Things were getting very dramatic in the county capital.

High in the dome of heaven, the four-clawed golden dragon looked down with coldly glowing eyes, peering first at the lieutenant governor, and then at Seventh Prince, whose face was completely expressionless. After a moment, a somewhat dejected gleam appeared in its eyes, and then it flew back into the clouds. A draconic hiss echoed out, as if the dragon were furiously attempting to shatter the clouds and bring the light of the sun to all creation.

Unfortunately, despite the fact it was high noon, the fluctuations emanating from the city distorted the sky, ensuring that the canopy of heaven was as dark as evening. The statue of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity became darker, as if it had been covered with a layer of obscuring dust.

As for the countless humans in the city held in the Ancient Emperor’s hands, their expressions were those of confusion, and their hearts pounded with fear. The nonhumans backed up a bit, their eyes glittering. They had absolutely no interest in participating in human affairs during this scenario.

Everyone was waiting to see how things would play out on the square in the county capital.

The lieutenant governor did not reveal any of the imposing boldness of the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan. Instead, when the critical moment came, he admitted to nothing and instead used force to try to control the situation. In his heart was the evidence of a deep blow, struck by the death-sentence sword of Xu Qing’s condemnation.

As the sky went dark, and intense rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions, the lieutenant governor issued his orders. And the puppet he’d summoned emerged from the vortex, pulsing with the battle prowess of fourth-stage Void Returning. As soon as it was out in the open, it walked toward Xu Qing.

The fourth stage of Void Returning was nothing to take lightly!

In all of Sea-Sealing County, people with cultivation bases like that were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. Each and every one was a famous and important person.

Someone like that who had been transformed into a puppet could only be described as spectacularly terrifying. What was more, the puppet’s mangled face, which made it impossible to identify any distinguishing features… ensured that there was no way to deduce who this person was.

The moment the puppet stepped out, thunder crashed and countless bolts of lightning manifested about Qingqin. They became countless projections of minor worlds that overlapped like mountains in a mountain range.

In the middle of them all was the puppet.

It looked down at Xu Qing without a scrap of emotion on its face. Then it reached out and lowered its hand, causing the terrifying might of heaven and earth to crush down, ignoring Qingqin.

Qingqin shivered as the countless minor worlds surrounded him. Apparently, they contained some power of law that suppressed nonhumans, and thus, he was rendered immobile. Deputy Palace Lord Li Yunshan, as well as Honor Guards Sun and Sima, were not completely suppressed by the terrifying power, yet were incapable of reaching Xu Qing to help him. Their anxious fury mounted.

Meanwhile, the moment the vortex appeared and the puppet walked out, Xu Qing had already sent his thoughts into his bag of holding. A severed hand appeared, surrounding him protectively. This was the same severed hand he and the Captain had acquired in Forbidden by the Immortal. And during the past twenty or more days, he had decided to keep it ready in case a scenario similar to this popped up. 1

Immense pressure weighed down. In response, the hand shivered. Flesh was flayed off its surface, and its fingers began crumbling. Cracks appeared on its surface. However, it didn’t completely collapse.

Taking advantage of the moment, Qingqin managed to slough off the bounds confining him. Flicking his right head, he threw the severed hand behind him. Then he threw all of his three heads back and let loose a thunderous cry.

“CAW!”

The explosive sound shattered many of the minor world projections, and then Qingqin lunged toward the puppet.

He had promised his Eldest Brother to keep Xu Qing safe as long as he was in the county capital. He hadn’t been willing to go to the front lines, but they weren’t on the front lines right now. They were in the county capital, which was his territory. And he happened to like this little munchkin who could harness light just like himself, and what was more, had taken Qingqin out for some lovely meals. What was more, he had never seen anyone who would foolishly walk out of the crowd and make a stand the way that this person had. And therefore, even though Qingqin’s cultivation base was not on the same level as the puppet, he was going to keep Xu Qing safe! 2

Intense rumbling sounds echoed out.

The severed hand, within which was Xu Qing, thumped to the ground.

The lieutenant governor’s old servant shot toward it.

The deputy palace lord moved to block him. “Back down! This is a Swordsage Palace matter!”

The servant’s eyes narrowed as Honor Guards Sun and Sima also neared.

Then, hundreds of swordsages also flew over and took positions around the severed hand.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as all of the cultivators in the lieutenant governor’s personal command also rushed out and faced off against the swordsages by the hand.

The swords were drawn, and the arrows were nocked. The lieutenant governor stood atop the altar looking at the scene, his expression one of disappointment.

“Since the Swordsage Palace is defying my orders, then I’ll have to stand in for Brother Liangxiu to point out the errors made by his secretary-general.”

Striding off the altar to hover in midair, he flicked his sleeve. .

Large amounts of destiny aura converged, along with the power of fourth-stage Void Returning, which forced all nearby cultivators away, even Li Yunshan and the honor guards.

The old servant now had no obstacles in his path, so he shot toward the severed hand, a strange glow in his eyes as he reached out.

As the onlookers stood by, shocked and furious, the Captain suddenly glittered with blue light, and he reached up to his forehead. It looked like he was about to rip something away.

But then the old servant’s face fell. Pupils constricting, the servant lurched to a halt and lunged backward.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a golden net had appeared in the dome of heaven. Intense rumbling sounded as the net spread out, glittering with dazzling light. It was the net of taboo treasures that, thanks to the war, was something all people in Sea-Sealing County were familiar with. Just before Palace Lord Kong died, he gave Xu Qing the authority to use the taboo treasure net one time. The moment the taboo power appeared, all the mortals in the county capital were overwhelmed with amazement, and the cultivators on the altar were shaken to the core. Golden light descended, shrinking down as it swept toward the severed hand.

The servant’s expression flickered as he shot backward at top speed.

However, the golden net did not harm the servant. Considering that Xu Qing only had the authority to use that power only one time, he didn’t want to waste it on the servant.

Under the eyes of all present, the golden light spread out over the severed hand. At the same time, Xu Qing emerged from within it. Face pale, he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. His chest was partially caved in, and he felt pain from head to toe. Despite the protection of the severed hand, he’d still suffered serious injuries. Yet he still stood there on the severed hand to accept the golden net.

In the blink of an eye, the golden net covered him, becoming like a shield of golden fire. Compared to all heaven and earth, that fire seemed like little more than a spark, something that wasn’t remotely capable of igniting the world.

Xu Qing looked around, his heart pounding. He knew that the moment he stepped out from the crowd earlier, he had rebelled against the leadership of Sea-Sealing County. And rebels would suffer the consequences of their actions. He hadn’t anticipated that the deputy palace lord and honor guards would side with him. Nor had he anticipated Qingqin’s actions. Xu Qing hadn’t asked any of them for help.

Yet they had all stepped forward, one after another. As for the more than one hundred thousand veterans of the war, they were all looking at him with keen determination. They… trusted him.

Xu Qing wiped the blood from his mouth, and suddenly felt courage swelling within him.

Only about a third of the cultivators present were swordsages. The other seventy percent, those from the other two palaces and the Lieutenant Governor’s Mansion, seemed hesitant.

But Xu Qing felt no fear. That was just his personality. It didn’t matter how hesitant and cautious he had been before, now that he had thrown caution to the wind, he had rejected fear along with it. His only regret was that the enemy closest to him was the old servant, and not the lieutenant governor. That meant it would be difficult to utilize his true trump card. And his previous preparations would need to be altered. As for the fourth-stage Void Returning puppet, it was also something he hadn’t factored into his plans.

I’m only going to have one shot at this….

He was going to have to create a situation that would get the lieutenant governor closer to him.

With that plan in mind, he took a deep breath.

“Lieutenant Governor, since you aren’t willing to admit that you’re with Torchlight, then I guess I have to keep calling you ‘lieutenant governor.’ In reality, you shouldn’t have to rely on others to apprehend me. As a mighty Void Returning expert, a mere pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator like myself should be easy to handle. In fact, it’s actually a surprise to me that I’ve managed to stay alive this long.”

Blood oozed out of the corners of Xu Qing’s mouth as he spoke. .𝒎

“Lieutenant Governor, we all know the extreme methods Torchlight employs. They love their Blood-Soaked Performances. Presumably this scenario is your Blood-Soaked Performance? Sadly, it’s quite disappointing.” Xu Qing shook his head. “To be clear, what’s disappointing isn’t the performance. It’s you. You’re obviously defying your own heart and violating the principles of reason. You… do not deserve to be in Torchlight.”

The lieutenant governor betrayed no reaction as he looked at Xu Qing and calmly said, “Because of your service to Sea-Sealing County, and the 30,000-meter light from the Grand Emperor, I’ve held back from slaughtering you. There’s no need for you to continue down this path of rebellion and death.”

Xu Qing smiled calmly. “For a schemer like you to talk so much is revealing. You’ve obviously come to realize that my clumsily chosen words are all an attempt to get you to approach me. I might not be a member of Torchlight, but the more I think about it, the more I admire how all of you stay so calm. So I’m going to stay calm too. You see, the truth is that I have a way to kill you, as long as you get close enough.

“Therefore, oh exalted Lieutenant Governor, are you truly afraid of a puny pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator? Do you dare to get close to me? I know the answer. You don’t. After all, you don’t even dare to tell us who you really are.” Xu Qing shook his head. “Who are you putting this performance on for? The Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan? If so, then he’s probably shaking his head at your timidity. How could one of the Crown Prince’s people act like this? Although, if his followers are all like this, then I suppose it’s no wonder he ended up dying before he could accomplish anything significant.”

Xu Qing laughed. “Or could it be that you just don’t deserve to be a follower of the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan?”

Throughout Xu Qing’s speech, the lieutenant governor was completely calm. However, Xu Qing’s last sentence caused his eyes to glitter with a cold light. The ‘death sentence blow’ Xu Qing had inflicted earlier was now becoming more serious.

The lieutenant governor looked up into the sky and spoke, his voice hoarse. “It’s time to end this farce. I’m sorry this has turned into such a joke, Your Majesty.”

Seventh Prince didn’t respond. He just kept watching, a smile on his face.

The lieutenant governor lifted his right hand, and another vortex sprang into being. A second wave of fourth-stage Void Returning power erupted from inside, and then the sound of footsteps rang out as a second puppet appeared. It looked exactly like the other puppet. It wore a suit of armor, had a mangled face, and was completely terrifying. Everyone present felt their hearts pounding with astonishment. One puppet was bad enough. But now there was a second puppet, also in fourth-stage Void Returning.

The lieutenant governor then spoke in a voice that reached the ears of all the countless mortals in the county capital. “Swordsage Xu Qing obstinately persists in going about things the wrong way. He foments rumors, creates trouble, and sows chaos in Sea-Sealing County. His rebellious behavior is not befitting of a 30,000-meter pillar of light. Therefore, his swordsage status is hereby revoked, and he will be executed on the spot, as demanded by the people!”

As the lieutenant governor’s words rang out, the second puppet charged toward Xu Qing!

The lieutenant governor was not going to approach him!

However, right then, a sigh could be heard, seemingly from nowhere.

The sound caused Seventh Prince and all of his commanders to suddenly look up. The lieutenant governor’s pupils constricted.

A figure appeared out of nowhere, as if being painted into existence by a master artist. As the figure appeared in front of Xu Qing, it extended its right hand and walked toward the puppet.

A massive boom swept out. The puppet stopped in place and looked woodenly at the figure in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing’s mind spun as he realized who this figure was.

1. Xu Qing got the hand in chapter 521.2. ?

2. The ‘harness light’ term was previously mentioned in chapter 498. ?

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