The sword flashed like lightning and arrived in an instant!
The strike came too fast. Xie Yuan could not react, and even an expert like Li Qinlan was half a beat too late to intervene.
Hidden in his sleeve, Liu Yuan's hand gathered true essence. His fingers trembled as he divided it into three streams of force, only to let them dissipate just before striking. His eyes narrowed, an unreadable shadow flickering within them.
A smile touched the lips of Helan Zhenshu, crown prince of Eternal Heaven. He toyed with the jade thumb ring on his hand, as though he had expected this turn of events all along.
The courtesans had gone pale with fright, unaware even as the silk handkerchiefs slipped from their hands. They lived amid romance and revelry—when had they ever seen such a deathly flash of steel?
"Stop!" Su Yun cried in alarm. At his shout, three inches of force burst from Pei Feng's sword tip—he meant to kill!
Xie Yuan had taken barely half a step, anxiety plain on his face, when the blade reached within three inches of Xie Guan's throat. From that distance, a rescue was all but impossible!
Li Qinlan's pupils contracted. She could almost see the sword taking his head, blood spraying across five paces.
Killing intent surged in Pei Feng's eyes, and his expression turned more savage still. His strike sealed off every avenue of escape. Even a sixth-realm master of Coiling Finger would meet a bitter end if caught unawares, let alone a frail scholar.
Where the blade pointed, there was no hope of survival!
Xie Guan stood frozen, his life hanging by a thread, as though terror had robbed him of his wits.
A cold smile played on Pei Feng's lips. Yet as he looked up, he met