Death… and me

As Chu Yang thought about this, he could not help but smile.

It was not that simple to go up by three grades in such a short period of time… First, he had to seize and gather all the herbal elixirs. Next, Nine Tribulations Sword had to purify them to be more potent for his absorption… Finally, over the span of slightly more than 20 days, he had fought 40 to 50 big and small matches. He fought so much that his whole body was aching and he was in great pain. The price he had to pay was indeed not small at all.

Such a training method was downright masochistic. There was no way to avoid it, except for a hit to be exchanged for a hit. On top of that, he had to avoid using fatal moves. More importantly, he had to avoid using Nine Tribulations Sword… If the sword was used, his opponent would die and there would absolutely be no chance of gaining any form of understanding or enlightenment.

On the other hand, if his martial power was not as high as his opponent's… Wouldn't he just be asking for a beating?

Chu Yang was lost in his own thoughts when there was suddenly an earth-shattering scream that came in the direction of the citadel's gate, "Where is Du Shi Qing? Du Shi Qing, you had better come out right now!" The sound of the voice carried with it interminable madness and grief.

The person that was shouting must have incredible martial power!

Chu Yang was frightened. He turned towards the direction of the citadel's gate and questioned himself, "Who is this? This person's martial power is very high… Why is he looking for Du Shi Qing…?"

The sound came from a distance, yet for some unknown reason, Chu Yang suddenly felt like his insides were burning.

Immediately, Chu Yang shot towards the southern gate.

He had no idea why he was reacting in this way; all he knew was that his heart was really nervous! Why was this the case?

The voice did not cease calling out Du Shi Qing's name. The urgency and dismay in his voice made it clear to everyone who could hear him yelling that he was in a state of frenzy!

He was getting closer and closer!

Chu yang's body looked as though it was tearing through the wind as it shot forward.

At the citadel's gate, a man in black who was carrying another person on his back rushed past countless soldiers like a whirlwind. Before they even had a chance to react, their eyes could only widen as this black whirlwind swept past them on the main road, heading into the citadel. A soldier with quick reflexes was just about to block him when he was hit in mid-air.

His arms and legs went swinging around and blood was splattered everywhere!

No one could see clearly what move that person had made!

"Stop!" The martial masters that were guarding the gate jumped up to block him. A white figure glided down the front of the man in black. The white and black figures fought in the blink of an eye…"Bam Bam." As the white figure fell to the ground, he let out an awful sound. Blood spurted from his mouth. There were even the cracking sounds of his bones breaking as he fell down!

During this short moment, seven to eight other figures had managed to get into position and block the man in black.

Having lost his momentum, the wild-eyed man in black bellowed, "Get out of my way! Get Du Shi Qing now!"

"Such defiance!" Du Shi Qing was Tie Bu Tian's guest at the royal palace and everyone knew this very well… Presently, Du Shi Qing was in the royal palace treating the emperor of Iron Cloud Nation. How could anyone bother him?

"Get out of my way!" A trickle of blood could be seen at the corner of the man's mouth. Apparently, he had suffered from many internal injuries. Nonetheless, he still continued to exude an overpowering aura.

He became infuriated as he saw the seven to eight people blocking his way and that other soldiers had surrounded him. In an instant, he activated his energy and made his move.

With one shot, he had unleashed an unstoppable, raging burst of force!

The seven people facing him exclaimed in unison, "Revered Master…?" Without any delay, the retaliated with all their force.

The man roared with a grimace, "If you refuse to make way, all of you will die!" A fierce force was released from his palm.

Even in such a dangerous situation, the man still had one of his arms wrapped around the person on his back. As for the person lying on his back, there was no movement the entire time. It was not possible to see what the figure looked like as the entire body was completely covered by a large cloak. Nonetheless, judging from its shape, the person seemed to be really frail, perhaps it was a child…

"Pow!" A large sound rang as the force of seven masters and the man's palm's force came into contact… What ensued after was all seven people, with pale faces, flying in all four directions.

Evidently, their opponent had not used his full strength… The man in black's strength was sufficient to leave others staggered.

"What is your friend's illness that you must insist on finding Senior Du?" An official called out loudly from below, "Please understand that this is Iron Cloud Citadel and Senior Du is an honored guest… Your impatience and stirring of trouble will only delay treatment of your friend. I hope that you will carefully reconsider your actions!"

Upon hearing this, the man in black shuddered. He swooped down from the air and grabbed the official, "You know Du Shi Qing? Where is he? Bring me to him at once!"

"This situation… This lowly official does not have the authority!" Although he was held under a tight grip, the official never displayed any signs of fear and instead said boldly, "It does not matter how high your martial power is because seeing Du Shi Qing is not something that you can do just based on martial power."

"You are courageous!" The man in black released him slowly. Suddenly, his bloodshot eyes lit up like a hungry wolf had just seen its prey. However, when he spoke again, his voice was slightly calmer, "So what is the quickest way to see Du Shi Qing?"

The official was merely using his quick wit to talk the man down. Du Shi Qing was in the royal palace; how could a low-flying official like him know how to solve this issue?

A troubled look immediately appeared on his face.

The man gritted his teeth and bellowed, "You lied to me!" He raised his arm, ready to take this official's life with his palm! Seeing the situation, soldiers from all four sides gathered around him and shouted continuously. Their unsheathed swords shone over the entire southern gate!

Without any care for them, the man shouted, "If you delay me, I will not hesitate to kill the entire Iron Cloud Citadel! Do you think that I have any qualms about killing a few more people?" He raised up his arm as he prepared to slay the soldiers, without even blinking for a moment.

"Stop!" A black shadow flew forward. Even before reaching the man, he shouted in mid-air, "You just have to speak to me if you wish to see Du Shi Qing!"

Upon hearing these words, the man retracted his arm. Just a second ago, his energy was radiating out and seemed unstoppable. However, it had now completely disappeared like a passing breeze.

The person who was flying forward was Chu Yang. When he saw the kind of control this person had with his power, he was utterly shocked, "A King level master!"

The man looked up at Chu Yang, "Take off your mask! I don't like those who hide behind masks. I can't trust them as well!"

"Do you want to see Du Shi Qing or do you want me to take off my mask?" Chu Yang grunted coldly, "If I could take off my mask, why would I bother wearing it in the first place?"

The man snorted and stared at Chu Yang sharply like a hawk, "Do you know where Du Shi Qing is?"

"Of course I do! However, no one is allowed to bother Senior Du if it's not important."

Chu Yang continued, "I also have to know for sure if that person is injured or is just sick. Does that person require treatment from Du Shi Qing himself?"

The man in black stared at Chu Yang fiercely. His gaze looked as though he wanted to swallow Chu Yang.

"If it is just a small injury or some ordinary illness, then it can be treated by many other medical centers in the city!" Chu Yang said assertively as he remained indifferent to the man's gaze.

Surprisingly, he was becoming more anxious by the minute. He felt as if there existed some sort of relationship between himself and this man. If that weren't the case, how else could his sturdy emotions be in such chaos at this moment?

"Everyone, get out of the way. There's no issue." Chu Yang looked in all four directions as he pulled out a shiny token with his right hand. There were two clearly engraved words on it, 'Bu Tian'.

"Bu Tian Pavilion's man!" All of a sudden, every single official and soldier felt a chill go down their spines, "Move away, move away. Let's go." The soldiers surrounding the man dispersed instantly.

Everyone rubbed their foreheads in cold sweat, still feeling frightful. Initially, they were annoyed with that masked guy and had wanted to order him to take it off. But presently, they were extremely thankful that they had not.

So it was King of Hell Chu. It's so fortunate that we did not mess with him!

The gaze of the man in black instantly became calmer. Gently, he moved the person from his back to his front. Each of his movement was enacted with such great care that it appeared as if he did not want to disturb that sick person!

He then gently lifted the cloak and exclaimed, "It is both an injury and an illness! If it could be cured easily, I would not have run across thousands of miles to get to Iron Cloud Citadel! I am afraid that not even Du Shi Qing can…"

He let out a soft sigh.

By this juncture, Chu Yang could no longer hear what he was saying.

When the cloak was lifted, Chu Yang's blood boiled instantly. His vision became blurred… He almost lost his consciousness.

It was no wonder that his state of mind had become so abnormal… It turned out…

Chu Yang's heart was full of bitterness and grief. His eyes were blurred by the streams of tears leaving his eyes.

When he first saw this injured person, his body trembled violently. It was as if it took all of his body and his spirit to form the words… He called out with a trembling voice, "Qing… Wu…"