Chapter 157: A Vigorous Andante

However, Qian Ye’s speed far exceeded Nan Gong Zhen’s expectations. He crossed a hundred meters in just a few steps, dogging Nan Gong Zhen like a shadow, never letting up. This time, the heavy sword Dongyue swung exceedingly slowly, only managing to strike after a brief pause, but each blow was as devastating as an avalanche or a tsunami. Nan Gong Zhen didn’t dare to directly block even a single strike.

On the other side, Song Zining had already drawn his gun and darted like a gentle breeze across the wasteland, swift and almost ethereal, moving diagonally to cut off Nan Gong Zhen’s path back to the base, clearly intending to trap him.

Nan Gong Zhen was in dire straits, but the colossal eye in the sky remained, and the icy will swept the battlefield repeatedly. How could he possibly fight both of them freely? Who knew when a hint of his forbidden origin power might slip out?

Nan Gong Zhen felt as if he were facing an endless abyssal sea, with undercurrents swirling and a storm brewing. Although the tempest had not yet arrived, his Evergreen Domain was already so fragile before this deep sea that it would shatter at the slightest impact, unable to hinder Qian Ye’s advance.

At that moment, countless petals and leaves appeared around Nan Gong Zhen, falling like rain. The Evergreen Domain suddenly froze, then cracked like a mirror being struck. The lush vegetation withered instantly, and the whirling petals and leaves sliced everything into shreds, sharp as blades.

Nan Gong Zhen’s speed slowed abruptly, and in that instant, Qian Ye’s heavy sword Dongyue was already at his face.

Qian Ye’s eyes were as deep as the sea, holding the sword with both hands, focused entirely on thrusting Dongyue forward as if it carried an insurmountable weight.

Nan Gong Zhen could no longer evade. With a deafening roar, he launched a barrage of punches, hammering Dongyue countless times, finally deflecting the blade. But he himself was sent flying back a hundred meters, landing and immediately turning to flee like a bolt of lightning.

The colossal eye in the sky finally turned, casting a glance at Nan Gong Zhen. He let out a terrible scream, spewing blood, but his speed did not waver as he vanished into the distance. From afar, his furious howl echoed, “Song Family brat! Don’t fall into my hands one day!”

A flicker of confusion seemed to pass through the giant eye as it swept over the battlefield once more, finding nothing. It then slowly faded behind the iron curtain.

Qian Ye stood still, holding his sword, his eyes lowered. After a moment, he opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of vivid red blood, which shimmered with specks of golden light.

Song Zining approached with his gun, asking, “Are you alright?”

Qian Ye spat another mouthful of blood and waved his hand, “It’s fine. Just a backlash from using too much force. A minor injury, nothing more.”

“The Grand Mystic Martial Strike Technique is indeed overwhelming. Only freaks like you can master it,” Song Zining shrugged.

“Unfortunately, Nan Gong Zhen managed to escape.”

“If we could kill him that easily, he wouldn’t be the Elder of the Nan Gong Family. But I doubt he’ll have the nerve to bother us under the iron curtain again,” Song Zining said with a bitter smile, adding, “He obviously hates me more. It’s so unfair!”

“Who asked you to be so sly?” Qian Ye smiled, not sparing his feelings.

“It’s the wisdom of battle,” Song Zining always found a fitting description for himself.

This time, it wasn’t an exaggeration. Nan Gong Zhen was fully focused on preventing Song Zining from cutting off his retreat, but he hadn’t expected the range of a newly promoted general’s domain to be so vast. Before Song Zining even reached the interception point, he activated the Thousand Flickering Leaves Technique, countering Nan Gong Zhen’s Evergreen Domain and slightly slowing him down.

In a battle of this intensity, any small mistake could be fatal. The moment Nan Gong Zhen slowed, he was forced to confront Qian Ye head-on, losing precise control over his power and inadvertently brushing against the Heavenly Devil’s taboo, drawing its attention.

For the Heavenly Devil, it was just a passing glance, but for Nan Gong Zhen, it was a heavy blow. If he had used even a fraction more of his origin power, he might have been killed on the spot. Because of this, Nan Gong Zhen harbored a deep hatred for Song Zining, even more than for Qian Ye.

On the other part of the battlefield, the fighting remained fierce. Dark Flame and the Nan Gong private army renewed their conflict as the three leaders clashed. For the ordinary soldiers, the terrifying will of the Heavenly Devil was only a fleeting sensation. The real threat lay in the present, and stopping to fire could mean being shredded by a hail of bullets.

But the battles elsewhere, no matter how intense, were merely a sideshow. Once Nan Gong Zhen fled, injured, the two remaining generals of the Nan Gong Family dared not linger. They each attacked Nan Hua, forcing her back slightly, and then immediately turned and ran, fleeing in a direction away from Qian Ye and Song Zining, not even daring to return to the base.

Seeing all the high-ranking officials flee, the morale of the Nan Gong Family’s army plummeted to the bottom.

Qian Ye rushed toward the battlefield, the incoming hail of bullets deflected by his origin power defense. Occasionally, some high-powered shells penetrated, but they were spent and posed no threat to his current body.

As he dashed past a still-burning war vehicle, Qian Ye reached into the flames and ripped a large, millstone-sized wheel from the track. He gauged its weight, spun it twice, and hurled it with all his might.

The steel wheel let out a terrifying whistle as it flew a hundred meters in an instant, slicing a war vehicle cleanly in half!

Standing beside the wreckage, Qian Ye dismantled the burning behemoth by hand. The larger wheels and gears became his long-range weapons, empowered by the Grand Mystic Martial Strike Technique, making them as deadly as cannon shells. Finally, he lifted and threw the entire turret, smashing half of a main battle vehicle of the Nan Gong Family.

This extremely brutal and inefficient method of combat had a clear psychological effect on the ordinary soldiers. The resolve of the Nan Gong private army crumbled, and they began to retreat. However, they were well-trained elite warriors, maintaining discipline even in this desperate situation. Some squads set up defensive lines, layer by layer, to cover the main force’s retreat.

Qian Ye had little interest in slaughtering these low-level soldiers, and he had a more important target. In the distant city, a figure shot toward him like a bolt of lightning, carrying an imposing aura that far surpassed Nan Gong Zhen’s.

Qian Ye was familiar with this aura, having a profound impression of it. This person was one of the most powerful figures of the Nan Gong Family, Second Elder Nan Gong Yuanwang.

Qian Ye stood his ground until Nan Gong Yuanwang was within a hundred meters, then said, “I thought, given the appearance of the Heavenly Devil’s will, Elder Yuanwang should be safely meditating underground. Why have you come out, seeking death?”

Hearing such a disrespectful taunt, Nan Gong Yuanwang’s face darkened, and he coldly replied, “Qian Ye, are you determined to make enemies of the Nan Gong Family?”

Qian Ye smiled faintly, “Given the ‘hospitality’ the Nan Gong Family has shown me, if I didn’t repay your kindness, wouldn’t that be rude of me?”

Nan Gong Yuanwang sneered, “Even if you are allowed to run rampant now, the iron curtain will eventually dissipate! Did you think about the future when you made these moves? When that day comes, no matter where you hide, I will take your life!”

Qian Ye calmly replied, “Since I am here now, if you want my life, why wait so long?”

Nan Gong Yuanwang’s eyelids twitched, “What do you mean?”

Qian Ye’s origin power began to rise, and he said, “It’s simple. While the iron curtain still stands, I can at least drag you to your grave with me.”

Without further words, Nan Gong Yuanwang waved his hands, and several green orbs shot toward Qian Ye like lightning.

Qian Ye’s eyes glowed brighter, and with successive strikes of Dongyue, he shattered the green orbs. Countless green rays exploded, and most of them vanished as soon as they entered within a few meters of Qian Ye, as if swallowed by an invisible vortex.

A few rays managed to pierce his defense and hit Qian Ye, but they only scratched his outer clothes and failed to penetrate his close-fitting armor, let alone test his robust flesh.

Nan Gong Yuanwang’s pupils constricted. He couldn’t believe that in just a few days, his Sky Cleaving Strike, which had once nearly crippled Qian Ye, was now easily neutralized. With the previous lesson, Nan Gong Yuanwang naturally didn’t dare to use such powerful origin power, and Qian Ye’s evident breakthrough rendered his signature technique utterly ineffective.

Qian Ye held his sword and stepped forward, then stood still.

Seeing Qian Ye move, Nan Gong Yuanwang’s expression grew grimmer. From that step, he saw that Qian Ye’s speed under the iron curtain was no slower than his, perhaps even slightly faster. This was troublesome. It meant that with a slight misstep, Nan Gong Yuanwang could be entangled by Qian Ye, and if that drew the Heavenly Devil’s will, it would be mutual destruction.

Nan Gong Yuanwang, still unwilling to concede, pointed at Qian Ye from a distance. Several green ribbons shot out, forming a mystical array around him. The ends connected, creating a ring that tightened like a clamp, aiming to bind Qian Ye. The Nan Gong Family’s origin power suppression, in Nan Gong Yuanwang’s hands, took on many miraculous transformations.

The green ribbons turned solid, suppressing the crimson origin power emanating from Qian Ye’s arms, binding him tightly. The heavy sword Dongyue dimmed, looking like a piece of scrap metal.

Seeing this, Nan Gong Yuanwang’s brows relaxed slightly.

Suddenly, the sound of the ocean’s tides filled the air. The green ribbons restraining Qian Ye trembled violently as if caught in a fierce wind, then snapped under the terrifying pressure. Green fragments flew everywhere, casting a mix of light and shadow on Nan Gong Yuanwang’s face.

Nan Gong Yuanwang suddenly waved his sleeve, sending a green ribbon in another direction. On closer inspection, the ribbon was composed of countless green threads, weaving and dancing like fish.

These green threads were another form of the Sky Cleaving Strike, each containing power that no mere warrior could withstand. They covered a range of hundreds of meters, effectively setting up a barrier.

Qian Ye and Song Zining were unafraid of such a blockade, but Duan Hao and Black Moon would surely die if they ventured inside. With this, Nan Gong Yuanwang successfully stopped Dark Flame from pursuing the Nan Gong Family’s private army. Other than maintaining this barrier, he made no further attempts. After a brief standoff with Qian Ye, seeing his troops retreating, he slowly withdrew.

Qian Ye did not move, nor did he pursue; he just smiled coldly.

A sense of unease crept into Nan Gong Yuanwang’s heart, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. He could only leave with a lingering question as he retreated with his forces.

That night, Nan Gong Yuanwang would know why.