Seeing that Zhan Qingcheng remained unmoved, Yu Jingfeng grew desperate. He moved at once to place his hand on Feng Jiu’er’s shoulder.

He would pour his own true qi in, replacing the Ninth Prince’s, so the Ninth Prince could rest and preserve his life.

“It will be useless!” Mu Mu stepped forward in long strides and caught his wrist in a firm grip.

“Official Yu, if your true qi enters, it will be repelled by His Highness’s. That means His Highness would have to expend energy both to treat Ninth and to push yours back — it is a waste of effort!”

Mu Mu had already tried. It was simply not possible.

Unless the Ninth Prince was willing to withdraw his own true qi and allow another to take over.

But if that happened, the moment his qi was severed, Ninth’s condition would become gravely dangerous.

Yu Jingfeng continued to kneel at Zhan Qingcheng’s side. In his mind, the Ninth Prince’s safety was paramount above all else.

Yet in the Ninth Prince’s mind, Feng Jiu’er’s life outweighed even his own.

Suddenly, a violent gust of wind rose from the peak of the hill. Yu Jingfeng shot to his feet, and with a sharp ring of steel, drew his long sword.

A powerful enemy. On the very hill where the military academy trained its students, someone had been concealing so formidable a fighter.

The overwhelming pressure of that aura had Yu Jingfeng taut with alarm. The figure had not yet shown himself, yet his internal force had already completely blanketed the entire area.

“Zhan Qingcheng. I would not have thought that you would truly be willing to throw your life away for this girl.”

The hoarse voice carried within it a crushing internal force, one that pierced clean through the protective energy of every soldier in the Longqi Army and bore down directly upon Zhan Qingcheng.

Yu Jingfeng thrust out a palm to intercept — and managed to deflect no more than half of that palm-force. The other half landed squarely on Zhan Qingcheng.

A thin thread of crimson blood slid from the corner of Zhan Qingcheng’s devastatingly beautiful lips. The vivid red against the white of his robes was a sight so striking it was almost too much to behold.

“Your Highness!” Yu Jingfeng was beside himself with panic. Even inside the royal capital, they had encountered an expert of this caliber!

Yet had it not been for His Highness currently channeling his energy to heal Young Miss Ninth — leaving him unable to defend himself — would that blow have landed at all?

This person was utterly despicable.

“Hah. Zhan Qingcheng. It seems you are truly set on protecting this girl.”

That low, hoarse voice rang out again. This time, noticeably closer.

It was not that the Ninth Prince’s Longqi Army was insufficient — only that the enemy was far, far too powerful.

At this level of cultivation, even when the Ninth Prince was in perfect condition, overcoming him would not be accomplished overnight.

And now, with His Highness in such a dire state—

“Protect His Highness!” Yu Jingfeng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and, together with the Longqi Army soldiers who had rapidly fallen back into a defensive line, they sealed Zhan Qingcheng and Feng Jiu’er within a tight protective formation.

In an instant, the black-robed man had alighted upon the treetop, his bone-chilling gaze locked onto the two figures within the formation.

“Much has been said of the Ninth Prince’s incomparable arrogance and breathtaking appearance. After all these years, it seems he has only grown more striking.”

“A pity. To throw away your very life for a woman as plain as this — to be so ensnared by sentiment and longing — how can one accomplish great things?”

The black-robed man’s expression abruptly darkened, his eyes filling with a cold so absolute it could freeze the heart.

“Since you cannot accomplish great things, what use is all that skill? Today, I shall do you a favor — and make you into a cripple for good!”

The true qi in his palm condensed in an instant. The sheer force of his internal power seemed to freeze the very air around him — even the falling leaves hung suspended in midair, unable to descend.

What terrifying internal force!

Every soldier in the Longqi Army channeled their protective energy to its fullest, sheltering His Highness and Feng Jiu’er beneath a web of that energy. The black-robed man’s palm strike came crashing down — and to his evident surprise, could not immediately penetrate that layer of protection.