Chapter 553: Battle
Chapter 553: Battle
The battle erupted.
Li Lian’s clone faced the Song Patriarch’s eldest son, Song Ji’an, while his elite ten-member unit clashed directly against Xun Wei’s team across the South Gate.
The moment the fighting began, Song Ji’an’s expression changed.
He had no intention of wasting time against a mere clone.
Although his opponent was Li Lian, a clone was still just a clone. No matter how strong it appeared, it only needed to be damaged once for its structure to collapse completely.
So he didn’t hold back.
Their weapons collided once, Li Lian smoothly redirecting his first strike as she studied his movements, but the moment she thought the exchange was over, Song Ji’an suddenly disappeared.
"You lost."
The instant those words left his lips, his figure flashed forward with explosive speed.
Li Lian’s eyes widened.
She couldn’t evade it in time.
A sharp strike pierced directly through her clone’s body.
She froze.
Then cracks rapidly spread across her body as her form began breaking apart into fragments of Qi.
Song Ji’an scoffed as he lowered his weapon and turned away.
"Li Lian of the Black Paradise sect, you’re strong, but you’re a fool if you think you can stop me with a mere clone."
Sheathing his sword, he began to look around for his team to see how they were doing, but the moment he did, he heard something that made him freeze.
"I’m impressed."
Song Ji’an’s eyes widened slightly as he turned back around.
Li Lian stood there, calm and composed, as her clone’s body was being restored.
[ Clone Reanimation ]
For the first time since the battle began, genuine horror flashed across Song Ji’an’s face.
"A clone... reanimated itself?"
Li Lian calmly rolled her wrist, stabilizing the flow of Qi within the clone before raising her weapon once more.
"You didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you?" she asked calmly.
Song Ji’an’s expression darkened.
Although he forced himself to remain composed, inwardly, frustration had already begun surfacing.
’Dammit.’
He had revealed one of his strongest attacks almost immediately, expecting to end the fight instantly. Instead, not only had Li Lian survived, she now understood exactly how dangerous his attacks were.
The advantage of surprise was gone.
What Song Ji’an didn’t realize, however, was that [ Clone Reanimation ] came at an enormous cost. The technique had consumed nearly half of the clone’s remaining Qi reserves just to restore itself.
There was no realistic chance for Li Lian to defeat him like this.
At this point, the best she could do was stall him for as long as possible.
"That technique is strong..." she acknowledged. "...but I won’t be falling for it again."
—
Meanwhile, the remaining ten elites surged forward.
Their figures blurred as they engaged Xun Wei’s team directly, weapons colliding violently as the battle erupted across the South Gate.
Sword Qi carved through the streets, spears shattered stone, and explosions of Qi lit the battlefield as both sides clashed without hesitation.
The ruthlessness of their attacks would have been difficult for any ordinary cultivator to watch. They were vicious killers, their methods were especially cruel.
However, Xun Wei’s subordinates were clearly outmatched.
Not only were they exhausted from the earlier fighting, but the gap in cultivation between the two groups was obvious. Xiao Hei immediately wanted to join the battle, but before she could move, Xiao Fang stopped her.
"Go," he said calmly.
Xiao Hei hesitated slightly. Although she didn’t like most humans, she had a fondness towards those who enjoyed killing people as much as she did.
"They’re after Xun Wei," Xiao Fang explained. "Your responsibility is to take her back to the chokepoint."
Hearing that, Xiao Hei quickly understood.
The moment she nodded and turned to leave, several of the elites instinctively reacted, their attention momentarily shifting toward her movement. That single distraction was enough for Xun Wei’s subordinates to seize the initiative and stabilize the battlefield.
At the same moment, Xiao Fang stepped forward.
Unlike Li Lian, he didn’t release an overwhelming aura or oppressive pressure. He simply walked calmly toward the commander, his presence strangely quiet.
Yet that silence was exactly what terrified the commander most.
"Shall we get started."
The moment Xiao Fang spoke, he appeared before him. The commander’s instincts screamed.
He reacted instantly, retreating several steps backward without hesitation. However, Xiao Fang gave him no room to breathe.
Shiiing—!
Their swords collided violently.
The commander barely managed to block before another strike followed immediately after, forcing him backward again and again under Xiao Fang’s relentless pressure. Every clash released sharp waves of Sword Qi that tore through the air, carving deep scars across the surrounding streets and buildings.
The sword Qi didn’t come from Xiao Fang, but from the sword itself, it was as if being wielded by Xiao Fang gave the sword a soul.
’I’m being pushed back by a mere Profound Realm clone,’ he thought.
But it wasn’t Xiao Fang’s cultivation that threatened him, it was the overwhelming gap in their swordsmanship.
Although it was widely believed that the Divine Sword method was so fearsome it could increase one’s battlepower by an entire realm, this was the first time he was experiencing it himself.
However, even while retreating, fury burned within the commander’s chest as he watched Xiao Hei carrying Xun Wei farther and farther away.
’No!’
His expression twisted.
’She cannot escape!’
Using the force of another collision, the commander forcefully disengaged and retreated back toward the recovering army.
The moment he landed, he immediately roared toward the captains and soldiers who were only now regaining their composure.
"Get up!" he shouted. "Capture Xun Wei!"
The order spread instantly.
Without delay, the army shouted in acknowledgment before they all charged.
One after another, thousands of soldiers surged back into motion, reforming ranks as they immediately gave chase after Xiao Hei and the unconscious Xun Wei.
Xiao Hei, even in her exhausted state, could still outrun the Song reinforcement army, however, outrunning them wasn’t the goal, she slowed her pace just a bit because she wanted them to follow her.
—
Behind the army, Xiao Fang stood silently in the middle of the ruined street, his blindfold fluttering lightly in the wind as countless soldiers rushed past him.
The commander’s expression darkened.
Some looked at him, but paid him no mind. Others, however, recognized exactly what he was. A threat.
"Don’t engage him!" the commander barked
But it was already too late.
One of the captains had already moved.