Chapter 88 Reinforcements Arrive

"Who dares to attack the eldest daughter of the Nangong family!"
"Courting death! Courting death!"
Soundwaves, infused with elemental power, echoed endlessly through the air, reverberating so fiercely that one’s ears rang. The branches and leaves within a mile radius trembled violently, rustling in response to the resonance.
Upon hearing these sounds, Ye Cheng felt a deep sense of relief; his battered body was so weak that he could barely summon any strength, as if a mere breeze might topple him.
His gaze fell upon Luo Long, who was still locked in battle with Black Blade Li Yang. Coldness flooded Ye Cheng's eyes as he silently vowed, "If I survive this ordeal today, one day I will erase the Luo family from the face of this world."
Standing beside Ye Cheng, Nangong Xue’s beautiful eyes flashed with joy, but when she recognized the voice, her elegant brows furrowed in confusion. She murmured softly, "This voice? It doesn’t sound like Elder Wu’s."
The powerful, commanding voice also reached Luo Long’s ears, causing his expression to change abruptly. With a swift reverse slash, he forced Li Yang back and retreated rapidly, stepping away from Li Yang’s range.
His sudden withdrawal led Ye Cheng and the others to believe that Luo Long now feared the arrival of the Nangong family’s reinforcements. If only Black Blade Li Yang, a master of the Elemental Realm, were standing in his way, Luo Long, being of the same realm, might still have a chance to kill Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue.
But with the Nangong family’s support added, not only would he lose any chance to slay Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue, but his own escape would become uncertain.
To everyone’s surprise, Luo Long did not flee as expected. Instead, he spun suddenly, flipping his hand with astonishing speed—so swift that no one could make out what he was holding, only a vague flash of silver.
With a flick of his wrist, the silver object shot out with a sharp whistle, revealing itself to all: a dozen silver needles, their tips glinting with a sinister black sheen.
Seeing Luo Long’s sudden move, Li Yang’s expression changed dramatically, his eyes widening in shock as he cried out, "Deadly Needles!"

"Deadly Needles!" Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue’s faces twisted in horror. This infamous weapon, known in the vast territory of Nanyang Prefecture, was familiar to nearly every martial artist. These were no ordinary silver needles—they were notorious for their ruthlessness and cunning. Regular silver needles, resisted by a martial artist’s blood energy, could not even pierce the skin.
But these were forged from refined iron, sharp enough to breach the defenses of any Blood Energy Realm expert, though not enough for those in the Elemental Realm. The true terror lay not in their sharpness but in the black liquid coating them—a poison distilled from century-old corpses. This corpse venom could easily kill a giant python and, even to someone as formidable as Black Blade Li Yang, was lethal upon contact.
"So what if the Nangong family’s reinforcements have arrived? Let’s see who can withstand these Deadly Needles. I can tell you plainly: unless you’ve reached the pinnacle of the Elemental Realm, you cannot survive them."
"I don’t believe there’s anyone at the peak of the Elemental Realm coming to save you." Luo Long’s face twisted with madness as he glared at Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue, his voice echoing ominously through the woods. This weapon was his ultimate trump card, reserved for the most difficult opponents; but now, faced with Ye Cheng’s terrifying martial potential and the Nangong family’s heiress—both destined to threaten his Luo family—he knew he could not let them live.
Ye Cheng could only smile bitterly. He had thought he’d escaped disaster, only to find himself in deeper peril. "The peak of the Elemental Realm… Even in my Ye family, only Grandfather Ye has reached that level. Ye Zhan, the chief elder, and the others are merely at the advanced stage, still far from true mastery."
"It seems you truly tire of living," a green figure suddenly descended from the sky. A broad hand swept from his sleeve, spreading before him. Elemental power surged forth like a vast sea, forming a transparent shield. Elemental energy flowed across its surface, tightly compressed with no gaps, exuding a sense of perfect unity.
"Commander Wang!" Nangong Xue’s lovely brows knitted in displeasure at the sudden appearance of the green-robed figure. Moments later, Elder Wu’s silhouette finally appeared, his face pale—evidently, the side effects of the blood essence he consumed two days earlier had not yet subsided.
"Forgive me, Miss. This old servant arrived late and let you be injured. Please punish me," Elder Wu said anxiously upon seeing the bloodstains on Nangong Xue.
"It’s nothing," Nangong Xue waved her jade hand and turned to the green-robed figure. "Why is Commander Wang here? Wasn’t he supposed to guard Yongle City?"
Elder Wu hesitated. "I’m not quite sure, Miss. Half a day ago, Commander Wang suddenly arrived, and at the same time, I received your jade talisman. Fearing for your safety, we hurried here together."
"Very well," Nangong Xue nodded and said no more.
…

"Sss, sss…"
The dozens of Deadly Needles, enough to strike fear in countless martial artists, slammed into the elemental shield, producing a shrill, piercing sound. The black poison rapidly spread, staining the once transparent shield pitch black.
The newly arrived figure let out a cold shout, clenched his open palm, and the elemental power transformed into ice crystals, wrapping around the shield now corroded by corpse venom. With a crash, it shattered into powder.
"The peak of the Elemental Realm!" Seeing the newcomer easily block his attack, Luo Long stared in disbelief, shocked to his core as he forced the words from his lips.
"You had a chance to escape, but you squandered it. Very well, I don’t care what force you belong to. If you dare harm the Nangong family’s heiress," the green-robed figure’s voice grew icy, as if pronouncing a death sentence.
"You have only one fate—death."
In an instant, Luo Long spun and darted away in the opposite direction. It was clear that for him, escape was the only option. Earlier, when he heard the voice, he hadn’t fled immediately because his intelligence told him that among the Nangong family’s party, the strongest was only at the advanced stage of the Elemental Realm. Such power could stop him from killing Ye Cheng and Nangong Xue, but couldn’t prevent his escape.
He had not anticipated that the Nangong family’s reinforcement would be at the very pinnacle of the Elemental Realm—a terrifying level where, in a matter of seconds, he could be easily subdued.
"Hmph, you think you can get away so easily?"