Chapter 148: Shattered

Luo Bingfeng’s sword, poised to strike, already had the entire field in suspense.

Li Kuanglan and Ji Tianqing launched a pincer attack, and under Ji Tianqing’s unrelenting pressure, the imperial family and the aristocracy’s strong fighters also joined in the assault. However, their strikes were somewhat restrained, which was beyond their control.

Luo Bingfeng continued to gather his sword intent, but with just a casual wave of his left hand, he repelled all the attackers. His every move was impeccable, truly the pinnacle of martial arts. In his eyes, only the purest sword intent remained, and it was always directed at Qian Ye. To him, the rest were mere ants.

Qian Ye did not fall to the ground; instead, he hovered in the air, clutching his chest, and stared unwaveringly at Luo Bingfeng. His figure flickered in and out of existence, clearly indicating that Qian Ye intended to use void flash to counter Luo Bingfeng’s unstoppable sword.

Song Zining, who was already exhausted, shouted in desperation, “Qian Ye, run! Don’t worry about us!”

Qian Ye did not look at Song Zining but subtly shook his head.

Li Kuanglan and Ji Tianqing realized at this moment, supported by special potions, Qian Ye’s injuries were rapidly recovering. If he could activate void flash, there was still a chance to escape. But if Qian Ye left, Luo Bingfeng’s final move would target another person. By any standard, that person could only be Song Zining, Li Kuanglan, or Ji Tianqing.

Even if Luo Bingfeng was powerful, his lethal move would have been expended, and after being hit by the Primordial Gun, the combined strength of the three of them might give them a chance to survive.

But Song Zining was unwilling to go down that path. His eyes filled with bloodshot, and he suddenly roared, “Rui Xiang! Why are you still hesitating? If you dare delay any longer, I will make sure everything Zhang Buzhou plans for will come to naught!”

Hearing this, Luo Bingfeng felt an inexplicable chill and turned sharply towards the holy mountain. At that moment, he heard a faint, clear sound, as if something had shattered.

Instantly, a web-like net seemed to descend from the sky, enveloping Luo Bingfeng. It caused his movements, functions, and even thoughts to slow imperceptibly.

Luo Bingfeng looked at his sword, which was originally flawless, but now the blade was covered with countless fine cracks.

The sword blade suddenly began to tremble. Luo Bingfeng seemed stunned, then realized it wasn’t the sword that was shaking, but his own hand.

“Nan Nan, Nan Nan…” Luo Bingfeng whispered to himself, his words turning into a heart-wrenching scream.

He suddenly turned to Song Zining and said, word by word, “I thought you were all heroes, but you turned out to be nothing but treacherous villains!”

Song Zining sighed lightly and said, “On the battlefield, only the result matters.”

“Good, good!” Luo Bingfeng let out a long cry, pointing at Qian Ye, and gritted his teeth, “Now that Luo has no ties, I want to see who can save him, save you all!”

Luo Bingfeng’s sword intent reformed, but unexpectedly, the Cloud Brothers stood in front of Qian Ye, saying in unison, “If you want to touch Qian Ye, you’ll have to step over our corpses first!”

Everyone was surprised. These two brothers, who had been terrified since the beginning, had never shown real effort. How could they suddenly become so brave? The Cloud Brothers, being true strong fighters, naturally saw that Luo Bingfeng was still extremely dangerous and had the ability to kill them.

Luo Bingfeng sneered, “What kind of demons and specters dare to jump out and challenge me? Do you think I won’t kill you?”

Luo Bingfeng’s eyes flashed brightly, and his sword intent surged, enveloping both the Cloud Brothers and Qian Ye. He intended to kill all three of them with this one strike.

Qian Ye’s figure, originally flickering, could not evade when the Cloud Brothers suddenly stepped forward. With Qian Ye’s keen eye, he knew the Cloud Brothers couldn’t withstand this blow alone. They needed to work together to have a chance. Therefore, Qian Ye left the flashing state, took his sword in hand, and prepared to confront Luo Bingfeng’s fatal strike.

A torrent of jade-colored sword light descended upon the three of them.

The Cloud Brothers, who were standing close together, suddenly charged at each other, colliding fiercely. They then bounced apart at even greater speed, instantly separating by a hundred meters.

At the point of impact, their origin powers mixed, causing a violent reaction like an explosion. Not only were the brothers blown away, but the sword light that had locked onto them was also shattered. This was a very high-level survival technique. Although the brothers were severely injured, they escaped the deadly sword light and survived.

However, this exposed Qian Ye. The divided sword light, now without its target, pivoted and focused on Qian Ye.

The three streams of sword light converged, slashing directly at Qian Ye!

The divine power of this sword made anyone who wanted to save Qian Ye freeze in place, feeling utterly cold.

Even Luo Bingfeng was surprised by this turn of events. His original intention was to cut down all three, but he never imagined the three sword lights would merge. The power of this sword was the greatest he had ever unleashed. Dealing with an already heavily wounded Qian Ye didn’t require such force.

“As it is, this sword is worthy of you,” the thought flashed through Luo Bingfeng’s mind as the lightning-fast strike descended.

Qian Ye had no time to think or use void flash. All he could do was muster all his strength and slash at the incoming sword light.

The sword light was like a flood, and Qian Ye was just a pebble in the current, unable to sink.

Suddenly, a sigh echoed through the void, ancient and heavy, filled with indescribable weariness and exhaustion. As the sigh faded, a hand appeared before everyone. It was unremarkable, ordinary, and showed the signs of age, clearly belonging to an old man.

Yet, this hand captured everyone’s attention. Regardless of where they were or what barriers existed, it appeared in everyone’s hearts.

It was just an old man’s hand, no larger than others, and even somewhat slender and pale, showing the slackness of old age.

But this old man’s hand reached out to grasp the surging sword light.

As the sword light approached, it shrank rapidly, finally condensing into a ball of light held in the old man’s palm. In that instant, everyone felt an indescribable discomfort. The world became unreal, and it was unclear whether the sword light had shrunk or the old man’s hand had grown.

The flood of sword light, condensed into a ball, was extinguished in the old man’s grip, leaving only a wisp of smoke drifting away.

Only after the sword light vanished did the old man fully appear, looking rather calm, with a slightly hale and hearty demeanor. There was nothing extraordinary about him, yet his presence was astonishing.

All the strong fighters suddenly felt a surge of qi and blood, experiencing an unbearable discomfort. The weakest among them even suffered splitting headaches and began vomiting uncontrollably.

Luo Bingfeng looked at the old man, his face as cold as ice, his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit. He stroked his sword and said coldly, “Liu Daogi, I never expected you to show up. I was wondering how the empire could be so incompetent, relying on these little brats to kill me.”

The old man chuckled and said, “Back in the day, weren’t you also a little brat? Don’t underestimate these kids. If not for some people always losing sight of the big picture and harboring ulterior motives, you might have already fallen to them. Your abdominal wound, it’s becoming harder to suppress, isn’t it? That woman, she’s beyond saving now.”

Luo Bingfeng’s brows slowly rose, his voice icy, “You’ve always been despicable and ruthless, stopping at nothing. I disdained your company back then, and I still do now.”

The old man sighed, “I told you then that you were fated to suffer this calamity. I never expected that today, she would take your place.”

Luo Bingfeng’s longsword in his hand began to hum, and he took a deep breath to steady his trembling hands. He roared, “They used deceit to kill Nan Nan, so none of them should leave. All must die with Nan Nan! Without them, you’ll lose fifty years of luck. You’ve schemed your whole life, so why don’t you calculate whether it’s a profit or a loss? Liu Daogi, I know you’re powerful, but if you want to stop me from killing, maybe you could have done it ten years ago. But now, you can forget it!”

The old man shook his head and pointed at Qian Ye, “You’re wrong. I’m not here to stop you, just to save one life. He can’t die yet. But I’m old too, and I can only save him once. After taking one hit, I’ve done my duty. Since I’ve fulfilled my obligation, why stay? I’ll leave now.”

From the high void, a cold voice resounded, “You won’t get a second chance even if you stay.”

A faint figure appeared in the high sky, a man in dark, luxurious attire, with a dignified posture, pale complexion, and light golden hair and eyebrows. His light-colored eyes formed an unforgettable face.

His hands were behind his back, and at his waist hung a single-barreled, long-handled gun, a strange type between a pistol and a rifle.

He looked down at the old man and said coldly, “Why did you abandon your position as the top expert in the imperial palace and come to this neutral territory to wield power?”

The old man did not get angry and bowed in the direction of the empire, “I’m here to repay a favor. Now that the favor is repaid, it’s time for me to leave.”

The light-browed man said, “You should leave. Shall I escort you out?”

The old man smiled, “This old bone doesn’t need His Highness to do anything. But before I leave, there’s one more thing to do.”

The man raised his brows, “What is it?”

“Just dealing with a couple of servants,” the old man said dismissively.

The man nodded, “I enjoy watching you slaughter each other. Go ahead.”

The Cloud Brothers suddenly showed panic, shouting, “Lord Steward, spare us! We were following orders, and the one who gave the order was…”

The old man coughed twice. The Cloud Brothers, hearing the cough, suddenly seemed in great pain, clenching their throats, but unable to stop the blood flowing from their mouths. Their vital signs rapidly diminished, and they fell to the ground, struggling but not yet dead.

An elder from the imperial family flew to the old man’s side and asked softly, “Lord Steward, why not let them finish speaking? If that person asks later, it would be easier to explain.”

The old man looked at him and said, “I’m old, and I don’t want to know so much. I won’t remember it anyway. You’re not young either. If you manage to return alive, consider stepping down and finding a more peaceful position to enjoy your twilight years.”

The imperial elder’s expression grew stern, “Thank you for the advice, Lord Steward.”

The old man nodded, not looking back at anyone, and disappeared. The light-browed man in the sky also vanished.

On the battlefield, the empire’s strong fighters awoke from their daze, but they were shocked. Lord Steward was gone, but Luo Bingfeng remained.