Chapter 70: Han Qianye is Killed
"Who are you?"
Han Qianchou's zhenqi was circulating within his body, ready to burst forth at any moment.
"Mo Qing!"
Standing with his saber sheathed, the masked person tore off the cloth covering their face, revealing their features: "To ensure my junior apprentice brother meekly obeys you, Han Qianchou, do you also intend to command our entire Mo Blade Sect? Shall my master become your subordinate too?"
Not expecting this person to suddenly appear here, and also to make decisions on behalf of others, Han Qianchou hastily explained, "Elder Mo Qing? This, this is all a misunderstanding... If nothing went wrong, that scoundrel named Zhang Xuan has probably killed Ling Buyang. The Vice Hall Master Ling you saw is most likely him in disguise..."
"Bullshit! Zhang Xuan is my junior apprentice brother in disguise. They are the same person, so how can there be a question of killing or not killing?"
"Mo Qing" snorted coldly.
"Zhang Xuan is impersonating Ling Buyang, and then Zhang Xuan impersonates Ling Buyang..."
Hearing this, Han Qianchou felt as if his CPU was about to fry, trying to analyze the meaning behind these words when he heard his brother Han Qianye's urgent cry: "Be careful, Royal Brother!"
Quickly lifting his head, he immediately saw a dazzling glint of the saber cleaving toward his head, resplendent as the Star River. Amidst the multitude of colors, he could not feel a hint of a killing aura, but instead an aura of peace and tranquillity.
"Is this the second realm of the Mo Dao Destiny?"
Han Qianchou's hair stood on end, paying no heed to further thought, he retracted his neck and rolled on the ground like a donkey.
Crack!
A saber mark over ten meters long appeared on the ground. Luckily Han Qianye had shouted a warning, otherwise, that strike could have been fatal.
"Were you spouting nonsense just now?"
Han Qianchou finally reacted, roaring in anger.
The other party had deliberately said that Zhang Xuan was Ling Buyang in disguise, clearly aiming to confuse his thoughts and divert his attention for a surprise attack, and quite evidently, it succeeded.
"It's too late to realize it now!"
Without the desire for idle talk, Zhang Xuan lifted the Mo Dao in his hand and slashed down again.
The saber qi surged like a dragon, crossing the sky. Han Qianye, not knowing when, had produced a long spear in his palm. He thrust the spear with extreme speed, managing to be faster than the first movement, almost giving the impression that it could sever the glint of the saber.
With an impassive face, "Mo Qing" unleashed another saber strike.
In an instant, two glints of the saber spread out like ripples on water, surging forward.
"This..."
Grasping the spear, Han Qianye's grip tightened as his scalp went numb.
Executing a Heavenly Destiny Martial Technique of the second realm, a regular person would already be exerting their full strength. To execute another in the blink of an eye—how strong would one's physical constitution have to be and how vast must the Source Pool be to achieve that?
But now was not the time to think about this. His spear had punctured the first wave of saber qi and was nearly depleted of strength, ill-prepared to withstand the second. Just as he felt he might be slain on the spot, he saw that his royal brother had already recovered from his shock and appeared beside him.
With a thrust of the spear, it looked like a star.
"Is this the second realm of Flowing Light? It seems my royal brother has made a breakthrough..."
Han Qianye's pupils constricted.
Flowing Light Heavenly Destiny was the inherited skill of the Han Yuan City Emperor Stratum. He had always known that this royal brother of his was far stronger than himself, and now he understood that he had reached the second realm as well.
Could it be that his cultivation had also broken through the shackles of the Ninefold Source Pool and reached the Galaxy Realm? Such deep concealment!
Whoosh!
Before the thought was finished, his thrust, like a star, had already collided with Mo Qing's second wave of saber qi. Coming into contact, the former actually gained the upper hand, extinguishing the saber edge and continuing to move forward.
Just as he thought the Mo Qing before him would definitely try to dodge in an embarrassing manner, he saw him swing his long saber repeatedly. In the blink of an eye, three more glints of saber qi spread toward them.
Han Qianye felt as if his scalp was exploding, on the verge of going mad.
Every time he executed a Heavenly Destiny Martial Technique, he would be drained of strength for a short period, akin to feeling chaste and desireless after one's first time, with no other wants or needs.
Normally, for any man, this ascetic state would last over half an hour or even longer... But now, a seamless successor appeared, with the second, third... and even fifth wave coming in the blink of an eye!
Was this still human?
How sturdy would one's meridians have to be, and how vigorous the divine energy, to achieve this?
Han Qianchou seemed to be shocked by this display of strength as well. He flipped his wrist and threw an amulet. At the same time, a deep voice pierced the air: "Where are the Golden Armor Guards!"
Whoosh!
Accompanied by his roar, hundreds of guards clad in golden armor immediately surged from all around. Their long swords thrust forward, and in the blink of an eye, the sword qi converged into a dazzling beam of light, racing toward "Mo Qing."
These Golden Armor Guards' strength was only around the Jade Bone Realm, not very strong, but gathered together by the hundreds, they became much more potent. Even a first pinnacle of the Galaxy Realm would struggle to withstand such an attack if caught off guard.
Knowing that dodging would put him in a vulnerable position, "Mo Qing" didn't retreat but instead flashed to a corner of the room and stomped fiercely on the floor.
Hum!
A soft hum followed, and the formation in the courtyard immediately activated. Dense mist arose all around, isolating all the sword qi outside. The room also became slightly unclear due to the sudden activation of the formation.
"How can you control the formation within my royal palace?"
Han Qianchou's astonished voice shouted out.
Afterward, Mo Qing's clear voice echoed throughout the entire palace: "You need not know, just understand that if Mo Qing wishes to kill you, you should quietly accept your fate and die..."
Whoosh!
The voice ceased, and "Mo Qing" suddenly charged forward, his Mo Dao in hand swinging once again. In the blink of an eye, he executed ten moves, the glint of the saber rippling like water, shattering all the furniture in the room into pieces.
Knowing he couldn't stand against it, Han Qianchou hastily retreated.
He had only backed off about ten meters when he heard his younger brother Han Qianye's shout: "Die!"
Then came Mo Qing's angry roar: "You actually managed to hurt me; let's perish together..."
The next moment, Han Qianchou felt zhenqi raging around him, saber qi and spears whistling, slicing the room's walls into fragments.
Boom!
The house collapsed, and dust filled the air.
Soon after, the area quieted down without another sound.
"What happened?"
With a tense face, Han Qianchou quickly took out the token that controlled the formation, pouring his zhenqi into it.
The formation had suddenly activated before, the fog was too thick, and the opponent's saber qi was rampant, making it impossible for him to see the fight clearly. Now, with the token activated, the formation gradually stabilized, and the fog slowly cleared.
The great hall had already been turned into ruins by the onslaught of saber qi and spear lights, with dust everywhere. About ten meters from him, a body lay on the ground, still gripping a spear in its hand that hadn't fallen.
It was his own brother, Han Qianye!
In just that instant, he had been killed!
"Qianye..." With an ashen face, Han Qianchou trembled, and looking ahead, he saw the murderer "Mo Qing" had not fled but lay there with his head severed, the body a short distance away, and the Mo Dao dropped not far from it.
"???"
Han Qianchou was stunned.
Dead?
Mo Qing had actually been killed by his brother, Han Qianye, beheaded? How could this be possible?
Han Qianchou couldn't quite believe it.
He had just exchanged blows with his opponent, who possessed endless strength. Even using his full power, he had found it difficult to win. And yet, in the blink of an eye, his brother had slain him. It all felt incredibly surreal.
Step by step, he approached and carefully examined the body and Han Qianchou became even more bewildered.
Mo Qing's neck was cleanly cut, clearly decapitated with a single strike, while his brother's throat was marked with a splotch of red, as if pierced by a spear...
Han Qianye, who was adept with a spear, had been killed with spearmanship, and Mo Qing, who was adept with a saber, had his head sliced off by a sword. It all seemed too strange, no matter how one looked at it.
"Your Majesty..."
At that moment, the Golden Armor Guard arrived, knelt, and said, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
"I am fine!"
Han Qianchou shook his head, then remembered something. "Quick, search! Find the queen and Yu Longqing, Lu Mingrong! Whether alive or dead, we must find them."
"Yes!"
The Golden Armor Guard began searching frantically, and shortly after, a guard captain came forward, his face full of shame: "Your Majesty, we have combed through the entire courtyard and have not found the queen or Yu Longqing and the others; it's as if they vanished into thin air!"
"Vanished?"
Han Qianchou was dumbfounded.
What had happened in those two short breaths of time?
His brother and Mo Qing perished together, and the queen and the others all disappeared... Everything seemed eerie no matter how one looked at it, yet somehow perfectly normal from another perspective.
"Give King Ping Yuan a grand burial... Seal the news of Mo Qing's death. In addition, send someone to check on Ling Buyang's residence to see if he's still there!"
Truly the ruler of a nation, Han Qianchou recovered quickly from the shock and turned to give orders.
"Yes!" The subordinates carried out the orders methodically.
It wasn't long before a guard reported back.
"Your Majesty, none have left Ling Buyang's residence; on the contrary, Hall Master Yue Longxiao has gone there and hasn't come out..."
"Yue Longxiao went to Ling Buyang's place?"
Han Qianchou frowned.
Yue Longxiao was the leader of the Wanxiang Sect. If he rushed over to find that "Zhang Xuan," the latter would surely spread the news.
At that point... whether capturing the Mandate Chaos Master or recruiting him, the situation would become much more difficult.
After thinking for a moment, he gave his command: "Keep a close watch, and if that Ling Buyang leaves the residence, immediately intervene to block him. Do not let him escape..."
"Yes!"
All the Golden Armor Guard bowed and accepted the order.
"Secure this place, I need to rest and recover my strength..."
Having given the necessary instructions, Han Qianchou finally felt a wave of exhaustion and sat down on the spot. He took some forge a grade-1 pill and began to recover his cultivation.
The fight against Mo Qing, although brief, was fraught with deadly risks. A single misstep could have resulted in his death right there.
Lucky for him, Han Qianye was reliable, taking the chance to kill his opponent. Otherwise, it wasn't clear who would have fallen!