Volume One: The Sovereign's Decree Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Final Battle at Dawn Palace

Five streaks of sword light were blocked by four monks. The old master thief landed on one leg, leapt gracefully, and clashed palms with Nie Xiang.

“You’re also at the Tianyang Realm!” Nie Xiang was secretly shocked by the strong and authentic energy radiating from the old thief’s palm. This once obscure figure had surprisingly broken through the boundary to reach the Tianyang Realm early on.

The old thief grinned slyly, and another identical figure appeared behind Nie Xiang. The two quickly encircled the chief steward. Relying on the power of the Ice Palm, Nie Xiang once again absorbed a palm strike head-on.

“Sun and Moon Reversal Technique!” The old thief’s palm had a sticky quality, firmly adhering to Nie Xiang’s palms. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free. The three of them spun midair, scraping a layer of debris from the bluestone slab below. Their surging true qi churned violently, creating a ten-zhang radius no one dared to enter.

When two Tianyang Realm experts fought, no one dared intervene. The surrounding combatants instinctively stepped back to give them room.

King Qin stood at the dais, watching coldly. Those who remained still on the scene—Officer Xue, the Empress, and their entourages—had all withdrawn to the corners of the Tianming Palace, unwilling to act rashly.

“Should we retreat as well? This looks dangerous. If someone attacks King Qin, the fate of the realm rests in your hands,” Gongsun Qi said nervously. Skilled in seals and formations but inexperienced in combat, he took a few steps back behind King Qin.

“Don’t panic. Take the Taoists inside Tianming Palace. Also, have Gong Cheng prepare. The fate of Jiuzhou must be decided today!” King Qin’s voice was like thunder. As he pronounced “decided,” a wisp of purple aura floated behind him, corroding the air with crackling sounds.

Gongsun Qi beckoned urgently and dashed along the palace walls, barely daring to glance at the ongoing battle outside. The old thief had somehow used a secret method to gradually drain Nie Xiang’s energy. Soon, the once neat and composed eunuch was disheveled and cursing furiously.

“What kind of wicked trick is this old man using? He can absorb true qi!” Nie Xiang’s internal energy kept dissipating. If this continued, he feared he might lose his realm. Frightened, he triggered his stored Ice Qi in a sudden blast, forcing the old thief to break apart.

Though injured internally, Nie Xiang preserved his cultivation but lost a significant amount of true qi.

The old thief himself was uncomfortable. His Sun and Moon Reversal Technique, self-invented, linked their meridians and gradually dispersed both their energies—a desperate, self-sacrificing battle technique. Only a madman like him would dare use such a move from the start. Seeing himself blasted apart, he lamented, “Useless bastard with too many tricks, I even hoped to eliminate a strong enemy outright.”

Hearing this, Nie Xiang fumed, steam practically billowing from his pores. “You really think you’re something? Die!” He drew a jade ruyi from his bosom, unwilling to engage the old thief’s palms again for fear of being tricked.

Like a magician’s sleight of hand, the old thief produced two small wooden sticks about the length of a forearm. They were delicate in his hands but crossed perfectly to block the jade ruyi. The two fell from the sky, their bodies landing on the bluestone slab. The hard stone couldn’t bear their weight and shattered like freshly cooked tofu.

“Amitabha! Forgive this poor monk, patrons of Langya Sword Mountain!” The four monks wielding eyebrow-length staves feinted in unison and jumped back. Then a burly monk appeared from outside Tianming Palace, brandishing a golden silk staff that raised a cloud of dust.

The staff weighed at least eighty jin, dragging on the ground and sparking brightly as it came to a halt before Sword One. The monk raised the staff high and slammed it down on the sword bearer’s forehead. “Split for me!”

Sword One raised his sword in defense but never touched the staff. The monk tossed the staff three zhang high, then thrust both fists forward. Caught off guard, Sword One was struck solidly in the chest by two fists the size of sandbags. The sound of cracking bones was audible as he spat blood and flew backward.

Seeing their senior brother injured, the other four sword disciples disregarded their status and launched a coordinated assault on the intelligent monk. “Well met! Watch the power of my Cross Heaven Staff!”

The golden staff fell from the sky, held firmly and swung to clear the flying sword lights. The intelligent monk stepped back half a pace with a dull thud from his chest, not fully absorbing the blow, his legs digging deep into the ground.

Outside Tianming Palace, hundreds of black-clad assassins charged from all directions. Officer Xue finally smiled and blew a whistle thrice. These assassins were trained death warriors, quickly slaughtering the iron guards at the palace gate and flooding into the courtyard.

Meng Qiaoqiao and others couldn’t stay uninvolved. The assassins’ blades did not distinguish foes. Li Jue activated a golden light charm around himself, gritting his teeth amid the heavy siege.

“Dare to provoke me? Get lost!” Xiao Qingshu brandished a short spear, knocking flying the attackers one by one. The gusts from her punches stirred waves in the golden aura, drawing Li Jue’s surprised glance.

Such strength in a small body—why did Liu Xiaoyi always have such freaks around him? Where was Liu Xiong? Li Jue suddenly realized Liu Xiaoyi was nowhere nearby, puzzled.

At this moment, Liu Xiaoyi was underground, pulled by a strange figure wearing a ghost fox mask. Using the Lin Technique, he struggled with the assailant. The ability to move through earth suggested mastery of the Five Elements Escape Technique. Yet the ghost fox mask radiated only chilling yin energy, lacking the earth’s weight.

“Who are you? Why attack me?” Without the Lin Technique to manipulate surrounding forces, the soil alone would suffocate him. Liu Xiaoyi steadied himself, warily sizing up the masked assailant intent on killing him.

The stranger’s attire was unlike anything seen before, hiding his true face behind the mask, clearly concealing illicit dealings.

With a hoarse voice, the stranger said, “Blame the sword in your hand—you are unworthy of it.” As he spoke, the soil shifted; three earth needles shot forward. The magical field created by the Lin Technique saved Liu Xiaoyi, who slashed the needles apart just in time.

Surprised at the failed attack, the stranger said, “Hand over the sword, and I’ll let you go.”

“My treasure? Not a chance!” Liu Xiaoyi ignored him and used the Green Radiance Sword to break through, knowing only the surface was his true stage.

The stranger chuckled lightly and clenched his hands, pressing the soil around Liu Xiaoyi down. The force was too great for the Lin Technique alone—he had not studied the Five Elements Daoist arts.

At the critical moment, the pressure suddenly halted. Seizing the chance, the Green Radiance Sword burst forth dazzling light, carrying Liu Xiaoyi out of the soil and back to the surface amid flying stones.

Turning, he saw Bai Yiting smiling at him. How could Liu Xiaoyi not know it was he who had come to aid him? “Thank you, senior!”

“Be careful! This one is formidable!” Bai Yiting warned. He had sensed a surge of magical power beneath his feet and stomped reflexively, pushing it back and unwittingly saving Liu Xiaoyi.

Half-buried in the soil like part of the earth itself, the ghost fox raised his right hand, forming hundreds of soil darts. Liu Xiaoyi was quick to respond, throwing the Zhenyuan Mountain talisman.

Zhenyuan Mountain naturally resisted earth-based magic. The darts struck the talisman like itching needles. As the talisman rapidly expanded before his eyes, the ghost fox immediately burrowed underground to evade.

But this was exactly what Liu Xiaoyi anticipated. Hastily forming hand seals, he used Zhenyuan Mountain to seal the surrounding soil into the talisman’s internal space, trapping the ghost fox inside.

“What are you? You even know sealing magic! Let me out!” The ghost fox’s pleading inside the talisman was unexpected. He hadn’t anticipated this youth’s mastery over counter-sealing techniques.

The Five Elements Escape Technique was not without weaknesses. Those versed in the Five Elements were rarely afraid of such escapes and often countered them with corresponding seals.

“Stay put until I’m done!” Liu Xiaoyi affixed a talisman paper onto the surface, ensuring the seal on Zhenyuan Mountain wouldn’t break and keeping the ghost fox trapped.

“Hey! Don’t leave! We can negotiate!” The ghost fox’s voice faded with no reply from Liu Xiaoyi.

Enemies kept pouring in. Assassins, Langya swordsmen, and iron guards clashed chaotically, blurring friend and foe. Liu Xiaoyi had been cut multiple times by iron guards, limiting his sword techniques as he still needed to maintain face with King Qin.

“Pervert! Come save me! There are more powerful foes here!” Xiao Qingshu’s screams nearly tore through the walls of Tianming Palace. She was surrounded by two masked experts, both wearing ghost fox masks.

Sensing danger, Liu Xiaoyi leapt forward with his sword to block one. “What organization are you from, daring to cause trouble in Tianming Palace?”

They didn’t answer, instead wielding a three-section staff in a relentless barrage, pressing Liu Xiaoyi nearly to suffocation.

Looking closely, the three-section staff was formed from condensed water, not a solid weapon. Liu Xiaoyi wondered why all the ghost fox masked men were so proficient in the Five Elements.

The same mask appeared behind King Qin, where a ghost fox attempted to poison him with toxic smoke. King Qin detected it first; golden dragon qi uncontrollably radiated from his body, dispersing the smoke.

“So the fate lies with you!” the ghost fox shouted. Those paying attention heard clearly as the Crown Prince cursed furiously, “You, King Qin, have truly altered the Iron Dynasty’s destiny. I’ll never forgive you!”

Driven by rage, the Crown Prince charged at King Qin, sword in hand, bearing years of impatience for the throne and the scheming written on his face. He concentrated all his sharpness into his blade.

Unexpectedly, a wisp of toxic smoke entered his nostrils. Purple qi spread swiftly along his meridians. Before reaching King Qin, he collapsed, fate unknown.