"Understood!" Ryan Ling nodded fiercely. He unleashed his Golden Core to completely wipe out Murong the Immortal-Slayer—this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and there was no way he was letting it slip!
"Don't—don't kill me! If you destroy me, you'll definitely regret it. You'll be damned for eternity!" Murong the Immortal-Slayer had finally realized the gulf between himself and Ryan Ling. If the fight continued, he was dead for sure. At this moment, Ryan's power was still far above a Great Saint's.
"Heh, I'd only regret it if I didn't kill you!" Ryan didn't hesitate for a second—he slammed his five-colored Golden Core straight at Murong the Immortal-Slayer.
Boom!
A deafening blast erupted in the sky. Murong the Immortal-Slayer, the mighty Great Saint, was blown to pieces—his bones, flesh, and blood scattered everywhere in an instant, and the whole sky above Qianzhou City rang with the wails of Saints.
Clearly, Murong the Immortal-Slayer wasn't just any Great Saint—his death was so momentous that even heaven and earth mourned for him.
Right at that moment, a streak of golden light tried to escape.
"Quick, grab that golden light! That's the Great Saint's essence—if you can fuse it with yourself, it can do wonders!" the Ghost Elder shouted, eyes sharp.
Ryan nodded quickly. Back when he killed the Flame Demon God, he got huge benefits—so taking down a top-tier Great Saint now was bound to be even better. Even though this guy wasn't a pill-spirit, he was a real-deal Saint, and his essence would be a massive boost for Ryan's cultivation!
In a flash, Ryan snatched up the Great Saint's essence and stored it in his Demon-Snaring Bowl. Whether it would help his cultivation or not, this essence was actually the refined form of the Judgment Sword—and it looked like he'd be able to put it to good use soon!
Of course, taking down Murong the Immortal-Slayer wasn’t the end of it for Ryan.
Murong had just mentioned Guihai One-Blade—and it was obvious something was up with him. Ever since the whole Japan incident, Guihai hadn’t made a peep. Clearly, some overwhelming force was keeping him in check.
And during the battle with Murong, Ryan had already picked up hints of Guihai One-Blade’s whereabouts. Right now, he was probably on the Yangtze River, right at the border between Huaxia’s Southriver and Jiangnorth Regions.
"Ryan, are you really heading to the Yangtze right now?" The Ghost Elder’s heart skipped a beat as he saw Ryan’s gaze shift north.
"I have to go. Guihai One-Blade’s strength is way beyond mine—he’s on a whole other level I can’t even touch right now. But he’s definitely in danger, and even if I can’t help, I have to go. I owe him that much!" Ryan knew exactly what he was doing, and his mind was made up.
Besides, everything in Qianzhou City was basically settled. Gabriel Xue and the others could handle it. The Han traitors in Sutherland Province were wiped out, the Tokugawa Clan’s forces left in Qianzhou had been slain by Ryan, all the girls who’d been captured as Yin-Maidens were rescued, and Old Xu’s daughter Kelly Xu had already been safely escorted to Gabriel’s camp.
Everything here was under control—his only worry now was Guihai One-Blade.
"Fine, but be careful. Even though you’ve hit Golden Core—Transforming Core, the level Guihai’s fighting at is way out of your league. Don’t forget that!" The Ghost Elder knew he couldn’t stop Ryan, so he just kept nagging him.
"Got it!" Ryan didn’t hesitate—he shot straight for the Yangtze.
The Yangtze is Huaxia’s mother river. Over the years, countless battles have raged along its banks—but almost never has the Southriver Region beaten the Jiangnorth.
The power of Jiangnorth is the peak of all Huaxia—both martial arts and politics revolve around it, while the Southriver Region is just the economic center.
Now, waves were rising again between Jiangnorth and Southriver. Two mighty forces were locked in a standoff on opposite banks—within a hundred miles, not a soul could be seen, and even the fish and shrimp in the river seemed to sense the killing intent and fled.
From a distance, there were three people on the Jiangnorth side—all top figures of the World Dominion Society, clearly at the Taishang Elder level, with overwhelming power. Even with Ryan’s current strength, he couldn’t make out their faces—he could only vaguely see three people floating in midair. The scene was extremely eerie.
'Three Saint Kings—the top existences in the Saint Realm!' The Ghost Elder couldn’t help swallowing hard at the sight.
The Saint Realm is divided into Initial Saint, Minor Saint, Middle Saint, Great Saint, Sub-Saint, and Saint King. Saint King is the absolute peak. Ryan felt that if you compared the power of a Saint King to a Great Saint like Murong, it would take billions of Great Saints to match one Saint King—maybe even more.
On the Southriver side, there was only one man. His face was cold and expressionless, and from any angle, he seemed to be a single long saber—as if he was no longer human, but a living war-blade.
He was incomparably sharp, unstoppable—any blade or sword that saw him would have to kneel in submission.
No need to say more—this was Guihai One-Blade.
Seeing this, Ryan finally understood: even though he’d killed a Great Saint and won great glory—securing his place in Southriver and ensuring no province would dare rebel—most of it was thanks to Guihai One-Blade.
If Guihai One-Blade hadn’t held back those three Saint Kings, all of Ryan’s cleverness would have amounted to nothing.
Anyone could see that Guihai One-Blade was struggling—his body occasionally emitted the sound of a saber edge trembling.
Guihai One-Blade is already old. Back in the day, he was unstoppable—not just against a few Saint Kings, but even against true God-Realm beings, he wouldn't fall behind. Sigh! The Ghost Elder shook his head as he watched Guihai falter, clearly familiar with him.
'Is there any way I can help him?' Ryan asked, unable to bear seeing Guihai's pale face.
Guihai One-Blade was basically Ryan's master—he'd taught Ryan the first three forms of the Infernal Madblade Style at East Sea, and now the first ten. He was risking everything to shield Ryan from the top experts of the World Dominion Society. Ryan owed him a debt he could repay only with his life.
At this level of battle, you can't intervene unless you break through to Nascent Soul!' The Ghost Elder stopped Ryan, knowing he'd be throwing his life away.
'But! But!' Ryan could see clearly that Guihai’s face was getting worse. The four were locked in a clash of internal power; the world trembled, the ground cracked, and the scene was so intense it made Ryan’s heart shudder.
'Guihai One-Blade, you’re done for! Surrender! Is it worth it to fight the World Dominion Society alone for that kid?' one of the Saint Kings shouted.
Guihai One-Blade didn’t reply, just gave a cold smile.
Big brother, stop wasting words—strike while he’s weak! He’s already injured and his strength is down, this is our best chance to kill him. Guihai One-Blade is a huge name—if the three of us kill him, who in Huaxia would dare disrespect the World Dominion Society? We’d sweep Southriver in an instant!
Right! Opportunity knocks but once—if we kill him today, our status in Yan Capital and all Huaxia will soar. No one will look down on us, and maybe we’ll even break through to the God Realm!
Fine, let’s go all out—combine our Saint King powers and raise the Saint King War-Saber. Let’s finish him!' The leader had made up his mind; they’d been facing off on the Yangtze for three days and nights, and now it was time for the final battle.
The three shouted, and a saber thousands of meters long cut through the air, spanning the Yangtze and slashing straight at Guihai One-Blade.
Guihai’s face turned black, his saber-edge defenses shattered, and—maybe from the pressure or exhaustion—he suddenly coughed up blood! Ryan’s heart skipped a beat.
It was clear—Guihai One-Blade couldn’t hold out any longer.
No! I have to help him—even if I die in an instant, I don’t care!' Ryan couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward…