SWDnovel Chapter 67 Battle at the Bottom of the Tower
Chapter 67 Battle at the Bottom of the Tower
Just then, a deafening roar suddenly erupted outside. "Boom—!" The entire city of Qingyang trembled violently. Amidst the earth-shaking tremors, Lin Chen's expression changed drastically, and he immediately rushed out of the main hall. He saw flames shooting into the sky from the direction of the explosives depot in the west of the city, thick smoke billowing, turning half the sky red. Flames licked at the night sky, like the gates of hell opening.
"Not good! Zhao Lei!" Lin Chen's heart tightened, and he immediately rushed towards the explosives depot. He moved like lightning, and wherever he passed, the broken city wall bricks shattered, kicking up a cloud of dust. In the firelight, he saw Zhao Lei standing in the middle of the ruins, covered in blood, holding the head of a Blood Shadow Assassin in his hand, with more than a dozen corpses lying at his feet. His left arm was twisted unnaturally, obviously broken, but his eyes were unusually fierce, like a wounded tiger, and his true energy was boiling, actually healing his broken bones.
"Lin Chen!" Zhao Lei grinned, revealing a mouthful of bloodied teeth. "Wang Hu's remaining gang tried to detonate the explosives depot, but I killed them all! Not a single one escaped!" Before he finished speaking, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from Zhao Lei. Within his dantian, true qi circulated wildly, and his previously severed arm, enveloped by true qi, automatically reattached with a "crackling" sound! Wherever the true qi circulated, the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Early stage of the Meridian Opening Realm!
"He's broken through!" Lin Chen's face lit up with joy. He unleashed his star power, brushing away the blood and dust from Zhao Lei's body. "Well done, Zhao Lei!"
"Hahaha! I've finally broken through!" Zhao Lei excitedly waved his fist, his true energy exploding at the tip of his fist like a small whirlwind. "I don't need you to protect me anymore! I can protect everyone now!" Before his laughter subsided, he suddenly saw Li Xuanfeng leading a group of Martial Arts Alliance soldiers rushing over menacingly from the dust in the distance.
Seeing the ruins and corpses scattered around him, Li Xuanfeng's face turned ashen. He pointed at Lin Chen and shouted, "Lin Chen! How dare you! You dared to kill the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance and detonate the explosives depot! I think you really want to collude with the evil race and betray the human race!" With a wave of his sleeve, the soldiers pointed their spears, the cold glint of the spear tips reflecting the firelight, like a forest of death.
"Li Xuanfeng, your ability to distort the truth is getting more and more impressive." Lin Chen looked at him coldly, his star power condensing into a silver armor around him. "Wang Hu colluded with the evil race, sold intelligence, and detonated the explosives depot. The evidence is conclusive. I killed him to uphold justice." His words were like swords, cutting off Li Xuanfeng's empty rhetoric.
"Evidence? What evidence?" Li Xuanfeng sneered, a communication talisman hidden in his sleeve was quietly heating up. "You've already killed him, so you can say whatever you want? I think you're an undercover agent for the Blood Shadow Legion! Men! Seize Lin Chen!" As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers stepped forward in unison, their spears pressing down, bringing with them a chilling sound.
"Let's see who dares!" Su Zhennan and Daoist Xuanchen arrived simultaneously, blocking Lin Chen's path. Su Zhennan held a long sword, its blade pointed directly at Li Xuanfeng, his eyes as cold as iron: "Elder Li, Lin Chen has done nothing wrong by killing the traitor. If you dare to lay a finger on him, my Su family will never allow it!" He trembled his sword, causing the floor tiles to shatter, a clear demonstration of his power.
"Elder Su, are you trying to protect a traitor?" Li Xuanfeng's face darkened, the communication talisman in his sleeve already burned to ashes. "I am the Grand Elder of the Martial Arts Alliance, and I have the authority to deal with anyone who colludes with the evil race! Today, I must bring Lin Chen back to headquarters for rigorous interrogation!"
"You dare!" The two sides were on the verge of exchanging blows, and the atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point. In the air, star power and true energy surged, sparking a string of electric fireflies like fireflies in the night.
Just then, Daoist Xuan Chen suddenly spoke up: "Stop! Now is not the time for infighting! The Blood Shadow Legion could attack at any moment, we must unite. Elder Li, I will personally report Wang Hu's collusion with the evil race to the Alliance headquarters. As for Lin Chen, he is a hero of Qingyang City, no one can touch him." With a wave of his sleeve, his true energy formed a wall, separating the two groups of people. Within the wall, a phantom image of Wang Hu making a deal with the Blood Shadow assassin appeared, which was evidence he had left behind using a secret technique.
Li Xuanfeng gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn't capture Lin Chen today. He snorted coldly, secretly forming a hand seal in his sleeve, causing the ground tiles to tremble slightly: "Fine! I'll give Daoist Xuanchen some face. But Lin Chen, you just wait! This isn't over!" With that, he led his men away angrily, his boots sinking into the cracks in the ground as if swallowed by invisible black energy.
Watching Li Xuanfeng's retreating figure, Lin Chen's eyes grew increasingly cold. He knew Li Xuanfeng would not let this go easily. He would undoubtedly employ even more ruthless methods next. As night deepened, he condensed star power into a water mirror in his palm, reflecting the top of the Evil-Suppressing Tower—Xue Wuhen was holding Su Muyue, the tip of his blade piercing her hair ribbon. A flash of blood-red light appeared in the mirror, and his heart clenched violently; the star power mirror shattered with a deafening roar.
As dusk fell, Lin Chen arrived alone at the top of the Evil-Suppressing Tower. The biting wind at the top whipped at his robes, making them flutter loudly. He placed his palm on the stone platform's array core and activated his Star Martial Core. "Buzz—!" Golden light shot into the sky, the stone platform slowly cracked open, and an ancient wooden box rose up. As the box opened, it emitted a dragon's roar, and the Starry Heart-Protecting Mirror inside shone with golden light, like the rising sun.
Starry Heart-Protecting Mirror! He picked up the mirror and put it on his chest. A warm power instantly flowed through his body, and the hidden injuries he had sustained in the previous battle were completely healed in that instant! Moreover, he could clearly feel that his star power had become purer, and his defense had increased several times over! The mirror reflected his eyebrows and eyes, and a golden line had even climbed up to his brow, as if the bloodline of a Martial Emperor had awakened.
Just then, an aged voice echoed in his mind: "Successor, you have finally arrived." A blurry figure of an old man appeared before Lin Chen; it was the guardian spirit of the first Martial Emperor. The golden markings between the old man's brows were identical to his own, as if they were connected by blood.
"Senior." Lin Chen bowed respectfully, his star power condensing into a golden lotus during the ceremony, which was the mark of the Martial Emperor's inheritance.
The guardian spirit nodded, his expression grave. "I don't have much time left, so I'll get straight to the point. Of the nine Martial Emperor relics, the second, the Evil-Slaying Bow, is in the Su family ancestral home in Tianlan City; the third, the Demon-Suppressing Sword, is in the forbidden area of the Martial Alliance headquarters. The remaining six require you to use the Starry Heart-Protecting Mirror to sense them." His illusory form faded, but his voice grew increasingly heavy. "Most importantly, be careful of Qin Cang. He is a descendant of a traitor from a thousand years ago, and also the Evil Lord's top spy planted within the human race. Li Xuanfeng is merely a pawn in his game..." Before the illusory form could finish speaking, it was suddenly swallowed by black mist, its last roar piercing through time and space: "The Blood Shadow Legion is here! Su Muyue has been captured by Li Xuanfeng!"
Lin Chen was startled and immediately took out a communication talisman, only to find that its signal had been blocked! Black threads were seeping from the talisman, as if it had been corroded by evil magic. He rushed to the window and looked down. He saw countless black-clad assassins surging in like a tide, completely surrounding the Demon-Suppressing Tower. Leading them was Xue Wuhen, who held a blood-red curved blade in his hand, the tip of which held Su Muyue's white hair ribbon. The ribbon trembled slightly in the night wind, like her silent cry for help.
"Lin Chen!" Xue Wuhen's voice came like a ghost. He swung his scimitar, the blade light splitting the night sky. "Su Muyue is in my hands! Hand over the Starry Heart Mirror immediately, jump down from the top of the tower and commit suicide, and I will release her! Otherwise, I will kill her right now!" The blade sliced across Su Muyue's neck, and a line of blood seeped out, like red jade falling on the snow.
Lin Chen's pupils contracted sharply, and the temperature around him instantly plummeted to freezing. He gripped the Star Sword tightly in his palm, its blade humming as if responding to his killing intent. The Heart-Protecting Mirror shone brightly, reflecting behind Xue Wuhen—Li Xuanfeng, leading a group of trusted men, was hidden in the shadows at the bottom of the tower. A sinister smile curled at the corner of Li Xuanfeng's lips as he whispered to a man in black beside him, "Tell Lord Qin Cang that the fish has taken the bait. Once Lin Chen is dead, we'll immediately make our move and seize the Star Martial Core and the Star Heart-Protecting Mirror." The man in black nodded, his figure flashing and disappearing into the darkness, like a poisonous shadow blending into the night.
The wind howled fiercely atop the tower, whipping Lin Chen's robes like battle flags. He knew this was a deadly trap. Xue Wuhen's blade pressed against Su Muyue's throat, Li Xuanfeng's trap lurked in the shadows, and Qin Cang's conspiracy loomed like dark clouds. But he had no choice; his Star Martial Core surged within his dantian, burning like a star.
Su Muyue, he had to save her. Xue Wuhen, Li Xuanfeng, and Qin Cang, who was hiding behind the scenes—today, he would let everyone know that the only consequence of messing with Lin Chen was death!
Lin Chen took a deep breath, leaped, and jumped from the top of the tower. His silver figure plummeted like a meteor, carrying a devastating killing intent, heading straight for Xue Wuhen! Behind him, the Starry Heart Mirror blazed with golden light, condensing into a silver river in the night sky, like a martial emperor descending to earth. In his descent, the air was scorched, leaving silver cracks, as if the heavens were being torn apart.