207: Chapter 207 The Xu Family's Counterattack: Target, Heavenly Court Branch!

The first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the window lattice, dappling the wide Phoenix Bed.

The lingering scent of last night's passion still remained in the room.

When Mo Han woke up, she subconsciously tried to spring up and enter a state of high alert as she usually did. However, as soon as she moved, a wave of soreness, as if her body were falling apart, instantly swept through her, causing her to let out a soft groan.

"Hiss..."

She blinked somewhat blankly as memories rushed back like a tide.

Last night... she had given herself to the Young Master.

That kind of unprecedented storm had caused her, a normally cold and iron-hard assassin, to experience for the first time what it meant to be "utterly defeated."

"You're awake?"

A warm, mellow voice sounded in her ear.

Mo Han turned her head to see Xu Chen lying on his side, propping his head up with one hand, looking at her with a face full of smiles.

His snow-white inner robe was draped casually over his body, revealing a solid chest that still bore several... scratch marks she had left in the heat of passion last night.

"Young... Young Master!"

Mo Han's face instantly turned beet red. She instinctively pulled up the quilt, wrapping herself into a silkworm cocoon, leaving only a pair of eyes filled with extreme embarrassment exposed.

"What are you hiding for?"

Xu Chen reached out with a chuckle and poked her exposed forehead. "Where did that bold female assassin go who climbed into my bed of her own accord last night? How did you turn back into a shrinking turtle after waking up?"

"I... I didn't."

Mo Han retorted dully, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you."

Xu Chen sat up, his expression becoming slightly more serious. He flipped his palm, and a stream of light as black as ink appeared out of thin air, hovering in front of Mo Han.

It was a dagger.

The entire thing was crafted from a deep black metal. Faint starlight-like specks of light flowed over the blade, emitting a heart-palpitating chill and... Imperial Might.

This was the prototype of an extreme dao imperial weapon that Xu Chen had refined overnight using the 'Stellar Dark Gold' rewarded by the system, combined with Hongmeng Purple Qi.

Although it hadn't birthed an artifact spirit yet, its material and sharpness alone were enough to cut through a Saint's defenses.

"This is..."

Mo Han's eyes instantly widened. As a top-tier assassin, her sensitivity to weapons was etched into her bones.

"As promised last night, I'm compensating you with a better one."

Xu Chen pressed the dagger into her hand, his fingertips lightly brushing over the blade. "This blade is named 'Starfall'. The meaning is simple—wherever the blade points, stars will fall."

"Starfall..."

Mo Han caressed the cool blade, unable to put it down. The sense of compatibility, as if they shared the same bloodline, made her heart surge with excitement.

"Do you like it?"

"I like it."

Mo Han nodded heavily, then looked up at Xu Chen, her eyes full of determination: "With it, I can kill even more people for the Young Master."

"..."

Xu Chen's mouth twitched slightly.

This girl really couldn't go three sentences without mentioning her old profession. He had just given her a bit of romance, and she immediately wanted to go kill people.

"There's no rush for the killing. Get up and eat first."

Xu Chen rubbed her head. "Today, we have a hard battle to fight."

...

Half an hour later.

Xu Family Imperial Palace, Martial Arts Plaza.

When Xu Chen arrived at the plaza with Mo Han—who walked with a slightly strange gait but had an expression as cold as ice—the area was already filled with flags blotting out the sun and a murderous aura piercing the heavens.

Three thousand Imperial Guards of the 'Shenji Battalion', dressed in dark gold battle armor and holding long halberds, stood as still as three thousand statues.

The cultivation of every single one of them was at the Royal Extreme Realm or higher. The iron-blooded baleful aura they emitted converged into a visible plume of smoke that shot straight into the clouds.

At the front of the formation, Great Elder Xu Changsheng and over a dozen core family elders had already been waiting for a long time.

"Young Master!"

Seeing Xu Chen's arrival, the three thousand Imperial Guards roared in unison, the sound shaking the nine heavens.

"What is the situation?"

Xu Chen walked onto the general's platform, his gaze sweeping over this most elite force of the Xu Family, and asked calmly.

"Reporting to the Young Master."

The Great Elder stepped forward, his face so gloomy it looked as if it could drip water. "Those scumbags are tired of living."

He handed over a blood-stained jade slip:

"Just now, the Heavenly Court issued the 'Heavenly Kill Order' to the world. Not only have they placed Mo Han at the top of the kill list, but they have also put a bounty on our Xu Family's young disciples traveling abroad. Anyone who brings back the head of a Xu Family disciple will be rewarded with a million spirit stones and a Saint Weapon."

"And..."

The Great Elder paused, the killing intent in his eyes almost erupting:

"They burned down a villa belonging to your Third Uncle in the Eastern Wasteland, and even... they skinned the large yellow watchdog your Third Uncle kept and hung it at the city gate for public display."

"They say it's... killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

The entire field fell deathly silent.

A suppressed, extreme anger grew wildly in everyone's hearts.

A bounty on Xu Family disciples?

Skinned and displayed?

This was no longer just a provocation; this was throwing the face of the Imperial Clan Xu onto the ground and stomping on it!

"Heh..."

Xu Chen suddenly laughed.

He took the jade slip and tightened his fingers, crushing it into powder with a 'crack'.

"What a fine Heavenly Kill Order, what a fine 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey'."

Xu Chen's voice was very soft, yet it spread clearly across the entire plaza, carrying a chill that made souls tremble:

"It seems that these countless ages of silence have made the world forget... what my Xu Family relied on to build its foundations."

"It wasn't benevolence or morality, nor was it winning people over with virtue."

"What we relied on were the blades in our hands and the mountains of corpses and seas of blood beneath our feet!"

"Qiang!"

Xu Chen suddenly drew the sword at his waist, the blade pointing directly toward the Eastern Wasteland:

"Since they want to play, then I will play with them to the end!"

"Mo Han!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Mo Han stepped forward, the 'Starfall' dagger in her hand reflecting a bloodthirsty light under the sun.

"Tell me, where is the Heavenly Court's largest nest in the Eastern Wasteland?"

"Reporting to the Young Master!"

Mo Han's voice was bone-chillingly cold. "Duanhun Valley in the Eastern Wasteland, three thousand zhang underground. That is the Heavenly Court's Third Branch, with eight thousand permanent assassins, overseen by 'Blood-Handed Butcher'."

"Good!"

A flash of violence crossed Xu Chen's eyes:

"Everyone, heed my command!"

"Target, Duanhun Valley!"

"We go there for nothing else but one thing—"

He took a deep breath and squeezed four words through his teeth:

"Leave! No! One! Alive!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Three thousand Imperial Guards roared in unison, the terrifying sound waves dispersing the drifting clouds in the sky.

"Depart!"

With Xu Chen's command, the space above the Martial Arts Plaza suddenly distorted violently.

Nine thousand-zhang-long Ancient Void Warships, like giant beasts, slowly broke through the void and descended upon the world. The ancient array patterns on the hulls flickered with the light of destruction; each warship was enough to blast a Saint to death!

These were the war machines of the Imperial Clan Xu.

Once activated, it would be an apocalyptic disaster.

"Board the ships!"

Xu Chen was the first to fly up and land on the dragon head of the lead ship. Mo Han followed closely behind, guarding his side like a shadow.

The Great Elder and the various elders also took to the air, each taking command of a warship.

"Rumble—"

The nine warships started up simultaneously, the roar sounding like rolling thunder. They tore through the void, carrying an aura that could destroy heaven and earth as they crushed their way toward the Eastern Wasteland.

On this day, the entire Central Province was shaken.

Countless factions watched the murderous fleet in the sky in terror, with only one thought in their minds:

The sky... is about to fall.

When an Imperial Clan is enraged, a million corpses will lie prostrate, and blood will flow like a river.