Boom! Heqifeng dodged the ice cone but couldn't evade the current. The armor on his back shattered, exploding into flesh and blood. He rolled across the ice, and the scattered electrical energy conducted through the ice surface directly into his body, forcefully shattering his unstable Battle Soul.

Archmage! Qian Jin sucked in a sharp breath. This Bandit King actually had two Archmages at his side! Moreover, both this man and the demon were mages who had unlocked the power of their Spirit Bloodlines! Except, one possessed the Nature Spirit bloodline, and the other, the Night Elf bloodline.

Legend held that no one with an Ultimate Bloodline would ever stoop to being a bandit beyond the Great Wall!

Yet, the Bandit King operating beyond the Great Wall now was a demon born from a family renowned for its Ultimate Bloodline power!

Rumor stated that the Ten Great Bloodlines would never manifest among the bandits beyond the Great Wall, yet here were two appearing at once! One belonged to the Ten Great Bloodlines of the Demon race, and the other to the Ten Great Bloodlines of the Zhence Dynasty.

A massive ice spike violently erupted from Heqifeng’s abdomen, impaling him high in the air. Blood trickled down the spike bit by bit onto the ground. In the blink of an eye, the fleeing leader, Heqifeng, was dead.

Ba Huang Wusheng’s gaze swept over Heqifeng, his attention then shifting to the dull-witted Mu Ne Zhence. He raised his hand and struck out directly. The Black Moon Slash, carrying the aura of death, materialized before Mu Ne Zhence. Tie Nan roared, instantly activating the Black Gorilla Bloodline Battle Form. His colossal Black Gorilla Battle Soul shot toward the sky, rapidly drawing power back into his body, causing his strength to surge again. Gripping a spiked mace, he slammed it against the Black Moon Slash.

Rumble! Blood spurted violently from Tie Nan’s tiger’s mouth. The enormous spiked mace was flung high into the air. The residual force of the Black Moon Slash struck the chest of the Black Gorilla Battle Form, immediately triggering several sounds of breaking bones. The entire figure was sent flying backward, swiftly withdrawing from the Black Gorilla Battle Form.

One strike! Merely one strike! Ba Huang Wusheng, without even activating his own bloodline power, had critically wounded Tie Nan—a Bloodline Warrior capable of merging his Battle Soul into his body—with a single blow.

“Bandit King…” Tie Nan lay on the ground, desperately trying to push himself up with both arms, but he simply could not manage to stand fully. Vomiting blood, he gasped, “Do you know… do you know who the person you are attacking… is?”

Ba Huang Wusheng looked down at Tie Nan coolly. “This King naturally knows! Does his identity matter to this King? Out here beyond the Great Wall, only this King is sovereign.”

“Am I right?” Ba Huang Wusheng looked calmly at Mu Ne Zhence. “The Sixth Prince of the Zhence Dynasty. Do you think that just because your Third Brother wrote me a letter telling me not to touch you, I would genuinely dare not? And you still bluster about how the Zhence armies will surely destroy this King one day?”

Third Brother? The muscles around Mu Ne Zhence’s eyes began to seize up. Third Brother! Was it truly his Third Brother trying to kill him? Could it be… could this entire situation… be orchestrated by his Third Brother to eliminate him? Yes! This bore the hallmark of his Third Brother’s style!

Of the current generation of the Zhence royal family, the Third Prince was strongest not in direct combat, but in utilizing everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, manipulating unrelated people and events through those traits, often without anyone realizing how they were being used.

Mu Ne Zhence remembered words his Third Brother once spoke: “Many conspirators in this world like to exploit the flaws of others to execute their schemes. They fail to realize that a true sage should exploit all strengths and weaknesses to achieve the optimal result.”

Sixth Prince? Mu Ne Zhence? Qian Jin turned to look at the person beside him. No wonder he always felt this man was strange. Mu Ne Tiance? Mu Ne Zhence!

“This must be a letter meant to provoke me into murder. Your royal Third Brother is quite ruthless.” Ba Huang Wusheng’s expression was laced with chilling arrogance. “Why provoke me? This King hasn’t been afraid to kill Zhence royalty in the past. I imagine you fled out here beyond the Great Wall hoping to find some power willing to accept you as their vassal? This King needs no provocation. A prince? Still subject to execution!”

“Third Brother…” Mu Ne Zhence’s face turned ashen, the habitual smile gone from the corners of his lips. Endless sorrow swam in his eyes, yet not a trace of despair showed. “Is the throne… truly that important? Important enough to kill me? We are brothers! Can’t we compete fairly and normally? Isn’t demonstrating our capabilities enough? Must you resort to slaughtering your own kin?”

A fleeting hint of melancholy crossed Ba Huang Wusheng’s imperious face. “That is the way of royalty. Complaining? You can only blame yourself for not being ruthless enough…”

Rumble! The massive light barrier finally shattered, and the surrounding bandits erupted into fierce combat amidst the clamor.

In the crowd, a brown shadow carrying a red silhouette instantly pierced through several defensive lines, its target fixed directly on Ba Huang Wusheng as it charged madly. It deflected some attacks using chains, enduring several cuts to finally hack a path through the encirclement.

“King Wusheng…”

The brown figure shouted continuously as he closed the distance, only to be intercepted by a barrage of ice spikes blocking his path.

Hua Yan Bujian! Qian Jin abruptly spotted the beautiful figure accompanying the dark shadow. It was the female bandit leader he had come to rescue. The struggles of the past few days showed that Hua Yan Bujian had nearly exhausted all her strength; if the other person hadn't been supporting her shoulder, she might not even have the strength to remain standing.

What to do? Qian Jin’s pupils instantly locked onto the Bandit King, Ba Huang Wusheng! The ice magic just unleashed had come from the Archmage beside him! The only way to stop them from casting spells was to kill Ba Huang Wusheng!

Kill the Archmage? Qian Jin analyzed the situation with extreme, cold-blooded calm. Even if a surprise attack successfully killed one Archmage, it wouldn't truly save Hua Yan Bujian. Only killing Ba Huang Wusheng!

Kill Ba Huang Wusheng? Was it possible? If there was no possibility, he still had to try! This wasn't just about saving Hua Yan Bujian; it was also about saving Mu Ne Zhence, and saving himself!

Ba Huang Wusheng’s presence here today was clearly intended to establish dominance by slaughtering everyone. He could not rely on any mercy from the man.

Only a sneak attack! Only one chance! Qian Jin’s mind instantly cleared. At this moment of life and death, he effortlessly entered the archer’s optimal state. He lightly moved a finger and drew a throwing knife from his Battle Realm. His pupils did not specifically focus on Ba Huang Wusheng.

A master like that could sense any targeted attention immediately. Only by not focusing on him, by treating him as just one part of his visual field, could he avoid alerting the opponent.

“King Wusheng! It is I! Ferdinand…”

Amidst countless ice spikes, the brown shadow let out a roar of fury, finally drawing Ba Huang Wusheng’s attention.

Opportunity! Qian Jin’s heart leaped. All his muscles tensed instantly. He violently pushed off the ground with his right leg, transferring the rotational force from his waist, through his shoulder, and finally into his wrist and fingers. He flung the throwing knife into the air in a sweeping motion!

No Battle Qi! He could not use Battle Qi! At such close range, any mobilization of Battle Qi would be sensed by a powerhouse like Ba Huang Wusheng. Relying purely on physical strength would only delay the opponent’s discovery by a fraction of a second!

An extremely short distance! Qian Jin was only ten paces away from Ba Huang Wusheng. The knife attack, launched by surprise at such close range, carved a brilliant, dazzling path through the air, heading straight for the back of Ba Huang Wusheng’s head!

Pure brute force alone left a faint, visible trail of displaced air in the knife’s wake, resembling a small meteor streaking across the sky.

This is—! Ba Huang Wusheng’s blue hair suddenly stood up as if exploding. He violently whipped his head to the side. The throwing knife whistled past his ear, tearing through the air as it flew past. A single drop of blood!

A single drop of blood sprang from Ba Huang Wusheng’s earlobe.

What was that? The two Archmages, shocked, suspended their magic and simultaneously enveloped Ba Huang Wusheng in a defensive light barrier, their eyes fixed on Qian Jin, preparing for an instant-cast spell. Two more throwing knives shot out from Qian Jin’s hand!

This time, Qian Jin even activated his Battle Qi! Whether the first strike succeeded or not, the next move would be an all-out explosion!

The Battle Qi emanating from the three Battle Hearts made the throwing knives swift as lightning. The two Archmages hastily erected magic shields around themselves; the knives instantly shattered the shields they managed to raise and plunged toward their bodies.

Clang! Clang!

Two metallic sounds rang out. Qian Jin’s throwing knives were deflected by two streams of dark Battle Qi. They had been just a hair’s breadth away from killing the two Archmages, whose power far surpassed Qian Jin’s.

The two Archmages were drenched in sweat, gasping for air, savoring the feeling of being snatched back from the brink of death. The knives hadn't pierced their bodies, but the killing intent condensed at the tips had wounded them both!

Not a severe injury! But a wound nonetheless! The two Archmages coughed in unison, spitting out faint traces of blood.

Everyone present stared in shock at Qian Jin, who had launched the ambush. Was this kid insane? To dare strike in front of Ba Huang Wusheng? Moreover, to attempt to assassinate the Bandit King himself!

As the three knives flew, all of Qian Jin’s muscles vibrated at high speed. The true Myriad Shadows, having accumulated power for half a day, finally manifested a glimmer of its true form. His own shadow remained rooted to the spot, but his arm had already seized Mu Ne Zhence and bolted thirty meters forward, his body generating sonic booms from friction with the air, aiming directly for Hua Yan Bujian!

He was so stunned he nearly bit his tongue. This kid? Was he truly mad! Attacking Ba Huang Wusheng?

Ba Huang Wusheng’s blade-sharp pupils swept over the two Archmages. A sharp gleam, like that of a battle saber, flashed through his eyes, followed by a faint smile. “Good boy, daring to sneak attack this King! And attempting to kill my subordinates while rescuing someone? If you manage to save this person today, this King might as well stop operating beyond the Great Wall. Stay right there!”

As his voice fell, the ground beneath Ba Huang Wusheng’s feet exploded, yet his body had already vanished from the spot…

Fifty meters… forty meters… thirty meters… fifteen meters…

Qian Jin rapidly approached Hua Yan Bujian when suddenly his vision blurred. An overwhelming pressure descended instantly, and a massive hand swept down like an encompassing sky: “Leave him here!”

The voice boomed like dry thunder, mixed with the crushing descent of the giant palm. The vast black Battle Qi completely obscured the sky above Qian Jin’s head. Qian Jin felt as though a thick bank of storm clouds had settled over him, threatening to unleash hundreds, perhaps thousands, of bolts of lightning to strike him dead.