“Worthy of the Ninth Prince’s Longqi Army — to think they could even hold off this master’s palm force for a moment.”

The black-robed man’s face held nothing but delight. That his palm had been blocked did not anger him; if anything, his smile only widened with careless satisfaction.

“A pity — that is all it amounts to.”

His smile vanished in an instant. His eyes hardened. The force bearing down erupted like a sudden violent storm, pressing against over twenty Longqi soldiers until the color drained from every face.

At least half of them were sent flying by that single strike, crashing to the ground, coughing up blood.

That one strike was aimed squarely at where Zhan Qingcheng and Feng Jiu’er sat.

If it landed, neither of them would survive.

A flash of something crossed the black-robed man’s eyes — something that looked almost like cruel, remorseful pity. Yes, pity — but a cruel pity.

From this day forward, these two would no longer exist in this world…

“Your Highness!” Yu Jingfeng’s expression shifted drastically. He lunged to throw himself in front of the Prince — but the black-robed man’s force was simply too overwhelming.

He was pinned to the ground, utterly unable to rise.

The wind and clouds seemed to congeal all at once. Everything — as though frozen at that single heartbeat — went utterly still. Even the passing breeze had ceased. Fallen leaves floated in midair, unable to complete their descent.

No sound. No movement.

His Highness was unharmed. Feng Jiu’er was unharmed as well. The black-robed man’s strike had come down — yet both figures remained just as still as before, quietly held together.

He clasped her hand, the vast and deep tide of his true qi flowing steadily into her body without pause, restoring her meridians little by little.

Both their faces were pale — yet the stillness between them held an inexplicable serenity. Not even a strand of hair had stirred. They sat motionless, like a painting.

But how?

Yu Jingfeng’s heart lurched. He found he could move again, and immediately sprang up from the ground.

The soldiers of the Longqi Army who had been knocked down picked themselves up one by one, immediately resuming their battle-ready formations.

But still — how?

Every eye turned upward, and there, standing before the Prince and Feng Jiu’er, was a slender figure, straight as a pine, standing tall against the sweeping force of that palm strike. The wind had lifted his hair and set his robes billowing wildly.

Yet behind him, His Highness and Feng Jiu’er were untouched — not even a ripple disturbed them.

The man who had been quietly standing at Feng Jiu’er’s side all along — Mu Mu — had, on his own, absorbed the entirety of the black-robed man’s strike.

The black-robed man’s brows knitted slightly. He had not expected that hidden among these people was a reclusive master of such caliber.

When standing among the group, his aura had seemed ordinary; his presence, unremarkable. His features were not unpleasant, but compared to Zhan Qingcheng’s overwhelming, singular beauty, he was decidedly average in every way.

A man who seemed average in every respect — and yet he had taken that palm strike clean.

The black-robed man’s five fingers tightened. His palm force surged in an instant.

Mu Mu was forced back half a step — and then, after that half step, planted himself firmly once more.

His vast and deep internal force rose to meet the black-robed man’s, absorbing it entirely. The two men’s true qi locked together — and were an even match.

What profound internal power.

Yu Jingfeng marveled inwardly — but this was no moment for admiration.

He raised his long sword, and together with the soldiers of the Longqi Army, they leapt as one, spreading their formation. A torrent of piercing sword-force swept toward the black-robed man.

The black-robed man was still locked in contest with Mu Mu’s palm force. Now, faced with the Longqi Army’s sword force as well, he found himself at a disadvantage.

With a sharp ripping sound, someone’s sword force sliced off the hem of his black robe.

The black-robed man’s expression turned cold. Knowing he could gain no ground here, he abruptly withdrew his palm force. A light tap of his foot against the ground — and in an instant, his tall figure swayed and vanished entirely from sight.