Sheng Qi glanced up at the oncoming siege bolt, his brows knitting hard. Veins stood out along his forearms as his aura surged—dust leapt, trees shivered, leaves tore free and skittered across the stones.
"Haah!"
With another roar, he swept Ju Que through the rain, the blade hurling a gale that shattered the falling arrows. He sprang, cleaving down with brutal force to meet the giant quarrel head-on.
Inner power flared; stone split and grit flew.
In midair, a black streak—like lightning—ripped toward him, carrying a will to pierce all things. It smashed into Ju Que's descending edge.
Clang!
The shriek of impact stabbed eardrums. Several Qin soldiers cried out, blood beading at their ears.
Sparks burst—and it was over in a heartbeat.
Boom!
Sheng Qi turned the monster bolt aside; it slammed into the ground and blew a crater several meters wide. The arrow vanished into the earth amid flying rock.
Thud, thud, thud—
He landed and skidded back seven or eight steps before he could plant his feet. His sword hand tingled numb; blood showed at the split skin of his tiger's mouth.
Even for a master like Sheng Qi, a bow that could punch through city walls was no easy thing to take.
Before he could steady his breath, the sky blackened again with bolts. He scowled up, then bellowed, "Yaaah!"
Ju Que howled through the rain, smashing swaths of quarrels from the air.
But one glance told him the cruel truth: in turning that bolt, he'd been driven twenty paces from Fu Nian and Shi Lan. He could not reach them before the next storm of quarrels did.
Fu Nian stamped lightly, snatched up a mostly intact bolt, and used it as a sword. In his hands a net of lines bloomed, dense as rain; arrows clattered away around him.
Of the three, Shi Lan was least trained. Fu Nian held the front, but the bolts were endless; no defense is perfect.
A quarrel streaked straight for Fu Nian's brow. He could only tilt his head; it hissed past his ear and shot at Shi Lan behind him.
"Not good!" Fu Nian moved to cover—only to be met by another sheet of iron. He could not be in two places at once.
Shi Lan's face tightened. She slipped left and let the first bolt skim past—but more came from every angle.
Thousands of crossbows fired as one; there was almost no space left to move.
Fu Nian and Sheng Qi could break bolts with skill and force. Shi Lan could not; she had only footwork and close-in fighting—and here, they were not enough.
A forest of iron points was about to tear through her—
Her pupils pinched to silver pins. Death was that close.
Then, in front of her, a figure appeared.
The arrowstorm vanished.
Not deflected. Not shattered.
Gone.
For a long breath, no one made a sound.
"Who… is he?"
"Is he man—or ghost?"
Murmurs skittered through the Qin ranks. The figure had simply stepped into being, lifted a hand—and the sky had emptied. It was beyond anything they understood.
The hush that followed felt unnatural. Bows shook in callused hands. In an age steeped in omens, this was terror made flesh.
"It's him…" Li Si's eyes tightened. He backed away behind a wall of guards before he could breathe again. "The Sword God—Goku. So the tales weren't empty." He frowned. "Intelligence named only Mohist rebels in Sanghai—no word Goku was here. This complicates matters. I must alert Prince Fusu."
"You all right?" Goku turned, smiling gently at Shi Lan.
"Thank you," she said, shaking herself from her daze. Even she had been stunned by his entrance—one step, one wave, and a storm of iron ceased to exist. What kind of power was that?
"Demon Sword…" Sheng Qi's gaze fixed on the ancient sword at Goku's waist. Battle-light burned in his eyes. "You're the one they call the world's number one—Goku?"
"What? He's…" Shi Lan stared, startled. The man who had saved her—that Goku?
"I'm Goku," he said mildly, "but spare me the 'Sword God.'"
"So it is you." Sheng Qi's voice was rough with joy. "I have only one wish: to fight a true strong man. Come—let me see how strong the legend truly is!"
His aura exploded outward, a tidal surge of force and wind.
"This isn't the time for a match," Goku said, unruffled.
"I don't care about any of that," Sheng Qi roared, pounding forward so hard the ground seemed to tremble and rain leapt in sheets. Ju Que fell with mountain-breaking might; flagstones crazed like ice, and the downpour split along the blade's path.
"Chancellor, your orders?" the field commander asked.
"Wait," Li Si said coolly. "Let's see. I want to know why the tales speak his name with fear—why Wei Zhuang, Xing Hun, and the rest could do nothing."
"Goku—watch out!" Shi Lan called. Sheng Qi's strike was merciless; against such an opponent, he held nothing back.
"What a scrapper," Goku murmured, shaking his head. The rain curved away from him, sliding down some unseen barrier. Not a drop touched his robe.
"Draw, Goku! I won't show mercy!" Sheng Qi shouted, pressing harder.
"To deal with you," Goku said, tone almost bored, "I don't need a sword."
"Underestimate me and you'll regret it! I'm not like the trash you've cut down before!" Rage colored Sheng Qi's voice. Power piled atop power as Ju Que crashed down at Goku's crown.
"Strike me," Goku said softly, "and you'll pay a price."
All eyes held, breath locked in chests. Would Sheng Qi hew him in two—or—
No thunderous crash. No dazzling countercut.
Only a sight that froze the heart.
Goku lifted his right hand—and caught the falling blade between two fingers.
The mountain-breaking strike, powerless as a reed between those fingertips.
He lingered there a moment, as if savoring the tableau. Perhaps he was; with Shi Lan watching, he allowed himself a touch of flourish.
"Impossible…" Sheng Qi whispered, truly shaken for the first time in years. Two fingers—stopping a blow that could split stone?
"In my eyes," Goku said calmly, "you're no different from the others—just as fragile."
His fingers twitched.
Tang—
A clear note rang out—and Ju Que cracked. With a sharp kachak, the great blade exploded along its grain.
Sheng Qi convulsed, blood spraying from his lips. He flew backward and smashed into the stones, face bleached to paper-white.
Silence crashed down. What Goku had just shown them hollowed out the courage of everyone present.
....
🔥 Can't wait for the next chapter? Read ahead! 🔥
If you're loving the story, you can unlock 50+ ADVANCE CHAPTERS right now for just $4/month on my Patreon! Not only do you get a massive backlog to binge-read, but you also directly support my daily translation work. ❤️
👇 Grab your early access here:
🔗 [patreon.com/user?u=79514336]
(Or simply search for Translator-Sama on Patreon!)