209: Chapter 209 Unstoppable Push: Can an Assassin Outmaneuver an Imperial Clan Head-on?

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Above the ruins of Duanhun Valley, explosions echoed one after another as flames shot into the sky.

"Take cover! Hurry, take cover!"

A gold-ranked assassin from the Heavenly Court shrieked. His movement was eerie, his figure flickering like a ghost through the rubble as he tried to find cover or use the shadows to sneak behind the enemy for an assassination.

This was the tactic they were best at.

However...

"First Battalion, hear my command!"

In the sky, a commander of the Xu Family's Divine Machine Camp expressionlessly raised the long halberd in his hand, pointing toward the pile of rubble below.

"Blazing Sun Battle Array, suppressive fire!"

"Fire!"

Buzz—

One thousand Imperial Guards of the Royal Extreme Realm simultaneously circulated their spiritual power, and the standard-issue long halberds in their hands instantly lit up with a blinding red light.

A thousand terrifying strands of Blazing Sun Divine Fire converged into a hundred-zhang-long torrent of flames, pouring down indiscriminately like the Heavenly River flooding the earth.

"No—!"

The gold-ranked assassin discovered in despair that within a radius of a hundred zhang, every shadow and every piece of cover was evaporated by the high temperatures in an instant.

His proud concealment techniques were nothing more than a joke in the face of such saturated fire coverage.

Rumble!

As the torrent of fire swept through, the rubble instantly turned into lava. Whether it was that gold-ranked assassin or the dozens of comrades hiding nearby, they were vaporized before they could even let out a scream.

This was the difference between a regular army and a ragtag band of stragglers.

You want to play with mechanics? I'll just flatten the map!

"Too... too brutal."

Standing atop the dragon's head, Mo Han couldn't help but swallow hard as she watched the purgatory-like scene below.

She had fantasized countless times in her mind about taking revenge on the Heavenly Court—perhaps through infiltration and assassination, perhaps through poisoning, or perhaps by perishing together with them.

But she had never imagined that revenge could be so... simple and crude.

"Brutal?"

Xu Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm. "This is called a 'Dimensional Strike.' Assassins are only suited for living in dark sewers. Once they are dragged into the sunlight to face someone head-on, they can't even beat a kitchen maid from my Xu Family."

Cough, cough...

From the center of the ruins below, a sudden fit of violent coughing was heard.

A blood-covered figure staggered as he crawled out from the pile of debris.

It was Li Qianjue.

This leader of the Heavenly Court branch had long since lost his previous arrogant air. His hair was disheveled, half of his body had been crushed by Xu Chen's previous kick, and his aura had withered to the extreme.

But he was a Saint Realm powerhouse after all, and his vitality was tenacious.

"Xu Chen... Xu Family..."

Li Qianjue stared fixedly at Xu Chen in the sky, his eyes full of resentment and madness. "You destroyed my branch, killed my disciples... Today, even if I die, I'm taking you down with me!"

"Blood Burning Grand Art! Blood Demon Descends!"

Li Qianjue let out a shrill roar. His originally withered body instantly swelled, and the blood throughout his body began to burn, transforming into a terrifying bloody storm that forcibly broke through the encirclement of the Imperial Guards.

His entire being turned into a bloody arrow, carrying the momentum of mutual destruction as he shot straight into the clouds toward Xu Chen!

When a Saint fights for his life, heaven and earth change color.

"Young Master, be careful!"

Mo Han's expression changed, and the Starfall dagger in her hand was instantly unsheathed as she moved to stand in front of Xu Chen.

"Step back."

Xu Chen reached out to stop her, not even glancing at the charging Li Qianjue. He simply shook his head helplessly.

"Why does every villain have to shout so loudly before they die?"

As he spoke, Li Qianjue had already rushed to within ten zhang of Xu Chen.

"Die!!!"

With a hideous expression, Li Qianjue condensed a hundred-zhang-long bloody demon blade in his hands and slashed down fiercely.

The moment before that demon blade was about to land.

Xu Chen moved.

He simply raised his right hand and then... like swatting a fly, he slapped his hand across.

Slap!

An incredibly crisp sound of a slap echoed throughout the entire Duanhun Valley.

Wrapped around this palm was a wisp of purple-gold Primordial Qi, as well as the terrifying physical strength of the God-Demon Prison Suppressing Force.

Crack!

The seemingly mighty bloody demon blade shattered directly into a mist of blood the moment it touched Xu Chen's palm.

Immediately following that was Li Qianjue's protective astral qi, his Saint Dharma Image, and his head.

Pfft—

Li Qianjue didn't even have time to scream before his entire head burst open like a watermelon hit by a sledgehammer.

Driven by inertia, the headless corpse continued to rush forward before finally falling to its knees at Xu Chen's feet with a thud.

The entire field fell into a dead silence once more.

The remaining assassins below, who were still putting up a desperate struggle, saw this scene, and their final line of psychological defense completely crumbled.

That was a Saint!

A Saint who had burned his essence blood and was fighting for his life!

And he was... slapped to death?

"This is the backbone of your Heavenly Court?"

Xu Chen took the handkerchief handed over by Mo Han and wiped his hands unhurriedly, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.

"Too weak."

"You don't even have the qualification to make me draw my sword."

He casually threw the blood-stained handkerchief onto Li Qianjue's corpse as if he were discarding a piece of trash.

"Great Elder."

Xu Chen's gaze swept over the battlefield below.

"This old man is here!"

The Great Elder, who was in the middle of a killing spree and covered in blood, responded excitedly.

"Pick up the pace."

Xu Chen looked at the sky. "Within the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, I want... no survivors left here."

"Understood!"

The Great Elder gave a sinister smile, turned to the Imperial Guards, and roared:

"You little brats! Did you all hear the Young Master's words? One stick of incense! If anyone drags us down, you'll be cleaning the latrines for three months when we get back!"

"Kill!!!"

Spurred on, the Xu Family army instantly erupted with even more terrifying combat power.