The instant Jiang Yunhan burst down the slope, he had Ye Liuyun’s entire group encircled, never once noticing the dragon maiden or the demonic flood dragon beneath the waves. He hadn’t even bothered to investigate where the Chen family had vanished.

“Where does this guy get his confidence?” Ye Liuyun chuckled, shaking his head as he sized up the golden-armored troops.

The spirit beasts had all revealed their true forms, battle-ready. When Jiang Yunhan spotted the Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Thunder Dragon Beast, Nine-Headed Demonic Dragon, and the three-headed, six-armed Megalithic Ape beside Ye Liuyun, his heart leapt with delight—he was certain this haul would be immense.

“So many rare ferocious beasts—they’ll all be mine!” He was already plotting how to subjugate them.

He quietly instructed the Imperial Guard commander not to kill the beasts. The commander understood at once and passed the order down.

One look at Jiang Yunhan’s eyes told Ye Liuyun exactly what the man was scheming. Yet he didn’t rush to seize control of Jiang Yunhan; instead, he decided to clash with the guards first to gauge their strength.

These soldiers were the royal capital’s elite—golden-armored Imperial Guards—and Ye Liuyun wanted to study their gear and combat prowess.

Two hundred crossbowmen took the front line, encircling them. Behind them stood two hundred shield-and-short-sword troops, followed by ranks of pikemen. Their morale looked solid, but their killing intent was thin—probably because they rarely saw real battle inside the capital.

Jiang Yunhan, hiding behind the soldiers, called out arrogantly, “Ye Liuyun, you’re surrounded. Surrender if you want to live!”

Noting the large number of ninth-realm experts on the enemy side, Ye Liuyun assigned them to his second clone, taking the Vermilion Bird and Chilian along to subdue them. His first clone readied the Demon-Hunting Bow to snipe the Imperial Guard lieutenant.

“Less talk. Fight it out—if you win, you call the shots,” Ye Liuyun replied offhandedly.

He noticed the bows were all true-tier seven or eight and likely packed a punch; he was already weighing countermeasures.

“Hmph, stubborn fool! If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll never learn the might of our dynasty’s Imperial Guard!” At Ye Liuyun’s refusal, Jiang Yunhan ordered the commander to attack.

“Ready crossbows!”

At the lieutenant’s shout, the two hundred soldiers leveled their weapons. Most sights fixed on Ye Liuyun and his two clones; the beasts Jiang Yunhan coveted were only targeted at their legs, sparing vitals.

“Sonic assault!” Ye Liuyun sent a mental order to every beast.

“ROAR!” The beasts bellowed in unison, their roars laced with soul-shock waves.

“Loose!” The lieutenant reacted fast, giving the command.

The soldiers staggered, many coughing blood, yet the bolts still flew—wildly, no longer aimed with care.

Jiang Yunhan frowned, fearing his prized beasts would be killed, and barked at the lieutenant to stop.

But Ye Liuyun and his clones layered folds of void around everyone, swallowing every quarrel.

“These soldiers’ soul-defense treasures can blunt mental attacks,” Ye Liuyun noted, seeing they were less affected than the Chen family had been. He deduced their gear warded against soul strikes.

The beasts struck next: Lei Ming’s lightning, the Nine-Headed Demonic Dragon’s flames, the White Tiger’s golden light, Little Blue Ice’s ice arrows, and the Vermilion Bird’s fire all rained on the soldiers.

“Defensive line!”

The lieutenant ordered the crossbowmen back; shield-bearers surged forward, interposing their shields.

“Those shields are true-tier seven or eight as well,” Ye Liuyun observed, sweeping his gaze across the troops. Their armor and weapons matched that grade.

Whoosh!

His first clone drew the Demon-Hunting Bow and loosed an arrow straight at the lieutenant.

Startled, the lieutenant felt death looming. Bracing against the bow’s oppressive aura, he whipped out a shield and blocked in front of him.

A deafening boom shattered the air; the commander’s shield in front of him actually cracked and shattered under the shot. The leader’s arm split as well, blood streaming down his fingers, but he had, after all, blocked the Demon-Hunter Bow’s strike.

The commander’s shield was the same grade as the soldiers’, yet he had no time to tend his wounds; he immediately pulled out an identical shield and planted it before him.

The guards beside Jiang Yunhan produced true-grade-nine shields and raised them in front of their young master.

“Kill!”

At Ye Liuyun’s order the beasts surged forward; at the same moment he swept his saber down at the junior commander.

“Seize Ye Liuyun first!” Jiang Yunhan snapped, sending several of his guards to encircle Ye Liuyun.

The second clone instantly led Vermilion and Chilian straight for Jiang Yunhan.

After topping up his divine essence with a storage stone, the first clone loosed two arrows in rapid succession at the junior commander.

The junior commander had just parried another of Ye Liuyun’s saber blows when, to his horror, the shield split beneath the blade. This time the bones in his arm were completely pulverized; he could no longer lift a shield.

He could only draw yet another shield and hold it with his off-hand for protection.

Two thunderous blasts followed. The first clone’s arrows arrived one after another: the first shattered the shield; the second slammed square into the commander’s chest, blasting him backward and knocking him unconscious. His armor saved him—he was not pierced outright by the Demon-Hunter Bow.

The other beasts had already plunged among the soldiers. The Megalithic Ape, in particular, showed devastating power; alone it held an entire flank, wielding several weapons at once to reap soldier after soldier.

Lei Ming punched one soldier flying; neither shield nor armor could withstand her demon-thunder strike. Her scales ignored the soldiers’ blades and spears—utterly impervious.

The white tiger was the same: a sheet of golden light lanced out, and even the soldiers’ shields could not endure his sustained assault. His body, too, ignored their attacks; blades left no more than faint scratches. Yet killing soldiers taxed him; only his innate golden light could finish them.

The nine-headed demon dragon did not bother breaking armor at all; waves of demonic aura and poison mowed down soldiers in swathes. Hidden within that murk, beams of white light struck again and again, making his kill rate the fastest.

Little Blue Ice’s freezing was blocked by the soldiers’ armor, so he could only use the Soul-Fixing Pearl to snatch souls. The two black tortoises likewise could not breach the armor; they had to slash at throats and the backs of necks—places the armor did not cover.

Thus, while the beasts held the upper hand, wiping out every soldier was no easy task.