Chapter 748: Runes Master

"Get lost!" As Zu An's fate was uncertain, Yun Yuqing was clearly in a foul mood. Seeing the corpulent man charge at her with a grim expression, she simply raised her hand and drew a talisman in the air.

Obscure and mystical runes glowed with a purple light, and a transparent, thin membrane seemed to appear out of nowhere around them.

A flicker of disdain crossed the stout man's eyes. Not to mention something that looked as if it would rupture with a single poke, even a heavy military shield arrayed for battle couldn't withstand his full-force hammer blow.

He continued to swing his hammer, adding an extra third of his strength, just in case the talisman held some hidden power.

In his decades of combat, nothing had ever withstood two hammer blows. If one wasn't enough, he'd simply deliver another.

But the anticipated loud bang and shattering sound never came. He felt as if all his strength had landed on a wad of cotton.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He saw his hammer push the membrane inward to its absolute limit, yet it refused to break.

He exerted every ounce of his strength, and the membrane continued to indent, almost touching the woman and Zu An inside, but then it could not move an inch further.

"Watch out!" a companion's startled cry came from nearby.

The stout man also sensed something was wrong and instinctively tried to retreat. But the moment he withdrew his force, the membrane, which had felt like cotton, abruptly changed.

Like a spring compressed to its limit, it suddenly rebounded with immense force the moment it had the chance.

He felt an overwhelming force surge towards him instantly. Having just expended nearly all his strength, he couldn't possibly defend himself. With a wet thud, he spat out a gush of blood and collapsed onto the ground like a broken sandbag.

He struggled to get up, but after a long struggle, he remained on the ground, his body convulsing as he continuously spat out bloody foam mixed with fragments of internal organs.

Zu An "watched," utterly astonished. He wondered what kind of move that was; it seemed both beautiful and incredibly powerful.

At that moment, the man with the gold and silver rings and the red-tasseled spear rushed to his companion's side. The spear-wielder knelt down, quickly assessing his condition:

"At least sixty percent of his bones are shattered!"

"Internal organs are also damaged."

"Even if we save him, he'll likely never recover to his peak."

The man with the gold and silver rings narrowed his eyes, glaring at Yun Yuqing. "You little hussy, what a vicious technique."

Yun Yuqing scoffed, "Blame your companion for bringing it upon himself. This talisman's power is to reflect. The force of the counterattack depends entirely on how much strength he used to attack. If he hadn't struck so mercilessly, he wouldn't have injured himself like this."

Zu An secretly marveled. He hadn't expected it to be a skill akin to "using their own methods against them." Why were all his confidantes so exceptional?

"A Rune Master?" The red-tasseled spear man frowned.

The atmosphere among the group suddenly grew heavy. There were many cultivators in the world, but Rune Masters were exceedingly rare. In the military, weapons, armor, and battle formations all required Rune Masters to engrave arrays onto them. The imperial palace and the mansions of royalty and nobility were also protected by defensive arrays set up by Rune Masters; the higher the level of the array, the more it reflected the owner's status.

Low-level Rune Masters were one thing, but high-level Rune Masters, unlike other cultivators, could not be mass-produced. They were mainly concentrated in the National Royal Academy, revered as treasures and officially recognized as strategic national resources. Consequently, these individuals were often arrogant, sometimes even disregarding the imperial court.

The woman before them had just so easily formed a rune that severely wounded a seventh-rank expert. Clearly, she was a high-level Rune Master.

But weren't all the Rune Masters in the National Academy old men? Was there even one such vibrant young woman among them?

The man with the gold and silver rings also changed his demeanor, speaking in a softer tone. "Master, we've never had any grievances. How about we just let this matter drop? We won't pursue you for injuring our companion, and you..."

Mid-sentence, he suddenly raised his hand, and the two gold and silver bracelets swiftly launched towards Yun Yuqing.

Although he had only held two rings moments before, in that instant, they split into countless gold and silver rings, appearing almost instantly at Yun Yuqing's vital spots along her ribs.

Zu An was so infuriated he almost opened his eyes to curse. This man was truly despicable, feigning negotiation then launching a sneak attack the moment his opponent was distracted by thought.

Fortunately, Yun Yuqing, at the critical moment, tapped her toe and flew backward, retreating to the side.

The countless gold and silver rings, however, relentlessly pursued her like maggots clinging to bone. So many overlapping rings resembled two long, coiling serpents, one yellow and one white.

Many "smaller serpents" even branched off, waiting at various points where she was most likely to land and gather momentum, together forming an inescapable net that spread towards her.

But to their surprise, Yun Yuqing didn't land at all. She merely tapped her toes lightly in the air, and shimmering runes appeared beneath her feet. She walked on air with graceful poise, like the Goddess Luo stepping on waves.

Seeing that the preemptive sneak attack had failed, the man with the gold and silver rings flicked his wrist. The countless illusory rings outside flew back to his wrist, finally transforming back into two bracelets.

The red-tasseled spear man was both shocked and enraged. "Are you mad? You dare offend a Rune Master?"

The man with the gold and silver rings had a grim expression. "Do we have any other choice now? If we don't kill her to silence her, none of us will survive."

The red-tasseled spear man sighed. "So be it. Succeed or die honorably. Let's attack together!"

No sooner had he spoken than a glint of cold light appeared, followed by his spear striking out like a dragon!

Even as his enemy, Zu An couldn't help but admire him. When he wasn't fighting, he seemed like a quiet, handsome man, but the moment his spear moved, he exuded a fierce, unstoppable momentum. Truly, it was "the charge of no retreat! The will to break ranks, to face death without fear!"

His spear technique had clearly been honed through mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield.

Zu An's heart sank. The siege crossbows, the curved-saber formation, the stout man's gourd-shaped hammer, and this man's spear technique — there were too many military shadows.

Could it really be the Qin family targeting him? If so, how would Chu Yan and Yu Zhao, caught in the middle, reconcile themselves?

However, he had no time to ponder these thoughts, as the man with the gold and silver rings also attacked. His rings appeared and disappeared mysteriously, striking at Yun Yuqing's vital points from all angles, while the death warriors simultaneously employed their curved-saber formation to restrict her dodging space.

Yun Yuqing's expression was solemn. Her slender, jade-like fingers rapidly formed hand seals and wrote in front of her. Soon, shimmering runes appeared and floated in the air all around them.

"Be careful, don't let her complete the array!" The man with the gold and silver rings was both startled and enraged. He repeatedly tried to attack the airborne runes to disrupt the formation, but unfortunately, the runes seemed intangible, allowing his gold and silver rings to pass right through them.

Yet, the surrounding elemental energy clearly began to stir, and the increasingly chilling atmosphere indicated that these runes were not illusory. Their opponent was indeed gathering a terrifying attack.

No wonder the world feared Rune Masters so much; their methods of attack were truly too mysterious and profound, leaving no trace for others to follow.

However, he wasn't despairing. His initial panic and fury vanished, replaced by a strange smile that slowly spread across his face.

He looked in a certain direction and sharply commanded, "Fire!"

Almost simultaneously with his command, a massive dark beam shot out from a nearby pavilion, appearing before Yun Yuqing with terrifying force.

He had deliberately feigned panic and helplessness just moments before, all to gradually force his opponent into this specific position.

It was clear that with so many experts attacking in concert, even a high-level Rune Master was unconsciously forced into their trap.

Although Rune Masters possessed many tricks, their bodies were far weaker than average cultivators. If struck by this siege crossbow, capable of demolishing even a city gate reinforced with runes, she likely wouldn't be able to utilize any more of her abilities.

Yun Yuqing's expression drastically changed. Most of her focus had been on setting up the surrounding array; the last rune was already half-drawn. Once the array was complete, these individuals would be beyond saving.

But she never expected a snag at such a crucial moment!

It had already been difficult enough to evade the desperate attacks of these experts. Now, with her energy waning and the siege crossbow's speed so immense, how could she possibly dodge in time?

"This is the end for me!"

Instinctively, she turned her head to look towards the corner of the wall, wanting one last glance at the man before she died...

Huh, where had he gone?

"Are you looking for me?"

A gentle voice then echoed in her ear. She felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace, just as the terrifying siege crossbow whizzed past them.