Piercing, ugly laughter cut through the venue like a rusted blade.
Everyone felt their scalp crawl.
Yet at that moment—after Yang Yueru's words—Jiang Yunhan's fingers twitched.
"Brother? Brother!"
Jiang Chuxue hurriedly wiped her tears.
The Little Monk blinked.
"I didn't expect one sentence could drag somebody back from the dead… Guess we should thank that female donor."
Jiang Yunhan slowly opened his eyes and coughed.
His breaths were faint, but the green light of his vitality talent was working—stitching his body back together.
"Who… dares… touch my sister… cough—!"
He forced himself to kneel.
Then—shaking, bleeding—he stood.
Blood poured from his chest, dripping a red trail beneath his feet.
"If you want to lay a hand on her… then step over my corpse."
He spread his arms wide, shielding Jiang Chuxue.
A silhouette lit by the stage lights, tall and unbreakable.
He wiped blood from his lips and let out a rough, hearty laugh.
"I am Jiang Yunhan."
"I have only one sister."
"And I said—whoever bullies her… I'll tear them apart even as a ghost."
"Chuxue…"
"From now on…"
"You must find someone who truly loves you… who will protect you for me. Someone who won't let you suffer."
"Your brother… cough—your brother has done all he can today."
"Dashan! Little Monk!"
"Take Chuxue… and run. As far as you can."
"I'll hold them off. I'll fight all ten of them!"
With a roar, Jiang Yunhan burned the last of his strength—green light erupting skyward, his life force turning into raw power.
He charged straight at Li Taixuan.
This was the strength of a man who had already accepted death.
"Brother—"
Jiang Chuxue stared at the broad back rushing forward again.
Her tears fell like rain.
He didn't hesitate. He never looked back.
Because he was her brother.
The one who loved her most in the world.
Dashan grabbed her arm.
The Little Monk pulled Chen Changqing.
They ran.
The time was paid for with Jiang Yunhan's life.
"Sigh… a true man. He's sacrificing himself so his sister can live."
"Does he really think they can escape?"
"If the top three families get angry, the city itself will drown in blood."
"They're all doomed. What a pity."
The crowd was stirred—but not hopeful.
Everyone knew one truth:
Li Taixuan was untouchable.
"Hmph. A dying struggle, nothing more."
Old Master Yang scoffed.
He and the other two patriarchs exchanged smug glances.
With Li Taixuan here, everyone who resisted today… must die.
Li Taixuan's cold expression did not change.
He raised his white jade sword—an overwhelming sword aura rising with it.
"Kunlun Sword Technique — Divine Rainbow Sunset."
A supreme blade of light descended from the heavens—aimed straight at Jiang Yunhan, Jiang Chuxue, and everyone fleeing.
It would erase them.
"See, Tang Shirou? No one can save you."
"You'll marry into the Yang family and serve my father and brother. That is your only path."
"As for the rest…"
"Their only ending is death."
Yang Yueru released Tang Shirou's collar.
Tang Shirou collapsed like an empty shell.
Everything she tried to protect was gone.
She waited for death.
Then—
A thunderous roar.
A cyan-blue halberd streaked across the sky, like a mountain hurled by the gods.
It slammed into Li Taixuan.
BOOM!
Li Taixuan was blasted a full kilometer away—
and nailed to the city wall like a pinned butterfly.
His head drooped.
No breath remained.
The Divine Rainbow Sunset shattered mid-sky, scattering into silence.
Not a sound.
The world froze.
The number one on the Capital Combat Power Ranking.
The military's killing blade.
The sole inheritor of ancient martial tradition.
Li Taixuan—dead.
Killed by one strike.
"BOOM."
"BOOM."
"BOOM."
A rumbling tremor echoed from the horizon.
Everyone turned.
A gigantic silhouette approached from afar.
Jiang Yunhan fell to his knees, coughing blood, but he laughed.
"You little brat… you finally came…"
Jiang Chuxue covered her mouth, tears spilling again.
Dashan and the Little Monk let out a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding.
Chen Changqing's old, trembling hands wiped his eyes.
A colossal mammoth approached—each step like an earthquake.
Fur thick like winter storms.
Tusks like twin celestial blades.
And standing atop its raised trunk—
A man in black.
Hands clasped behind his back, gaze cold and godlike, overlooking the world.
"Ch… Chen Xiao!"
Tang Xiangui screamed, falling backward in terror.
Old Master Yang's face drained of color.
"That was a nuclear bomb…"
"Impossible… you should be dead…"
"Not even a nuclear blast killed you—?!"
The Yang family finally understood:
They were facing a force that could not be killed.
The mammoth's steps slowed.
Chen Xiao lifted a hand—water gathering, condensing into a razor-sharp blue blade.
He jumped—
Stepping on air as though climbing invisible stairs.
Each step stirred ripples through the sky.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Supreme.
He descended toward the stage.
His voice was quiet.
But it echoed like judgment.
"Tonight…"
"The top three families…"
"shall perish."