Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 1041 - 648: Breaking the Move_2

Chapter 1041: Chapter 648: Breaking the Move_2

The problem, however, was that those around him were already deeply bound to the Prime Minister’s Mansion, like passengers aboard a war chariot. If he wanted to stay uninvolved, he had to keep moving forward.

The expectations tied to his identity, those of his companions, and the people under his command left Xu Yuan no choice but to grit his teeth and press onward.

Whether it was Shengshan County at the start or the Northern Frontier expedition later on, he absolutely could not fail. Yet the current situation in the Zhenxi Prefecture was fundamentally different from anything he’d previously encountered.

This was not a game orchestrated by the Prime Minister’s Mansion. His father, the old Prime Minister, had already abandoned this place. Naturally, he had no reason to insist on winning, and judging by the pervasive killing intent surrounding him, the entire Zhenxi Prefecture was already rotten to the core.

During the Northern Frontier campaign, his manipulation of the battlefield relied on the immense authority granted by his Prime Minister father. Now, in Zhenxi Prefecture, the cards he could play were few and far between.

Since arriving in Zhenxi Prefecture, he had indeed done many things—disabling countless of the enemy’s previously arranged traps. Yet even now, his opponent’s hidden hands remained unfathomable.

Before the battle even began, his side had already fired a synchronized volley from the city defense heavy equipment. Xu Yuan could even reasonably speculate that the City Defense Formation may also have been tampered with by the enemy.

Decades of scheming by the sects was simply beyond the power of mortals to withstand.

"...."

In that instant, Xu Yuan thought deeply.

The thought of fleeing rippled through his mind but suddenly coalesced into a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

Xu Yuan’s gaze bypassed Sizi Jing, who stood protectively in front of him, and landed on the dozens of city defense ballistae exuding limitless killing intent.

Screw running away!

It’s not like there’s no chance of winning. If even Li Zhaoyuan, that bastard, dared to stake his life to enter this game, then why should Xu Changtian fear?

"Mr. Sizi, leave me be."

Before the third crystal giant arrow arrived, Xu Yuan’s voice quietly projected into Sizi Jing’s ears.

Startled, Sizi Jing turned to look back, wanting to ask for an explanation, but all he could see was an eerie black mist spreading around the Third Young Master.

No sooner had Xu Yuan finished speaking than the crystal arrow from the city tower had already shot toward him.

For a fleeting moment, hesitation rose within Sizi Jing.

He did not know whether he should obey the Third Young Master’s command.

Although in Zhenxi Prefecture, the Third Young Master held absolute authority, the problem was that if Xu Yuan miscalculated and died before his eyes, he, the Black Scale Director of Jingji Command, would be held accountable.

But in the next moment, he chose to step aside.

For in his field of vision, the black mist suddenly teleported over ten paces without any prior signs. It was precisely at this instant that Xu Yuan escaped the aim-lock upon him.

In a soundless moment,

The crystal giant arrow, carrying its overwhelming might, penetrated the black mist and narrowly missed the Third Young Master before hurtling off into the distance, its immense power scattering away.

It worked.

Having narrowly brushed against death, Xu Yuan’s eyes carried a trace of faint exhilaration.

He couldn’t see nor sense the trajectory of the incoming crystal giant arrow, but he knew that it was not a high-ranking cultivator’s spell.

Despite its massive power, once fired, it loses control and can only shoot toward the initially targeted direction.

In the time that Sizi Jing had been blocking the arrow, Xu Yuan had been diligently stacking and channeling the patterns of the Step Void Slash within his body. At this moment, it was now ready to activate.

But swiftly,

A thunderous explosion from behind yanked him back to reality.

The crystal giant arrow, inscribed with Demon-Breaking Formation patterns, had streaked across the sky above Zhenxi Prefecture City, striking a massive crater into the East City Wall. The damaged wall caused the formation patterns in that area to flicker!

In a moment of stunned realization, Xu Yuan instinctively glanced at the sky dome.

He needed to get up there.

If not, the City Defense Formation would continue to be destroyed by the crystal giant arrows.

As the thought flashed through his mind, Xu Yuan’s form flickered decisively toward the sky dome above.

The second and third crossbow bolts followed closely behind, dangerously narrowly avoided through teleportation, as the giant arrows pierced through the defense canopy above and vanished into points of light.

Under the bewildered gazes of countless onlookers within the city, the eerie black mist continually teleported across the sky, as though reality itself had glitched.

Amid the black mist, Xu Yuan kept calculating his reserve of Origin Qi. The Step Void Slash consumed Origin Qi at a staggering rate, but fortunately, his internal reserve had long surpassed normal Integration Bodies.

Ten breaths.

He could sustain it for ten breaths.

That span of time was likely enough for Huang Shiwei to clean out the traitors on the city walls and for Li Junwu to activate the City Defense Array to shield him.

"The Third Young Master is truly formidable."

An elderly voice suddenly rang out from below. With his Soul Condensation realm, he had nearly exhausted himself to project his voice clearly: "I failed to account for the fact that you knew such techniques, Mr. Xu."

That conniving warm-natured scholar with the Wen surname again?!

As Xu Yuan continually teleported, his gaze darted toward the source of the voice.

In the farthest reaches of his vision, a kind-looking old man stood atop a pavilion, hunched over, smiling and waving toward him:

"I originally thought this move would force that individual to act, but it seems my plan will require some adjustment now."

Before the words finished, suspended mid-air, Xu Yuan’s eyes caught sight of the city defense ballistae simultaneously and uniformly shifting their aim toward the East City Wall!

"..."

Witnessing this scene, confusion involuntarily flashed across Xu Yuan’s airborne gaze.

How could this be?

In this era of scarcely manageable grassroots communication, how could this Wen scholar possibly issue commands to dozens of rebellious garrison generals simultaneously?!

No, that wasn’t it.

Fixing his eyes on the kind-looking Soul Condensation old man, Xu Yuan’s pupils revealed faint astonishment.

A clone?

No...

This Wen scholar’s cultivation technique wasn’t cloning—it was parasitism.

Those dozens of garrison generals hadn’t betrayed anyone; rather, their bodies were under his spell’s control!

As if sensing the gaze from within the black mist, the kind-looking old Soul Condensation scholar laughed aloud:

"If the majority of the City Defense Formation is lost, I wonder how many cards you still have left to play, Third Young Master?"

What to do?

Xu Yuan did not slack in maintaining his own defenses, continually teleporting mid-air, but his thoughts at this moment were operating in overdrive.

Ask Tian Ye to act?

No—those crystal giant arrows weren’t aimed at her. That woman would undoubtedly stand aside and enjoy the spectacle.

Use the Hanging Air Ring?

If he deployed the Hanging Air Ring now, what would happen afterward?

He had to use it to catch the enemy Saint off-guard and incapacitate them immediately.

But it seemed like he had no choice now.

In the split-second tension, a crisp voice suddenly rang beside his ear:

"Changtian, leave this to me."

Before the words settled,

Countless crystal giant arrows had already launched in unison, speeding toward the pivotal formation eye atop the East City Wall.

At the same time, Xu Yuan sensed a terrifying aura condensing and erupting from deep within the government office.

This is... Li Junwu?

Then,

He saw a blade light streak across the sky dome, accompanied by a silhouette brighter than red flames—like Qingyan....

...

...

...

The warm-up skirmish before the sects’ confrontation had ended.

The deafening explosion reverberated across the sky dome, and the East City Wall remained unscathed. The shockwave from the dozens of crystal giant arrows had leveled several streets below into ruins.

The only figure left standing was a short-haired armored woman hovering mid-air. The power of the Zhenxi Army Formation enveloped her, arcs of lightning swirling around her, resembling a deity.

Watching this figure, the kind-faced old scholar furrowed his brows almost imperceptibly:

"It seems the plan has encountered some unexpected variables...."

"What variables?"

Xu Yuan’s voice suddenly emerged from above him.

The old scholar stared at him for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head, saying:

"It seems Wen made a mistake. Instead of coming after me, why don’t you check on the Commandery Princess’s injuries?"

As his words landed,

The smiling gleam in the old man’s eyes gradually turned into confusion before becoming tinged with fear as he met the cold gaze Xu Yuan fixed on him.

This time,

The Wen Confucian scholar did not leave Xu Yuan an opening to humiliate him.

As Xu Yuan hesitated over whether to kill this old man and eliminate future trouble, Sizi Jing’s shocked voice suddenly erupted by his ear:

"Third Young Master, the sky!"

"....."

Instinctively looking up, Xu Yuan saw amidst the vast and clear sky a lone figure—and those dragon eyes gazing down as if looking upon all existence.

It’s Emperor Bai!!!