Qing Chen ignored their performance.
His powerful Divine Sense rapidly spread along the ship's restrictive patterns and probed into the central formation core in the blink of an eye.
The Fourth-Tier Formation's power had not been activated to its fullest at all. Many of the cultivators responsible for keeping watch were not even in the formation chambers.
Qing Chen's gaze grew colder by degrees. "Late to the rescue?"
The Divine Strategy Guard's Military Commissioner felt his heart tighten. "The assassin came too swiftly. We truly failed to react in time. Please rest assured, Duke. Once we return to the Divine Capital, I will personally beg His Majesty's forgiveness."
"Beg forgiveness once you return to the Divine Capital?" Qing Chen repeated.
"Xue Wugui launched his sword from a thousand li away. It took twenty-one breaths to reach the treasure ship, yet you never even brought the formation's power to its fullest!"
"Tell me, was that or was that not dereliction of duty?"
The deputy commissioner of the Imperial Household's Formation Supervisor's Directorate paled slightly and hastily explained, "We had already left Yanmen Pass and were within the Immortal Dynasty's heartland. Under the Imperial Household's usual practice, activating seventy percent of its power is sufficient. Who could have imagined Xue Wugui would dare to act here..."
"Fucking bullshit!" Qing Chen's furious shout rang out like a thunderclap.
The leading cultivators' Qi and Blood churned from the shock. Behind them, the palace guards all stumbled back, the grief they had feigned freezing instantly on their faces.
Carrying the Blood Abyss God-Slaying Halberd, Qing Chen advanced across the shattered deck, step by step, no longer concealing the fury on his face.
"Damn it, if you useless bastards had kept the formation running at full power at all times, even if that sword could break