173: Chapter 173 The Deadly Situation

One of them, named Xue Biao, was a burly man who appeared simple and honest.

The weapon he used was a pair of hand halberds with extremely exaggerated designs.

His Moves were wide and sweeping; though they appeared clumsy, he could always unleash astonishing power from the most impossible angles to defeat his opponents.

His high combat intelligence formed the sharpest contrast with his simple and honest appearance!

The other two were even more mysterious. One used a saber, and the other used a sword; they remained silent from beginning to end, but every opponent they defeated was, without exception, severely injured or even died on the spot!

The faint, chilling Killing Intent emanating from them made everyone feel a shiver of dread!

When this final list of the top ten was announced to everyone via the giant crystal screen, the entire martial arts arena erupted once again in cheers as loud as a mountain landslide and a tsunami!

The top ten have been born! These ten people are simply the most top-tier experts in the entire world!

Indeed! Whether it is General Zhao Yu, the warrior Xiang Hao, or the wandering hero Ma Qianli, every single one of them possesses terrifying strength sufficient to establish a sect!

I really wonder who among them will be able to finally reach the pinnacle and claim the supreme glory of being the 'Number One in the World'!

Countless commoners were filled with endless excitement and anticipation for the upcoming Peak duel!

However, beneath this ocean filled with carnival and passion, a terrifying undercurrent, sufficient to make the entire world change color, was surging wildly in silence!

Yun Zheng looked at the freshly released top ten list, and a bone-chilling cold rushed from the soles of his feet straight to his crown!

He gasped sharply, and his eyes, which were usually cynical, were filled with unprecedented shock and disbelief!

Others might not have been able to see any clues, but relying on the intelligence network of the Yunzhou Prince's Mansion that covered the world, he saw at a glance the terrifying murderous intent behind this list that would make anyone despair!

According to the intelligence he received, one of those two mysterious Loose Cultivator was a top-tier assassin belonging to the Da Qian Royal Offering Hall, on par with the 'Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum' four masters!

And the other was the number two figure in the Revenge Alliance, second only to the leader Li Xun!

In other words, among this final list of the top ten, there were actually five top-tier assassins who had come with the intent to kill!

They are crazy... they are all crazy!

Yun Zheng's face was as pale as paper, his lips trembling violently and uncontrollably as he muttered to himself.

Five Sixth-Rank Grandmaster! Among them are even Sixth-Rank Peak experts like 'Lone Goose Sword' Li Xun and those two Da Qian offerings! They... they are actually going to join forces to assassinate Gao Feng?!

This... this is simply a dead-end trap!

His heart was churning with monstrous waves!

He never dreamed that those forces hidden in the shadows would be so crazy and so reckless of the cost!

They had actually used five top-tier assassins, each capable of stirring up a bloody storm anywhere, to lay a net of heaven and earth, a dead-end trap, for Gao Feng!

Gao Feng... this time, I fear... the odds are against him...

At this moment, Yun Zheng's heart sank completely to the bottom.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere of the entire Yan King City began to become increasingly heavy and oppressive.

The common people were still immersed in the carnival of the upcoming Peak finals, waving the flags in their hands and shouting hoarsely to cheer for the contestants they supported.

However, people like Yun Zheng, General Chen Yuan sent by the King of Jinzhou, and other spies from various factions who also knew some inside information, all keenly felt a terrifying oppression, like a storm about to break!

The air seemed to be permeated with a thick, inseparable smell of blood!

Inside a heavily guarded secret stronghold in Yan King City.

The Da Qian offering 'Chrysanthemum,' who had been seriously injured by a punch from Xiang Hao in the previous match, said in a deep voice with a pale face to the three companions in front of him who were also wearing masks:

The plan has changed! 'Plum' has fallen! We only have three people left!

The woman wearing the orchid mask said in a cold voice: 'It does not matter. The three of us, plus the 'Ghost Saber' who is also hidden among the top ten, and that madman from the Revenge Alliance—five people are enough.'

I have already contacted that Li Xun from the Revenge Alliance, said the man wearing the bamboo mask in a hoarse voice. He has agreed to our joint plan. At that time, he will be the first to strike and attract Gao Feng's attention. And we will launch a thunderous strike simultaneously from different directions!

Remember, our mission is not to capture that ridiculous 'Number One in the World' title, but to behead!

In this battle, we either succeed or die!

In another darker corner, 'Lone Goose Sword' Li Xun was also issuing his final orders to his allies who had also fought their way into the finals.

The finals will be Gao Feng's death day!

In his single eye, burning flames of hatred raged, sufficient to completely incinerate the entire world!

I have reached an agreement with those running dogs of the royal family. We will act together when the time comes!

I will personally plunge my sword into that little bastard's heart!

And your mission is to hold back the guards around Gao Feng at all costs! Especially those two monsters!

In this battle, we are only here for revenge!

Blood debt! Blood pay!

An unprecedented and terrifying assassination plot against the king of the northern border was quietly taking shape in these treacherous, surging undercurrents!

Everyone was guessing, everyone was watching.

How would Gao Feng deal with this impending disaster?

Did he know about this terrifying trap laid by the five top-tier assassins?

Even if he knew, could he block it?

The day of the finals finally arrived as scheduled, under the gaze of everyone.

On this day, the entire Yan King City was empty as everyone flocked to the event!

Hundreds of thousands of commoners surrounded the huge martial arts arena, packed tightly!

Their faces were filled with endless excitement and anticipation!

They wanted to witness with their own eyes who would claim the supreme glory of being the 'Number One in the World'!

In the center of the martial arts arena, the huge high platform, which had long been stained red with blood, had been renovated and decorated to become more magnificent and splendid than ever before!

On the high platform, ten magnificent chairs made of gold had been placed, along with the ten generous prizes that symbolized supreme glory!

Dong—! Dong—! Dong—!

Three long and majestic bell tolls resounded throughout the world once again!

Amidst the deafening cheers of hundreds of thousands of spectators!

Dressed in a Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon King robe that was more magnificent and majestic than ever before, Gao Feng slowly ascended the central high platform, which symbolized supreme power, surrounded by civil and military officials and those two terrifying guards who stood like iron towers!

There was a gentle and approachable smile on his face as he slowly raised his hand to wave to the frenzied spectators below.

He looked so calm, so confident.

As if he were completely unaware of the terrifying danger that was about to descend upon him.

Silence!

As Xu Changqing's majestic voice rang out, the entire noisy martial arts arena instantly fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone held their breath, locking their eyes tightly on that young figure who stood as majestic as a god.

Gao Feng's gaze slowly swept over the ten final winners who were also standing on the high platform, and a smile full of approval appeared on his face.

Everyone, you are heroes worthy of the name!

You have proven your worth with your strength!

Today, I will personally crown you here!

After speaking, he personally picked up the first huge tray made of gold.

On the tray lay a sword that flashed with cold light—clearly a peerless divine weapon—and an ancient Divine Pill, stored in a crystal bottle, emitting an alluring medicinal fragrance!

He slowly walked up to the mysterious swordsman wearing the Lone Goose mask and said with a smile:

'Lone Goose Sword,' Li Xun. Congratulations on winning tenth place in this 'World Heroes Assembly.'

However, at the very moment Gao Feng reached out his hand, ready to hand the prize symbolizing supreme glory to Li Xun!

A sudden change occurred!

Gao Feng, you brat! Give me your life!

A terrifying roar, filled with endless resentment and madness, exploded like a thunderclap on flat ground!

The eyes of that 'Lone Goose Sword' Li Xun suddenly erupted with a terrifying Killing Intent that could completely pierce the heavens and the earth!

The ancient long sword in his hand was drawn instantly!

A terrifying streak of sword light, as brilliant as a rainbow but filled with the aura of endless death and destruction, thrust fiercely towards Gao Feng's unguarded heart at a terrifying speed that completely exceeded everyone's imagination!

Rainbow Piercing the Sun!

This sword strike condensed his life's cultivation and endless hatred!

This sword strike was the fire of his revenge!

And at the same time Li Xun launched his sudden attack!

Do it!

The four other top-tier assassins hidden among the top ten also let out a cold shout simultaneously!

The Da Qian offering 'Orchid' turned the soft sword in his hand into petals of orchids filling the sky, sealing off all of Gao Feng's evasion space!

The Da Qian offering 'Bamboo' wielded the bamboo-joint steel whip in his hand like a green poisonous dragon, aiming straight for Gao Feng's vital head!

The 'Ghost Saber' from the royal family turned the long saber in his hand into a pitch-black streak of death, slashing towards Gao Feng's waist and abdomen!

And the number two figure of the 'Revenge Alliance' was even more insidious; a dagger in his hand, soaked in deadly poison, silently stabbed towards Gao Feng's back!

The four of them simultaneously launched their strongest and most lethal killing blows from four completely different directions!

Sword Qi, saber light, whip shadows, and dagger gleams intertwined at this moment into a terrifying web filled with the aura of endless death and destruction, completely enveloping Gao Feng on the high platform!

However, this was not the end!

Gao Feng! Die for me!

An eerie roar, filled with endless resentment and malice, exploded from a corner of the spectator stands!

Suddenly, the Blood Hand Dharma King, who had vanished for quite some time, unexpectedly reappeared within the crowd!

He leapt up violently, and those terrifying palms, which had long since turned as scarlet as fresh blood, slammed together mid-air!

"Boundless Sea of Blood!"

A colossal, terrifying blood-colored palm print, seemingly condensed from endless blood and vengeful spirits, instantly formed above his head!

Then, carrying a terrifying momentum sufficient to reduce the entire high platform to dust, it descended from the sky and slammed fiercely towards Gao Feng, who was already shrouded in a net of death!

A deadly trap!

An inescapable trap of certain death, jointly laid by six top experts who had already reached the Sixth-Rank Grandmaster realm!

In that instant, the entire world seemed to have completely lost all its color!

Only the crisscrossing, lethal Sword Qi, the earth-shattering, terrifying blade light, and the descending blood-colored palm print remained!

Time, in this moment, seemed to have completely frozen!

"Watch out, Your Highness!"

On the viewing platform, Su Yue, Luo Qin, and all of Gao Feng's harem beauties were terrified to the point of losing their color upon seeing this sudden and despair-inducing scene, letting out shrill screams filled with endless horror and despair!

And Yun Zheng, standing in the crowd, was so frightened that he experienced Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, his heart instantly leaping into his throat!

He knew it; it was over!

Everything was over!

Under such a terrifying deadly trap, even if a legendary Seventh-Rank Martial Saint were to arrive in person, they would likely meet their end right there on the spot!

Gao Feng, he was certain to die!

Facing this terrifying deadly trap that would make any Seventh-Rank Martial Saint change their expression, Gao Feng seemed to not even see it; he did not even lift an eyelid, remaining quietly in place without moving at all.

On his face, there even lingered a faint, almost imperceptible smile filled with endless contempt and mockery.

It was as if that terrifying attack, capable of destroying heaven and earth, was nothing more than a boring and ridiculous farce in his eyes.

In that instant, different people reacted in completely different ways.

Among the top ten, the only true Loose Cultivator, that seemingly simple-minded Xue Biao who wielded twin halberds, suddenly had a brilliant glint, completely at odds with his appearance, erupting from his usually honest eyes the moment he saw the overwhelming Killing Intent surging towards Gao Feng!

Without any hesitation, he violently crossed his halberds to protect his chest, and like an enraged bull, he slammed fiercely into the "Ghost Blade" assassin who was attempting to attack Gao Feng from the side!

"Protect the King!"

Zhao Yu, Ma Qianli, and Xiang Hao were the first to react!

The mysterious iron spear in Zhao Yu's hand transformed into a black dragon and fiercely met the number two figure of the "Revenge Alliance"!

Ma Qianli's silver spear was like lightning, thrusting straight at the throat of the Great Qian imperial guest, "Bamboo"!

Xiang Hao let out a deafening, terrifying roar, and his mountain-like, burly figure blocked directly in front of Gao Feng, wanting to use his own Physical Body to forcibly withstand the terrifying blood-colored palm print descending from the sky!

They all chose to act without hesitation to save him at the most dangerous moment!

And the lone swordsman Gu Shenwei, filled with the intent of revenge and destruction, after a brief moment of hesitation, suddenly turned his long sword, which transformed into a pitch-black death Sword Qi, and slashed silently towards the Great Qian imperial guest, "Orchid"!

He was not doing it to save him; he simply did not want these equally sinful guys to succeed!

However, fast as they were, there were two figures who were even faster!

Just at the moment when that lethal sword strike from "Lone Goose Sword" Li Xun, filled with endless resentment and hatred, was about to pierce his heart!

"Clang—!!!" A terrifying, ear-piercing sound of metal clashing, sufficient to shatter anyone's eardrums, exploded resoundingly!

A dazzling golden light, filled with supreme majesty and a sacred aura, flashed without warning from behind Gao Feng!

The terrifying guard, who had stood quietly behind Gao Feng like a sculpture from the very beginning, wearing a suit of heavy golden armor and a golden mask, had appeared in front of Gao Feng before anyone knew it!

He was like an insurmountable, towering city wall! An immovable, ancient sacred mountain!

That Peak sword strike from "Lone Goose Sword" Li Xun, which had condensed his lifelong cultivation and endless hatred, and which he was certain would succeed, slammed fiercely into the golden guard's chest!

However, that terrifying Sword Qi, capable of easily piercing through three-foot-thick steel plates, appeared so fragile and so vulnerable before that indestructible golden armor!

A huge, reactive force exploded!

"Crack!" A crisp sound of shattering came!

That peerless precious sword, which had accompanied Li Xun for half his life and had long since become spiritually connected to him, was forcibly shattered into countless pieces right on the spot by this terrifying reactive force!

Yet, on the golden guard's chest, there was merely an insignificant white mark left behind!

"What?!" Li Xun's single eye was filled with unprecedented horror and disbelief!

He never dreamed that such a terrifying defense could exist in this world!

And just in that moment of his loss of composure, the lethal attacks from the other four assassins, and that terrifying blood-colored palm print descending from the sky, had all landed on the golden guard!

"Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!" A series of deafening, terrifying explosions rang out frantically across the entire high platform!

A terrifying energy storm, impossible to describe in words, swept frantically in all directions with the golden guard as the center!

The entire massive high platform, paved with hard granite, was forcibly lifted several feet high by this terrifying energy storm and then exploded into pieces!

Countless pieces of rubble and dust shot into the sky, completely shrouding the entire high platform!

However, when the dust filling the sky slowly dissipated, everyone saw a scene that would fill them with endless fear and despair, one they would never be able to forget for the rest of their lives!

The golden guard, codenamed "Iron Guard," still stood quietly in place like a rock, motionless!

On his magnificent and majestic golden armor, not even the slightest scratch was left!

That terrifying deadly strike, jointly launched by six Sixth-Rank Grandmasters and capable of leveling a small hill, had failed to even scratch his skin!

"No... impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

The five assassins who had luckily survived were so frightened that they experienced Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, their livers and gallbladders splitting, upon seeing this terrifying scene that completely exceeded their range of cognition!

Their eyes were filled with unprecedented horror and despair!

They never dreamed that the deadly trap they had meticulously planned for so long would have such a ridiculous outcome!

However, just at the moment when their hearts, already filled with fear, fell into complete despair!

A purple ghost, filled with an endless aura of coldness and death, appeared without warning, as if teleporting, silently behind the number two figure of the "Revenge Alliance" who was attempting to trigger his blood Qi to perish together with everyone!

"Pfft!" A very slight sound, as if a bubble had been pricked, came!

The terrifying guard codenamed "Purple Guard," wearing a set of purple martial attire and a purple mask, had simply and casually extended a finger and tapped it on the assassin's glabella!

There was no earth-shattering momentum, no dazzling light; all there was, was the purest and most lethal death!

The number two figure of the "Revenge Alliance" couldn't even let out a scream; his eyes, filled with madness and determination, instantly lost all their luster, and his whole body collapsed softly to the ground as if his bones had been removed.

His blood Qi, which was about to detonate, and his sinful Soul were both completely annihilated into nothingness by this single finger!

And this was just the beginning!

After casually killing a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster with a single finger, the "Purple Guard"'s figure instantly transformed into a purple lightning bolt, almost impossible to capture with the naked eye, and began frantically weaving through the remaining four assassins, who had already been scared out of their wits!

A tragic, one-sided, and bloody massacre, in this most direct and shocking way, was fiercely staged before the eyes of hundreds of thousands of spectators, who were filled with endless shock and fear!

"Roar—!" The "Iron Guard," who was like an iron tower, also simultaneously let out a terrifying roar filled with endless violence and chilling Killing Intent!

His mountain-like, burly figure violently stepped forward!

"Boom—!" The entire already fragmented ring was completely reduced to dust under his terrifying stomp!

His huge fist, wearing a golden gauntlet, was like a massive meteorite descending from the sky, carrying a terrifying momentum sufficient to pierce through heaven and earth, and it slammed fiercely towards "Lone Goose Sword" Li Xun, who had already been scared silly!

"No—!" Li Xun let out a shrill, inhuman scream!

He desperately tried to urge the remaining True Qi in his body, wanting to escape from this Domain of death!

But, everything was in vain!

Before absolute power, any struggle appeared so pale and so ridiculous!

"Boom—!!!" A loud sound, more dull and terrifying than any collision before, came!

That former number one Genius of the Cangyun Sword Sect, that leader of the "Revenge Alliance" who would stop at nothing for revenge, that top sword-dao Great Grandmaster whose strength had reached the Sixth-Rank Peak, was forcibly beaten into a blurry mist of blood right on the spot by this fist of the "Iron Guard," which was filled with endless aesthetics of violence!

Not even a single complete bone was left!