The chubby old man was not panicked, he chuckled: "If it weren't for the internal injury I suffered from last night's duel, how could you have hurt me?"

Chen Tang looked at the expression of the chubby old man and knew that he probably had a way to handle it.

"Feng Xu, you are old."

He Yeqian said indifferently: "Since I was defeated and fled from Pingzhou, today I will use your head with the 'One Step to the Clouds' to make a name for myself!"

"Aren't you going to make a move?"

At this moment, Qingmu looked around and suddenly raised his voice.

The next moment, four figures suddenly appeared on the surrounding walls.

To the east, a middle-aged man in a cyan long robe, with a gentle demeanor like a scholar, held a long sword. Under the moonlight, it faintly glowed with a trace of cyan brilliance.

To the west, a burly man with a square face, dressed in white, carried a long saber on his back, exuding an aura of killing intent that could make one's heart race!

On the door terrace to the south stood a woman in a red dress, looking around thirty years old, with willow-like eyebrows and phoenix eyes, her gaze seemed to burn with flames, exuding heroic spirit.

On the rooftop to the north, a man in black appeared, with a cold expression, holding a shield in one hand and a saber in the other, leaped down, and stood in front of Qingmu.

Seeing these four appear, He Yeqian squinted his eyes, his expression becoming serious.

"The Four Great Department Lords?"

He Yeqian looked around, drew the long sword from his waist, and said slowly: "Interesting, that little Qing Mountain brat values me so much, having all four Department Lords who protect the Capital gather here!"

Chen Tang, Li Yan, and the others secretly clicked their tongues.

They had long heard that the Qian Country had the Four Symbols Bureau, with each bureau head titled as Lord. Unexpectedly, today all four Department Lords are assembled in Wu'an County!

Normally, unless there was a major issue, the Four Department Lords would not easily leave the Capital City.

Take the Black Tortoise Lord, for instance; he is responsible for guarding the Imperial Palace and commands the Imperial Guard, equivalent to the Commander of the Imperial Guard.

Since the founding of Qian Country, the Black Tortoise Lord has never left the Capital!

Unexpectedly, even the Black Tortoise Lord personally set out today.

"It's not that they value you."

The Vermilion Bird Lord, standing to the south, said lightly: "It's just that His Holiness has guessed your intention. After your defeat, unconvinced, you would inevitably come to Wu'an County to target the Eldest Princess."

"Therefore, as soon as you escaped Pingzhou City, we rushed here to protect the Eldest Princess."

The White Tiger Lord said coldly: "He Yeqian, surrender and return with us to the Capital."

"Hmph!"

He Yeqian sneered, saying coldly: "I have already stepped into the First Grade, achieving the Grandmaster rank. Do you expect me to surrender with just you four Innate ones?"

Second Grade, Innate Realm.

"Why don't you try it and see."

The Cyan Dragon Lord smiled slightly.

Chen Tang and the others quickly dispersed, retreating further away, fearing that such a level of battle would drag them in.

Chang!

The Black Tortoise Lord, who had not spoken a word from start to finish, was the first to move.

He clashed his saber and shield, emitting a clear sound.

This sound seemed ordinary.

But Chen Tang and the others, watching from afar, felt their hearts inexplicably pause, and even the blood in their veins seemed stagnant at that moment!

Everyone felt an unbearable urge to spit blood.

Fortunately, they recovered quickly.

"What a powerful 'Sound Strike Technique'!"

Li Yan murmured: "Even from such a distance, we are affected; the impact on He Yeqian must be even greater."

Before the words were finished, the Black Tortoise Lord had already reached in front of He Yeqian, swinging his saber down!

Crash!

The sound of roaring waves rang in everyone's ears!

Swoosh!

He Yeqian countered with a backhanded sword swing, the sword light swirling, and above his head, a full moon appeared!

In the sky, there were two moons!

The moonlight, like water, poured over He Yeqian's long sword, brilliance flowing, sword qi surged, emitting an extreme sharpness, seemingly capable of piercing everything!

"What's going on?"

Chen Tang and the others focused their gaze; the full moon above He Yeqian's head was not an illusion but seemed real, impossible to distinguish the truth from fiction.

"This is the 'Moon Gazing Technique' he cultivated."

Li Yan spoke softly: "To step into the First Grade and achieve Grandmaster status, one must break through the Mud Ball Palace and enter the Divine State. Once in this realm, with the Divine Soul seated in the Sea of Consciousness, various phenomena can be summoned."

"These phenomena not only affect the opponent's mind, but under their augmentation, the Grandmaster's every move has its power multiplied!"

The others nodded, half understanding.

Chen Tang seemed deep in thought.

He had already broken the Mud Ball Palace, but his realm was far lacking.

The Black Tortoise Lord seemed to sense the power behind He Yeqian's sword; he didn't meet it head-on, withdrawing his saber in time and curling up behind his massive shield to completely conceal his form!

Clang!

The long sword collided with the shield, producing a loud bang, sparks flying in all directions.

The patterns on the shield glowed with radiance before quickly fading away.

Li Yan explained: "This is the Black Tortoise Shield, reputed to withstand a full-strength strike from a Grandmaster. Seeing it today, it indeed lives up to its name."

He Yeqian's sword yielded no result, and the White Tiger Lord and Cyan Dragon Lord had already charged from the east and west flanks.

Almost simultaneously, the Vermilion Bird Lord also struck!

She leapt down, with her red lips holding a dagger glowing with red light, raised her arms, and below the dark sleeves, shot out multiple short red arrows in succession.

Swish, swish, swish!

The red light poured down like a storm!

Chen Tang's jaw almost dropped in shock.

This was no mere repeating crossbow.

This firepower is comparable to a Gatling gun from the previous world!

"Hmph!"

He Yeqian's expression changed. As he thrust his sword onto the Black Tortoise Shield, he swung his cloak with the other hand, and the hem of his clothes whipped up, deflecting all the incoming feathered arrows!

He was about to swing his cloak backhand and shoot the short arrows wrapped inside back when the Vermilion Bird Lord suddenly uttered a word.

"Explode!"

Boom!

With a giant roar, earth-shattering!

The short arrows wrapped in He Yeqian's cloak all exploded, a heavy scent of gunpowder mixed with the stench of burnt hair and skin gradually permeated the surroundings...

In the courtyard, He Yeqian's figure was already nowhere to be seen.

All that could be seen was a huge plume of thick smoke slowly rising, forming a grayish mushroom cloud in midair, even obscuring the two full moons in the sky.

The jaws of the onlookers almost dropped to the ground in shock.

Who could withstand such powerful firepower?

"Cough, cough, cough!"

From within the thick smoke, came a series of violent coughs.

As the smoke and dust cleared, He Yeqian's silhouette reappeared.

The cloak behind him had been blasted to tatters, his clothes were also burned full of holes, and a sleeve was entirely gone, with a few sparks still clinging to his hair and eyebrows.

Still not dead?

The Vermilion Bird Lord's firearms were indeed formidable, exploding loudly in He Yeqian's ears, leaving him in a sorry state but without causing fundamental harm.

"Is this all you've got?"

He Yeqian's face darkened, not knowing whether he was angry or just smoked, a few words squeezed out through his teeth.

The Four Great Department Lords exchanged glances and again charged forward!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

He Yeqian stood his ground, wielding his long sword, fighting one against four.

The five clashed fiercely, locked in a stalemate.

"Old man, how are you?"

Chen Tang took the chance to approach the plump old man and asked softly.

"I'm fine, not going to die."

The plump old man replied somewhat indignantly, "If I were twenty years younger, I would not have been injured by Xiao Zhengyuan and He Yeqian."

"Are all four of them Second Grade, can they match a Grandmaster?"

Chen Tang asked again.

"As for other Second Grade experts, even eight might not be able to match a Grandmaster strongman."

The plump old man said, "But they four are different."

"The weapons of the Four Lords are all exceptional: the Dragon Tooth Sword, the Tiger Soul Saber, the Vermilion Bird Blade, the Black Tortoise Shield, each with its strengths. And the cultivation techniques they practice are different, complementing each other, multiplying their power!"

Chen Tang looked at the five silhouettes on the battlefield, pondering thoughtfully.

The plump old man wasn't wrong.

The Black Tortoise Lord wielded a blade and shield, but most of the time he chose to defend, actively or passively, to block He Yeqian's most lethal moves.

While the Vermilion Bird Lord, wielding the Vermilion Bird Blade, excelled at maneuvering, attacking from the flanks, occasionally launching a hidden weapon or a feathered arrow, refusing to confront He Yeqian head-on.

The Cyan Dragon Lord and the White Tiger Lord bore most of the offensive firepower.

Their cultivation techniques were noticeably different.

The White Tiger Lord's every move was heavily murderous, and the saber aura was fierce.

In contrast, the Cyan Dragon Lord's sword techniques were a seamless blend of firmness and flexibility, penetrating everywhere, continuous and relentless.

Their cooperation was flawless; even for the Grandmaster He Yeqian, it became increasingly difficult to hold on, sprouting the thought of retreating.

"Today, I've witnessed the means of the Four Lords; we'll meet again in Jianghu!"

He Yeqian left a sentence behind, True Qi erupted, the three-foot sword aura surrounded him, forcing back the Four Lords, simultaneously leaped into the air, and sped towards the outside.

His escape route was exactly where the Cyan Dragon Lord was positioned.

The Cyan Dragon Lord leaped into the air, sword drawn, innate True Qi erupted, ripples formed in the void like a water surface, enveloping He Yeqian.

"Get out of the way!"

He Yeqian shouted, the sword aura turned and instantly broke through the rippling void!

The sword aura was too radiant, dazzling and blinding.

The Cyan Dragon Lord frowned slightly, dodging aside.

He Yeqian followed suit with the sword, breaking through the encirclement, quickly disappearing into the boundless night.

The Vermilion Bird Lord fired several arrows in his direction.

From afar, came the crisp sounds of metal clashing, then silence.

The Vermilion Bird Lord glanced at the Cyan Dragon Lord, saying nothing.

Almost simultaneously, the White Tiger Lord and the Black Tortoise Lord also glanced at the Cyan Dragon Lord, then averted their gazes.

Chen Tang captured this moment and asked softly, "Old man, what just happened?"

The plump old man said, "If the Cyan Dragon Lord hadn't dodged and instead took on He Yeqian's sword, he would certainly have been seriously injured, but He Yeqian would also have been wounded by the other three Lords. He wouldn't have been able to escape today."

At this moment, a group of people burst in from the door, led by the Azure Dragon Department Captain Tan Wujiu.

Following him were Qin Xiaomei and the three Guard Captains, and a group of Cyan Dragon Guards.

Observatory Master of Profound Celestial Temple Song Wood and a group of temple disciples also arrived simultaneously.

"Get them all!"

Tan Wujiu commanded, pointing at the group of attendants that had followed He Yeqian in.

The Cyan Dragon Guards charged at them.

Whish!

Observatory Master Song Wood waved his wide robe sleeves, a trace of white light appeared, darting through the crowd like lightning.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen attendants fell dead!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.