Volume One: The Game of the Controllers Chapter Sixty-Three: The Guest Minister

The Azure Emperor Songshi had almost entirely inherited the strength that Chi Qing once possessed. The two ninth-level Immortal Emperors, who had hidden their power for years and were clad in mid-grade divine armor, could not withstand even a single blow from Songshi.

“I’ll say it again: we brothers only trust the dead,” Luo Changqing declared forcefully as he finished healing his wounds, a dazzling golden sword appearing in his hand.

In truth, their physical injuries were nothing serious; most of Songshi’s power had been absorbed by the mid-grade divine armor.

Fang Lan watched from the side, secretly astounded. He had not expected Songshi’s strength to be so formidable. Even with so many subordinates at his command, he realized that should Songshi covet one of the tokens, it would be an easy task for him to seize it.

“Let us have you taste our united sword technique, the Nine Forms of the Sword God!” Hu Changfeng and Luo Changqing shouted in unison, brandishing their longswords. Each swing unleashed torrents of sword energy from their blades.

The Nine Forms of the Sword God was the ancestral technique of both the Hu and Luo clans. When wielded together by the two, its power became almost unbelievable.

In an instant, sword energy danced chaotically in the sky. Each arc carried immense power. Around Fang Lan and Songshi, no fewer than ten thousand strands of sword energy slashed through the air. Even Fang Lan could only rely on his speed to evade, not daring to block the attacks head-on; only when he could not dodge did he use his Soul-Stealing Spear to parry.

Even so, every block left Fang Lan’s wrist numb from the shock.

Songshi, however, remained composed. At some point, a longsword—clearly a divine weapon—had appeared in his hand. With effortless grace, he parried blows to the left and right, and not a single strand of the chaotic sword energy could threaten him.

A soft whistle sounded. Two eighth-level Demon Emperors and three seventh-level Demon Emperors under Fang Lan’s command simultaneously attacked Hu Changfeng and Luo Changqing from five directions.

The two exchanged a glance, abruptly accelerating their swordplay. The sword energy directed at Fang Lan and Songshi grew even denser and more chaotic than before.

Fang Lan cursed inwardly. He hadn’t imagined these two ninth-level Immortal Emperors could mount such a fierce offense. Normally, a wide area of attack meant less concentrated power, but the sword energy of their Nine Forms showed no such weakness. A single arc could numb the wrist of a ninth-level Demon Emperor’s super divine beast—such was its might.

Just as Fang Lan felt he could bear no more, Hu Changfeng and Luo Changqing suddenly moved as one, spinning on the spot.

“Nine Forms of the Sword God—Raging Dragon Whirlwind!” In a flash, a wall of sword energy formed around them, expanding outward like a tempest.

The sound of bodies being cut apart rang out ceaselessly. In the blink of an eye, the two eighth-level and three seventh-level Demon Emperors were sliced into fragments.

“These Hu and Luo clans, having endured for eons, truly are extraordinary,” Songshi thought, fending off the sword energy while silently admiring them. “My master foresaw this well. Such powers are best left unprovoked.”

Songshi appeared at ease, yet that was not the whole truth. If it were truly so easy, he would have already split off an avatar to attack.

“Still, I’m curious how long you can keep up such a physically taxing technique.” To unleash so much powerful sword energy must drain both spiritual and soul energy greatly; Songshi did not believe the two could maintain this assault indefinitely.

A strand of sword energy grazed the shoulder of the Roc Demon Emperor Fang Lan, sending a fountain of blood spraying forth.

“These two old foxes are truly formidable,” Fang Lan thought with lingering fear. Only by relying on his superior speed had he managed to avoid a fatal blow, suffering only a shoulder wound.

Yet Fang Lan noticed that ever since the two had unleashed the Raging Dragon Whirlwind, their attacks on him and Songshi had slowed significantly in both frequency and speed.

“Now is the time—” A murderous gleam flashed in Fang Lan’s eyes. He became a streak of light, thrusting his Soul-Stealing Spear straight ahead.

With their divine armor shattered, Fang Lan did not believe these two could withstand his assault unprotected.

Several strands of sword energy cut fresh wounds into Fang Lan’s body, but he ignored them, his gaze fixed only on the vulnerability on Hu Changfeng’s body.

“Impressive—Fang Lan’s eyes are sharp,” Songshi mused, sensing the lessened pressure. The Raging Dragon Whirlwind was clearly a draining move.

But just as Fang Lan’s spear was about to pierce Hu Changfeng, a staff appeared out of nowhere, lightly tapping the Soul-Stealing Spear aside.

Fang Lan froze. This person had intervened in the battle without anyone realizing.

Not only Fang Lan—even Hu Changfeng and Luo Changqing were stunned, halting their Nine Forms. For someone to break through the onslaught of sword energy and block Fang Lan’s attack with such ease—there could only be a handful in the entire Immortal, Demon, and Monster Realms capable of such a feat.

Songshi was stunned as well. His soul had already condensed into a golden core, reaching the level of a lower-grade divine being, yet he had not sensed this person’s arrival, nor how he had slipped through the layers of sword energy and intercepted the Roc Demon Emperor’s attack.

“It’s you...” Hu Changfeng and Luo Changqing exclaimed in unison. The newcomer was none other than their newly appointed honored guest, Qin Shuang.

“Elders, I trust you have been well?” Qin Shuang replied with a casual smile.

“Why did you come to save us?” Hu Changfeng asked, puzzled. In their eyes, if Songshi knew of the Hu and Luo clans’ plans, it could only have been Qin Shuang who leaked the information.

“I’ve benefited from you both, and since I accepted the position of honored guest, I cannot stand by and do nothing,” Qin Shuang replied nonchalantly.

Hu Changfeng and Luo Changqing exchanged glances, immediately understanding—Qin Shuang could not have been the source of the leak. As to how the information got out, they no longer cared.

“He’s certainly a man of character, but while Fang Lan is manageable, the Azure Emperor will be a different story,” Luo Changqing cautioned.

Qin Shuang frowned slightly. He knew that Songshi, the Azure Emperor, had once been on good terms with his own father.

“Azure Emperor Songshi, if you swear not to reveal anything you have seen or heard today, I am willing to spare your life,” Qin Shuang said, not at all concerned about the menacing Roc Demon Emperor standing next to him.

A flash of light—Fang Lan was already before Qin Shuang, seizing the moment while he and Songshi were speaking, hoping to slay this meddler.

“Courting death,” Qin Shuang’s eyes flashed coldly. He swung his staff. “Heaven-Shaking Triple Staff!”

Three successive explosions rang out as all three blows landed squarely on Fang Lan.

The Heaven-Shaking Triple Staff—the signature technique of every Great Ape King in the realms. Few could master even the first strike, let alone all three.

Yet with just this technique, the Great Ape Kings could stand toe-to-toe with the Dragon Emperors who possessed the legacy soul pearls. That alone spoke to the Heaven-Shaking Triple Staff’s might.

The Dark Lightning Roc King Fang Lan experienced firsthand the power of this technique. Though a ninth-level Demon Emperor with a form renowned for defense, and armed with a legacy divine treasure, he stood no chance whatsoever. The three blows smashed his body to pieces, with not even his nascent soul escaping.

In three strikes, the Roc Demon Emperor Fang Lan was dead.

The legacy golden crown of the Avian Clan emerged from Fang Lan’s remains, floating directly into Qin Shuang’s hand.

Hu Changfeng and Luo Changqing exchanged glances, both reading the shock in each other’s eyes. “Giving him a token was indeed the wisest decision we ever made.”

“An impressive display,” Songshi said, frowning, though his feelings were complicated. With the techniques left by his master Chi Qing, he considered himself, even as an eighth-level Immortal Emperor, to be on par with the likes of Jin Xingjun Wenfeng of the Dark Star Realm.

Yet this man had slain the Roc Demon Emperor Fang Lan in a single move—Songshi could not claim equal strength.

Moreover, the Heaven-Shaking Staff was legendary throughout the Immortal, Demon, and Monster Realms; it was the forbidden legacy of the ape clan, reserved only for their super divine beasts.

Clearly, this man before him had a formidable background.

“I’ll say it once more, Songshi: so long as you swear not to reveal anything that happened here today, I will spare your life,” Qin Shuang said coldly.

“Ha, you are indeed formidable. But if you want me to swear, you’ll have to show more than just that,” Songshi replied, inheritor of Chi Qing’s arts, confident that only Ao Wuming, Jin Xingjun, and Wu Long could rival him in the realms. For a stranger, even one who had slain Fang Lan in a single blow, to demand his oath—impossible.

“Very well, then I’ll convince you.” Qin Shuang smiled faintly, and in an instant appeared before Songshi. Space rippled around them, and Songshi realized he could not move at all.

“To use the power of space to bind someone...” This was a skill Chi Qing himself had taught him, yet this man was clearly a master of it as well.

Little did he know, his own understanding of space was worlds apart from Qin Shuang’s.

Qin Shuang’s fist hovered before Songshi’s face. Remembering the connection between his father and the Azure Emperor Chi Qing, and recalling how Songshi had once aided Qin Yu, he did not land the blow.

(To be continued)