Chapter 293 - 289: Defeating an Innate Amidst a Vast Army

Chapter 293: Chapter 289: Defeating an Innate Amidst a Vast Army

"Such terrifying Sword Intent! This... how is this possible!"

National Master Meng Shuming’s face was filled with horror as he retreated explosively.

...

Lord White Cloud’s battle with National Master Meng Shuming shook the entire Golden Scale Imperial City. Countless Martial Artists swarmed over from all directions. There were high officials and nobles, disciples of Innate Clans, Sect Elders and their disciples, as well as a great number of Loose Cultivators. The dense crowd, estimated at several hundred thousand strong, had all gathered at the gates of the Imperial Palace to witness the terrifying battle.

At this moment, amidst the densely packed, surging crowd, a squad of about a hundred Imperial Army soldiers, injured and covered in dust, also arrived on the scene with worried expressions. This was the very same squad of the Imperial Army that had been protecting Crown Prince Li Yu.

"Captain, do you think something happened to the Crown Prince?! If something happened to him, are we all going to die?"

"Of course! If something happened to the Crown Prince, how could His Majesty possibly spare us? We’d definitely be buried with him. However, the Crown Prince’s Demon Beast Warhorse is a Level 9 Demon Beast and is extremely fast. Lord White Cloud might not have been able to catch it. As long as His Highness the Crown Prince made it into the Imperial Palace, he should be safe."

"Hey, look! Isn’t that young man in cyan robes in the middle of that fierce battle Lord White Cloud? And the one fighting him is—"

"It’s the National Master! Haha, the National Master has made his move. It looks like the Crown Prince has probably been saved."

"His Majesty is over there too. The Crown Prince is probably with him. Let’s go, hurry!"

The Imperial Army squad responsible for protecting the Crown Prince immediately began to push through the crowd toward the Emperor’s royal carriage. After squeezing through the throng of people, they finally arrived before the Emperor.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" The squad of Imperial Army soldiers immediately bowed and knelt.

"Hmm?" Emperor Li Bi furrowed his brow and asked with confusion, "And you are?"

"We are the Imperial Army unit responsible for protecting the Crown Prince. Lord White Cloud was pursuing us, so we stayed behind to hold him off while His Highness the Crown Prince escaped back to the Imperial Palace on his Demon Beast Warhorse. We were too slow to keep up." The Imperial Army captain glanced around in confusion and said, "Huh? Why isn’t His Highness the Crown Prince here? Did he already return to the palace?"

As the Imperial Army soldiers were wondering, they suddenly saw Emperor Li Bi’s expression darken. Their hearts lurched as a sense of foreboding washed over them.

"The Crown Prince is dead. You failed to protect him, and for that, you deserve death!" Emperor Li Bi said coldly. "Guards! Throw this entire squad of the Imperial Army into the Imperial Dungeon for me! They will be beheaded tomorrow!"

At Emperor Li Bi’s command, two rows of guards quickly emerged from the sides to arrest the Imperial Army soldiers.

"What? The... the Crown Prince is dead?" The Imperial Army soldiers were instantly aghast and began begging for their lives in terror. "Your Majesty, spare us! Your Majesty, please spare our lives! It wasn’t that we failed to protect him, but that Lord White Cloud is just too powerful! Not only does he possess a huge supply of Heaven-shattering Thunder, but he himself is also a terrifyingly strong Innate Powerhouse! Even fighting to the death, we couldn’t stop him."

"Hmph! Utter nonsense," Emperor Li Bi snorted coldly. "I can believe he has Heaven-shattering Thunder, but how could Lord White Cloud possibly be in the Innate Realm? You dare deceive your Emperor to save your own skins? That only adds to your crime!"

"Your Majesty, spare us! How would we dare deceive you? Lord White Cloud truly is an Innate Powerhouse! His strength is terrifying! We saw with our own eyes as he killed ’Broken Water Saber’ Dong Yuan with a single sword strike!"

"It’s true, Your Majesty! At the time, His Highness the Crown Prince ordered us to completely surround Lord White Cloud. Then, ’Broken Water Saber’ Dong Yuan was to engage him from the side to deny him the opportunity to use his Heaven-shattering Thunder. After that, we were all to charge in, overwhelm him, and seize the treasure. The plan was practically perfect. Even someone in the top ten of the Wind and Cloud List would have likely been killed. However, we never expected Lord White Cloud’s power to be so terrifying! His true ace wasn’t the Heaven-shattering Thunder, but—"

"Absurd! ’Broken Water Saber’ Dong Yuan is ranked thirty-third on the Wind and Cloud List. Even the National Master might not be able to kill him, so who could possibly do it with a single sword strike? Don’t tell me Lord White Cloud is some peerless powerhouse from the Central Plains Martial Arts’ Heaven and Earth List?" Emperor Li Bi flew into a rage and roared, "You dare fabricate such a story to fool me?! We won’t wait for the beheading tomorrow. Guards! Execute this lot on the spot!"

Just as he spoke, a gasp of alarm suddenly came from nearby. "Your Majesty, quick... look over there! National Master Meng... National... National Master Meng, he—" Commander Jiao stammered.

"What about National Master Meng? Has he captured Lord White Cloud? Excellent! The National Master is truly worthy of being an Innate Powerhouse. This saves me the trouble of dispatching troops to surround him." Emperor Li Bi was overjoyed and immediately turned to look at the center of the battlefield.

But one look was all it took for him to freeze completely, his eyes filled with terror and utter disbelief.

It wasn’t just Emperor Li Bi. Everyone on the scene—the civil and military officials, the Imperial Army, and the hundreds of thousands of spectating Martial Artists—was completely dumbfounded. They stared blankly ahead as sharp intakes of breath echoed through the crowd. Jaws dropped as they all stared foolishly at the sight before them.

Indeed, the battle’s outcome was completely beyond their expectations, to the point that it overturned their very perception of reality.

No one could have imagined that Lord White Cloud, who had been on the defensive just a moment before, would suddenly defeat National Master Meng Shuming with a single strike. The attack was so fast that they couldn’t even see how he had drawn his sword.

If there was anyone present who could see Ye Xing’s sword strike clearly, it was National Master Meng Shuming.

Yes, Meng Shuming had seen the strike. He had seen it with absolute clarity. It was as fast as a meteor.

No, to be precise, even a meteor wasn’t that fast. It was like a bolt of lightning—the fastest sword technique he had ever seen. He saw it, but he could not dodge it.

In that instant, the Cyan Blade Treasure Sword had already pierced his chest. He had used all his strength but had only managed to shift aside by a hair’s breadth.

"Such terrifying Sword Intent!" National Master Meng Shuming’s pupils contracted violently. His face was ashen, his terror absolute.

Blood gushed from the wound, dripping to the ground from the tip of the blade.

"Hmph. A mere Third-class Innate. I don’t even take you seriously," Ye Xing’s gaze was glacial. "In a one-on-one duel, I could fight you for three hundred rounds even without using my Sword Techniques." He channeled his power, preparing to shatter Meng Shuming’s heart with a twist of his blade.

Just then—

SWISH! SWISH SWISH SWISH!

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Volleys of arrows whistled through the air. Simultaneously, massive iron nets descended from the sky to envelop him, as iron chains whipped toward his waist in an attempt to bind him.

Ye Xing’s expression shifted. He hastily rolled across the ground, looking somewhat disheveled as he dodged the massive iron nets descending from above.