Chapter Fifty-Six: The Collapse of the Army

Relying on his mastery of technique, the superiority of his weapon, and the dual advantages of being both a Summoner and a Shadow Warrior, Ye Zihan, with the strength of the mid-stage Three Talents, struck down a cultivator at the early Four Symbols stage—a feat others found nearly impossible: killing above his level!

The corners of his lips curled into a faint smile. He glanced toward Yan Chen, who wielded his Clear Wind longsword with dazzling speed, executing sword techniques that conjured thousands upon thousands of sword shadows, ethereal and dreamlike, leaving onlookers bewildered, unable to discern which was real.

But rather than asking which shadow was real, it was more accurate to say that every shadow was genuine, each embodying true substance, though none possessed the full force of the original.

Yan Chen’s eyes blazed with vigor as he shouted, “Sword Dance of the Silver Serpent!”

With a sweeping motion, the myriad sword shadows converged into a single form—a long, serpentine shape gleaming with silver light. The creature opened its gaping maw, lunging at his opponent.

His adversary was a Four Symbols cultivator, while Yan Chen himself was only at the late Three Talents stage. Yet, thanks to his overwhelming advantage in weaponry and technique, he never faltered. Instead, he grew stronger with each exchange, and his foe began to weaken.

“Hmph! Brash child, I advise you to surrender now, lest you force me to unleash my ultimate move!” The man, sensing his imminent defeat, spoke out, his heart smoldering with a frustration he could not vent—a sense of power rendered useless by the opponent’s superior armaments and skills, despite his own greater cultivation.

“Yan Chen, I’ve already taken care of my opponent. Why are you so slow?” Ye Zihan smiled slyly, deliberately provoking him.

Yan Chen’s body shifted. Seizing the moment as he drove his opponent back, he turned to see Ye Zihan standing with arms folded, smiling at him, while on the ground lay a charred, blackened corpse—a testament to the flames that had consumed it.

“You…” Yan Chen’s brow furrowed, his inner shock evident, and a pang of defeat rose within him. Yet, this feeling quickly transformed into motivation. “Hmph, Ye Zihan, do you really think you’re faster than me? I only let you go first. Watch as I dispatch this one!”

The man, angered by the contempt from someone weaker than himself, retorted, “Overestimating yourself!”

Ye Zihan’s words were meant to spur Yan Chen into unleashing his true strength. Yan Chen withdrew his three-foot sword, and the silver serpent mimicked his motion, gracefully retracting. Then, it danced in the air, its sinuous body twisting, sending forth dozens of smaller silver serpents, each only the size of a palm, darting toward the bandit from Clear Water Stronghold.

Their numbers rivaled the fire lotus Ye Zihan had unleashed earlier, though they moved somewhat slower and lacked the fire lotus’s devastating power. Still, the sudden assault of these tiny serpents caught the man off guard, leaving him unable to defend himself. Dozens of them landed on him, their mouths snapping open to bite.

“Ah…” The bandit let out a blood-curdling scream, his weapon clattering to the ground. In moments, his entire body was covered in silver serpents, blood spurting from every bite like fountains.

His form was ravaged, honeycombed by bites from head to toe, scalp to sole, no part spared. Hundreds of bloody holes opened across his body, blood spraying in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the once robust man was reduced to a gaunt skeleton, his skin clinging to bone.

Only then did the silver serpents gradually vanish, and the great silver serpent dancing in the air disappeared as well. Yan Chen sheathed his Clear Wind sword and turned to his companions, raising an eyebrow as if to say, “See? I dealt with him too.”

Ye Zihan shook his head. “That move of yours is truly remarkable. I wonder why he couldn’t break free from those silver serpents?”

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Yan Chen smiled mischievously. “Do you recall the mission in the Lost Bamboo Forest? I collected plenty of the Red Flame Serpent’s venom and infused it into my sword techniques. That’s why the man felt numb all over and couldn’t move. I even made some improvements to the venom.”

At this, his eyes gleamed with excitement, clearly pleased to have slain a Four Symbols cultivator. Though the difference in rank seemed small on paper, the gap between them was vast.

An early Four Symbols cultivator, under normal circumstances, could handle three peak late-stage Three Talents cultivators, and single-handedly slay ten mid-stage Three Talents cultivators! Such was the disparity between realms. Yet, for Ye Zihan and Yan Chen, these theories did not apply.

Their weapons alone gave them an overwhelming advantage. Ye Zihan’s Red Lotus was formidable, but Yan Chen’s Clear Wind sword—though it appeared plain and rough—was actually a Moon-tier weapon, only a step away from birthing a weapon spirit, just one rank below a Blood-tier weapon.

The ranking of weapons echoed the ranking of techniques, divided into five tiers: Shadow, Night, Wind, Moon, Blood, ascending in order.

“Zihan, I’m starting to find you terrifying. You’re only at mid-stage Three Talents, yet you finished off a Four Symbols cultivator faster than I did.” Yan Chen sighed, a hint of resignation on his face.

Ye Zihan chuckled. “Heh… My true combat power isn’t as simple as it looks.”

He spoke in earnest, without exaggeration. Should he unleash all five elements, the resulting power would be unimaginable—even he could not fathom its limits. His mentors, Master Hongyan and Master Lanyu, had warned him never to activate all five elements unless absolutely necessary.

Should the Illusory God Palace discover his unique constitution, the consequences would be dire—he would face relentless pursuit.

Ye Zihan understood this well, so he only displayed the abilities of a Summoner and a Shadow Warrior, keeping the other three disciplines secret, cultivating them in private. It was not yet time to openly challenge the Illusory God Palace; he would wait until his strength was fully developed before confronting them.

On the banks of the Splashing Waters, the battle had reached its climax. Both sides were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand, and each bore wounds. Ye Zihan and Yan Chen exchanged cold laughs and joined the Seventh Leader—the one who had tried to teach them a lesson in the council hall.

“You two brothers?” The Seventh Leader cried out in surprise, his heart warming with gratitude. This was true heroism, helping others despite past grievances.

“You killed those two Four Symbols cultivators?” His shock deepened as he saw the two corpses: one burned black, the other reduced to skin and bone amid a pool of blood—both sights chilling to the bone.

A cold sweat broke out on the Seventh Leader’s brow. He was himself only at the early Four Symbols stage; had these two revealed their full abilities in the council hall, he would surely have perished!

“Seventh Leader, let’s finish off the rest before we talk.” Ye Zihan’s shout snapped the Seventh Leader out of his reverie. The three joined forces and quickly dispatched their foe, then threw themselves into another skirmish.

Wherever they joined the fray, their combined strength overwhelmed the enemy, swiftly resolving each conflict.

At first, it was only Ye Zihan and Yan Chen. Gradually, their numbers grew to ten.

The Clear Water Stronghold bandits noticed something was amiss. Staring at the ground, they saw more than ten bodies, and cold sweat broke out in terror. The chieftain of Clear Water Stronghold roared, “Liuguang Stronghold, you despicable cowards! Bullying us with superior numbers! Hmph, Clear Water brothers, retreat!”

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The defeated fled like a landslide. Their perfect plan had collapsed, and the chief’s fury could not be expressed in words.

Yet, even as he departed, he made sure to embellish their retreat with a grand excuse, painting Liuguang Stronghold as scoundrels and elevating Clear Water Stronghold to the status of gentlemen.

The Liuguang Stronghold chief laughed heartily, saying nothing, though his eyes betrayed undisguised contempt. If this was the chief’s behavior, what could be expected from the rest of the Clear Water bandits? They were nothing more than hypocrites, skilled in rhetoric but lacking substance.

Yan Chen spared no effort in mocking them, shouting, “Clear Water Stronghold, you’re nothing but deceitful cowards. Weren’t you just boasting about wiping out Liuguang Stronghold? Why are you fleeing now, tails tucked between your legs? Tsk tsk… That’s not good at all. You forgot to clean up after yourselves. Come, let us give each of you a good kick before you crawl away… Hey, you there, the chief—oh, Clear Water Stronghold’s chieftain—your shorts are falling down. Huh, why is your face so red? Wow, even your veins are bulging? What a spectacle…”

“Hahaha…” The slopes of Splashing Waters echoed with thunderous laughter. Ye Zihan too burst out, finding Yan Chen utterly entertaining—his words stripped the bandits of all dignity, leaving them furious yet unable to return, their frustration palpable.

Just then, flames erupted atop Clear Water Stronghold, sending its retreating members into panic. The chief cried out, “What’s happening?”

“Your Dragon Grandpa just relieved himself on the mountain. Nothing to worry about,” came the youthful voice of Mo You, as his serpentine form glided through the air.

“Dragon?” The chief’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The others gasped as well.

“A dragon! What’s going on? Is the dragon tribe attacking us?”

“That’s a Thousand Phantom Blood Dragon, one of the three great beast clans!”

Mo You circled in the air, letting out a sky-shaking roar.

The dragon’s cry thundered across the land, making earth and sky tremble.

“Big brother, as you ordered, it’s done!” Mo You landed beside Ye Zihan, speaking with his gaping maw.

What? The Thousand Phantom Blood Dragon called this youth ‘big brother’?

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