Chapter 19: A Deadly Ambush in the Torrential Rain

On the main road, the caravan continued its journey.

"This weather—it was fine just a moment ago, and then suddenly, such a heavy downpour," a close attendant accompanying the group complained.

"Be careful to look after the other carriage; do not let the rain touch the coffin," Zhao Tianlei ordered.

"Yes!"

After giving his instructions, Zhao Tianlei resumed his conversation with Pang Shan.

"Brother Pang Shan, if the Situ family truly sends an expert, would your Pang family be willing to introduce me to them when the time comes?" Zhao Tianlei asked.

"Why, looking to join the Situ family?" Pang Shan glanced at Zhao Tianlei and then nodded. "Sure, I will help you with an introduction if the opportunity arises. Although the Situ family has high standards, you are, after all, an expert at the mid-stage of the Void-Breaking Realm. Even if you join them, you would be able to secure a respectable position."

"Then I thank you in advance," Zhao Tianlei felt a surge of joy.

Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped in the rain.

"What is going on?" Zhao Tianlei frowned.

"My lord, someone is blocking our path ahead," the voice of an attendant came from outside the carriage.

Zhao Tianlei lifted the curtain slightly. Even through the torrential rain, he could see a man in black, holding a sword and wearing a bamboo hat, standing right in the center of the road.

"Who is it that dares to block our way?" One of the attendants, riding a warhorse, moved forward.

"May I ask if Zhao Tianlei is in that carriage?" A slightly hoarse voice came from beneath the bamboo hat.

"You know our lord?" the attendant asked.

"I am here at the request of Young Master Zhao Ling to deliver a message to Master Zhao," the swordsman replied.

"Young Master Zhao Ling?" the attendant was stunned.

"Could it be that Ling'er left a message before he died?" Zhao Tianlei frowned inside the carriage.

But then, the swordsman laughed. "Young Master Zhao Ling told me in a dream... the Yellow Springs are lonely and desolate, and he wishes to invite Master Zhao and Young Master Zhao Qing to join him below, so the family may be reunited!"

"Insolent!" The attendant was instantly enraged.

Inside the carriage, Zhao Tianlei’s expression turned grim. "Where did this lunatic come from? Kill him."

With that, Zhao Tianlei pulled the curtain shut.

On the road, the attendants prepared to strike, but Su Xin was clearly faster.

*Clang!*

The long sword left its scabbard, and spiritual energy surged with it.

"True Martial Tenth Stage?"

As soon as Su Xin made his move, the attendants saw that his cultivation was only at the True Martial Realm, and they immediately sneered.

"There really are people who don't fear death."

"A mere True Martial Realm cultivator, daring to come and intercept us?"

"He doesn't know what's good for him."

Most of the attendants remained on their horses, having no intention of intervening. Only the attendant who had spoken earlier leapt from his horse to meet the challenger.

Zhao Tianlei, as the leader of the guest faction of the Zhao family, was a mid-stage Void-Breaking Realm expert, and the attendants around him were exceptionally strong, with the weakest among them at the Great Perfection of the Sea-Transformation Realm. The one who stepped forward was at the Great Perfection stage; to him, killing a True Martial Realm cultivator was no different from crushing an ant.

But just as the attendant was about to clash with the swordsman in black...

"Forbidden Art: God-Slaying!"

*Boom!*

Without any warning, the aura of the black-clad swordsman, which had been at the peak of the True Martial Tenth Stage, surged with incredible speed. In a split second, it rose from the peak of the Tenth Stage to the peak of the Sea-Transformation Realm, nearing the very limit of the realm.

*Whoosh!*

A flash of sword light illuminated the rain, instantly cutting the attendant who had rushed forward in half at the waist.

"What?"

"This is..."

The attendants who had been sneering just moments ago were now horrified.

A True Martial Tenth Stage cultivator whose cultivation instantly surged to the peak of the Sea-Transformation Realm? What kind of technique was this?

"Not good, he was hiding his strength!"

"Attack him together!"

In an instant, more than a dozen figures leapt from their horses.

There were thirteen of them in total. The weakest were at the Great Perfection of the Sea-Transformation Realm, joined by four at the Perfection stage and one expert at the peak of the Sea-Transformation Realm. All thirteen drew their weapons and attacked from different directions.

Beneath the bamboo hat, Su Xin’s eyes were cold and sharp.

"Once the God-Slaying Forbidden Art is activated, I have only thirty breaths of time. I cannot waste a single moment!"

"Die!"

With a low shout, his killing intent soared to the sky.

The thirteen attendants had been with Zhao Tianlei for years; they were familiar with each other and coordinated perfectly. Together, they blocked every possible escape route for Su Xin. If this were any ordinary peak Sea-Transformation expert, they would likely have been killed in the first exchange.

But they were facing Su Xin.

*Hum!*

A hazy sword shadow suddenly appeared.

The shadow was dim, carrying a strange and eerie power—this power was a glimmer of the 'intent' Su Xin had grasped. This intent instantly gave his sword a soul, causing a qualitative transformation.

In a single instant, the hazy sword shadow ruthlessly swept across the necks of all thirteen men almost simultaneously.

*Sshhh, sshhh, sshhh!*

"So... so fast!"

The thirteen attendants looked on with terror, some still gasping for air. Even though they had surrounded and attacked him together, they hadn't even managed to execute their own techniques before they were struck down.

Thirteen figures collapsed to the ground at once.

After finishing them, Su Xin swung his sword violently at the carriage.

*Whoosh!*

A fierce, resolute sword shadow slashed the carriage and the horses pulling it clean in half.

*Swish! Swish! Swish!*

Three figures leapt from the wreckage and landed on the road.

"This..."

Zhao Tianlei stood in front of Zhao Qing, looking at the corpses of his attendants lying on the ground without a sound. A look of uncontrollable shock crossed his face. He knew the strength of his men; even an average Void-Breaking Realm expert would find it difficult to kill them all in such a short time. Yet, just now, in a single moment—before he could even intervene—all of them were dead.

The strength of this intruder...

"A Void-Breaking Realm expert? There's another one?" Su Xin’s gaze locked onto the black-robed old man who had also landed on the road.

This old man was clearly a Void-Breaking Realm expert, a factor Su Xin had not anticipated.

"I don't know who you are, but since you are mixed up with Zhao Tianlei, you shall die as well!"

Su Xin’s eyes flashed with lethal intent. He pulled a token from his waist, injected a trace of spiritual energy into it, and threw it into the void before him.

The token vanished into nothingness, but a strange power spread out, covering the entire surrounding space at great speed.

"This is... a restrictive array?"

"Not good!"

Zhao Tianlei and Pang Shan’s expressions changed as they sensed the invisible power surrounding them.

"It's a flight-suppression array," Zhao Tianlei realized immediately.

Compared to True Martial or Sea-Transformation cultivators, Void-Breaking Realm experts had one unique advantage: the ability to walk on air. To kill Zhao Tianlei, Su Xin had to restrict this ability. Before coming, he had gone to the Red Dragon Tower and obtained a flight-suppression token from Yuan Qing.

This token could temporarily prevent Void-Breaking Realm experts from flying within a certain area. In terms of value, it was more expensive than the twenty top-tier Spirit Gathering Pills Su Xin had previously acquired, but it was still within the limits of his 'Earth-level' authority.

"Brother Tianlei, be careful. Since this person prepared a flight-suppression method, he is clearly well-prepared. We must not let ourselves be caught off guard," Pang Shan said, his expression turning serious.

"Agreed. Let us strike together," Zhao Tianlei nodded solemnly.

"Zhao Tianlei, you will die today!"

Su Xin let out a sharp cry. His aura erupted, and he charged forward, sword in hand.

"Hmph!"

Zhao Tianlei’s eyes were cold. A heavy broadsword appeared in his hands—it weighed over a hundred pounds. He gripped it with both hands, his steps thundering like lightning. He swung the blade with brute force, leaving layers of illusions in the air. The terrifying power crushed the atmosphere, causing sharp sonic booms.

"Move like Thunder and Fire!"

Su Xin swung his sword in response, channeling his intent. As he did, he pushed his bloodline power to its absolute limit. In the Eastern Wilderness, his supreme bloodline had never been fully unleashed; even in his fierce battle with Zhao Ling, he had only used seventy percent of his power. Now, he unleashed it completely, executing the most powerful offensive scroll of the North Sky Sword Art: the Thunder-Fire Scroll.

*Bang!*

Su Xin’s sword struck the heavy broadsword like a giant meteorite. A terrifying force exploded, causing the blade and Zhao Tianlei’s hands to tremble violently.

A flash of horror crossed Zhao Tianlei’s eyes. He groaned as he was forced to retreat, each step leaving deep indentations in the muddy ground, splashing rain and soil everywhere. He stumbled back more than ten steps before he could barely steady himself.

Just as Su Xin prepared to press his advantage, a black-robed figure appeared beside him like a ghost, claws flashing like lightning toward his throat. Pang Shan had seized the moment, striking with lethal, lightning-fast precision.

"Looking for death!"

Su Xin casually flicked his sword. *Whoosh!* Several sword shadows burst forth in the air.

Among the falling raindrops, it seemed as if snowflakes were blooming.

Snow-Drift Sword Art: Snow-Slicing Strike!

Guided by his intent, these 'snowflakes' moved at an inconceivable speed. They not only deflected the claws but enveloped Pang Shan completely in sword shadows.

"This sword technique..." Pang Shan was terrified. The sword shadows were impossibly fast. He fought frantically to block them, but each shadow was faster than the last.

In the blink of an eye, ten shadows had passed. When the eleventh arrived, he had no strength left to resist.

*Pfft!*

The cold sword shadow pierced directly through his throat.

The Void-Breaking Realm expert, Pang family elder Pang Shan... died!