Sudden Change, Protecting Lian Yan

Inside the ancient courtyard, the smoke of gunpowder had yet to dissipate, and a great battle was on the verge of erupting.

Behind Yi Yan, eight Xiantian experts who had long been prepared lunged forward simultaneously. Their spiritual power surged, their momentum fierce, as they charged straight at Lian Yan and his two companions. They were all elites of the Tyrant Dragon Army, each one ruthless and acting in perfect coordination; their very first moves were lethal strikes.

Lian Yan's expression remained calm, his figure standing tall and unmoving, save for a faint smile.

The two old men in black behind him immediately stepped forward, rushing to meet the eight experts. Both elders possessed late-stage Xiantian cultivation, and by joining forces, they managed to hold off all eight opponents! Fists whistled and energy rippled, causing the courtyard to erupt with the sounds of violent collisions as bricks and stone fragments flew in every direction.

Lian Yan's gaze turned cold, locking onto the only late-stage Xiantian leader among the nine.

The moment that man lunged forward, Lian Yan's figure suddenly vanished from his original spot.

It was a moment of extreme speed!

Lian Yan held a long blade, striking directly at the man's throat. The late-stage Xiantian expert didn't even have time to react; his pupils constricted as he felt a chill at his throat, and his entire body went limp, collapsing to the ground with no breath left.

One strike, and the enemy commander was slain!

Yi Yan's expression changed drastically: "Such incredible speed!"

Just at that moment—

Swoosh—!!!

A sharp, ear-piercing whistle suddenly tore through the sky!

A silver needle, as thin as a cow's hair, tore through the air with speed so great it was invisible to the naked eye, aiming straight for the center of Lian Yan's brow!

Lian Yan's heart hammered, and he jerked his head to the side to dodge.

The silver needle grazed his cheek, leaving a shallow trail of blood that instantly welled up and began to trickle down.

The chaotic battle in the courtyard came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone subconsciously stopped and looked up toward the top of the courtyard wall.

A figure stood silently atop the wall.

The man wore an incredibly flamboyant pink robe and appeared to be middle-aged, with a gentle smile playing on his lips, yet his eyes were cold enough to chill the bone. The aura around him was restrained, yet it invisibly pressed down on the hearts of every Xiantian expert present.

"Yi Qingyu!"

Lian Yan spat out these three words through gritted teeth, his eyes instantly erupting with monstrous hatred and killing intent!

One hundred and sixty years ago, it was this very man, dressed in such bizarre attire, who had fought him in a great battle, causing his wife and daughter to die a miserable death. If not for the timely arrival of the Eastern Suppressing Prince Mansion's forces, he would have long since turned to dust. This century-old grudge was etched into his very bones!

Yi Qingyu leaped lightly into the courtyard, his gaze landing on the bloodstain on Lian Yan's cheek as he chuckled:

"Lian Yan, you still have the same flair as you did back then. I was a fraction of a second too slow, and you managed to kill one of my late-stage Xiantian experts. However..."

His tone turned abruptly frigid, and the pressure of his peak Xiantian cultivation exploded outward:

"This time, you won't be getting away."

Yi Yan hurriedly bowed: "Father!"

So, this middle-aged man in pink was the true leader of the Tyrant Dragon Army for this mission—Yi Qingyu, the former commander of the Tyrant Dragon Army and father of Yi Yan, whose cultivation was unfathomable, having already reached the peak of the Xiantian realm.

Lian Yan's spiritual power surged wildly, his century-old hatred soaring to the heavens.

"Yi Qingyu, today, either you die or I perish!"

Seeing this, the smile on Yi Qingyu's face grew colder, and he quietly raised both hands.

"It's been a century, and you are still so reckless. Then let me let you taste my signature technique once more—"

He flung his hands upward, his sleeves dancing like butterfly wings.

"Ten Thousand Arrows Piercing the Heart!"

In an instant, countless white silver needles, as thin as cow hair and shimmering with a ghostly blue poison, shot out from his sleeves. They were dense and overwhelming, blanketing the sky and shrouding Lian Yan and the two old men behind him!

The rain of needles was so thick there was no way to dodge!

"Oh no!"

Lian Yan's expression shifted violently as he hurriedly channeled all his Xiantian internal energy to protect his body, but the needles were too fast and too dense; several blood spots instantly appeared on his body.

The two black-clad elders let out continuous screams before collapsing to the ground, struck by the needles.

The lethal technique driven by Yi Qingyu's peak Xiantian cultivation was far more powerful than anyone could have imagined!

In the shadows of the courtyard wall.

Qin Yu watched with his fists clenched so tight his eyes were on the verge of splitting.

Lian Yan was the Grandpa Lian who had watched him grow up since he was a child and treated him like his own grandson!

"Grandpa Lian is in danger!"

Qin Yu could no longer hold back, no longer hiding even a shred of his aura.

He wore a black mask, and as he gripped his hands, two crimson spiritual longswords and short swords were unsheathed simultaneously, flames of spiritual light soaring into the sky!

"Meteor Piercing the Void—!"

A cold shout rang out across the entire field.

Qin Yu's figure descended like a falling meteor, charging directly into the fray and blocking the path in front of Lian Yan!

Crossing his twin swords, his spiritual power surged, transforming into a flaming light shield before him!

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding—!

Countless poison needles struck the light shield, falling to the ground one after another, only to be incinerated by the crimson fire energy.

"Clang—!"

Yi Qingyu seized the momentum to strike with a palm; Qin Yu took the blow head-on, the deafening roar ringing in their ears.

Yi Qingyu was forced back three steps, a flash of shock in his eyes: "Such a powerful weapon! Who are you?!"

Beneath his mask, Qin Yu's voice was bone-chillingly cold:

"Heavenly Net, Meteor."

Before the words had even faded, Qin Yu stopped holding back.

His twin swords danced in unison, crimson flames sweeping across the entire field. His moves were ruthless and his speed peerless—this was the assassination swordsmanship he had honed during his three months of training in Heavenly Net!

"Protect Grandpa Lian!"

He roared inwardly, his sword techniques wide and sweeping, pressing directly against Yi Qingyu.

Yi Qingyu grew more alarmed the longer they fought.

The masked man before him was only at the late Xiantian stage, yet his physical body was formidable, his swordsmanship fierce, and he wielded two weapons of immense power. His combat strength was simply inconceivable!

Lian Yan stood behind Qin Yu, stabilizing his injuries, his eyes filled with immense gratitude as he immediately joined the fray once more.

The situation reversed in an instant.

Qin Yu struck down a Xiantian expert of the Tyrant Dragon Army with a single sword stroke; wherever the crimson sword light passed, no one could stop him.

Yi Qingyu was tightly entangled by him, unable to even look after himself, let alone command his subordinates.

Zhu San, that fat old man, was scared out of his wits. He clutched the jade box containing the Heaven-Reaching Chart and tried to flee, but was struck down on the spot by a streak of Sword Qi from Qin Yu.

Beside the carcass of the Saber-Toothed Tiger, blood flowed like a river.

Yi Yan was struck in the chest by a palm from Lian Yan, coughing up blood as he collapsed to the ground.

All eight experts of the Tyrant Dragon Army were slaughtered.

In the end, only Yi Qingyu remained in the courtyard, surrounded by Qin Yu, Lian Yan, and the two old men.

Yi Qingyu looked at the corpses littering the ground, his face deathly pale, his eyes filled with despair.

Qin Yu stepped forward slowly, his crimson longsword pointing directly at his throat.

"Xiang Guang's dog, this is the end of the line."

A flash of cold sword light streaked by.

Yi Qingyu's eyes widened as he collapsed, dead on the spot.

With this, the entire Tyrant Dragon Army sent by Xiang Guang was wiped out, and Zhu San's men were also slaughtered to the last.

Within the ancient courtyard, silence finally returned.

Lian Yan clutched his wound, looking at the mysterious masked assassin "Meteor" before him, his eyes filled with both gratitude and confusion.

"Many thanks for your intervention, Excellency. I wonder what your connection is to my Qin family..."

Qin Yu paused slightly and removed his mask. His voice was clear and bright.

"Grandpa Lian, it's me, Xiao Yu."

Lian Yan's body trembled. "Xiao Yu! It's you! To think you possess such strength—good, very good, hahaha..."

"Grandpa Lian, please recover your injuries first. Quickly, take this Injury Recovery Pill." As he spoke, he handed a white pill to Lian Yan.

"Very well, then I shall not stand on ceremony." He immediately swallowed the Injury Recovery Pill and began to circulate his energy to heal his wounds.

Seeing this, Qin Yu let out a long breath, his entire body relaxing significantly. It's a good thing Grandpa Lian is alright; otherwise, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

His gaze shifted, landing on the five-meter-long carcass of the Saber-Toothed Tiger, then moved to the multicolored jade box beside the fat old man's corpse.

Inside that jade box was the other piece—the Three Heaven-Reaching Charts.

Qin Yu bent down, picked up the jade box, and held it in his hand.

A top-secret transaction involving the Heaven-Reaching Chart and a Xiantian demonic beast had concluded with the total annihilation of both parties.

And the true winner of this great battle stood quietly in the pool of blood, draped in the night, his twin swords glowing crimson.

He was—the Heavenly Net assassin—Meteor, and also the rising star of the Eastern Suppressing Prince Mansion—the Third Prince, Qin Yu.