A lack of self-respect, yet displaying the peerless bearing of an envoy of the Han!
At that instant, the leading Golden Guard Commander's face instantly darkened, and he lowered his head to say, "Han Envoy Li! If you refuse to conduct yourself with dignity, we will be forced to take action. We will drag you before the Great Chanyu and let him deal with you!"
With that, the Golden Guard Commander waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to close in. However, he specifically instructed his men to keep the blunt backs of their sabers turned toward Li Aotian—fearing they might accidentally hack the fellow to death.
At that very moment, an overwhelmingly domineering aura erupted from Li Aotian. He strode directly to his rack and drew a sword.
"This sword was personally bestowed upon me by Emperor Wu of Han!"
"To deal with me is to defy Emperor Wu himself! I shall use this very sword to cut you down!"
He stood before the Xiongnu like a god of swords. His blade was already raised, its razor-sharp edge radiating a terrifying chill.
For a moment, the Xiongnu Golden Guards were forced back, leaving only the middle-aged Golden Guard Commander standing alone facing Li Aotian.
Sword and saber locked in a standoff.
After hearing those words, the commander's arrogant expression instantly froze. He glanced back at the guards behind him and burst into loud laughter.
"Cut down our warriors?"
"Absurd! You, Li Aotian, are altogether too arrogant."
"We have thirty-two men here, thirty-two sabers! And you? You are but a single man with a single sword. What on earth gives you the confidence to utter such words?"
The Golden Guard Commander swept his sleeves, pacing back and forth near Li Aotian. Stopping in his tracks, he waved his hand and shouted, "Today, let me test the caliber of your sword!"
A playful smirk curved the corner of his mouth as he leaned forward and charged directly at Li Aotian.
His saber raised high. A horizontal slash across the waist.
The sharp blade cleaved through the endless night.
That single strike caused the terrified Chanyu Consort Zhang to gasp audibly, covering her eyes as she muttered, "Can this fellow's... sword possibly match the saber of the Xiongnu Golden Guard Commander?"
The Golden Guard Commander possessed immense strength; under such a blow, even an ordinary wooden post would snap in two. Was Li Aotian's body as hard as wood?
Just then, the Consort opened her eyes and beheld a soul-stirring sight.
Li Aotian’s imperial sword had already flashed forth, its blade dancing through the void like a spiritual snake. Sword shadows blossomed like green lotuses, every single image accompanied by the booming roar of air being torn apart.
The sword was singing.
Such swordsmanship stunned every single Xiongnu present in the dark of night.
"Swordsmanship."
"Qinglian Sword Chant."
His sword was fast, and exceptionally fierce.
Scarcely a second later, his swordplay had shattered the commander's saber technique, piercing forward with a Qinglian sword movement while the other man was still reeling in shock.
The spinning blade whirled through the void like a blooming green lotus, its lightning-fast speed rendering it impossible for the opponent to track.
No...
Not a single person present had managed to see how Li Aotian drew his sword.
In the blink of an eye, his blade had pierced the chest armor of the Golden Guard Commander, driving him back in sheer disbelief.
"No."
"Impossible."
"How can you possess such swordsmanship? You are nothing more than a romantic scholar and poet—how could your martial arts reach such a realm?"
At that moment, the Golden Guard Commander was utterly dumbfounded on the spot.
He knew he could no longer dodge this sword strike, for the Qinglian Sword Chant was simply too difficult to crack, and it was impossible to evade such lightning-fast speed.
"I still have a chance."
"I am wearing armor! I can certainly block this sword. As long as his blade cannot pierce through, I can counterattack and kill him!"
The commander screamed inwardly, preparing to strike back the moment his armor blocked Li Aotian's three-chi green peak. This blow would be his fatal strike against Li Aotian!
However, he no longer had the chance.
For Li Aotian's Qinglian Sword Chant was far from ordinary swordsmanship; the extreme velocity of his blade had accumulated boundless, crushing lethality.
"Mere armor."
"My sword is equally peerless!"
At that moment, he gripped the hilt with absolute concentration, closed his eyes, and drove the blade straight into the armor.
That suit of armor breached in an instant.
His sword was too sharp!
This weapon was personally bestowed by Emperor Wu, sharp enough to slice through iron like mud. Coupled with his Qinglian Sword Chant, piercing a mere suit of armor was effortless.
The Golden Guard Commander suddenly looked down, feeling a fierce, agonizing pain erupting in his chest as adrenaline surged through his veins.
*Puff, puff.*
He violently coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the blade, then raised his head in shock.
"Such... a sharp sword. Such a domineering sword technique."
"I have lost."
With that final sigh, the Golden Guard Commander was pierced straight through the heart by the blade of the Han Empire. The three-chi green peak instantaneously skewered his chest, and his head slumped downward.
The Han envoy, Li Aotian!
Slain the Golden Guard Commander with a single sword stroke!
This shocking scene left the score of guards behind him utterly stunned.
They stepped forward one after another, crying out:
"Commander!"
"Lord Commander!"
"Damn you! You dare to kill our Lord Commander? Do you intend to make an enemy of the entire Xiongnu?"
"He is a Xiongnu warrior! Aren't you afraid you won't make it out of the Xiongnu heartland? Aren't you afraid of dying in Mobei?"
The golden guards roared frantically, but to Li Aotian, it was nothing more than the impotent howling of the defeated.
"Hhph, you were already trying to kill me. Why should I care about any Xiongnu, any heartland, or any Mobei?"
"If your skills are inferior, you die tonight."
With that, Li Aotian wrenched the blade free from the dead commander's body, then dragged the gleaming, blood-stained sword forward step by step.
A freezing murderous intent radiated from the Han envoy.
The crimson-stained blade resembled a soul-reaping reaper's scythe.
Did he, Li Aotian, actually intend to kill... all of them?
Arrogant! Audacious!
He simply did not place the Xiongnu wolf warriors in his eyes at all.
"Unforgivable!"
"Kill him!"
Seeing their comrades rush forward, the others felt their blood boil and their battle intent instantly ignited.
"Kill!"
"Cut this brat down! Avenge Lord Commander and defend the dignity of our Xiongnu wolf warriors!"
Seeing this, far from retreating, Li Aotian charged forward alone with his sword to engage the mob in close combat.
Once again, his Qinglian Sword Chant was unleashed.
Facing the encirclement of thirty-one Xiongnu warriors, he felt no fear, nor did he take a single step back.
As an envoy of the Han, he too had something he must protect—the majesty of the Han Empire.
"Qinglian Sword Chant."
"Sword name."
"Qinglian Blossoms."
"Sword formula: Ten paces to kill a man, a thousand miles without leaving a trace."
Li Aotian moved with blinding speed, ducking and weaving among the thirty-one men, slashing and dancing with his blade. At the tip of his sword flickered the phantom image of a green lotus, and wherever his blade pierced a chest, a blooming burst of lotus-like red blood would erupt.
The blood bloomed like a green lotus, which was how the sword technique got its name.
As thirty-one sword shadows fell, Li Aotian's figure stood alone in the open space outside the tent, while behind him stood thirty-one rigid Xiongnu warriors.
He flicked the crimson blood from the tip of his sword, glanced back, and sneered coldly.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
After the count of three, the Xiongnu golden guards collapsed to the ground one after another, their chests marred by wounds shaped like blooming red lotuses.
This technique was immensely domineering; once pierced, the wound was utterly incurable.
Following that, the last surviving guard dropped heavily to his knees, staring down in absolute horror at the blooming blood-wound on his abdomen.
"This swordsmanship... is terrifying."
"Ten paces to kill a man—this fellow actually pulled it off."
With that final strike, all thirty men present had been slain by Li Aotian, leaving only the young Xiongnu golden guard who had been gravely wounded by the sword qi.
Yet, he too could feel the encroaching shadow of death.
Li Aotian... would he let him go?
At this moment, the Chanyu Consort was paralyzed with terror.
She had originally intended to come here to speak with Li Aotian, hoping to use her presence to persuade him to spare her son's woman, never imagining that everyone she brought would be slaughtered.
Would he... perhaps kill her as well?