Chapter 138: The Overlord

The sound of hooves grew ever more urgent, and apart from this noise, there was not a single other sound around—only the lingering, deeply unsettling echo of hooves spreading outward.

Po Jun trusted Zu Wenyuan.

But that icy killing intent, like thorns pricking his back, was equally clear.

Situ Deqing, wearing the dark-gold mask, felt no hesitation or delay upon spotting his target—he immediately moved to kill, eliminating this helpless old man, then return and proceed to the Xue family to take Li Guanyi's life.

He had endured that brat many times.

No more.

No time to waste here.

But just as he was about to strike, he suddenly sensed a surge of deadly aura.

Situ Deqing's pupils contracted sharply, nearly landed on the carriage.

"Huh???"

"This is!!!"

It was an instinctive reaction.

He instantly leapt away, soaring through the air, flipping his Xuan-level weapon upside down, staring in alarm at the racing war chariot, sensing three people aboard: the driver, Zu Wenyuan, and another…

Huh? Why does it feel familiar, yet so alien?!

Who is it?

No, this is not anyone I've ever sensed before!

Situ Deqing's eyes narrowed in caution, while within his dreamlike vision, Li Guanyi had battled the Overlord countless times, endlessly returning to the same starting stance, watching as the Bai Hu lowered its gaze and the Overlord, clad only in lower-body armor, roared.

"Why have you betrayed me?!"

Li Guanyi, furious, cursed:

"I betray your fucking uncle!"

Or else, writhing in agony from having just been slain by the Overlord's battle halberd.

Grinning through gritted teeth, he raised a single middle finger and shouted:

"I'm your father."

Then Li Guanyi raised his own weapon and charged back at the Overlord.

Time within his consciousness did not perfectly align with external perception.

Slowly, Li Guanyi sank into the battle, a stubborn fire burning within him—he must win against this Overlord. Even the light beside him had gradually lost its meaning; he was lost in the slaughter, perhaps because the Overlord's lingering hatred was too heavy.

He grew dim, forgetting himself.

He no longer knew whether he was the man wielding the battle halberd, wrapped in crimson dragon fire; or the Overlord standing atop a mountain of corpses and rivers of blood, his heart still filled with unyielding resentment, his only true possession the halberd in his grip.

Li Guanyi's thoughts became locked within this state.

Who am I?

He closed his eyes; the bronze lamp beside him flickered.

The Divine Weapon, Bai Hu Shout-to-Heaven Battle Halberd, roared violently, its aura entwining with Li Guanyi's own.

On the weapon, the deadly aura mingled with Li Guanyi's battle intent.

Upon this Divine Weapon, within the Overlord's deadly aura and Xue Shenjiang's legacy, a third faint but real and undeniable residue of consciousness had taken root.

Only those who forget themselves may attain the highest.

Li Guanyi's consciousness spread like water soaked into a sponge—he slowly forgot his identity, his time, his origins, leaving only pure warrior instinct, only endless slaughter, endless combat, and the lingering sensitivity to killing aura.

Outside, Situ Deqing completed his seventeenth feint.

He launched his eighteenth feint.

Within Li Guanyi's consciousness, he seemed to see a dark arrow fly from afar across the battlefield where he battled the Overlord—he raised his weapon, instinctively, and deflected the arrow.

In the real world.

Li Guanyi instinctively twisted his halberd; the Bai Hu Shout-to-Heaven Battle Halberd lifted slightly.

Its cold, tiger-mouthed blade nearly pointed at Situ Deqing through the carriage.

The Divine Weapon's fully activated deadly aura erupted.

Like a low growl of the Bai Hu.

Situ Deqing's pupils contracted; he instantly retreated through the air, landing on a fallen leaf, riding the wind alongside the moving carriage, his Xuan weapon held upside-down in his palm, his eyes fixed through the dark-gold mask, chest heaving, gasping for breath.

No…

This aura… this killing intent…

No, something is terribly wrong.

Situ Deqing was a true top-tier assassin; assassins mastered aura to perfection—detecting enemies' aura and concealing their own were fundamental skills.

In Situ Deqing's perception, every time he prepared to strike the carriage…

He felt a crushing pressure in his chest.

Above the carriage, it seemed as if a mighty presence watched him with cold indifference.

When Situ Deqing drew his blade, his divine intuition would flash vivid visions—himself pierced, sliced, hacked, and torn apart—clear as day.

At his cultivation level, a warrior's instinct was like a god's.

Situ Deqing instinctively pulled back, yet his rational mind insisted the carriage held only Zu Wenyuan—so he halted his movement. He did this over a dozen times, never once closing within three chi of the carriage to deliver a killing blow.

No—what the hell is going on?!

Situ Deqing's eyes lowered slightly; he wanted to retreat.

But he could not bear to give up. After hesitating, as the carriage raced forward, he stepped into empty air, reached to his waist, drew a short sword, then flicked his wrist—the sword shattered, its aura swirling and transforming into a blade of light that slashed downward.

Boom!!!

Half the carriage was cleaved clean in two.

The luxurious wooden carriage was flung outward as it sped forward, slamming into a nearby massive rock and instantly shattering into fragments; in that instant, Situ Deqing saw the people inside the carriage—the white-haired old man, and the bronze lamp he protected.

And the boy seated in meditation.

Situ Deqing's eyes froze instantly, his pupils flooding with murderous intent.

"It's you?!"

"Li Guanyi, are you mocking me?!"

He stared at Li Guanyi, his killing intent surging; as he lunged forward, he again felt a killing aura lock onto him—he tore his gaze away from Li Guanyi on the Second Floor, away from Zu Wenyuan, and fixed it on the bronze lamp.

The bronze lamp flickered.

Situ Deqing tried again to close in and strike.

The bronze lamp flashed, and that killing aura locked onto him once more.

Situ Deqing saw Zu Wenyuan guarding the lamp, and so he naturally made his judgment—

That killing intent—the feeling that if he struck, he would be cleaved to death.

It came from this lamp, fiercely protected.

It was a reasonable judgment, especially when the old man tightened his hold on the lamp; Situ Deqing sneered, instantly turning into a lingering shadow, while Zu Wenyuan's wrist twitched, flinging the lamp that sustained Li Guanyi's consciousness into the air.

But Situ Deqing moved faster.

He became a lingering shadow, and with a single sword strike, he precisely cleaved the lamp.

This proved his body technique, wrist control, sword precision, and stability were all extremely high.

His martial skills were no empty pretense.

The bronze material was clearly of an exceptionally durable type; judging by Situ Deqing's assessment, this lamp was even at the Treasure-class level—though not a weapon, it possessed unique supernatural abilities.

So he struck with all his strength.

The Treasure shattered instantly; the lamp's faint flame was torn apart by Situ Deqing's sword qi. The assassin's toe landed on the broken rear end of the carriage, his body leaning slightly forward, eyes icy, frame steady.

The flame went out, becoming the final thread of fire between the old man and Situ Deqing.

Li Guanyi opened his eyes.

His eyes were ink-black, pupils expanded, whites reduced.

Situ Deqing's body grew solemn.

A terrifying murderous aura erupted—he recoiled violently, instinctively dissolving into the void, like a drop of water sinking into air, leaving not a single ripple. Li Guanyi opened his eyes, dazed, jolted back into the mortal world, yet his consciousness still lingered in faint confusion.

Was he challenger… or overlord?

And in the next instant, that killing aura surged straight toward him.

Thus, passivity made his choice for him.

Situ Deqing charged at him; Li Guanyi, in this moment, naturally acted as an overlord—he gripped his weapon and rose.

His sleeves whipped like roaring winds from eight hundred years past; the murderous aura on the divine weapon began to leak, naturally influencing the surroundings—the image perceived by eyes, the flesh-brain, the soul-sense.

At this moment, the murderous aura twisted the soul's perception; thus, Zu Wenyuan and Pojun both sensed a distortion. Li Guanyi lifted his head and saw ahead—the ripples of water shifting, unmistakably the work of the Tenth Killer of the World, invisible to the naked eye.

Earlier, when guarding Yicheng, even General Yue Qianfeng and Xue Daoyong had failed to detect him; Li Guanyi naturally could not see him either—but a blue aura surged, and Li Guanyi's gaze caught the outstretched wings of the owl spirit-form.

He gripped the battle halberd; it trembled violently.

The tiger's open jaws tore through air, roaring like a beast's bellow. He lifted his weapon and swept it upward in one motion—this technique consumed immense energy, and the enemy he faced was terrifyingly strong: Situ Deqing, whose Martial Path Realm rivaled General Yue Qianfeng and Xue Daoyong.

This move, the Overlord's ultimate technique, drew power like a vortex.

Thus, within Li Guanyi, the Five Elements cultivation body flowed.

All spirit-form power surged into Bai Hu.

On the bronze tripod, the imprint gifted by Fire Qilin—a technique equal in power to General Yue Qianfeng and Xue Daoyong—glowed, then shattered, transforming into surging flame; the divine weapon's hum suddenly fell silent, leaving only a steady, inhaling-and-exhaling aura.

The Overlord's ultimate technique, first move.

As this move crashed down, Situ Deqing's vision blurred—he saw a distorted scene: an ancient battlefield, then mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and the boy standing atop them, weapon in hand, a crimson Fire Qilin stepping forward.

Fire Qilin?!!

Situ Deqing's pupils shrank violently; he instinctively shouted:

"Who are you?!"

He unleashed a terrifying torrent of true qi, shattering the vision.

The Tiger Roars Heaven Halberd had already struck; gritting his teeth, he watched the boy's move and raised his dark weapon to block beside him. Li Guanyi's realm and level were only Second Floor; even with a divine weapon, he could not fully unleash its power.

I must block it!

But the instant the weapons met, Situ Deqing's expression froze.

This power—was on his own level.

Regardless of whether it could be used only once.

Yet now, this was the full-force strike of a warrior at his tier; the outer qi was torn apart, the qi-formed armor turned to dust, fiery light blazed on the divine weapon. In Situ Deqing's hand, the dark weapon he had used before pledging allegiance to his current master made no sound—then cracked.

Shattered, scattered.

Within the first breath, the dark weapon was severed.

Within the second breath, the halberd slammed into Situ Deqing's waist and abdomen. The Black Dragon Coiled Body Armor glowed brightly—but had no effect, shattering piece by piece. Situ Deqing spat blood, eyes filled with disbelief.

What technique is this?!

Mu Zi Yi—reckless, arrogant!

The calm, supreme dominance of a single decisive strike.

Block… cannot block…!

Situ Deqing's face turned deathly pale; he screamed: "Owl!!"

As the void trembled and a piercing bird cry echoed, a massive owl spirit-form appeared in the air, ready to dive onto Situ Deqing and carry him away a thousand li—when suddenly, a roar erupted.

Bai Hu lunged forward, pinning the owl spirit-form in an instant.

The other four spirit forms appeared, splitting the xiao bird into five parts.

He opened his mouth and swallowed the xiao bird spirit form into his belly.

Bai Hu roared with Zi Yi.

The battle spear slashed through the air; Simu Deqing felt excruciating pain, his spirit form shattered, his qi mechanism crumbling.

The next instant, the divine weapon met no resistance—Simu Deqing was severed at the waist!

The dark gold mask flew off, landing in the hands of the youth; he unleashed all the killing aura and malevolent qi at once. Li Guanyi suddenly regained clarity—he realized the trial had come from the overlord's resentment and hatred, and only slaughter could release such resentment and hatred.

Had it not been for Simu Deqing, I might have slaughtered indiscriminately.

Li Guanyi exhaled in relief.

The Bai Hu spirit form lifted its head and roared; the roar of the Tiger Roars Heaven Battle Spear fell silent.

The bronze tripod's jade fluid within him was now complete, drawn from the overlord's residual killing aura and Bai Hu.

This technique, the Overlord's Ultimate Strike, had not used this jade fluid.

It was comprehended by Li Guanyi himself through battle.

And now, the jade fluid still remained.

Li Guanyi did not hesitate—he activated the bronze tripod to overturn, and the jade fluid crashed down, pouring onto the spirit form. Amidst Bai Hu's thunderous, sky-piercing roar, the winds and clouds churned around Li Guanyi's back; the spirit form's pupils glowed with shifting divine light, now pure gold.

It stepped forward with the youth.

Li Guanyi planted his battle spear on the ground; behind him, Bai Hu took slow, synchronized steps forward toward Simu Deqing. The two mirrored each other—their aura growing heavier, denser, more profound. The youth held the spear; Bai Hu walked beside him; winds and clouds converged; golden eyes stared coldly.

That was the original, the overlord's very own Bai Hu!

Divine, indifferent, majestic.

"Who are you? Who are you really?"

Simu Deqing's eyes widened; blood spewed from his mouth. Severed but not dead, he was filled with resentment, watching as the youth took the waterskin from his waist, passed through the dark gold mask, and slowly placed it over his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Simu Deqing's mind froze, then suddenly understood.

It's you!

Tai Ping Gong's child.

Ten years—have you come here for revenge?

Simu Deqing could not speak.

Li Guanyi raised his battle spear and thrust downward, piercing Simu Deqing's throat.

The blade sank deep into the ground, blood pooling around it.

Simu Deqing struggled, then collapsed heavily to the ground, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Li Guanyi.

They never closed.

The Seven Stars of Bai Hu blazed bright in the heavens; at the same moment, outside the Tai He Palace in Zhongzhou, numerous scholars were blocked by imperial guards—after several arguments, none could enter. Just as they had given up, furious and turning to leave, someone suddenly laughed.

"Only six decades away, and the Academy has grown this stale!"

"All fools—better off dead."

An old man with white hair strode forward.

Someone recognized him and cried out: "Si Wei?! How did you get here?!"

"Master Si Wei, His Majesty has ordered—"

The imperial guard commander stepped forward half a pace, holding a golden token, his tone cold and rigid—but before he finished speaking, a massive force struck his face, hurling him through the air; half his body went numb. The old man seized the token, crushed it into dust, and said coldly:

"I am Si Wei. Those who block my path—die!"

"Get out!"

A formation erupted—over a hundred imperial guards and Feather Forest soldiers were flung staggering into walls.

The scholars who tried to stop him were also knocked down.

Si Wei strode forward without looking back; a storm of wind swept through, toppling the guards, he shoved aside the eunuchs blocking him, and kicked open the doors of the Tai He Palace—inside, he saw the sealed Chi Xiao Sword. As Si Wei stormed in, the heavens above the door blazed with the Seven Stars of Bai Hu.

The original Bai Hu spirit form and the divine weapon have now appeared.

The Chi Xiao Sword's cry erupted instantly.

The previously noisy Tai He Palace.

Fell into instant silence; countless eyes turned toward the source of the sword's cry.

Long after, someone whispered, voice faint, yet striking the heart like thunder.

"Chi Xiao Sword!"

"Awakened?"