Qi Fei and Hua Yushu joined forces, wielding a sword and a fan, and darted about, instantly killing dozens of imperial guards, carving a bloody path and opening a breach.

The two leaped into the air, bypassing the crowd, and rushed towards the Heavenly Prison.

Behind them, Yao Ye and the others were still engaged in a fierce battle with the Nine Thousand Year Old, the scene was extremely intense.

“Who goes there?!”

At the entrance of the imperial prison, two groups of guards stood before the two tall iron gates, clad in iron armor and wielding long spears. These were the “Ironclad Guards” who guarded the prison, and their fighting prowess was no less than that of the imperial palace’s Dragon Guards. Leading them was a fierce-looking, burly man, who was none other than the prison warden. He held a gleaming, twelve-foot-long spear and stood ready for battle.

Without saying a word, Qi Fei and Hua Yushu charged straight in.

As soon as Qi Fei drew his Panlong Sword, the armor on these guards cracked and their spears broke, unable to withstand the attack of the divine weapon Panlong Sword.

Hua Yushu then flew out his folding fan, using it as a sharp blade. The fan, imbued with powerful innate qi, swirled around him once, and more than a dozen armored guards screamed in agony as they collapsed into pools of blood, their throats slit open, hot blood flowing everywhere.

These armored guards were no match for Qi Fei and Hua Yushu’s combined attack, but the warden was truly formidable, a top expert at the Innate Realm. He roared, his voice shaking the surrounding area, causing the large iron gate to vibrate.

The warden swung his twelve-foot-long silver spear, its cold light flashing, and struck down at Hua Yushu and Qi Fei respectively.

Hua Yushu waved his folding fan to block the warden’s twelve-foot silver spear. At that moment, Qi Fei slashed with his sword, cutting the warden’s spear in two.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hua Yushu flicked out her folding fan. The warden was shocked and retreated repeatedly to avoid the fan.

Killing this warden would be extremely difficult, so Hua Yushu decided to stop fighting and shouted, “Brother Qi, quickly open the iron gate and let’s rush in!”

Qi Fei nodded, then slashed at the lock on the large iron gate with his sword. With a “crack,” the lock snapped and fell to the ground. Qi Fei kicked the large iron gate open, and the two large doors swung open instantly.

Hua Yushu forced the warden to retreat, and together with Qi Fei, they leaped into the prison!

The prison was pitch black inside, while outside, the stars shone brightly, but the prison was only illuminated by torches.

Inside is a one-way passage leading directly to the innermost part of the prison. On both sides are large cells with steel bars, where many prisoners are held. In the middle, there is a place where torture is carried out, with all kinds of torture instruments such as branding irons, wooden horses, finger clamps, needle beds, and blood-dripping guillotines.

Several prisoners in their uniforms were chained to racks, and several jailers were whipping them, causing screams of agony. The whole scene looked incredibly horrific, like a living hell.

An incredibly bloody and putrid stench assaulted his senses, causing Qi Fei to instinctively cover his mouth and nose.

The two casually killed several prison guards and moved through the prison, searching for the place where Hua Zhenbei was being held.

“Father, where are you?” Hua Yushu shouted, his voice echoing in the prison.

“Yu Shu, you’ve come after all! Alas…” A deep voice echoed from the innermost part of the prison, accompanied by the clanging of iron chains.

Hua Yushu was overjoyed upon hearing this: “Father, I’ve come to save you!”

He called out to Qi Fei and quickly rushed forward.

However, at that moment, three figures appeared from the front. The one in the middle was tall with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square face, a round nose, and a wide mouth. He was wearing a brocade robe and was looking at Qi Fei and Hua Yushu with a faint smile.

Beside him were two other people, one of whom was a man dressed in a black robe, his entire head hidden inside a black cloak.

There was another petite and delicate girl, wearing a long red gauze dress. She had her hair in pigtails, and had a pair of beautiful crescent-shaped eyes. She had two shallow dimples on her round face and a smile on her face, making her look very cute. Her breasts were high and prominent, making her a stunningly beautiful girl with a childlike face and large breasts.

She was barefoot, with a red ribbon wrapped around her body, and held a candied hawthorn in her hand. Every now and then, she would stick out her pink tongue and lick the candied hawthorn.

“Wang Hongyu!” Hua Yushu gritted her teeth and stared at the man in front of her, her eyes filled with hatred.

The young man in brocade robes in the middle is none other than Prince Wang Hongyu, the crown prince of the Qian Dynasty!

Qi Fei also looked at him coldly.

Wang Hongyu laughed heartily, cupped his hands, and said, “Brother Hua, Brother Qi, how are you two? I really didn’t expect that you two would actually be able to get in here. It’s just a pity that it ends here.”

Footsteps continued to sound. Qi Fei and Hua Yushu turned around and found that many armored guards were surging from behind, led by the warden, and had blocked their escape route.

Hua Yushu angrily said, “Wang Hongyu, you bastard, I really regret knowing you. It’s ridiculous that I considered you a friend, and you treated me and Brother Qi like this!”

Wang Hongyu said with a faint smile, “Brother Hua, the palace is my home. You have trespassed into my home, so it is only reasonable for me to send people to arrest you, isn’t it?”

At this moment, Qi Fei suddenly asked, “Brother Wang, in front of Brother Hua, tell me, were you the one who tricked me into going to the Yin Yang Sect in Pengze County that day?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Wang Hongyu chuckled, completely disregarding Qi Fei. “Qi Fei, the young prince of Kun Kingdom, son of the Empress. Killing you would greatly benefit my Gan Dynasty. I just can’t believe you survived falling off a cliff twice. Tsk tsk, you’re really lucky!”

“You beast!” Qi Fei cursed angrily, tightening his grip on the Panlong Sword.

Wang Hongyu ignored him and looked at Hua Yushu, saying arrogantly, “Hua Yushu, do you think you’re worthy to fight me? Your martial arts tournament, your disguise to enter the capital, and your infiltration of the palace—all of this is under my control. Tonight, you won’t be able to escape!”

Hua Yushu sighed and said, “Brother Wang, for the sake of our past relationship…”

Wang Hongyu sneered, “Who has any past relationship with you? You hypocrite, the bastard of the Hua family, what do you think you are, daring to call me brother? I will not only kill you, but also completely destroy your Hua family’s Fengyun Escort Agency. You dare to challenge my royal family, how laughable! I heard you have a betrothed since childhood, Ye Ruiyun from Red Leaf Manor, right? Hehe, I’m going to capture her alive tonight, strip her naked, and fuck her. Aren’t you angry?”

Hua Yushu’s face turned pale and then red, and he trembled with rage: “Wang Hongyu, you fucking deserve to die a horrible death!”

Wang Hongyu continued, “Let me introduce you. These two are top-tier experts among the Thirteen Bodyguards under my father. This one is Ghost Shadow, whose lightness skill is unparalleled in the world. This one is Zuo Meihong, the most lethal assassin among assassins. They were both selected into the palace at a young age and trained by hundreds of martial arts masters, honing their incredibly powerful killing skills. In addition, I, Wang Hongyu, grew up in the Great Zen Temple and was personally taught several of the temple’s unique skills by Zen Master Kongming. And then there are the armored guards behind you; they are all experts… Hehe, do you think you have a chance of winning?”

Hua Yushu took a deep breath and said, “Brother Qi, are you afraid of death?”

Qi Fei nodded. Sometimes he was afraid of death, and sometimes he wasn’t. For example, he was afraid of death right now because dying would be meaningless. But if he were doing the same thing with Feng Liyao and Gu Yinzhang, he wouldn’t be afraid of death at all.

Hua Yushu said, “Brother Qi, let’s fight our way out today. You hold off Wang Hongyu and the others, and I’ll deal with those armored guards!”

“Alright.” Qi Fei brandished the Panlong Sword, ready for battle.

Hua Yushu brandished her steel folding fan and charged at the armored guards behind her.

“superior!”

At Wang Hongyu’s command, Zuo Meihong, Gui Yingzi, and the armored guards all sprang into action, rushing towards Qi Fei and Hua Yushu!

A powerful innate qi rushed towards him, and Qi Fei retreated repeatedly. At the same time, he poured his inner strength into the Panlong Sword. As expected of one of the three great divine weapons of the world, the Panlong Sword could pierce even innate qi with ease.

Qi Fei managed to stand up with this.

A dark shadow flashed by and appeared in front of Qi Fei in an instant, kicking him towards him.

However, he was Ghost Shadow, one of the Thirteen Protectors.

This person practices the “Wind Shadow Leg Technique,” which is as fast as lightning. With each kick, more than ten shadowy figures appear, making it impossible to distinguish which kick is real.

Qi Fei thrust the Panlong Sword forward, and dragon-shaped sword energies flew out from the tip, shattering the ghost shadow’s foot shadows. One of the kicks was solid, shattering Qi Fei’s sword energy. Then, the kick landed on the Panlong Sword’s blade, producing a loud “clang”.

Qi Fei felt his right hand go numb. He moved his feet and took several steps back, dissipating the powerful force of the opponent’s attack.

At this moment, a red shadow flashed, appearing sometimes in front of him and sometimes above his head like a ghost. Then, a red ribbon fell down and swept towards Qi Fei.

It turned out that it was another assassin from the Thirteen Protectors, Zuo Meihong, who made the move.

Qi Fei barely managed to block one of Ghost Shadow’s kicks. Seeing Zuo Meihong’s ribbon fall, he quickly raised his sword, intending to cut the ribbon in half.

The red ribbon landed on the Panlong Sword, and with a loud “ding,” Qi Fei’s right arm went numb again, and his entire right hand went limp. The Panlong Sword fell to the ground with a thud.

He was shocked, never expecting that his opponent’s skill was so refined and profound that he could knock down the divine weapon in his hand with a ribbon.

Ghost Shadow and Zuo Meihong simultaneously lunged forward. Ghost Shadow struck several acupoints on Qi Fei’s body, while Zuo Meihong brought her head close to Qi Fei’s ear. A fragrant breeze wafted over, and her melodious voice rang in his ear: “Little brother, I like powerful men. You don’t seem to be up to the task.”

Those who heard these words would feel a tingling sensation all over their bodies, but Qi Fei felt no excitement whatsoever. He only felt that the girl in front of him was extremely ruthless and terrifying!

At this moment, Qi Fei was struck in an acupoint and stood motionless.

Wang Hongyu stepped forward, picked up the Panlong Sword from the ground, and said with a faint smile, “Brother Qi, you’re in dire straits again. I wonder if you’ll be able to survive this time?”

Qi Fei glared at him angrily.

Wang Hongyu, gripping the Panlong Sword, was about to finish off Qi Fei with a single strike when the warden suddenly stepped forward and whispered, “Your Highness, this humble servant is incompetent…”

Wang Hongyu frowned, looking towards the exit of the prison, and discovered that Hua Yushu had already escaped. He snorted coldly and said, “Useless thing!”

The warden lowered his head and dared not speak.

Ghost Shadow and Zuo Meihong exchanged a glance and said at the same time, “I’ll go after them!” Then they vanished into the Heavenly Prison in a flash.

Wang Hongyu looked at Qi Fei and said with a faint smile, “Brother Qi, now you see Hua Yushu’s true character, right? He had you hold us back while he ran away. Hehe…”

Qi Fei closed his eyes. He had indeed seen clearly not only Hua Yushu but also Wang Hongyu. These two bastards were pure villains and scoundrels, not good people at all. All their previous actions were just a pretense.

Wang Hongyu touched the Panlong Sword in his hand, looked at the gleaming blade, and couldn’t help but admire it. Just as he was about to stab Qi Fei to death with one stroke, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He put away the Panlong Sword, had Qi Fei bound with chains, then led him out of the prison. After circling the entrance a few times, he brought him back.

This whole operation left Qi Fei completely bewildered; he couldn’t understand what Wang Hongyu was trying to do at all.

But then he understood.

Wang Hongyu led Qi Fei to the deepest part of the prison, where there was a very large cell. It was pitch black inside, but both Qi Fei and Wang Hongyu were martial arts masters with internal energy, so they could see the layout of the cell through the torches.

Qi Fei discovered that a man was locked up in the cell. The man looked to be over fifty years old. He had a rugged appearance, and his hair and beard were very messy. His temples were gray, and he was wearing a white prison uniform with many bloodstains on it. The man was covered in wounds and blood. His hands and feet were locked with heavy handcuffs and shackles. Chains made of refined steel bound his entire body tightly. Several chains were fixed to the walls of the cell, making it impossible for the man to move even an inch.

Most importantly, the man’s collarbone was pierced by iron chains, and his eyes were bloody and mangled, as if his eyeballs had been gouged out, making him look extremely horrific.

Qi Fei had already guessed the man’s identity.

Sure enough, Wang Hongyu threw Qi Fei at the man’s feet and then laughed loudly, “Hua Zhenbei, look, I’ve brought your son here, hahaha…”

This man was none other than Hua Zhenbei, the renowned “King of Flowers” in the martial arts world! He was the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of Fengyun镖局 (Fengyun Escort Agency), one of the three major powers in the world! In the past, he was famous and respected by everyone in the martial arts world, but now he has become a prisoner.

Hua Zhenbei was blind and could not see whether the person in front of him was his son. However, he had just heard that Hua Yushu had indeed broken into the prison and had obviously failed. Now that Wang Hongyu had brought someone over, he had no choice but to believe that his son had failed to rescue him and had been imprisoned like him.

Hua Zhenbei roared and said, “Wang Hongyu, you shameless scoundrel, you’re just like your father Wang Tianlong, both so despicable, shameless, and filthy!”

Wang Hongyu sneered, “Old Hero Hua, are you talking about yourself? Don’t you know what kind of shady business your Fengyun Escort Agency has been up to all these years? On the surface, your Fengyun Escort Agency is engaged in escort business, but in reality, you’ve been forming cliques and eliminating many sects in the martial arts world that were unwilling to ally with you. You’ve robbed them of their women, wealth, and martial arts manuals to strengthen your Fengyun Escort Agency’s power. You’ve also secretly taken Yao Ye under your wing, hidden your wealth in the Yin Yang Sect, and even opened an escort agency in the capital. You’re simply lawless and don’t respect the royal family of my Great Gan Dynasty at all!”

Upon hearing this, Hua Zhenbei merely snorted coldly and remained silent, clearly indicating that all of this was true.

Wang Hongyu continued, “You want to dominate the martial arts world? Fine, you can be the leader of the martial arts alliance. But you shouldn’t challenge the prestige of my Wang family. Actually, you’re no better than anyone else. Aren’t you just as shameless, despicable, and filthy?”

Hua Zhenbei retorted angrily, “It’s all about the victor and the vanquished, what’s there to say!”

Wang Hongyu, hands behind his back, grinned maliciously, “My father spared your life so he could use you to lure the remnants of the Fengyun Escort Agency in and wipe them out in one fell swoop. Today I’m reuniting you father and son, hehe, tomorrow I’ll send you to your deaths, beheading you at the Meridian Gate so the whole world can see how you die, hahaha…”

Hua Zhenbei roared, his voice echoing throughout the entire prison, “You little brat, I’ll haunt you even as a ghost!”

Wang Hongyu said smugly, “Keep yelling, let’s see how much strength you have left. Cherish tonight, everything will be over tomorrow.”

After saying that, he walked out of the prison, locked the cell door, and disappeared into the prison.

“Roar—” Hua Zhenbei roared loudly, the huge roar shaking the entire prison, and the chains on his body made a series of crisp sounds as he pulled them.

Lying on the ground, Qi Fei thought to himself, “Wang Hongyu sealed my speech point, preventing me from speaking, and locked me up here, making me impersonate Hua Yushu. He’s obviously trying to anger Hua Zhenbei so he can get a sense of victory from it… This beast is really a scoundrel.”

“Yu Shu, Yu Shu…” Hua Zhenbei called out a few times.

Seeing that Qi Fei did not respond, he sighed and said, “That’s right, your acupoints have been sealed by them, so how can you respond to me? Alas!” He let out a long, helpless sigh.

Qi Fei didn’t care what he was saying. He was only thinking that Gu Yinzhang and Li Huiyu should not be in the palace. If they were, Wang Hongyu would definitely use this to humiliate him. He would definitely not let go of the opportunity to humiliate him.

Since they hadn’t been arrested, Qi Fei was relieved, and his mood improved considerably.

At this moment, Hua Zhenbei felt a sense of impending doom. He sighed deeply and said, “Yushu, you should understand now why I haven’t taught you the ‘Red Sun Shines Over the World’ technique. It’s because you’re not my biological son. Years ago, I made a mistake that rendered me unable to have children, so I had to adopt a child from outside. Our Hua family’s ‘Red Sun Shines Over the World’ technique is one of the four great martial arts of our time, its power is earth-shattering, and it’s my foundation in the martial world! However, this divine skill has always been passed down only to biological sons, so I haven’t taught it to you. I know you blame me…”

Qi Fei lay on the ground, circulating the “Bright Moon Flying Phoenix” divine skill to open up the acupoints in his body, while listening to Hua Zhenbei’s soliloquy.