Decapitation

When the disparity in strength has not yet widened into something utterly insurmountable, the slightest gap in intelligence can prove fatal. Xu Yuan, Li Qingyan, and even the ten thousand Beifeng White Armors deployed below the city walls all knew they had no reinforcements coming. Faced with the godlike might of a Saint, their only choice was to stake everything on a single desperate gamble in exchange for a sliver of hope. Chi Feng, however, did not know this. Li Qingyan's order for her soldiers to swallow pills the moment they met might have seemed to Chi Feng like the desperate act of someone driven into a corner, but it could just as easily be interpreted as a ploy to buy time. He did not know if the main force of the Beifeng Army would suddenly appear over the horizon, whether the Great Yan God of War would ride south alone in Saint form, or whether Li Qingyan, wielding the explosive military array of ten thousand Beifeng White Armors who had bet their lives, could pierce his concealment and cut him down in a single blow. Having only just stepped into the Saint realm, Chi Feng had far too many things he had yet to master. Reason told him he ought to retreat, but he could not bring himself to do so. The Sacred City was a haven the Barbarians had poured a century's worth of resources into building. Here, his people had no need to fear their newborns succumbing to the bone-chilling cold. Here, his people could use the fire of the earth veins to eat cooked food. Here, his people could live the life they had once dreamed of, a life that had always been hopelessly out of reach. Yet even such a modest yearning for survival had been mercilessly crushed by the Yan army below. Those hundreds of snow-covered mounds outside the city were all the bones of his kin. He wanted vengeance. At the very least, he had to make these ten thousand Beifeng White Armors and that Great Yan princess accompany his people into death! If the Great Yan princess could push all her chips into the center without fearing death, what reason did he, the king of an entire race, have to cower? And so, Chi Feng struck. In his eyes, the soldiers' movements as they took their pills were as slow as crawling turtles. Relying on the near-perfect stealth granted by his Saint barbarian runes, he was confident he could slay Xu Yuan first, and then thoroughly settle his decade-long feud with Wuyuan before the military array's might surged to its peak. Yet all of that had been shattered by the figure draped in blood-red robes. Chi Feng could not understand how a human male who was merely at Soul Condensation—who had relied on the power of an aberrant ghost to obtain a Transcendent Realm physique—could be so formidable. Unable to use a Dao domain, how had he managed to break the concealment of the barbarian runes? None of that mattered anymore. A colossal sphere of inky jade spanned the sky, hovering silently like a blood-ringed moon hanging at the edge of the heavens, its qi aura so profound it made one dizzy. Everything within was invisible, inaudible, and impossible to probe. Amidst the deathly silence, a battered silhouette abruptly shot out from the rim of the nearly perfect inky sphere! His blood-stained robes hung in tatters, and his breath was as faint as a gossamer thread. Yet as he plummeted, the corners of his mouth bore the faint trace of a smile. Gazing at the colossal inky sphere suspended in the firmament, the smile on Xu Yuan's lips gradually widened. He had not expected the Barbarian King to still possess the strength to counterattack after taking the nameless technique head-on. But it was precisely that counterattack that allowed his smile to turn increasingly unbridled. Because he was still alive. Xu Yuan had never imagined he could withstand a Saint's full-power blow. According to what Luo Xiran had said, facing the full might of the Saint realm meant that even with the body of an aberrant ghost, he had zero chance of survival. His original plan had been to use the Barbarian King's attack to push his nameless technique—already pushed to its limits—over the edge, detonating himself before the enemy's strike could fully land, thereby avoiding a strike laden with the full force of Intent. Now, however... After the nameless technique struck Chi Feng squarely, Xu Yuan had directly endured Chi Feng's full-power punch imbued with the might of a Saint. Though his injuries were grave, he was still breathing. That meant the Barbarian King had sustained damage so severe that he no longer had the strength to kill him. "Changtian?!" Standing atop the city wall, Li Qingyan caught sight of the battered, blood-clad figure. Worry flared in her crimson eyes, and she instinctively moved to leap into the air to catch him. But before she could move, his weak yet amused voice rang in her ears: "I'm an aberrant ghost right now. Don't catch me. The Barbarian King isn't dead yet." "..." A grave look entered Li Qingyan's eyes. The white film of light covering the lowered edge of her crimson blade began to gleam brightly, and she barked in a low, sharp tone, "All troops, switch to the third Jinqi Pill!" The moment the command fell— *Boom!* Moving faster than the Beifeng White Armors below could track, the bloody silhouette smashed clean through the thick, rugged walls of the Barbarian Sacred City, kicking up a towering cloud of dust and snow that blotted out the sky. Just as the snow and dust billowed into the air, a brilliant light flared atop the city walls, illuminating more than half of the Sacred City. Accompanied by howling gales, the smoke and snow were blown apart, dispersing into wisps and ribbons that scattered across the city before vanishing. Yet the moment any of it touched the giant inky jade sphere suspended in the heavens, it was swallowed whole, like matter vanishing into a black hole. Its surface remained as dark as ink, as though it would persist forever. At this moment, everyone held their breath. They were all waiting. Waiting for the colossal inky jade sphere to disappear, revealing the Barbarian King within, and waiting for the desperate blade she held poised at her fingertips. One breath. Two breaths. Five breaths. A sudden shift occurred. Like a collapsing black hole, the colossal inky sphere in the sky abruptly imploded inward. Its disappearance was as abrupt as its arrival. As the inky sphere vanished, it revealed a burly figure whose bones were visible beneath shredded flesh. The tough chitinous armor and the eerie blue barbarian runes etched across his frame were nowhere to be seen. All that remained was a mangled body barely held together by ragged bundles of muscle. Chi Feng had not died, but that hulking, robust body was entirely ruined. Black blood gushed from his wounds and poured downward. The Saint's blood sizzling onto the ground corroded and melted straight through the stone pavers of the Barbarian City. Yet in stark contrast to his ruined body were those eerie blue eyes. They remained as cold as death, without the slightest hint of panic. He stood suspended in the void, looking down at everything below. Like a king. Just as he had done when he marched south at the head of his army, receiving the worship of a million subjects in this very place. Finally, Chi Feng's calm gaze settled on the crimson-clad figure atop the wall. *Bang!* The wall beneath her feet collapsed with a roar. Li Qingyan's crimson robes turned into a bloody blur as she shot forward, her clear, crisp voice ringing out: "Chi Feng, you can try to run, but I will still kill you." "..." A desperate, all-or-nothing strike. Watching the red-clad figure hurtle toward him, the bloody mess of Chi Feng's lips curled into a smile. The might of a Saint radiated outward from him, blanketing heaven and earth. A shimmering film of eerie blue light, like armor, draped over the surface of his body. Looked at closely, the light was composed of countless halos of radiance revolving around him. His voice boomed like thunder: "Since you offer such a sincere invitation, Wuyuan, what do I have to fear? Come!" Everything in the surroundings fell deathly still. Lying in the crater, the blood-clad young man let his heavy eyelids droop, gazing up at the sky with exhaustion. As Li Qingyan's figure carved a streak of white starlight through the air, the phantom of the White Kite formed by the military array also tore through the void from the ground. Eerie blue and pure white radiance. Watching the Barbarian King draw ever closer, the snowy indifference in Li Qingyan's eyes churned into a surge of concentrated killing intent. With a flick of her pale wrist, her saber swept back, and the snowy-white film of light cloaking the blade instantly caught fire. The colossal White Kite streaking through the air transformed at that very moment. A brilliant scarlet erupted from its sharp beak, racing along thousands of lines of white radiance to engulf its entire body. Scorching flames ignited around the phantom. Born from fire, the White Kite became a phoenix. The dazzling phoenix cleaved the night sky, its radiance illuminating half the firmament! Hundreds of zhang blurred past in an instant. Trailing blazing fire through the freezing night, the blade carved an exquisite arc through the air. Under the suffocating pressure of this pivotal moment, a flicker of tension crossed the eyes of Xu Yuan, who lay paralyzed in the crater. Li Qingyan had stayed behind for the sake of the righteousness in her heart, for the thousands of loyal soldiers under her command. He, however, had risked everything and stayed behind solely for her. As if sensing his quickening heartbeat, Luo Xiran's voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "She actually trusts you a great deal, unreliable brat that you are. So, at a time like this, you might try trusting her, too." "..." Hearing this, Xu Yuan's eyes flickered with an unreadable emotion. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly, and without replying, he quietly watched the graceful figure in red against the sky. Eerie blue chill and raging fire clashed in the heavens. Tearing through the void, Li Qingyan arrived before Chi Feng. The moment blade met the wind of his fist, space trembled violently. An invisible shockwave tore straight toward the ground. Countless buildings within the Barbarian Sacred City collapsed under the tremor, and before the dust of their collapse could even rise, it was swept away into the distance by the visible shockwave. No spells, no secret arts. A battle between martial practitioners, an outright clash of absolute physical might. Even so, Li Qingyan's blade, trailing terrifying flames, cleaved clean through the armor-like film of eerie blue light around Chi Feng without the slightest hindrance. With a twist of the blade, that stunning strike traced along Chi Feng's arm, parting his tough muscle fibers and slicing straight toward his neck! Although Xu Yuan's nameless technique had lacked Intent and thus could not damage the Barbarian King's origin, its sheer, unadulterated power had still left him severely wounded. Just as the blade drove forward, fast enough to pierce through space itself, and was on the verge of taking Chi Feng's head— *Hum!* Seeing this, the smile on Chi Feng's lips took on a bloodthirsty edge. His other arm, which had regenerated upon breaking through to the Saint realm, suddenly smashed toward Li Qingyan's head! As a Saint, even a newly ascended one burdened with terrible wounds, an explosion of power unleashed with disregard for his own life was still enough to shake heaven and earth. "Wuyuan... staking everything is something I can do as well." "Is that so?" Watching the rotting fist expand before her eyes, Li Qingyan spoke in a crisp, indifferent voice, without the slightest hesitation in her gaze. She did not retreat, nor did she dodge in the slightest. Her grip tightened on the hilt, and she accelerated once more. "..." All sound ceased in that instant. Abruptly— *Rumble!* Crimson flames ignited against the dark sky, and within an instant, the soaring phoenix fire spread across the heavens. Beneath this sea of churning fire, the thousands of Beifeng White Armors standing before the city coughed up mouthfuls of fresh blood. Those with weaker cultivation turned pale and collapsed into unconsciousness on the spot. This did not happen merely to the ordinary foot soldiers. Even the high-ranking officers swayed on their feet, nearly falling under the severe backlash from the military array. Yet unlike the rank-and-file, the Beifeng officers understood precisely what this meant. There were two ways a military array could collapse. One was from the bottom up. A military array connected its soldiers through the resonance of Source Qi. Every casualty on the battlefield reflected back onto the commanding general. If large numbers of troops were killed in a short span, the resulting backlash would severely injure the general, rendering them incapable of maintaining the array. The other was from the top down. If the commanding general was decapitated by the enemy, the linchpin maintaining the array would vanish. The link formed by the resonance of Source Qi would instantly rebound, injuring the soldiers through backlash. What was happening now was clearly the latter. Looking up toward the flames lighting the entire sky, the hearts of the Beifeng officers clenched. Her Highness... As the thought crossed their minds, a figure in red armor quietly tumbled from the sky, holding a crimson blade in one hand and a severed head in the other. With their sharp vision, the high-ranking officers caught sight of the head, and their eyes instantly flared with uncontrollable excitement. "Is that... the Barbarian King's head?" "Her Highness won?!" "The Barbarian King has been executed?!" "Her Highness has slain the Barbarian King! Supply corps, army medics, prepare the medicinal pills at once!" "Bai Jiaqi, remember what you promised! Pick out two for me!" "Piss off, haha! Anyone who can still move, check on the brothers next to you!" Shouts of excitement erupted one after another across the battered military array. Even though most were heavily injured, and even though the side effects of taking three Jinqi Pills would soon make them wish they were dead, heartfelt smiles and exhilaration blossomed across the faces of these Beifeng White Armors. The Barbarian King! That was the Barbarian King! Under Her Highness's leadership, they had used fewer than three full battalions to slay an ascended Saint! Amidst the celebration, a voice laced with confusion rang out, causing the clamoring ranks to fall dead silent: "Wait... where is the Barbarian King's body?" Indeed, there was no body. Though Princess Wuyuan held the Barbarian King's head in her grasp as she fell toward the ground, had he truly been slain, his body should have plummeted along with it. In the silence, the flames in the sky dissipated, revealing a headless, hulking frame. Just as panic began to spread, a bloody figure suddenly vaulted into the air from within the Barbarian Sacred City. Under the breathless gaze of the thousands of White Armors, he gently caught her as she fell. Then, a voice carrying an exhausted smile rang out: "Can't you people have a little faith in your Princess, like I do? "The Barbarian King is already dead." With that, Xu Yuan paid no further heed to the surging soldiers below. Lowering his gaze slightly, he looked at the soft, delicate woman in his arms. Their eyes met, and he asked softly, "How are you? Are your injuries bad?" Li Qingyan shot him a weak glance. "Mmh... probably a bit worse than yours, ghost. He was a Saint, after all." A smile flashed through Xu Yuan's eyes. Leaning close to her ear, he murmured, "Does that mean you can't resist me right now?" "Shameless." Letting out a soft, teasing scold, Li Qingyan looked at him. A faint smile touched her rosy lips, her breath sweet as orchids. "You did well. Whatever you want to do... once you regain your human body, I give you my permission."