A slender, jade-like hand extended, its palm open to let snowflakes fall into its center. The person within never showed their face.
The vast wilderness was deathly silent. A thousand mountains, devoid of birds; only snowflakes fell, as sharp as knives. Many swallowed hard, their eyes vigilant and their bodies tense with alertness.
The elites of the two great royal families had all gathered here. Yet, before they could even set foot on the banks of the Qingyuan River, they were blocked in this wilderness. A Human Saint steward had just been slain before their very eyes.
A three-inch dagger had slashed diagonally, cleaving both man and horse in two. The bloodstains grew cold, quickly covered by a layer of white snow. What was most shocking about the scene was the attacker's casual deanor. It was so breathtakingly audacious that even the two Sovereigns felt their hearts tremble with fear.
That was a Human Saint expert, not so random nobody. And yet, the other party had rely flicked out a small dagger. The steward had no ti to react before he and his mount were cleaved in two.
"Go back."
After a long mont, the slender, jade-like hand, perhaps having tired of its ga, slowly retracted into the sedan chair. Those two simple words, like a sound from the heavens, resonated through the desolate landscape.
Go back?
The entire area fell into a dead silence. No one dared to make a sound. This procession, which could have otherwise dominated any battlefield, had not only lost more than half its morale since the old steward's death, but their psyches had also suffered a trendous shock, leaving them teetering on the edge of collapse. Now, the two words uttered so lightly by the woman in the sedan chair, though pleasant to the ear, struck them like a peal of earth-shaking thunder.
From slaying their man at the front to her words now, it was clear she held no regard for Sovereign Tang Jinyuan and Sovereign Li Jiangong. Logically, the two Sovereigns should not have remained silent. But in truth, after exchanging a glance, they found they had nothing to say. That seemingly simple strike had affected them more deeply than anyone else.
The next second, Li Jiangong gasped. His gaze fell upon a golden lotus emblem on the sedan chair, and his pupils contracted sharply.
"This is..." Li Jiangong's expression changed drastically. His breathing grew ragged as he choked out the words, "Red… Red Lotus Valley."
A jolt went through Tang Jinyuan. His mind reeled as he subconsciously looked toward Li Jiangong, who was now breathing heavily, his trembling hand pointing at the emblem on the sedan chair.
Then, the Sovereign of the West Sea Royal Family hurriedly dismounted. He clasped his fist respectfully and said, "Li Jiangong of the West Sea pays his respects to the esteed one from Red Lotus Valley."
"You dare call yourself a Sovereign in my presence?" the woman asked, her indifferent, ethereal voice floating from the sedan.
Li Jiangong was speechless for a mont before correcting himself. "Li Jiangong pays his respects to the esteed one."
"Tang Jinyuan pays his respects to the esteed one," the other Sovereign quickly followed suit, lowering his posture in deference.
Yuning Mountain was ho to nurous martial arts families. Families like the Gan Family of the Xuanse Sect were considered the lowest tier; to the core powers of Yuning Mountain, they were nothing but trash fishing in muddied waters. In contrast, factions like the Biluo Sword Valley and this Red Lotus Valley were true martial arts dynasties, having even established their own independent schools. They devoted themselves solely to the martial path and held a transcendent status, so they rarely interfered with the mortal world. This separation shrouded them in a veil of mystery.
The four great royal families were considered the apex powers of the mortal world, but they were nothing before these martial arts dynasties. The gap was comparable to that between the eight great families of Cangyun City and the four great royal families themselves.
"Esteed one... forgive , but we do not know how we have wronged you," Li Jiangong asked cautiously. In truth, he already had a suspicion, but he found it impossible to believe.
"Then what wrong did Chen Yang commit?" the woman retorted.
Li Jiangong was once again at a loss for words. This... could she really be here for that boy? But how could he possibly be connected to Red Lotus Valley?!
Beside him, Tang Jinyuan took a deep breath, his expression flickering. "Esteed one, my Tang Family has close ties with several martial arts families on Yuning Mountain. I implore you..."
Before he could finish, the fair, slender hand erged once more. With it ca the three-inch dagger.
SWOOSH.
A cold gleam of light flashed and vanished.
"You've gone too far!" Tang Jinyuan roared, reacting with incredible speed. He drew his war blade and brought it down with all his might.
BOOM!
A violent tremor shook the area, sending sparks flying through the air. Then, amidst the cracked and shattered earth, Tang Jinyuan fell to his knees. His war blade, his companion for decades, lay in countless fragnts around him. A terrifying wound stretched across his chest, running from his left shoulder down to his right abdon. His flesh was torn open, exposing the stark white of his bones to the frigid air.
The world fell silent. Everyone, including Li Jiangong, could only stare with wide, horrified eyes, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Slaying the old steward with a single strike was one thing. But this… this was the Sovereign of the South Pole Royal Family! A mighty Sovereign had been defeated without any chance to fight back.
"What if I have?" the ethereal voice drifted out again. "Besides, is it right for a group of old n like you to gang up on my younger cousin?"
Younger cousin?! This…
"That boy, Chen Yang, has had a difficult life," the voice continued. "He has struggled for twenty-nine years just to survive, only to be bullied by you lot. As his older cousin, I find that truly unbearable."
Li Jiangong and Tang Jinyuan were stunned. They never would have dread that the young man had such a terrifying backer.
"Forgive us! We'll leave at once! We are truly sorry," Li Jiangong, who just monts ago had been plotting the Chen Family's destruction, now stamred in terror, as if he had encountered the most frightening thing in the world.
"Do you know why I'm not killing you?" The slender hand ford an elegant gesture, casually catching a snowflake as she continued in a slow, deliberate tone, "I think my younger cousin, Chen Yang, would much rather enjoy cutting you down with his own sword."
Everyone stood in stunned silence. She's going to let Chen Yang grow strong enough to co kill us? And we're not allowed to fight back in the anti? What does she take us for? His training dummies?
SNAP.
The woman snapped her fingers. The eight young won carrying the sedan chair turned and departed, quickly vanishing into the swirling snowstorm. They left the contingents of the two great royal families standing disheveled in the cold wind.
「...」
Throughout the land, snow filled the sky. Falcons soared overhead. The cold wind cut like a knife.
News that the Sovereigns of the West Sea and South Pole Royal Families had turned back midway soon reached the Dugu Family, where Dugu Hanxiao was. The entire Dugu Family was instantly in an uproar. Their own Sovereign was already fighting the Chen Family by the Qingyuan River. For their allies to retreat at such a crucial mont—what was the aning of this?
They tried repeatedly to contact the West Sea and South Pole Royal Families, but their ssages vanished as if they were stones cast into the sea. Logically, the Dugu Family should have imdiately sent their full support to their Sovereign. Instead, a strange stillness fell over them. It wasn't a lack of manpower. A new problem had presented itself, one that sent tremors through the other great royal families as well.
The Eighty Thousand Martial Guards tasked with guarding Cangyun City had collectively departed, vanishing into the vast snowstorm.
Rumors flew wildly in every direction. But where the Eighty Thousand Martial Guards had gone remained a complete mystery.
"Can anyone tell where these Martial Guards have gone?!"
"Find them! That's eighty thousand n! Are they trying to tear a hole in the heavens?"
In many places, especially among the noble houses, a deep anxiety began to set in.
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