Chapter 310

Chapter 310: One Sword

Among those present, Nan Zhi alone had mastered the complete Red Moon technique. Although Wang Jie’s version was incomplete, it was far more advanced than anyone else’s.

Wu Yuan, however, had not felt the Red Moon’s connection at all.

“Perhaps this is how members of the Nan family communicate,” Wu Yuan guessed, glancing around cautiously. “This formation dao is immense; surely not every Nan descendant knows its secrets. If powerful enemies invade, the Nan family would rely on the Red Moon technique to find each other.”

Wang Jie had guessed the same.

The Nan family’s hidden methods were numerous, one after another. Yet this made sense. Such a mighty family would need many secret ways to survive and thrive.

Following the faint guidance of the Red Moon, Wang Jie led Wu Yuan onward until, finally, they spotted Nan Zhi. She lay gravely injured, her life nearly extinguished.

Wang Jie had never imagined her wounds would be this severe, and he quickly moved to heal her. This woman simply couldn’t be allowed to die.

“You…finally…came,” Nan Zhi murmured weakly, on the verge of collapse.

Wang Jie gazed at her, puzzled, and asked, “What happened? Where is Guan Sou?”

A bitter smile spread across Nan Zhi’s pale face as she answered, “Dead.”

Wu Yuan’s eyes widened sharply. “One sword?”

Nan Zhi glanced at Wu Yuan, then looked toward Wang Jie.

Wang Jie said calmly, “Elder Wu already knows who you are.”

Nan Zhi nodded, her face drained of color. “Yes, just one sword.”

Wang Jie and Wu Yuan exchanged a heavy look, seeing the shock mirrored in each other’s eyes.

Nan Zhi trembled with fear. “No matter how well Guan Sou had prepared, he couldn’t withstand a single strike from the attacker. It was ruthless.”

“How did you survive?” Wang Jie questioned.

Nan Zhi replied bitterly, “I don’t know. The attacker didn’t kill me. My injuries came from the violet-eyed woman who follows Ke Mu Sheng; I was unlucky to run into her. The murderer didn’t even glance my way—I never even saw who it was.”

“Take us to Guan Sou,” Wu Yuan commanded in a grim voice. He didn’t trust Nan Zhi’s story completely.

Wang Jie shared his doubts.

Perhaps Nan Zhi had revealed her identity to Guan Sou, and the two had secretly joined forces.

But when they arrived and saw Guan Sou’s corpse, neither could speak another word.

Nan Zhi hadn’t lied. Guan Sou truly was dead—killed by a single sword thrust that pierced straight through his heart. Sword qi had shattered every bone and meridian in his body, leaving him no chance to resist.

The lingering traces of Starforce from a mirrorless domain remained scattered nearby.

Wu Yuan’s heart sank heavily.

Nan Zhi’s fear grew deeper. She couldn’t understand who the killer was. Sparing her clearly indicated the murderer knew she was a descendant of the Nan family, intending to use her to leave the formation dao. This meant they had become targets.

Wu Yuan stared into the emptiness, calling out sternly, “Who are you, and what is your purpose?”

Wang Jie looked around as well, sensing strongly that as long as he remained near Nan Zhi, she was certainly being watched.

It was an eerie sensation.

“Let’s go,” he finally said, “to the formation dao’s exit.”

Nan Zhi shuddered violently. “I’m not going.”

Wang Jie turned to look at her.

Nan Zhi stayed silent, consumed by dread.

“If you don’t go,” Wu Yuan warned, “she’ll kill you anyway. At least if you leave, there might be a chance.”

Nan Zhi crouched down, trembling uncontrollably. She desperately didn’t want to go. Being trapped forever seemed preferable to stepping outside the formation dao, where only death awaited.

She knew that assassin would only need a single sword strike to kill them all.

In other words, the closer they came to the formation dao’s exit, the closer they drew to their deaths.

Wang Jie watched Nan Zhi crouched helplessly and spoke slowly, “Given this assassin’s character, do you really think she’ll wait? If she believes you’re truly not heading toward the exit, the next sword strike will find you immediately.”

Nan Zhi shivered again, grinding her teeth as she raised her head to glare hatefully at Wang Jie. “This is all your fault! You made my identity known. Without you, no one would have ever known who I was. All of this is your fault!”

She stood abruptly, clutching fiercely at Wang Jie’s clothes, shouting desperately, “You exposed me, so why won’t you protect me? I’ll give you everything the Nan family has—why won’t you protect me? Tell me why!”

Her cries and struggles changed nothing.

Wang Jie stood still, allowing her to shout and plead.

Wu Yuan also waited silently beside them.

It took a long while before Nan Zhi finally regained composure. Exhausted, she sank to her knees, submerged in despair, whispering brokenly, “All I ever wanted was my family’s legacy… to rebuild the Nan clan. Why must it end like this? Why?”

Wang Jie glanced at his star disk, “I can tell you clearly—there’s no energy nearby. The longer you delay, the closer the assassin comes. Our previous guess might not even be right. The only thing you can do is find the formation dao exit and run. There’s no other way.”

“Otherwise,” he added, voice heavy with warning, “everyone inside this formation dao will die, you included.”

Nan Zhi stared blankly at the ground. After a long pause, she rose, wiped her face quietly, and without a word began searching for the formation dao exit.

Wang Jie and Wu Yuan exchanged another grave look.

The truth was, Nan Zhi wasn’t the only one edging closer to death.

Wu Yuan felt a normal person’s dread and suggested joining with others. But Nan Zhi disagreed strongly, “The sooner we leave, the better. Wang Jie is right—speed is our only chance.” She hurried forward as she spoke.

Wang Jie turned to Wu Yuan, adding softly, “Against a sword technique like that, more people won’t help. It would only waste precious time.”

Wu Yuan knew Wang Jie was right and quietly followed behind.

This time, no accidents befell them. After walking for half a day, they finally stepped forward into sudden openness.

Before them was no longer the endless starforce barrier, but a quiet corner of the train, the familiar colored earth visible at last.

Looking back, they saw the formation dao hadn’t covered the entire train after all; at least this small corner remained separated.

As soon as she emerged from the formation dao, Nan Zhi hurried toward a specific point. “You two, protect me!” she called urgently.

Wu Yuan and Wang Jie immediately followed her.

Protection?

Who could possibly guard against that single terrifying sword? All they could do was keep close.

Nan Zhi reached the corner safely and pressed her hand against a hidden point, channeling the Red Moon technique. Starforce gathered rapidly, spiraling upwards to form a vivid crimson moon that quickly vanished ahead.

Slowly, a fissure appeared in the void. Nan Zhi’s eyes burned with excitement, and she plunged straight through.

Wang Jie and Wu Yuan, having prepared long ago, rushed forward with her.

There was actually another space hidden here.

It looked like the control room of the train, not very large, just enough to hold a small hill. It seemed this was truly a complete train after all. But inside this control room, there was no trace of technology—only a single blood-red moon. Beneath it lay a corpse.

Wang Jie and Wu Yuan stared blankly at the body ahead.

It was an Elder, lying beneath the crimson moon, long drained of blood.

Nan Zhi saw the Elder’s corpse too, her eyes filled with sadness. Yet she did not move toward him. Instead, she leaped toward the blood-red moon.

“Stop her,” Wang Jie shouted, rushing forward, stepping swiftly with Armor Eight Steps.

Wu Yuan attacked at the same time.

But crimson beams rained down, pushing them both back simultaneously, completely preventing them from drawing closer.

Nan Zhi easily merged into the red moon. In an instant, her whole being transformed. Bathed in the eerie glow, she became enchanting and sinister, her eyes filling with crimson veins as she gazed down upon Wang Jie and Wu Yuan below, her expression cold, murderous, yet faintly smiling—entirely different from her previous look of terror.

She had been pretending.

At this moment, both Wang Jie and Wu Yuan finally understood.

This woman had been deceiving them all along.

Nan Zhi joined her hands together, and with each graceful motion, the blood moon swelled brighter. Ripples of distortion appeared in the air around her, surreal and dreamlike. Within those ripples, faint images of themselves emerged.

These were ripples of time.

Yes.

Wang Jie remembered clearly now. During his previous battle with Nan Zhi, she had never once used the Four Seasons Bridge Law—not because she could not, but because she had no need. Only now did he witness the true power of the Four Seasons Bridge Law, intertwined with the blood-red moon.

Wu Yuan raised his blade, starforce surging, making the very air feel heavy. Behind him, a shadowy beast appeared, roaring silently toward Nan Zhi as he delivered a fierce slash.

Simultaneously, Wang Jie thrust out a finger, unleashing the Starry Finger technique.

Nan Zhi merely sneered at them, saying coldly, “Let me show you the true power of my Nan family’s Four Seasons and Blood Moon.” As her words faded, the crimson glow solidified instantly, transforming the very air into solid red blocks, freezing Wu Yuan’s blade and Wang Jie’s finger completely, then shattering them.

Both Wu Yuan and Wang Jie spat blood and stumbled backward.

Nan Zhi casually waved her hand, shaping the crimson light into deadly blades aimed at the two of them.

Wang Jie hurriedly lifted the small boat to shield himself.

But Nan Zhi knew him too well. Pressing down her palm, she sent the crimson glow crashing onto Wang Jie from above, forcing him to the ground along with his boat. Wu Yuan was struck by a horizontal crimson slash, his body covered instantly in countless bloody wounds as he crashed heavily behind, creating an enormous sound.

At this moment, both of them were utterly powerless against Nan Zhi.

But this was not her own strength—she had borrowed the ancient power of her Nan family ancestors’ Four Seasons Bridge Law, left within this mysterious train.

Right now, she feared nothing. Even if that killer appeared, what could they do? Could they possibly kill her?

She stared coldly at Wang Jie, saying bitterly, “If not for you, my identity would never have been exposed. Wang Jie, you deserve death.” She lightly tapped her fingertip, sending out crimson beams again and again. Wang Jie desperately hid beneath the boat, and although the crimson beams repeatedly struck it, they failed to break through.

Nan Zhi was stunned. What kind of star artifact was this, that even an attack capable of killing someone in the Hundred Star Realm couldn’t penetrate?

If so…

She would use Time.

Ripples of time spread outward, slowly approaching Wang Jie.

Wu Yuan roared deeply, leaping forward once more, his blade slashing down with effort.

Yet this strike felt as though it had plunged into mud, frozen mid-air. Nan Zhi didn’t even spare him a glance, her eyes filled with fervent awe. This was her family’s legendary power of time—even a slight touch carried an unmatched grandeur. She would begin her control over time with Wang Jie’s death.

Ripples of time surged onto the boat.

Wang Jie gripped the boat desperately. Suddenly, it shook.

Then the boat flipped, as though dropping into a river, forcibly dragging Wang Jie inside and rocking him upon the currents of time itself.

Wu Yuan was dumbstruck. Nan Zhi was even more astonished.

They stared at Wang Jie sitting inside the boat, rocking gently upon waves of time. No matter how they looked at it, he seemed to be rowing.

Rowing… through time?

What was this?

Even Wang Jie himself didn’t understand. He only felt that, inside this boat, time flowed around him like a river, and the ripples in the air were like waves.

Suddenly, a sword-light flashed, sweeping past Wu Yuan, past Wang Jie, and finally sinking directly into Nan Zhi’s head.

Nan Zhi was still trying to control the Four Seasons Bridge Law, intent on overturning the boat.

Yet at this instant, she froze. The crimson glow around her quickly dimmed, and she fell from within the blood moon, crashing down not far from Wang Jie.

Wang Jie turned.

There, a woman slowly approached.

Another faint sound followed as Wu Yuan collapsed as well.

Wang Jie hurriedly jumped down from the boat to check on him, breathing out in relief—Wu Yuan was not dead, merely knocked unconscious again, just like last time. He had no power to resist and hadn’t even glimpsed who attacked him.

Step by step, the mysterious woman passed by Wang Jie, walking silently forward.