I Have a Sword

Give up? The Great Zhou experts were staring at Zhou Fan.

Ji Xiaojian was terrifying, and they had already fallen into despair.

The Great Zhou had no chance of winning against her. Moreover, the Evil Dao Alliance was behind Ji Xiaojian.

They could kill just one person to save the Great Zhou!

It was a worthwhile deal.

Moreover, the terrifying Ji Xiaojian was even going to take Zhou Fan as her disciple. In other words, the Great Zhou would enter an alliance with the terrifying Evil Dao Alliance, reversing the empire's fate.

No matter how one looked at it, it would be a wise decision to kill Ye Guan.

Dao Jun glanced at Zhou Fan, hesitating to speak. In the end, he sighed inwardly and said nothing. This decision could only be made by Zhou Fan herself.

Prime Minister Yuan looked at Ji Xiaojian in the sky, who was chewing on her sugarcane. Then, he turned to Zhou Fan with a complicated light in his eyes. In the end, he said nothing as well.

It seemed impossible in everyone's eyes.

It was doable if the Founding Ancestor of the Great Zhou were here, but he might not necessarily be able to defeat Ji Xiaojian. Moreover, the mysterious and terrifying Evil Dao Alliance was behind her as well.

How could they fight her? They couldn't fight her at all!

A mocking light flitted across Ji Xiaojian's eyes as she looked down at Zhou Fan.

Under everyone's gaze, Zhou Fan caressed Ye Guan's cheek and smiled slightly. "I can't protect you anymore."

The Great Zhou experts sighed in relief upon hearing that. At last, Zhou Fan was finally going to give up.

Rumble!

However, Zhou Fan's fleshly body and soul abruptly erupted into flames.

"Ah!"

Everyone in the crowd was shocked. None of them had expected Zhou Fan to do this.

Gently caressing Ye Guan's cheek, Zhou Fan softly said, "I can't betray the Great Zhou, but I don't want to betray you either..."

With that, she leaned down and gave Ye Guan's forehead a gentle kiss.

Ji Xiaojian's mocking smile faded.

Boom!

A surge of dragon energy suddenly shot up from within the Great Zhou.

The earth and sky trembled beneath its might!

The dragon energy then descended, enveloping both Zhou Fan and Ye Guan.

Boom!

Zhou Fan's flaming soul and fleshly body were instantly extinguished.

Everyone turned to see a middle-aged man in a light yellow robe walking toward them in the sky.

The Emperor of the Great Zhou was here, and he was the strongest individual in the Great Zhou.

Everyone hurriedly bowed respectfully toward him.

Ji Xiaojian glanced at the Great Zhou Emperor and smiled. "I thought you weren't going to show up."

The Emperor of Great Zhou smiled back, "There has never been a coward among the emperors of the Great Zhou."

Ji Xiaojian nodded. "So you're saying that Great Zhou still wants to resist?"

The Emperor of Great Zhou didn't respond. Instead, he looked down at Zhou Fan and sighed softly. "Silly girl, do you really think that this is all going to end by dying with Young Master Ye? Let's not even talk about the Evil Dao Alliance. If Young Master Ye dies here, do you really think that the people behind him will let it go? At that point, Great Zhou will still be caught in a dilemma; we'll have no sides to turn to."

He said this not to Zhou Fan but to the Great Zhou cultivators around them, as he knew that Zhou Fan was smart enough to know that without being told about it. The Great Zhou experts remained silent. Some of them understood what the Great Zhou Emperor was trying to say, while others believed that killing Young Master Ye would end the crisis. People often harbored delusions, thinking that as long as they made concessions, they'd win the forgiveness of their oppressors.

If the Great Zhou were to kill Ye Guan today, the situation would worsen.

By then, the Great Zhou would offend not only the Evil Dao Alliance but Young Master Ye's backers as well.

They'd have to face dire consequences by then.

Zhou Fan was aware of that, but she couldn't speak up. Those around her could have been aware of that as well, but they had also chosen not to speak up and simply cling to their delusions.

When a nation was under a tyrant's control, there would always be some who believed that kneeling and calling the oppressor "father" would result in their lives being spared.

Little do they know that kneeling would only invite further exploitation and persecution.

The Great Zhou experts looked uneasy; they knew that the Great Zhou Emperor was talking to them.

Dao Jun nodded slightly, "Your Highness, please don't do anything foolish. Whatever happens, we will face it together."

Ci Tian also added, "We'll face it together."

Prime Minister Yuan also stepped forward and said, "If we force Her Highness and Young Master Ye to their deaths today, how will the Great Zhou ever hold its head high again? Your Highness, we, scholars, may not be strong, but none of us are cowards. With just one command from you, millions of our scholars will burn their souls!"

"Pfft!" Ji Xiaojian laughed. "Looks like I really underestimated Great Zhou."

The Emperor of Great Zhou looked at Ji Xiaojian and smiled. "The Great Zhou is small and weak, but we have our pride and courage. Young Master Ye is our son-in-law, so he is one of us. As long as he is part of the Great Zhou, we will protect him. If you want to fight, the Great Zhou will fight you!"

"Let's fight!"

The Great Zhou experts were filled with passion, roaring in unison.

The Great Zhou had never cowered before any hardships in its history of billions of years!

The spirit of the Great Zhou couldn't be broken in this generation!

Ji Xiaojian spat out the last bite of sugarcane and then looked at the Great Zhou Emperor with a smile. "Come, let me see the strength of Great Zhou's strongest."

Swoosh!

Ji Xiaojian vanished into thin air.

Her fist headed straight for the Great Zhou Emperor.

The Great Zhou Emperor laughed heartily and threw out a punch in return.

The roar of a dragon echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

Boom!

When their fists made contact, the spacetime around them crumbled like burning paper.

Boom!

Two fist auras exploded, and the two were blasted away.

Ji Xiaojian had to retreat six hundred meters before being able to stabilize herself, while the Great Zhou Emperor was pushed back a thousand meters away.

The faces of the Great Zhou experts darkened at the sight.

Ji Xiaojian glanced at her fist and then looked at the Great Zhou Emperor with a smile. "The Emperor's Fist. It surely is impressive."

The Great Zhou Emperor praised, "You're not a fist cultivator, but your fist path is unrivaled and truly exceptional."

"My fist is weak. You should visit the Heaven Ascension World. The fist cultivators there are truly formidable. No, wait..." Ji Xiaojian smiled and continued, "You won't have the chance to go there because I'm going to kill you today!"

"Bring it on!" the Great Zhou Emperor shouted and opened his palm.

Boom!

In an instant, the entire Great Zhou Imperial City trembled violently. Countless streams of imperial energy and heavenly fate surged toward him like a tidal wave.

The Great Zhou Emperor, within the borders of Great Zhou, could draw upon the fate of his empire, making him invincible among his peers.

The Great Zhou Emperor stepped forward and unleashed another punch.

Boom!

The spacetime nearby was reduced to ashes, and Ji Xiaojian was blasted nearly a thousand meters away by the sheer force of the punch.

The Great Zhou experts were thrilled at the sight.

The Great Zhou Emperor threw another punch.

Boom!

Ji Xiaojian retreated another one thousand meters away.

Swoosh!

The Great Zhou Emperor vanished from his spot.

Boom...

The space around them boiled before erupting into a conflagration.

Bang!

Ji Xiaojian was blasted a thousand meters away. Her Dao was being suppressed!

The Great Zhou Emperor was forcefully suppressing Ji Xiaojian's fists using the fate of the entire empire as his fuel.

The Great Zhou Emperor didn't relent and launched a barrage of fierce attacks on Ji Xiaojian, pushing her back repeatedly.

Ji Xiaojian was being suppressed!

The Great Zhou experts were in a frenzy at this point.

Meanwhile, Zhou Fan still looked a bit worried. Ji Xiaojian was being suppressed, but she remained composed and was still moving with precision.

Moreover, she had yet to draw the sword on her back.

She was a swordsman, but she was using her fists at the moment!

Bang!

A deafening explosion echoed as a fist aura erupted; Ji Xiaojian was blasted a thousand meters away again.

The Great Zhou Emperor was about to strike again, but Ji Xiaojian grinned and said, "My turn."

With that, she took a swift step forward, transforming into a bolt of lightning that headed straight for the Great Zhou Emperor.

The Great Zhou Emperor's eyes narrowed, and he clenched his right fist tightly. The fate energy of the Great Zhou enveloped him, and he swung his right hand with all his might.

He had decided to give it his all!

He dared not be careless against Ji Xiaojian.

As soon as their fists made contact, the Great Zhou Emperor's expression changed drastically.

Bang!

The Great Zhou Emperor was forced back repeatedly, and his dragon energy dimmed considerably.

Swoosh!

Ji Xiaojian disappeared again, and a fist imprint flew toward the Great Zhou Emperor.

Boom!

The Great Zhou Emperor was blasted back once more.

Another stream of dragon energy shattered within him!

Seeing this, everyone present was petrified.

How did he suddenly get suppressed in return?

At that moment, Prime Minister Yuan, standing beside Zhou Fan, trembled as he said, "She's borrowing the Dao!"

Borrowing the Dao!

Everyone turned to look at Prime Minister Yuan, whose expression was extremely grave. "She is borrowing the power of the Existing Dao!"

The Existing Dao!

People often spoke of opening a unique path, but they were referring to creating a new Dao outside of the Existing Dao.

Many cultivators often overlooked the Existing Dao.

Was it because it was weak? Of course, not! A cultivator could choose to surpass the Existing Dao upon opening their unique path, but the majority of the cultivators choose to bypass it completely.

Naturally, there was a difference in strength between those who had chosen to surpass it and those who bypassed it.

Ji Xiaojian was borrowing the Dao to suppress the Great Zhou Emperor's imperial energy. The crux of the matter here was that she could actually borrow it, and her strength had become even more terrifying with its help.

Thus, the Great Zhou Emperor was blasted away by Ji Xiaojian's punches, and a strand of dragon energy within him would shatter upon each punch.

Prime Minister Yuan stared intently at the sky and exclaimed, "She wants to forcefully shatter our Great Zhou's fate. We must stop her!"

Stop her?! Everyone fell silent. Who could stop her?

Zhou Fan suddenly said, "Summon the ancestor!"

Prime Minister Yuan turned to Zhou Fan, full of astonishment. He knew that the Great Zhou had only one chance left to summon the ancestor.

There were three opportunities in total, but over the years, the Great Zhou had already used two, leaving only the last one, which was their final trump card.

Once used, it could never be used again!

It was the Great Zhou's final life-saving trump card as well.

They were staking everything on the line!

Prime Minister Yuan glanced at Ye Guan in Zhou Fan's arms with a complicated expression.

Losing this gamble meant the destruction of the Great Zhou rather than just the destruction of the Great Zhou's fate.

The Great Zhou housed countless clans, families, and forces. If the Great Zhou were to lose that trump card, those sects, families, and forces could unite to overthrow the Great Zhou.

By then, the Great Zhou would return to the era of the noble clans and sects.

The Great Zhou had truly put everything on the line.

Zhou Fan opened her palm, and a dragon seal appeared in her hand. She closed her eyes and exclaimed, "I call upon the ancestor!"

Boom!

The dragon seal trembled violently, and a beam of golden light shot into the sky, piercing the clouds.

Immediately afterward, waves of terrifying pressure swept across the star field.

Ji Xiaojian paused and looked at Zhou Fan with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Just then, a voice echoed from behind Ji Xiaojian, "Having fun ganging up on her? Do you really think that the Evil Dao Alliance has no one else but her?"

Over a dozen terrifying auras swept toward everyone, and the Great Zhou's experts turned pale at the sight.

Yi Nian calmly licking a candied hawthorn frowned slightly while staring at the distant horizon.