The cultivators' auras collided with a thunderous boom. The pressure of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators surged like a tsunami, sweeping across the entire Imperial Garden in an instant.
The civil officials, military officers, guards, and palace maids had never witnessed such a terrifying clash of immortal arts. Their faces drained of color, and they nearly lost their wits. Crying and screaming, they scrambled away in every direction, desperate to get as far as possible from this place of certain death. In moments, the vast Imperial Garden had emptied completely, leaving only the two sides standing in a tense standoff.
Yun Ce glanced indifferently at the banquet strewn with debris and the ornate pavilions, then casually swept a hand through the air.
Hum—
A gleaming white barrier spread with a thunderous roar. Spiritual patterns flowed across it as it sealed off the entire area, cutting off all sounds, auras, and fluctuations of spiritual energy between the inside and outside.
"Xiang Yang."
Yun Ce lifted his eyes to the sky, his voice calm and even. "There's no point in talking when we have nothing to say to each other. This mortal palace is too fragile; there's no need for it to suffer collateral damage. Come with me and fight in the sky. What do you say?"
He spoke with righteous conviction, but he had already made his calculations. If they fought in the Imperial Garden, the destructive power of Nascent Soul experts would reduce the entire palace to ruins. The Qin Family would take over sooner or later, and rebuilding it afterward would be a hassle. Better to draw the fight into the sky and finish things cleanly.
Xiang Yang's face darkened until it looked ready to drip.
How could he not see that Yun Ce was leading him by the nose? But his opponent was clearly somewhat stronger than him, with unfathomable power. He had no way out. If he refused, he would appear cowardly and indifferent to the lives of mortals, leaving a flaw in his Dao heart.
"Hmph! Spare me your honeyed words! As if I would fear you!"
Xiang Yang roared. His black robe snapped as he shot straight into the heavens like a black arrow.
Yun Ce's white robes fluttered as he ascended with unhurried steps, close behind him.
One figure black, the other white, they shot into the clouds in an instant and came to a stop above them, overlooking the vast landscape.
Below, Qin De, Feng Yuzi, and Qin Yu all looked up, their excitement impossible to contain.
They had seen plenty of Golden Core cultivators, but a life-and-death battle between Nascent Soul experts was something they had never witnessed before!
On the other side, Xiang Guang's legs had already gone weak with fright.
Qin Yu blurred forward like a falcon swooping on a rabbit, pressing Xiang Guang firmly to the ground with one hand. Layers of spiritual energy sealed him in place, leaving him unable to move at all.
"Let go of me! The old ancestor will kill you all!" Xiang Guang shouted, all bluster and no bite, his body trembling uncontrollably.
At that moment, only one sliver of hope remained in his heart:
The old ancestor was the pillar of the Xiang Family, with centuries of life and deep reserves. He was sure to win!
As long as the old ancestor won, the Xiang Family could keep its throne!
But if the old ancestor lost... then the reign of the Chu Dynasty's emperor would end today!
High above, the clouds churned and surged, and the tension grew unbearable.
Xiang Yang stared fixedly at Yun Ce, his eyes brimming with murderous intent. "Who are you, exactly? Why insist on meddling in the feud between the Xiang Family and the Qin Family?"
"The one stopping you."
Yun Ce's brief reply was all he offered.
"Good! Very good!"
Xiang Yang laughed in fury. He said no more, but clenched both hands—
Hum—Hum—
Two dazzling streaks of spiritual light shot into the sky!
A crimson spear, its shaft carved with ancient coiling-dragon patterns and brimming with murderous aura, appeared. It was the Xiang Family's ancestral treasure, passed down through generations: the High-Grade Spirit Artifact, the Overlord Spear!
A dark golden suit of armor, gleaming and as heavy as a mountain, appeared over his body, covered in dense runes. It was the High-Grade Spirit Artifact, the Overlord Armor!
The moment the two High-Grade Spirit Artifacts appeared, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth turned restless.
Xiang Yang unleashed the full force of his Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivation. Black clouds churned and howling winds raged, as though the sky itself were about to be torn apart.
"I'll use you, outsider, as a sacrifice to my Overlord Spear!"
Xiang Yang moved, transforming into a black streak as he thrust his spear forward with a furious roar!
The spear thrust carried the force of ten thousand jun. Its tip tore through the sky with a chain of deafening sonic booms, as if an ancient overlord had been reborn to pierce the heavens with a single strike!
"First Form: Overlord Breaks the Formation!"
Yun Ce stood with his hands behind his back and merely shifted to the side.
His movement seemed slow, yet he slipped past the killing thrust at just the right moment.
The spear's wind grazed his robes. A violent gale swept in every direction, shredding the clouds and gouging a deep scar into the mountains below.
His attack missed. Xiang Yang's eyes sharpened, and his spear technique changed again.
Spear shadows poured down like a torrential rain, filling every gap and sealing off all of Yun Ce's escape routes.
"Second Form: Eight Desolations Bow!"
"Third Form: Sweeping Through the Army!"
Each thrust was heavier than the last, more ferocious than the one before!
Wherever the Overlord Spear passed, space warped slightly. A Golden Core cultivator would die at a touch, and even a Nascent Soul expert of the same level would have to defend with all their might.
But in Yun Ce's eyes, the seemingly relentless barrage was full of openings.
He moved through the spear shadows with effortless ease, his white robes fluttering without a speck of dust on them.
Sometimes, a light flick of his finger was enough to deflect the spear's ferocious force.
Sometimes, a casual step carried him several yards away.
Sometimes, a narrowing of his gaze disrupted Xiang Yang's spiritual energy, making his moves falter.
Though they were locked in a life-and-death battle, it looked more like an adult toying with a child.
The longer Xiang Yang fought, the more alarmed he became, and the more terrified he felt.
He gave it everything he had. The Overlord Spear unleashed its full might, and the Overlord Armor protected him with its Impervious to All Laws ability, yet he couldn't even touch the hem of his opponent's robe!
"Impossible! Your cultivation... just how high is it?" Xiang Yang roared, his hair and beard bristling as he teetered on the edge of madness.
He burned a trace of his Nascent Soul essence, causing his power to surge once more. "Fourth Form: Overlord Descends!"
The spear came crashing down like a divine mountain. Its black radiance swelled to dozens of yards, threatening to crush Yun Ce and space itself!
Yun Ce's gaze cooled. At last, he resolved to kill.
"Xiang Yang, this ends now."
He stopped holding back and slowly raised a single finger.
White light gathered at his fingertip. It seemed faint, yet contained a pressure that made even heaven and earth tremble.
"Die!"
He tapped his finger.
Whoosh—
A streak of white light shot through the air, too fast to leave a trace.
It ignored the spear's radiance and the Overlord Armor's defenses, piercing through them like thin paper and striking straight through the Nascent Soul in Xiang Yang's dantian!
"Ugh—!"
His Nascent Soul was wounded. Xiang Yang let out an agonized scream as his whole body convulsed violently.
The Overlord Spear flew from his grasp. The Overlord Armor's spiritual light dimmed in an instant, and it began to crack.
His cultivation collapsed in a frenzy, and his body plummeted from the sky like a kite with its string cut.
Yun Ce casually reached through the air and grabbed.
All the seals on the Overlord Spear and Overlord Armor vanished at once. Their spiritual light settled obediently into his hands. The two High-Grade Spirit Artifacts had changed owners.
In the next instant, Yun Ce flashed into existence before Xiang Yang as he fell.
"Xiang Yang, your family has oppressed the people of the Chu Dynasty for years, slaughtered innocents, and cultivated a network of lackeys. This is the result of your own actions. You brought this upon yourselves."
He brought down a palm with a casual, unhurried motion.
Thud—
A dull impact echoed across the sky.
Xiang Yang's body, Nascent Soul, and soul shattered at once. Not even a wisp of his spirit remained. He had perished completely.
High above, the clouds began to disperse, and sunlight returned.
The white-robed figure stood in midair, untouched by dust, like a true immortal from the heavens looking down upon the mortal world.
Below, Qin De, Feng Yuzi, and Qin Yu were shaken to their cores. For a long while, none of them could speak.
So this was the power of a Nascent Soul Late Stage expert?
Xiang Yang had wielded two High-Grade Spirit Artifacts, yet he had been no more than a child before Yun Ce—utterly powerless to resist!
Pinned firmly to the ground by Qin Yu, Xiang Guang could no longer sense the slightest trace of the old ancestor. As he stared at the white-robed figure in the sky, his face turned ashen and his eyes went completely blank.
It was over.
Everything was over.
The Xiang Family's throne was about to change hands.
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