Whizz, whizz, whizz! With a fierce whoosh, bullets powerful enough to blast through helicopters tore through the air.
But the Golden Blade King’s expression didn’t change. He just snorted disdainfully, “So straightforward—easy to see through. This kind of thing—what’s the point!” Swish! His long blade flashed from its sheath. A streak of golden light dazzled everyone, a slash so brilliant it seemed to steal their very souls.
In an instant, no one could tell how many times the Golden Blade King had slashed—only the endless sparks clanging before him. He stood in a bow stance, unmoving, as if a five-foot invisible arc formed a boundary in front of him. Sparks burst fiercely along that line, but he didn’t retreat a single step or take a scratch. Instead, the ground behind him kept erupting, and someone was wailing and shattering apart.
“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?!” The Golden Blade King burst out laughing, barreling through the hail of bullets under Rachel Luo’s stunned, ghost-seeing gaze. His figure darted like a phantom, zigzagging with each charge. But The Fool’s eyes gleamed with a strange light, tracking him unerringly with his gun. Just as the Golden Blade King was halfway there, The Fool suddenly whipped out a missile and tossed it over.
The Golden Blade King, moving with practiced ease, gave a long laugh and sliced down—BOOM! Flames shot sky-high, swallowing everything.
The Fool, face blank, pulled out a few more missiles and lobbed them over—one after another—then even whipped out a whole pack of grenades. Explosions kept rolling, the draft horses up front running for their lives. The two women stared back, too stunned to even make a face. Glancing at The Fool, his wooden eyes now had a hint of devious mischief.
“The Golden Blade King—he’s just dead like that?” Fiona Fang muttered in disbelief, “How can those firebombs be so insanely strong?”
Rachel Luo gritted her teeth. “He’s gotta be dead, right? Shot and blown up—no way he’s still alive!”
But The Fool said in a low voice, “Not dead.”
“Huh?” The two women shrieked in unison.
The Fool gazed deeply toward the rear. Nobody else could see it, but he saw everything clear as day. When the Golden Blade King struck the missile, The Fool seemed to sense something, his face changed, and the blade’s force suddenly turned from hard to soft. The explosion didn’t hit him head on, and the follow-up attacks were the same—the Golden Blade King hadn’t taken a fatal blow.
The wind howled, carrying shrieks. The Golden Blade King was mopping up survivors. Wouldn’t be long before those folks were history, this place buried in dust. Then he’d catch up, and at this carriage’s speed, there’s no way we’re shaking him.
A thoughtful look crossed The Fool’s face, his mind spinning. He remembered he had a speedy ride in his storage space, some kind of supercar—whatever, the name wasn’t important. If he hopped on, he could lose the Golden Blade King. But he suddenly didn’t want to use it—too flashy, leaves tracks everywhere, nowhere to hide.
Up above, the blade-winged bird kept circling, like it was writing calligraphy in the sky. Flying at over a thousand zhang—so high it felt unreal, and no one could tell how fast it really was. But The Fool knew: that bird was lightning fast. Even with a motor vehicle, escaping its sight would be tough. Ground folks couldn’t do a thing, unless they had top-grade anti-aircraft guns.
What now?
"Lingji, where’s your backup?" Rachel Luo suddenly remembered, getting anxious. "Can your contact handle the Golden Blade King?"
"Uh..." Fiona Fang hesitated. "My aunt’s from the Flower Kingdom’s Guardian Clan—she’s my contact. But I don’t know who’s coming. The Guardian Clan’s got lots of experts, but most probably aren’t a match for the Golden Blade King..." Fiona got gloomier, hugged her head and wailed, "Why’d the Golden Blade King show up himself?! Wasn’t any sign of this before!"
Rachel Luo bowed her head, thinking hard, then suddenly turned serious. "Do you know much about the Golden Blade King?"
"Not really, just heard the legends. The Four Kings—Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron—plus Blood Dripper and the Lost Man, make six of Peng Kingdom’s top dogs. Golden Blade King’s one of them, probably top thirty in the world."
"Only top thirty?" Rachel Luo’s eyes popped. "I thought he was the strongest! Slicing bullets, mowing people down—he’s already bonkers strong."
But Fiona Fang shook her head. "World’s huge, tons of experts. We only know the famous ones—who knows how many hidden masters are out there in the wild or city alleys? Besides Peng Kingdom, there’s Kun Kingdom, Flower Kingdom, Butterfly Kingdom, and the Zhou Dynasty holding down the center. Beyond that, there’s the Southern Wasteland, Western Wilds, Northern Barrens, and the endless Eastern Sea islands. Golden Blade King making top thirty is already impressive."
"Peng, Kun, Flower, Butterfly..." The Fool echoed, looking spaced out. Meanwhile, in the secret chamber at Lark Palace, Yang Qi rolled over in her sleep, drooling and muttering, "Well, we’ve got the whole bird-fish-bug collection now..."
Skipping the time-warped banter, Rachel Luo pressed, "No, I mean his personality, his story! Everyone’s got their own motives—there’s always something to negotiate. If I can figure out his quirks, I’m sure I can stall him for a bit!"
Fiona Fang just gave a helpless smile. "I don’t know a thing about his life."
"My life’s simple—kill, kill, kill." A voice boomed beside them, nearly stopping the women’s hearts. The Fool looked back; Golden Blade King was still far off, but his voice traveled the distance like a supernatural shout.
Internal energy really is a freaky thing.
The horses were quick, but Golden Blade King was quicker. As he closed in, the whole blood-red world seemed to press down. The sun was dying, last rays barely hanging on, and all they could see was a pair of glowing red eyes barreling toward them like a demon. He’d catch up in no time.
[Irrelevant web navigation note skipped.]
"Ah! What do we do, what do we do?!" The two women couldn’t help but shriek together.
The Fool stayed cool as ever, pointing at Fiona Fang. "You, drive."
"Oh, and what about you?"
The Fool didn’t answer, just hopped off the carriage, landing steady in the middle of the old road. Wind whipped his clothes, blood-red world closing in. But The Fool looked down at his hand, muttered again, "Why run?" Then he looked up at Golden Blade King, shrugged, raised his hand, planted his feet—his back straight as a pine, solid as a mountain. Suddenly, a powerful aura radiated from him, and the blood-red world seemed to freeze, unable to move forward.
"Hmm?" Golden Blade King sensed something, his hawk eyes gleaming. "Interesting, so that’s how it is!" He reached for his waist, teeth flashing. "No idea if you’re bluffing, but you’re worth a blade. Take this—Heavenly King Ghost-Slaying!"
Buzz—golden light spread, and another heart-stopping slash appeared. Golden Blade King seemed to merge with his blade, body vanishing, leaving only the blinding sword flash. This was the one-and-only Heavenly King Ghost-Slaying Blade.
Facing the incoming slash, The Fool’s eyes flashed with weird light. He stepped forward and threw a punch, meeting the blade head-on with bare fists.
On the speeding carriage, the two ladies screamed in unison, eyes wide: "Idiot—!!"
In a split second, both were sent flying.
The Fool wasn’t chopped to bits, but was flung over twenty meters away. He rolled, landed, and retreated several steps before stopping. His shirt now had a long gash across the chest—a close call.
On the other side, Golden Blade King also staggered back a few steps, braced himself, and stared in shock. That split-second clash truly surprised him—his opponent clearly had no true energy, yet still made him stumble. In that instant, The Fool showed wild adaptability, landing a punch right at the King’s weak spot.
That freaky punch made the King feel off—not energy-wise, but his body itself was rattled. Only by channeling his power did he feel better. If he hadn’t reacted fast, he might’ve been hurt. That split-second clash was just too complicated to describe.
"What kind of fist technique is that? Southern Wasteland secret art?"
The Fool didn’t answer.
"Hmph, whatever, doesn’t matter." Golden Blade King strode forward, his murderous aura bursting out like clashing armor, charging at The Fool. The Fool stood firm, face blank but eyes sharp, subtly shifting his stance, clearly thinking up a counter.
"Your technique’s neat, but that’s all. No internal energy—that’s your fatal flaw. Three moves, I’ll take your arm. Ten, I’ll take your life!"
Murderous intent burned in his hawk eyes as Golden Blade King grinned viciously and slashed down.
But just then, his face suddenly changed. The slash froze in midair—he couldn’t bring it down. He reached up and touched his cheek, and found a flower petal stuck there. At his level, surging with internal energy, not even hidden weapons could get close—let alone a petal. Yet this one pierced his energy and landed right on his face.
Then, smoke began to rise from his face—not steam, but cold mist, like the chill off ice cream fresh from the freezer in midsummer.
A layer of ice spread from the petal, grew to the size of a coin, then faded away.
Of course, Golden Blade King wasn’t hurt—a petal’s chill couldn’t touch him. But he plucked it off and examined it: pure white, vibrant, not a scratch. The chill got him, but not the petal—now that’s skill.
"What a move—falling leaves, flying flowers, what a bone-chilling yin energy. Bright Moon Divine Skill really lives up to its name." Golden Blade King’s gaze darkened as he looked ahead. "Didn’t expect you’d show up in person—Princess Flower Shifter."