Breakout

"The Jishi Society..." At those words, Jiang Shengtian was filled with both shock and fury. Shocked that this mysterious expert was indeed a member of the Jishi Society. Furious that the Jishi Society harbored such a terrifying powerhouse, yet Qi Renjie, the head of their intelligence apparatus, hadn't caught wind of it beforehand. Had they known the Jishi Society concealed such an individual, they would never have treated them as mere small fry. Instead, they would have mobilized legions of experts to crush them like a lion pouncing on a rabbit, striking only once they were certain of wiping out every Martial Saint-level executive in the Jishi Society in one fell swoop. "Issue the order! I'll issue it right now!" Jiang Shengtian shouted toward Lei Ting outside, "Quick! Release all Jishi Society personnel!" Lei Ting immediately gave a hand signal to the Martial Saints and Spirit Intent Martial Saints who were rapidly rushing over and encircling the building. A moment later, the Star Shrine Hall Master spoke again: "I have already ordered their release. Now, it is time for you to show your sincerity. Release His Majesty, and we can still talk. After all, we have no desire to fight to the bitter end against an expert like you. But if you truly persist in this folly..." Three figures, looking almost like piloted humanoid mechs, emerged into view. These... were precisely the medium-grade battle armors mentioned in the Jishi Society's intelligence files. Equipped on a Spirit Intent Martial Saint, each suit of medium-grade battle armor turned its wearer into a horrifying killing machine. Relying on such armaments, a single one of them could overrun the garrison of an entire modern mechanized division. Yet Yaoguang acted as if he hadn't even seen these mech-like Spirit Intent Martial Saints. Thanks to the airtightness and sturdiness of the safe room, he didn't have to worry about being sniped. His voice carried out from the room: "No one is to enter this building, including Zhenxiu Hall outside... Of course, unless some prince is hoping to seize the throne early and can't wait for your emperor to die. In that case, feel free to try." Once those words were uttered, several Spirit Intent Martial Saints and princes who had harbored ulterior thoughts suppressed them. After casting a glance at Jiang Shengtian, they slowly retreated one by one until they were outside the villa. "Stand down. The outside is swarming with our people," Jiang Shengtian said, his face pale from blood loss. "You can't escape. Chixing is in dire need of capable people right now. I promise you, as long as you're willing to change your stance and that of the Jishi Society, from now on, you and your society will be a power in Chixing on equal footing with the Star Shrine." Yaoguang did not speak. He quietly listened to the report in his earpiece instead. Before long, Lei Yun sent word that Chixing's military base in Dayu had escorted Ji Pingtian and the others out of the base and was taking them straight toward the Jishi Society's Dayu branch. Once out of the military base... they were essentially safe. Even so, Yaoguang was in no rush, waiting patiently. This wait lasted only a few minutes before Jiang Shengtian spoke weakly, "I... I need medical treatment." Whether from worsening injuries or excessive blood loss, his breath had weakened substantially. Although not yet reduced to a thread of breath, slipping into a dying state was only a matter of time. "Don't play tricks. A Martial Saint's vitality isn't that fragile," Yaoguang said calmly. "If my injuries aren't treated soon, even if I manage to survive, I'll end up a cripple. At the very least... my cultivation will be completely lost. The Jiang family will never allow a clan member who lacks even the strength of a Martial Saint to sit upon the throne of family head and Emperor of Chixing. And without that status, I'm no different from an ordinary member of the Jiang family. They would never compromise with you for an ordinary Jiang family member..." Jiang Shengtian spoke weakly, "So in just a few minutes... once they confirm I'm no longer worth saving, they'll launch an attack immediately. Perhaps... numerous weapons are already aimed at this building, ready to bury me along with you beneath the rubble to preserve the prestige of the Jiang imperial family... Afterward, they'll announce that I, the Emperor of Chixing, fought valiantly against an intruder and perished together with him..." Yaoguang looked at Jiang Shengtian, pondered for a moment, and nodded. "You have a point." A deeply concealed flash of joy instantly showed in Jiang Shengtian's eyes. *Squelch!* In the next second, before the Emperor of Chixing's incredulous gaze, his neck was sliced open by the Shenying Sword. Blood... spurted violently. "Since you have no value left, I can only send you on your way, sparing your Jiang family from fratricide and heartache later," Yaoguang said. Instantly, Jiang Shengtian's eyes went wide, bulging with rage as he glared fixedly at Yaoguang. His mouth opened and closed, desperately trying to say something, but with his throat slashed, he couldn't utter a single word. Yet the resentment, regret, fury, and despair in his eyes cut to the marrow. A few seconds later... Jiang Shengtian's aura faded away entirely. Yaoguang took out the Soul-Capturing Orb and drew his remnant soul into it. Almost simultaneously, Lei Ting's shout came from outside: "We've released the people! Where is His Majesty? You can let him go now, can't you?" Just as he finished speaking, Yaoguang's Perception secret art clearly "saw" two blood-and-qi light points—representing individuals who were at least Martial Saints—rapidly closing in from another direction. Evidently, they had sensed something amiss inside the safe room, but because they couldn't be certain whether Jiang Shengtian was truly dead, they hadn't launched an immediate assault. Yaoguang pulled out his phone, snapped another photo of the emperor, and searched his body to find a jade pendant resembling Shangguan Jinlong's protective dharma artifact. Stowing his spoils, and sensing the red dots drawing ever closer, Yaoguang hesitated no longer and burst out of the safe room. A Martial Saint lurking stealthily outside the safe room with his presence suppressed to the utmost was just about to make a move when a point of cold glint expanded rapidly before his eyes. Wherever the sword light aimed, it seemed to stir a visible ripple through the void. In fact... the ripple arrived before the blade itself. Under the impact of this ripple, even though the Martial Saint had rallied all his focus and reacted in time, an unprecedented wave of palpitations surged through his heart. The sensation was so intense that it even impaired his bodily functions, leaving him weak from head to toe. *Not good!* The Martial Saint keenly sensed that something was wrong, but when he tried to strike back, it was already too late. A frigid sword ray pierced straight through his body, trailing crimson blood. Without the slightest pause, Yaoguang bounded out through the window the man had opened to sneak inside. "The assassin is escaping!" the other infiltrator shouted at the top of his lungs upon seeing this. "Think you can escape?" Waiting outside and keeping watch over the battlefield at all times, Star Shrine Hall Master Lei Ting strode forward with meteoric steps, instantly moving to intercept the direction Yaoguang had leaped. Almost the instant Yaoguang burst out the window, Lei Ting appeared directly in front of him. A greatsword 1.6 meters long lashed out toward his position, carrying terrifying gusts and crackling lightning to grind him down. As long as Lei Ting could stall him for even a moment, with the inescapable net laid out by the surrounding Martial Saints and Spirit Intent Martial Saints, only death would await him. Yaoguang understood this as well. No matter how strong he was right now, he could not single-handedly fight off an encirclement by over a dozen Spirit Intent Martial Saints and over a hundred ordinary Martial Saints from the Chixing imperial family. Still in the state of Heavenly Demon Disintegration, he drew a deep breath. His modest spirit intent pierced through heaven and earth. Replacing heaven's heart with his own. Supplemented by the Earth Furnace's integration with the landscape's geography... At this moment, he seemed to transform into the mountain god of Mount Zhaoxing. As he thrust his sword, the momentum of Mount Zhaoxing's entire range was completely mobilized and channeled into the blade. Even though Lei Ting's 1.6-meter greatsword was several times larger than the Shenying Sword, when Yaoguang's strike cut forward, the sword light seemed to swell with the wind until it manifested as a towering divine mountain. Rolling downward with the weight of Mount Tai crushing from above, it threatened to pulverize every living creature standing in its way. "Such might..." Lei Ting's pupils contracted violently as he stood in interception. Feeling the apocalyptic sword momentum on Yaoguang's blade, he was seized by an overwhelming urge to turn around and flee as far as he could. Yet as Hall Master of the Star Shrine... as a Hunyuan Martial Saint... as one of the truly supreme powerhouses in the world today, he would never allow himself to be frightened into running without a fight during a mere clash of auras. Besides... he did not believe that anyone in this world could cultivate sword momentum to such an extent! "It's an illusion! You won't intimidate me!" Lei Ting roared furiously. His secret art flared, and his combat suit amplified his power, causing his upward-slashing greatsword to seemingly tear through the air, whipping up a visible white shockwave. Violent winds swirled around the blade. This sword strike... even if it only swept past an ordinary person, the accompanying gale would be enough to rip any martial artist to shreds. This was a peak strike from this Hunyuan Martial Saint. With fearless fighting will, he swung his blade against the earth and mountains! "Break—" *Boom!* The earth shook violently! As the two divine swords clashed head-on, a terrifying, thunderous force detonated like an artillery shell, erupting from the point where the blades met. Countless shattered currents of force transformed into sword astral qi, instantly ripping the ground beneath Lei Ting's feet to shreds. Also pulverized was the foliage within tens of meters. Nearly every object in that radius was devastated by the rampant sword qi slashing in all directions. Some streams of sword qi even carved trenches over a foot deep into the ground as they swept past. Between the two weapons, the Shenying Sword was clearly not in the same weight class as Lei Ting's greatsword, yet the end result was that the sword momentum contained within the Shenying Sword utterly routed Lei Ting's greatsword like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. Had Lei Ting not abandoned his sword and leaped back at the critical moment, both of his arms likely would have been crushed to splinters by the mountain-toppling force within the Shenying Sword. Even so, this powerful being—Hall Master of the Star Shrine, a Hunyuan Martial Saint, and one of Chixing's supreme powerhouses—was sent flying backward by the blasting shockwaves of sword qi at a speed barely slower than his forward charge. Even though he wore exoskeleton armor, sparks burst from where the sword qi tore into it. Had an azure radiance unique to protective dharma artifacts not flashed across his body at the very first instant... no one knew what the outcome of this direct collision would have been. Glancing at the crack-covered Shenying Sword in his hand, and sensing powerful presences rapidly closing in from another direction, Yaoguang did not pursue. The assassination was complete. Leaping forward, he burst at full speed through the encirclement he had forcibly torn open, plunging into the night and vanishing without a trace.