Chapter 20: Severely Wounded by a Single Blade

The Southern Guardian King's Command!
To see the command is to see the Southern Guardian King himself!
This was the first time Jun Wushuang had ever used this token.
Others might not recognize it, but Xu Huanhu, as the city lord, could hardly fail to.
His pupils constricted instantly, his face awash with utter shock.
"The Southern Guardian King's Command? How could you possibly have that? That's impossible!"
Such a token was a rarity beyond compare, bestowed only by the Southern Guardian King himself.
How could Jun Wushuang, merely the young heir of the Jun family, ever access such a thing?
Moreover, given its immense authority, why would the Southern Guardian King entrust it to Jun Wushuang?
Xu Huanhu wanted to accuse it of being a fake.
But the token itself bore the King's aura—a detail impossible to counterfeit.
His expression soured, yet before the authority of the King's command, he dared not show the slightest disrespect.
After a moment of inner struggle,
Xu Huanhu, under the astonished gaze of the crowd, fell to his knees and kowtowed before Jun Wushuang.
"Your humble servant Xu Huanhu pays respects to Your Highness!"
He was truly bowing to the King's command, performing the formal rites of the court.
Yet to all present, this scene was nothing short of earth-shattering.
After a stunned silence,
The crowd erupted into a thunderous uproar.
"Am I dreaming? Is this an illusion? How could the city lord be bowing and kowtowing to Jun Wushuang? This can't be real!"
"What in the world is going on? Why would the city lord kneel to Jun Wushuang?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! The city lord is powerful and noble—what could possibly force him to kneel?"
The clamor was deafening; none could believe their eyes.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuntian and Ye Tiande were equally dumbfounded.
"Has the city lord gone mad?"
Ye Tiande's face was a mask of confusion; he could not fathom why Xu Huanhu would kneel.
He was but a petty boss of Jiangning City, with no chance of ever meeting someone as exalted as the Southern Guardian King.
Thus, he did not recognize the token, nor understand Xu Huanhu's actions.
"What kind of token is that?"
Ji Yuntian's face was dark as storm clouds.
He, too, did not know the Southern Guardian King's Command, yet sensed that its presence was the crux of the matter.
Alas, with Xu Huanhu kneeling on the platform, he could not explain.
"Xu Huanhu, as city lord, you have no right to meddle in private disputes. You are forbidden from interfering in this duel—get off the stage!"
Jun Wushuang held the command aloft, his voice cold and merciless, showing Xu Huanhu no quarter.
Since Xu Huanhu had chosen to fight for Ji Yuntian, he was now an enemy.
And Jun Wushuang had never shown mercy to his adversaries.
He had not wanted to use the King's command,
But it was Xu Huanhu who had broken the rules first.

Given Xu Huanhu's strength, his father's defeat was almost certain.
And then there were still Ji Yuntian and Ye Tiande to face.
Therefore, Jun Wushuang had to remove Xu Huanhu as an obstacle.
Rebuked by a mere youth,
Xu Huanhu's face flushed between blue and white.
Yet before the King's command, he dared not rebel.
"Yes!"
Grinding his teeth in fury, he withdrew from the platform, burning with resentment.
"Jun Wushuang, you dared humiliate me in front of everyone—I'll wash away this disgrace with your blood!"
Xu Huanhu was seething with hatred.
His previous actions against the Jun family had been for Ji Qingchen's sake.
But this time, Jun Wushuang had forced him to kneel in public, utterly destroying his dignity.
A man needs his pride as a tree needs its bark.
All the more so as the lord of a city.
He now bore a deep grudge against Jun Wushuang—a determination to annihilate the Jun family.
If this enmity goes unavenged, I am no man!
He had come with great momentum but left in disgrace.
The outcome was enough to make one sigh.
Yet the martial contest on the stage was far from over.
"Father, the rest is up to you!"
Jun Wushuang put away the command, nodded to his father, then stepped down and returned to Lin Mengyao's side.
With Xu Huanhu gone, there was no longer any threat to Jun Zhantian.
Raising his head, he fixed his eyes on Ji Yuntian.
"Old dog Ji, get down here and meet your death!"
His voice was thunder, shaking the entire arena.
Ji Yuntian's face was a tangled web of black lines, his eyes icy and menacing.
Xu Huanhu had been his ace in the hole.
He had intended for Xu Huanhu to take the first fight, kill Jun Zhantian outright, and secure victory.
Who would have thought a single token from Jun Wushuang would force Xu Huanhu to withdraw?
This turn of events was beyond his expectations.
But what was done could not be undone.
Only by continuing the fight could he hope to destroy the Jun family once and for all.
"You are only one, while we have two."
"Even without Xu Huanhu, your defeat is inevitable."
"The Jun family is doomed!"
Ji Yuntian's gaze was as cold as a wolf's, seeing Jun Zhantian as nothing more than prey.
Even without Xu Huanhu, he still held the overwhelming advantage.
Three against one—could they not handle even Jun Zhantian?

"Jun Zhantian, your arrogance knows no bounds; today I will see to it you have no grave to rest in!"
With a long roar, Ji Yuntian mounted the platform.
The first battle—
Jun Zhantian versus Ji Yuntian!
Years of enmity between their families,
The towering hatred between Jun Wushuang and Ji Qingchen,
And the crisis of oppression now—
All foretold a duel to the death between Jun Zhantian and Ji Yuntian.
With a swift motion,
Ji Yuntian drew forth a long spear—
A top-tier spiritual weapon, of immense value and fearsome power.
"Profound-tier Advanced Martial Art: Gale Lightning Thrust!"
Ji Yuntian wasted no time—his opening move was a killing blow.
This was his strongest technique, and he summoned all the spiritual energy of his ninth-level Manifestation Realm.
The spear blazed with sharpness, its edge peerless.
A torrent of spiritual energy whirled around it, conjuring a wild gale that tore white waves from the air itself.
"Jun Zhantian, die for me!"
With hair and beard bristling, Ji Yuntian bellowed and thrust his spear.
Boom!
A shrill, piercing sound split the air as the spear became a bolt of lightning, tearing through the sky at unimaginable speed, aimed straight for Jun Zhantian's brow.
The unleashed energy formed a storm-dragon of spear-light, over a hundred meters long, ferocious and unstoppable, seeking to pierce Jun Zhantian in a single strike.
This was Ji Yuntian's mightiest attack.
He showed no mercy, determined to win the match in one blow.
"Overreaching fool!"
Facing Ji Yuntian's full-power strike, Jun Zhantian only sneered, unafraid.
He drew a blood-stained battle blade—also a top-tier spiritual weapon.
"Profound-tier Advanced Martial Art: Furious Lion's Roar Slash!"
With the Mysterious Primordial Technique in motion, Jun Zhantian's spiritual power was ten times that of a peer of his level.
Moreover,
Jun Zhantian now stood at the first level of the Divine Sea Realm, his spiritual strength vastly surpassing Ji Yuntian's ninth-level Manifestation Realm.
With a single slash, his blade-light transformed into a roaring lion.
The blade-light met the spear-light, overwhelming it completely.
Before the stunned eyes of the crowd, the lion's blade-light crushed the gale spear-light,
And, without pausing, cleaved directly into Ji Yuntian himself.
With a sickening squelch,
The blow left Ji Yuntian gravely wounded.