Chapter 70: Night of Fire III

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Two Elders are dead, gone in a flash of white fire.

It is not often that Xiao Nan finds himself rattled, yet now, faced with the sudden deaths of two of their strongest, rattled seems like a rather apt word to describe him.

Xiao Nan had been shouting orders when an enormous gout of flame cut a swath of destruction from the center of the city all the way to the city walls, incinerating everything in its path. The two Elders just happened to be in the wrong place when the attack hit. That is all.

It is utterly terrifying.

The Elders of the Xiao Sect are not mere mortals. Nearly all of them have already reached the Heaven Realm, the seventh of all cultivation realms. For them, the survival of their physical bodies is not vital. Even if their heads were to be cut off, they would be able to grow them back. Even if their bodies were torn to a thousand pieces and scattered to the winds, it would be possible for them to rebuild themselves. Once one reaches the Heaven Realm, such things become simple.

However, the Elders burned by the white flame are dead.

It means the attack burned not just their bodies but their souls as well.

If the enemy can wield that sort of power, then no one in the city is safe. About the only thing Xiao Nan can take comfort in is that whoever attacked them is now locked in a different spatial realm with his uncle and Yun Peng. It is an uncommon alliance to be sure, but they should be able to deal with the threat.

Hopefully.

Xiao Nan’s eyes flicker over to the direction of Liu Jin’s house. He knows Liu Jin is alive. Otherwise, he would have felt his connection with the shade severed. That said, Xiao Nan has to wonder if maybe the disciples he sent to collect his Little Brother are perhaps dead now.

It is not a happy thought.

It is also not a thought he has time for.

Xiao Nan breathes in then out before he starts shouting orders once more. The disciples, who had been about to give in to panic, calm down when they hear his voice brimming with strength. He is Xiao Nan of the Xiao Sect, the strongest prodigy of Eastern Port City. As long as he is with them, they have nothing to fear. All the disciples wholeheartedly believe those words. Such is the strength of Xiao Nan’s reputation.

Xiao Nan wishes he could share their optimism.

“Young Master, look!”

Someone cries and points. Xiao Nan curses under his breath as hundreds of horsemen ride into the city. They had to have been hidden by some sort of technique or item. Otherwise, there is no way anyone could have missed a literal army so close to the city.

“Young Master, what shall we do?”

“Do you not already have your orders?” Xiao Nan asks. Even as he does, a few of the Elders rush to meet the incoming horde. Some stay back, likely to defend the Xiao Sect’s treasures should the worst come to pass. “The Xiao Sect will defend the city! Core and Inner Disciples, forward! Outer Disciples, protect the compound!”

Xiao Nan raises his fist. The Xiao Sect’s disciples roar and follow him into battle.

Uncle would have probably thought to use the Outer Disciples as cannon fodder, but such things are not Xiao Nan’s style.

Xiao Nan takes a deep breath and calculates the distance separating him from the horde.

Void Step.

Unlike Ground Contraction, which merely accelerates the body, Void Step is a movement technique that works by reducing the distance between user and destination to nothingness. Xiao Nan appears not in front of the horde to stop its advance. No, he appears by the city walls, right in the middle of the swarm.

All Consuming Heavenly Void.

Light and sound fade away, engulfed by all-devouring blackness. Everything within a mile of Xiao Nan is consumed and devoured. Had Xiao Nan been surrounded by his fellow disciples, using this technique would have been impossible. Here, he only has to worry about the enemy.

He feels no pity for them as their bodies are crushed and subsumed.

On the edge of his consciousness, Xiao Nan feels the shade he planted in Liu Jin’s shadow activating. The sudden awareness almost causes him to miss the incoming attack.

Earth-attuned Qi takes hold of the ground, multiple spikes made of compressed earth pierce through the blackness, trying to turn Xiao Nan into a pincushion.

Xiao Nan leaps up to dodge, and in the process of doing so, has to dispel his technique.

“Peerless Blade – First Form: Violent Crescent!”

Xiao Nan’s eyes widen as a curved, pitch-black blade is suddenly swung towards his face. In that instant, Ground Contraction grants his body new momentum. Void Step removes the distance between himself and his destination. His meridians scream in protest from using the two techniques at the same time.

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It is only because Xiao Nan dares to try it that he survives.

A wave of pure Qi surges from the sword and annihilates everything in its path. It leaves behind a hole so deep it is impossible to see the bottom of it.

Had Xiao Nan taken that attack, he would have died. There is no doubt in his mind.

“Rumbling Thunder God’s Hammer!”

Xiao Nan’s jaw breaks.

A massive hammer made of pure lightning strikes the side of his face. The force breaks his bones. The current mercilessly travels through his body, tearing his nerves asunder. The strongest prodigy of Eastern Port City falls to the ground as if struck down by the Heavens themselves.

“I am impressed. I was not expecting you to survive that attack.”

Xiao Nan manages to raise his head as he reconstructs his nerves and bones. It is the sword-wielder who spoke just now, a violet-eyed man not much older than him. He has a strong jaw and a detached expression.