Chapter 156: Surging Might

Hundreds of meters away, the war chariots of the Nangong Clan were being hit with bursts of fire and light. The lightly armored infantry vehicles were even more vulnerable, turning into a fiery inferno after just two blasts. A continuous line of fire swept across the Nangong Clan’s front, starting from one end and quickly spreading to the other.

The Nangong Clan experts who were entangled in combat with Duan Hao’s team had no time to react. In the end, they only managed to intercept a few shells aimed at the command vehicle and the surrounding self-propelled guns. The leading dozen or so war chariots and armored vehicles, however, were not so fortunate, and countless warriors were sent flying into the air by the explosions.

After a round of intense shelling, Hei Yue’s machine gun suddenly fell silent—she had run out of ammunition. Hei Yue immediately leaped off the gun mount and retreated swiftly. Just as she fled, the Nangong Clan’s counterattack arrived, and in an instant, the ancient behemoth, along with its heavy machine gun, was blown to pieces.

In this artillery battle, the Nangong Clan suffered severe losses, causing Nangong Zhen, who was partly distracted by the battlefield, to turn pale and his eyebrows to stand on end.

He was pursuing Song Zining with relentless attacks, but despite Song Zining’s gunplay being like a flickering candle in the wind, it was surprisingly resilient and refused to fall. Moreover, the three thousand drifting leaves domain would sporadically reappear, indicating that it had not been completely suppressed. This also meant that if the two were of equal rank, Song Zining’s three thousand drifting leaves would far surpass Nangong Zhen’s ten thousand evergreen trees.

Qian Ye, on the other side, remained parallel to Nangong Zhen, restraining at least a third of his combat power.

Nangong Zhen’s eyes suddenly turned icy cold, and a wave of killing intent surged. He abruptly turned and struck Qian Ye with a powerful punch. The force of the punch was even stronger than when he was chasing Song Zining!

“Die, whelp!” Nangong Zhen did not simply roar; he spat a burst of origin power from his mouth, aiming to strike Qian Ye’s chest and kill him in one blow.

However, Nangong Zhen did not expect that, in the face of such a sudden attack, Qian Ye did not show any signs of panic or retreat. Instead, he swung his sword to meet the punch, determined to clash head-on.

As the East Peak appeared, it radiated a magnificent aura capable of cleaving the heavens and earth, causing Nangong Zhen’s heart to sink.

Before the fist and sword collided, the origin powers already clashed. A loud explosion-like sound followed, and the two forces intertwined, growing and annihilating each other, transforming into fire, lightning, and thunder.

To Nangong Zhen’s shock, the forces were evenly matched!

Alarmed, Nangong Zhen added more force to his punch, piercing through the light, wind, and fire, and striking the blade of the East Peak with tremendous might.

*Clang!*

The sound of metal clashing reverberated across the battlefield. The leaves around Song Zining, who was closest, instantly vanished by half, and he recoiled more than ten meters. The movements of the two Nanhua and Nangong Clan generals, who were slightly farther away, momentarily paused before they continued their fight.

Farther away, Hei Yue, who was clutching her machine gun and running while shooting backwards, suddenly collapsed and struggled to get back up, looking extremely disheveled.

If they were affected this way, the ordinary soldiers fared even worse. The Darkflame squad, all elite, were simply knocked down harder. Many of the Nangong Clan’s warriors, after falling, bled from their mouths and noses and could not rise again.

Nangong Zhen stood firm, slowly retracting his fist, and stared coldly at Qian Ye. Qian Ye stepped back ten meters, appearing calm, and stretched his body, pointing the East Peak back at Nangong Zhen.

Nangong Zhen’s thoughts raced. He had expected to shatter the East Peak with that punch, but the unassuming greatsword remained unscathed, while his glove now bore a shallow mark. The blast of origin power that struck Qian Ye’s chest, which could have pierced a high-ranking soldier, had no effect on him.

This punch was almost Nangong Zhen’s full strength, considering the suppression of his rank. If he added even a bit more, it would have attracted the gaze of the Celestial Ghost Will. Yet, Qian Ye received it as if nothing had happened. How should he proceed?

While Nangong Zhen hesitated, Qian Ye began to accelerate the flow of origin power within him, generating a vast vortex in the sea of origin power. As the Taixuan Bingfa Jue activated, the majestic aura of heaven and earth became even more pronounced. As the great vortex spun, the East Peak trembled, emitting a buzzing sound, like the howl of the wind or the roar of a beast.

Nangong Zhen was startled. He felt that Qian Ye’s aura was becoming increasingly strange, as if he was no longer facing a person, but the vastness of the heavens and the sea.

This feeling made him feel a faint tremor of fear.

What Nangong Zhen could not ignore was that Song Zining was watching closely. Once his gunplay was unleashed, his attacks would be continuous and increasingly powerful. The only way to counter it was with overwhelming force, which was why the Song Clan’s Firebrand Gun had been renowned for a thousand years.

At this moment, Qian Ye’s lips curled into a smile. Under the aura of the vast heavens, his smile had an otherworldly quality.

The buzzing of the East Peak grew louder, and Qian Ye’s lips moved, saying, “Forget it, I’m done playing.”

Nangong Zhen didn’t understand the meaning of these words, or perhaps he instinctively refused to believe their literal meaning. But in that instant, Nangong Zhen saw an almost blinding light in Qian Ye’s eyes, and then Qian Ye seemed to vanish into thin air.

Before Nangong Zhen, there was only a vast, slowly rotating sea.

The East Peak rose and appeared before Nangong Zhen, moving so fast it seemed to exceed the limits of perception!

Nangong Zhen, in sheer terror, threw both fists upward, finally hitting the blade of the East Peak. However, the force transmitted through his fists was immense, making him feel as if he was lifting the entire sea!

When fist and sword met, Nangong Zhen was sent flying back dozens of meters, and after landing, he staggered back another ten steps. With a fierce shout, he managed to steady himself. Qian Ye also slid back dozens of meters, stabilizing himself by driving the East Peak into the ground, and then spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing Qian Ye cough up blood, Nangong Zhen’s expression relaxed slightly, but he too spat out a mouthful of blood.

This exchange happened too fast. Song Zining had just assumed a stance to thrust his gun, but before he could act, the two men were already flying apart, separated by a hundred meters.

Nangong Zhen’s face twitched with rage, and he strode towards Qian Ye, each step spanning ten meters. However, after taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped. Because at that moment, Qian Ye’s eyes opened again, and his gaze fell on Nangong Zhen. Nangong Zhen had a clear premonition that if he took another step, the East Peak, carrying the might of the mountains and seas, would cross space and appear before him once more.

At this moment, the youngest elder of the Nangong Clan felt a surge of impulse to use power beyond the Iron Curtain’s restrictions to kill Qian Ye and then try to escape the Celestial Ghost Will’s pursuit.

Many strong individuals had already discovered some tricks to deceive the Celestial Ghost Will. However, no method was foolproof, and failure would mean certain death, with the Celestial Ghost Will or even its avatars hunting them down.

After a brief internal struggle, Nangong Zhen reluctantly abandoned this idea. He did not think this war required him to sacrifice his life, especially as the youngest elder of the current generation of the Nangong Clan, whose glory was just beginning.

Suddenly, a deep, rumbling thunder sounded outside the Iron Curtain, striking everyone’s hearts. Even someone as strong as Nangong Zhen felt a shudder. The Iron Curtain rippled, and the Celestial Ghost Will’s aura permeated the sky, rapidly gathering above everyone’s heads, reaching the point where it was about to trigger the Celestial Ghost Will’s descent.

Nangong Zhen nearly shouted in shock. He had only thought about breaking the restriction, so how could it have triggered the Celestial Ghost Will? Could the Celestial Ghost really be so omnipotent that even thoughts under the Iron Curtain could be known?

However, Nangong Zhen soon realized that the center of the Celestial Ghost aura was not on him. Although the aura spread over a hundred kilometers, Nangong Zhen’s senses were so acute that he could detect even a few meters of deviation, let alone the hundred-meter deviation this time.

Nangong Zhen looked around, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

The place where the Celestial Ghost aura gathered was on Qian Ye!

How could Qian Ye be the one triggering the Celestial Ghost aura? Nangong Zhen was filled with astonishment, shock, and disbelief. He had been worrying about whether he would attract the Celestial Ghost, never expecting that it would be Qian Ye, a truly ironic twist.

Qian Ye glanced at the Iron Curtain in the sky but showed no intention of hiding his aura. He continued to accelerate the vortex of the origin power sea, and the pressure on the East Peak increased, with the buzzing growing louder.

Song Zining glanced at Qian Ye, and his eyes revealed a determined look. He raised his hand, and the leaves around him turned transparent, only their veins occasionally flickering, indicating that the domain was still active.

“You’re all crazy!” Nanhua couldn’t help but shout.

At this moment, the Celestial Ghost aura reached a critical point, and a giant vertical eye appeared on the Iron Curtain. The terrifying Celestial Ghost Will finally descended, coldly sweeping the field.

In that instant, Qian Ye took a step, appearing dozens of meters away.

Where he had stood, a deep pit silently appeared, as if the earth, sand, and rocks had never existed.

The Celestial Ghost Will, as cold as glacial water, continued to expand in all directions, passing over Qian Ye without any reaction. Song Zining’s face lit up with joy, and Qian Ye clenched his fist in relief.

Their bet had finally paid off!

Though the power of the Taixuan Bingfa Jue had triggered the Celestial Ghost Will, Qian Ye’s Dawn Origin Power had not yet crossed the threshold of a War General, and his Darkness Origin Power was merely that of a Third Rank Viscount Vampire. Therefore, the Celestial Ghost Will naturally ignored him. There was no need for Song Zining to risk using the Three Thousand Drifting Leaves Domain to deceive the Celestial Ghost Will.

The giant vertical eye in the sky turned, scanning the battlefield. Both the Darkflame and Nangong Clan warriors clearly felt the indescribable, uncaring presence of the massive entity.

Under the icy gaze of the Celestial Ghost Will, Nangong Zhen was the most trembling and fearful.

Qian Ye and Song Zining exchanged a glance, and with a sudden exhale, Qian Ye stepped forward, the East Peak sweeping like a surging sea, already reaching Nangong Zhen’s waist!

Nangong Zhen cursed inwardly, but even with the Nangong Clan’s secret techniques to suppress his rank, he dared not gamble on escaping the Celestial Ghost Will’s direct gaze. He could not afford to block Qian Ye’s sword and instead retreated a hundred meters.