Southern Manor.
"He dares to come knocking?"
Upon hearing that Lin Qingyang had arrived alone at their gates, Nan Jihe slammed the table and rose to his feet, letting out a cold laugh. "Fine, let him in!"
The manor was heavily guarded, with soldiers stationed at every corner.
Tianshu himself had personally arranged the world's deadliest formation—the Ten Directions Annihilation Array.
Gathering the power of the cosmos, it was designed to obliterate a single soul beyond recognition.
If Lin Qingyang dared to step into this formation alone, he would be pitting himself against the entire might of the Southern Manor.
Tianshu sighed softly. "He insisted on entering. Don't blame us for ganging up on him."
Nan Jihe grabbed his blade and strode toward the front courtyard.
As he passed through the corridors, two teams of elite fighters swiftly fell in step behind him. The finest warriors of the manor—Heavenly Generals, Earthly Fiends, and battalion commanders—stood ready for battle.
A heavy rain had fallen the night before, leaving the air damp. In the courtyard, rows of pine-oil torches burned fiercely, their flames sending up thick plumes of white mist that obscured the silver-blooded glow of the Ten Directions Annihilation Array.
"Crreeeak—"
The sound of the beast-headed lacquered doors swinging open carried an ominous chill through the fog.
A warm voice drifted in from outside.
"Honorable father-in-law and mother-in-law, your son-in-law has come to fetch Banruo." He paused, then added politely, "May I enter?"
His words lingered faintly between the screen wall and the gates.
May I enter...
I enter...
Enter...
Nan Jihe's eyes flashed with cold fury as his killing intent surged past the screen wall, locking onto the figure beyond.
"Enter!" he barked.
The courtyard fell silent, every gaze fixed on the gates.
Footsteps sounded.
Someone stepped inside, the hem of their robe brushing the threshold with a soft rustle.
He truly came alone!
Under the scorching scrutiny of countless eyes, the footsteps drew closer. A plain black boot with cloud patterns emerged first from behind the screen wall, followed by a figure in simple blue robes.
The newcomer was tall and slender, exuding an air of quiet refinement, his hair tied back with a wooden hairpin.
At first glance, he might have been mistaken for a wandering scholar who had lost his way.
But a closer look revealed the truth.
His eyes—narrow and dark—were cast downward, half-hidden in shadow. The lower half of his face was deathly pale, his lips curved into a chilling smile.
This was Lin Qingyang, a man whose strength was unfathomable.
In an instant, countless gazes, thoughts, and killing intents locked onto him like arrows nocked to a bowstring.
Nan Banruo stood guarded at the far end of the courtyard. Through the misty distance, she recognized the robes he wore.
It was the same attire he had donned when they first met in their past life.
She frowned slightly, his words echoing unbidden in her mind.
—He had claimed that if her parents had lived, they would have been wed.
—He had said that in this life, her parents were alive and well, and he hoped she would give him another chance.
She hadn’t believed a single word.
And now, here he was, dressed in those old robes, walking unarmed into a killing formation, placing his life in the hands of his enemies?
"Impossible," Nan Banruo murmured, shaking her head. "He’s putting on an act."
No sooner had she spoken than Lin Qingyang moved.
Ignoring the overwhelming hostility around him, he took step after deliberate step forward.
Through the mist, the faint silver glow of the Ten Directions Annihilation Array flickered ominously.
Three more steps, and he would be fully ensnared.
The onlookers held their breath, palms sweating, fearing he might turn back at the last moment.
Lin Qingyang did not stop.
Three.
Two.
One.
He stepped right in!
The air itself seemed to tighten like a drawn bowstring.
Tianshu acted without hesitation, signaling to activate the formation.
A metallic hum reverberated as silver-blooded light erupted around Lin Qingyang, sealing him within an impenetrable cage of killing intent.
"Clang—!"
Nan Jihe raised his blade, aligning himself with the formation.
As its core, the combined strength of every warrior within surged into him, magnifying his power tenfold.
With a slow, deliberate motion, he lifted his longsword.
The simple gesture conjured countless afterimages, a cascade of phantom blades. The very air trembled as the formation resonated with the sword’s vibration.
"Boom!"
Without granting Lin Qingyang even a moment to speak, Nan Jihe brought the blade down, unleashing a storm of razor-sharp energy.
"Boom—Hum! Hum! Hum!"
Amid the chaotic turbulence, the gleaming blade descended like a falling mountain, aimed straight at Lin Qingyang’s pale, bowed face.
"Whoosh—!"
Before the steel even touched him, the sheer force of the swing sent his hair flying back.
Every eye in the formation fixed on the point of impact, as though waiting to see his nose split in two.
"Swish—"
Still, Lin Qingyang did not raise his gaze.
A faint ripple passed over his skin as the blade came within a hair’s breadth of cleaving him in half.
At the last possible instant, he moved.
Leaning slightly to the side, he let the blade skim past his nose.
His body followed a heartbeat later, the sword grazing his robes, belt, and hem without drawing blood.
Though he avoided the blade itself, he could not evade the shockwave.
The force slammed into him with a dull "thud," but he weathered it with sheer resilience, staggering back only three steps before steadying himself.
Nan Jihe swung again!
Each step he took left behind a trail of afterimages—a testament to the overwhelming power now surging through him.
With the Ten Directions Annihilation Array amplifying his strength, Nan Jihe fought like a god of war.
Lin Qingyang was clearly outmatched.
Unarmed, he had no means to counterattack—let alone block the relentless onslaught. He couldn’t very well parry a blade with his bare hands.
All he could do was retreat.
Nan Jihe, of course, had no intention of showing mercy to a sworn enemy.
Seeing Lin Qingyang’s desperation only fueled his fury.
Soon, Lin Qingyang was cornered.
"Crash!"
To avoid a fatal thrust, he slammed into the formation’s barrier, the silver-blooded light searing his skin with countless wounds.
Before he could recover, Nan Jihe twisted his wrist, swinging the flat of the blade in a brutal horizontal strike.
Lin Qingyang barely managed to cross his arms in defense.
"Boom!"
The impact sent him flying. He crashed into the opposite side of the formation with a bone-jarring impact, blood spraying from his lips.
The pain must have been excruciating.
Kneeling on one knee, his shoulders trembled uncontrollably, his robes now soaked in crimson.
His face had gone even paler, his lips nearly colorless.
He looked fragile. Harmless.
From start to finish, he had not fought back—only endured his father-in-law’s relentless assault.
To an outsider, the scene might have seemed unjust.
Nan Nianyi glanced worriedly at Nan Banruo. "It’s a bloody mess. You don’t have to watch."
Nan Banruo smirked. "I’m fine."
She had seen Lin Qingyang in far worse states. Her only concern was that he might survive.
Nan Jihe adjusted his stance and raised his blade once more.
"Boom!"
Lin Qingyang's body crashed heavily to the ground once more. He struggled weakly, trying to rise, but a broken rib pierced his organs. He collapsed again, coughing up a mouthful of dark blood. As his chest convulsed slightly, more blood gushed from the corners of his pale lips, pooling beside his ear in an instant.
He fought to get up.
Nan Jihe stepped forward, his blade raised, and planted a heavy foot on Lin Qingyang's abdomen, pinning him down. With a flick of his wrist, he angled the straight blade downward, gripping the hilt with both hands. The edge of the blade reflected Nan Jihe's cold, ruthless eyes—murderous intent flowed like water along the steel.
He raised the blade half an inch—then drove it down with a thunderous force!
Nan Banruo clenched her fingers, her heart pounding wildly.
She knew—now was not the time to falter.
"Don’t let there be any surprises… Kill him, kill him!"
The tip of the blade hummed faintly.
Suddenly, Lin Qingyang twitched, raising a trembling hand to reach into his robes.
The onlookers held their breath.
"My lord, be careful! Watch his hands!"
Nan Jihe’s blade was already descending—there was no time to change course.
Yet he remained unshaken.
A formidable enemy like Lin Qingyang having a last resort was no surprise.
Even if it meant mutual destruction, he would cut this man down today!
"CRACK—!"
Nan Jihe’s palms vibrated with the force of his strike. The blade tore through the air, igniting flames as it hurtled toward Lin Qingyang’s chest like a falling meteor!
At the same time, Lin Qingyang drew something from his robes and raised his hand.
In that split second, a gray shadow darted forward—Tianshu lunged from her position, intercepting Lin Qingyang’s desperate strike in front of Nan Jihe!
"Mother!"
"Mother!"
Nan Banruo’s heart stopped. Darkness flooded her vision.
Staggering forward, time seemed to slow.
"Thud."
The sound of steel piercing flesh was all too familiar.
In Nan Banruo’s wavering sight, the blade sank inch by inch into Lin Qingyang’s chest.
"Crunch. Sizzle."
Ribs shattered. Flesh and bone seared under the blade’s scorching heat—blood evaporated before it could even spill.
"Thump—"
The sound of a body being impaled.
"Crash. Splash."
The blade drove downward, shattering the courtyard’s stone tiles before burying itself deep into the earth.
The massive weapon pinned Lin Qingyang to the ground like a nail.
"Plop."
The object in Lin Qingyang’s hand finally touched Tianshu.
Nan Banruo’s gaze shifted with agonizing slowness, landing on her mother—and she froze in shock.
Lin Qingyang had not drawn a weapon.
Instead, it was a pair of crimson marriage certificates.
Two copies—one for each family. On the wedding day, the other family had been absent, so he had brought it himself.
His arm fell limp. The certificates slipped from his grasp.
Stained with blood—a blinding, brutal red.
Nan Banruo’s eyes snapped back to Lin Qingyang. His body was impaled, arched like a shrimp, his gaze already vacant. His dull eyes stared at the pitch-black sky above.
This dying man seemed to be proving his sincerity with his very life.
Nan Jihe’s brow furrowed deeply.
Though the Tenfold Annihilation Array had amplified his strength today, killing this man had been too easy—he had expected a final gambit, but instead, Lin Qingyang had truly thrown his life away.
"Why go this far?" Nan Jihe said darkly. "No one will feel guilt over this."
His words were harsh, but unease for his daughter already gnawed at him.
As the array’s overwhelming power faded, he wearily lifted his gaze to Nan Banruo, who was stumbling toward him.
"Banruo."
"Father," Nan Banruo’s voice trembled slightly, "finish him."
Nan Jihe’s eyes flickered in surprise.
"Ha," Tianshu chuckled. "Our Banruo may be beautiful, but her heart is stone."
Nan Jihe nodded.
He was not a hesitant man—he had only paused to see if his daughter had any last words for Lin Qingyang.
Now resolved, he pressed down on the hilt—and twisted.
"Crunch."
Ribs shattered completely. The faintly beating heart was crushed into pulp.
Lin Qingyang moved no more.
Tianshu stepped forward to examine the corpse.
"It’s Lin Qingyang. Dead. No doubt."
