Liu Jinglan's words rang out like a deafening bell.
They echoed through the boundless night.
The crowd in every direction instantly fell silent; one could hear a needle drop.
Not a single person answered.
But before long, a hoarse sneer sounded. "Silver-tongued devil, even if you talked flowers into blooming today, it would be useless. We received immense kindness from someone and have no choice but to repay it. Without that person's help, we would have been killed by the Imperial Court's lackeys years, even decades ago. Now you want to talk to us about the Imperial Court? Too late! Don't let him deceive you!"
"That's right! The Imperial Court slaughtered my entire family, leaving only me to flee for my life. Now that the Northern Barbarians are invading, what does that have to do with me?"
"Liu Jinglan, Lu Chen, neither of you will escape today! Don't hesitate, everyone! Chop them to pieces with a storm of blades and grind them into dust!"
People in every direction began shouting again.
The once-silent crowd was swept along by their momentum and immediately erupted. With a roar, they all dove down.
Even those who had not wanted to charge forward had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow when they saw their companions rushing out.
They knew full well that they had survived until now only because of another's kindness.
Even if that person had betrayed Great Yu, they could not refuse.
As the crowd swooped down and charged wildly toward Lu Chen and the others.
In the distance.
Luo Fengyun, an elder of the Luo family, was racing over with his eldest daughter.
Very soon, Luo Fengyun's pupils contracted as he looked ahead.
"They've made their move. Hurry!"
He sped forward.
At the same time.
He Qianxing, a Hundred Household Commander of the Imperial Guard, had finally caught up with several Squad Leaders.
When they heard the earth-shaking cries of battle, they too were startled.
"Lu Chen has appeared. Get over there! Don't make a move yet—watch my signal!"
They hurried forward.
People were rapidly closing in from other directions as well.
All of Little West Mountain had fallen into turmoil.
Lu Chen's expression was cold as he watched the crowd diving down from every direction amid heaven-shaking battle cries. He sheathed the long saber in his hand and directly—
"Young Hero Lu..."
Liu Jinglan's face changed in alarm.
He thought Lu Chen had given up resisting.
But instead, Lu Chen grabbed the sash at his waist and gave it a fierce pull.
Clang!
A dazzling blood-red gleam appeared in an instant, radiating brilliant light, like nine hundred and ninety-nine blood-red suns emerging at once and illuminating the entire night.
Sun Sword Technique!
Sun's Manifestation!
Boom!
Empowered by his Imperial Sword Body, the formidable sword technique instantly displayed might comparable to First-rate martial arts. The nine hundred and ninety-nine red suns transformed into countless terrifying strands of Sword Qi, dense as a rainstorm, piercing outward in every direction.
Pfft pfft pfft pfft...
Aaaahhh!
Screams rang out as corpses flew backward.
The entire area became a slaughterhouse of Asura. Who knew how many people were pierced through in an instant, exploding on the spot? Severed limbs and broken bodies sprayed everywhere, and scarlet blood dyed even the night red.
"Sun Sword Technique!"
Liu Jinglan's eyes widened, unable to believe it.
Was this his family's inherited Sun Sword Technique?
Had Lu Chen mastered it to perfection?
How was that possible?!
"No, it isn't entirely the Sun Sword Technique. It's stronger and more terrifying than my family's inherited Sun Sword Technique. This... this is First-rate martial arts!"
Liu Jinglan was shaken to the core. A perfected First-rate martial art!
And one incomparably similar to the Sun Sword Technique!
What kind of ultimate move was this?
How could Lu Chen's swordsmanship be so terrifying?
It was more than ten times stronger than his saber technique!
[Merit Points +100]
[+90]
[+110]...
Lines of text rapidly appeared.
The people still charging in from behind immediately stopped, trembling in fear. Their faces filled with terror as they desperately staggered backward.
"Eighth Rank—he's an Eighth Rank expert!"
"How is that possible? How did the Heartless Blade become Eighth Rank? The intelligence was wrong!"
"What a terrifying sword! One sword killed dozens!"
"Soul-Chasing Hand Tan Qing is dead! Iron-Gall Kunlun Zhao Azheng is dead! Silent Zen Master is dead..."
"Retreat! Hurry!"
The crowd was thrown into panic.
Dozens slain with one sword!
Sword Qi falling like rain!
The night itself trembled!
It was terrifying beyond compare!
As the crowd retreated, the powerful and dreadful rain of swords finally faded.
The ground in every direction was riddled with pits and holes, a sight too horrible to behold, with cracks everywhere.
Lu Chen's face remained cold. Holding the blood-dripping flexible sword, he walked forward step by step. The Imperial Sword Body combined with the Sun Sword Technique truly possessed tremendous power!
A second-rate sword technique had been forcibly elevated to First-rate might!
"Anyone still here after ten breaths dies!"
Lu Chen's voice was icy.
Liu Jinglan gripped Cui Qingqing tightly and followed firmly behind Lu Chen.
Everyone was retreating rapidly.
At this moment, no one dared step forward any longer.
Setting aside how terrifying Lu Chen's swordsmanship was.
His Eighth Rank cultivation alone was enough to crush everyone present.
Not a single person here had reached Eighth Rank!
This was where the delay in intelligence showed itself. Less than half a day had passed since Lu Chen killed Yan Henge in daylight. These people had set their ambush in advance and had not received the latest news at all.
If they had known Lu Chen was Eighth Rank, even if they had ten times the courage, they would not have dared come to surround him.
There was a vast heavenly chasm between Eighth Rank and Seventh Rank!
And just as the crowd was retreating rapidly.
Several groups were rushing over from all around.
First came Luo Fengyun of the Luo family, arriving nearby with his eldest daughter, Luo Qiuyu.
When he saw the corpses strewn across the ground and blood falling like rain, his pupils immediately contracted, and his gaze shot toward the area ahead.
"Did he kill all of them? He can kill so many people?"
Luo Fengyun clearly found it hard to believe as well.
Had this brat truly broken through to Eighth Rank?
"No wonder he could badly injure my younger brother. So he relied on his realm to suppress him."
His eldest daughter, Luo Qiuyu, revealed a cold smile. "You like using your realm to bully people, do you? Then I'll give it a try myself later!"
From another direction, He Qianxing and several Squad Leaders, who had been hurrying over, suddenly stopped and looked ahead.
"Fuck me, Eighth Rank? This Lu Chen really reached Eighth Rank!"
He could hardly believe it.
Was this some kind of joke?
When he received Lu Chen's wanted notice and personally set out after him, Lu Chen had only been Sixth Rank.
Yet before he had even reached the halfway point, Lu Chen had become Seventh Rank!
Now that he had finally caught up to Lu Chen, he had become Eighth Rank again!
Even drinking water couldn't be this damn fast!
"My lord, the Luo family is here too. That's Luo Fengyun, the younger brother of the Luo family head."
The Squad Leader beside him suddenly looked toward Luo Fengyun and his group.
"Luo Fengyun must be here for Cui Qingqing as well. He may not personally deal with Lu Chen..." He Qianxing's thoughts churned violently.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, Luo Fengyun shouted. His body moved as if he had shrunk the earth to an inch. He strode over from afar, flickering repeatedly, and in a few flashes appeared not far from Lu Chen.
His eldest daughter, Luo Qiuyu, followed close behind, her expression icy.
Her eyes swept over Lu Chen like cold lightning.
Lu Chen frowned, sensing traces of hostility.
Who was this?
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