Xue Beng, Reduced to a Human Stick

The surrounding citizens gasped, and whispers spread like a tide:

"Two purple, four black? How is that possible?! A Soul Emperor at his age, with such a terrifying Spirit Ring configuration..."

Xue Beng staggered back several steps, his back slamming heavily into a guard.

His throat tightened. All his earlier arrogance vanished, leaving nothing but fear.

"Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is the best!"

He screamed frantically in his heart, then turned and shoved aside the guards. Wearing jade-inlaid boots, he stumbled into a desperate run. The eastern pearl on his crown rolled off as he fled, while his bright yellow brocade robe was torn by the wooden frames of roadside stalls.

"Trying to run?"

A cold smile curled across Shen Lian's lips, and a chilling glint flashed in his eyes.

The Dragon-Slaying Blade erupted with dazzling red light in his hand. His first soul skill, Crimson Flame Soul Slash, activated!

A massive blade aura wrapped in blazing flames swept outward. Wherever it passed, the air warped and twisted, while scorched black marks were left across the ground.

The City Defense Guards did not even have time to scream before they were flung away like fallen leaves. The commander's Fire Wolf Martial Soul shattered under the terrifying attack, and he was hurled heavily into the city wall, coughing up blood before passing out.

Shen Lian pushed off the ground with the tip of his foot, his body shooting across the street like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Every leap left a deep footprint in the ground. Before the afterimages lingering in the air could fade, he had already caught up behind Xue Beng.

Xue Beng turned back in terror and saw dark golden streams of light swirling around Shen Lian. His gaze was as cold as an abyss, as though he would swallow him whole the next second.

The air still carried the burnt stench left behind by Crimson Flame Soul Slash when Shen Lian flashed in front of Xue Beng like a ghost.

The bluestone road cracked into spiderweb-like patterns beneath his feet. Holding the Dragon-Slaying Blade before Xue Beng, Shen Lian looked like an Asura from the underworld.

Xue Beng looked up and met Shen Lian's utterly emotionless eyes. The blood throughout his body seemed to freeze instantly.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground. His gem-studded belt dug painfully into his hipbones, but terror had long since robbed him of any awareness of physical pain.

The cuffs embroidered with golden thread were soaked through with cold sweat as he shrieked incoherently:

"You can't kill me! I'm a prince of the Heaven Dou Empire! If you kill me, my imperial father will never let you go!"

His trembling voice carried the collapse of someone accustomed to bullying the weak when faced with absolute power.

Hearing this, Shen Lian's lips curled into a cold arc, and he let out a contemptuous snort.

Shen Lian slowly crouched down. The tip of the Dragon-Slaying Blade lifted Xue Beng's chin, its cold gleam reflecting his twisted face. Then Shen Lian said mockingly:

"You don't need to tell me who won't let me off. You should first think about whether I'll let you off."

Before his words had even faded, fists carrying hidden force rained down like a storm. Xue Beng's screams mixed with the sound of shattered teeth, echoing through the street.

When Xue Beng fell unconscious, a cold gleam flashed through Shen Lian's eyes.

The Dragon-Slaying Blade sliced through the air with a sharp sound that set teeth on edge. Its keen edge precisely severed Xue Beng's right leg.

Blood surged out like a fountain. The unconscious Xue Beng was jolted awake by the agony, and his miserable scream pierced the sky.

Shen Lian expressionlessly circulated his Soul Power. An eerie blue glow wrapped around the wound, forcibly stopping the gushing blood, yet ensuring Xue Beng remained awake to endure endless pain.

"The game has only just begun. Don't rush. We'll take this slowly."

Shen Lian's voice was low and icy, like a whisper from hell.

The Dragon-Slaying Blade rose again. A flash of cold light passed, and his other leg fell in response.

Among the crowd, some covered their eyes in terror, while others could not help retching. Yet the citizens who had long suffered Xue Beng's oppression clenched their fists in secret, their eyes gleaming with grim satisfaction.

The next few minutes were like a living hell.

Shen Lian's movements were precise and merciless. The Dragon-Slaying Blade rose and fell again and again, cutting off Xue Beng's arms, ears, nose... every protruding part of his body, one by one.

The once overbearing Fourth Prince had now become a bloody human stick, twitching painfully on the ground.

Shen Lian did not kill Xue Beng outright because he wanted him to die slowly in agony.

Looking at the barely breathing Xue Beng, Shen Lian did not stop there.

He raised a hand and summoned Crimson Flame. Roaring fire instantly devoured the severed limbs, and the stench of burning flesh mixed with blood in the air.

It was to prevent any healing soul master from possibly curing Xue Beng.

The flames illuminated Shen Lian's stern face. He bent down beside Xue Beng's ear and said softly:

"You pretended to be a wastrel. Did you really think no one knew? Crown Prince Xue Qinghe figured it out long ago. I came to kill you on his orders."

Those words were like a heavy hammer, utterly shattering Xue Beng's final psychological defense.

His eyes widened, filled with shock, despair, and hatred. Bloodshot veins covered his eyeballs, which seemed ready to burst from their sockets.

Meanwhile, Shen Lian had already turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Xue Beng behind to await the end of his life amid endless agony and hatred.

As the setting sun dyed the Imperial City blood-red, the stench of blood still had not dissipated from the street.

After Shen Lian left, three hundred Imperial Guards marched in with orderly steps and sealed off the scene. Their silver spearheads gleamed coldly in the dusk.

A lavishly decorated carriage slowly approached. Its wheels rolled over the blood Xue Beng had shed, dragging long dark-red streaks across the bluestone pavement.

Xue Qinghe lifted the curtain embroidered with golden thread. His moon-white brocade robe was spotless, but his gentle, jade-like face suddenly twisted upon seeing the gruesome scene on the ground.

He staggered forward and threw himself down, his broad sleeves sweeping over the scattered chunks of flesh as he cried out with false grief:

"Fourth Brother! Who did this to you? Tell your Second Brother, and I'll avenge you!"

His trembling voice carried just the right amount of sorrow, yet behind the strands of hair hanging over his face, a fleeting curve appeared at the corner of his lips.

Xue Beng's clouded eyes turned with difficulty. Looking at the hypocritical man before him, Shen Lian's words—"I came to kill you on his orders"—exploded in his ears.

A muffled howl rose from his throat. Blood bubbles spilling from the corner of his mouth burst, and in the end, he passed out amid violent convulsions.

Seeing this, Xue Qinghe immediately turned and pressed a hand to his forehead, a barely perceptible cold smile visible through his fingers:

"Quick! Carry the Fourth Prince onto the carriage! Summon the imperial physicians!"

Once Xue Beng had been hurriedly carried away, Xue Qinghe stood in the middle of the pool of blood and began his performance.

He suddenly turned, his wide sleeve sweeping across an Imperial Guard's helmet:

"Search the entire city for the culprit who harmed my Fourth Brother! I want to see them alive, or their corpse if they're dead!"

At his command, the Imperial Guards surged into the streets and alleys like a tide, throwing the entire district into chaos.

When the carriage curtain fell again, the atmosphere inside abruptly turned cold.

Qian Renxue shed Xue Qinghe's disguise. Her golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, while dark patterns shimmered across her holy white dress.

She raised a hand and wiped away the remaining "tear stains" at the corners of her eyes. A pale golden flame condensed at her fingertips, burning the bloodstained handkerchief to ash.