Beyond the line of Zhao Jundu, Qian Ye found the unyielding walls of the Indestructible City looming before him. From the moment he charged into the military base, until his arrival here, Qian Ye had endured countless bitter battles. To quickly penetrate the battlefield and break free from the encirclement, Qian Ye fought with a strategy of trading injuries for speed, seeking to defeat powerful foes as swiftly as possible. After all this fighting, even with his formidable ancient bloodline, his body was struggling to keep up; the wounds on him were increasing, while his recovery was slowing down.
The walls of the city were now within reach, but Qian Ye could not feel relieved. The Indestructible City was not isolated; beyond its walls, there were nearly a hundred large and small fortresses, and the open terrain outside made it easy for the enemy to surround and hunt him down if they deployed their forces. If he were alone, it would be one thing, but now he had Nighteye with him. Nighteye was extremely weak, barely stronger than an ordinary human, and still had six silver nails embedded in her body. In such haste, Qian Ye dared not remove the nails rashly, fearing that they might contain some sinister mechanism.
Taking a deep breath to regain some strength, Qian Ye leaped up, and with a series of sword strikes against the city wall, he finally managed to hoist himself over.
Upon reaching the top of the wall, Qian Ye’s eyes were met with a dazzling sight: a brightly lit airship landing field! Several airships were taking off and landing, bustling with activity, while a military gunboat floated in the air, maintaining vigilance.
Qian Ye’s gaze swept across the entire landing field, and he was immediately drawn to an airship parked at one corner of the runway. This airship was sleek and slender, with one long and two short masts, and its entire body was painted in a silver-gray hue. Though it was an old design, it exuded a sense of fluidity and unity.
This airship looked very familiar; Qian Ye remembered it as a custom-made elite vessel owned by Song Zining, used as his personal craft. The most notable feature of this airship was its speed. The three force sails, it was said, were of the same model as those on General Lin’s flagship, making it unparalleled in the void.
Without hesitation, Qian Ye was about to rush towards the landing field when suddenly, a sense of danger struck him, and he slowly turned around.
A hundred meters away, a stern-looking old man emerged from the night. His presence seemed to become the center of the world, with all the free-roaming force energy rotating around him. Even the free force energy around Qian Ye, which he could usually control, began to orbit the old man.
The old man wore an imperial uniform, with a simple cut that bore no extravagant markings, except for two golden scepters on the collar.
Qian Ye’s pupils contracted sharply; those were the insignia of an Imperial Marshal!
After fleeing for so long, he had finally encountered a true heavyweight. However, Qian Ye was unsure which of the Imperial Marshals stood before him.
With a cold smile, Qian Ye remarked, “So I’m quite a valued target, to have even the Marshal come after me.”
The old man, expressionless, said indifferently, “If a lowly bloodkin like you were to escape, it would be a disgrace to the Empire. Therefore, I have no choice but to make this effort. If you surrender now, I won’t make things difficult for you. But if you choose to struggle, I will have no shortage of ways to humiliate you and, in the process, disgrace the Zhao Clan. By then, even if you desire death, it will be a luxury. As for the vampiric princess in your arms, I have plans for her, so you needn’t worry.”
At the mention of “plans,” Qian Ye’s eyes instantly filled with a blood-red hue! He had heard enough to know what kind of “uses” a beautiful vampiress had in the hands of the Empire’s nobility.
Qian Ye’s hand, gripping the sword, crackled with the sound of popping bones. Taking a deep breath, he forcibly suppressed the instinctive rage of his bloodline, and, locking his gaze on the old man, etched his features into memory. “Thank you, Marshal, for your words. If I survive today, I will return one day, and then we shall have a proper discussion to see what uses your kin and loved ones have.”
His voice was calm, but the words carried an unshakeable resolve. The old man’s heart quivered, recalling Qian Ye’s many past deeds. Such a person might just be capable of crossing the threshold to Divine General.
A chill rose in the old man’s heart, and his killing intent grew even stronger.
He took out a pair of silver gloves, put them on, and with a sharp exhalation, punched through the air, sending a silver fist flying towards Qian Ye from a hundred meters away!
The silver fist shot forward, swift as lightning, and was already before Qian Ye by the time a piercing whistle filled the air, the sound of the punch’s force.
With the punch unleashed, the entire section of the wall shook, and debris fell continuously.
Facing this earth-shattering blow, Qian Ye moved like lightning. The instant the punch’s form materialized, he grabbed the Twin Flowers, combined them, and fired a rapid succession of shots, each hitting the silver fist.
But how could a strike from a Divine General be so easily blocked? Without the Primal Gun, the dozen or so shots only slightly dimmed the silver fist, leaving its power largely intact.
Switching the guns to his left hand, Qian Ye raised the East Peak, delivering a Heaven-stabilizing strike, merging three swords into one, and slashing at the fist.
The silver fist’s color dimmed further, pausing in mid-air, before continuing to hurtle towards Qian Ye!
Qian Ye’s face was resolute. Crossing his arms, he prepared to meet the full force of the Imperial Marshal’s punch with his own bloodline-reinforced body.
Just then, a small figure appeared, moving like a bolt of lightning, and in the nick of time, dashed a hundred meters to collide with the silver fist!
A deafening boom echoed, and the earth trembled. The wall where Qian Ye stood crumbled, creating a massive gap. Qian Ye, unable to maintain his footing, was pushed back by the raging force storm.
In the center of the force storm, the silver fist finally dissipated, and the small figure was flung into Qian Ye’s arms. Startled, Qian Ye looked down to see a shockingly beautiful little girl, about five or six years old.
“Jooji! What are you doing here?”
The little Jooji lifted her head, dazed and confused, and mumbled, “Mommy… sent me.”
Mommy?
Qian Ye felt a sudden understanding and looked towards the distance. In the depths of the night, Song Zining was turning away, slipping quietly into the shadows.
Looking back at Jooji, Qian Ye saw that the little one, though disoriented, was unharmed. Although the power of the silver fist had been halved by Qian Ye, the fact that she could shatter it upon impact meant her body was no less formidable than his.
Seeing his full-force punch fail, the old man’s face darkened, and the rotation of the force around him intensified. His body seemed like an endless abyss, absorbing a massive amount of force. His hands glowed with an increasingly intense silver light, like two silver suns rising in the night sky. Without a doubt, the next punch would shake the heavens and earth!
In the moment before the punch was released, a pair of light wings unfurled behind Qian Ye, and he vanished in a flash.
The old man was shocked, looking around, but Qian Ye was nowhere to be seen. Having built up his power, only to lose his target, he felt a surge of frustration. The silver light from his fist dispersed, and he grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Reluctant to give up, he flew up, extending his senses to cover a kilometer radius. With the heavily injured Nighteye, Qian Ye couldn’t hide.
Yet, even after several sweeps, he found nothing; Qian Ye had seemingly vanished. The old marshal, enraged and astonished, extended his senses again, and suddenly detected a faint trace of blood energy. Following it, he saw the airship landing field and felt a sinking feeling. Still, he could hardly believe that Qian Ye could have escaped right under his nose, so he expanded his search, more diligently.
Meanwhile, Qian Ye, using the shadows for cover, reached Song Zining’s airship. Seizing the opportunity during the old man’s buildup, he activated his final void flash. Enhanced by the Primal Wings, he crossed thousands of meters, successfully entering the airship landing field.
The silver airship lay quietly on the ground. Qian Ye raised the East Peak, smashed the cabin door lock, and opened it, helping Nighteye and Jooji inside. Once they were safe, he boarded the airship, closing and securing the door with a blood blade.
Once aboard, Qian Ye rushed to the control room, breathing a sigh of relief. This airship, crafted with great expense, was easy to operate and highly functional, far superior to regular vessels.
Airship operation was a required skill for high-ranking officers, and Qian Ye quickly activated the necessary switches. As the force arrays powered up, the engines roared to life, and Qian Ye felt a surge of joy. The airship was fully fueled, enough to cross the vast void to another continent.
Pushing the control lever and setting the engine to maximum, the high-speed airship shuddered and slowly lifted into the air.
The movement of the airship immediately alerted the guards, and soon, the landing field echoed with shrill alarms. Teams of guards sprinted towards the scene, and the airborne gunboats shifted direction, attempting to intercept.
“You take control!” Qian Ye rapidly instructed Nighteye on the basic controls and rushed to the deck, activating the mounted cannons.
The airship was equipped with multiple rapid-fire cannons and a large crossbow at the rear. For its size, the firepower was exceptionally potent. At this moment, Qian Ye didn’t find the cannons too powerful.
Stomping on the pedal, Qian Ye sent the cannon barrels spinning, unleashing a stream of fiery metal, stopping the guards in their tracks. Then, he pivoted the cannon, and a fiery whip lashed out, striking two gunboats that were about to take off, shattering them and sending them crashing back to the ground.
Just then, the airship jolted, and a silver light shot from the rear, a special crossbow bolt slamming into the gunboat that had just completed its turn. The gunboat’s tail burst into smoke, losing control and spiraling to the ground.
Turning to look, Qian Ye saw Jooji, who had somehow made her way to the crossbow and had successfully fired it.
By now, the surrounding turrets had begun firing, weaving a web of fire in the air. Without Qian Ye’s instruction, Nighteye guided the airship to accelerate, charging fearlessly into the inferno.
The silver airship pierced through the fire, like a phoenix reborn from the flames, soaring into the endless void.
As the three force sails rose, the airship sped up. Behind it, the floating land receded rapidly, and ahead lay only the boundless void and the vast world.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage