Surrounded and killed

The moment the Seventh Prince landed on the city wall, the entire North-Rejecting City fell silent.

He stood there, his moon-white robes fluttering gently in the wind, his true qi circulating around him and emitting a faint, luminous glow. Tens of thousands of Di Army soldiers retreated like a receding tide, not even daring to look back.

On the city wall, the surviving soldiers stared blankly at that figure, and then, not knowing who started it, one by one they knelt, a vast, dark sea of people bowing down.

"Long live the Prince!"

"Long live the Prince!"

The shouts rose one after another; some wept with joy, while others collapsed to the ground in bitter sobs.

Li Jinshui did not kneel.

He stood among the crowd, watching that figure standing against the wind, his hands slowly clenching into fists.

It was not out of disrespect, but because the urge to rise was simply too strong.

One day, he too would stand in that place.

The Seventh Prince seemed to sense something, his gaze sweeping over this way and landing on Li Jinshui.

This time, there was a hint of amusement in that look.

But he said nothing, merely withdrawing his gaze to look at the fleeing Di Army in the distance.

"Zhao Zheng."

"Present!" Zhao Zheng struggled to stand, covered in blood but with a face full of excitement.

The Seventh Prince pointed toward the few black dots frantically fleeing in the distance—those were the four surviving Di People of the Pulse-Opening Realm, desperately escaping toward the north.

"They have taken forbidden drugs; they won't get far. I shall return shortly."

Before his words had even faded, he tapped his foot lightly, his entire body transforming into a streak of white light that shot straight into the clouds.

The speed was so fast that the naked eye could not track it, leaving only a faint afterimage against the horizon.

Li Jinshui squinted, watching that white light grow smaller and smaller.

Forbidden drugs?

What kind of price must one pay for a forbidden drug that allows a Pulse-Opening Realm expert to flee from someone in the Origin-Opening Realm?

He did not know.

But he knew that those four people would likely not survive the day.

The Seventh Prince's speed was as fast as lightning.

Although those four Di People of the Pulse-Opening Realm had taken forbidden drugs, burning their blood and qi to gain a temporary surge in speed, it was still futile before an Origin-Opening Realm expert.

The first one was caught.

The Di Pulse-Opening expert looked back, his face full of despair, and struck out with a desperate blade.

The Seventh Prince did not even draw his sword; he simply struck out with a palm.

His true qi surged outward, manifesting into a giant hand that slammed down from the sky!

"Boom!"

The Di warrior did not even have time to scream before he was smashed into a mist of blood, raining down from the heavens.

Next was the second one.

That man was fleeing frantically, his body like a burning meteor after taking the forbidden drug, his speed astonishing. But as he crested a ridge, he saw a moon-white figure standing with hands behind his back, waiting for him not far ahead.

"You—"

The Di Pulse-Opening expert's pupils constricted; unable to turn, he struck out with a desperate blade!

The blade qi rampaged, splitting mountains and shattering rocks!

The Seventh Prince did not even lift an eyelid.

He merely raised his right hand, curled his fingers into a claw, and gave a light grasp toward the incoming blade qi.

"Bang!"

That peerlessly sharp blade qi was crushed by his bare hand, dissipating into specks of light.

Despair flashed across the Di Pulse-Opening expert's face as he turned to flee.

But the Seventh Prince was faster.

He held his fingers together like a blade and swung them casually at the man's back.

A streak of white light shot out, so fast that not even an afterimage remained!

"Pfft!"

The Di Pulse-Opening expert's body was severed at the waist, blood and viscera spilling everywhere as the two halves of the corpse plummeted from the air, smashing into the rocks in a mangled mess of flesh and bone.

The Seventh Prince did not even spare a glance, his figure flickering as he continued to pursue the third.

The third one had fled even further, nearing the edge of the mountain range a hundred miles away.

He turned his head to see the Seventh Prince in pursuit, a look of madness flashing across his face. He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue and spat out another mouthful of essence blood, driving the power of the forbidden drug to its absolute limit as his speed surged once more!

Yet, the Seventh Prince was even faster.

The distance between the two was closing at a terrifying rate.

Three hundred zhang.

Two hundred zhang.

One hundred zhang.

Fifty zhang.

The Di Kingdom Pulse-Opening realm expert fell into despair.

He spun around abruptly, gripped his blade with both hands, and poured every ounce of his strength into a single strike!

This slash condensed all the power he had gained by burning his own life force!

The blade aura transformed into a blood-colored ribbon several zhang long, carrying the momentum of world-shattering destruction as it hacked toward the Seventh Prince!

The Seventh Prince still did not draw his blade.

He merely extended his right hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and tapped lightly toward the incoming blood-colored blade aura.

"Hum--!"

A beam of white light, no thicker than a finger, shot from his fingertips and collided with the massive blood-colored blade aura!

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

The white light pierced through the blood-colored blade aura silently, like a red-hot needle through butter, and then—

"Boom!"

The blood-colored blade aura detonated in mid-air, transforming into a sky full of blood mist!

The white light, its momentum undiminished, instantly pierced through the center of the Di Kingdom Pulse-Opening expert's forehead!

The man's expression froze on his face, his eyes wide, his lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something.

But he could no longer speak.

His corpse plummeted from mid-air, crashing into the forest below and flattening a patch of trees.

The Seventh Prince withdrew his hand, didn't even glance at the body, and turned to pursue the last one.

The fourth had fled the furthest, having already crossed the mountain range and appearing on the verge of entering the territory of the Di Kingdom.

The Seventh Prince narrowed his eyes, his true qi surging wildly, and his speed exploded once again!

He transformed into a streak of light, skimming past the mountain peaks as the summits beneath his feet retreated rapidly.

Almost there.

Almost there.

In another thirty breaths, he would catch up.

But just as he swept past a mountain pass—

Every hair on his body stood on end!

Something was wrong!

Three obscure auras flashed and vanished from the mountain pass below!

Opening-Origin realm!

Three of them!

And they had been lying in ambush for a long time, suppressing their auras to the absolute minimum until he entered their attack range!

The Seventh Prince's pupils contracted sharply, but instead of stopping, he accelerated forward!

He had to break through the encirclement!

But the movements of those three figures were faster—

"Boom!"

On the left, a black figure shot into the sky, his sinister aura like a viper flicking its tongue, and struck a palm toward his left ribs!

"Hehehe, Seventh Prince, we have waited for you for a long time!"

On the right, a blood-red figure erupted from behind the rocks, a bloody stench permeating the air as he struck a palm toward his right shoulder!

Directly ahead, a figure as burly as an iron tower shattered the rocks and leaped into the air, a giant axe larger than a man swinging down toward his head!

Three Opening-Origin realm experts attacked from three directions simultaneously, sealing off every path of retreat!

The Seventh Prince had nowhere to hide.

He took a deep breath, driving his true qi to its absolute limit, and his protective true qi solidified into a pale golden light shield.

At the same time, he finally drew his blade!

"Clang--!"

It was a long blade, snow-white from hilt to tip. The moment it left its scabbard, the temperature within a hundred-foot radius plummeted, and the very air seemed to freeze.

He slashed his blade toward the giant axe directly in front of him, simultaneously spinning his body to meet the black palm shadow with his left hand while bracing his right shoulder to take the blood-red palm print head-on!

"CLANG—!!!"

Blade and axe collided, sparks flew in every direction, and a violent shockwave swept outward!

Huyan Lie was forced back three steps, the mountain rock beneath his feet crushed into powder!

The Seventh Prince also retreated half a step, a sweet taste rising in his throat as he forcibly swallowed the blood surging upward.

Yet, in that very instant, the palm shadow of Night Owl Elder and the palm print of Blood Butcher Elder landed upon him simultaneously!

"BANG!"

"BANG!"

His protective True Qi vibrated violently, nearly shattering! Two sinister and vicious forces penetrated his body, rampaging through his meridians!

The Seventh Prince let out a muffled groan, a trail of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

But using the momentum of those two strikes, his speed surged, and he instantly broke through the encirclement, landing on a boulder thirty feet away.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the three figures.

On the left, a gaunt old man in black robes stood with a hunched back, his eyes as sinister as a hawk's, cackling with a strange, grating laugh. His palms shimmered with a dark, murky light; clearly, he practiced some form of venomous martial art.

Night Owl Elder.

A notorious rogue cultivator within the Great Zhou, at the middle stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, who had once served as a royal retainer and enjoyed countless resources.

Yet, here he was.

On the right, an old man draped in blood-red robes stood with a face as withered as a corpse, his eyes scarlet as blood, a thick stench of carnage radiating from his body. His palms were stained with blood—not the blood of others, but his own. The technique he cultivated required the consumption of his own vital essence.

Blood God Sect Elder, Blood Butcher Elder, middle stage of the Kaiyuan Realm.

Directly in front stood the giant, nearly ten feet tall, his upper body bare with muscles knotted like the gnarled roots of an ancient tree. He gripped a giant axe taller than a man, blood still dripping from its blade. His entire being exuded a violent aura, like a humanoid beast.

Di Army Commander, Huyan Lie, late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, a fierce general of the Di Kingdom.

Three Kaiyuan Realm experts formed a triangle, surrounding him in the center.

The Seventh Prince looked at these three faces and suddenly laughed.

The smile was chillingly cold, yet a raging fire burned in the depths of his eyes.

"Interesting," he said, enunciating every word. "A rogue cultivator, a Di Kingdom commander, and a remnant of a heretical sect. The three of you gathered together—are you trying to tell me that someone in the Great Zhou royal family is colluding with the enemy?"

Night Owl Elder chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "The Seventh Prince is clever. Unfortunately, clever people often die quickly."

Huyan Lie couldn't be bothered with nonsense; he leveled his giant axe, his voice booming like a bell: "Kill!"

"BOOM!"

The three figures lunged forward in unison!