Chapter Eighty-Four: One Against Three

When the sun vanished from the sky and the intense shockwaves finally subsided, Yang Fan lowered his hand from his eyes and looked up…

He saw Li Tian’s long blade cleaving diagonally into Yu Tian’s shoulder, while Yu Tian’s face was frozen in terror and disbelief.

Behind them, the Radiant Sect Master and Lord Huang Yuetian were closing in at great speed. Yet, if one looked closely, both wore expressions far from calm at the sight before them.

At their level of cultivation, the differences between those of the same rank were usually insignificant. There were distinctions of strength and weakness, of course, but not as stark as among those of lower realms.

But now, Li Tian’s single strike had nearly sliced Yu Tian in two—an outcome that defied all logic!

Both were eleventh-grade powerhouses, and from the energy they unleashed, Li Tian was no stronger than Yu Tian. Yet, what had just occurred was utterly unfathomable, utterly unreasonable.

That blow not only injured Yu Tian’s body but also wounded his soul, his core, and his very conviction!

Among eleventh-grade cultivators, Yu Tian was by no means weak—he ranked solidly in the upper middle tier of all known peers.

Yet, Li Tian’s single stroke had all but shattered Yu Tian’s belief in his own invincibility!

And this was not all; the impact of this strike reverberated powerfully among the two approaching eleventh-grade experts who had come to Yu Tian’s aid.

Radiant and Huang Yuetian had already reached the battlefield.

Though shocked, they wasted no time: Radiant, draped in luminous colors, unleashed a cascade of seven-hued energy at Li Tian, while Huang Yuetian, still five miles distant, braced himself in midair, producing a massive bow over two meters long.

Without nocking an arrow, he pinched the bowstring and drew it—an arrow of golden energy materialized from thin air.

With a terrifying force, the arrow tore through the sky and appeared before Li Tian in a blink.

Li Tian, anticipating their assault, had already kicked Yu Tian aside and drawn his blade.

He flicked his sword upward, blocking the arrow that had arrived in an instant, then swept his blade sideways, shattering Radiant’s seven-colored attack.

Without pause, Li Tian gave a wild grin, stepped forward, and instantly appeared before Radiant, thrusting his long blade straight ahead without embellishment.

Radiant’s expression changed.

In that moment, Radiant finally understood Yu Tian’s predicament moments ago.

The Overlord Blade of this otherworldly warrior carried no overwhelming cultivation—by aura alone, he was even weaker than Yu Tian. Yet his combat techniques were strange, the Overlord Blade—overbearing in the extreme.

With each stroke, he sealed the surrounding void, channeled the bulk of his energy into the blade, and simultaneously condensed his spiritual force into a needle, which struck the opponent’s mind in an instant, causing a split-second pause.

One might think a pause of a mere thousandth of a second insignificant, but in a clash between masters, such an instant could decide the victor.

In that fleeting moment, the long blade descended, and as it pierced the body, the victim’s instincts forced a reaction; their spiritual power shifted involuntarily. The enemy would then drive that needle-like spirit force directly into their mind.

One link followed another, a seamless chain.

By the time Radiant realized this, the blade had already pierced his abdomen. Almost simultaneously, his spiritual defenses collapsed.

Behind, Huang Yuetian watched, utterly shaken.

In under five seconds, two of their side’s eleventh-grade powerhouses had been routed, both suffering serious wounds.

In all the tens of thousands of years of Dark Domain’s history, such a battle had scarcely occurred.

Li Tian pulled out his blade, preparing to strike again. Huang Yuetian dared not hesitate any longer—his eyes flashed with ferocity as he drew a flaming red arrow, a look of deep reluctance on his face as he nocked it. This arrow’s power far surpassed the last.

When the arrow tore through the air, Li Tian’s expression changed.

The blade he’d meant to bring down stopped mid-swing.

His energy surged, and with a kick, he sent the still-stunned Radiant flying.

Then, his long blade spun in a whirlwind before him, shrouding himself completely in sword light.

The arrow vanished the moment it left the bow.

Li Tian, slashing his blade in a defensive dance, concentrated intensely.

A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as, in the next instant, the arrow materialized above his head.

His face changed dramatically, and he shifted his stance repeatedly.

He slashed at empty air before him.

The arrow that had appeared above him vanished as he moved, only to reappear before him.

But as the arrow appeared, his blade was already there.

Yet, at the moment blade met arrow, Li Tian’s composure shattered. He roared as the arrow pressed against his sword, dragging him through the air toward the distance.

On the city wall, Xiao Deyi and the others’ expressions changed as well. At first, Li Tian’s defeat of two equally ranked opponents had been exhilarating.

But now, with Li Tian being dragged away by that arrow and an uninjured eleventh-grade foe still before them, their hearts sank.

This was not good news.

Huang Yuetian watched Li Tian being swept away by his arrow, his reluctance deepening.

The arrow he’d just fired was the divine arrow once gifted to his father by the Dark God himself, and later passed down to him. There was only one in existence—legend held that even the Dark God had chanced upon it.

It was a treasure beyond compare. If not for his family’s legacy as the foremost archers of the Dark Domain, the Dark God would never have bestowed such a gift.

But there was no choice—Li Tian’s strength had become clear. Without the divine arrow, Huang Yuetian feared Radiant would have fallen on the spot.

If one of them died, he and Yu Tian would have no way to explain themselves upon returning.

Thinking of this, Huang Yuetian looked back at his two allies whom Li Tian had just knocked aside.

Yu Tian and Radiant—one seated cross-legged on the ground, the other standing in midair—were both drenched in sweat, their energies wildly unstable.

“Lord Huang, now’s the moment—break the city!” Yu Tian called, struggling to suppress the sword energy raging within him.

They had paid such a price; if they still failed to breach the city, it would be laughable. Then their injuries would have been in vain.

The thought of his wounds made Yu Tian shudder. The image of Li Tian’s blade still haunted him—the unwavering ferocity, the unity of spirit and force. It had truly terrified him, but had also taught him a valuable lesson.

The more Yu Tian reflected, the clearer he became. He realized that after this retreat and seclusion, he would surely progress even further.

Huang Yuetian nodded inwardly at Yu Tian’s words and was just about to step toward North Rebuff City.

Suddenly, a series of loud whistling sounds rang out.

Three Devastation Bombs had been launched from behind North Rebuff City.

Huang Yuetian smiled, channeling his energy into his palm and striking at the incoming bombs.

Three explosions shook the sky above North Rebuff City.

Xiao Deyi and the seven Tenth-Grade Martial Emperors, seeing the bombs launched, immediately cried out in alarm.

The power of a Devastation Bomb was indeed great, comparable to the all-out strike of an eleventh-grade cultivator. But a weapon was still just a weapon; to use it against an eleventh-grade expert in their rear was nothing short of courting death!