Qing Mo never dreamed he might lose to Ling Chen. So, even after Ling Chen’s sword defeated him, he still couldn’t believe what was happening before his eyes.
Before he could struggle further, the tip of Ling Chen’s sword was already pressed against Qing Mo’s throat.
"Tell me, who sent you?"
Ling Chen stared at the severely injured Qing Mo, a cold glint in his eyes. Who would dare plot to kill me during this royal hunt?
"I can’t say. Young man, I was merely following orders. The real culprit isn’t me. Please show mercy and spare me. I promise I will never appear before you again."
Qing Mo dared not reveal the mastermind. If I tell him, I’ll probably die.
"Speak, and I’ll let you go. You can hide and continue to live freely. If you refuse, I’ll kill you right now."
Ling Chen applied slight pressure, and his sword cut into Qing Mo’s neck, drawing a trickle of blood.
"I’ll talk, I’ll talk."
Qing Mo’s expression turned grim. Despite Ling Chen’s youth, he clearly wasn’t an easy child to fool. To save his life, Qing Mo knew he had to tell the truth. Ling Chen is right. If I tell him, I might still be able to escape. As long as I flee the Wind Country, I’ll be completely safe.
Seeing Qing Mo relent, Ling Chen retracted his Heavy Sword slightly, waiting for him to speak.
"The person who ordered me is actually..."
Just as Qing Mo was about to speak, WHOOSH! A black streak of light suddenly shot out from the nearby forest, accurately striking Qing Mo in the back of his heart.
Qing Mo’s eyes bulged. His heart had been shattered by the vicious force, and his body collapsed heavily to the ground.
Ling Chen hastily retreated, warily scanning his surroundings. He saw several dark figures slowly emerge from the direction the Hidden Weapon had come.
"What a useless piece of trash."
The leader of the people in black wore a face covering, concealing his true appearance. His voice was deep and resonant, clearly that of a middle-aged man. He glanced at Qing Mo’s corpse and snorted coldly. "Not only did he fail the mission, but he was also about to reveal who sent him. Good thing we had a backup plan, or this cur would have ruined everything."
"In the end, we still have to do it ourselves. Such trash is completely unreliable," another man in black said coldly.
"I didn’t expect a mere First Realm warrior to be capable of this. Truly a renowned young genius in the Martial World. You can consider it an honor to die at our hands today."
The leader of the men in black focused his gaze on Ling Chen, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.
"Who exactly are you? I don’t recall ever offending you. Can you at least let me die knowing why?"
Ling Chen’s expression was grave. Of the three men before him, two were Second Realm Martial Artists. The leader, like Qing Mo, was a Third Level Martial Artist. Such a lineup was terrifying.
He had just exhausted all his strength to defeat Qing Mo. Now, facing such a formidable group of enemies, Even if I had three heads and six arms, I’d probably still die here.
Hearing Ling Chen’s words, one of the men in black grinned and was about to speak but was stopped by their leader.
"You haven’t offended us, but you’ve offended our superiors. That’s all I can tell you. When you reach the Underworld, I hope you won’t resent us."
The leader of the men in black revealed no useful information. After speaking, he lifted his Treasure Sword and advanced towards Ling Chen.
The two men in black behind him also drew their weapons and followed.
Looking at the formation before him, Ling Chen’s heart sank. His current situation was undoubtedly desperate. The leader of the men in black alone was enough to kill him.
At that moment, the leader of the men in black moved. His feet seemed to generate wind as he strode with extreme speed, attacking towards Ling Chen’s left.
Ling Chen watched the leader approach rapidly. He could no longer flee. At this moment, if he turned, his back would surely face a frenzied attack, and he would die without a burial site.
The leader’s sword cut through the void, creating sparks as it slashed towards Ling Chen.
Lifting the Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword, Ling Chen met the leader’s attack.
A clear metallic sound rang out. Ling Chen was sent flying, the Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword nearly slipping from his grasp. It carved a twenty-meter-long gash in the ground.
A mouthful of blood sprayed onto the Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword. Ling Chen used the sword to support his body. That single exchange had inflicted considerable damage.
But the leader of the men in black didn’t pause his assault. After repelling Ling Chen, he raised his sword again and charged forward, his killing intent surging.
Ling Chen took a deep breath. At this rate, I’ll definitely die. The more critical the moment of life and death, the calmer one needed to be. However, his attention was entirely focused on the three masked men in black. He failed to notice that the blood he had just sprayed onto the Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword was drying at a visible rate, completely absorbed by the sword.
Seeing several more beams of Sword Light cleaving through the air towards him, Ling Chen used his remaining strength to swing the Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword and parry. But with each block, Ling Chen was forced back more than ten steps, and the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth increased.
And as Ling Chen’s blood stained the Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword, a faint, crimson glow seemed to emerge from within the blade.
"Heh heh, Ling Chen, your Swordsmanship is quite good—agile and elegant. But I don’t understand why you use a Heavy Sword. This Heavy Sword is cumbersome and unsharpened; it’s clearly a burden. If you had used an ordinary Treasure Sword, you might have lasted a few more seconds."
The leader of the men in black looked at Ling Chen as if he were already dead. Being a Swordsman himself, he felt a slight twinge of pity for Ling Chen, which was why he said a few extra words.
But pity was pity. Ling Chen was the one Prince Tai had specifically ordered to be killed. He had to die today!
The leader of the men in black raised his Long Sword, leaped high into the air, and swung a killing blow down at Ling Chen. A thick wave of sword qi shot out, enveloping Ling Chen.
The other two men in black stopped. It wasn’t their turn to act. Ling Chen was no match for their leader to begin with, and now he was a spent force. For their leader, killing Ling Chen would be as easy as blowing away dust.
Ling Chen gathered the last of his True Qi and infused it into the Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword. In the next moment, with a sharp HUM, the Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword erupted with a dazzling crimson light. This light spread from the sword body upwards, eventually flowing back into Ling Chen’s body.
Instantly, a vast aura of bloodlust and slaughter surged into Ling Chen’s mind. In that moment, the scene before Ling Chen’s eyes transformed into a battlefield littered with corpses and flowing with rivers of blood. An astonishing killing intent erupted from his body, surging towards the heavens.