Chapter 155: War Erupts, Mist and Rain over Jiangnan

Ouyang Xiaobai stared coldly at Guo Quan, the young master of the Divine Absolute Palace standing before him. His fists were tightly clenched, and within his copper-bell-like eyes, two beams of light flashed like sharp swords.

"You dared to backstab me?"

"Hahahahaha..."

Guo Quan smiled wickedly.

"Young Master Ouyang, this young master gave you plenty of face earlier! It is you who failed to appreciate favors and looked down upon me! Now that you have fallen into my trap, you have only yourself to blame!"

"Guo Quan, do not be so arrogant! Even if you ambushed me, so what? Do you think I fear you? I can still beat you until even your own mother wouldn't recognize you!"

Guo Quan shrugged.

"I admit it! As one of the Four Young Masters of the martial world and the successor of the Saber Emperor, your Tyrannical Saber Arts are peerless in this world. If I were to fight you head-on, I would certainly be no match for you! However, my Divine Absolute Palace has always conquered through strategy and intellect; we are not mere brutes like you!"

With that, he clapped his hands. From all over the mountains and plains, countless dark shadows surged forward rapidly.

Ouyang Xiaobai's pupils constricted slightly.

"This is...?"

Guo Quan said with a proud expression:

"Twelve hundred thousand soldiers of my Divine Absolute Palace! Coupled with various other large and small sects, a total of forty thousand martial practitioners! Even if you, Ouyang Xiaobai, are the reincarnation of a celestial immortal, what can you do today?"

"One against forty thousand—even if every single one of us were to simply piss at the same time, we could drown you alive! I want to see if your Tyrannical Will Saber can still afford to be tyrannical now!"

Ouyang Xiaobai's expression turned icy to the extreme.

"Do not get so full of yourself! It is merely three hundred miles from here to the main army of the Saber Emperor's Gate. As long as I can hold out for a certain period, once the Saber Emperor's Gate army arrives, I will surely take your dog's head!"

The smile on Guo Quan's face grew even brighter.

"Hehehe... Ouyang Xiaobai, I advise you to stop dreaming. Did you really think I wouldn't have made preparations in advance? Not everyone in your Saber Emperor's Gate is utterly loyal to you! As long as you are dead, there are plenty of people who stand to profit! You had better forget about reinforcements!"

Ouyang Xiaobai's heart skipped a beat.

"Du Yunge!"

"Precisely! Du Yunge has already reached an agreement with me. As long as you are killed, he will securely claim the position of the young master of the Saber Emperor's Gate! By then, he and I will join forces, swallow up the Ghost Valley and Lingxiao, and all these territories of Jiangnan, Jiangzhou, and the Northwest will fall into our grasp! As for you and Lingxiao, since the two of you failed to know what's good for you, repent thoroughly in hell! Repent for your contempt and negligence toward me! Kill them—!"

At his command, hundreds of thousands of troops rushed frantically toward the peak of the mountain!

"Protect the Young Master!"

The remaining two or thirty disciples of the Saber Emperor's Gate quickly clustered around Ouyang Xiaobai.

"Young Master, we will protect you! Your strength is vastly superior to ours! You will definitely be able to break through!"

Ouyang Xiaobai clenched his teeth tightly.

"If I leave, what will happen to all of you?"

"Young Master, once you break through and return to the Saber Emperor's Gate to report this matter, you can avenge us then! Otherwise, none of us will close our eyes in death with our grievances unredressed!"

Ouyang Xiaobai's fists creaked. His eye sockets turned somewhat red.

"My good brothers! I, Ouyang Xiaobai, have failed you, but I swear that as long as I can break through, I will definitely avenge you and personally destroy the Divine Absolute Palace!"

"Charge—! Cleave a path for the Young Master and send him out!"

More than thirty men, holding their lives as lightly as dust, charged toward the swarming disciples of the Divine Absolute Palace alliance.

Ouyang Xiaobai wiped the corner of his eye, his gaze reflecting a scarlet crimson light!

Beneath this crimson radiance, a battle intent capable of slaying the heavens spontaneously arose!

Feeling that terrifying power, Guo Quan high above and the elders of the various other sects could not help but shiver.

"Such terrifying murderous intent! The Tyrannical Will Saber truly deserves its reputation as the premier saber technique in China! Once the saber intent is unleashed, who can contend with it?"

"Had the Young Palace Master not conquered through strategy this time and made arrangements beforehand, we truly wouldn't know how high a price we would have to pay to capture Ouyang Xiaobai! Whether we could even capture him at all would remain an unknown!"

Hearing the envious murmurs of the crowd, Guo Quan's eyes narrowed, flashing with a chilling resentment and murderous intent!

As peers among the younger generation of the martial world, Ouyang Xiaobai was far superior to him, a fact that no one in his position could easily accept.

However, it mattered little now. Once Ouyang Xiaobai was captured, capitalizing on this battle, his reputation as the young palace master of the Divine Absolute Palace would shake the entire martial world!

The mere thought of it brought him joy!

Down below, the real battle had already begun.

With twenty or thirty loyal retainers of the Saber Emperor's Gate charging desperately at the front, Ouyang Xiaobai was able to easily unleash his peak state from behind!

The Tyrannical Will Saber was divided into two realms: "Dominating the World" and "Sweeping Across the Army"!

Its moves required few variations, but "Dominating the World," when used in single combat, was invincible among peers and capable of instantly executing opponents of higher realms!

As for "Sweeping Across the Army," it was an enhanced version of "Dominating the World," capable of unleashing three-hundred-sixty-degree multi-layered attacks without blind spots!

To put it more colloquially, one was for single combat and the other for crowd control; both were fiercely yang and supreme, tyrannical saber techniques!

Following closely behind the thirty retainers, Ouyang Xiaobai continuously gathered his momentum at the rear, forming saber intent with both hands and slashing madly.

With every single slash, he would sweep across a large area, cutting down dozens of martial practitioners!

Often, just as the thirty retainers engaged a wave of enemies, Ouyang Xiaobai would unleash a single slash to shatter them, allowing the thirty retainers to press their attack in the chaos.

As for those who approached Ouyang Xiaobai from the rear, they were cleaved directly in two by his blade, without the slightest hesitation or drag!

The dozens of men grew increasingly frantic in their slaughter, and wherever they passed, corpses carpeted the earth!

Fresh blood gathered from the mountaintop, flowing downward in all directions and mixing with the rain, dyeing the summit of Jiangnan Mountain a brilliant crimson! It looked both ghastly and terrifying!

A fine drizzle fell continuously, and the bloody stench in the air drifted into the distance, plunging the entire Jiangnan region into an atmosphere of oppression and terror.

As time ticked away second by second, Guo Quan's expression grew somewhat ugly!

The successor of the Saber Emperor was indeed no ordinary figure; faced with the encirclement of hundreds of thousands, he had actually relied on the support of thirty loyal retainers to carve out a bloody path of survival!

If things continued at this rate, before long, Ouyang Xiaobai might genuinely have a chance to break through!

And since Ouyang Xiaobai was an expert of the fifth stage of the Martial Venerable realm, once he escaped, he would be like a bird freed from its cage, vanishing without a trace!

"We can no longer wait like this! Elders, our success or failure rests upon tonight. Let us strike together and capture Ouyang Xiaobai!"

"We are willing to lend Young Palace Master a helping hand!"

...

While the battle on Jiangnan Mountain reached a frenzied, white-hot climax, the Jiangnan New District was shrouded in an oppressive, torrential rainstorm.

Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, while the air reeked of a suffocating, bloody odor.

A petite figure rushed through the pouring rain to Lingxiao's residence, hammering frantically on the front gate.

"Mr. Ling! Mr. Ling! Are you at home?!"