Supreme Sword Exalt

The tide of battle reversed once more. The barbarians’ morale surged, while the border army’s spirits faltered. Driven back, they retreated in defeat as casualties mounted. The shortage of pills was only a surface issue. Yun Lie’s defection was what truly shattered their will.

With Zhou Ye and Wang Yong present, even the seven remaining top-tier Transcendent barbarians were kept in check. The main combat strength was Feng Xi.

Another scream rang out. A flame from the heavenly phoenix’s eyes fell once more, burning a ninth-stage Transcendent War God Hall elder to ash.

Zhou Ye roughly guessed Feng Xi’s intentions and gritted his teeth. “Princess Feng Xi, just go ahead and chase! I will handle things here—”

Wang Yong cut him off. “Princess, you can go. With me here, no one can stop you!”

The two had been watching Song He for many days. The man was cautious, setting up restrictions whenever they talked. They suspected him of plotting against Gu Han, but never imagined he would defect. No one would blame them yet they still felt somewhat guilty. Stepping forward this time wasn’t merely out of a competitive spirit.

Feng Xi didn’t speak. Compared to before, her complexion was paler, but the killing intent in her phoenix eyes hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

She hesitated for a moment then nodded. “I will return shortly.”

“You want to leave? Dream on!”

“That person ordered us to stop her!”

Despite fearing the dominance of her flames, the War God Hall elders still gritted their teeth and surrounded her.

Zhou Ye and Wang Yong fully unleashed their cultivation. A gray light, eerie with killing intent, carried the sound of demonic howls and ghostly cries. In contrast, a white light glowed, mysterious and ethereal, like the solemn chanting of sacred scriptures.

The two glanced at each other in surprise. He’s actually quite capable!

They wanted to exchange some words, but the barbarians’ power overwhelmed them.

Without hesitation, Feng Xi turned into a red shadow and disappeared. The barbarians wanted to give chase, but Zhou Ye and Wang Yong kept them occupied, forcing them to vent their rage on the two.

Although the remaining six’s cultivation level wasn’t as high as Zhou Ye and Wang Yong, they weren’t far off. For a time, they beat the two back, forcing them to yell repeatedly as they retreated.

***

“Get over there!”

“Protect the eighth war god!”

“Attack together! Kill this brat!”

After seeing Gu Han’s actions, the young barbarian’s followers immediately abandoned their respective opponents. Qi surged unceasingly as they charged over like madmen.

No one doubted his strength. They had seen Gu Han in action, after all. He even made quick work of the second war god.

In an instant, a barbarian had already arrived before him. “The War God Hall’s reputation cannot be defiled—”

Before he finished speaking, a flash of light appeared before his eyes. The eighth war god didn’t even have time to react before Gu Han took his head, leaving only a headless corpse slowly toppling forward.

The light flashed again and Gu Han was standing before him.

“You—”

He only managed one word before his neck went cold, and he lost his life in an instant. In less than a few breaths, the barbarians in the area were wiped out.

Gu Han instructed the dozen or so border soldiers who had survived the ordeal, “Don’t get distracted!”

He then disappeared again.

As the border soldiers watched Gu Han’s disappearing figure, they had complicated expressions as something seemed to grow within their hearts.

***

On another part of the battlefield, a barbarian youth led several barbarians, weaving through the border army’s encirclement. Each time he struck, he claimed several lives.

He continued to taunt them relentlessly, “Pathetic weaklings! Your prince has defected to us, so what are you still resisting for? Give up resistance! Maybe I’ll be merciful and give you a chance to become slaves!”

The barbarian youth was the new fifth war god. Seeing the border army’s morale drop significantly and their battle intent wane, he couldn’t miss the opportunity, so he went on a rampage.

In just a short while, he had already killed half of the dozens of border soldiers. The remaining half fought desperately, but despair had already set in.

He laughed cruelly. “Die, all of you!”

His qi surged as he prepared to strike again

At that moment, Gu Han’s chilling voice came from nearby. “Enjoying yourself?”

“Who’s there?!” Locked by killing intent, the barbarian youth stiffened as he turned around. “It’s you!”

He recognized Gu Han at once, along with the head he carried—the eighth war god’s. Without hesitation, he uttered a soft cry. Following that, his golden bangles blazed with light, and his arms swelled rapidly. Unfortunately, he was still far too inferior to Gu Han.

Before he could give orders, a blur flashed before his eyes. A brilliant sword light ignited. He felt his neck go cold, and his vision spun wildly. The last thing he saw was a headless corpse slowly falling.

It looked familiar. It seemed to be himself. Then, his consciousness fell into eternal silence.

Upon seeing Gu Han kill the fifth war god so cleanly, the border soldiers froze for a moment before a trace of spirit returned to their eyes.

“Vanguard Gu!”

“Vanguard Gu!”

Gu Han merely shifted his gaze to the remaining barbarians. “Kill!”

He turned into several afterimages right after. Strands of sword light ignited one after another. There were no screams, no pleas for mercy, only the muffled sound of sword light slicing through flesh. In an instant, the area fell silent again.

He tossed a bottle of pills to the border soldiers, then disappeared into the distance. “Hold on. Later, I’ll give you a surprise.”

A surprise? The border soldiers’ spirits lifted. With the example of the Emerald Condensation Pill before, they trusted Gu Han’s words completely. The surprise he mentioned would surely not disappoint. For a time, everyone curiously took their pills, a glimmer of battle intent returning to their eyes.

Let’s hold on! See what Vanguard Gu’s surprise really is!

***

Meanwhile, Zhao Mengyou had regrouped with Yun Fan and Li Xun. Li Xun was crafty. After seeing the situation change, he simply revealed only his Soaring realm cultivation. He moved with the two across the battlefield, never staying in one place long, and had temporarily avoided being targeted by the top barbarians. However, he couldn’t be happy. Looking at the situation, this battle would likely be lost.

Watching Yun Fan’s gloomy expression, Zhao Mengyou sighed inwardly as another strange thought surfaced. If it were him, would he have a way?

At that moment, a figure landed before them. Li Xun was startled, but let out a long sigh of relief upon seeing that it was Gu Han.

Yun Fan forced himself to muster some energy. “Brother Gu? Why are you here?”

Gu Han smacked the back of his head. “Don’t just stand there. The situation is critical now. If this continues, we really will lose.”

Time was short and he had no inclination to comfort Yun Fan. He knew well that Yun Fan was simple by nature. Deep down, Yun Fan always regarded Yun Lie as his own brother, so Yun Lie’s betrayal was a tremendous blow.

He briefly explained his plan before leaving.

Zhao Mengyou could no longer hide her shock. “He wants to hunt those war gods?”

Li Xun appeared uncertain. “Is it feasible? Just killing a few barbarian geniuses will make us invincible? Isn’t that a bit wistful?”

Yun Fan suddenly shook his head. “No! You don’t understand! The War God Hall’s war gods mean more to the barbarians than the ninth brother means to us. If Brother Gu’s plan works, the barbarians’ morale will definitely fall to an even lower point than the Great Flame Border Army’s!”

Zhao Mengyou’s face paled. “If that happens, all the barbarians will target him. Won’t he be in great danger? Can’t someone else do this?”

Yun Fan had no intention of teasing her now and simply smiled bitterly. “You know, Brother Gu’s prestige in the army is already comparable to my sister’s. No one is more suitable to do this than him. Besides my sister, only he can restore the morale we’ve lost!”

He suppressed his gloom and immediately quickened his pace. “Let’s go! We need to inform others. We absolutely cannot let him be disturbed. This is our only chance!”

Li Xun sighed deeply. “As expected, Young Brother Gu is truly an extraordinary talent—”

Before he finished speaking, Gu Han had returned and landed before him again. He thought for a moment. “Court Master Li, how fast are you?”

Li Xun was stunned, then instinctively boasted, “Huh? Well, in my early years, besides dabbling in alchemy and combat, I also did considerable research into—”

“Help me with something!”

Li Xun was speechless because he actually didn’t want to help at all.

However, since he had already boasted, he could only reluctantly agree. ”Young Brother Gu, if you have any instructions, just say them—”

Before he finished again, two bloody heads and several bottles of pills fell into his arms.

After giving some instructions, Gu Han left. “Later, you will...”

Li Xun was dumbfounded, wishing he could slap himself hard twice. That’s what you get for showing off, you idiot!

Yun Fan glanced back at him. “Court Master Li, if you succeed in this, you’ll be a hero of the Great Flame Border Army too!”

Li Xun almost cried. He only wanted to see which way the wind blew, adjust his sails, and be a good fence-sitter. He never wanted to be any hero!

Back then, the Yuqing Sect’s ancestor wanted to be a hero, facing divine power head-on. What was the result? Not even ashes remained. Even so, Li Xun couldn’t back down now.

“Little Prince, rest assured!” He shut his eyes, gritted his teeth, and shot into the air. His words were heroic, but his voice trembled. “I have courage too! For the Great Flame Empire, I don’t fear death!”

Zhao Mengyou’s opinion of him instantly changed. Yup! Court Master Li is still a bit better than my own master!

Then, she secretly worried about Gu Han again. Please... Don’t let anything bad happen!

***

Within the void, most of the red flames on the Flame Dragon had turned purple. The temperature had skyrocketed to an extremely terrifying level.

The five barbarians retreated continuously. Even so, countless hairline fractures still spread on their terrifying Saint realm physiques.

Someone said in a deep voice, “Yun Tian, you should understand. Whether you kill Yun Lie or not today, I have still won. Your temporary breakthrough will inevitably worsen your injuries. Why are you doing this?”

As the words fell, the purple flames wavered for an instant. A trace of blood immediately flowed from the Flame Emperor’s lips.

As if unaware of his physical condition, his voice remained majestic and domineering. “The Ancestral Dragon lineage has never been coerced!”

With that, the purple dragon unleashed a furious roar as all the red flames turned a deep shade of purple.

As the dragon lifted its head, two purple, crystal-like eyes ignited, with two clusters of purple flames. The flames grew with the wind, spreading to the five opponents.

The gray-haired barbarian endured the pain, full of shock. “T-the Feather Transformation realm!”