The Killing Begins

"Do it."

Xiao Ruobai's tone held not a shred of hesitation, every word carrying a decisive resolution, as if to pour out all the endurance and hatred of the past three years.

Fang Hanyu nodded, the primal chaos sword qi humming softly in the Absolute Beginning scabbard, as if echoing this fighting spirit.

The auras of the two erupted suddenly. Golden battle qi and primal chaos sword light intertwined to form a sharp barrier in front of them. The patrolling imperial guards had just raised their long blades when they were blown away by the invisible shockwave, not even having the time to let out a scream.

"Who dares to trespass into the imperial palace!"

The gold-armored commander in front of the palace gates shouted sternly, thrusting his spear imbued with Purple Mansion Realm spiritual energy straight at Xiao Ruobai's face.

Having guarded the palace gates for many years, he had never seen anyone dare to force their way in so blatantly. His eyes were filled with killing intent.

Xiao Ruobai did not dodge or evade. The Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd spun in his palm, its tip gleaming with golden light, and seemingly slowly, he flicked it upward.

With a crisp clang, the gold-armored commander's spear was forcefully knocked away. The halberd's tip smoothly slashed across his throat, and scalding blood sprayed onto the vermilion palace walls like a blooming blood-red flower.

"In the way."

Xiao Ruobai's tone was flat, as if he had merely brushed dust off his clothes. His footsteps did not stop as he charged straight into the depths of the imperial palace.

The gold-armored commander's corpse crashed to the ground, and the imperial guards in front of the palace gates instantly erupted in chaos.

"Assassins! Protect His Majesty!"

Mournful shouts rose one after another. Squads of heavily armored soldiers surged from the palace pathways on both sides. The long blades in their hands gleamed with cold light, and their spiritual energy fluctuations were at least at the Foundation Establishment Realm, with no shortage of Purple Mansion Realm captains among them.

"Kill!"

Fang Hanyu shouted in a low voice. The moment the Absolute Beginning sword was drawn, primal chaos sword qi surged out like a tide, severing three imperial guards at the waist with a single strike.

His sword technique was agile and swift. Wherever the sword light passed, the armor of the imperial guards shattered like paper. Blood and severed limbs scattered across the ground, and a layer of scarlet soon paved the palace pathways.

Xiao Ruobai's War God Physique completely erupted. Golden battle qi condensed into substantial armor around him. He did not even need to deliberately swing his halberd; just the residual waves of the battle qi around him were enough to shatter the bones and snap the tendons of the charging imperial guards.

A Cave Heaven Realm general attempted to form an array with spiritual energy to block them. The array's light barrier had just coalesced when Xiao Ruobai split it open with a single halberd strike. The tip of the halberd pierced through the general's chest along with it, leaving him dead with his eyes wide open.

"Cave Heaven Realm..."

On the palace walls, the soldiers responsible for keeping watch looked at the slaughter below, which was as easy as chopping melons and slicing vegetables, their voices trembling. "Are these two... monsters?"

More and more imperial guards converged from all over the imperial palace. Their black armor formed a continuous sheet on the palace pathways, densely packed like a swarm of ants.

But in front of Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu, these meticulously trained soldiers had no power to fight back. Xiao Ruobai's battle qi was overbearing and unrivaled. Every strike carried crushing power, and wherever the Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd swept, cries of agony followed.

Fang Hanyu's primal chaos sword qi was precise and ruthless, specifically targeting vital points. Amidst the flickering sword shadows, imperial guards fell to the ground.

The auras of the two were not concealed in the slightest. The golden battle qi and primal chaos sword qi shot straight into the sky. The cultivators within the imperial palace instantly sensed this terrifying pressure.

That was a power far exceeding the Purple Mansion Realm, capable of even shaking the Heaven and Man Realm!

The royal enshrinements cultivating in the side halls, and even the concubines in the rear palace, were all trembling in fear from this aura. They rushed out of their halls one after another, looking in the direction where the battle qi was coming from, their eyes full of terror.

"Who dares to commit murder in the imperial palace!"

In the imperial study, the Emperor of Great Yan slammed the table and stood up, his face ashen.

He had just finished listening to the Shadow Guard's report and was still lamenting his failure to curry favor with the mysterious powerhouse when the news of assassins breaking into the palace arrived. Flames of anger instantly ignited in his eyes.

"Where are the imperial guards? Where are the enshrinements? A bunch of useless fools! Can't they even stop two people?"

"Calm your anger, Your Majesty!"

A eunuch knelt on the ground, trembling. "News from outside... says the assassins are too strong. The brothers at the Purple Mansion Realm and Cave Heaven Realm... they can't stop them!"

"What?"

The Emperor's pupils shrank. He knew there were many experts hidden among the imperial guards, including three generals at the Cave Heaven Realm. They couldn't even stop them for a moment?

With a tone carrying the decisive resolution of a command, he spoke deeply to the empty air of the imperial study, "Qin Feng! Take all the secret guards immediately to intercept the assassins. You must defend the imperial study to the death! I want to see who dares to run wild in my imperial palace!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the very faint sound of clothing rustling came from behind the screen on the west side of the imperial study, and a figure dressed in black martial attire walked out quickly.

The newcomer had a cold and stern face, with a scar running diagonally from his left brow bone to his jaw. The handle of the short blade at his waist was engraved with the character "Qin." He was none other than Qin Feng, the commander of the secret guards of the imperial palace.

He knelt on one knee, his movements crisp without the slightest delay, his voice as low as iron. "I obey the decree! I will assemble the secret guards immediately. I absolutely will not let the assassins take half a step closer to the imperial study!"

After saying that, his footsteps left afterimages as he stood up, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared outside the door of the imperial study.

In just a moment, black figures quietly emerged from the shadows in various parts of the imperial palace. Twelve secret guards with condensed auras quickly assembled outside the hall.

They were at least at the middle stage of the Cave Heaven Realm, and three of them had even reached the late stage of the Cave Heaven Realm. Each of them was expressionless with sharp eyes.

The weapons in their hands gleamed with the cold light of deadly poison. They were exactly the hidden trump card of the Great Yan Dynasty, which was never easily deployed, but now had to be used to deal with two assassins of unknown origin.

And Qin Feng stood at the head of the team, his hand resting on the handle of his short blade. His gaze swept towards the direction of the battle qi coming from the end of the palace pathway, his eyes full of murderous intent.

Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu had just slashed back a wave of imperial guards when those twelve black figures darted out from both sides like ghosts, instantly forming an encirclement.

Xiao Ruobai looked up at the leader, his eyes suddenly narrowing. The golden battle qi around him actually trembled slightly uncontrollably.

The scar running diagonally to the jaw on the leader's left brow bone stung the eyes in the morning light. If it wasn't Qin Feng, who was it?

Back then, it was precisely this poisoned short blade that had slashed open the back of his father, Xiao Zhan, making that smear of blood exceptionally glaring in the blizzard.

And the faces of the three secret guards beside Qin Feng were also firmly engraved in Xiao Ruobai's mind. They had all participated in the events of that year.

"Qin Feng! And the rest of you scum—"

Xiao Ruobai's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth. The Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd trembled violently in his palm, and the golden battle qi surged uncontrollably, even dyeing the surrounding air with golden light.

"The debts of the past should be settled today! Give me your lives!"

Qin Feng's pupils shrank. He didn't expect the assassin in front of him to actually recognize him, and even less did he expect the other party's battle qi to be so overbearing.

He didn't dare to be careless, waving his hand to signal the three secret guards to step forward and block him, while he gripped his short blade tightly, ready to look for an opportunity to counterattack.

Fang Hanyu's hand holding the Absolute Beginning sword tightened slightly, but he did not step forward.

He understood the madness in Xiao Ruobai's eyes. This was a hatred his senior brother had hidden for three years, a debt that had to be settled personally.

He only needed to guard the side, blocking any unexpected accidents that might appear, and not let anyone disturb this delayed revenge.

The primal chaos sword qi flowed quietly outside the scabbard, forming an invisible barrier that forced back all the imperial guards and secret guard remnants who attempted to approach.

"Attack! Take him down!"

Qin Feng gave a harsh, explosive shout, and the twelve Shadow Guards moved simultaneously like coiled vipers ready to strike.

Black iron chains tore through the air to entangle him, long blades gleaming with cold light slashed straight down, and wolf-fang arrows were nocked and fired in an instant. Twelve streams of Cave Heaven Realm spiritual energy surged densely toward Xiao Ruobai.

Murderous intent churned in Xiao Ruobai's eyes; the hatred born of three years of forbearance was entirely transformed into power in this moment.

He did not even retreat a half-step. The Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd spun fiercely in his palm, and golden battle aura erupted with a boom. It condensed into a blade of light over ten feet long, sweeping outward with a piercing howl that tore through the air.

Slash! Slash!

Two miserable shrieks rang out almost simultaneously. The two Shadow Guards charging at the very front were cleaved in half at the waist by the blade of battle aura before they could even deploy their defenses. Blood and severed limbs splattered as they crashed heavily onto the bluestone slabs, instantly losing all signs of life.

The pupils of the remaining ten Shadow Guards shrank abruptly, their footsteps coming to a subconscious halt.