"Old Shen!"
Watching his companion get sliced cleanly in half—body and Nascent Soul both—by a single sword strike, Quentin Tong was more shaken than anyone. At the same time, he felt a deep sense of relief: thank goodness that sword wasn't aimed at him. If it had been, he'd be the one lying dead instead of Shen Tianyang.
Staring at Ian Song standing with his sword, Quentin suddenly had a thought. This kid was only mid Out-of-Body stage, yet he'd unleashed such a world-shaking sword strike. It must've cost him a lot—maybe he couldn't even fight anymore.
Thinking this, Quentin felt reassured. He fixed his gaze on Ian and said, "That last sword move must've drained you quite a bit, right?"
"Mm, that's right," Ian nodded.
"So can you pull off a second strike like that?" Quentin's face twisted into a mocking grin.
"You can try," Ian replied calmly.
"Ha!"
Hearing this, Quentin became even more certain Ian was spent and couldn't use that sword technique again. "Looks like you really can't do it. In that case, go die!"
With a vicious grin, Quentin gripped his fourth-grade spirit sword and slashed at Ian with full force.
Sword energy swept out like frost, freezing the whole space. Determined not to give Ian any chance to recover, Quentin poured his full strength into this strike.
But it was completely useless.
Ian simply lifted his sword, and a bright flash of sword light streaked through the air.
"Splat!"
In the next moment, Quentin followed Shen Tianyang's fate—body and Nascent Soul both split cleanly in two.
Everyone who saw it:
Palace-dressed lady: "This...?"
Goateed man: "Impossible!"
Aaron Jiang: "..."
Cece: "..."
Honestly, everyone watching agreed with Quentin's logic: Ian should've been out of energy and unable to use that terrifying sword art again. But somehow, he did—and sliced Quentin in half with one more strike.
With a flick of his sword, Ian collected Shen Tianyang's spirit-grade spear, Quentin's fourth-grade spirit sword, and both of their Storage Rings.
Then his gaze landed on Aaron Jiang. Truthfully, Quentin was right: using Godpiercer really did cost him a lot—each time it drained about a tenth of his zhenyuan.
So, he could actually use that sword technique ten times—not just once, like they thought.
Feeling Ian's gaze, Aaron instinctively stepped back two paces and shouted, voice trembling but loud, "My father is the Duke of Qi! I'm the little lord! Do you really dare to kill me?"
"Yep!"
With a blur, Ian suddenly appeared right in front of Aaron.
"No, Old Zhou, stop him!" The palace-dressed lady cried out in panic.
"Kid, stop!"
With a single stride, the goateed man appeared before them and slapped his palm toward Ian's sword.
"Splat!" Ian's sword pierced Aaron Jiang's body, and sword energy erupted, blasting his Nascent Soul to pieces.
"Bang!"
The instant Ian's sword stabbed into Aaron, his left palm shot out and collided with the goateed man's hand.
"Pfft!"
The next moment, Ian was sent flying sideways, spitting blood in midair. His eyes filled with caution—this goateed man was an early Divine Transformation expert.
Staring at Aaron's corpse, the goateed man's face twisted in anger. He glared coldly at Ian and demanded, "Kid, didn't you hear me? I told you to stop—why did you kill Aaron?"
"I kill whoever I want. No one can stop me!" Ian wiped the blood from his mouth, his tone indifferent.
The goateed man was furious. "Such arrogance! You really think killing two late Out-of-Body nobodies makes you invincible?"
"You planning to avenge them?"
A moment later, a fourth-grade spirit sword appeared in Ian's hand—the one that used to belong to Quentin. Now, it was his.
The goateed man's eyes widened as he unleashed the aura of a Divine Transformation expert, pressing it straight down on Ian. "You really don't know your place. Your swordsmanship is impressive, but for me—Old Zhou—to kill you would take no effort at all. Do you believe it?"
"I don't believe it!"
Ian lifted his spirit sword just slightly, but that tiny motion sent out a powerful, elusive killing intent. It locked directly onto Old Zhou's mind, making him feel targeted.
"Boom!"
Old Zhou's soul force churned as he tried to shake off the aura, but it was everywhere and nowhere—impossible to dispel.
Instantly, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Just then, Ian raised his sword again, and Old Zhou felt the sense of being locked onto intensify. The feeling of inescapable doom grew stronger, as if he couldn't run or resist.
Cold sweat poured down his body, and the sense of impending death overwhelmed him.
"You say it'd be easy to kill me. I say I could kill you with just one move. Do you believe it?" Ian stepped forward, eyes locked on Old Zhou.
Humiliation—utter, suffocating humiliation.
A dignified Divine Transformation expert, threatened by a mid Out-of-Body junior—and worst of all, he didn't dare talk back. He could sense that this kid wasn't joking; if he said 'I don't believe it,' Ian would really kill him without hesitation.
Cursing inwardly, he thought, "Damn it, where did this little monster crawl out from? His sword arts are freakish and terrifying!"
"Do you believe me now?" Ian took another step forward, as if stomping on Old Zhou's heart, making him shudder all over.
"Hey kid, let's talk this out. I was just joking earlier, that's all!"
He backed down!
He actually backed down to a mid Out-of-Body junior!
Old Zhou's heart was a mess of emotions at that moment.
"So you were joking? What a coincidence—I was joking too!"
Ian's serious face broke into a smile, and his spirit sword vanished. Naturally, Old Zhou felt the locking aura disappear too.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
Just then, a crisp applause rang out. The palace-dressed lady drifted over, eyeing Ian with interest. "A true young hero—such skill, such courage, such cunning!"
"You're too kind, elder sister. I don't deserve such praise!" Ian replied with a humble smile.
"Ah!" The palace-dressed lady suddenly sighed. "If you hadn't killed Aaron Jiang, I could've protected you. But now, even I can't shield you—better run for your life!"
Ian showed no sign of panic. Instead, he asked, "How strong is the Duke of Qi Residence's top expert?"
"Not very strong, just late Divine Transformation stage," the palace-dressed lady smiled.
"Not very strong? Late Divine Transformation is considered weak?" Ian cursed inwardly.
"But now the Duke of Qi Residence has already sided with the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince has a Fusion-stage powerhouse under him!" she added.
"The Sixth Prince—isn't he my love rival?" Ian's heart sank. "Looks like my rival is seriously strong. Winning Lila Li back won't be easy!"