At arm's length, powerful enemies surrounded him on all sides!
Zhou You stood on the Azure Cloud Path. Seeing that the opposing honor guard remained still, he could only make out the gentleman seated in the carriage, his figure hidden behind layer upon layer of gauze curtains.
The eight attendants charging toward him made no effort to conceal their killing intent. Their long weapons formed a horizontal barricade, locking down Zhou You's neck, head, waist, and back.
Two of them even reached for Zhou You's shoulders while kicking at the backs of his knees, trying to force him to kneel and crawl from the Azure Cloud Path all the way to the Tail-following Path.
If that happened, it would be no less than an intolerable humiliation to Zhou You. Once word spread within and beyond the palace, he would never be able to hold his head high again, becoming the laughingstock of the world.
"Is there such... discourtesy?"
Zhou You pressed one hand against his sword hilt and shifted half a step. Yet that tiny half-step provoked an intense reaction from all eight Mid-stage Strong Martial fighters.
"Raging Thunder Waves Void Strike!"
"Demon Suppressing Cross Hands!"
"By Heaven's decree, inspect and punish! Imperial command, divine tablet! The authority to behead evil—kill!"
"Chongming Eye-Stealing Kill!"
"..."
Swish! Swish! Swish!
From the eight directions—the four cardinal points and four corners—ultimate attacks struck at once, suppressing Zhou You's resistance.
These men apparently knew something of Zhou You's defenses. They knew that even eight of them unleashing killing moves together would not take his life, so they attacked without restraint.
The only rule for entering the palace had been that weapons were forbidden. No one had said armor was prohibited, much less inner armor!
The Nine Tripods Golden Body and Thirty-Six Black Cloud Armors