The young sage of the Military School looked up at the sky, the vast white peacock feathers covering the heavens truly irritating him. With a slight smile, he said, "Nan Qingfeng, do you think too highly of yourself?"
As he spoke, he thrust out his left fist, unleashing a blow comparable to a warrior of the Rebirth Realm that shattered Fu Sheng's sword energy. Immediately after, he pointed his Bright Silver Spear towards the sky and ascended rapidly. A dense military killing aura permeated his body, and strands of blood-red military strategy runes coiled around the spear. The tip of the spear collided precisely with Nan Qingfeng's sword tip.
A deafening roar erupted, and a golden shockwave exploded in mid-air. The entire Town Sword Tower trembled, while Nan Qingfeng in the sky turned slightly pale. After the head-on clash, he realized the formidable power of the Military School sage. His sword tip was nearly chipped, and his body was propelled backward by the vigorous and boundless military killing aura.
The Marquis of Victory, without pausing, sent his spear qi surging towards the heavens, piercing the firmament. As he ascended, golden Dharma images of military cavalry followed suit, tearing apart the peacock feathers on the dome. This was equivalent to a tangible breach of the small world Nan Qingfeng had erected, a shock to his body and mind that was not insignificant.
"You..."
Nan Qingfeng stood suspended in the air, sword in hand. He quickly unleashed over ten more swords, simultaneously raising a finger and sending out small, refined feather-like projectiles that transformed into golden streaks of light, attacking his opponent.
Huo Piaoyao paid no heed. After breaking through the dome, he descended directly, delivering a punch that transformed into a torrent of fist qi, smashing all of Nan Qingfeng's sword light and feathers. He then twisted his body, stopping mid-air. With his left hand, he conjured a blood-red war shield, which intercepted dozens of frenzied attacks from Fu Sheng's longsword.
"My turn!"
The moment the shield dissipated, Huo Piaoyao's spear shot out like a dragon emerging from the sea.
"Welcome!"
Fu Sheng chuckled lightly, gently flipping through the bamboo slips in his hand. Instantly, strands of golden text unfurled like a fishing net, ensnaring the Bright Silver Spear in mid-air. He smiled faintly, "A brute is always a brute. No matter how much strength, he's still a brute. The Marquis of Victory is also a thing of the past. What should scatter with the wind, shall scatter with the wind."
"Oh, really?"
Huo Piaoyao couldn't help but laugh. He lightly twisted the wrist of his right hand holding the spear, causing the entire Bright Silver Spear to spin rapidly. Strands of military intent spread out, shattering Fu Sheng's golden text in an instant. He smiled slightly, "As a demon, why did you choose to study literature instead of something else? With your disposition, are you worthy of reading the sage texts of my human race? Do you even understand them? You're merely a monkey in a scholar's cap!"
Fu Sheng maintained a smile, but a deep killing intent had already arisen in his heart. He hated the phrase "monkey in a scholar's cap" more than anything in his life. As a demon cultivator born from a deer demon, he was once a deer in the beautiful garden of an ancient scholarly family. He constantly heard the resounding sound of lectures, influenced by the scholarly atmosphere. In truth, he had long considered himself a seed of scholarship and believed he had thoroughly understood the principles within books, otherwise why would he have directly entered the Thirteenth Realm?
"Nan Qingfeng!"
Fu Sheng's gaze turned icy. "Let's go all out. Don't hold back anymore!"
With that, Fu Sheng directly produced a life-bound bamboo slip, stirring up ripples of text-filled water. He then stepped on these ripples, his longsword imbued with textual intent, and brought it down with a sword strike towards Huo Piaoyao's head. Nan Qingfeng also detached a life-bound feather, ignited it with a thought, spread his hands, and formed a bow in the void, shooting the life-bound feather towards the opponent's back.
Two Thirteenth Realm cultivators, unleashing their life-bound objects simultaneously, how terrifying!
However, the young sage of the Military School frowned, completely unfazed. He merely swung his Bright Silver Spear, enveloped in killing aura, and continuously amplified his killing intent, as if the killing intent within him was inexhaustible. He danced his spear wildly, deflecting Fu Sheng's longsword and shaking off Nan Qingfeng's life-bound feather. The two Thirteenth Realm cultivators were fighting with their lives, but he was not.
In terms of strength, Huo Piaoyao had completely crushed them. He was truly a Thirteenth Realm expert, suppressing two Thirteenth Realm experts!
...
Not far away, Lin Zhao stood on his flying sword Red Leaf, hidden within a patch of forest on the mountaintop, observing the battle up close. He knew that Huo Da Ge would be crucial in this fight. If Huo Da Ge lost, the chain reaction would be severe, so he had to be here. When he could help, he must help, especially with his flying sword Haoran, whose innate divine ability was very powerful and might indeed be useful.
He gently stroked Haoran within his sleeve. The sword tip was warm and smooth, just like his teacher Qin Suihan back then, "Speaking of a gentleman, his demeanor is as warm as jade."
However, what Lin Zhao did not expect was how ferocious Huo Da Ge was, suppressing two Thirteenth Realm demon cultivators with a single Bright Silver Spear, and his killing aura was still increasing step by step. In terms of combat power, Huo Piaoyao's strength was actually above his aunt Lin Xingchu, and even surpassed Xiao Jiu'er and Lin Guniang.
Still, he did not leave, as he had worries in his heart.
Why did the demon race suddenly launch this offensive war? Was it merely because the eleven Town Sword Towers were about to be completed? Impossible. If they wanted to fight, they would have done so long ago, not waited until now. This meant the demon race was waiting for another opportunity. But what was this opportunity? Lin Zhao couldn't figure it out, nor could he make sense of it. Human strength has its limits. At this moment, he was powerless, and could only think of as many countermeasures as possible to patch up and add fuel to the overall plan for the human race.
Further away, a rather massive River God Temple was nearing completion. Only a few side rooms remained. On the main beam of one of these side rooms sat a young man in red. The injuries on his face and arms had not yet healed, but as he sat on the beam, looking at the distant battlefield, there was no trace of youthful innocence in his eyes.
"Hmph!"
He let out a scoff. "What a formidable Marquis of Victory. A Military School Thirteenth Realm, plus a Rebirth Realm warrior, suppressing Fu Sheng and Nan Qingfeng, those useless beings. Truly impressive."
He frowned, somewhat ambitious, his overwhelming demonic aura from deep within his body almost unable to be contained. Even the things in his ears were restless. However, he did not act impulsively. His master was right: no matter how powerful a demon cultivator was, they had to use their brains and not just act recklessly. He should learn more from Yu Zhi, planning everything before acting.
The combat power of this Marquis of Victory was indeed formidable. He could kill him on his own, but... there was no need. To kill the Marquis of Victory, he himself would inevitably be injured, possibly even severely. Therefore, if he could defeat the Marquis of Victory without bloodshed, that would be his preference.
At this moment, his heart stirred, and he turned to look at the middle-aged warrior sitting on the stone bridge not far away, one of the commanders of the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond, a man named Xiang Ji, who was looking at him intentionally or unintentionally.
Should he spare his life?
The young man in red fell into contemplation.
...
Kusun River.
Sword qi flowed and spread everywhere. Lin Wanhua was trapped within the small world of Ning Yuansheng, a Thirteenth Realm Great Demon. Her sword intent was suppressed by at least twenty percent, but she refused to be captured. Wielding the immortal sword Jinghua, she flew rapidly across the river like a dragonfly, dodging the attacks of the four Great Demons. Simultaneously, she kept drawing her sword, sending streaks of sword qi towards the sky, hoping to use the vast and powerful sword qi to explode Ning Yuansheng's small world.
However, a Thirteenth Realm peak demon cultivator, with the aid of restriction scrolls, had created a small world with a foundation that was too deep. If Lin Wanhua were a Thirteenth Realm sword cultivator, she might have a chance, but she was only at the peak of the Twelfth Realm. The gap in cultivation was undeniable. As long as the opponent was not too weak, even if she were a sword genius, it would be useless. The gap was the gap.
"Why bother?"
Ning Yuansheng said with a smile, "Back then, even Lu Xinghe's Thirteenth Realm Great Sword Immortal died. What are you, Lin Wanhua, that you should not die if you are meant to die!"
Lin Wanhua stepped on the water's surface, turned, and slashed her sword towards Long Zheng. At the same time, her flying sword Libie flew out from the Sword Conception Lake. With a "hum," it restrained Long Zheng's sword and the three Sword Conception Lakes.
"You!"
Long Zheng gritted her teeth. While in pursuit, she never expected Lin Wanhua to still be thinking of counter-killing! Was the lord of Fusu Great Wall too bold? But at this moment, Lin Wanhua had truly found an opportunity to kill her. Using herself as bait and Libie as a restraint, she had forcefully created this opportunity.
The next second, Long Zheng activated her innate divine ability, covering her body with strands of tough, innate scales. However, she still could not completely block Lin Wanhua's exceptionally sharp sword. Dragon scales and blood splattered. A sword wound an inch long was cut on Long Zheng's forehead, blood pouring down her face, even her skull was injured.
Women all love beauty, and for a moment, Long Zheng was furious!
"Boom!"
She twisted her body, and her innate Dharma form appeared. In a flash, a pale golden dragon's tail appeared behind Lin Wanhua, directly sending Lin Wanhua headfirst into the river.
"No one can save you!"
The Twelfth Realm white-skirted female demon roared ferociously. "Swish swish swish!" She shot out countless small, refined feather-like projectiles into the water, and the river instantly turned a shade of red. Lin Wanhua's shoulder and leg were injured.
"Rise for me!"
Ning Yuansheng roared. His innate Dharma form appeared, transforming into a nine-headed lion straddling both banks. Its nine gaping mouths simultaneously inhaled the river water in front of them. In an instant, the river water filled with Lin Wanhua's body flew up. A figure of a Twelfth Realm Great Demon appeared in the water, shooting out water vines that tightly bound Lin Wanhua's body.
"Do you really think someone can save you?"
Ning Yuansheng's face contorted. "Is it that difficult to obediently accept death? Long Zheng, take what you desire."
"Yes!"
Long Zheng's face was icy. Gripping her longsword, she rushed forward, heading straight for Lin Wanhua's slender neck.
...
"Chiiii!"
Just then, a huge sword tip pierced through the clouds in the sky, and then forcefully split Ning Yuansheng's entire small world in half from the outside. Accompanying the sword light was a peerlessly beautiful woman in a red dress and white shirt, enveloped in a sky full of sword intent. Her eyes held a faint golden hue, and she sighed softly, "If Lin Wanhua dies, my brother Lin Zhao will blame me..."