Chapter 19: Capturing Ye City_1

"Kill, kill, kill!"

「Another day had passed.」

The Qin army had conquered the western city wall, occupying one-fifth of Ye City. On the other fronts, they also made gains, pushing the Great Wei army back step by step.

The streets, alleys, palaces, and mansions—all echoed with the sounds of battle. These noises reached the ears of the city's common folk, who, without exception, bolted their doors and huddled with their families, trembling in fear.

"Converge formations!"

After breaking through the Western District, the battle formations of two Qin armies merged. The moment they combined, an overwhelming Evil Qi permeated the air, their collective aura strengthening manifold and hastening the Great Wei army's collapse.

SWOOSH!

In the sky battlefield, Zhang Gan forced his opponent back. He swung his battle saber with wide, imposing strokes, its saber aura forming several menacing arcs in the Void. But in the next instant, they vanished without a trace.

Hundreds of zhang away, Wei Youqing, who was battling Ren Xiao, suddenly froze. He slowly lowered his head, an expression of utter disbelief on his face.

A deep gash had appeared on his chest, revealing ghastly white bone, blood flowing unceasingly.

"You..."

Wei Youqing pointed at Zhang Gan. His once brilliant eyes dimmed, his life force rapidly draining. Before he could finish his sentence, he plummeted from the sky.

He had never imagined that Zhang Gan, while engaged in a fierce battle with an Ancestor, could still attack others.

"Brother!"

Witnessing Wei Youqing's tragic demise, Wei Daoyi cried out in grief, tears of blood streaming down his face. Endless rage surged within him, his Evil Qi roiling, his eyes turning crimson as he stared fixedly at Zhang Gan.

The two brothers had been inseparable since birth: playing together as children, cultivating and traveling together in their youth, and entering secluded cultivation together in their middle age. The depth of their bond was profound.

"Kill! I'll kill you!"

Overwhelmed by fury, Wei Daoyi lost all reason. Ignoring the disparity in their strength, he charged at Zhang Gan, his killing intent surging like a torrent, painting the Void itself a bloody hue.

At that moment, only one thought consumed him: avenge his brother.

"Daoyi, don't be rash!" an Ancestor roared, trying to snap Wei Daoyi out of his frenzy. In battle, anyone swayed by emotion was doomed to lose.

"Blade Rend the Scattering Clouds!"

But the current Wei Daoyi, consumed by vengeance, was deaf to any warning. His sharp battle saber, wreathed in a bloody light, swept out with the power to cleave mountains.

"Well met!"

Zhang Gan sneered, his eyes filled with contempt. His towering figure resembled an ancient demon god. He swung his long saber downwards, the saber energy erupting like the Silver River of the Nine Heavens, roaring through the world.

BOOM!

The two saber lights collided. The outcome was predictable: Wei Daoyi, merely at the mid-stage of the Heavenly Realm, was blasted a thousand zhang backward and exploded in mid-air, his flesh and blood scattering.

"Kill!"

Zhang Gan seemed to have developed a taste for slaughter. He clenched his left hand into a fist and punched out, a dragon's shadow coiling around it, roaring ferociously.

Nearby, the expression of a late-stage Heavenly Realm Ancestor changed drastically, the hair all over his body standing on end. Without thinking, he hastily raised his weapon to block his chest and tried to dodge sideways.

He moved quickly, but Zhang Gan's fist was faster. Like a lightning bolt, it struck the Ancestor before he could fully move, obliterating him into a shower of gore.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Zhang Gan roared, his black hair standing on end. The exhilaration of slaughter made every pore in his body open, and countless motes of Spiritual Energy surged toward him.

An aura far surpassing that of a Heavenly Realm expert radiated from him.

"He's breaking through to the Holy Realm!" Emperor Wei cried out in horror, his face paling. Even from a great distance, he could feel the intense pressure, as if a true dragon were awakening, ready to unleash terrifying combat power.

"Kill him! Quickly!"

"We absolutely cannot let him break through to the Holy Realm!"

The seven Ancestors of Great Wei roared, their eyes blazing with a terrifying, savage killing intent. Ignoring their own opponents, they all charged towards Zhang Gan.

They knew all too well the terror of the Holy Realm.

Only by Reaching the Holy Realm can one truly be considered an expert, qualified to roam the continent.

"Excellent, the time is ripe!"

Standing on the city tower, Bai Qi sensed Zhang Gan's breakthrough. A flicker of joy crossed his indifferent face. With a single step, as if crossing an immense distance in an instant, he appeared before Zhang Gan.

"Get out of the way!"

The Ancestors of the Great Wei Empire bellowed, their seven war weapons slashing down. Cold light surged like a vast river, engulfing Bai Qi in a frenzied assault.

Bai Qi's expression remained unchanged as he regarded the seven attacks with cold, undaunted eyes.

He slowly extended his right hand.

A faint spiritual light shimmered as he thrust his palm forward.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The air itself seemed to explode. The palm strike transformed into seven streams of energy. Where they passed, the Void trembled. Brilliant sacred might blotted out the sky, carrying an aura that could sunder the Nine Heavens and extinguish the Nine Hells. A terrifying killing intent enveloped all of Ye City.

The Great Wei Ancestors' attacks were like paper, instantly shattering and dispersing without a trace.

Yet, the might of Bai Qi's palm energy remained undiminished.

The pupils of the seven Great Wei Ancestors constricted sharply as the palm energy sent them flying. Their bloodlines ruptured, their internal organs were pulverized. Like meteorites from outer space, they crashed into Ye City, obliterating more than a dozen buildings.

"The Holy Realm..."

The Great Wei Ancestor who had reached the peak of the Heavenly Realm managed to lift his head, blood streaming from his seven orifices. He murmured in despair, his life clearly nearing its end.

As for the other six slightly weaker Ancestors, they had already perished while being flung through the air, their souls consigned to the Yellow Spring.

In the entire sky, only Emperor Wei remained, alone, his expression blank. His gaze towards Bai Qi was filled with endless fear.

Bai Qi was also a Holy Realm expert.

And with Zhang Gan about to break through to the Holy Realm, the Qin Dynasty now had four such experts!

The six major sects had dominated the East Ancient Domain for over a hundred thousand years. Yet, they only had one Holy Realm Ancestor barely clinging to life, his days numbered, as the lifespan limit of a Holy Realm Martial Artist was two hundred thousand years.

The Qin Dynasty, however, a more recently established power, had produced four Holy Realm experts in merely tens of thousands of years.

How utterly preposterous!

If he hadn't witnessed it himself, he would never have believed it.

A single Holy Realm expert could safeguard a power for over a hundred thousand years.

Bai Qi glanced at Emperor Wei but ignored him, taking a position beside Zhang Gan to protect him during his breakthrough.

Though Bai Qi held back, it didn't mean Ren Xiao and the others would. The four exchanged a look, a grim smile playing on their lips, and closed in on Emperor Wei.

BOOM!

Four attacks, each far surpassing Emperor Wei's strength, erupted fiercely, instantly obliterating the stunned Emperor, who exploded into a cloud of blood mist.

A rain of blood drifted down.

The top experts of the Great Wei Dynasty had all fallen.

Within the city, countless Great Wei soldiers turned deathly pale. Their emperor was dead, all their powerful experts annihilated—how could they possibly resist?

Immediately, many Great Wei soldiers dropped their weapons and knelt, begging for their lives. Soon, the vast majority of them abandoned all resistance.

A small contingent of die-hard loyalists fought on, but they were quickly cut down by the Qin army. Heads rolled, a sight that made hearts tremble.

By now, the Imperial Palace was in utter chaos. Order had collapsed. Noble consorts, eunuchs, and palace maids scrambled for valuables, fleeing the palace gates. Everyone knew the Great Wei Empire was finished.

"Defeated... The Qin Dynasty concealed its strength too deeply. The foundation of Great Wei... is lost, severed here and now!"

Gongsun Yan sat outside the Imperial Hall, immaculately dressed in his court robes. Sword in hand, he took his own life at the entrance to the hall, his blood flowing down to stain the nine tiers of steps crimson.

This was a path trod throughout history!

This was also the end of a dynasty!

Nine tiers of steps to the celestial palace; sighing through ages past and present, the victor is crowned king, the vanquished condemned as outlaws!