Chapter 199: Do Not Harm My Lord!

“Good, enough!”

Sasaki Kojirō’s eyes gleamed with delight, then hardened instantly; a faint blue-purple glow flickered along his long blade.

“Secret Sword—”

“Swallow Returns!”

In an instant, three brilliant slashes erupted simultaneously, blooming in a way beyond human comprehension, striking Zhao Yun’s chest, throat, and brow.

This was an extraordinary sword technique Sasaki Kojirō had unintentionally discovered while slashing at a swallow in flight.

It could strike once from the real world, then perfectly overlap two more strikes, ignoring time and space, producing three simultaneous attacks from three directions.

It was a multidimensional distortion phenomenon surpassing speed, precision, and feints.

A powerful sword technique achieved purely through technique alone, reaching the level of a Noble Phantasm!

Watching the three brilliant slashes bloom before him, Zhao Yun’s expression changed for the first time—he was genuinely awed by this blow that transcended mortal limits.

Yet even so, he swung his Qinggang Sword without hesitation, meeting the attack head-on.

And this time, the Qinggang Sword in his hand blazed with brilliant blue-green light—

“Hum!”

As the blade hummed, the central slash was cleanly blocked by the Qinggang Sword.

The other two slashes struck Zhao Yun’s body solidly, yet lost all their force—as if they were mere illusions, not real blades.

[True Qinggang Sword]

[Rank: B+]

[Type: Anti-Personnel]

[Effective Range: 1]

[Maximum Capture: 1 Person]

[Description: One of the two legendary swords forged by a master craftsman under Cao Cao’s orders in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, paired with the Yitian Sword; it cuts through iron like mud, severs hair with a breath, and remains unscathed after countless battles.]

[When activated, it gains maximum penetration against weapons and armor; all ranks below B are severed, and any activated Noble Phantasm or ability is nullified.]

“Slish—”

The sound of blade cutting flesh rang out.

Zhao Yun’s figure flashed past, reappearing behind Sasaki Kojirō; his Qinggang Sword slowly sheathed as he walked forward, not looking back, speaking calmly:

“I admit, relentlessly pursuing speed can indeed produce miracles beyond mortal reach.”

“But alas, your weapon is no Noble Phantasm—it cannot match the brilliance of your transcendent strike…”

Faster footsteps and a voice tinged with regret grew fainter behind him.

Sasaki Kojirō collapsed to his knees, blood gushing from his shoulders and torso; his entire right arm fell to the ground, buried beneath the pooling blood alongside his broken katana.

“Just because of the weapon…?”

Blood trickled from his lips; recalling that single strike, he shook his head: “No, not just that!”

The Qinggang Sword can nullify activated Noble Phantasms, but what he used was not a Noble Phantasm—it was a sword technique rivaling one.

Strictly speaking, the Qinggang Sword cannot nullify sword techniques.

The reason the other two slashes failed to injure was not due to nullification, but because of the Qinggang Sword’s ability to destroy and penetrate weapons.

Unlike the Spear of the Contrary, which reverses causality, his technique was three strikes delivered simultaneously.

Since it was a slashing technique, it required a weapon as a medium to inflict damage—even if his weapon underwent dimensional distortion and appeared as three blades at once, in essence they were still one entity.

Zhao Yun activated the Qinggang Sword’s ability and destroyed all three blades simultaneously, thus neutralizing the damage of the other two slashes, stripping them of their power.

From this perspective, Zhao Yun achieved the same dimensional distortion phenomenon through the Qinggang Sword’s mechanism.

And when he made this response, it meant he had seen through Sasaki’s technique with just one glance…

“Indeed, beyond people there are greater people; beyond heaven there is higher heaven…”

“To die at the hands of Zhao Zilong of Changshan… is that not a worthy end?”

Sasaki Kojirō smiled bitterly, gazing up at the sky with a look of sorrow and satisfaction; his bloodied body gradually turned transparent, dissolving into countless specks of light that vanished into the air.

…

…

Meanwhile, in Liudong Temple, Bai Zeming hovered in midair, clad in silver-red battle armor, his chest reactor glowing blue, every inch of his body crackling with blue-white electric arcs.

Opposite him, Medea, draped in a long purple robe, held a golden staff embedded with sun and moon motifs, her cloak spread like bat wings, surrounded by swirling multicolored circular magic arrays, also floating in midair, facing Bai Zeming across the void.

Watching the blue-white arcs dancing over Bai Zeming, Medea’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly in surprise.

“Surprised?”

Bai Zeming glanced at her coldly: “You didn’t expect it, did you? Using Dragon Teeth Soldiers as cannon fodder to drain my energy, then exploiting the duel between Uncle Yun and your illegally summoned Heroic Spirit to teleport me into Liudong Temple…”

“I must say, your plan was elegant, and your insight sharp—you knew I was the core of this alliance.”

“But unfortunately, I was already prepared.”

Before he finished speaking, the electric arcs on his body surged into the reactor, continuously replenishing his energy.

These blue-white arcs were not the Five Thunder Laws of Wu Lei Zhengfa—they were his newly mastered Chujileixifashu !

Yes, after implanting Lin Yu’s artificial spiritual root, Bai Zeming acquired a rare lightning-type variant spiritual root.

But since his Qi Condensation Level One cultivation could only release three Chujifashu , and he had a Heroic Spirit to sustain, he had hidden this technique as a secret card, daring not to use it lightly.

Until just now, Medea suddenly teleported him here and used some method to siphon energy from his armor.

Bai Zeming knew he could no longer hide his trump card, so he activated the Chujifashu 【Thunder Seal】, summoning lightning to repel Medea as she drained his energy, then channeled the thunder into his reactor.

Recalling the encounter, Bai Zeming’s face remained cold, but inwardly he was deeply shaken.

Thank heaven, thank heaven—I’m a lightning cultivator!

If I had any other type of spiritual root, Medea might have already disabled my strongest armor!

Hearing Bai Zeming’s cold words, Medea’s lips curled beneath her cloak as she laughed softly: “Alright, I truly didn’t expect that after expending so much energy, you still had a reserve…”

“But if it’s a reserve, surely you can’t use it many times?”

“Let’s see how long you can hold out in my magical workshop!”

As she spoke the final words, her tone turned sharp; she swung the sun-moon staff forward.

Instantly, the circular magic arrays around her blazed with multicolored light, unleashing countless magical energy bullets that rained down like artillery fire, engulfing Bai Zeming ahead.

High-Speed Incantation!

The ability to cast instant magic without incantations or linking magical circuits!

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

A series of thunderous explosions erupted from below Liudong Temple, kicking up clouds of dust and fire.

Bai Zeming maxed out his armor’s thrusters, dodging and weaving through the air while firing beams of pale blue palm cannons at Medea.

The mysterious energy beams struck Medea.

The crimson-hued magical barrier shattered instantly like soap bubbles.

But unfortunately, summoning such a barrier was as easy for her as breathing.

Bai Zeming’s palm cannons had barely shattered one layer before another instantly formed, continuing to weaken the mysterious energy.

Thus, the two became artillery platforms, engaging in a midair artillery duel.

Watching the magical missiles nearly blot out the sky ahead, Bai Zeming dodged desperately, silently cursing inwardly.

This woman had already claimed at least a hundred lives; her accumulated magical energy was oceanic.

His reactor had only twenty percent energy left—even with the lightning technique recharging it, he couldn’t last much longer.

But…

Bai Zeming, struggling to hold on, suddenly tensed, a faint smile appearing beneath his helmet.

“Sorry, time’s up!”

Medea’s expression changed—she sensed Sasaki Kojirō’s disappearance.

The next instant, a furious roar erupted from below, thundering through Liudong Temple:

“Do not harm my lord!”

Before she could react, she turned instinctively—and saw a silver streak appear on the road outside Liudong Temple.

It was a heroic general clad in silver armor, riding a majestic white steed, wielding a gleaming silver spear; his once-black hair now blazed with fiery gold-red hues, as if dyed by rage.

In an instant, Zhao Yun, using some unknown technique, became a brilliant silver light, piercing the entire battlefield and appearing before Medea as if teleporting.

Medea’s heart jolted; she swung her staff instantly, casting a spell.

“High-Speed Incantation: Spatial Swap!”

The dazzling magical light struck the heroic general—but shattered like tofu against stone, with no effect.

The heroic general, as he drew near, swung his silver spear without hesitation.

A glint of cold light came first, then the spear shot forth like a dragon!

“Boom!”

With a deafening crash, the crimson magical barriers shattered layer by layer.

The silver light pierced through the layers of magic, tore through the glowing cloak, flashed past the graceful figure in midair, and returned to his master’s side.

“Slish—”

Blood burst into the air; Medea’s figure recoiled rapidly, appearing dozens of meters away in the sky.

Now, her cloak had been shredded by the silver light, revealing the elfin face beneath the hood.

Alas, the once exquisitely beautiful face was marred by several long, jagged blood trails.

Her pale blue hair had been sliced diagonally by the silver light; her graceful body bore a grotesque, gaping wound from which hot blood gushed forth, horrifying to behold.

Watching Medea, severely wounded by a single blow, and Zhao Yun charging through the air straight toward him, Bai Ze felt a surge of awe—and could not help but smile.

"Then, Caster..."

"Next, the second round!"

(End of Chapter)