Chapter 467: The Heavens Want Me Dead

Above the martial arts arena, Ye Chen looked at the Cangming Sword in his hand and flicked its blade with his finger.

With a hum and a shudder, the blood flowing down the blade splattered away, revealing its chillingly sharp edge once more.

"So, it's just the two of you left?"

Only then did Ye Chen lift his gaze to look ahead.

Song Taigu's clothes were in disarray, his entire body soaked in blood.

Teng Youxuan didn't look much better. His arm was severely injured, and he could barely lift the Mountain-Opening Hammer in his hand.

His face was as dark as a thundercloud, his eyes flickering as he seemingly pondered what to do next.

Not far away, within the camps of the four great families, the atmosphere was unbearably somber. No one spoke, every gaze fixed on the battlefield above.

Song Tingyue's fists were clenched so tightly that the veins on his arms bulged.

Beside him, Song Tianxing, Song Jun, and the others were deathly pale. They had clearly never imagined they would provoke such a terrifying harbinger of death.

Seeing that Ye Chen was about to strike, Song Taigu quickly shouted to stop him, "Ye Chen! There was never any enmity between you and the Song family. Why must you force your way into this for Song Yubing's sake?!"

He said in a low voice, "Don't you think you're being used by that girl?"

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but scoff. "Why didn't you say that at the beginning?"

"At first, I was unaware your strength was so immense!"

Song Taigu said with surprising frankness, "The current situation has undoubtedly proven that your methods are heaven-defying. You are an enemy the Song family would never wish to provoke!"

"If you are willing to let this matter go, the Song family can let bygones be bygones. We can wipe the slate clean of all past grievances!"

These words, of course, were the result of a secret discussion with Song Tingyue.

The purpose of the Song family's operation this time was simply to seize the Purple Jade Hairpin left behind by Song Yubing's mother. There was no need to fight Ye Chen to the death over it.

Even if Ye Chen ended up taking the Purple Jade Hairpin, they could still get it back through a trade.

Unless it was a last resort, they no longer wanted to fight Ye Chen.

However, Ye Chen just shot Song Taigu a contemptuous glance.

"If this were earlier, I might have given it some thought."

"But for you to say something like that at this stage... it's utterly laughable!"

Ye Chen gripped the Cangming Sword, his Sword Qi erupting like a storm, as if it would tear the very heavens and earth to shreds.

"Now, even if the Song family is willing to back down, I have no intention of sparing the Song family!"

"From this day forward, the Song family will be erased from Dongxuan Province!"

Ye Chen's expression was cold. He suddenly swung his sword, and the brilliant flash of its light outshone the very sky.

Song Taigu only saw a blinding radiance explode before his eyes. The next moment, his head was sent flying high into the air, the consciousness in his mind rapidly fading away.

"You..."

He finally realized that Ye Chen had cleaved him in two with a single strike.

"Patriarch, save me!!!"

Song Taigu's Divine Soul shot out. He shrieked, his gaze toward Ye Chen filled with pure terror.

"Quick! Save the Grand Elder!"

Song Tingyue didn't hesitate for a second. A Dao sword appeared in his hand, his cultivation base surging. He and the other Song family experts attacked in unison, trying to intercept Ye Chen and save Song Taigu.

However, Ye Chen simply raised a fist. A terrifying dragon's roar echoed through the world as the immense power of his punch condensed into a single point. Accompanied by the manifestation of a True Dragon's phantom, it surged toward the crowd of Song family experts.

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

"..."

Countless earth-shattering explosions rang out. The combined assault of the Song family experts had been blocked by Ye Chen's simple, unadorned punch.

As for Song Taigu, there was no longer any escape. His Divine Soul was sucked away by the Soul-Catching Lamp, and he perished completely.

The entire crowd was horrified.

That was the Song family!

In other factions, Divine Might Realm experts were few and far between, considered absolute pillars of strength. But in the Song family, one had to be a Cultivator at the Seventh Layer of the Divine Might Realm or higher to be worthy of that title.

As for ordinary Divine Might Realm Cultivators, the Song family undoubtedly had more than several other factions combined.

For instance, among those who had just attacked with Song Tingyue, there were at least a dozen Cultivators around the Third Layer of the Divine Might Realm.

A lineup like that was enough to make other factions despair. They couldn't muster that many Divine Might Realm experts even in a hundred years.

And yet, the combined attack of this dozen-plus Divine Might Realm experts couldn't even withstand a single punch from Ye Chen.

That was just too terrifying.

Watching Song Taigu perish, Song Tingyue's face turned ashen. He slammed a fist into the ground, creating a massive crater.

"Damn it... Damn it!!!" he snarled, grinding his teeth. A monstrous, hostile aura erupted from his body, and his eyes seemed to turn blood-red.

"Patriarch, calm down!" The other Song family experts were shocked by this display and quickly tried to placate him.

"How can I possibly calm down?"

"The great Song family, which stands at the pinnacle of all Dongxuan Province, is now being trampled on by some snot-nosed kid who isn't even twenty years old! How outrageous!!!"

Song Tingyue spat out, each word dripping with venom.

On the other side of the battlefield, Jin Hongtian and Murong Chi saw Song Taigu fall. They exchanged a look and, without a word, simultaneously pulled back to flee.

They could no longer be bothered with fighting Ye Chen. Their own lives were more important now.

Xiao Yunpo's brow furrowed. He was just about to move and intercept them when, a moment later, a vast wave of Sword Qi suddenly shot past him. Even Xiao Yunpo couldn't help but tremble at the sight.

He focused his gaze and saw the Sword Qi acting like a grim reaper, indiscriminately reaping Jin Hongtian's life.

Jin Hongtian was already severely injured from his fight with Xiao Yunpo. How could he possibly withstand this unrestrained strike from Ye Chen?

He didn't even have time to send a distress call to the Jin family before his body was turned to ash by the surging Sword Qi.

Under the watchful eyes of countless onlookers, the Grand Elder of the Jin family, Jin Hongtian, had also fallen.

"No!"

'Why is he so strong?!'

Murong Chi's face changed drastically. He fled toward the Murong family for dear life.

'If the experts of the Murong family attack together, I might just have a chance of survival against Ye Chen's sword!'

But he suddenly discovered that when his fellow Murong family members saw him, not only did they have no intention of helping, but they scattered like a startled flock. Each one was pale with fright, as if terrified of being associated with him.

This scene filled the Murong family's Grand Elder with a chilling despair.

Ye Chen's invincible divine might had already scared the members of the Murong family out of their wits.

'They aren't even thinking of helping me. They're only worried I'll lead that monster Ye Chen to them and they'll get caught in the crossfire!'

'Heaven wants me dead!'

Murong Chi sighed softly. He stopped trying to run and simply stood in place.