The Saber That Shatters Heaven — wielded by the war god Ninth Prince — with his true energy flowing through the blade, it was like a dragon wreathed in fire and burning red.
The blade’s body blazed crimson with flame. When the hilt of that hundred-weight saber struck the earth, in that single instant heaven and earth were shaken, and the light of sun and moon was utterly eclipsed.
Over these past years, there was no one on the battlefield who did not know of the Ninth Prince’s Saber That Shatters Heaven — a blade that had broken through every formation and array beneath the heavens, that had cut down without number the fiercest and most formidable commanders of enemy forces.
Yet those who had truly witnessed the Ninth Prince’s Saber That Shatters Heaven in action and still lived to walk the world afterward — their number was not great.
Now that the Saber That Shatters Heaven was in his hand, that snow-white robe of his had in an instant become the most magnificent battle garment in the entire world!
Mu Mu looked at the saber in his hand, and a light of excitement kindled in the depths of his eyes.
Excitement — and agitation — and a refusal to concede — and anticipation!
The Ninth Prince’s Saber That Shatters Heaven — he had finally had the fortune to see it with his own eyes today. Whatever had filled his mind before coming here, in this moment his thoughts held only the battle to come.
To have had the fortune in this life to witness the Saber That Shatters Heaven, and to fight a battle of life and death against the Ninth Prince — even if he were to fall in battle, he would die without regret.
Besides — in his life, there was no place for regret to begin with.
The cold moon was gradually swallowed by dark clouds. Between heaven and earth, it seemed as though only the cold glint of one saber and one sword remained.
Without warning, a wild wind rose in a roar. On the cliff’s edge, those two figures — one with jet-black hair, one with silver-white — were caught in the gale, and in an instant seemed to entwine together like tangled threads.
Light flashed from saber and sword, and in the span of a breath, the entire night sky blazed with brilliance.
The Night Demon’s heart gave a sudden, sharp ache. She could not have said what was off — only that when she saw those two figures, one black and one white, entwined together in combat, something at the very tip of her heart was cut open as though by a furious blade.
“My lord — their inner power is too formidable! Step back first!” The chill struck them full in the face. Every gust of wind seemed to carry a razor’s edge, forcing the eyes nearly shut against it.
Had their own inner power not been formidable enough in its own right, the force of that saber and sword energy would absolutely have been impossible to withstand.
Elder Shi held Feng Jiu’er as the Night Demon followed in retreat — yet her gaze remained, without a moment’s shift, fixed upon those two entwined figures. She did not look away even for an instant.
The night deepened. The cold light of each successive clash burned in the darkness like a kindled flame.
It was as though the very air had been cut apart by the saber and sword — visibly, to the naked eye, sliced open layer after layer.
Feng Jiu’er had never in her life witnessed a clash of this ferocity, a force of this magnitude.
Ancient martial arts, in the modern era, had been pursued with passionate devotion by all who trained in the fighting disciplines — yet the level to which practitioners could actually cultivate was truly limited. To be able to shatter a glass bottle from a distance — that was already the standard of a high-level practitioner.
To be able to fell a large tree from a distance — that was, without question, the kind of once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy who was almost never seen.
In the twenty-first century, Feng Jiu’er had encountered no small number of masters who trained in ancient martial arts. Yet she had never once seen anyone capable of felling a large tree.
From this, one could imagine how extraordinarily difficult ancient martial arts were to cultivate, and how nearly impossible to advance through its levels.
Yet what was being felled before her eyes now was not merely one or two trees. What was being destroyed, one after another, was enormous boulder after enormous boulder — the kind that even machinery would struggle to break apart!
Had it not been for the circumstances, had the two figures locked in combat had nothing to do with her, she would certainly have watched with rapt and breathless delight.
But now — watching as the figures in her field of vision grew increasingly obscured by the blaze of saber light and sword light — her heart moved with them, following each sweep of their blades. She was anxious, she was uneasy, she was afraid!
The scene from her dream kept circling and circling through her mind. She wanted to cry out, wanted to rush forward and stop all of this — but she was powerless.
From deep night into the small hours before dawn, the decisive clash between the Ninth Imperial Uncle and Mu Mu continued unbroken. This long, and still no outcome had been decided.
The Night Demon’s unease — and the shock she had felt upon first seeing Zhan Qingcheng — had gradually been overtaken by her worry for Mu Mu. She too was beginning to grow anxious.
“At this rate, Mu’er may not necessarily have the upper hand.”
Elder Shi looked at her and said in a low, weighted voice: “My lord — what is it you are hesitating over?”
They had agreed from the outset that today they would use Feng Jiu’er against the Ninth Prince. Yet she had been here this long without making a single move — that was not right.
Elder Shi knew she harbored some doubt in her heart, though he could not tell where that doubt had come from.
Why, even now, had she made no move whatsoever?
At his reminder, the Night Demon seemed to rouse from a trance. Her gaze fell on Feng Jiu’er.
The plan all along had been to use her against the Ninth Prince — so why, the moment she laid eyes on the Ninth Prince, had she become as though possessed, completely losing her focus?
Nearly two full hours had already passed. Those two figures were fighting with increasing intensity. If nothing was done soon, Mu’er could meet with an accident at any moment!
She could not allow Mu’er to come to any harm. Not even in the name of propriety, not even by any means, not even at the cost of all decency.
For the Di Family, she was willing to give even her life — let alone a mere scrap of conscience.
The Night Demon pulled Feng Jiu’er toward her sharply, just about to act — when something small, almost by chance, entered the corner of her eye.
It was the chain at Feng Jiu’er’s ankle. She seemed to have noticed it once before, and at the time it had moved something in her heart — only she had not thought carefully about it.
Now that she saw it again, the Night Demon froze completely where she stood.
On Feng Jiu’er’s ankle was a small, delicate gold chain — and the pendant of that gold chain was… a key!
This key — this key—
Her hand went slack. Feng Jiu’er had already been drawn toward Elder Shi by the force of his palm strike.
Elder Shi glanced at her, his brow furrowed tight. He grabbed Feng Jiu’er firmly and in a single motion turned toward the cliff’s edge.
Since the lord could not bring herself to do it — could not harden her heart — then he would do it himself.
This way was perhaps better. In the future, when the Young Lord’s resentment came, it would be directed only at him. Even if Feng Jiu’er were avenged by having him killed — that would have nothing to do with the lord.
So long as the lord and the Young Lord could see their wishes fulfilled — he did not care how much resentment and how many curses this life of his would have to bear.
Those two figures arrived at the cliff’s edge in a single instant. Buffeted by the roaring gale at the precipice, everything behind them seemed to recede into a great distance.
“Elder Shi — wait!” The Night Demon’s face changed dramatically. She immediately moved to give chase.
Elder Shi heard nothing of what she was calling out. Events were at this razor’s edge of a moment — and Elder Shi had no mind to spare for whatever the Night Demon wished to say.
“Zhan Qingcheng — your woman — will you save her or not?”
He gathered his power in his palm. The instant Zhan Qingcheng turned his head, he struck — the palm coming down hard on Feng Jiu’er’s back, at the Vital Gate pressure point.
With her pressure points sealed, Jiu’er had no capacity even to protect herself. Struck by Elder Shi’s full-force palm, her entire body became like a kite whose string had been cut — and in an instant, she plunged over the cliff’s edge.
A white figure flashed past in a blur. The Saber That Shatters Heaven cut across the open sky with a thunderous boom. At the cliff’s edge, electric sparks flew from stone against blade — the sound of the saber splitting rock, so piercingly loud it seemed to split the ears!
He came. That cold, large palm seized her wrist in one grip — and in that single instant, the warmth of his palm spread through her, and warmed her heart entire.
But the sword strike that came from behind him — in that same instant — sent a chill into Jiu’er’s terror-stricken eyes…