That slash...
It seemed to tear the very sky apart, carving open a wound that would long struggle to heal. The air currents on either flank of the wound were crushed violently by the blade astral qi, forming visible vortices of white shockwaves that parted to both sides like roiling, scalding water.
To the hundreds of martial artists watching from nearby, that blood-red blade light appeared immeasurably vast and crushing, as if dragging the entire vault of heaven down with it!
Xiao Qing turned slightly pale. "Is this the true might of a Grandmaster going all out?!"
Even as the legitimate daughter of a Second Rank Grandmaster, she had never seen her father take action against an enemy. She had rarely even seen a Third Rank Grandmaster fight. After all, among the hundreds of millions of people in Qin Province, Third Rank Grandmasters were revered figures of exceedingly lofty standing. How could any ever be at her beck and call to demonstrate their techniques for her amusement?
Zhou Miaosu's breath caught as well. She felt as though a mountain were pressing down upon her chest. Subconsciously clutching her front, she looked toward Huang Tian standing beneath that peerless blade astral qi, quietly sighing in grief and pity.
Outside the dense forest, in front of the steed.
Before the ferocious blade astral qi tearing heaven and earth could even reach Huang Tian's brows, its violent astral winds had already ground the earth around him inch by inch into fine powder. The steed let out a terrified whinny and tried to flee the area covered by the blade astral qi, but its legs went limp, and it sank to its knees, whimpering helplessly.
*Huuu—*
At this hairsbreadth moment, an exhale sounded. The sound was undeniably soft and gentle, yet it rang crystal clear in everyone's ears.
Directly following that faint breath...
Came a thunderous explosion!
Huang Tian snapped his head up. His long hair danced like a wild dragon in the howling astral winds, his eyes burning as hot as magma inside a volcano. As if hundreds upon thousands of blast furnaces had detonated within him at once, an overwhelming surge of vitality and blood erupted brazenly!
*Boom!*
Scalding vitality and blood surged skyward, mingling with true qi as surging and vast as the open sea. It condensed into a thick crimson pillar of qi, like a beacon tower's smoke plume, soaring straight into the heavens to collide fiercely and rigidly with that slash meant to cleave everything in twain.
*Dong!*
A world-shaking crash erupted, as though two divine peaks had slammed together with colossal force!
A brilliant scarlet mushroom cloud burst open in midair. Gale-force currents tore wildly in every direction, snapping rows of giant trees clean in half. Earth and stone were blasted aloft, and layers of soil and sand carpeting the ground peeled back like a gargantuan curtain thrown wide.
Waves of turbulent shockwaves whipped up a sky full of dust and grit, sweeping out toward the distant spectators. Some martial artists retreated while raising their sleeves to shield themselves from the stinging grit.
Yet far more ignored the flying dust, staring in utter disbelief with wide, terror-struck eyes at Huang Tian, whose vitality and blood towered into the clouds, and at the blade astral qi that had been completely annihilated in midair by the crimson pillar of vitality and true qi.
That majestic, dazzling blade astral qi spanning a hundred zhang had actually been blocked just like that?!
No!
It hadn't merely been blocked!
It had been blasted into absolute oblivion!
Xiao Qing's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open slackly. Zhou Miaosu clutched her chest in disbelief, while Granny Weng looked as though she were trapped in a dream, murmuring under her breath, "Such power... Can this truly belong to a martial artist of the middle three ranks?"
Having smashed through the mountain-cleaving blade astral qi, the scalding smoke of vitality and blood did not dissipate. Instead, higher in the heavens, it burst with a loud bang, transforming into a roiling crimson cloud.
The moment this crimson cloud came into contact with the ambient spiritual qi, a miraculous reaction seemed to occur. The spiritual qi from several li around rushed toward it in droves.
*Rumble!*
The sky began to undulate violently, like the surface of a lake struck by a massive boulder.
Countless wisps of spiritual qi converged frantically, blending into the crimson cloud.
In the blink of an eye, a scarlet fire cloud spanning several mu materialized in midair, churning and boiling, radiating terrifying heat waves capable of scorching the heavens and boiling the seas!
And in the very center of that crimson cloud, the colossal phantom of an Eight Trigrams alchemy furnace slowly rotated into existence.
The furnace body was ancient and primitive, corresponding to the Eight Trigrams above and harmonizing with the Nine Palaces below. Runes flowed across its outer walls, seemingly harboring the ultimate truths of heaven and earth and the profound mysteries of the Great Dao.
Merely hanging there, it exuded a dread-inducing presence that threatened to refine all creation and suppress all existence, freezing the very air beneath the crimson cloud into total stillness!
Pei Guan, who had already been reeling from his blade astral qi's destruction, was instantly seized by intense unease and imminent peril the moment he laid eyes on that vast crimson cloud and ancient alchemy furnace. His hairs stood on end, and his breathing turned ragged.
Right at that instant.
Huang Tian abruptly raised his right foot and stomped down viciously, like an enormous colossus of an elephant treading upon the earth!
*Crash!*
The entire ground seemed to shudder violently beneath this single stomp. Several deep, long chasms ripped open across the terrain, spiderweb cracks spreading out in every direction.
Endless dust and gravel were blasted skyward, resembling a yellow waterfall rushing in reverse.
Borrowing the immense recoil of shattering rock and earth, Huang Tian shot straight into the sky like a meteor trailing a long fiery tail!
The vitality and blood throughout his body erupted like hundreds of volcanoes bursting simultaneously. The crimson beacon-smoke, coalesced almost to physical substance and merged with surging true qi, enveloped him until he became a humanoid, blazing sun!
High in the heavens, amidst the dense crimson cloud, Huang Tian raised a single palm.
A plain, ordinary palm strike.
Yet wherever the palm wind passed, the crimson cloud blanketing the sky and the vast, primordial phantom of the Eight Trigrams furnace seemed pulled along with it, issuing a deafening roar.
It was as if his palm supported the entire crimson expanse, as if his hand gripped that marvelous, divine furnace!
Pushing through layer upon layer of air, it pressed toward Pei Guan with the unstoppable might of toppling mountains and churning seas!
*I cannot block this strike!*
*Flee! Run!*
Pei Guan's heart lurched in pure horror. He desperately wanted to pull back and escape, but under that palm, the surrounding space seemed frozen stiff. His body felt mired in a bog, unable to break free.
Seeing that he could neither dodge nor flee, overwhelming terror and fury caused his eyes to bulge until the corners tore, weeping blood.
With a frenzied roar, he frantically channeled every scrap of true qi and vitality within him, pouring it recklessly into the dark crimson saber in his grip.
The blade trembled violently, letting out a wail that neared its breaking point.
Then...
"You die with me!"
A dark crimson blade astral qi—more condensed, blazing, and desperate than any he had ever unleashed—burst forth with tragic finality!
This single slash concentrated the entirety of his spirit, qi, and vitality.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, he brought the blade down savagely toward the slowly advancing palm print that seemed infused with the phantom of the alchemy furnace!
The palm and the blade astral qi collided in midair.
This time, there was no earth-shattering explosion.
The moment his blinding, radiant blade light touched that palm print, it melted and dissolved without a sound, like snow cast into a sacred Eight Trigrams furnace.
All of his power and all of his killing intent were smoothed over, neutralized, and returned to nothingness by that single palm.
Having utterly extinguished the last trace of blade astral qi, Huang Tian's mountain-heavy palm met no further resistance. It slammed squarely into Pei Guan's chest.
*Boom!*
An indescribably domineering force detonated within the Grandmaster's body, blasting his flesh, bones, and organs—everything beneath his neck—into utter ruin.
A cruel, magnificent firework of blood bloomed across the sky.
Amidst the drifting mist of gore, the crimson clouds and furnace phantom in the sky gradually dispersed. Huang Tian's figure descended with supreme lightness, landing softly back upon the ground.
His crimson robe fluttered in the breeze, looking like it had been dipped in blood, yet also resembling a burning flame.
Dead silence fell.
As if someone had pressed a pause button on the world, everyone fell into a daze, staring blankly as Pei Guan's lone remaining head plummeted from midair, rolling several times across the dirt until it was coated in dust.
A Grandmaster-level expert... had actually been slain this easily?!
And the one who killed him was merely a youth in his teens, a martial artist of the middle three ranks?
Amidst the silence, Yu Jingcheng, perched high in the sky, was momentarily paralyzed by disbelief. Then, a hearty, thoroughly unrestrained laugh tore from his lips, rolling over the countryside like a wave of thunder.
He swiftly flew down toward Huang Tian and landed on the earth. His face was a mixture of triumph and profound shock. Only after a long pause did he manage to ask, "You broke through to the Fifth Rank?"
Huang Tian smiled and nodded.
Yu Jingcheng chuckled. "No wonder! I knew you weren't someone to act recklessly. Why else would you suddenly ride out of the city? You were luring the snake from its hole! Next time, be sure to give me fair warning. You scared this old man half to death."
"That was my oversight," Huang Tian replied sincerely.
"Bah, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter at all!" Yu Jingcheng laughed heartily, sizing him up from head to toe and repeating, "Fine lad! What a fine lad!"
He then walked over to Pei Guan's head. With a light stamp of his foot, the ground trembled, kicking the head up into his hand. Without the slightest revulsion, he brushed aside the matted hair and examined the features closely.
"This is... Pei Guan, a Third Rank Grandmaster of the Demonic Cult!"
He exclaimed in wonder, "Earlier, when I was pursuing him, that dark crimson saber of his looked familiar, and I suspected it was him. Looking at him now, it truly is.
"This Pei Guan had quite the reputation. In his early years, he was a true disciple of a minor sect. Later, for unknown reasons, he betrayed his master and joined the Demonic Cult. Over twenty years later, having attained the Grandmaster realm, he returned to slaughter his former sect, butchering his teachers and peers with ruthless arrogance. Who would have thought he would be suppressed and slain right here by your hand today?"
He clicked his tongue in unending marvel. "A Fifth Rank slaying a Third Rank Grandmaster... Such a feat has rarely been heard of since antiquity. Huang Tian, your name is truly going to resound throughout the realm!"
A Sixth Rank slaying a Fourth Rank was something that a few dazzling First Rank Great Grandmasters had managed in their youth.
Yet a Fifth Rank killing a Third Rank was entirely different.
For no other reason than the fact that the Grandmaster realm was an insurmountable chasm. Even Fourth Ranks who could hold their own against a Grandmaster without defeat were exceedingly scarce, let alone a Fifth Rank actually slaying one.
Yu Jingcheng asked, "Shall we return to the city now?"
"Return to the city and change horses."
Huang Tian nodded. He glanced back at the steed still lying on the ground whimpering, walked over, and pressed his right hand onto the horse's head, infusing it with gentle true qi.
A moment later, the horse let out a clear neigh, slowly rose to its feet, and began trotting merrily in place.
Pondering what Huang Tian meant by changing horses, Yu Jingcheng suddenly recalled the Feihong Sect, which had attempted to assassinate him twice. Startled, he condensed his voice into a thin thread: *You plan to seek revenge on the Feihong Sect?!*
Huang Tian similarly replied via secret voice transmission: *Yes.*
*Are you confident?*
*I am.*
Yu Jingcheng's expression grew solemn. *In that case, I will have someone prepare a dragon horse for you. It can travel two thousand li a day without tiring. On its back, you will reach the Feihong Sect in about a day.*
A dragon horse had nothing to do with flood dragons in the great rivers, nor did it bear scales or bizarre features.
Aside from being exceptionally tall, robust, remarkably enduring, and swift, its appearance differed little from an ordinary steed. It was named as such solely for its dragon-like ferocity and fearless valor; throughout history, generals had ridden such mounts into battle.
"Many thanks, Assistant Commissioner."
"A minor matter." Yu Jingcheng still felt some worry and pressed further, "Are you truly going alone? Do you need this old man to accompany you and stand guard from the shadows?"
"The commandery seat still needs you to oversee things, Assistant Commissioner. It wouldn't do for you to leave," Huang Tian replied. "Besides, I am enough on my own."
"Very well, then."
Knowing that he truly could not leave the commandery seat at such a critical juncture, Yu Jingcheng did not insist further. He simply cautioned, "If the situation turns unfavorable, do not force it. We have plenty of time. With your talent, it won't be long before the Feihong Sect can be wiped out with the flip of a hand."
"I understand."
After a few quick words, Yu Jingcheng smiled and tossed the severed head to Huang Tian. "Your merit."
The Great Gan imperial court had decreed that a bounty of silver and recorded merit would be granted for slaying any Demonic Cult rebel. Killing a Demonic Cult Grandmaster was an immense achievement.
Catching the head, Huang Tian hung it by the flank of his saddle, vaulted onto the horse, and, without needing to utter a command, allowed the steed to let out a smug whinny before trotting lightly toward the city gate with Huang Tian on its back.
The hundreds of martial artists involuntarily parted to make way, staring blankly as the red-robed figure rode into the city.
Only after his silhouette had faded completely from view did the crowd erupt into an uproar.
"He killed a Grandmaster! A martial artist of the middle three ranks killed a Grandmaster?!"
"A miracle! Utterly inconceivable!"
"Just what realm is Huang Tian at? The Sixth Rank? That can't be possible, right?"
"He revealed the Sixth Rank realm just days ago. Could he have broken through to the Fifth Rank? If he slew a Grandmaster at the Sixth Rank, that would be beyond unbelievable..."
"Listen to yourself! Slaying a Grandmaster at the Fifth Rank is just as unbelievable!"
"So this is what a true genius is..."
"..."
The crowd buzzed with ceaseless debate.
Among them, Xiao Qing's eyes sparkled, her cheeks flushed crimson as she stared dazedly toward the end of the road.
Beside her, Granny Weng sighed inwardly at the sight. *Has the Third Young Mistress been smitten? But it is already too late. Why would a peerless genius capable of leaping two ranks to slay a Grandmaster ever look twice at her?*
In truth, once someone possessed the combat prowess of a Grandmaster, they were rarely referred to simply as geniuses. They were considered true powerhouses, fully capable of dominating a commandery and running rampant across a province!
Such a figure possessed exceedingly high standards. Moreover, compared to those Third Rank Grandmasters who had clawed their way up through immense trials and tribulations, Huang Tian's potential was immeasurable. He was qualified to become a son-in-law to the King of Great Gan himself.
The daughter of a mere Second Rank Grandmaster would hardly catch his eye, unless the two had harbored mutual feelings from an early age.
Yet how could that be possible? They hadn't even met before today, and had nearly clashed over a misunderstanding!
The thought of her Third Young Mistress's spoiled, willful temperament gave Granny Weng an even greater headache. At this point, she harbored no hopes of prying into Huang Tian's secrets, nor did she dream of any marital alliance. She would thank the heavens if the young mistress simply didn't lose her head and offend him.
Being marked by a genius of such terrifying potential was by no means a good thing.
Even with a Second Rank Grandmaster for a father, such a prospect would still inspire dread and sleepless nights!
Compared to Xiao Qing, Zhou Miaosu was far more composed. Although her heart stirred, she understood that such a man was far beyond her reach. After all, her background couldn't even match Xiao Qing's.
Xiao Qing at least had a father who was a Second Rank Grandmaster. Zhou Miaosu was merely the niece of a Second Rank Divine Constable. A niece and a daughter were vastly different, after all.
*Still, even if we cannot forge a romantic bond, befriending him is entirely possible. Ordinary gifts wouldn't catch his eye, but there is one item that should prove useful to him...*
Chapter 104