Chapter 360 - 180: Star River Sword Array (2)
The Star River Sword Array hadn’t been much of a threat to him in the first place. Now, with the Sword Qi thinned, he spun on his heel and appeared before a Swordsman. With a casual palm strike, the man was instantly obliterated into dust.
Fang Shuwen didn’t stop. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before another Swordsman.
The Swordsman’s expression changed. He was about to retreat, moving according to the Array’s formation to evade.
But as he took a step, he discovered that the Array’s original power had vanished.
From his current position, taking a step back should have immediately summoned Sword Qi to block Fang Shuwen’s pursuit.
But now... there was nothing.
Thus, his retreat was meaningless. Fang Shuwen simply extended a fist and landed it on his chest.
PUFF! The man’s shoulders caved inward from the blow, the clothes on his back bursting open as a great cloud of blood sprayed out like a crimson mist.
The expressions of the others within the Array changed drastically.
They had deployed the Star River Sword Array thinking victory was a sure thing, but they never expected Fang Shuwen to move through it completely unhindered.
Not only had he turned the Array against them, killing half their number, but now, with its power greatly diminished, Fang Shuwen was striking out even more relentlessly.
His body moved like lightning. With every appearance, a life was taken.
In just a short time, another dozen lives were extinguished.
The leader knew the situation was hopeless. Gritting his teeth, he was just about to order a retreat when his vision blurred. When he focused again, he saw a massive fist.
The next moment, his world went black.
As his headless corpse fell to the ground, the others lost their final chance to escape.
Without their leader’s command, the remaining men dared not act on their own, even if they wanted to stop.
In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Fang Shuwen beat the rest of them to death. It wasn’t until only a dozen or so remained that these Swordsmen finally lost their nerve. Forgetting their orders, they turned to flee.
But it was far too late.
Fang Shuwen threw a punch, and a giant phantom fist descended from the sky.
BOOM! With a muffled roar, the few Swordsmen who had lost the will to fight were smashed into a deep crater.
Only two managed to survive. But they just stood there, not daring to run, not daring to fight, utterly at a loss for what to do.
They remained frozen until a hand landed on each of their shoulders, snapping them out of their stupor as if waking from a dream.
They turned around simultaneously and saw Fang Shuwen smiling at them...
THUMP! THUMP!
An immense force crushed down on them, and they dropped to their knees without so much as a grunt.
Then, Fang Shuwen spoke slowly.
"From the Sword God Palace?"
Hearing this, the two men were unsure whether they should answer.
Fang Shuwen didn’t actually need them to answer. The moment Zhao Ziying had uttered the words "Star River Sword Array," Fang Shuwen had guessed their origins.
That, and the fact that these Swordsmen were all dressed in white...
It was almost the exact same style worn by Ye Bai and Ye Wucheng. Needless to say, they were undoubtedly from the Sword God Palace.
The killing intent in Fang Shuwen’s eyes intensified. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze directed toward Celestial Martial Peak.
Back at Feng Family Manor, Li Chengfeng had said that no one from the Sword God Palace would come.
’So what’s going on now?’
Fang Shuwen pondered for a moment. ’Either something has gone wrong with the Cyan Sheep Sect, and they’ve lost control of the Celestial Martial Grand Assembly...’
’...or this has been a conspiracy from the moment Li Chengfeng first sought me out.’
Zhao Ziying was covered in blood. He was no Fang Shuwen, after all. Inside the Star River Sword Array, he had been completely outmatched, only managing to survive by fighting with every ounce of his strength.
He hadn’t felt it while fighting for his life, but now, every inch of his body ached.
After glancing at the two White-clothed Swordsmen, Zhao Ziying cursed through gritted teeth:
"The people from the Sword God Palace are all a bunch of lunatics!
"They..."
He had just started to speak when he saw Fang Shuwen grab the two Swordsmen by the head and smash them into each other.
SMASH!
Their brains splattered, and they died on the spot.
As their bodies slumped to the ground, Fang Shuwen didn’t even spare them a glance, turning instead to Zhao Ziying.
"Just kill them. Why waste time chattering?"
"..."
Zhao Ziying’s mouth twitched, but he managed to get to his feet and walk to Fang Shuwen’s side.
"Can you still manage?"
Fang Shuwen glanced at him.
Zhao Ziying nodded.
"I can."
’I have to be. If I’m not, I’m afraid I won’t make it off Liuxia Mountain today.’
’Under normal circumstances, with the reputation of the Zhao Clan of the Heaven-Slaying Sect, no one would dare attack me even if I were seriously injured.’
’But things are different now...’
’I entered the Star River Sword Array with Fang Shuwen and attacked members of the Sword God Palace.’
’In the eyes of many, that means I’ve made an enemy of the Sword God Palace and have taken Fang Shuwen’s side.’
’Someone is bound to take a desperate risk, kill me—a disciple of the Zhao Clan—and present my head to the Sword God Palace as a pledge of allegiance.’
’Whether or not that would even work is beside the point.’
’But for many people, it represents an opportunity.’
That was why Zhao Ziying had to stay by Fang Shuwen’s side. He couldn’t leave, not even for a single step, even if it meant death.
Fang Shuwen didn’t mind. Hearing Zhao Ziying’s affirmation, he called for Fang Dabao to bring Long Qingzhi over.
However, after this battle, another portion of the Jianghu people who had been with them had died.
They hadn’t managed to get out of the Star River Sword Array in time and were slaughtered by it.
The survivors were no longer on Fengliu Plain; they had presumably gone up to Celestial Martial Peak.
Fang Shuwen didn’t dally. He had been blocked at every turn on his way here... it had taken him this long just to climb a mountain. He needed to pick up the pace and see what exactly was happening at the summit.