Chapter 19: Might Shakes the Eight Directions

The blade aura and fighting aura clashed in midair, rending the air with sounds like tearing silk. Chen Nan stood rooted to the spot, while Sima Lingkong staggered backward five steps, his blood surging and his face flushed crimson. Yet he refused to retreat. With a cold gleam in his eyes, he raised his sword and charged again.

Blade aura and fighting aura crisscrossed and clashed in the sky. After unleashing a blinding barrage of blade light, Chen Nan launched himself into the air, soaring into the void. Golden radiance blazed around him like raging flames, as if he were clad in a suit of golden battle armor. He stomped down toward Sima Lingkong from above. An immense pressure enveloped Sima Lingkong; the overwhelming force made it difficult for him to breathe. But before the elite of the capital, Sima Lingkong refused to back down and lose face. Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword to meet the attack, his dazzling fighting aura shooting upward.

When the dark green fighting aura met the external sword qi beneath Chen Nan’s feet, it was shattered and scattered. The light dimmed instantly as the golden sword qi plunged downward.

Terrified, Sima Lingkong retreated while slashing with his sword. A series of afterimages appeared before the onlookers’ eyes. In an instant, Chen Nan delivered thirteen kicks, breaching the dark green fighting aura’s defense and landing heavily on Sima Lingkong’s sword. Sima Lingkong gripped his sword with both hands to block, but the immense pressure was unbearable. His feet shattered the marble floor and sank into the ground.

By the eleventh kick, the sword had completely shattered, crumbling into metallic dust that fell from the air. Sima Lingkong spat blood, his legs buried up to his knees. The twelfth and thirteenth kicks followed. Full of regret, Sima Lingkong cursed his own stubborn pride. Forced to act, he raised both palms to meet Chen Nan’s descending feet.

With two thunderous crashes, light flared, and energy waves rolled. Sima Lingkong was sent flying backward. Those with keen senses heard two sharp cracks. Looking closely, they saw that Sima Lingkong’s palms were broken, hanging limply as he tumbled through the air.

At the same moment, Chen Nan delivered a devastating overhead slash. The dazzling, razor-sharp blade light was like a rainbow spanning the sky, like a lightning bolt streaking across the heavens. Vast waves of energy surged in its wake.

If that brilliant blade light had struck Sima Lingkong, it would have reduced him to dust in an instant. Several high-ranking martial artists who had followed the emperor from the palace rushed forward to intercept the devastating blow.

With a crash, the six experts stood frozen in the field, clutching broken swords. The force of that single slash had nearly injured all six of them. Chen Nan and Sima Lingkong landed separately. The former pointed his long blade at the sky, his body glowing with golden light and his battle spirit high. The latter, pale and coughing blood, wore a face full of shame and fury.

The exchange had been incredibly fast, happening in the blink of an eye. If not for the timely intervention of the high-ranking martial artists, Sima Lingkong would have been dead on the spot.

Many present had seen Chen Nan fight before, yet they still looked stunned.

Sima Changfeng shook his head and sighed. “That child is too impulsive. How could he try to overpower him with brute force?”

Murmurs spread through the crowd:

“A third-rank Eastern martial artist who has reached the realm of external sword qi is truly terrifying!”

“He can unleash blade light and even the lost Dragon Capturing Hand…”

The little princess watched with excitement. “A hero rescuing a beauty—right before my eyes! Wow, so cool! If only someone with unparalleled skills would appear at my wedding, defeat all challengers, and stand before me magnificently… That would be amazing!”

The empress thumped her on the head. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

The little princess protested, “Why did you hit me?”

The empress glanced around and lowered her voice. “If you keep causing trouble regardless of the occasion, I’ll confine you to the palace for a month.”

“Hehe.” The little princess giggled. “I never expected that scoundrel to get so powerful.”

Just then, Chu Yue addressed the talents of the Qishi Mansion. “Chen Nan has grown this arrogant, rebelling against Chu before the sovereign’s very eyes. I request that all talents join forces to capture him.”

Exclamations of alarm arose from among the talents:

“Heavens! I can’t gather any magical elements!”

“My cultivation has suddenly vanished!”

Cries of shock continued unabated.

A thought seemed to strike Chu Yue. Her expression shifted dramatically as she shouted angrily at Chen Nan, “You… you instigated Senior Poison Master to drug the talents! How ruthless! Do you intend to sacrifice so many lives?” Chu Yue was genuinely alarmed. If all the talents died from poisoning, it would be an immeasurable loss to Chu.

Chen Nan snorted coldly. “Don’t judge others by your own vile standards. They have only temporarily lost their power.”

Truth be told, Chen Nan’s understanding of human nature was still immature. At this point, he was still naive—unable to harden his heart enough to poison all of Chu’s talents to death. He did not resort to unscrupulous means just because they were about to become enemies.

In an instant, Chu Yue’s face turned ashen. She commanded, “All imperial high-ranking martial artists, hear my order: Kill this traitor at all costs!”

Dozens of highly skilled imperial martial artists stepped into the arena, exuding an oppressive pressure.

Chen Nan shouted, “Who dares move? I’ll kill them immediately!” He unslung the Houyi Bow and nocked a feathered arrow to the string.

One of the imperial martial artists, seemingly their leader, called out, “Don’t be afraid! Charge together! His arrow can only bring down one of us…”

Rumble!

The heavens dimmed, and the clouds shifted! Accompanied by rolling thunder, the string of the divine Houyi Bow twanged softly. A golden arrow shot forth like a bolt of lightning.

Now that Chen Nan’s cultivation was far beyond what it had been, the power of the light arrow was incomparably greater than when he had been in Chu’s western border. The dazzling arrow—which made everyone’s soul tremble—was like a tyrant dragon emerging from the sea, its might shaking all directions. The overwhelming pressure made it hard for people for miles around to breathe. The arrow vanished into the chest of the martial artist leader in an instant. The man exploded on the spot, leaving only a mist of blood in the air. The pungent stench of blood was nauseating.

The residual force of that arrow was immense. Huge waves of energy surged like a raging sea through the entire Sima residence. The terrifying energy fluctuations caused everyone present to lose their footing and tumble to the ground.