"Human, how dare you act so recklessly in our presence!" The Xun Yin clan member who resembled Bai Ximing glared at Lin Qian from above, his voice filled with fury.
At the same time, Wu Zhan Shuang's father, the Wu Xing clan member standing at the forefront, suddenly made his move.
He extended his hand, without using any special techniques, but simply unleashed the immense soul power that came with his level, directing it toward the Imperial Army below.
The wave of soul power swept down like a mighty river.
Twenty thousand Pan Shields roared in unison, charging forward with their massive shields held high. Their Huaxia attribute soul power condensed into a wall of energy to resist the surging river of soul power.
But this was no ordinary attack—it was the overwhelming power of the Awakened Realm. The soul power surged like an unstoppable flood, capable of shattering even the hardest stone, and the Pan Shields were no exception. Their shield wall cracked under the pressure, and they were forced to retreat.
Thud! Thud!
Blood sprayed from the mouths of the Pan Shields as their energy weakened. Without the protection of their energy shields, the soul power river crushed them, wiping them out.
With just a wave of his hand, twenty thousand Pan Shields were annihilated, causing Lin Qian's expression to darken.
Even though the Imperial Army soldiers weren't truly alive, losing twenty thousand of them so easily left Lin Qian deeply frustrated.
"You insolent monkey! Release my son immediately, or your forces will be wiped out!" Wu En, Wu Zhan Shuang's father, looked down at Lin Qian with contempt after casually destroying twenty thousand soldiers.
After making his demand, Wu En waited for Lin Qian's response, confident that the human would soon be begging for mercy. Although this was merely a soul projection of his true form, it was still more than enough to dominate this small world.
Beside him, Bai Hengyi, Bai Ximing's father, added, "I assume you captured my son and Wu En's son as a means to bargain for your life..."
Squelch!
Before Bai Hengyi could finish his sentence, the sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed through the air.
On the city wall, Lin Qian stood with a golden sword formed of crackling lightning soul power, which he had just plunged into Wu Zhan Shuang's heart. The life force in Wu Zhan Shuang's body rapidly faded away.
Wu Zhan Shuang's eyes widened in disbelief. His father had already arrived—how could Lin Qian dare to kill him?
"Don't understand? Your father probably doesn't understand either..." Lin Qian released his grip, and the golden lightning sword dissipated into sparks that danced across Wu Zhan Shuang's body.
"How dare you..." Wu En's voice trembled with rage from above. His entire being quaked with disbelief and fury. As Bai Hengyi had just said, Lin Qian should have used their sons as leverage, fearing for his own life. By all logic, Lin Qian shouldn't have dared to act against them.
But Lin Qian had acted, and he'd done so without hesitation.
Lin Qian's face bore a calm smile as he grabbed a handful of Wu Zhan Shuang's hair, lifting his lifeless body closer. "You think you can kill my soldiers and still have your son live? Are you mocking me?" Lin Qian tightened his grip, and with a sudden burst of power, he crushed Wu Zhan Shuang's head, obliterating his soul entirely.
In a flash, a tiny, panicked figure of Wu Zhan Shuang's soul emerged from the shattered body, trying desperately to escape. But before it could get far, a phantom jade seal formed from Lin Qian's soul power slammed down, crushing it into oblivion.
As Wu Zhan Shuang's stone body crumpled to the ground, Lin Qian turned and summoned a sword of golden lightning once more.
Buzz!
The sword hummed as it materialized, and with a swift motion, Lin Qian unleashed a deadly arc of energy that swept across the line of kneeling Wu Xing clan captives. Blood splattered as the stone bodies collapsed one by one.
Lin Qian's golden eyes glared forward, the emperor's oppressive aura surging outward. The souls of the Wu Xing clan members barely had a chance to escape before they were utterly annihilated.
As Lin Qian finished his ruthless execution, Bai Ximing trembled with fear. He couldn't fathom how Lin Qian could dare to act so boldly, even after their fathers had arrived.
Yuan Xiang, too, was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Lin Qian to act so decisively and with such lethal precision. He had assumed Lin Qian would use Wu Zhan Shuang and Bai Ximing as bargaining chips.
"Trying to intimidate me? You think I'll be scared of a mere soul projection?" Lin Qian scoffed, kicking Wu Zhan Shuang's corpse off the city wall. "Keep posturing, and I'll behead this one too."
With that, Lin Qian summoned another sword of golden lightning, pressing its blade against Bai Ximing's throat.
Wu En, who had been about to shout in anger, saw the sword at his son's neck and fell silent, glaring daggers at Lin Qian.
Bai Hengyi, his translucent soul projection flickering with fury, snarled, "Human scum! If you so much as harm a single hair on my son's head, I swear you will suffer a fate worse than death."
As he finished speaking, Bai Hengyi's soul power began to surge.
Slash!
But before Bai Hengyi could even finish his threat, Bai Ximing felt a sharp pain in his neck, and suddenly, he was looking at his own back and legs.
"Strange... how did this happen?"
As the world spun around him, Bai Ximing's consciousness faded, and his last sight was the anguished expression on his father's face.