Mu Xueshi, however, shouted back at Su Ruhan with full confidence, “It’s fine, Master! I won’t leave you behind!”
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Su Ruhan’s forehead. If only he had explained things to Mu Xueshi earlier, he wouldn’t be stuck in this situation now. But judging from how foolish Mu Xueshi was acting, even if he had explained it, Mu Xueshi would probably have forgotten at the critical moment.
Sun Ye noticed Su Ruhan’s abnormal state and felt secretly pleased—the poison was finally taking effect. As Su Ruhan advanced toward him, Sun Ye didn’t evade at all. He stood calmly in place and ordered one of the elite captains, “Use the cannons.”
The captain immediately roared in response, and the nearly hundred elite soldiers, hearing the command, surged with morale. Unfortunately, such a precious weapon had never been used since its creation—yet now it was being wasted on a single man. Still, it was a good chance to show it off, to let the people of Yunxi Kingdom understand the consequences of provoking Lubei.
Mu Xueshi was still trying to get closer to Su Ruhan to fight alongside him when he suddenly heard successive explosions. Immediately after, flames erupted all around them. The soldier closest to Mu Xueshi was suddenly blasted into the air—when he hit the ground, his body was torn apart, flesh mangled beyond recognition.
Heavens!! It really is gunpowder—this advanced?! Mu Xueshi was shocked. But then he thought about it—if fireworks existed, cannons weren’t that surprising. Still, this was incredibly wasteful. Why use such weapons in the streets instead of on the battlefield?
As Mu Xueshi was still thinking, he suddenly felt the horse beneath him lurch violently. One of its legs gave out, and its body tilted sharply. Before he could react, Mu Xueshi was thrown off and slammed heavily onto the ground.
The fall itself wasn’t the problem—but just then, a misfired shot exploded right beside his ear. Instantly, Mu Xueshi couldn’t hear anything. Thick smoke filled his vision, and he couldn’t even tell if he was still alive.
“Who dares fire at him?!” Sun Ye’s expression changed drastically as he shouted at the soldiers beside him. “If anything happens to him, you’ll all die here!”
The soldiers had never seen Sun Ye lose his temper like this—their movements immediately slowed.
During that barrage, Su Ruhan had been dodging based solely on the direction of the cannon barrels. But gradually, his body became harder to control, his movements slower and slower. In the end, he was forced to stop not far from Sun Ye, unable to move another step.
At the same time, he had already transferred a large portion of his internal energy to Mu Xueshi, silently hoping Mu Xueshi would realize the situation and escape amidst the chaos.
Suddenly, a tremendous force struck Su Ruhan’s shoulder. It felt as if a hole had been blasted straight through it. A burning pain surged within, accompanied by the smell of scorched flesh. Seeing that Su Ruhan was finally injured, the surrounding soldiers fired even more frantically. What had once been a quiet, orderly street had now turned into a sea of flames.
Just as Sun Ye was considering whether to spare Su Ruhan’s life, a blood-red sword suddenly flew straight toward his face. In that instant of shock, the blade shot past him and embedded itself into a tree behind him.
Bloodthirsty Sword… Sun Ye thought to himself.
He had heard of this technique before, though no one had truly mastered it. It belonged to a demonic sect—many skilled fighters had only grasped fragments before dying during its cultivation. Back when Feisha seized the position of martial alliance leader, it was said he relied entirely on this technique. As for how terrifying it truly was, Sun Ye had only heard rumors.
The sword in Su Ruhan’s hand was still the same—but it had turned blood-red.
He hadn’t wanted to resort to this. But now, with his orthodox internal energy suppressed by poison, he had no other choice.
When Mu Xueshi lifted his head, most of the smoke had already cleared. He found it strange—just moments ago, soldiers had been trying to seize him, yet now they all lay scattered around him.
Then suddenly, a figure flashed before his eyes—and Mu Xueshi stopped breathing.
Is… is that really my master?
His eyes stung as he struggled to control his emotions. He could still clearly hear Su Ruhan’s voice by his ear—telling him not to come closer, telling him to leave immediately.
At this moment, Su Ruhan was drenched entirely in blood-red. A cruel smile curled at his lips, revealing faintly green-tinted fangs. His hands had grown several times larger, and the sword he held glowed with a crimson sheen. Just a glance from him caused the soldiers hiding behind their shields to retreat several steps.
Su Ruhan lightly licked the blood from his blade. Then, with a flash of sharp light in his eyes, he launched forward. The sword in his hand split into countless blades, each carrying a thick scent of blood as they shot toward the surrounding soldiers. The shields shattered instantly, and the blades pierced straight into the soldiers’ chests.
Not only that—even before the soldiers died, the blades drained every drop of blood from their bodies. The swords then merged back into the one in Su Ruhan’s hand, while the soldiers were left as dried husks.
The sword in Su Ruhan’s hand grew even redder.
The soldiers positioned higher up went mad, firing cannons at him nonstop in a desperate last stand. Each time Su Ruhan was struck, the ferocity in his eyes deepened. His body was already covered in wounds, yet he showed no sign of falling.
In the end, not a single soldier was left alive—all of them lay on the ground. Even the few who had tried to flee were struck down midway, a sword piercing through them as they watched in terror while they slowly turned into lifeless corpses.
At this moment, the entire street had been reduced to ruins. Only three people remained here, along with a pile of completely intact weapons.
Su Ruhan had still not returned to normal. His tongue continued to lick along the blade, like a greedy vampire swallowing the blood that had gathered upon it. His gaze swept across the area before finally settling on Mu Xueshi, who lay not far away.
Mu Xueshi was completely stunned. Su Ruhan’s appearance had changed drastically from before, and his eyes were just as unfamiliar. Watching this person approach him step by step with a bloodthirsty smile, Mu Xueshi couldn’t help but think that he would end up just like those soldiers.
Suddenly, someone appeared in front of him. Startled, Mu Xueshi realized it was Shangchuan Hong.
Shangchuan Hong shielded Mu Xueshi behind him, facing Su Ruhan without fear. Mu Xueshi stared at Shangchuan Hong’s back in a daze, unable to understand why he was protecting him. Was it to save me? Or was he obeying Hao Lin’s orders, determined to keep me alive at all costs? No matter the reason, a surge of emotion rose from the depths of his heart.
“Thank you… I believe my master won’t kill me.” Although Mu Xueshi didn’t truly believe that, he still pulled Shangchuan Hong behind him.
There was still internal energy from Su Ruhan circulating within Mu Xueshi’s body. The moment Mu Xueshi pulled him, Shangchuan Hong sensed it. As if realizing something, he immediately said to Mu Xueshi, “Quick—strike him.”
Mu Xueshi froze, not understanding what he meant. Seeing that Su Ruhan was already growing impatient and beginning to raise his sword, Shangchuan Hong grabbed Mu Xueshi’s arm and guided him forward, forcing a palm strike straight into Su Ruhan’s chest. The impact was heavy—Mu Xueshi felt as if he had struck a slab of iron, his hand going numb.
Finally, Su Ruhan frowned, a pained expression appearing on his face. The internal energy within Mu Xueshi flowed back into Su Ruhan’s body. Gradually, Su Ruhan began to return to normal—the bloodlust in his eyes faded, and his original clarity slowly returned.
This had been the perfect opportunity for Shangchuan Hong. He could have taken advantage of the moment when Su Ruhan was recovering and seized Mu Xueshi, who had no ability to resist. But recalling how Mu Xueshi had just pulled him aside, Shangchuan Hong lowered the hand he had raised.
After regaining his senses, Su Ruhan first looked at Mu Xueshi. Seeing that he was standing safely before him, he then shifted his gaze to Shangchuan Hong.
Mu Xueshi noticed the killing intent in Su Ruhan’s eyes and quickly said, “Master, let’s not bother with him—let’s go. More pursuers will arrive soon.”
But Su Ruhan clearly had other thoughts. Capturing Shangchuan Hong would be extremely useful—whether for escaping or as leverage. Although his strength had been greatly depleted, he still believed he had a chance against Shangchuan Hong.
Shangchuan Hong, however, had already cast aside the faint hesitation he had shown earlier. With a cold smile, he said to Su Ruhan, “You’d better not set your sights on me. The antidote is still in my hands. Consider yourselves lucky this time—but I believe we’ll meet again very soon.”
With that, Shangchuan Hong tossed a small paper packet to Su Ruhan, then leapt away, his figure disappearing at the corner of the street.
Su Ruhan opened the packet. Inside was a slip of paper that read: “The antidote is hanging on the signboard of Songzhai Temple on Yudao Street.”
Mu Xueshi also saw the writing. Though there were a couple of characters he didn’t recognize, he could tell it described a location. He urged anxiously, “Master, let’s hurry and go.”
Su Ruhan said nothing. He let out a whistle, and soon the horse came running over. Pulling Mu Xueshi onto the horse, he flicked the reins, and they sped off.
However, after they had already left the street and reached a remote dirt path, Mu Xueshi realized that Su Ruhan had not gone to retrieve the antidote at all.
He cautiously asked, “Master… which street is Yudao Street?”
Su Ruhan’s voice carried a trace of fatigue. “The one we were just on.”
Mu Xueshi immediately became agitated. “Master, then why didn’t you stop to get the antidote? If the poison acts up soon, what will you do?”
Suppressing his impatience, Su Ruhan explained, “He was only trying to delay us. As for whether the antidote is really there, we’d only know if we went back. What if there’s another ambush? Wouldn’t we just fall into their hands again?”
Mu Xueshi fell silent. Suddenly, he felt that this escape had cost far too much. If he had the chance to choose again, he would have stayed in the palace.
“Master… I’m sorry…” Mu Xueshi said, his voice filled with guilt.
Resting his head against Mu Xueshi’s shoulder, Su Ruhan asked, “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
The reminder sent a jolt through Mu Xueshi. Images from earlier flooded back—the blood-soaked sword, the greenish fangs, the lifeless corpses. Every scene made him shiver.
Suddenly, Su Ruhan opened his mouth and lightly bit at Mu Xueshi’s neck, his tone dangerous. “Do you believe that I could tear you apart piece by piece and eat you right here?”
Mu Xueshi’s face turned pale. He shouted in panic, his body jerking wildly, nearly falling off the horse. Only then did he realize the weight behind him had increased. Trembling, he turned his head and saw that Su Ruhan had collapsed against him.
“Master—Master, what’s wrong with you?” Mu Xueshi asked anxiously, finally realizing that Su Ruhan had only been joking moments ago.
With his eyes closed, Su Ruhan rested his head against Mu Xueshi’s back and said softly, “It’s nothing… just a bit tired. Let me rest for a while. Don’t worry—the horse knows where we’re going.”
Futile Devices Scans 
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