Chapter 692: The King's Death

In other words, the old farmer's understanding of the blade had reached a level that neither Jian Mo nor Wang Jian could ever hope to replicate. He manifested a blade with his own aura as support, then spurred it forward with killing intent.

Zhang Lie leisurely stretched out two fingers.

The ninth prince grew alarmed. Even he felt that Zhang Lie was taking the farmer's attack too lightly. He knew how strong Zhang Lie was, and he was certainly very confident in Zhang Lie, but could he really survive this blow with just two fingers?

Even he, hardly a swordsman at all, could sense the burgeoning power behind the blow.

The old farmer's swordsmanship was extraordinary. It wouldn't be a problem for Zhang Lie to defend against the blow, but doing so with just two fingers was the height of arrogance.

The blade struck Zhang Lie's fingers with a clink. The ninth prince watched the confrontation warily—was Zhang Lie really going to succeed?

With two fingers, he was pincering the black blade. Genetic energy erupted from his body and was transferred to his fingers. He gave off the impression of a mountain so tall it touched the heavens, a sea so vast it was without end.

The waves of the sea battered the black blade until a crack marred its surface.

The old farmer's eyebrows rose. Ever since he had attuned himself with nature, none had been able to block his blows.

However, Zhang Lie succeeded in doing so where all others had failed.

"Two fingers are enough," Zhang Lie stated, his tone calm, as though he had done nothing more strenuous than pluck a flower from the roadside.

The old farmer's will seemed immense, but the sword—the bamboo pole—was perfectly ordinary. As long as Zhang Lie could block all that sword energy, he had nothing to fear. Of course, overwhelming the farmer's will was hardly easy; only Zhang Lie could do it so readily.

The old farmer nodded to himself. "You're indeed very strong. As promised, the feud ends here."

"Hm? I don't think I said you could leave, did I?" Zhang Lie's voice remained calm even as he threw a punch at the old farmer. "[Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar]!"

Ripples of air formed around Zhang Lie's arm, growing more and more intense as Zhang Lie combined spatial force with his water-attuned genetic energy.

Wind blew all around the two combatants. The trees that hadn't fallen from the farmer's blow were now uprooted whole. Even the ninth prince was unable to remain standing. Luckily, Whiter moved quickly and bit him by the hem of his clothes, anchoring him to the ground.

White, Whiter, and Red Comet all hunkered down as they retreated.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The attack seemed to have drawn the attention of even the will of the world. As Zhang Lie infused more energy into his arm, the entire world seemed to shake.

Zhang Lie's aura rose rapidly. The water-attuned genetic energy swirling around him condensed around his arm, kneading space as though it were nothing more than paper.

The old farmer frowned, his heart pumping. Had he underestimated this opponent?

Zhang Lie continued charging up his punch, packing what seemed to be an entire sea of energy in one blow.

"I defended against your blade; now, you'll defend against my fist."

The sea devoured everything in sight.

The old farmer struck with a thrust, trying to split the torrent of water coming his way into two. However, he hadn't realized just how frightening and dense the attack was. This sort of attack wasn't something a person could defend against; it was a blow that could spell doom to the entire world.

Against the torrent of compressed water, the farmer's attack was meaningless.

The old farmer struck forward with a dozen slashes, each of which would have felled a premier fighter of the era—but even a dozen, then six dozen, then over a hundred such slashes could hardly mitigate the force of Zhang Lie's attack.

As the flood was on the brink of swallowing up the old farmer, black sword energy burst forth from him, shattering everything around him.

By sacrificing his strength, the old farmer forcibly stopped the attack short—but Zhang Lie's attack was more sophisticated than that.

Zhang Lie emerged from the torrent of water, hsi fist still clenched tightly shut.

The sky began to crack as the accumulated energy in Zhang Lie's fist reached a critical threshold. As he punched forward, the old farmer flew out into the distance, blood pouring out from his mouth and tracing an arc in mid-air. He fell to the ground limply, spasming a few times before turning still.

Zhang Lie snorted. "Do you really think that I, Zhang Lie, would be so easy to subdue? You should have been prepared to suffer the consequences of defeat!"

Zhang Lie grabbed the old farmer by the neck. Before he could shut his eyes for the last time, Zhang Lie's eyes glowed with rainbow light as he activated his mistmeld clam soulshard.

Very quickly, the old man's gaze took on a rainbow sheen. Zhang Lie subsequently tossed the old man back down and threw him a vial of Yeluo restorative.

When the old farmer drank the potion, his wounds recovered quickly.

Zhang Lie asked, "What's your name?"

"I have many names, most lost to time. Two centuries ago, I was known as a bladewielder, then subsequently as an elder and a farmer. Now, they all call me Jian Zu, and I've forgotten my original name."

Zhang Lie rolled his eyes. "Very well. From today onwards, you'll be known as Jian Nong."

The old farmer bowed. "Thank you for granting me a name, Master."

After subduing Jian Nong, Zhang Lie motioned for White and Whiter to come over. Neither leopard dared resist, though they were still skeptical about the old farmer.

The ninth prince, stupefied by what he had witnessed, immediately asked Zhang Lie, "What happened to him?"

"Nothing. From today onwards, Jian Nong here will be your bodyguard," Zhang Lie replied.

"Jian Nong?! Alright..." The ninth prince didn't think it was wise to continue questioning Zhang Lie, lest he reveal something too shocking for the ninth prince to comprehend.

After Jian Nong, no one else barred Zhang Lie's path. He and the ninth prince headed to the city closest to the land they had just acquired. As they drew close to the city, the ninth prince couldn't help but ask, "Master, how are we going to develop the land?"

"There's no rush. Let's see what the nearby cities are like first."

The party wandered around the border of their land through the neighboring cities and villages. Zhang Lie spread his rainbow mist wherever they went.

All sorts of accomplished craftsmen and masters of their trade left in pursuit of Zhang Lie, their entire families in tow, toward the ninth prince's new territory.

"What are your plans, Master?" the ninth prince pressed again.

"The most important issue we have to deal with right now is manpower and talent. Trying to acquire these through regular means would take far too long, and extraordinary circumstances demand extraordinary action."

Zhang Lie had hypnotized a large number of the indigenous citizens of the kingdom to help the ninth prince construct a city.

"I have plans for the city's layout and structure. With so much manpower, it should be finished in no time at all."

Just as the citizens were laying out the foundations for what would eventually be the ninth prince's city, however, the skies turned blood-red. Mourning cries echoed over the horizon, as though the entire world were grieving a loss. The ninth prince stood stock-still, disbelief radiating through his features.

Zhang Lie frowned. "What's going on?"

"Master, my father is dead!"

1. 农, lit. farmer