While there was a fight to protect Bai Zihan, another breathing-taking battle was taking place.
The fight involved the leaders of the Top Three Clan of Desolate Heaven Empire.
Bai Tianheng vs Li Jianhong and Zhao Wutian!
The result was obvious.
No matter how powerful Bai Tianheng was, against two of the strongest cultivators, victory seemed to be impossible.
But of course, Bai Tianheng couldn’t back down.
CLANG!!
Sparks erupted as Bai Tianheng’s sword collided with Zhao Wutian’s twin daggers.
The force behind the strike sent shockwaves in all directions, rattling bones and tearing open craters in the battlefield.
Zhao Wutian grimaced, his arms trembling from the impact.
“Still just as stubborn…”
He muttered.
Li Jianhong came in from the side, his halberds spinning like a whirlwind of steel and fire.
“You can’t win against both of us, Tianheng!”
BOOM!
Tianheng blocked both weapons with a single swing, but this time, he staggered slightly.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Zhao Wutian grinned.
“See? Even the great Bai Tianheng can’t stand alone against two Great Ascension Experts.”
But Tianheng didn’t respond.
Rather, his attention wasn’t even on the two of them—it was on his son and his situation.
He was relieved as well as surprised when the three girls came to protect Bai Zihan, including Bai Xueqing.
Bai Xueqing, despite being Bai Zihan’s sister, had despised him when she came to know Bai Zihan’s actions.
She would rather trust and rely on outsiders than Bai Zihan, and he couldn’t blame her either.
But blood is indeed thicker than water.
When it comes down to it, she is willing to risk her life and protect him.
He was also surprised by Chu Ziyan, who he didn’t think liked Bai Zihan due to his infamy despite being his fiancée.
But as his fiancée, it seems like she is at least willing to protect him, even if that meant going against the other Top two Clans of Desolate Heaven Empire.
But the most surprising was Bai Xinyue, who he thought must hate Bai Zihan to death because of what they had done to her.
She should have been the one to plunge the blade in his heart if the opportunity arose, but she was protecting him?
He knew that Bai Xinyue used to follow Bai Zihan when they were little even though Bai Zihan’s attitude wasn’t good at all.
But after what happened, even if their relationship was the strongest, it would have turned to hatred after such betrayal.
Even if Bai Zihan has returned her Dao Bone, that wouldn’t be enough to warrant that she protect him—at most, it would be that she wouldn’t hold a grudge against him, which would be a surprise enough.
Anyways, the situation seemed a bit favorable with them protecting Bai Zihan, though he was still worried, seeing that the enemy outnumbered them and Bai Zihan was severely injured.
But he also couldn’t afford to just worry and pay attention to them, as this could lead to his loss.
His earlier injury was also due to him not concentrating on the fight and getting distracted by Bai Zihan’s situation.
(Let’s focus!)
Bai Tianheng thought.
“Hmph! Two of your mouths run quite a bit. Perhaps I should start taking things seriously here!”
Bai Tianheng said as his QI increased drastically.
BOOM!
Li Jianhong and Zhao Wutian’s expressions immediately changed.
“What…?”
“You—!”
“You’ve broken through!?”
Zhao Wutian shouted in disbelief.
The aura that Bai Tianheng released was unmistakably that of Late Stage of Great Ascension Realm.
The three of them had been in the same Mid-Stage of Great Ascension Realm for so many years, but Bai Tianheng had overtaken them.
Bai Tianheng didn’t answer and smiled but his aura gave all the answer that is needed.
He has broken through!
It was all thanks to the Heaven-Grade Cultivation Technique that Bai Zihan gave him, which made it possible for him to finally break through his bottleneck and break through.
Whoosh!
Bai Tianheng moved like lightning.
CRACK!!!
His sword met Zhao Wutian’s blade mid-swing—and the blade bent.
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
Zhao Wutian flew back like a ragdoll, coughing blood midair.
“Late-stage Great Ascension Realm…” Li Jianhong muttered, his face grim. “You actually broke through…”
“No wonder you dared stand alone,” Zhao Wutian spat, staggering to stay upright. “You’ve been hiding your strength all this time.”
“Wrong,” Bai Tianheng said coldly. “I wasn’t hiding it. I simply didn’t need it—until now.”
With a single step forward, the entire battlefield rumbled again.
In the distance, the spectators felt it despite the distance that they had from the actual battlefield.
“Is… Is that Bai Tianheng?”
“He just—he just knocked Zhao Wutian back with one swing of his sword!”
“What the hell!? Bai Clan Leader has made a breakthrough?”
“No wonder he was always considered the greatest talent of his generation.”
“But still, it wouldn’t be easy to take on two Mid-Stage Great Ascension Realm Cultivators by himself.”
…
As the realization swept through the bystanders, Bai Tianheng raised his sword filled with Sword Intent.
He pointed it at both Li Jianhong and Zhao Wutian.
“I’ll say it once,” he said. “Move aside—or be crushed.”
Li Jianhong’s eyes narrowed.
“You think you can?”
“I warned you once, I will not tell you twice!”
“Hmph! Come and try us!”
And then—
Bai Tianheng attacked.
No words. No delay.
A flash—a sword slash that screamed across the air.
Li Jianhong blocked with his twin halberds, spiritual shields layering one after another—
But none of it mattered.
CRACK!
The first shield shattered.
CRACK!!
The second.
BOOOOM!!!
By the third, he was sent flying, crashing into a mountain on the outskirts of the battlefield.
Zhao Wutian moved in to flank him—but Tianheng’s free hand turned mid-swing and backhanded him out of the sky, lightning dancing off his knuckles.
Blood sprayed as Zhao Wutian tumbled through the air like a broken kite.
“This can’t be!”
Although it was just a one minor realm difference between them, when the cultivation is as high as theirs, the difference is often very vast.
This is being experienced by Li Jianhong and Zhao Wutian, who are suffering at Bai Tianheng’s hands due to that one minor realm difference.
(We can only stall him. Zhao Yue and others should capture Bai Zihan as soon as possible.)
Now that they know that defeating Bai Tianheng is close to impossible, at least for them, Zhao Wutian put his hope on the group who was sent to capture Bai Zihan.
Moreover, he has seen Bai Tianheng looking back at Bai Zihan in worry, showing that despite Bai Zihan becoming crippled, he was still very important in Bai Tianheng’s heart.
Clang! Clang!
“Why are you so anxious? Worried that your son might be killed?”
Li Jianhong provoked.
“Hmph! Don’t underestimate Bai Clan!”
Bai Tianheng knew that Li Jianhong was trying to distract him from their fight, which he wanted to deny but couldn’t help it.
Cripple or not, Bai Zihan was still his son, and although he knew that his enemy was trying to take advantage of that, he couldn’t do anything.
As they fought, finally Li Feng made his move.
(Finally!)
Li Jianhong and Zhao Wutian thought.
They were at a disadvantage after having fought Bai Tianheng, but they knew that they didn’t need to endure for much longer since they could finally threaten Bai Tianheng.
But then, it happened—
Slash!
Li Feng, who they thought would manage to capture Bai Zihan, had his head decapitated from his body.
Then Bai Zihan laughed, mocking everyone and once again telling them that they had fallen for his act.
Everyone was dumbfounded by that, including Bai Tianheng.
“Haha… That’s my son!”
Bai Tianheng said.
(This brat, fooling even his father!)
Bai Tianheng thought.
Even he was certain and had fallen for his acting, thinking that Bai Zihan had become crippled.
However, no one could blame anyone for falling for it because, for one, everyone fell for that, and secondly, because that is what is known to happen when one’s Dao Bone is stolen.
“What… How is this possible?”
Li Jianhong exclaimed.
“Bai Zihan was acting? Was that to lure our geniuses?”
Zhao Wutian muttered.
Now that he knew that they had fallen for Bai Zihan’s trap, he had to think of a way to handle this.
They couldn’t possibly continue fighting with Bai Tianheng, as that would lead to their loss.
Threatening him with Bai Zihan plan had obviously failed.
However, retreating wasn’t an option because that could mean loss of their reputation.
Combined forces of Li and Zhao Clan are not enough to defeat Bai Clan?
That would lead to their allies’ trust in them decreasing and Bai Clan’s increased reputation and those who would be willing to work under them.
But of course, overall, they still had the upper hand with their elders pushing back Bai Clan Elders, who were outnumbered.
As long as they can endure for a few more minutes, they will eventually emerge victorious!