Chapter 801 - 668: Fierce Battle and Crisis
Qin An stared at Kong Zhang’s back, a cold smile appearing on his face.
Politeness might work on other people, but for someone like Kong Zhang, it was completely useless.
With people like this, only if you are more forceful than they are will they yield.
The weaker you are, the stronger he becomes.
For example, right now, Qin An was taking a strong stance and forcibly demanding the Yellow Sand Bead, and Kong Zhang instead had no way out and could only choose to submit.
The two left the first floor and, before long, arrived at the topmost level of the tall building.
The top floor was empty; when footsteps echoed here, the sound could spread very far.
Kong Zhang had been silent the whole way, his fists clenched tightly.
Only when they reached the top floor did he walk to the innermost room and raise his hand to press against the wall.
The wall was incomparably smooth, like a mirror.
When Kong Zhang pressed his hand on it, a slit immediately appeared on the surface, forming a neat square.
The moment the slit appeared, a hidden compartment popped open from it.
Inside the compartment lay a round bead.
The bead was yellow, with a pale yellow radiance flowing within; if one looked closely, one could even feel that a rustling sound was coming from inside the bead.
As if yellow sand were blowing through it, a space of its own within.
Kong Zhang picked up the Yellow Sand Bead, silently turned around, and handed it to Qin An.
Qin An took the Yellow Sand Bead and tucked it into his robe.
At this moment, after a long silence, Kong Zhang spoke in a low voice.
"Mr. Qin, from this day on, you will lose the support of all those wavering people. Things will become much harder for you."
Qin An said calmly, "It doesn’t matter. I don’t care. The ones who should care are you, not me."
Kong Zhang said through gritted teeth, "Since Mr. Qin is so confident, then I have nothing more to say. Please do as you please."
He had originally thought that, at the very end, he could win back some face for himself by saying this.
But he had not expected Qin An to truly not care in the slightest, and even to throw a counter-taunt at him.
Had he known, he wouldn’t have gone and asked for humiliation.
Qin An turned around decisively, did not linger here, and strode toward the exit of the Yellow Sand Forbidden Land.
This trip hadn’t taken much time, but the situation at the border was ever-changing; he had no idea when the battle would erupt.
The sooner he got back, the sooner he could set his mind at ease.
After Qin An left, the room fell silent, like a dead land.
Kong Zhang’s expression grew darker and darker, as if water could drip from his face.
After the time of an incense stick, he stopped pacing and turned his head to look outside the room.
"Attend me!"
Outside the room, two Defenders of the Yellow Sand Forbidden Land walked in, heads lowered, fists clasped.
With a gloomy face, Kong Zhang said in a low voice, "Use the Forbidden Area’s unique method of communication to spread everything Qin An did today to the world. I want him to pay the price!"
The humiliation of today must be avenged.
They were Defenders, tasked with dealing with Heavenly Demons and traitors, but that didn’t mean he had to swallow his anger.
Besides, all of them, these wavering types, didn’t believe in that so-called Savior talk anyway.
As long as today’s news got out, Qin An would have no place to stand, and in many Forbidden Areas he would find it hard to take even a single step.
The Defenders gave a terse acknowledgment and quietly bowed out of the room.
Once the Defenders had left, the room returned to silence.
...
At the border, dark clouds blanketed the sky, thunder was growing louder, and crashes rolled outward, accompanied by arcs of lightning, spreading into the distance.
On the distant horizon, figures suddenly appeared in row after row, stretching out as far as the eye could see.
Cultivators, monsters, Pseudo-Gods—the three forces merged into one mass and were advancing toward the border.
Emperor Tianwu sat on horseback, a Treasure Sword hanging at his waist, his face solemn.
When they arrived not far from the border, Emperor Tianwu lifted his head to study the ancient, towering city wall, and could not help feeling a touch of emotion.
Ever since he had fled Xuanjing City like a rat crossing the street, he had always had a single dream.
That one day, if he could return to Xuanjing City, he would be able to settle all the obsessions in his heart.
He had thought it a distant prospect, but fate was unpredictable; today, he had actually returned here in a show of overwhelming force.
Take down the border, use it as a stronghold, then seize the entire Daqian Kingdom.
At this thought, Emperor Tianwu could not help feeling fired with lofty ambition.
On top of the city wall, armored soldiers stood everywhere.
Marshal Liu, clad in armor, had entered the fray; he gripped a long spear tightly, his face incomparably grave.
"He really has broken through to the Celestial Human Realm, and even faster than I imagined."
Consolidation took time, but the time the other side needed was even shorter than he had expected, far beyond his imagination.
Now that things were upon them, he could only grit his teeth and hold the line—hold it until Qin An returned.
The Eldest Prince stood beside him, saying not a word, the hand hidden in his sleeve clenched tight.
They had barely returned to the border when they ran into something like this, and he was feeling restless.
Looking at the crowd below and Emperor Tianwu on horseback, a trace of fear actually rose in the Eldest Prince’s heart.
The enemy was strong and they were weak; in the past, he had known Marshal Liu was powerful and they had backing.
But today, he felt death itself, so close at hand.
Below, Emperor Tianwu suddenly raised his head.
The aura of the Celestial Human Realm swept out, booming as it spread, engulfing everything within sight.
Everyone atop the city wall felt their bodies sink, as if a mountain had been set upon them; even breathing became difficult.
"Liu He!"
Emperor Tianwu said slowly, "I will give you a chance. You have the time of one incense stick to choose: surrender, or die."
Marshal Liu sneered. "You little brat, I should’ve killed you myself back then."
Emperor Tianwu raised his brows slightly. "So what you mean is, you’ll fight to the bitter end?"
Marshal Liu lifted his spear, the tip pointing toward Emperor Tianwu, flashing with dazzling cold light. "There is only Liu He who dies in battle; there is no Liu He who surrenders."
Surrender?
All the way through his path of slaughter, those two words had never existed for him.