Chapter 141: Execution

Ye Xin sighed softly. Qiu Xiang was the commander-in-chief of the Longteng Military Academy and held great prestige among the students. If Ye Xin could strike fear into him and bring him to heel, it would serve to stabilize the hearts of the people. It was a pity, however, that Qiu Xiang came from a humble background, a collateral branch of the Qiu family, and had always been overlooked by them. His rise to become commander-in-chief was entirely due to the appreciation of Tie Xinsheng. His loyalty could not be swayed. Since that was the case, Qiu Xiang would become a destabilizing factor and had to be killed on the spot.

Ye Xin swept his God-Slaying Blade horizontally, the blade light descending toward Qiu Xiang. Qiu Xiang exerted his Yuan meridians to the limit, ignoring Ye Xin’s blade style entirely, and thrust his long sword straight toward Ye Xin’s chest.

Qiu Xiang intended to die together with Ye Xin, but the gap in their strength was too vast. Where the God-Slaying Blade passed, his long sword was severed in two, and then his body followed.

The Boundless Sky Wolf beneath Ye Xin continued its pounce, tearing through the blood mist erupting from Qiu Xiang’s body, staining Ye Xin’s bright silver armor with red.

Seeing that Ye Xin was determined to rebel, at least half of the commanders who had followed Qiu Xiang retreated. The city defense forces were a complex mix of factions, and those connected to various noble families did not want to get involved in this muddy water. Moreover, without knowing the decisions of their own houses, there was no need to throw their lives away. As for those loyal to Tie Xinsheng, they naturally had no path of retreat and could only fight Ye Xin to the death.

Only two commanders, leading their personal retainers—amounting to no more than fifty riders—charged toward Ye Xin like mad tigers. Yet, compared to the ferocity of the Wolf Cavalry, their madness was insignificant.

Ye Xin raised the God-Slaying Blade once more. A light stroke of the blade was enough; the leading retainers were sliced in two like tofu. A city defense commander in the rear had just opened his mouth to shout something when Ye Xin lunged forward and thrust the blade ahead: Thunderstrike!

An unimaginable force instantly surged into the commander’s body, and he exploded like a balloon, blasted into smithereens.

City defense commanders all possessed the combat power of a "Pillar of the State," but Ye Xin had ascended to become a true cultivator. Relying on the power of the Dao-Proving Pill, he had finally broken through the limits of the mundane world. Within the Nine Kingdoms, he was the undisputed number one.

Xue Baiqi planted the battle flag of the Heaven’s Sin Battalion on his back, leveled his war spear, and began to charge. The Wolf Cavalry split to his sides, forming a human-shaped formation—or rather, a massive arrowhead—with Ye Ling and the others protected in the center.

Ye Xin led the charge, the God-Slaying Blade flashing up and down. Wherever the blade light rolled, sprays of blood filled the air.

Ye Xin had just said these soldiers were nothing but worthless curs, and facts proved he had not exaggerated in the slightest.

In just a few seconds, before the nearby soldiers could even react, Ye Xin had cut through their formation. Alone, he had killed the majority of the knights in a short span of time; the remnants could not withstand the assault of the Wolf Cavalry and were turned into bursting flesh and blood.

Ye Xin reined in his mount. Many of the surrounding soldiers had already made motions to turn and flee, but their eyes remained fixed on Ye Xin in a daze. Had Ye Xin not stopped, they would have scattered in the next instant.

Ye Xin narrowed his eyes as wisps of smoke drifted from the flesh and blood, swirling toward him before seeping into his body.

Ye Xin realized once again that Zhong Kui’s divine ability to absorb ghost energy was truly heaven-defying. His Yuan power had not diminished; rather, it was more surging than before the battle. This meant that as long as he continued to swing his butcher’s blade, and as long as there were enough enemies, he could keep fighting forever—fighting until the end of time! And he would continue to grow through the battle!

"You!" Ye Xin pointed his God-Slaying Blade at a city defense commander; this man had been the first to retreat earlier.

"Greetings, Young Commander," the commander replied with a trembling voice. Seeing the elite city defense forces crushed like ants in an instant, he had completely lost his will to fight. Even if his house master decided to order him to stop Ye Xin, he would not obey.

"I am appointing you as the lead commander. Reorganize the troops and lead them to the southern front. Obey the command of Qiu Jiecha," Ye Xin commanded in a deep voice. "Can you do it?"

"This subordinate will strictly follow the Young Commander's orders!" The commander bowed. Regardless of Ye Xin’s ultimate fate, he would agree for now. Even if Ye Xin failed and he was thrown into the imperial prison for the crime of following a traitor, it was far better than dying in battle right now.

"Let’s go," Ye Xin said. The Boundless Sky Wolf beneath him surged forward with all its might, leaping over the fence of the barracks and charging onto the Changhong Bridge.

The Wolf Cavalry galloped at full speed; their pace was astonishing. In less than two hours, the cavalry approached Jiuding City. The killing intent permeating the Wolf Cavalry had reached its peak during the relentless charge.

Fifty miles south of Jiuding City, a new camp had been set up. Wei Juan was reading a letter in his command tent. Today, Tie Xinsheng had suddenly issued an edict ordering him to lead five hundred Palace Guards out of Jiuding City to set up camp on the southern side and block the returning Wolf Cavalry.

Wei Juan knew Tie Xinsheng’s intent: he was worried that Ye Xin would hear the news and return to cause trouble. However, he did not believe Ye Xin had the audacity. Wen Hongren had leaked state secrets and was sentenced to immediate execution according to the law. If Ye Xin dared to cause trouble, it would be a grave act of treason, and the entire Ye family would be wiped out.

Suddenly, a cry of alarm came from outside: "Wei Juan, something is wrong over there!"

"Oh?" Wei Juan was stunned. He put down the letter and walked out quickly.

Two soldiers were sitting in the high watchtower, gazing into the distance, their expressions panicked.

"What happened?" Wei Juan barked.

"Look! Commander Wei, look!" One of the soldiers pointed to the south.

A black battle flag appeared on the distant horizon, approaching at high speed. Because it was still far away, Wei Juan could not clearly see what the flag was.

"It’s the Heaven’s Sin Battalion’s battle flag!" The soldiers in the watchtower had a much wider field of vision than Wei Juan and were the first to identify the pattern on the flag.

"Ye Xin! It’s Ye Xin! Ye Xin is back!" another soldier suddenly screamed.

Ye Xin was far ahead of the main body of the Wolf Cavalry by three or four miles. Originally, his Boundless Sky Wolf had not been the strongest in the pack, but after months of nourishment by the Sky Wolf Vitality, its frame had become exceptionally massive, far exceeding its peers, and its speed was a notch faster than the other wolves.

"Ye Xin? He dares to come back?!" Wei Juan was shocked, then shouted: "Form up! Prepare for battle!"

The Palace Guards were well-trained. Unlike the city defense forces, their commander was Wei Juan. A general is the backbone of the soldiers; as long as Wei Juan was there, they would not panic and would have the courage to face challenges. The city defense forces were different: Ye Xin was their commander, and since he was rebelling, the soldiers would naturally fall into chaos.

In just a moment, the Palace Guards had finished forming their ranks. Wei Juan rode out of the camp first. At this time, Wei Qingfan chased after him and whispered, "Father, perhaps we should... let him pass."

"Nonsense!" Wei Juan roared.

Wei Qingfan lowered his head with a bitter smile. He didn't know why, but in his heart, he did not want to block Ye Xin’s path. Unfortunately, national affairs were not for him to decide.

In a short time, Ye Xin had closed in, now less than five hundred meters from the Palace Guard formation. The soldiers could already see his figure clearly.

"Ye Xin! You dare to defy the imperial edict?!" Wei Juan took a long breath, his voice thundering like a spring storm: "Surrender immediately! For the sake of Guan Hai, I will spare your life today!"

Ye Xin remained expressionless. He continued to charge forward. He did not move his God-Slaying Blade, but relying on the incomparable speed of the Boundless Sky Wolf, he left a shimmering curtain of blade light in the air.

"Ye Xin! Are you truly going to remain stubborn?!" A grim smile appeared on Wei Juan’s face.

He had no fondness for the Ye family. If Ye Xin dared to resist, he had every justification to kill him on the spot.

Ye Xin continued to charge, now less than two hundred meters from the main formation of the Palace Guards.

"Ye Xin?!" Wei Juan roared again. A flicker of hesitation arose in his heart because he felt Ye Xin’s monstrous fighting spirit. However, attempting to charge a formation with a single rider was far too insane. Even if it were Xiao Mozhi, he would have been confident in making him stay.

Ye Xin was now less than fifty meters away. Wei Juan could clearly see the indifference on Ye Xin’s face.

"Ye Xin!" Wei Juan let out one final roar, then spurred his horse forward to meet Ye Xin. The main formation of the Palace Guards pushed forward along with him.

The Boundless Sky Wolf beneath Ye Xin suddenly leaped, jumping over ten meters into the air as if it could fly. It covered dozens of meters in an instant, pouncing toward Wei Juan.

Ye Xin brought the God-Slaying Blade down. The strike was so powerful it seemed to slice through heaven and earth, causing the soldiers who saw it to feel a sense of bone-chilling terror.

Wei Juan, caught under the blade light, gasped. He exerted his Yuan meridians to the limit, holding his war spear horizontally over his head in an attempt to block the blade curtain.

Boom! The God-Slaying Blade struck the spear. Wei Juan’s steed let out a shrill scream; all four of its legs snapped, and its body slammed into the ground, its belly sinking into the soil.

The horse was coughing up blood, and Wei Juan was vomiting blood as well. The power of this strike was far beyond his imagination, to the point where his consciousness began to blur. How could this be possible?!

The Boundless Sky Wolf landed. Ye Xin lifted his God-Slaying Blade, and Wei Juan’s head—along with his arms, which were still held high—flew into the air simultaneously.

"Ye Xin!" Wei Qingfan’s eyes were about to burst from rage, but before he could even raise his spear, Ye Xin’s blade had already swirled toward him.

Wei Qingfan suddenly felt the world go black. The last thing he saw were Ye Xin’s indifferent eyes.

Ye Xin continued forward. Seventh form of the Greedy Wolf Battle Art: Slicing the Eight Directions!

The God-Slaying Blade whirled in Ye Xin’s hands like a cyclone. Before the Palace Guard soldiers could recover from their shock, they were dismembered by the blade light, row after row.

In a flash, Ye Xin had charged through the Palace Guard formation, leaving behind clouds of flesh and blood still spraying in the air.

Ye Xin let out a long howl. Countless wisps of smoke drifted from the flesh and blood—especially the smoke from Wei Juan, which was even thicker—and gathered into a mass, chasing after Ye Xin.

Ye Xin did not stop. The Boundless Sky Wolf continued to sprint forward with all its might. The gathered smoke had formed a storm ball several dozen meters in radius, trailing behind him.

Soon, Jiuding City came into view. The soldiers on the city walls witnessed a bizarre sight: a lone man on a lone horse was shooting toward them like lightning, followed by a massive black meteor.