Chapter 26 – A Woman’s Cunning Is Always Forced by Men

The man chasing after Gong Xiurong saw the Emperor and his entourage flee. With a burst of power, he soared into the air and swung his sword toward Gong Xiurong’s group.

A terrifying wave of sword energy erupted from the blade. Gong Xiurong instinctively reached out to pull Mu Nanjin behind him, intending to shield her—but she stepped forward instead, raising her hand to meet the attack head-on.

At that very instant, a shimmering barrier of runic light materialized before them. The sword energy slammed against it with a deafening boom.

Gong Xiurong’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Was this girl really just an ordinary little lass? A mere Ninth-Rank Jinyiwei—an Ordinary Jinyiwei—had just blocked an attack more powerful than one from a Martial King.”

Even the man pursuing Gong Xiurong showed a flicker of surprise in his otherwise cold eyes.

Mu Nanjin gathered her spiritual energy, forming a longsword of dazzling white light. She leapt forward, thrusting it straight at her opponent.

The moment their blades clashed, it was as if a storm had descended upon the forest. A violent gale erupted, and the two figures became blurs of lightning streaking through the air, locked in a fierce, evenly matched duel.

The thunderous clash of their strikes sent chills down the spine of anyone who heard it.

Gong Xiurong suddenly remembered Mu Nanjin’s boast: “I can knock down ten Grandmasters with a single punch.” Back then, he had thought she was joking. How foolish I was.

High above, Mu Nanjin and her opponent were evenly matched in both swordsmanship and cultivation. Neither could gain the upper hand, yet the shockwaves of their strikes shredded everything below. Within moments, the lush forest beneath them was flattened into a wasteland.

Thankfully, with Feng Sinan shielding the Emperor and the others, they narrowly avoided the deadly sword energy. Even so, they were utterly terrified by the destructive power surrounding them. Explosions and flying debris filled the air.

The Empress Dowager was half scared to death. Had it not been for the Jade Beauty Pill she had taken—restoring her vitality and keeping her body as strong as a young woman’s—she would have slowed everyone down.

Meanwhile, Mu Nanjin was genuinely surprised that her opponent could hold her to a standstill. This was the first time since arriving in this world that she had encountered someone so powerful.

But she wasn’t a warlike person. Thoughts like I must win at all costs or I’ll fight for three days and nights if I have to didn’t exist in her mind.

Realizing the battle would drag on endlessly, she swiftly pulled a pill from her waist pouch and hurled it at him.

The man immediately held his breath, slicing the pill in midair to reduce it to powder.

But that wasn’t the end. As the powder fell upon him, his robes disintegrated into ashes, his vision blurred, and the space around him distorted—Mu Nanjin’s figure splitting into a hundred identical copies.

Realizing something was amiss, the man cursed coldly, “Despicable!” before turning to flee.

Mu Nanjin let out a soft, mocking snort. “A woman’s cunning is always forced by men.”

Landing lightly, she moved to help Gong Xiurong to his feet.

At that moment, Feng Sinan returned with the Emperor and the others, retracing their steps to the place they had fled earlier. Having evaded the chaotic sword energy, they were now safe but visibly shaken.

Seeing them approach, Mu Nanjin quickly pretended to stumble weakly into Gong Xiurong’s arms, feigning injury.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Gong Xiurong asked anxiously, holding her arm.

Mu Nanjin gave a faint, weak smile and raised her hand toward Feng Sinan and the Emperor. “Your Majesty… you’re back.”

The Emperor stepped forward cautiously, scanning the surroundings. “Where is the assassin?”

Gong Xiurong opened his mouth to answer, but Mu Nanjin pinched him hard at the waist. Then she said aloud, “We joined forces with a mysterious expert who suddenly appeared, and together we drove the assassin away.”

Gong Xiurong: “…”

So she doesn’t want anyone knowing how powerful she really is.

Feng Sinan glanced around warily. “And where is this ‘expert’ now?”

Gong Xiurong replied, “He chased after the assassin.”

The Emperor asked, “Do you know who he was?”

“He was masked. I couldn’t tell.”

Feng Sinan didn’t believe a word of it.

【Seriously, can’t any of you see that I’m injured? Even if I’m only pretending, you could at least show a little concern! If I hadn’t scared off that assassin, would any of you still be standing here chatting right now?】

Everyone turned to look at Mu Nanjin, who was still leaning against Gong Xiurong.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t tell she was faking—it was just that she was terrible at pretending. Right now, she looked less like someone gravely wounded and more like someone who simply hadn’t slept enough.