressive with each blow.

"Don’t get so cocky!" Qin Yun roared, hurling a fire rune that erupted into a blazing inferno.

"Haha, your pitiful fire rune can’t even scratch my superior spiritual artifact!" Ling Yuan laughed, extinguishing the flames with a single palm strike.

Yin Sheng stood by, occasionally laughing and delivering kicks to Qin Yun.

Enduring the kicks, Qin Yun focused intently, his eyes locked on the Spirit Refined Blade lying a short distance away.

The Spirit Refined Blade had slipped out of the net when he activated the fire rune earlier.

"Crown Prince of the Tianling Empire? If you cross me, your fate will be the same as Qi Yu and Qin Zhengfeng!"

Glaring at Ling Yuan’s grotesquely laughing face, Qin Yun gritted his teeth and activated the Divine Control Technique, summoning the Spirit Refined Blade to fly toward him.

The rapidly spinning Spirit Refined Blade sliced cleanly across Ling Yuan’s neck, severing his head!

When Yin Sheng saw the severed head hit the ground, his legs buckled, and he nearly collapsed.

Their Crown Prince, the future of the Tianling Empire, was dead!

But in his obsession with tormenting Qin Yun, and with Yin Sheng nearby, he had let his guard down, failing to notice the blade flying toward him from behind.

Once Ling Yuan lost control of the net, Qin Yun quickly broke free and hurled an Immobilization Rune, freezing Yin Sheng in place.