Death… and me

All of a sudden, they remembered the bet that Chu Yang had made with them. He said that he would advance from a fourth grade Martial Artist to a Martial Master within a month. At that time, they all thought that he was just joking. However, now that they have seen the speed in which he progressed, they wondered: Wouldn't a month be too long?

This punk had managed to break through three grades within an hour and was now at seventh grade!

The moment they thought about that, the four of them couldn't help but feel dejected.

"Don't look at me like that! I am shy!" Chu Yang laughed so hard that his body began to shake as he walked, "Time to take a break and turn in for the night! Breakthroughs are truly refreshing!"

All four of the people behind him looked at each other. Breakthroughs are refreshing? Could they ever be uncomfortable? If we were capable of having a breakthrough like that, we would be crying with joy.

"Dong Wu Shang! If you are the first person to break through, I will immediately give you the saber of your dreams!" Chu Yang suddenly stopped walking. With his back still facing him, he said solemnly, "however, you will have to find the black steel required to make a Black Saber!"

"Not a problem!" Dong Wu Shang's body was filled with excitement, "I will definitely break through this month. After which, I will return home to get the black steel for you!"

"Wait a minute! First to break through? Dong Wu Shang, who do you think you are?" Luo Ke Di, Ji Mo, and Rui Bu Tong glared at him and asked with a look of hostility.

"Ah… I feel as though I am about to break through!" Gu Du Xing who was standing at the side suddenly spoke up with a strange expression on his face.

The four simultaneously vomited blood, "You, you will…"

"Really!" Gu Du Xing sincerely nodded, "It looks like I will have to go in and secretly cultivate!

I am so sorry everyone! It looks like no one will be in the position to compete with me for the second elder martial brother title!"

He then casually waltzed away.

Behind him, Ji Mo screamed until his voice was hoarse, "Gu Du Xing! You are not human! You just broke through seventh grade Sword Great Master…!!!"

Gu Du Xing suddenly paused and replied in a soft voice, "I have to correct your mistake; it has been half a month since I broke through seventh grade Sword Great Master!!!"

Ji Mo was traumatised and stomped his feet on the ground in frustration!

Both of them were sixth grade Great Masters with equal strength. However, Gu Du Xing was already about to break through to the eight grade? This was a large blow to Ji Mo's ego…

Ji Mo and the rest of them remained restless throughout the night. At some point, an abnormal aura began to emanate from Gu Di Xing's room. All four of them were in tears and cried out, "He really broke through!"

Chu Yang slept soundly that night.

However, at around midnight, a dozen of shadows moved towards the prison stealthily.

The Golden Horse Riders Department had finally made their move.

Kong Shang Xin had told them before leaving, "Cause as much chaos as you can! Even if you are unable to save Number One this time, your first priority is to turn everything upside down. I will be at Bu Tian Pavilion to check for any movement! Once word of the situation gets out, King of Hell Chu would no doubt come down personally to see what is going on. That would provide me with the optimal opportunity to assassinate King of Hell Chu!"

King of Hell Chu's death was much more significant and strategically advantageous compared to Number One's rescue. Moreover, Number One was a spy who had been captured and the outlook of his situation did not seem great either way.

It would be a waste of resources to try and rescue a disabled person like him anyway!

At least he now provides me with an excuse which will allow me to kill King of Hell Chu. This shall be considered as part of Number One's contribution.

This King of Hell Chu always hides. Getting our own people close to him is impossible. The only method left is to scare the snake out of its hole.

It wasn't that Kong Shang Xin had never thought about launching a direct assault on Bu Tian Pavilion and killing King of Hell Chu! It was just that without knowing his whereabouts, killing King of Hell Chu would be challenging. Moreover, King of Hell Chu would probably escape at the first sign of trouble. In addition to that, all King of Hell Chu had to do was to remove his mask and not a soul would recognise him.

This move to scare the snake out was not exactly fool-proof. Therefore, Kong Shang Xin used the false excuse of rescuing Number One to kill King of Hell Chu!

Although the prime minister's orders mentioned avoiding King of Hell Chu at all costs, he also once said that if a good opportunity presents itself, one should seize the opportunity! Kong Shang Xin had understood this very well.

Tightly guarded Iron Cloud prison.

The traps had been set about a day ago. From the moment the trap had been set to today was not very long. However, if one were to calculate the amount of time that Great Zhao had started to make their move until now, it was clear that the Great Zhao's force had traveled at great speed in order to get to Iron Cloud.

Starting today, the war would commence!

A great battle could break out at any moment!

Although they were unaware of who the prisoner who was locked inside, the one thing that they were certain about was that this individual was an important character to Great Zhao. Otherwise, King of Hell Chu wouldn't have bothered to put in so much effort in imprisoning and guarding him. Moreover, the prince would never have chosen to fully cooperate like this!

As he thought about all these things, the guards suddenly became more cautious. While there were a countless number of guards, none of which dared to sleep! If they fell asleep even for a brief period, there would be no guarantee that their heads would still be attached to their necks in the morning!

The great battle finally commenced right at the moment that everyone was vigilantly paying attention to the situation.

Without any warning, the largest torch at the highest guard tower suddenly died out. Immediately after, all of the torches in all four directions died out as well!

The prison was drowned in the darkness of the night!

"The enemies are attacking!" A sharp voice rang out in anticipation of the horror to come in the mournful darkness.

With a sudden unified cry, all of the martial masters, as well as soldiers who were waiting in the Iron Cloud Prison, remained quietly waiting in the Iron Cloud Prison took up their respective positions at key locations. However, the night continued to remain quiet without a single sound. Everyone was tense! The enemies had arrived, but where were they hiding?

Each person had their blade drawn and was on guard!

In the shadow, three Command Horse Riders looked at each other. In this mission, the three of them led a team; Kong Shang Xin was in a secret location and was not participating in this operation.

"Look at their defense; the door of the left room has been very carefully guarded!" One of the Command Horse Riders whispered, "Looking at the layout of the prison, it is highly likely that there would be a large number of traps in place. This will be difficult and troublesome!"

All three of them nodded and concurred at the same time.

The incident earlier had been caused by them. When people are caught off guard, they tend to show their true selves and pay attention to what was most important to them.

The three Command Horse Riders decided to exploit this trait. They used their opponents' reactions in order to determine the location of where Number One was being held. Lastly, they would only have to concentrate their forces at the key locations in order to achieve their mission.

Only seasoned individuals were capable of devising and using such methods!

"Act according to our established plan!" One of the Command Horse Riders quickly issued an order.

The silence of the night was broken by the sudden noise from the three horses which galloped speedily towards the prison. The wind and the hoofs beat through the silence as they did.

"Who goes there? Halt!" Someone yelled out at the gate. The atmosphere returned to silence and countless archers aimed at their target. The arrowheads shined so brightly that the night glowed in a faint and mysterious manner.

"Who is in charge tonight? Come out and answer!" All three horses stopped; the two people in the back wore the uniforms of the prince's bodyguards while the person in front was dressed in ordinary attire. His eyes were sharp like those of a hawk as he stared at the main door of the prison.

In the darkness, a person asked with a low voice, "Thunder pushing forth?"

"Iron Cloud forever!" The new arrival immediately replied without any hesitation; then he asked, "Is it, Commander Li or Commander Zhou?"

"It's Li! Were you sent from the prince's manor? You look unfamiliar!" Behind the great door, a person asked suspiciously.

"You don't need to know who I am! The prince has sent words that Great Zhao will make their move tonight, and their forces will be extremely powerful! The prince is worried that there will be trouble at the prison and sent me as a precaution!" The horse rider yelled coldly, "Open the door!"

"The prison is a high priority area; ordinary people are not allowed to enter or leave whenever they want to! Moreover, even if you were to say it as a verbal command, it would still be the same! Commander Li said with great severity, "If you want to enter the prison, you require either the prince's authorisation or Minister Chu's seal."

"I don't have Minister Chu's seal, but I do have the prince's authorization!" The person sneered and pulled out an envelope.

"Bring it here!" Commander Li remained on guard.

The other person's eyes flashed as he said, "Catch!"

He then tossed the envelope over. The thin slip of paper spun in the air in an unexpected manner. The whistling sound continued for about five or six yards before landing near the door.

Although the door still did not open, the sound of steel chains along the wall had been lowered. He then grabbed the envelope and the chains of were pulled out.

As the chains were about pulled away slightly, a saber flashed and stabbed him in the matter of seconds. Moreover, at the same time, seven or eight dark shoulders appeared in all different directions. Within a matter of seconds, five or six individuals would have been standing at the front.

The sound of bows being released was heard, and arrows rained down in front of the door.

Iron Cloud's signature weapon is second to none! The prison guards reacted right away without any hesitation. While this was unexpected, there was no chaos!

This was despite the fact that five people made it past and began killing!

The three people on horseback couldn't be outdone. They jumped out and were in front of the five in a flash!

Both areas inside and outside were filled with loud noises.

The sharp sounds of horns stirred up the prison! Countless soldiers gathered from all directions. The surrounding barracks also began to sound their horns. Only a little after, thundering hooves were heard from all directions as they approached the prison!

The five people rushed into the room and discovered that there was a large pit and under them, along with a large net filled with shining sharp blades!

This was the only entrance to the left of the prison. From this point onwards, it appeared as though the location was filled with many meticulous traps. All the five people in black did were to seem helpless as they kept close to the wall for fear of dropping down and being cut into pieces.

At the same time, crossbows were being aimed at them from all directions. One wrong move and their lives would be taken.

This situation was extremely bad for the men in black! If they continued, not only would they would not be able to go any further, they would probably also have to leave their bodies there.