Chapter 189: One’s Reputation Provides Protection
Translator: TYZ Editor: Book_Hoarder
"Hua Sanliu, come out!" The cold voice of the red-clothed lady standing on the archway rang across everyone's ears. A shocked look instantly appeared on all of their faces.
Not only was Hua Sanliu the Grand Pavilion Master of Nine Pavilions, he was also the fifth most powerful expert in the world. Even the imperial family of Great Xia had to treat him with politeness by calling him "Mr. Hua". Since when had someone yelled his name like this?
Soon after, everyone went into a frenzy. Whether it was the pedestrians that walked like old farmers, street peddlers, shop owners, or gorgeously-dressed lady bosses, all of them surged towards the archway to see what was going on. Every one of them jumped onto the rooftops near the archway, appearing as though there were countless locusts jumping together on the street, extremely spectacular.
When they saw a red-clothed lady standing on their precious archway, they began to curse at her angrily. Some even took down their peaceful-looking fronts and bore their vicious fangs.
"Who are you? How dare you!"
"Come down and beg for forgiveness!"
"Get down!" A man flew through the air with a sword thrusting towards the red-clothed lady. The sword gave off a cold glint that was filled with chilliness.
Many people knew who this man was. Currently, he was on the intermediate level of Earth Wheel. Among everyone in Nine Pavilions, he was considered somewhat powerful. Most importantly, he was still very young, having an age of less than twenty-two years old this year. He had high chance of becoming a pavilion master in the future.
Even though he would not reach the level of Hua Sanliu, he was still fully capable of reaching the level of other pavilion masters.
Moreover, this man's swordsmanship wasn't gaudy at all. From the age of seven, he only learnt one move —— sword thrust.
Not only was his sword thrust fast, it was also extremely vicious.
Even an individual on the same level as him could not block his sword thrust.
The red-clothed lady was definitely an expert, otherwise she wouldn't haven been able to pass those people surrounding the archway. However, everyone also felt that even if she wasn't injured by this sword thrust, she would still be exhausted by it. They kept on closing in on the archway, waiting to teach the lady a lesson once she dropped down.
Many people felt their hearts tremble involuntarily when they saw the appearance of the lady. They could not believe such a beauty existed in this world. They had to keep her alive later...
"Clang." No one saw how the lady warded off the attack. The sword thrust, which everyone thought she couldn't block, flew up into the air while the man crashed into a house heavily.
This scene made many people realized that this lady wasn't merely an expert, but rather, an extremely powerful one. Otherwise, she wouldn't have warded off the sword thrust with such ease.
At this moment, an angry roar resounded through the air, "Who dares come here and create trouble?"
When the first word rang through the air, the source of voice was still at the back of the crowd, but by the time the last word rang through the air, a person appeared out of nowhere on the rooftop of a house not far away from the archway. He appeared approximately forty years old, and he wore a green-colored robe and a scholar hat. Beneath his chin, there was a one-meter-long beard. He looked refined and elegant, resembling a Great Xia scholar.
Actually, he had been an imperial scholar in the past. Coincidentally, he entered the Nine Pavilions and became one of the pavilion masters.
"Greetings, Eighth Pavilion Master," everyone greeted him.
A look of amazement flashed across Eighth Pavilion Master Zhang Zijiang's eyes when he saw the red-clothed lady. An exceptional beauty who possessed outstanding skills like her was definitely not an ordinary nameless individual. "Who are you? Why are you creating trouble in Nine Pavilions?"
"Ask Hua Sanliu to come out." After taking a glance at Zhang Zijiang through the corner of her eyes, the red-clothed girl did pay him any further attention.
Her attitude showed that she did not care about Zhang Zijiang at all.
"Arrogant!" the onlookers chided the red-clothed girl furiously.
Zhang Zijiang's face darkened as well. When he was young, his family was extremely poor. As such, he hated to be looked down upon by other people. After becoming one of the top-notch experts in the world, he hunted down every one of those who had looked down on him in the past and killed them.
Among all the pavilion masters in the Nine Pavilions, Zhang Zijiang was the most petty.
"If you want to meet Grand Pavilion Master, you have to show me your skills first." Before he even finished his sentence, he had already jumped into the air. A metal claw that flickered with a cold glint appeared out of nowhere in his hand.
Upon seeing Zhang Zijiang take action, the crowd felt at ease. This lady might be powerful, but she definitely wouldn't stand a chance against Eighth Pavilion Master. Eighth Pavilion Master might be ranked ninety-first in the world, but this also meant only ninety people in the world could defeat him.
After all, there weren't many powerful practitioners in this world. Just the fact that he was ranked ninety-first alone was enough to make him arrogant.
Even though the empress looked down on Zhang Zijiang, she still could tell that he was rather capable. If she continued to stand on the archway, the archway might get destroyed, causing her to feud with the Nine Pavilions. At the end of the day, she just wanted to get the antidote.
With a jolt of her body, the empress surged forward. Following which, both parties collided in the air. Before the onlookers could see what was going on, Zhang Zijiang smashed into the ground like an artillery shell.
"Hiss!" Everyone gasped in surprise at the same time.
天下第九十一竟然只在这女子面前走了一个照面,这女人到底是谁?
The ninety-first most powerful expert in the world couldn't even touch this lady at all.
Who exactly is this lady?
Which lady is so powerful?
The third most powerful expert in the world, Li Yuanzhu? But that wasn't possible as she usually lived in seclusion and looked like a nun.
The seventh most powerful expert in the world, Qi Zixiao? But why would the empress of Dayao come here?
The twelfth most powerful expert in the world, Sun Mengniang? But that woman was forty years old. Then again, it was rumored that she knew of a way to preserve her looks, therefore, it might be her after all.
While everyone was guessing the identity of the red-clothed lady, Zhang Zijiang, who was lying in a hole on the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood with a shocked look on his face.
Other people couldn't see what happened clearly, but he could. Just now, after the short exchange with the lady, he could tell that she was extremely fast and strong. She did not seem like a girl at all, but rather, like a gigantic beast. After getting hit by her, his hands now were still feeling numb. If she went all-out against him, he would be gravely injured at the very least.
Among the female experts in Great Xia, even if they were more powerful than him, they wouldn't possess such a level of strength to make him feel completely overwhelmed.
"This woman isn't from Great Xia, there is only one lady in this world who's so powerful… Qi Zixiao."
When Zhang Zijiang thought of this, a wave of horror instantly swept across his mind. With a flip of his body, he jumped out of the hole.
After landing on the ground, he stared at the empress and said, "Qi Zixiao, why are you here?"
Upon hearing these words, all the onlookers stared at the empress.
She is Qi Zixiao? The empress of Dayao is actually here?
Some people initially had evil thoughts when they'd seen her appearance. Now, all of their evil thoughts flowed out of their bodies along with their cold sweat. One's reputation provides protection for him or her. Given Qi Zixiao's reputation, who dared to have designs on her?
"Hua Sanliu, I am here, why aren't you coming out to welcome me?" The empress's cold voice echoed through the air. She no longer wanted to hide her identity.
[The "I" here is "zhen" in Chinese, a term used by an emperor or an empress to address himself or herself.]
At this point in time, those who were previously busy with training and did not care about what was going on jumped onto the rooftops along with the other onlookers.
There were only a few people in this world that could use "I" to address themselves, and there was only one girl who could do so.
When the empress's voice rang through the air, an uproar broke out in the Nine Pavilions.
"I never expect Qi Zixiao to come here personally, your presence brings light to my humble Nine Pavilions." A gentle voice came from afar through the air. Following which, a shadow flew across the sky and a person appeared before everyone.
As soon as that person landed, a few more shadows leapt out from the pagodas and landed behind him.
Knowing that Qi Zixiao had arrived in the Nine Pavilions, no one could stand still.