I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 457: Magnificent King Jiangshan

BOOM—Yu Ruoyun’s fist burst a Demon Clan spy, and the shockwave instantly sent the surrounding demons flying. Then, Wang Lan’s figure transformed into afterimages, and every Demon General sent flying by the initial blast was once again destroyed by Yu Ruoyun.

The brutal scene made even Wang Lan’s heart pound, let alone the demons.

Gradually, Wang Lan held back. He realized that these demons, though powerful, were no match for Yu Ruoyun; there was no need for him to intervene. Moreover, he sensed something was off about Yu Ruoyun’s state—a dangerous aura.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Good heavens... what... what kind of woman is this?" Xu Xiangwen, standing by a window on the second or third floor, couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Yu Ruoyun moved like lightning, each strike claiming a demon’s life. The Demon Clan spies died horrific deaths, all blown to pieces by a single punch.

This was only because they were in a hospital, and Yu Ruoyun was holding back. Had it been in the wilderness or a Different Dimensional Space, a barrage of her Star Martial Skills would have obliterated them, leaving no trace.

Xu Xiangwen had always believed Wang Lan was incredibly formidable. After all, Wang Lan had been crowned the strongest high school student in Jiang Province’s history upon graduation. Hearing the legends surrounding Wang Lan over the years, Xu Xiangwen was firmly convinced that no one his age could compare. Therefore, being overshadowed by Wang Lan was no disgrace.

He knew this woman was Yu Ruoyun, the peerless princess hailed as a once-in-a-millennium prodigy. Yet, he thought her genius, however great, was still comparable to that of humans—unlike Wang Lan, who seemed beyond human classification.

But the scene unfolding before him shattered his understanding. Yu Ruoyun’s power far exceeded his imagination. He had seen Star Sea Realm cultivators before, but he had never witnessed one dispatching other Star Sea Realm experts as easily as cracking walnuts, one blow per kill.

"Ruoyun is the only person I know who has kept pace with Wang Lan without being left behind. A year ago, Wang Lan admitted he wasn’t confident he could defeat Ruoyun. A year later, he still says the same. Only Ruoyun can match Wang Lan in both talent and strength." Only at moments like these did Jiang Xinyu betray her envy and apprehension towards Yu Ruoyun.

BOOM— A series of explosions erupted, and of the once-menacing Demon Clan spies, only a single one remained.

The spy looked utterly bewildered, staring at his comrades who had been reduced to green slime on either side of him. The next moment, it made a bizarre gesture.

One of its fingers transformed into a sharp bone spike, pressing it against its own chest—the location of a Demon Clan’s energy gem, analogous to a human’s heart.

What does it mean for a demon to make such a self-harming, threatening gesture in front of humans? Yu Ruoyun couldn’t comprehend it. She paused, looking at the demon before her with puzzlement.

"Wang Lan, stop that madwoman, or I’ll kill myself right in front of you!" The demon’s voice was surprisingly feminine. Hearing this, Wang Lan almost lost his composure.

"Don’t you want to know what the Yu Family is secretly up to? Do you really think their research into Eternal Regeneration Cells is for some mere Awakening Potion? They’re trying to create gods! They want to restore the imperial dynasty!"

"You’re... Su Ru? No, you must be the demon who replaced Su Ru..."

"Yu Ruoyun is trying to silence me by killing me! The Yu Family plans to overthrow Jade Country! Do you want to know the details? I can tell you everything."

Wang Lan glanced at Yu Ruoyun’s back, then at the distant Su Ru, and sighed softly. "Ruoyun, kill it."

BOOM— Before the demon impersonating Su Ru could even react, Yu Ruoyun’s attack landed. Instantly, countless cracks spiderwebbed across its demonic form. With a final bang, it exploded in mid-air like a popped balloon.

"Their appearance proves that Yu Ruohuai’s death had nothing to do with me. Can the Yu Family finally back off now?" Wang Lan asked, watching Yu Ruoyun turn towards him.

"Yes, they should stop now."

"But my aunt’s stabbing... it still can’t be proven that the Yu Family isn’t involved. Even with demons stirring up trouble, the Yu Family still has a motive."

"You still don’t trust me?"

"You should know the prerequisite for trust."

"Honesty!"

A light breeze swept through, carrying the faint sounds of commotion from the distance. Reinforcements from the Tianjian Bureau and the Yu Family had arrived.

"Let’s go. We need to find a place to talk."

The Demon Clan spies were dead, and reinforcements had arrived; his aunt should be safe now. After a moment’s hesitation, Wang Lan’s figure flickered, and he followed Yu Ruoyun.

They didn’t go far, finding a secluded hospital rooftop. Yu Ruoyun walked to the railing, facing the breeze and gazing at the distant city lights.

"I knew nothing about that incident. If it weren’t for your call, not just me, but possibly even my father wouldn’t have known. It all started five years ago.

"Five years ago, the Capital experienced a once-in-a-century downpour that nearly flooded half the city. After the torrential rain, a corner of the East Suburb Imperial Mausoleum collapsed. As it’s the Yu Family’s ancestral tomb, we naturally had to carry out repairs.

"The Clan Court was responsible for the mausoleum’s restoration. While working on King Jiangshan’s tomb, they accidentally discovered his coffin was empty. At the time, the Clan Court assumed tomb raiders had desecrated the imperial tomb. You can imagine how furious we were.

"I think I remember seeing that on the news. There was a major crackdown on tomb raiders around then; nearly a thousand were imprisoned within a year. Wait, isn’t the East Suburb Imperial Mausoleum for emperors? Only emperors can be buried in an imperial mausoleum. So, King Jiangshan was...?"

"It’s because King Jiangshan was truly exceptional. He lived through the eras of Emperor De, Emperor Wu, and Emperor Rong. All historical records about him were erased. Aside from the Yu Family, very few people know of his existence.

"King Jiangshan was Emperor De’s eighth son. Exceptionally intelligent and gifted from a young age, he awakened his Star Martial Art at eight and achieved invincibility by thirty. His invincibility wasn’t like that of the Five Emperors; it was absolute.

"Legends from that time even claimed King Jiangshan had reached a demigod-like state, needing only one more half-step to achieve true immortality."

"Immortality?" Wang Lan asked, astonished.

"Yes, immortality! Back then, King Jiangshan’s power had indeed reached a divine level. Unfortunately, he was born just after the Demon Clan had been repelled. By the time they invaded again, he had already passed away. It was his greatest regret that he couldn’t leave a significant mark in the war against the Demon Clan.

"However, the Yu Family records tell another story. Six hundred years ago, the Northern Barbarians suffered a once-in-a-century snow disaster that froze countless cattle and sheep. Desperate, they launched a full-scale invasion. Two hundred thousand soldiers of their Star Martial Army threatened our northern borders while the Great Jade Dynasty was still blissfully unaware, indulging in peace and revelry.

"By the time war reports from the northern border reached the Capital, the Northern Barbarians had advanced to within three hundred miles of it. The entire Great Jade Dynasty was thrown into chaos. On that day, King Jiangshan, who had been in seclusion for many years, emerged.

"He simply told Emperor Wu he wished to ’test his sword.’ Alone, with his sword, he left the Capital and headed northwest. That night, his Sword Qi blazed for thirty thousand miles; a single sword’s gleam brought a chill to nineteen provinces.

"The next day, King Jiangshan returned, his white robes immaculate as snow. He then re-entered reclusive cultivation, not emerging again until his death.

"Also on the following day, new reports arrived from the front lines: the Northern Barbarians’ entire two-hundred-thousand-strong Star Martial Army had been annihilated overnight. Even their four State Preceptors, all at the Star Soul Realm, had been beheaded.

"King Jiangshan, with a single sword, had slaughtered the Northern Barbarians’ two-hundred-thousand-strong Star Martial Army. The accompanying eight hundred thousand auxiliary troops dared not linger in Jade Country for another moment. They even dutifully returned the plundered supplies and money before retreating.

"Two hundred thousand Star Martial Army soldiers? Isn’t that an exaggeration?" Wang Lan asked, shocked. He looked at Yu Ruoyun’s back, inhaling the faint fragrance from her hair.

"It’s no exaggeration. In that battle, the Northern Barbarians achieved victory through surprise. They attacked towards the end of the year, when no one believed they would dare to launch an invasion. Moreover, their forces were highly mobile, their vanguard striking directly towards the Capital.

"And indeed, the Northern Barbarians likely wouldn’t have survived that winter otherwise. The heavy snowfall was sudden; overnight, ninety percent of their livestock froze to death. Historical records also state that on the Northern Barbarian steppes, barely one in ten people survived, most starving to death. Horrifying incidents of cannibalism were rampant.

"The legend of that battle was officially attributed to Jade Country’s early preparedness, stating the Northern Barbarians retreated upon seeing no opportunity. It was for this victory that Emperor Wu earned his ’Martial’ designation. However, only the direct descendants of the Yu Family knew that among their ancestors, there was once a figure akin to a deity.

"That is why King Jiangshan was permitted to be buried in the imperial mausoleum."

"So, what does all this have to do with the Yu Family’s secret? Don’t tell me King Jiangshan is still alive? That he achieved immortality, and that’s why your family is researching it?" Wang Lan asked with a slight chuckle.

It’s not entirely impossible, Wang Lan thought. But if King Jiangshan, this demigod, were still alive, how would one explain the Benevolent Emperor’s later abdication and the end of the imperial era?

"King Jiangshan is... indeed still alive," Yu Ruoyun said, her voice tinged with bitterness. "Later, the Clan Court determined that the imperial tomb showed no signs of robbery. The items inside the burial chamber were damaged when that section of the mausoleum collapsed.

"Afterward, we found a clue inside King Jiangshan’s coffin: a coded message he left behind, written in a script decipherable only by those with Yu Family’s direct lineage. It essentially said that in his later years, King Jiangshan did indeed seek to break through to the Immortal Realm and ascend the Immortal Platform.

"But upon finding an Immortal Platform, he discovered the path to immortality was severed and the platform itself ruined. Although other Immortal Platforms existed in the world, King Jiangshan’s own lifespan was drawing to a close.

"Achieving immortality was the driving force behind King Jiangshan’s lifelong cultivation. Naturally, he couldn’t accept this reality. He exhausted his Cultivation Level and spared no effort to glimpse a thread of destiny. This premonition revealed that a divine elixir capable of extending his life would appear several centuries later.

"But that was hundreds of years in the future. How could he possibly survive that long?

"Fortunately, fate provides a way when all seems lost. One winter solstice in Qingcheng, a green luan and a fire phoenix cried out in unison, and flowers bloomed out of season—an extraordinary omen signaling the appearance of a great treasure. People were dispatched to search, and they found a piece of Raw Jade within an unprocessed geode. This Raw Jade contained Vitality Essence. King Jiangshan sealed himself within this Vitality Essence, entering a state of suspended animation.

"Upon deciphering this final testament, the Clan Court was overjoyed. They secretly journeyed to Qingcheng Mountain and successfully located the Raw Jade. Inside, King Jiangshan remained, perfectly preserved and as if still alive.

"However, King Jiangshan had left explicit instructions: the Raw Jade was not to be opened unless the life-extending divine elixir appeared. His natural lifespan had already been reached; if the seal on the Raw Jade were broken prematurely, he would perish within ten breaths."

Hearing Yu Ruoyun’s account, Wang Lan was utterly flabbergasted.

So, there really was a monster who had lived for hundreds of years without dying?

"We’ve analyzed this Raw Jade. It has the effect of drastically lowering metabolism. Humans don’t naturally possess the ability to hibernate, but within the Raw Jade, metabolic processes slow to a near standstill. So, forget six hundred years—even six thousand years of suspension wouldn’t be an issue."