Shadowless Assassination

The Moonlit Night Sword, carrying the power of lightning, clashed fiercely with the immense force of the Great Netherworld Palm.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

For a moment, the thunderous sounds echoed across the wilds.

Both men's eyes were filled with icy intent.

They fought with their lives on the line.

Their figures collided.

BOOM—!

A tremendous blast rang out, deafening to the ears.

At the point where they clashed, a powerful shockwave formed. Accompanied by countless sword qi and palm force, it pulverized all the surrounding grass and trees as its immense power spread outward.

Xie Jinghan and Wei Dong were abruptly blasted several steps back, staggering as they landed, their true qi violently roiling.

Both looked rather bedraggled and wounded, their auras greatly diminished.

Countless splinters of grass and wood rained down through the air as dust billowed everywhere.

Just then!

Just as Xie Jinghan had expended more than half his true qi and his aura had grown unsteady.

"Hiss~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Without a sound.

A flash of cold light suddenly appeared.

A ghostlike black shadow abruptly appeared at Xie Jinghan's side.

The newcomer was A Qing, the Shadow Tower assassin who had been lying in wait for a long time.

Dressed entirely in black, he blended into the shadows, his gaze indifferent and utterly devoid of emotion.

He held a Shadowless Short Sword, its blade thin and razor-sharp.

Shadowless Assassination!

His timing was flawless.

The Shadowless Sword's sword qi was bone-chilling as it stabbed straight toward Xie Jinghan's heart.

At such close range, Xie Jinghan's life hung by a thread.

It was about to pierce straight through him!

At that critical moment, Xie Jinghan suddenly smiled faintly.

Without the slightest panic, he thought:

I've been waiting for you for a long time.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

A hundred streams of sword qi suddenly appeared out of thin air, blocking the space before Xie Jinghan.

At the same time, another hundred streams of sword qi shot toward the black-clad assassin.

More than a hundred streams of sword qi carried starlight and moonlight, dazzling beyond compare.

Seeing the mass of sword qi, A Qing inwardly cursed, Not good!

His eyes narrowed, yet he showed not the slightest fear, as though he did not fear them at all.

His body twisted sharply as he rapidly swung the Shadowless Sword in his hand.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

He blocked every last stream of sword qi.

Shadow Escape!

Then, he pushed his movement technique to its limit. His figure shot away at high speed, trailing shadowy afterimages.

He was just about to escape.

Yet how could Xie Jinghan allow him the chance to retreat unscathed?

A freezing light gleamed in his eyes.

With the fingers of his left hand forming a sword seal, he spoke through clenched teeth.

"Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation, rise!"

"Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm—"

"Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm—"

"Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm—"

Seven deep, lingering sword cries rang out.

Seven Moonlit Night Swords swept forth from different directions.

They hung in the air, their tips slanting toward the heavens.

They spun ceaselessly.

The seven swords resonated with one another, linked together.

An invisible, vast formation instantly spread out, sealing off the world in all directions.

Sword qi gleaming with starlight crisscrossed through the air.

Each strand was several inches long.

They trapped A Qing, who had just tried to flee, and Wei Dong, who had only just steadied himself, within their midst.

This was the backup plan Xie Jinghan had prepared long ago.

He had buried the seven Moonlit Night Swords beneath the ground beforehand, arranging the sword formation according to the positions of the Big Dipper.

All for this very moment.

He had been guarding against A Qing, who had been concealed in the shadows all along.

He intended to catch both Wei Dong and A Qing in one net and eliminate all future trouble.

With the Seven-Star Big Dipper Sword Formation sealing all directions, A Qing was forcibly driven out of hiding.

He retreated rapidly and joined Wei Dong.

The two exchanged a swift glance, both wearing grave expressions.

Wei Dong looked at Xie Jinghan and said in a deep voice:

"I never expected you to have been on guard all along."

"To have laid down such a sword formation!"

"But do you think a mere sword formation can trap the two of us? Isn't that nothing but wishful thinking?"

"Split up and break the formation!"

Before his words had even faded, the two figures shot out at once, each darting toward a different direction.

Wei Dong stepped through the air, driving the Great Netherworld Palm with all his strength. Dark-red palm shadows spread across the sky and earth.

With every palm strike, he shattered and sent flying the starlight sword qi rushing at him, while the howling palm wind tore through the air.

On the other side, A Qing's movement technique was strange and unpredictable, incomparably swift.

His figure turned into several pitch-black afterimages, weaving through the dense starlight sword qi.

He rapidly swung the Shadowless Short Sword in his hand, every strike piercing each approaching stream of sword qi with flawless precision. He even used the force of the sword qi to borrow momentum, shifting and dodging at close range as he searched for a weak point in the formation to break through.

The two were incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, they were about to rush out of the formation and shatter the blockade.