Chapter 290: Sneak Attack

Seeing the crown prince of the Wei Kingdom cowering behind his four attendants, Lin Qian's face twisted into a sneer. "With such courage, you dare to talk so big?"

As Lin Qian's words fell, the nine dragons circling him suddenly contracted, shrinking in size. The condensed dragons then merged into the blade of the Thunder Night Sword, where faint dragon shadows flickered amidst the scarlet-gold lightning, signifying a shift in Lin Qian's aura.

If earlier, Lin Qian's presence was one of overwhelming dominance, exuding imperial pressure that crushed all in its path, now his aura became much more restrained, almost subdued. But this didn't mean his strength had diminished.

As the four Wei Kingdom attendants rushed toward him, Lin Qian's expression remained unchanged. He calmly raised the Thunder Night Sword and slashed down at the first attendant, who wielded a spear as his weapon.

The wide Thunder Night Sword clashed with the attendant's spear, causing a brief moment of stillness. But in the next instant, the attendant felt an incomprehensible force surging through the spear and into his body.

He watched in horror as his soul energy shield shattered into fragments, and his spear, fully weaponized as a soul artifact, crumbled into metallic debris. The unstoppable force then exploded against his chest.

Before the Wei Kingdom attendant could even process what had happened, Lin Qian had already moved past him and was upon the other three.

"One! Two! Three! Four!" Lin Qian counted aloud, each strike landing precisely on the weapons of the four attendants.

The crown prince of the Wei Kingdom could only watch in shock as his attendants, who were supposed to protect him, burst apart like bloody fireworks.

"Ah!" The crown prince screamed in a mix of rage and fear as he hastily weaponized his soul artifact—a pair of twin swords—and slashed them at Lin Qian.

Bang!

The crossed twin swords struck Lin Qian's neck, but even after breaking through the scarlet-gold soul energy that cloaked him, they only managed to make contact with his skin.

The crown prince's hands went numb as he realized his swords couldn't even scratch Lin Qian's flesh. Despite attacking with all his might, he had barely managed to breach Lin Qian's soul energy.

Compared to other soul warriors, Lin Qian's physical body was far more resilient than his soul energy.

Regret flooded the Wei Kingdom crown prince's mind. Why had he spoken so carelessly earlier? If he hadn't provoked Lin Qian, perhaps the situation wouldn't have escalated to this point.

"Five!" Lin Qian intoned as he raised the Thunder Night Sword, gripping the hilt with both hands. He swung the sword in a wide arc, the blade smashing into the crown prince and sending him flying.

Smack!

With a single blow, the crown prince vanished, his body splattered into blood that sprayed across the golden masks of the five battle generals who had been pursuing Lin Qian.

In mere moments, Lin Qian had eradicated all five of the Wei Kingdom's forces.

Ignoring the five battle generals charging toward him, Lin Qian's gaze shifted past them to the terrified face of the Autumn Kingdom crown prince. With the Thunder Night Sword held high, Lin Qian smiled grimly. "Six!"

As Lin Qian's voice echoed through the battlefield, he swung the Thunder Night Sword without hesitation. A brilliant beam of golden sword energy, accompanied by crackling scarlet lightning and dragon shadows, slashed toward the Autumn Kingdom crown prince.

The sheer force of the attack forced the five battle generals to scatter, instinctively dodging the impending blow.

As they leaped aside, they were horrified to see the sword energy accelerate, transforming into a blinding flash of light. A blood-curdling scream followed as the Autumn Kingdom crown prince was cleaved in two—his left shoulder and chest, including his heart, severed cleanly from his body.

The scream had barely left his lips before his body fell apart, the severed half tumbling to the ground.

But the sword energy didn't dissipate after striking the crown prince. Instead, it eerily hovered in place, its golden light intensifying.

"Seven, eight, nine, ten—explode!"

Lin Qian's voice rang out as the golden energy erupted into a sea of scarlet lightning, engulfing the remaining four attendants of the Autumn Kingdom. In an instant, they were reduced to charred remains that plummeted to the earth.

The five battle generals turned to face Lin Qian, their bodies trembling with fear. The power he had displayed was beyond anything they could have imagined.

The stronger the power, the harder it is to control. Yet, Lin Qian had wielded that overwhelming sword energy with precise mastery, slowing it down to manipulate their movements before unleashing its full force to kill the Autumn Kingdom crown prince and his followers.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Qian had annihilated both the Wei and Autumn Kingdom forces. His speed and efficiency left everyone watching in stunned silence.

"Fifteen!" Lin Qian counted as his gaze shifted to the five battle generals, who swallowed hard in terror.

"Formation!" the leader of the five battle generals shouted, snapping out of his shock. They needed to use their sword formation to have any chance of survival.

But before he could finish the command, Lin Qian appeared in front of him, swinging the Thunder Night Sword with brutal force.

Boom!

The leader of the battle generals was sent flying like a cannonball, disappearing into the horizon in an instant.

Lin Qian casually placed his hand on his forehead, shading his eyes as he looked into the distance. "Impressive," he mused. "You survived a direct hit from me without shattering—well done."

Before his words had even faded, Lin Qian vanished once more. Four successive loud bangs echoed across the battlefield as the remaining four battle generals were sent flying one by one, disappearing just as quickly as their leader.

It was clear to everyone that Lin Qian had enjoyed the process of smashing the battle generals away with his sword.

But at that moment, Li Yunfeng noticed something amiss. His gaze shifted to Ye Xin, and his face paled.

He realized that Qin Feiyu had somehow managed to sneak up behind Ye Xin while she was locked in combat with Qin Yiyi.