"Ah ha, ah ha… ah ha…"
The clash between Yanqing and Dan Heng and Blade did not last long. It ended quickly, with Yanqing being completely overwhelmed, beaten down in a one-sided rout.
"I had no intention of provoking a conflict. I came to the Xianzhou only to make sure my friend is safe."
Seeing Yanqing finally calm down a little, Dan Heng made his stance clear, showing goodwill.
"Hmph. As if I'd believe you." Yanqing did not trust a single word Dan Heng said.
Someone exiled forever from the Xianzhou, condemned as a criminal. How could someone like that be a good person?
"Whether you believe me or not, once I confirm my friend's safety, I will leave the Xianzhou." Dan Heng knew the boy before him was General Jing Yuan's disciple, so his tone was, just barely, polite.
Barely.
"Hahaha! Dan Fung, why waste words with him?" Blade burst out laughing at Dan Heng's courtesy.
"Just kill him. Then no one will be in your way."
"…"
Dan Heng cast Blade a cool glance and did not bother responding.
"Think carefully, Dan Fung. Your friend is fighting for their life right now."
"And you're being blocked by some arrogant brat."
"Kill him, and go save your friend." Blade grinned wildly as he spoke.
"Hmph." Dan Heng snorted, unmoved by Blade's provocation.
If Yanqing truly died here, the result for the Stellaron Hunters and the Astral Express would be endless pursuit by the Hunt.
Even if the Stellaron Hunters had at least one Emanator backing them, the ending would not change.
"Who are you looking down on, huh?!"
Listening to the exchange between Dan Heng and Blade, Yanqing finally snapped. He gripped his sword tightly and leapt back into the air.
"If you treat me like prey, then you'd better be ready to become prey yourselves!"
Yanqing raised his sword to the sky. In the next instant, a colossal sword projection appeared overhead.
"Milky Way Cascade!"
The massive blade locked onto the two of them, a dangerous aura crashing down like a tidal wave. Yet neither of them showed the slightest fear.
Facing the looming sword shadow, Dan Heng's expression remained calm, but his heart was elsewhere, worried about the crew of the train and searching for a way to break free quickly.
"Florephemeral Dreamflux… Florephemeral Dreamflux…" Blade muttered the name of the technique under his breath as he stared at it.
Then he laughed.
"Hahahahaha! Florephemeral Dreamflux. That woman taught you this, didn't she?"
Blade's expression twisted into something terrifying, his entire being slipping into madness.
"Looks like… I can't let you live."
He sighed almost regretfully as thick black miasma poured from his body. Wherever it spread, crimson spider lilies bloomed in its wake.
"Spider lilies… burial…"
Blade tightened his grip on the Shard Sword wrapped in cloth and slashed upward at the sword projection in the sky.
A gigantic sword scar filled with death split the heavens, spider lilies blooming across it, completely shattering Yanqing's sword projection.
"!"
Yanqing froze in shock as his attack was obliterated with ease.
He had heard of the Stellaron Hunters and believed himself not far beneath them.
What he saw now was like a slap to the face, snapping him awake.
The sword techniques he had learned from his grandmaster were crushed effortlessly by this man.
Was he really a genius?
For the first time, Yanqing began to doubt that title.
But Blade's sword strike did not care about his doubts. After destroying the projection, it continued straight toward Yanqing. In an instant, spider lilies bloomed all around him, the stench of hell and death spreading overhead.
"Am I… going to die?"
After unleashing that strike, Yanqing had no strength left to resist. He closed his eyes, waiting for the spider lilies to bloom upon his body.
"Hmph!"
Just as the flowers were about to touch him, a water dragon surged forth, scattering them all.
"If you offend the Xianzhou, you won't be hunters anymore. You'll be prey."
Dan Heng stood in front of Yanqing, Dragon Pearl in hand, warning Blade.
"So what?" Blade replied, utterly unconcerned.
"Anyone connected to that woman deserves to die."
His expression was vicious as he held the Shard Sword and advanced step by step toward Yanqing, unafraid of Dan Heng at all.
"I'll warn you one last time. Step aside."
Dan Heng's calm demeanor vanished, replaced by icy resolve.
"And if I don't?" Blade sneered, not slowing down, instead quickening his pace.
"What, you'll kill me?"
"You can't."
The Shard Sword scraped along the ground, screeching as Blade continued mocking him.
"I'll become your eternal nightmare, always following behind you…"
"Forever… forever… fore—"
Bang!
Before he could finish, a water dragon slammed straight into Blade, the immense force blasting him into a nearby wall.
"Haha… haha…"
Blade slowly stood up from the wreckage and walked back out. The wounds from the attack healed completely in an instant.
"Dan Fung, I told you. If you want to kill me…"
"You can't."
"That woman couldn't either."
Red light blazed in Blade's eyes as the black aura around him grew so dense it was almost solid.
The once-empty battlefield was now carpeted with spider lilies.
"Hmph." Dan Heng snorted, showing no reaction on the surface.
But inwardly, he was thinking hard about how to escape.
The situation of the train crew was unknown. He could not afford to waste time here.
Blade might be unkillable, but running was still an option.
Yanqing's presence, however, complicated things.
If Blade truly killed Yanqing here, the Xianzhou Alliance would never let it go, especially with him as a witness.
"Say what's troubling you. Maybe I can help."
Just as Dan Heng was deep in thought, a cool, distant female voice suddenly sounded by his ear.
…
Extra Scene:
Clara: The Xianzhou Alliance is nothing.
Clara: Even if I protect the Astral Express with one hand and the Stellaron Hunters with the other, I, Clara, still stand invincible across the universe.
Lan: Streamer, I'm here to send you a rocket!
Clara: Aha, save me!
Aha: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha o(￣▽￣)d
Clara: @#$!%…#@$$#@#&$%@
…
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