Chu Yao takes action

Before the move was fully spent, he forcibly changed the direction of his fist and struck out towards his right.

"Bang!" With an explosive sound, Hachi's fist blocked a sword strike, but the powerful force behind that sword sent him stumbling backward, leaving him greatly shocked.

He hurriedly steadied himself and looked closely to see a young woman appearing before him. She was dressed in a palace robe with her hair tied in a high bun, her Phoenix eyes filled with authority, and her blade shimmering like water, looking indescribably noble.

"The Third Princess?" Shi Feng and the others exclaimed. The woman holding the long sword before them was none other than the Empire's Third Princess, Chu Yao.

"Be careful, do not be impulsive. We must stall for time until Long Chen returns," Chu Yao said in a low voice to Shi Feng and the others as she brandished her long sword.

Shi Feng and the others nodded slowly, and two of them rushed out to pull back their injured companion from the ground; his right chest had been pierced by a spear, and he was on the verge of death.

Shi Feng hurriedly took out a Medicinal Pill and fed it to him; although it could not restore him, it could buy him some time so he would not die immediately.

Although everyone was prepared to die, no one wanted to die if they could avoid it. Seeing that Chu Yao could actually force back an Yijin stage expert gave them a glimmer of hope.

Chu Yao's appearance shocked everyone present; whether it was Xia Youyu or the Fourth Prince, they all looked at Chu Yao with disbelief.

Xia Youyu immediately thought of something and pointed at Chu Yao, his eyes filled with disbelief: "You actually broke the Nine Dragon Dantian Seal?"

Chu Yao extended her jade hand, pointing her long sword towards Xia Youyu from afar: "You despicable animals, today I will make you pay for the sins you committed back then."

Although she did not know what the Nine Dragon Dantian Seal was, she knew that what Xia Youyu was referring to must be the nine strands of foreign True Qi within her Dantian.

If it were not for Long Chen, her fate would have been incomparably tragic, becoming a tool for others to use without even knowing it; thinking of this, Chu Yao felt a surge of anger.

"Hmph, judging by your aura, you have only just made a Breakthrough to the Yijin stage. I am afraid you cannot even control your power well, yet you dare to speak so wildly? Hachi, take her down," Xia Youyu sneered.

The Fourth Prince looked at Chu Yao with suspicion and uncertainty; Chu Yao's appearance had caused his original brimming confidence to waver, and he began to feel a trace of unease.

At the same time, Long Chen's face appeared in his mind. To this day, he still had not received any news about Long Chen, which made him feel as if a thorn were stuck in his heart; now, Chu Yao's appearance made this thorn even more prominent.

"Hmph, let me, Hachi, test the Princess of Phoenix Cry." Hachi laughed loudly and shook his arms, veins bulging all over his body. A terrifying power surged up, and he struck out with a punch.

Before he even arrived, the wind from his fist had already caused Chu Yao's long hair to flutter and her clothes to snap; clearly, Hachi was now truly unleashing the strength that a Yijin stage expert should have.

"Swish." Facing Hachi's punch, Chu Yao did not confront it head-on. She slid her feet, dodged Hachi's strike, and her long sword went straight for Hachi's throat.

Hachi sneered and did not dodge; a pale yellow halo appeared on his palm, and he slapped at the long sword in Chu Yao's hand.

"Bang!" Chu Yao felt a great force strike her, sending her flying backward, and at the same time, she felt a sharp pain in the web between her thumb and index finger.

Xia Youyu was right; Chu Yao had indeed just made a Breakthrough to the Yijin stage, and it was a secret advancement, as she did not dare to alert others.

Even more frustratingly, after her advancement, she had no opportunity to adapt to her surging power, and her control over this power was limited.

Now, facing a battle-hardened Yijin stage expert, she immediately suffered a major disadvantage, especially since Chu Yao had practically no combat experience.

"Hmph, just an empty shell. Give me your life," Hachi sneered, showing no mercy, and threw another punch.

Just as Chu Yao was preparing to risk injury to block it, a dark red ball of light suddenly flew in and collided with Hachi's fist.

"Boom!" With an explosive sound, Hachi felt as if his fist had been soaked in magma, and he was sent flying backward.

"To use such a heavy hand against a young girl, do you not feel ashamed, Your Excellency?" An aged voice came, and a figure appeared before everyone.

"Great Master Yun Qi?" Chu Yao was overjoyed to see the old man. The old man was none other than Great Master Yun Qi; he had finally made a move at the critical moment.

"Yun Qi, as the president of the Alchemist Guild, you should abide by the Alchemist Treaty. How can you intervene in worldly affairs? Are you not afraid of being sanctioned by the Guild?" Xia Youyu shouted coldly.

"You are right, members of the Alchemist Guild are not allowed to intervene in worldly affairs," Great Master Yun Qi smiled slightly, then suddenly turned his head: "Sun Mian."

"Present." In the crowd in the distance, a middle-aged man wearing the attire of an Alchemist Apprentice hurriedly walked forward a few steps and bowed respectfully.

Great Master Yun Qi waved his hand, and an object flew over; Sun Mian took the object and looked at it, his expression changing.

"Sun Mian, I am now passing the Guild Token to you; you are now the Guild president," Great Master Yun Qi said.

"President…" Sun Mian said, his face full of shock.

Great Master Yun Qi waved his hand, stopping Sun Mian: "I am no longer the president. Our Guild's rules cannot be broken. If you still treat me as the president, then do not stop me."

Sun Mian looked at the Guild Token in his hand, not knowing what to do for a moment, but he knew that something big was likely to happen today.

"Now I am no longer a member of the Alchemist Guild. Now I have the qualification to intervene in worldly affairs, right?" Great Master Yun Qi said calmly.

No one expected that Great Master Yun Qi would actually expel himself from the Guild for the sake of the Long family; one must know that without the Guild title, even if he were killed by someone, it would not be pursued.

"Of course you can. I have been waiting for this day for a long time. Yun Qi, you truly did not let me down." The crowd parted, and two people walked in slowly; seeing them, the people outside all exclaimed: "Wei Cang."

That was Great Master Wei Cang, who was as famous as Great Master Yun Qi. The two seemed to harbor great hatred for each other and had once fought at the Phoenix Cry Lantern Festival.

However, both of them had held back that time; it was merely a symbolic exchange, and they had not truly shown their strength.

Now, listening to Wei Cang's tone, it seemed that Great Master Yun Qi's actions were all within his expectations; I fear there will be a fierce battle today.

"Who is the other old man?" When people moved their gaze away from Wei Cang, they noticed there was another old man beside him.

"I know, he is Wang Luyang, also an Alchemist." Someone who had attended the Huayun Auction recognized the man.

At that auction, Wang Luyang had remained low-key until the very end when the Bone-Generating Medicinal Pill appeared, at which point he shocked everyone and left a very deep impression.

However, the fact that Wang Luyang was standing with Wei Cang today was somewhat intriguing.

Seeing Wei Cang appear, Great Master Yun Qi's expression remained unchanged. He glanced at Wang Luyang: "Have you thought this through?"

Wang Luyang smiled slightly: "Actually, I do not wish to be enemies with Great Master Yun, but unfortunately, Brother Wei's invitation was hard to refuse, so I have no choice but to be your enemy."

"Yun Qi, stop talking nonsense. Hand over that thing, otherwise I will send you to Hell today," Wei Cang said coldly. "Now that you have left the Alchemist Guild, you no longer have any backing. Killing you requires no scruples."

Great Master Yun Qi looked at the Fourth Prince in the distance with a complex expression and sighed: "The Fourth Prince is indeed a Dragon among men. This level of calculation is truly admirable."

The Fourth Prince smiled slightly: "Thank you for the praise, Great Master; it makes me feel ashamed."

"The Fourth Prince is proficient in calculation. I wonder if you have heard a saying?" Great Master Yun Qi said calmly.

"Oh? Please enlighten me, Great Master."

"Man plans, but Heaven decides," Great Master Yun Qi smiled slightly and said calmly.

The Fourth Prince's eyes narrowed slightly. For some reason, upon hearing this, his heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean?"

"The Fourth Prince is so intelligent, how can you not understand a common saying that even a child would understand? Or is it that you are afraid to admit you understand it?" Great Master Yun Qi said.

The Fourth Prince's expression changed slightly. His plan had been absolutely flawless, yet there had been continuous complications.

The first complication was that the Marquis of Ying failed to kill Long Chen. Although the Marquis of Ying claimed that Long Chen had been severely injured and had little hope of survival, he always felt that Long Chen would not die so easily, so he had sent the Marquis of Wilderness to search.

The second was Chu Yao; the Nine Dragon Dantian Seal within her body had been quietly broken, and she had actually made a Breakthrough to the Yijin stage.

Although Chu Yao, having just stepped into the Yijin stage, was not to be feared, this complication began to make him feel uneasy.

Now, Great Master Yun Qi was clearly caught in a trap and trapped in a dead end, yet he remained as calm as ever; this made him even more uneasy, and he even felt a trace of panic.

He himself had been a chess piece; now that he had finally jumped out of this chess game and it was his turn to play, he did not want his own chess pieces to jump out of this game as well.

"Actually, your plan is laughable. To waste so much effort for a few meager resources is truly stupid," Great Master Yun Qi said, shaking his head.

The Fourth Prince's expression finally changed drastically, and he looked at Great Master Yun Qi in disbelief: "You actually know?"

Great Master Yun Qi smiled slightly and said nothing.

The Fourth Prince's eyes swept slightly towards a spot in the crowd, then he calmed down and sneered: "Death is imminent, yet you still like to fear-monger. Great Master Wei Cang, what are you waiting for?"

Wei Cang smiled slightly: "After all, we are old friends who have dealt with each other for decades. Seeing that I am about to send an old friend on his way, I need to leave some time for them to give their final words. It looks like the final words have been given, so let me send you on your way."

"Whoosh!" Wei Cang was engulfed in flames, and a long spear of flame appeared in his hand. Like a humanoid flame, he rushed towards Yun Qi with a terrifying, high temperature.

Wang Luyang, standing beside him, did not delay. As soon as Wei Cang lunged forward, he also summoned flame armor and a long flame saber in his hand, attacking Yun Qi from the left and right alongside Wei Cang.

The terrifying heat caused the space to distort, making it look as if they were submerged in water, becoming illusory and unpredictable.

Suddenly, Yun Qi's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face: The person he was waiting for had finally arrived; it was time to settle the score.

"Boom!" Great Master Yun Qi shook his arms, and terrifying crimson flames surged up, rolling heat waves sweeping in all directions and scorching the heavens.

"Wei Cang, die!"