Jiang Jingshi's momentum hadn't halted despite hearing Wei Wuyin's order, his bearing as sharp and free as a swung sword—there was no stopping him. The vivid faces of his loved ones' decapitated heads flashed across his vision as they overlapped with the sanguine-colored glow of the Sanguine Demon Evil King. Their lifeless eyes filled with despair and grievance pounded against his heart.
As an Earthly Saint, his cultivation was founded on proper judgment, assiduous effort, firm willpower, outstanding talent, and mountains of corpses; Jiang Jingshi was not a reckless youth ignorant or heedless of the dangers that his actions would bring, even the eighty-one Earthly Saints at Wei Wuyin's beck-and-call were within his considerations. Despite all of that, he still acted brazenly.
It wasn't a decision made solely on emotions!
SHIIING!
The man renowned as 'One Sword' of a trio of legendary elites was awe-inspiring, the Ascended beings on scene were awed by the forceful Sword Power that barreled through the Dark Void, streaking toward Sanguine Demon with matchless sharpness as he turned his index and middle finger into a sword. There was a will of severance carried within—Sword Intent!
The Sword Intent stirred the world, and all the ambient energies lingering within the Dark Void grew sharper and sharper, slowly transforming into sword light! They followed Jiang Jingshi's figure, absorbed into his streak of flowing sword light, and it grew bigger and bigger with every passing microsecond!
World of the Heart, Heart of the Sword!
Sword Heart Intent!
"Is he insane?!" Zhang Ziyi exclaimed as she watched this scene unfold. Sensing Jiang Jingshi's sword aura caused her heart to palpitate uncontrollably. While she had risen to the 3rd Runic Ascendant State, her strength undergoing a massive rise, she felt inferior before it. Was this the power of the 'One Sword'?
"..." Han Yuhei was also shaken, but his eyes grew dark, his aura seethed, and his hands clenched into fists. Should he act?! The thought passed through his mind for only a split second before he threw away the hesitation hindering his movements, and his body began to flow with Elemental Power!
He knew the disastrous implications of an Earthly Saint-level fight, including the resulting fallout of chaos and destruction, and Wei Wuyin had already given the order to kill! It's been only a few decades, and while Wei Wuyin had never taken Han Yuhei as an official Alchemic Knight, in his heart of hearts, he had long since become one!
"KILL!"
BOOM!!!
Before he could make his move, his eyes widened as the flowing streak of light was halted, exploding into a gorgeous display of luminous radiance reminiscent of fireworks!
The resulting explosion sent a shockwave across the Dark Void, and Han Yuhei was pushed back a few miles! Zhang Ziyi had to exert her Mystic Aura before stopping herself, but only after traversing a few miles more than Han Yuhei!
What power!
If it wasn't for the protection of their accompanying Earthly Saints, despite being millions of miles from each other, those at the Demi-Mortal Lord might have suffered severe injuries or death, and those beneath it were almost certain to perish from the shockwave! A mere shockwave!
There was a reason why Earthly Saints were forbidden from fighting in starfields! This was the reason!!
"You." A soft, deep, and gloomy voice resounded. Jiang Jingshi's flowing sword momentum had been forcefully halted, his bearing of a swordmaster disrupted as his facial expression was slightly unsightly to witness. Before him, no more than a few tens of meters away, was a spear-wielding Earthly Saint. The Soldier of War's gaze beneath his helmet was suffused with unfettered killing intent and unyielding resolve.
At the tip of their spear, a line of freshly drawn blood dripped into the Dark Void, slicing into fixed space and leaving behind a long slit of disturbed space.
Jiang Jingshi's eyes turned glacial, looking at his right hand's index and middle finger. On the side of his middle finger was a gash that reached the bone, very deep and extremely chilling to see.
"He was stopped!" Tian Lingyu said with astonishment. She was piloting a Sky Destroyer along with Tian Muyang, Kong Yi's former vessel. They were reduced to silent spectators due to the Empress' orders.
"..." Tian Muyang's eyes glinted with spiritual light as he observed the scene, replaying it in his head repeatedly. The spear-wielder had zoomed across the Dark Void and intercepted Jiang Jingshi, using a spear thrust to forcefully halt his movements. It sounded simple, but the intricate usage of Spatial Power and Spear Power was breathtaking. That Earthly Saint had superb control of his powers, especially his means of acceleration.
Jiang Jingshi's eyes moved to the Sanguine Demon Evil King, who stayed kneeling as if ignoring his existence. As for the shockwave, it was diffused by him easily. "You wish to defend this vile demon?" Jiang Jingshi turned to Wei Wuyin, asking with an indifferent tone.
"!" His expression slightly changed as he brandished his finger like a sword and swung it in front of him.
BOOM!
A clash of fierce power occurred, and he was pushed back a few thousand miles. On his fingers, another deep gash appeared.
The Soldier of War had attacked!
"Yo-" Jiang Jingshi wanted to accuse Wei Wuyin of colluding with an Evil Cultivator wanted by multiple starfields, but the spear-wielder allowed none of it. The loyal Soldier of War was given direct orders, and it would follow through! Conversation and wordplay be damned! From henceforth, Jiang Jingshi would die, or he would.
Gripping the spear tightly, the Soldier of War launched lightning-like attacks. As each thrust pierced through the space, unleashing vast quantities of Spear Power, the world stirred slightly. A will echoed across the Dark Void.
SHIIING!
Jiang Jingshi's Sword Heart Intent gathered the world's ambient energies like a vortex for 800,000 miles, with him at the center, and converted it into Sword Energy for his usage. Permeated with his will, the Sword Energy was equally sharp and forceful as him, firmly at the mystic-level!
With each ferocious clash of sword and spear, his gathered Sword Energy would be forcefully dispersed, the will within would scatter, and then they would revert to their original states in an instant. Then, he'd have to infuse his Sword Heart Intent into those ambient energies once again, and only then could he regather his imposing power and posture. Doing so continuously was exhausting to Jiang Jingshi's mental energies, but he was forced to!
The Soldier of War was utterly relentless, each strike carrying the intent to sunder, pierce, and kill. The clashes kept generating world-shaking shockwaves; fortunately, the Earthly Saints all acted to disperse the power, and the eighty Soldiers of War kept the Neo-Dawn Starfield from experiencing prolonged chaos. Yet the shockwaves were still disturbing space, and the set formations in place began to destabilize. At this point, Project Exodus would be hindered.
"Move," Wei Wuyin calmly ordered.
The Soldier of War understood instantly; his Forged Soul Energy, the converted energy that powered not just the Nexus War Flag but each Soldier of War, began to thrum within him in a vigorous, explosive manner. A terrifying Mystic Aura erupted! With a hefty, flawless light toss of his spear, the Spirit of War entered a throwing stance, his right hand holding the spear and the tip of his left hand pointing toward Jiang Jingshi.
"Ha!" With a single shout and with a single throw, Jiang Jingshi's pupils contracted to the size of needles. He had been using his finger as a sword since the beginning, probing the limits of this Earthly Saint's power while also gathering information for himself and the audience, but after the Soldier of War no longer held back, he felt an unprecedented sensation of deadly crisis overwhelm him.
As an experienced cultivator having faced death many times, he didn't dare to neglect his survival instincts.
"HUU!" Jiang Jingshi heavily inhaled as his Mystic Aura was fully evoked! Rays of sword light erupted from his eyes, fingertips, and Dantian, and then he moved his right hand, turning it into a sword, as he sliced it forward!
"Seven Runes!" Zhang Ziyi exclaimed again, her eyes widening as Jiang Jingshi's cultivation base was fully exposed! He was a 7th Runic Ascendant, only one short of the Soul Saint King, one of the top three globally recognized Earthly Saint powerhouses!
BOOSH!!
The sound of this explosion was different from all the others, and a figure was sent flying across the Dark Void alongside a streak of light! They kept going for miles upon miles, traveling thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and then millions upon millions of miles, and eventually came to a stop in the far, far distance!
At this point, they were in an entirely different Stellar Region! Not a neighbor of the Heptasage Pillar Stellar Region, but the next Stellar Region over!
A single throw had sent Jiang Jingshi across STELLAR REGIONS!
"..." A wave of descending silence, terrifying and heart-seizing, descended across the Dark Void.
"Haug!" The only sound that these Earthly Saints could hear was the sporadic spiritual outbursts that could be construed as a hacking cough! Jiang Jingshi's figure was miserable. A spear was lodged in his chest, penetrating through his back, and his mouth were gushing with overflowing blood that he had spent a lifetime refining. He quiveringly held onto the spear's shaft, his right arm a bloody mess, while his left was entirely normal, but the intense trembling showed that it was not without damage.
"What?!" Zhang Ziyi was stunned again, three times in a row! She had not expected Jiang Jingshi, a figure among the legendary trio renowned as 'One Sword', would be so haggard and distraught. His dashing looks were distorted by pain, and his body was bleeding from several locations, including his ears and nose.
Wei Wuyin's outward appearance was calm, as if he expected everything, but inwardly, he was a bundle of shock and a twitching eyelid. He was a little depressed. Wei Wuyin wanted the Soldier of War to take the fighting elsewhere, but the Spirit of War had used their accumulated Forged Soul Energy to maximize their cultivation, reaching levels that were comparable to a 9th Runic Ascendant, and struck with tremendous force!
While yes, the Spirit of War did accomplish his order, beautifully so, their Forged Soul Energy required a lot of Soul Light to replenish, and it defined the upper limits of their combat abilities. If exhausted, they weakened and couldn't recover naturally like cultivators. This was a major flaw of the Spirits of War; they lacked the true foundation of a cultivator, unable to exist without the Nexus War Flag and Forged Soul Energy.
Potentially, each Soldier of War could reach a World Runic Ascendant level of Mystic Power, and while they might not be able to comprehend the full intricacies of the Way of Mysticism or World Heart Intent, as limited by each of their individualistic Spirits, something that Wei Wuyin had no way to solve yet, they could exert an absurd level of raw power. Of course, the cost to get them to that level was an expenditure few could afford or were willing to, even in the World Beyond the Fold.
For example, this spear-wielding Spirit of War could only be considered average as an Earthly Saint, at the level of a 5th Runic Ascendant in regards to comprehension and usage of the Mystic Dao, a limit set by their own design, but Forged Soul Energy refined through Soul Light and the Nexus War Flag could increase his Mystic Power to exceed a 9th Runic Ascendant's refined power, entering the World Runic Ascendant level!
This was why, despite not having Spear Heart Intent, the Spirit of War could still stir the ambient energies of the world in its favor and forcefully shatter World Heart Intent-infused sword energies! It was a little crude, but it was terrifying, nevertheless!
"H-ho…how?!" Jiang Jingshi was deeply shaken by that attack. The Mystic Aura of the Spirit of War was only at about the 5th Runic Ascendant or so; how could they possibly launch such an ungodly powerful strike?! If he had been slightly careless and reacted a mere microsecond later, he would've…
Fortunately…
He was 'One Sword', and that wasn't a title given lightly. With a heart-wrenching, grunt-inducing tug, he violently pulled the spear out of his body with a gushing spurt. Within his eyes was endless time energy, and Temporal Reversion was unleashed!
Within a split second, and at the cost of a little over a hundred years of his lifespan, he instantly reversed all signs of damage. He immediately regained the extraordinary bearing of a swordmaster of the ages, and his refined blood was reabsorbed into his body. When he noticed the extent of his exhausted lifespan, his expression darkened slightly.
WOOSH!
The Spirit of War was rushing toward him! The killing intent hadn't lessened. In fact, it increased!
Jiang Jingshi sneered. He firmly believed that sudden outburst of power was momentary, a result of a secret art, and seeing how their Mystic Aura was faintly waning, it was clear that this Earthly Saint was somewhat exhausted. He no longer held back—he grabbed the hilt of his sword.
WOOSH!
WOOSH!
Jiang Jingshi's left eyelid twitched a little as he sensed two other auras rushing toward him as well! Two new auras!
Two more Spirits of War!
"Who said this was a fair fight?" Wei Wuyin grinned.
