Another World: The Failed Magician

Zuo Huai stood there, somewhat stunned. To be honest, those words had just shocked him.

"Is this...is this something I can hear?"

"It's alright. I reckon everything should be over by now. If you had heard this earlier, I might have killed you to silence you, but now that shouldn't be necessary."

Zuo Huai breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"Speaking of which, is it really alright if Sect Master Zhao is present without the Snow Rain Sword Formation?"

“I also wanted to call Zhao Qingmei over, but she’s being closely watched by Li Zheng’s men. If she messes with my plan, it will be exposed. At first, I thought Li Zheng was pretty weak, so it should be fine for the Grand Elder to preside over the Snow Rain Sword Formation. Who knew he was hiding his strength? Now it’s a bit hard to say.”

"You really have no other options?"

"That's really all. If Li Zheng still has any trump cards up his sleeve, then we can only wait to die."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu flicked his hands and sat down on the ground.

Seeing that he was like this, Zuo Huai didn't say anything more and struggled to take out a pill from his spatial ring and swallow it.

Meanwhile, Li Zheng, who was inside the Snow Rain Sword Formation, had no good way to deal with the rain and snowflakes carrying sword energy.

He could only wield his longsword to meet the overwhelming sword energy head-on.

The overwhelming sword energy also left several clearly visible wounds on his body.

Although Li Zheng concealed some of his strength, as the busy sect leader of the Tai Xuan Sect, he really didn't have much time to improve his abilities.

Even without Zhao Qingmei presiding over the Snow Rain Sword Formation, which could kill a Martial King, he would still be in great danger.

He barely had time to think anymore; the rain and snow were getting heavier, and the oncoming sword energy left him no time to think.

Li Zheng finally hardened his heart, gritted his teeth, and pulled a black dagger from his pocket.

Then, he plunged the dagger into his own chest.

The pitch-black dagger melted instantly, turning into a black liquid that flowed into Li Zheng's body.

Li Zheng's previously weakened aura immediately recovered completely, and it even continued to rise.

Li Zheng swung his sword with the momentum, and the raindrops and snowflakes all disappeared in that instant.

The Grand Elder and the other elders of the Qingxin Sword Sect coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Only the Grand Elder propped himself up by planting his sword in the ground.

It’s over.

This was everyone's first reaction upon seeing Li Zheng break through the Snow Rain Sword Formation with a single sword strike.

To everyone's surprise, after breaking through the sword formation with a single sword strike, Li Zheng ran into the depths of the forest without looking back.

Zhang Yu instantly realized that Li Zheng must have used some special method to break the sword formation, and must be extremely weak at this moment.

But seeing everyone collapsed on the ground, Zhang Yu could only pound the ground in frustration.

"President Zhang, what's wrong? Getting angry now is a bit premature."

A voice came from the tree.

Zhang Yu forgot what he had seen before, and Lu Xuan was looking at him with a wicked smile.

"You? How did you get here? Shouldn't you have already boarded the ship to the Loca Federation? Then... where is Li Mengyu!"

"Isn't it obvious? She must have gone after Li Zheng."

"Then why don't you hurry over there! Even if Li Zheng is weak, he is still a Martial King."

“President Zhang, that’s not fair of you. How could I, a high-level mage, possibly hunt down a Martial King? Besides, she’s very powerful now. I believe she can handle it herself.”

Seeing Lu Xuan's calm demeanor, Zhang Yu's initial impatience gradually subsided.

"By the way, how did you know I was going to ambush Li Zheng here?"

"I clearly told you from the beginning that you were definitely hiding something from us. You two always treat her like a child and don't want her involved in this. So I thought I'd keep asking you, but I knew I wouldn't get any answers. So I just had Li Mengyu secretly follow you."

"That's the kind of thing you'd do."

Just then, Zhang Yu suddenly remembered something.

"Then...why!"

"You want to ask why the Grand Elder and Zuo Huai didn't sense her, right?"

"Yes! Even the Grand Elder was in the shadows the whole time, so why didn't he notice that Xiao Meng was following me?"

"That's why I told you not to worry, she's much better than you think."

……

In the dense forest, a figure was moving forward at great speed.

Li Zheng was fleeing at top speed to another part of the forest.

His life force was visibly weakening. This was also why he had been reluctant to use that dagger.

Although his strength would surge dramatically in a very short time after using that dagger, the backlash would be terrifying. Not only would his strength decline significantly after using it, but it would also damage his foundation.

He dared not gamble on whether Zhang Yu had any more trump cards left, so he chose to escape immediately after breaking the formation.

After some time, Li Zheng finally stopped, looked around, and made sure no one was chasing him before slowly sitting down.

A young girl dressed in white martial arts attire appeared before him.

Li Zheng recognized the girl in front of him; she was Li Mengyu, Li Mingxu's disciple.

Sensing the intense sword intent emanating from his opponent, Li Zheng stood up again and gripped his longsword.

“I recognize you, young lady. You are Li Mingxu’s apprentice. Seeing you reminds me of your teacher, and the tragic sight of him being devoured by the demonic seed. I still remember it vividly.”

As Li Zheng spoke, he carefully observed the girl in front of him.

But no matter what he said, the sword intent displayed by the girl remained powerful and stable, without wavering in the slightest.

Words did not disturb the girl's resolve, and Li Zheng hardened his heart and decided to take the initiative.

He mustered his last remaining strength and surprisingly unleashed sword energy at the Martial King level once again.

He slashed straight at the girl with his sword.

Li Mengyu quietly observed everything before her. She wasn't without emotions, but she always remembered what Li Mingxu had told her.

A true swordsman must use emotions as his strength, rather than letting them interfere with his sword intent!

Li Mengyu met Li Zheng's longsword head-on.

A pure white sword aura flashed by.

Li Zheng suddenly felt his vision begin to blur, and gradually, he found that he could not control his body.

Suddenly his gaze began to move downwards, and he saw a headless body.

That body looked familiar.

That's your own body!

In his last moments of consciousness, Li Zheng realized he had lost. His head had been severed by a single sword strike.

After the sword strike, a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of Li Mengyu's mouth, and her entire body was covered in sword wounds, with not a single unscathed spot.

To survive a direct confrontation with a Martial King-level sword aura by a Martial Master's body is already an extraordinary feat.

She felt her consciousness slowly fading, and in her last moments before losing consciousness, she saw a boy running towards her, calling her name loudly.

She struggled to reach out her hand and gently embraced the boy before falling unconscious.

Lu Xuan quickly took out a crystal bottle and poured the emerald green liquid inside into Li Mengyu's mouth.

He was relieved only after he noticed that the girl's life force was gradually returning.

Feeling the girl's hands tightly embracing him, Lu Xuan stroked her long, black hair, and his heart ached.

Zhang Yu then came over as well.

Looking at Li Zheng, who had become a headless corpse, and the two people beside him.

He suddenly felt a sense of loss.

Li Zheng is dead, and the great revenge has been achieved, but Zhang Yu feels no joy whatsoever.

He recalled the smiling figure in his mind; she always warmed everyone around her with her actions and smile.

Seeing the two people embracing each other, Zhang Yu's sadness was somewhat lessened.

"Xuanyin, if your spirit in heaven is watching, please bless them."

Zhang Yu muttered to himself.

……

Meanwhile, the imperial palace of the Eastern Dragon Empire was already in a state of disrepair.

Zhao Qushan hovered in the sky, looking down at everything below, like a king who ruled over all.

At this time, there were hardly any people left in the entire capital city.

Many powerful families were observing this battle, which was fought from afar and whose strengths were vastly different from each other, in silence.

"I'm giving you one last chance. Submit to me and you can live."

Zhao Qushan's voice resounded throughout the capital and even several nearby towns.

His words didn't seem to be directed at the few barely surviving people at his feet; rather, they were a declaration of his status to everyone.

Then, Zhao Qushan waved his hand, and a screen of light appeared in the sky.

People outside the capital were drawn to the enormous light screen.

The image displayed on the screen showed what the palace looked like at that moment.

The court's chief sorcerer Zhang Hui and the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Jiang Mu were both collapsed on the ground.

Seeing two figures who were usually looked up to so powerful appear so weak and powerless before the Martial Saint, the crowd couldn't help but sigh. At the same time, they gained a new understanding of Zhao Qushan's strength.

Zhao Qushan slowly descended from the sky, looked at the five people remaining in the palace, and spoke in his voice that still covered the capital.

"Zhao Huai! I've come all this way, and you still won't come out to see me? Or have you already tucked your tail between your legs and run away?"

Those outside the capital city who heard this must have also stared intently at the light screen.

Indeed, in recent months, Crown Prince Zhao Quan has been in power, while the current emperor, Zhao Huai, has remained in seclusion, leading many to speculate that he is now seriously ill and bedridden. Rumors even circulate that Zhao Huai has been murdered. Various rumors are rampant.

As Zhao Qushan spoke, everyone wanted to know what had happened to Emperor Zhao Huai.

"I think Zhao Huai must have died a long time ago."

"How many heads do you have to talk about the emperor?"

"What's there to be afraid of? The Prince of Zhennan has already become a saint, so he's definitely the one who will become emperor."

Just outside the capital, as everyone was discussing the matter, a figure appeared on the light screen.

An old man dressed in a dragon robe slowly walked out and appeared in the center of the hall.

"Hmph! I only rested for two months, and it's already in such chaos?"

Although the old man had a full head of white hair, his eyes were bright and piercing.

"You! How is this possible? How did you get here? At this time, shouldn't you be dead already?"

Upon seeing the old man, Zhao Qushan panicked, just like a mouse seeing a cat.

"You think you can bribe the imperial physician to poison my medicine and I won't find out?!"

Although Zhao Huai's voice was old, it sounded very dignified.

Although Zhao Qushan was somewhat surprised that Zhao Huai was not dead, he quickly recovered.

"Hmph, so what if you're not dead! I'm already a Martial Saint now. Royal brother, for the sake of our brotherhood, I'll give you a chance. Just end it yourself. That's fine, at least you can leave with some dignity, isn't it?"

"I gave all of you a test, but the results have left me very dissatisfied!"

After Zhao Huai finished speaking, he stared sharply at Zhao Qushan.

Those outside the capital city felt a chill run down their spines when they saw Zhao Huai's sharp gaze on the light screen. It was as if that piercing gaze, seen through the screen, was staring directly at them.

"Fine, Zhao Huai, you still won't give up. Then I'll send you on your final journey."

As he spoke, Zhao Qushan struck Zhao Huai with his palm.

The terrifying aura was so palpable that even those standing outside the capital could sense it.

Then a dragon's roar resounded throughout the entire capital city.

Zhao Qushan was blasted more than ten meters away, and the huge light curtain in the sky was shattered along with him.

A golden dragon, hundreds of meters long and with five claws, suddenly circled above the palace.

A terrifying aura was directed at Zhao Qushan alone.

Zhao Qushan discovered that he, a martial saint, was unable to move at this moment.

Zhao Huai walked step by step toward Zhao Qushan. When he reached him, he slowly spoke.

"Your deduction has always been correct; I really don't have time left."

Zhao Qushan stared intently at Zhao Huai, wanting to speak, but found that he couldn't move his mouth at all.

“If you guys are willing to endure for another 4 or 5 years, I really can’t do anything about you. But just as you know me, I know you very well. As I expected, you couldn’t resist the temptation of the demon seed.”

"Once you realize that my seclusion cannot stop you, you will definitely try to use this demon seed to become a saint, which gives me the opportunity to summon the dragon."

"In principle, the Guardian Dragon will not participate in the struggle for the throne of the Eastern Dragon Empire, but you have used the power of the Demon Seed, and the Dragon is extremely disgusted with this power left behind by the Demon God."

"Actually, I should thank you. If it weren't for your ambition, I wouldn't have been able to handle so many things at the same time. Not only did I resolve the time bomb that was the Demon Seed, but I was also able to wipe out those powerful families and sects in one fell swoop."

After saying all this, Zhao Huai turned and left.

Zhao Qushan's eyes were extremely ferocious. He used all his strength, but he couldn't move his body even an inch.

Then, a gigantic golden dragon claw descended from the sky. Zhao Qushan's body, along with the demonic seed within him, instantly turned to ashes.