Chapter 100: Breaking Through the Encirclement

"The World-Saving Society..." Upon hearing those words, Jiang Shengtian was both shocked and enraged.

He was shocked that this mysterious powerhouse was indeed a member of the World-Saving Society. And he was enraged that, despite the World-Saving Society possessing such a terrifying expert, Qi Renjie, the head of the intelligence bureau, had not had a single clue about it.

Had they known the World-Saving Society was hiding such a figure, they would never have treated the organization like small fry. Instead, they would have deployed every powerhouse at their disposal, striking with the overwhelming force to ensure that all the high-level martial paragons of the society were captured in one fell swoop before making a move.

"I'll give the order right now!" Jiang Shengtian said before shouting toward Lei Ting outside, "Quick! Release all members from the World-Saving Society!"

Lei Ting immediately signaled the martial paragons and psychic-will martial paragons who had rapidly arrived and surrounded the area.

A moment later, the master of the Stellar Sanctum said again, "I have issued the order to release them. Now, it's time for you to show your sincerity. Release His Majesty, and there is still room for us to talk. We don't want to fight to the death with a powerhouse like you. But if you truly persist in your delusions..."

Three figures, looking like humanoid mechs, appeared. These were the middle-tier battle armors mentioned in the World-Saving Society's records. Each armor, when worn by a psychic-will martial paragon, turned them into a terrifying killing machine. With such armaments, a single one of them could crush a modern mechanized base.

However, Yaoguang ignored all three mech-like psychic-will martial paragons; it was as if they didn't exist. Thanks to the airtight and sturdy nature of the safe room, he wasn't worried about being sniped.

His voice projected from the building. "No one is permitted to enter this building, including the True Cultivation Palace outside... Of course, that's unless a certain prince wants to seize the opportunity to ascend the throne early and is dying for the emperor to perish. In that case, feel free to try."

Once these words were spoken, several psychic-will martial paragons and princes who were harboring such thoughts immediately suppressed them. After casting a look at Jiang Shengtian, they all slowly retreated outside the villa.

"Give it up. Everyone outside is one of ours," Jiang Shengtian said, his face pale from excessive blood loss. "You won't escape. The Crimson Star Empire is currently in need of talent. I promise you that if you are willing to change your stance and that of the World-Saving Society, from now on, you and your society will be a power structure on par with the Stellar Sanctum in the Crimson Star Empire."

Yaoguang did not speak. Instead, he listened quietly to the report in his earpiece. Soon, Lei Yun sent word that the Crimson Star Empire military base in Dayu had released Ji Pingtian and the others. They were being escorted directly toward the Dayu branch of the World-Saving Society.

Once they were out of the military base, they were essentially safe. However, Yaoguang was not in a hurry and waited patiently.

The wait lasted only a few minutes before Jiang Shengtian said weakly, "I-I need medical treatment."

Whether due to his worsening injuries or the loss of blood, his qi had declined significantly. While he had not reached the point of being on his last breath, it was only a matter of time before he became terminal.

"Don't play tricks. A martial paragon's vitality isn't that fragile," Yaoguang said calmly.

"If my injuries aren't treated, even if I survive, I'll end up a cripple. At the very least, my cultivation will be lost. The Jiang family would never allow a member without the strength of a martial paragon to sit on the throne of the emperor or lead the family. Without that status, I'm just an ordinary member of the Jiang family. They would never compromise for an ordinary person..."

Jiang Shengtian said weakly, "There are a few minutes at most... Once they confirm I've lost my value, they will attack immediately. They might even have heavy weaponry aimed at this building, prepared to bury me and you together in these ruins to preserve the prestige of the Jiang imperial family. Afterward, they'll announce that I, the Emperor of the Crimson Star Empire, fought heroically against an intruder and we perished together..."

Yaoguang glanced at Jiang Shengtian, thought for a moment, and nodded. "You've got a point."

A deeply hidden look of joy instantly appeared in Jiang Shengtian's eyes.

In the next second, as the Emperor stared in disbelief, his neck was sliced open by the Divine Shadow Sword

,

causing blood to spray out.

"Since you're no longer valuable, I'll send you on your way. That'll save the Jiang family from the pain of killing family members later," Yaoguang said.

Jiang Shengtian's eyes bulged, filled with rage, as he stared fixedly at Yaoguang. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to say something, but since his throat was cut, not a single word came out.

The resentment, regret, anger, and despair in his eyes were etched into his very soul. A few seconds later, Jiang Shengtian’s qi vanished. Yaoguang took out the Soul-Capturing Bead and drew the remnant soul into it.

Almost simultaneously, Lei Ting's shout came from outside. "We have released the people! Where is His Majesty? You can release him now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yaoguang's Perception technique sensed two dots representing at least martial-paragon-tier experts rapidly approaching from another direction.

Clearly, they had realized something was wrong in the safe room, but because they couldn't be certain whether Jiang Shengtian was dead or alive, they didn't immediately launch an attack.

Yaoguang took out his phone and snapped another photo of the emperor. He also searched the body and found a jade pendant similar to Shangguan Jinlong's refined artifact. After stowing his spoils and sensing the approaching enemies, Yaoguang didn't hesitate any longer and dashed out of the safe room.

A martial paragon had quietly crept outside the safe room and suppressed his qi to the limit. He was about to act when he saw a cold glint rapidly expanding before his eyes. Where the sword light pointed, it seemed to stir a visible ripple in the air. In fact, the ripple arrived even before the sword.

Even though the martial paragon was fully focused and alert, the ripple filled him with terror unlike any he had felt before. His chest tightened, his heart started racing, and his entire body went limp.

"Crap!" The martial paragon sensed that something was wrong, but by the time he tried to counterattack, it was too late. Cold sword light pierced through his body, leaving a bright trail of red blood behind it. Without stopping for a second, Yaoguang jumped out of the window that the intruder had used to enter.

"The assassin is escaping!" the other martial paragon roared.

"Think you can escape?"

Waiting outside, Lei Ting, the master of the Stellar Sanctum, who had been constantly monitoring the battlefield, rushed forward like a meteor. In an instant, he moved to intercept Yaoguang.

The moment Yaoguang burst through the window, Lei Ting’s figure appeared directly ahead of him. A 1.6-meter-long greatsword, wreathed in lightning and followed by howling gales, slashed directly toward the space where Yaoguang stood.

As long as Lei Ting could delay him for even a moment, the inevitable outcome for Yaoguang would be death, given the inescapable net laid out by the surrounding martial paragons and psychic-will martial paragons.

Yaoguang understood this point perfectly. No matter how strong he was at this moment, it was impossible to single-handedly confront the combined attack of more than a dozen psychic-will martial paragons and hundreds of ordinary martial paragons from the Crimson Star Empire's imperial family.

With his Heavenly Fiend Disintegration state still active, he took a deep breath as his modest psychic will pierced through heaven and earth. Replacing the will of the heavens with his own, and supplemented by the integration of mountains and terrain from the Great Earth Furnace, he seemed to transform into the god of Zhaixing Mountain. As he thrust his sword, he channeled the force of the mountain into the blade.

Though Lei Ting’s greatsword was several times larger than Yaoguang's weapon, the sword light from the Divine Shadow Sword seemed to swell as Yaoguang unleashed his strike. It transformed into a towering, divine mountain that pressed down, threatening to crush every living being in its path.

This power...

Lei Ting's pupils constricted violently.

Feeling the terrifying momentum of Yaoguang’s blade, which felt like the earth splitting and mountains collapsing, he felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to turn and flee as far as possible.

But as the master of the Stellar Sanctum, a unified martial paragon and one of the world's supreme experts, he would never allow himself to be scared into a retreat merely by an aura.

Furthermore, he did not believe that anyone in the world could truly cultivate their sword force to such a degree!

"It's an illusion! You can't intimidate me!" Lei Ting let out a furious roar. His secret techniques ignited, and his combat suit unleashed even more power, causing the greatsword he swung upward to tear the air apart. It formed a white wave of air, and an even more violent wind swirled around the blade.

The wind alone would be enough to tear any martial artist to shreds, as long as the strike simply grazed them. It was the pinnacle strike of a unified martial paragon, a strike against the very mountains and rivers, against earth itself, driven by absolute, fearless resolve.

"Break—"

Boom!

The earth shook as the divine swords clashed head-on. Devastating force erupted from the point of impact like an exploding bomb, and the countless fragments of shattered qi transformed into sword qi that instantly shredded the ground beneath Lei Ting's feet.

Nearly everything within a dozen meters was destroyed by the rampant sword qi, which carved trenches over a foot deep as it swept across the ground.

The Divine Shadow Sword was clearly not in the same league as Lei Ting’s greatsword in terms of size. Yet, the final result saw the momentum contained within it crush Lei Ting’s greatsword with overwhelming force.

Had Lei Ting not abandoned his sword and retreated at the last moment, both of his arms likely would have been crushed by the mountain-toppling power carried by Divine Shadow Sword.

Even so, the master of the Stellar Sanctum, a unified martial paragon and one of the strongest beings in the Crimson Star Empire, was sent flying back by the impact. He moved backward nearly as fast as he had charged forward, and an eruption of sparks appeared as the sword qi impacted his exoskeleton armor.

If not for the characteristic blue glow of a protective refined artifact flashing across his body, no one knew what the outcome of that head-on collision could have been.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Glancing at the Divine Shadow Sword in his hand, which was now covered in cracks, and sensing more powerful auras approaching from another direction, Yaoguang did not pursue. His task was already complete.

He leaped into the air and charged at full speed through the gap he had just forcibly created in the encirclement, vanishing into the night without a trace.