“Bam!” Zheng Lide flew backward.

　　The others were surprised. They immediately realized that they should not rashly take on this wild man. Instead, they looked for King An to protect him instead.

　　Unfortunately, King An had already escaped into the woods. They could not find him and were left with no choice but to fight the fierce man.

　　The vulgar man saw them and sneered before yelling, “Chu Li, aren’t you going to show yourself?!”

　　However, the night sky was quiet, there was no response.

　　“Alright, then I shall kill everyone from the Imperial Residence of King An!” The vulgar man called out, his voice sounding out like a large bell. It was so powerful that it shook the woods to the point that the birds grew so alarmed that they flew away.

　　At this point, the Protectors rushed toward him.

　　The vulgar man laughed heartily and stepped forward to face them.

　　“Bam, bam, bam, bam…” A string of groans could be heard as the Protectors were send flying one by one.

　　They were like defenseless children against the vulgar man. Their movements were clumsy and slow, so much so that they could not even get close to the vulgar man before being hit. With every strike, one of them was sent flying.

　　The body movement technique of the vulgar man was as fast as lightning, as were his palms. He was so swift that they could not even see him move.

　　In the blink of an eye, none of the Protectors were left standing. His attacks left everyone speechless.

　　“Very well, Chu Li. You truly are heartless!” The vulgar man laughed and turned into a shadow. Like a black cloud, he flew away, instantly disappearing from sight.

　　All the Protectors were left with their jaws hanging wide open as they circulated their inner energy. As they bore the pain, they tried to force the mystical palm energy out of their system.

　　Unfortunately, the power of the Heaven’s Thunder Palm was rather unusual. It was extremely refined and quite overbearing toward its victims. Their internal organs were repeatedly ravaged and they were soon heavily injured in a short period of time. If they did not have the spirit drugs with them, then they would have long drawn their last breaths.

　　“Amitabha Buddha…” Xu Ning let out a chant as he stood up and walked toward everyone. Then, he instructed them, “Everyone, sit together. Place your palms on each other’s back and form a circle.”

　　Everyone was aware of his abilities, so they did as he asked.

　　They strenuously picked themselves off the ground and endured the pain. The protectors all wore pained expressions on their faces as they gasped for breath and sat down in a circle. Eventually, they painstakingly placed their palms on the back of the person in front of them, interlinking and forming a large circle.

　　Xu Ning began explaining, “What everyone was struck by was the Heaven’s Thunder Palm, which is impossible to dispel alone. The only way is to rid of this energy is to borrow each other’s power, causing the palm energy to clash with each other, inevitably dissolving it. Everyone, slowly circulate your inner energy into your partner’s body. Allow the inner energy to link with each other.

　　Everyone did as he asked and slowly felt the mystical palm energy melting away. It disappeared not long after. The pain from their bodies slowly dissipated, as if they had all been transported from hell to the Ultimate Land of Bliss.

　　It was truly mystical, causing everyone to raise their heads in disbelief and stared at Xu Ning. Xu Ning merely pressed his palms together in front of his chest and remarked, “This is the solution unique to the Amethyst Mountain’s Heaven’s Thunder Palm. You might find it useful in the future. Let’s look for the Royal Highness now.”

　　Everyone hastily pressed their palms together in front of their chests and stood up to look for King An.

　　“We have all sustained injuries, but the dangerous palm energy has already been removed. We are all in a stable state and will slowly recover.”

　　However, when they thought of the body movement technique of the vulgar man, they felt terrified. His attacks were too swift for a normal man to react to. It was as though it wouldn’t matter to him if he fought a single opponent or a crowd. No wonder the Amethyst Mountain was one of the Four Major Sects – it was truly terrifying.

　　As they scoured the forest, they quickly found King An. He was on his last breath.

　　The corners of King An face were caked with blood as he laid on the floor looking like a very sorry sight.

　　They hastily fed King An an elixir which acted as a lifesaving medicine. Then, they placed King An beside the campfire and sat down. King An was placed in the middle of them as they closed their eyes to meditate. After this, they channeled their energy into him in order to heal his wounds.

　　Around midnight, King An finally awoke.

　　Xu Ning sat beside him.

　　King An groaned, “Revered sir?”

　　Xu Ning opened his eyes and softly asked, “Your Royal Highness, how do you feel?”

　　“I’m lucky to be alive.” Replied King An

　　Xu Ning lightly nodded. “He still had some reservations. He did not dare kill your Royal Highness.”

　　“Hhmph!” King An grit his teeth as he said in anger. “Chu Li!”

　　Xu Ning said, “The Head Chief might’ve escaped, which was why he came in pursuit, wanting to use everyone’s lives as a bait to force the Head Chief to appear. Unfortunately, the Head Chief was not here.”

　　“Even if he was here, he wouldn’t come out!” scoffed King An. “All this trouble is because of him!”

　　“Your Royal Highness, you have sustained rather heavy injuries. You need to concentrate on nursing yourself.” Xu Ning said in a low voice, “Let us return to the residence, we can’t make it to the Public House anymore.”

　　“…Alright.” King An knew that if he were to arrive at the Public House in his current state, that he would be the laughing stock of the occasion.

　　Xiao Tieying was already seething in anger. He would not let this opportunity to mock him slip away. Going now could possibly even improve his mood.

　　King An struggled to sit up and concentrated on his breathing to help his channeling. Upon channeling, the color suddenly drained from his face.

　　He glared at Xu Ning. “My martial arts…?”

　　Xu Ning let out a sigh. He said in a low voice, “Your Royal Highness, you will have to restart your cultivation again.”

　　“Who is this person?!” King An roared. Then, he slowly asked through grit teeth, “Who crippled my cultivation?”

　　“Geng Huarong,” said Xu Ning. “One of the disciples of the previous generation from the Amethyst Mountain. He’s proficient in the Heaven’s Thunder Palm, and doesn’t bat an eye even when committing murder.”

　　“Geng… Hua… Rong…” King An paused on every word, as if he wanted to burn the name into his mind. He would never forget it.

　　“Your Royal Highness, you’re still alive. You just need to restart cultivating again. Please be grateful,” said Xu Ning calmly.

　　King An coldly replied, “Revered sir, it’s easy for you to say. If I cultivate from the beginning again, how long do you think it would take me to return to my previous cultivation level?”

　　“With Your Royal Highness’s capabilities, it would be possible to do so within three to five years.” Answered Xu Ning.

　　“Three years! Five?!” King An scoffed and went into a severe coughing fit.

　　Xu Ning rubbed his back and sent a surge of inner energy into him. He gently said, “Your Royal Highness, there is no need to be discouraged, it is just five years. Not to mention, with just a moments work, re-cultivation would increase and thicken your rudimentary base. This setback will help you achieve the Heaven God’s Boundary.”

　　“Its five years, five long years!” King An coldly blurted. “Don’t tell me that Chu Li gets to live for another five years!”

　　Xu Ning calmly replied, “Your Royal Highness, if this is what fate has decided, then let him live for now. Once your Royal Highness’ martial arts cultivation is complete, then you can always deal with him in the future.”

　　“No!” King An shook his head. “I absolutely cannot stand him for another five years!”

　　Xu Ning calmly looked at him.

　　King An said through grit teeth, “Does your temple have any way to recover lost martial art skills?”

　　Xu Ning shook his head.

　　King An asked again, “None of the Major Four Sects are able to do it either?”

　　Xu Ning let out a sigh. “Your Royal Highness, recovering martial art skills is a difficult task. I’m afraid that the only people who can do it right now are the Emperor and the Enlightened Master from the Tempest Temple. Does your Royal Highness want to beg the Emperor for help?”

　　“…I cannot,” said King An slowly.

　　He knew that everything would be over if he asked for the Emperor’s help. Even if he survived, he would be a dead man walking.

　　The Emperor never wanted him to succeed the Emperor’s throne. If he did, then he wouldn’t have agreed to the marriage with the Public House.

　　But he also knew that the Emperor would not involve himself in things as petty as this. As long as he did not kill his own brothers, then the Emperor would merely sit by and observe. Similarly, if he were to ask assistance from the Emperor, then it would mean that he was ready to back down from the competition for the Emperor’s throne.

　　He struggled for so many years to gain the Emperor’s throne. If he could not obtain the title of emperor, then his life would have no meaning. Not to mention, recovering his martial arts skills would be a waste.

　　“In that case, I can only try to cultivate by myself?” Asked King An in a low voice.

　　Xu Ning slowly nodded.

　　King An grunted. “Very well…! Find Chu Li!”

　　“Your Royal Highness, the Head Chief would have hidden somewhere far away by now,” said Xu Nin

　　King An snorted. “Search around, I do not believe that he could really get away. Perhaps he truly is dead…! If he isn’t, then kill him!”

　　He had personally witnessed Geng Huarong’s martial arts skills. Even if Chu Li was better than him overall, he would not have been able to escape Geng Huarong’s palm technique. It was truly a formidable skill.

　　“Alright.” Xu Ning placed his palms together in front of his chest.

　　With that, everyone struggled to get up to sweep the area for Chu Li despite being wounded.