"ROAAAAAARRRRRR!!!"
A marrow-chilling shriek—not from the dragon being ignored, but from the Southern Black Water Flood Dragon—suddenly erupted, shaking the entire Black Water Ghost Domain.
The thunder-dragon formed from Tran Kien's Saber Intent—carrying the tempering will of the forge, the radiance of the sun, and the destructive power of heavenly lightning—had struck without mercy.
This Golden Core demonic beast had been pouring its full strength into obliterating the blood-qi shield of the guards; it was utterly defenseless against an assault from the rear, from a direction it never could have expected.
"BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!"
The attack did not merely carry physical force. It carried an absolute suppression of essence. The righteous Primordial Chaos Qi, upon colliding with a body forged of tà khí (evil energy) and resentment, acted like a hot knife through butter.
The sturdy black scales were incinerated into smoke. Its colossal frame was pierced through by the Saber Intent, leaving a gaping hole from which billowed clouds of black miasma instead of blood. Its demonic soul was nearly blasted to tatters by the lightning.
With one Array Heart abruptly extinguished, the Four Symbols Water Array instantly shook with violent instability. The three remaining water pillars wavered before shattering with a deafening CRASH. The connection between the remaining three dragons was severed.
Aboard the black ship, Thiet Phu and the Blood Fiend Guards felt the crushing pressure vanish. They coughed up blood, but their eyes were filled with fanatical zeal and veneration.
"Exalted Lord!"
They understood now. Their master had not been charging into a suicide mission. He had used himself as bait, monopolizing the enemy's attention to create a singular, absolute opportunity for a killing blow! This was the essence of "Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao," utilized with terrifying perfection.
Atop the peak, the Master of the Sacred City—the black-robed old man—finally lost his composure. For the first time, a look of true shock appeared on his eerily smooth face.
"You..."
He had underestimated this youth. He had assumed the boy was merely a courageous brat who had lucked into an inheritance. He had not expected that in such a desperate situation, the youth could maintain such a chillingly cold head, plotting a counter-offensive that defied all logic.
But shock was rapidly replaced by sky-piercing fury.
"Daring to destroy the puppet I spent centuries nurturing! Daring to defile the sanctuary of my Sacred Dynasty! You Lac Viet descendants... all of you deserve to die!!!"
He no longer played the role of the aloof observer. The colossal river of resentment he had summoned shifted its focus. It let out a roar and transformed into tens of thousands of arrows of resentment, raining down like a lethal storm—not just at Tran Kien, but at the black ship below!
He intended to annihilate everything!
"Form the array! Defend!" Thiet Phu roared. The Blood Fiend Guards immediately manifested their shield once more.
But would Tran Kien grant him that chance?
"Did you think that on this chessboard, you were the only Grandmaster?"
Tran Kien didn't even glance at the incoming rain of arrows. He had fulfilled his role. Now, it was time for the others to take the stage.
In that heartbeat, the space above the island rippled. A figure clad in green robes and wearing a bamboo hat appeared as if from nowhere. In his hand, he held a bamboo flute.
It was Uncle Sword!
He did not come alone. Behind him were nearly thirty black silhouettes, clad in Black Water Armor and wielding Wavebreaker Sabers. They were the most elite members of the Sea Dragon Guards and Blood Fiend Guards—the ones who had followed Tran Kien to the Flaming Mountain!
They had never returned home. They had taken a different route and had been lying in ambush here for a long time, awaiting the signal!
"Uncle Sword!" Tran Kien smiled.
"Well done," Uncle Sword nodded. He wasted no breath on words. He simply raised the bamboo flute to his lips.
This time, it was not a melody. It was a shriek. A shrill, piercing whistle as sharp as ten thousand swords leaving their scabbards simultaneously.
"Sword Intent: Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Ancestor!"
Incalculable streaks of invisible sword-qi, carrying a sharpness that reached the extreme, manifested from the void. They formed a colossal vortex of sword-qi that did not defend, but met the enemy head-on, sweeping through the rain of resentment arrows like a scythe through wheat!
"BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!"
The two terrifying forces collided in mid-air. The resentment was hacked to pieces by the Sword Intent, while the Sword Intent was dimmed by the malice. The very sky of the Black Water Ghost Domain seemed to be torn asunder.
Seizing that moment, Thiet Phu's forces on the black ship abandoned all defense. With a collective roar, they lunged toward the three remaining Black Water Flood Dragons—beasts that had been significantly weakened by the shattering of their array.
A total counter-attack!
The Master of the Sacred City was stunned. He could not have imagined the opponent had reinforcements! Furthermore, a Great Sword Cultivator whose strength was not inferior to his own!
"You... you conspired together from the start!"
"All is fair in war," Tran Kien said coldly. His frame had already descended from the mountain, reuniting with his army. "This is a truth even a child understands."
He did not join the fray against the three dragons. His objective, from beginning to end, was only one.
He raised his head, the Lac Hong Saber in hand, pointing it directly at the Master of the Sacred City hovering in the sky.
"Old man," he spoke, his voice like clashing iron. "Your game is over. Now, it is between you and me."
"Come down and face your death!"