What is going on here?
Lan Shang tightly gripped the warhorse beneath him. He could feel that, if he didn’t use brute force to stabilize it, the horse might just throw him off completely.
But clearly, at this mont, Tian Heng had completely fallen into a disadvantageous position.
He had lost his weapon, his warhorse was gone, and during their earlier exchanges, Lan Shang had already figured out his opponent’s background.
That boy’s strength wasn’t bad; indeed, he lived up to the title of Duke. Besides his blood energy and power approaching that of King Level, his combat techniques were decent as well. In rely a few years, his skills had surged dramatically, and the way he stabilized those techniques was impressive—comndable, in Lan Shang’s view.
But alas, compared to his own rigorous tempering from his past life, that wasn’t even remotely close.
Their blood energy and power were roughly at the sa level, and neither of their bloodlines were particularly unique, but in terms of technique, one was at a beginner’s entry-level, while the other was at a master-level. There was no need to even discuss the outco—Lan Shang was confident that in another bout, his opponent wouldn’t be able to escape intact.
But why..... why did his opponent suddenly exhibit such an aura?
"You’re a swordsman?" Lan Shang calmly asked.
He had certainly seen this kind of aura before. During his era, there had been a few top-tier Sword Masters. For the sake of honing his own skills, he had once lowered his status to spar with and study under those mortal Sword Masters.
This aura was unmistakable—exactly that of a top-tier Sword Master’s temperant, and yet it was even purer. That purity was sothing he had never encountered before. In that fleeting mont, he even felt as though the man before him *was* a sword—a sword that could sever through anything.
"I wasn’t before..." Tian Heng admitted with surprising candor. "But now, I am. Honestly, I misjudged your strength; you’re far more formidable than I imagined. If not for this sudden surge of power, even if I tried the most conservative approach, I’d likely still run into major trouble. I can only say..... Jiangnan is blessed by the heavens!"
As his voice fell, sword intent erupted skyward like a pillar of azure energy, piercing through the heavens and splitting the sky into a gaping hole. In that instant, the world seed as if it had been cleaved apart. The area surrounding Tian Heng—from the azure heavens above to the Nine Abysses below—was devoid of even the faintest impurity!
From afar, Princess Chang sucked in a breath of cold air as she witnessed the scene!
When Lan Shang had struck earlier, even she was astonished. The opponent’s skill was honed to near perfection, tempered through countless trials—it was close to embodying Dao itself. She admitted that, when it ca purely to technique, she was no match for him. But in a duel to the death, she would have a fifty-percent chance.
Facing the current Tian Heng, however, she now harbored not the slightest confidence.
She and her brother shared the sa path of the king’s rule—a straightforward, unwavering approach. Yet confronted with sword intent this pure, for the first ti, she felt the urge to retreat.
"Fall back!!"
Lan Shang didn’t hesitate; from the mont the opposing sword intent fully erupted, he knew he couldn’t win. This man’s power had transcended the realm of technique. That was..... Dao!
But alas, given the distance between them, escape was no longer an option.
Tian Heng sneered, drawing his longsword. In an instant, all the sword intent compressed, as if vanishing completely. Yet, that only made Lan Shang’s scalp crawl with fear.
That terrifying sword intent was controlled so effortlessly—he could nearly discern, in an instant, that the horrifying power had been entirely condensed into the sword itself. The mont Tian Heng unsheathed the blade, it would erupt in an apocalyptic surge, tearing heavens and earth apart!
Desperate to flee, Lan Shang even found himself unable to feel safe with the Imperial Army behind him.
But no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t move an inch. He could only watch helplessly as Tian Heng’s hand went through the motions—from grasping the sword, unsheathing it, and striking—to the final mont when he saw an incomparably transcendent sword qi that surpassed all creation.
The surrounding soldiers held their breath in that instant, frozen with terror, deadlocked in awe. Both armies halted montarily as they witnessed the spectacle unfold.
At this mont, Tian Heng’s power had exceeded the limits of armies. In other words, if he so desired, Tian Heng alone could face an army and slay its leader.
Even feats that King Level experts normally couldn’t achieve, Tian Heng had now accomplished in this single mont!
"This power...!"
The world-shaking sword intent vanished as quickly as it had co, yet the forr dominator Lan Shang had already been reduced to a headless corpse. From his dazed eyes, it was evident he hadn’t even seen the mont Tian Heng struck.
Princess Chang and the King of Qin hadn’t seen it either. His movents weren’t particularly fast, yet the act of unsheathing and striking with the sword was so fluid and seamless—it was as if it was all one cohesive motion. Even by the ti he sheathed the blade again, the two spectators hadn’t fully reacted.
"This swordsmanship isn’t sothing he could achieve." Princess Chang asserted decisively. "It’s impossible for anyone to reach such mastery in a short amount of ti. Swordsmanship this close to Dao... unless it’s soone with an extraordinary gift, forged over ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years, or even longer, through painstaking refinent—no, even then, it’s impossible..."
The King of Qin nodded. He wasn’t a Sword Master himself, but his experience sufficed to recognize that this level of swordsmanship was beyond human capacity. Or rather, beyond the capacity of any living being.
Perhaps this was...
"Dao Fruit?" The two almost simultaneously arrived at the conclusion.
"Chen Qing truly has an astounding stroke of luck..." Princess Chang chuckled lightly, then started walking toward the battlefield step by step.
The King of Qin froze montarily, frowning as he asked, "What are you doing?"
"That technique—he can’t use it a second ti." Princess Chang’s tone was casual, as though unconcerned about any danger.
The King of Qin could only look on with a tinge of admiration. This was perhaps what he lacked—this sense of resolve. In terms of scheming and careful deliberation, he considered himself unmatched, yet to act as boldly as she did, he could never asure up.
"Soldiers!"
At this mont, Tian Heng took a deep breath, gathering the remnants of sword intent. He closed his eyes; his body could no longer move.
As Princess Chang had foreseen, that earlier power wasn’t sothing he could wield so casually.
Even with the Divine Path Sect forcing his body to draw upon it, the strain it placed on him was overwhelming—his inner strength was utterly depleted, down to the last drop. He could feel that if he made even the slightest movent, he would crumple like lifeless clay, incapable of even breathing with force.
Fortunately, the deputy general beside him had a sharp mind, loudly proclaiming, "Lan Shang acted in defiance of order, sowing discord. We trust that all of you remain loyal to the Imperial Court, loyal to the Human Race. If you return to the barracks now and lay down your arms, we will overlook this transgression. You will still be our allies, still be our kin!"
This speech had been prepared ahead of ti. Knowing the pride of the Imperial Army, Lan Shang’s death was bound to stir unrest among the scheming deputy generals. By allowing them to return to the barracks instead of demanding unconditional surrender, they mitigated resistance. For the soldiers, the act of retreating wasn’t equal to defeat, thus safeguarding their reputation and future security.
Indeed, as those words fell, the previously aggressive Imperial Army soldiers exchanged hesitant looks, mingled with apprehension...
"Don’t listen to them......"
The opposing deputies, panicked, tried to rebut. Yet they were cut off by Tian Heng’s deputy yelling, "At this point, do you still want to sacrifice soldiers’ lives for your own ambitions? My general has effortlessly slain Lan Shang and is refraining from pursuing victory, offering a warning instead. Isn’t that enough sincerity?"
This...
The ordinary soldiers of the Imperial Army quickly lost their nerve. After all, in the century-long history of their army, the commander perishing during a war was unheard of. The blow to their morale was imnse, coupled with the goodwill Tian Heng showed and Lan Shang’s questionable behavior prior to his fall. In that mont, most soldiers were already devoid of fighting spirit.
The deputy generals shifted their gazes, their eyes flickering with joy as the enemy’s soldiers began falling into disorder, displaying sharp drops in morale. It surely looked like...
"Well said!"
At that very mont, a voice that sent chills down the spines of all the deputy generals—including Tian Heng—resounded across the battlefield!
Princess Chang?!
Tian Heng, suppressing his intense physical discomfort, forced his eyes open, struggling to turn and stare at that lone figure.
According to information from the Mountain God, Princess Chang shouldn’t even be capable of flying over here at this speed. What on earth..... was happening?
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