The upheaval happened too quickly. One moment, the two had been warmly reminiscing; the next, they had suddenly turned hostile. Sunflower Ancestor was already incredibly fast, and the instant he made his move, his hand was pressing down on a vital acupoint on Song Qingshu's back.
Wang Ziteng and Xue Ji felt their hearts turn cold. It was over. If anything happened to Song Qingshu, their two families would surely be purged by Prince of Northern Tranquility afterward, leaving them without even a burial place. They wanted to save him, but how could they possibly interfere with a Grandmaster's sneak attack?
Seeing that his palm was about to strike Song Qingshu's back, Sunflower Ancestor was overjoyed. But in the next instant, his smile froze, because he realized he had struck nothing but an afterimage.
A peerlessly sharp sword qi immediately counterattacked. He hurriedly pushed his movement technique to the limit and retreated seven steps in succession before finally stopping. Looking at the broken half of the Embroidered Needle in his hand, his face darkened. "You knew from the beginning that I would ambush you?"
Song Qingshu sighed. "I know your temperament better than anyone, Ancestor. How could I not be cautious? Besides, if you truly wanted to join forces with me, you could have taken down Prince of Northern Tranquility from the start to show your sincerity. Why make an unnecessary detour to come stand beside me? What I cannot understand is this: we are old acquaintances, after all. Why would you rather risk everything than break with me?"
Sunflower Ancestor casually tossed the broken needle aside and straightened his back. The lewd, gloomy air around him vanished, replaced by an imposing righteousness, as though he were the emperor of the mortal world. He said, "You should know that I