As Lin Qian's words hung in the air, the world seemed to fall into silence. The only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the burning remains of the shattered royal city in the distance.
The surviving Blackhorn warriors cautiously turned their gazes toward Shen Zhixing, noticing that his face bore no discernible expression, as if he was eerily calm. However, those who knew their prince well understood that this was merely the calm before the storm.
The Seventh Prince's place in their lord's heart was well-known, no explanation needed. Whatever the Seventh Prince desired, Shen Zhixing would provide without hesitation, for the Seventh Prince's mother had been Shen Zhixing's childhood sweetheart. They had been childless for many years before finally conceiving the Seventh Prince. Tragically, the prince's mother had died shortly after giving birth due to an accident, leading Shen Zhixing to pour all his affection into his son, Shen Yi.
Shen Yi was Shen Zhixing's most treasured person, his untouchable reverse scale, something no one dared provoke.
"Yi'er..." Shen Zhixing slowly closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, tears of blood streamed down his face. Inside him, his soul force began to burn uncontrollably.
Seeing Shen Zhixing's current state, Yue Liqun couldn't help but comment, "I've heard that he cherished his seventh son above all else. It seems that a single sentence from Your Majesty has driven him to the brink of insanity, even causing him to burn his essence."
At this moment, Yue Liqun fully grasped the meaning of "adding fuel to the fire." Burning one's essence, regardless of the outcome of the battle, would mean that in half an hour, Shen Zhixing's grandmaster-level strength would be crippled. His cultivation would plummet to at least the fourth level of the Awakening Realm, and without a rare elixir, it would be nearly impossible for him to recover.
Burning one's essence was different from Yue Liqun's earlier self-destruction to restart his cultivation. That was a strategy of breaking down to rebuild, whereas burning essence was a permanent loss, cutting off the foundation.
"But Your Majesty is only at the first level of the Awakening Realm, and he's facing a grandmaster-level warrior. The difference in their realms is vast; there's no need for him to burn his essence," Yue Liqun reasoned, still puzzled by Shen Zhixing's actions.
However, as Lin Qian observed the now essence-burning Shen Zhixing, his expression grew more serious.
"This Shen Zhixing is quite the figure—he hasn't completely lost his mind," Lin Qian suddenly remarked.
Yue Liqun was perplexed. "Hasn't lost his mind? But he's burning his essence."
"No, it's precisely because he's burning his essence that he's still rational. He's preparing to give everything to kill me and avenge his son," Lin Qian said, his gaze fixed on the increasingly unstable Shen Zhixing. "A grandmaster-level Awakening Realm warrior is indeed formidable. He must have sensed my true strength."
On the other side, the Blackhorn warriors surrounding Shen Zhixing, particularly a sixth-level Awakening Realm warrior, were both surprised and saddened. "Your Highness, he's just a human, and only at the first level of the Awakening Realm. Why go to such lengths?"
"If I don't burn my essence, I'm not confident I can kill this human from the surface world," Shen Zhixing sighed, letting the blood tears dry on his face, his tone heavy with resolve.
Shen Zhixing's words left his subordinates in shock. Their prince was a grandmaster-level Awakening Realm warrior, and yet this mere first-level human had inspired such caution?
Realizing the implications of their prince's words, the Blackhorn warriors felt a chill of fear. They had seen the prince's point—during the explosion that destroyed the royal city, even the fifth-level Awakening Realm Yue Liqun had to shield himself with soul force to survive the shockwaves. They themselves had to exert full power to withstand it. Even Shen Zhixing had to use his soul force to counter the residual energy.
Yet Lin Qian had stood there from start to finish without a trace of soul force protecting him.
"If I don't burn my essence now, I might not be able to kill him," Shen Zhixing declared, fully committing to the destructive path he had chosen. He turned to his subordinates with a final command. "If the battle starts, don't interfere. If things go south, run."
The Blackhorn warriors, seeing the grim determination on their prince's face, could say nothing more.
Meanwhile, Yue Liqun, now beside Lin Qian, urged him to reconsider. "Your Majesty, are you really going to fight Shen Zhixing? He's a grandmaster-level warrior."
"I know you mean well, and yes, my realm is only at the first level of the Awakening Realm," Lin Qian replied, his eyes bright with battle spirit as he observed the furious, yet controlled energy of Shen Zhixing. "But I also have grandmaster-level strength. Why should I fear him?"
Hearing this, Yue Liqun was left speechless, stunned by Lin Qian's confidence.
"I've never had a proper fight before. Now, I want to enjoy a real battle," Lin Qian said, his gaze locked onto Shen Zhixing, who was now at his peak. "I'll make him understand that I'm not someone to be trifled with."
With a roar, Lin Qian unleashed his full power. His brilliant yellow Emperor's soul force flared to life, his imperial robe of burning resolve draped over him, and eighteen soul gears and two core components materialized.
Enveloped in twelve layers of crimson-gold thunder soul force and white-blue icy soul force, the soul gears melted into the cores, and two swords took shape in his hands: the wide "Thundernight Sword" and the slender "Cloudsword."
At that moment, Lin Qian's power was fully unleashed.