Chapter 310: 319

319

Relying on the new sword in his hand, Tang Zhao rode his sword and traveled, erupting with a speed he had never possessed before. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the scene, then opened a Time Jar and released the Can Cang Sword Technique.

"Empty Blast!"

Without waiting for the Can Cang to fully release, Tang Zhao turned and ran.

The speed at which he left was even faster than the speed at which he had arrived.

He had to run; right behind him was the Empty Blast.

After all, the speed one can erupt with while chasing an enemy is absolutely no match for the speed of fleeing for one's life.

Behind him, an invisible Space Storm was erupting.

A Space Storm has no signs, no manifestations, no roaring, no air waves, no high heat; it has none of the usual enhancements of power. There is only the invisible, intangible space vibrating, shattering, and twisting. Under the vibration of space, anything existing within space itself is like an egg in an overturned nest, stirred into fragments at any moment. It is like an image on a sheet of white paper—no need to smear, no need to scrape; it doesn't matter if what is drawn is an insurmountable mountain range or an impregnable fortress, one only needs to crumple the paper into a ball, and the image is ruined along with the paper.

Tang Zhao had experienced a Space Storm once before and knew the terror of this Empty Blast. In fact, this jar of Empty Blast was something he had intercepted during that last Empty-Type Demon Cave arrival. He had only this one jar, which he had saved and never used, just waiting for an opportunity like today.

The Empty Blast was silent and soundless. There had been nothing in that patch of space hanging high in the sky, so even if it were silently shredded, there would be no anomaly. But at this moment, there happened to be a portal in the process of forming.

That was the Turtle Bandit's space portal.

Originally, a space portal was in a sense invincible. Because it was an art that acted directly upon space itself, it existed beyond material existence, an "Empty" that transcended earth, water, fire, and wind. It could not be hit by ordinary attacks; only the person who opened the door could close it, or it would close automatically after its power was exhausted. The two times Tang Zhao had forced a portal to close before, it was by attacking the person behind the door with a powerful Sword Technique, forcing the opponent to close the door voluntarily. This could be considered attacking a weakness, because a person is more fragile than a "door."

But today he did not want to do that. Firstly, he already understood the limitations of the "Imitation" and knew to use it cautiously. Secondly, the opponent behind the door this time was likely unprecedentedly powerful; even if Tang Zhao used his full strength to unleash another "Juan Tu Chong Lai," he feared he would not be able to injure the opponent. The weakness to attack this time was, instead, the space door itself.

The strength of a space door lay in the fact that it could not be attacked, but once it was attacked, it was actually just a portal, possessing no defensive power, comparable to paper.

It was only that space-based attack methods were rare, and Tang Zhao had yet to confirm a Sword Art that could attack them.

But fortunately, he had a diverse inventory, including indirect attacks—the little bit of leftover material he had impulsively intercepted when he experienced the Space Storm back then. Although it was by no means as violent and monstrous as the original Space Storm, one could not fire ten thousand arrows at once, but intercepting a single sharp arrowhead was enough to kill.

The mutual shredding on the spatial level was very silent; no one could observe it. One only saw that vortex-like portal as if a handful of blades had been sprinkled upon it, countless cracks appearing silently, and immediately after, it began to crumble and collapse.

This all happened within a few breaths.

While fleeing, Tang Zhao would occasionally look back at the portal, feeling a bit nervous in his heart.

At the final moment, perhaps there was still a one-in-ten-thousand chance that the legendary Pillar of State would squeeze out of the shattered portal, and that would be—not bad either.

Now this patch of space was already a dangerous place like a mountain of blades and a sea of fire. The danger there was not just the visible portal being shredded; the entire space was shrouded under the storm. If he dared to rashly advance, it would be like charging into the gates of hell.

However, in the one-in-a-ten-thousand chance, what if they had some Body Protection treasure, or their movement technique was faster than the spatial collapse, or they were even lucky enough to reach the heavens and landed safely?

The hardest hurdle had been passed; if they entered Zhuoyu Villa, wouldn't they cause a huge scene? Tang Zhao dared not take it lightly and ignore this one-in-a-ten-thousand possibility.

And he wondered if this "high-ranking and powerful" Pillar of State had the courage?

Tang Zhao stared at the portal, watching the gate collapse and shatter bit by bit, yet there was never a ripple. He even vaguely saw a tall figure on the other side through the fragments of the portal. That figure ultimately just stood there like stone, finally disappearing along with the space fragments.

In the end, there was also no movement...

Suddenly, a stream of light flew in from afar.

The direction it came from was actually behind Tang Zhao!

A stream of light overtook Tang Zhao, plunged headlong into the portal that only had bits and pieces of fragments left, and immediately disappeared along with the portal.

Tang Zhao's eyes blurred, and he thought it was Shi Chunqing using some method to escape, seeking life in death by plunging into the portal to flee. But immediately after, the familiar color and the vaguely recognizable figure made Tang Zhao react:

"Bi'an?"

Tang Zhao turned his head abruptly and saw an extremely familiar figure standing by the lake, looking solemn.

"Chief Xing, you..." Tang Zhao had just started to ask, but seeing another person standing beside him, he immediately closed his mouth and said no more.

Standing next to him was none other than Chi Deputy Envoy of the Jichun City Land Inspection Department.

That these two were walking together was absolutely unusual. If one spoke of familiarity, Xing Ji had plenty of friends here, but his friendship with Chi Deputy Envoy was only average—they were acquaintances, not people who hung out together. Moreover, Chi Deputy Envoy should have gone to the Reception Hall with the others by carriage. Plus, Chi Deputy Envoy looked spirited in the dark night, completely devoid of his usual tipsy appearance, and Tang Zhao was already alerted:

Something was up, official business.

Sure enough, Xing Ji signaled him to come over and said solemnly and softly: "The Marquis has ordered to hunt down the Turtle Bandit's fake Pillar of State."

Tang Zhao was startled, followed by a surge of excitement—all along, his attacks against the Turtle Bandit had been desperate resistance, focusing on defense. If he could inflict damage, that was best, but preservation was the priority. Don't look at how he won the previous two times; in fact, both were passive defenses when things came to a head, and he was already happy to escape unscathed. This time was the same; he only sought to repel the enemy from his home and not let the other party destroy the villa. He had not expected to be able to take the initiative to attack.

Right, with the Gaoyuan Marquis presiding, one Sword Hero as a former Town Guardian, and one Sword Guest as a Deputy Garrison Commander, this configuration was a waste even for dealing with an ordinary Demon Cave, and it was stronger than the Xun City Land Inspection Department. How could they not take the initiative to attack and hunt down some Pillar of State?

This is Yunzhou!

Tang Zhao was stirred and immediately opened his mouth to say: "Chief Xing, I..."

Xing Ji did not wait for him to finish and said directly: "Join the team, come with us."

Tang Zhao was overjoyed, but Chi Deputy Envoy said: "Is he okay? Although Xiao Tang is one of our own, his strength hasn't reached that level yet, right? This target is still quite thorny."

Xing Ji said: "He is. The Marquis personally appointed him, saying he can."

Chi Deputy Envoy then said no more, only taking an extra look at Tang Zhao. It wasn't that he didn't know Tang Zhao's abilities; on the contrary, he knew very well that Tang Zhao had been attached to the Jichun City Land Inspection Department for the past few years and they had been on missions together. He knew this youth's martial arts were not weak, but he was ultimately just a Loose Practitioner who had just practiced Qi, was still young, and lacked experience. Relying on the high quality of his Qi and flashy techniques, he could compare with a Martial Venerable, but anything higher was out of the question. That was why he was surprised why Tang Zhao was asked to join this mission; one had to know the Gaoyuan Marquis didn't even call Feng Zhilie, who was similarly idle.

But since the Marquis had spoken, she naturally had her reasons, and Chi Deputy Envoy also sincerely believed in the Marquis's arrangements.

Tang Zhao looked back at the water's edge again, only to find that when he chased over, he had only focused on the portal and hadn't looked at anything else. At this time, not only was Shi Chunqing gone, but Xue Xianyun and Jiang Shenyi could not be found either. He asked: "Have you seen my master, senior brother, and Shi Chunqing?"

Xing Ji said: "Just now, when you went to deal with the portal, your former senior brother jumped into the swamp. Your master and senior brother followed him down." He pointed casually, but in the vastness of the swamp in the night, where could one see any figures?

Tang Zhao said "Ah," feeling a bit worried.

Actually, there was nothing to worry about. He had come to find Shi Chunqing prepared. Although on the surface there were only him and Jiang Shenyi, and at most Xue Xianyun, in fact, there had always been Sword Heroes like the Gaoyuan Marquis and Xing Ji suppressing the formation. And they were not here for Shi Chunqing, but for the Pillar of State who might appear, so they had remained hidden while the Pillar of State had not appeared.

Tang Zhao's primary duty was to protect his home, while the Gaoyuan Marquis and the others were there to keep the Turtle Bandit forces.

It was just that Shi Chunqing had escaped repeatedly and had a history of hiding, so Tang Zhao was just worried he might use some underhanded tricks.

Xing Ji said: "No need to worry. The Marquis is here. Even if she doesn't make a move, there is still Laofeng. He is also good at finding people. If you are worried, you can stay."

Since the Gaoyuan Marquis had spoken, it was a sovereign order that could not be refused, but Tang Zhao was ultimately a half-idle person with no position or rank. With the Gaoyuan Marquis's words of "do not stand on ceremony," he could have refused, but Xing Ji was letting him choose for himself. Tang Zhao did not hesitate and said: "Naturally, I obey the Marquis's order."

Xing Ji nodded, solemn, and said: "Join the team."

He was actually a commoner, and the Gaoyuan Marquis's orders could not be issued to him, but in fact, those in the know understood that he had never left the Gaoyuan Marquis's sequence. At this time, although he had no position, he could command Chi Deputy Envoy. Chi Deputy Envoy's obedience to the order was not just a Sword Guest obeying a Sword Hero, but also obedience to a superior.

Having taken Tang Zhao into the team, this three-man squad was formed. Xing Ji swung his sword:

"Sword Art—Tong Qi."

With a simple swing of the sword, the shadow of a Bi'an appeared in the air.

It was just that this Bi'an was a circle smaller and a layer paler than before, almost as thin as a mere shadow of light.

A Sword Hero's Sword Image should naturally be able to exist for a long time and would never be this thin; Tang Zhao was even more certain that what had just passed through the shattered spatial gate was the Bi'an. The Bi'an had split into two, with one part going to the other side and one part remaining here to serve as a guide.

Tong Qi?

It's a new Sword Art, Tang Zhao remembered it hadn't been recorded in the Sword Manual yet. He could later... hehe.

The Bi'an lowered its head slightly, as if sniffing for some scent, and then immediately stretched its body and dashed off into the distance.

"Follow it."

There was no need for Xing Ji to remind them; the three of them had already used their movement techniques together, chasing into the depths of the white fog.