Stellar Transformation-Chapter 95: Volume 4 - 25 Sweeping Across

Before the battle had started, Xiang Guang was already worried in his heart; after all, this battle was related to the entire Xiang Family’s Star Network. So, anxious as he was, Xiang Guang stood directly on the observation deck of the Capital’s city gate and looked towards the direction of the battle over Wujiang. As a comet streaked by, Xiang Guang’s heart leapt into his throat.

"A comet, where did this comet come from?" Xiang Guang became nervous.

Xiang Guang had no idea that what he saw was the result of Qin Yu burning the silver particles within his Dantian Star Cloud (which are the Silver Stars), forming the fearful celestial power. With this ultimate move, the foundation of Qin Yu’s power—the volume of his Silver Star particles—had been greatly reduced by the burning, but the power it unleashed was terrifyingly immense.

Immediately after, an enormous explosion occurred, and a ’full moon,’ comparable to the moon in the night sky, appeared in the aftermath of the explosion. The power of a Nascent Soul Stage expert’s self-destruction was truly enormous.

"Another ’moon’." Xiang Guang’s breathing became heavy, as he stood on the edge of the city tower, eyes widened, looking towards the direction of the battlefield.

Following that final explosion, after a long while, everything quieted down.

"What on earth happened? What’s the outcome, did our ancestor manage to kill the challenger?" Xiang Guang kept asking himself, sweat beading on his forehead. He knew one thing for certain—if the ancestor had died, the Xiang Family would be finished.

Xiang Guang suddenly turned and looked intently at Yi Yan, immediately asking, "Yi Yan, tell me, what exactly is happening over Wujiang at this moment?" Xiang Guang also knew that there must be intense fighting happening over Wujiang, but he was unable to discern the outcome.

Yi Yan felt bitter inside; how could he make judgments like an Immortal? Yet, with Xiang Guang staring him down, how could he dare to admit ignorance?

Yi Yan immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we are really too far from the site of the battle to know the details. However, the ’comet’ just now should be the powerful attack unleashed by an Upper Immortal, and the final ’moon’ should be the terrifying explosion resulting from a self-destructing Golden Core Nascent Soul of an Upper Immortal."

"But who self-destructed? What was the result?" Xiang Guang’s eyes shone bright as he asked eagerly.

Yi Yan hastily replied, "Your Majesty, do you not already know the strength of our ancestor? In this battle, it must be that our ancestor has won." At such a critical moment, what else could Yi Yan say? He could only speak such reassuring words to calm Xiang Guang’s heart.

"Right," Xiang Guang said upon hearing this, as if he had taken an Immortal Pill, his whole being filled with vitality, his eyes gleaming brightly, "Who on the Hidden Dragon Continent is a match for our ancestor? I’ve heard that even Wood is far inferior to our ancestor. It must be so, that the challenging Upper Immortal was no match for our ancestor and self-destructed in despair."

Thinking this, and with Yi Yan and other subordinates echoing his thoughts, Xiang Guang became more certain in his heart.

"Good, gentlemen, follow me back to the palace, where we shall wait for the ancestor’s return and prepare a victory celebration," said Xiang Guang cheerfully as he ordered the ministers around him. Then they all hurried back to the Imperial Palace to prepare for the victory celebration.

The shocking battle just now had passed, and the waters of Wujiang had become calm once again, almost unchanged from before the fight. Yet, the banks on both sides of Wujiang were in complete disarray; the horrifying explosion had broken trees, blasted off the turf, and many mortals were directly shaken to death, bleeding from their seven orifices.

"Ptui!"

Qin De suddenly spat out a mouthful of grass and then swiftly stood up. At that moment, Qin De was covered in dust, looking much like a beggar. Beside him, Feng Yuzi also stood up, the power of the recent explosion had been too great.

Not bothering to brush the dust from his clothes, Qin De hurriedly looked ahead. The waters of Wujiang were rapidly flowing eastward, spanning thousands of kilometers in width, and above Wujiang, not a single figure could be seen.

"Where is Yu’er?" Qin De became anxious, spreading his Spiritual Sense. However, having just reached the Early Stage Golden Core, Qin De’s Spiritual Sense could only cover a radius of one kilometer. Within this one-kilometer radius, he couldn’t sense Qin Yu’s presence at all.

"Yu’er!"

Xiang De suddenly shouted, his voice echoing across the Wujiang sky.

"Prince, don’t worry." Feng Yuzi hastily said to Xiang De, "My spiritual sense has a much larger range. Let me thoroughly search around." Upon hearing that, Xiang De immediately held his breath to calm himself down and watched Feng Yuzi with anticipation.

As Feng Yuzi’s spiritual sense extended in all directions, a long while passed, and with no other option, he turned to Xiang De and said, "Prince, I’ve found nothing."

Xiang De’s face changed slightly, then remembering the explosion from before, his eyes lit up, "Brother Feng, I remember that when the explosion happened, Yu’er was rushing toward the Wujiang; he should be at the bottom of the river now."

Feng Yuzi shook his head, "How deep can this Wujiang be? Our spiritual sense can reach over a kilometer, and it has already reached the riverbed, but still nothing..."

"Boom!"

All of a sudden, the water of Wujiang exploded violently, and a figure soared up from the surface of the water; then, with another loud burst at the water’s surface, a Black Hawk also rushed towards the high sky. A man and a hawk flew in the sky above Wujiang like this.

Xiang De and Feng Yuzi saw that figure.

"Ah, it’s Yu’er." Xiang De’s entire being became excited, only to see a man and a hawk transformed into two streaks of light, flying directly toward Xiang De and Feng Yuzi. In just an instant, the man and hawk had arrived before Xiang De.

Qin Yu looked at Qin De, a faint smile appeared on his pale face, "Father, I’ve succeeded!"

Xiang De felt a tingling all over his body and tears moistening his eyes uncontrollably, his face filled with nothing but excitement and elation. No matter how much, Xiang De suddenly embraced Qin Yu, and Qin Yu also hugged his father. The father and son held each other tightly.

"Father, your body... it’s so dirty."

At this critical moment, Qin Yu actually said something that killed the mood. Xiang De was taken aback, looking at himself, the explosion had covered his body with dust, and in his rush to find Qin Yu, he hadn’t cleaned himself. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"You little brat."

Xiang De scolded with a smile, then he activated his True Essence Power and directly shook off the dust.

"Haha, come on, you two, stop messing around and let’s head back," Feng Yuzi burst into laughter, and then he went to Qin Yu’s side and casually punched him in the chest, "You little rascal, hasn’t it only been a few years? You’ve already killed a Nascent Soul level expert."

Feng Yuzi had watched Qin Yu grow up, naturally feeling a parental affection towards him. Seeing Qin Yu achieve so much, he too was overjoyed.

Qin Yu’s body shook slightly, and his face became even paler.

"Little Yu, what’s wrong with you?" Feng Yuzi knew something was wrong. The punch he just threw had some power, but for a cultivator, it should have been nothing.

Qin Yu shook his head and smiled, "Nothing, I just took some minor injuries when I executed the final move. But it’s nothing serious. As long as I go back and rest well and continue my cultivation, I can recover quickly." The smile on Qin Yu’s face was bright and radiant.

"Hmph, minor injuries? When I executed the ’Dark Moon’ First Layer Secret Technique, I lost a third of my power. The power behind your move is much greater than mine, probably at least half your strength is gone. I figure the meridians and bones in your body are severely damaged. And you call that minor injuries? What would count as severe injuries?" Little Black communicated unhurriedly through spiritual communication.

Qin Yu glared at Little Black.

Indeed, Qin Yu had been gravely injured this time; the silver particles in the Dantian Star Cloud were the source of Qin Yu’s energy. Qin Yu had actually employed his trump technique to burn off these silver particles, reducing them to only half of their original size.

Moreover, the explosion of so much energy at once was more than even Qin Yu’s body could withstand, resulting in serious damage to his body’s meridians and bones.

"Father, let’s go back. Now that Xiang Yang is dead, there is nothing that can hinder the Qin Family, and I can recover in peace without you worrying," Qin Yu said, comforting his father upon seeing his worried expression.

Upon hearing this, Qin De also silently nodded. With Xiang Yang dead, Qin Yu could indeed recover at ease without haste.

"Yu’er, you’ve had a hard time," Qin De said, patting Qin Yu on the shoulder, and then smiling, "Alright, we’ll return to Xiyang Town right now."

Afterward, Qin De, Qin Yu, Black Hawk, and Feng Yuzi directly broke space and left, heading toward Xiyang Town.

...

The impact of this battle was immense; people in hundreds of cities around witnessed the terrifying spectacle of the great battle, the meteor breaking space, and the terrifying energy from a Nascent Soul’s self-destruction, which competed with the moonlight in the sky.

A meteor piercing the sky, twin moons hanging high.

This legendary battle was extolled by the experts across the Hidden Dragon Continent; even the Upper Immortals from the Ming Dynasty and Han Dynasty who later examined the scene had to acknowledge that the combatants’ strength far exceeded theirs.

This battle also became a legend in the Hidden Dragon Continent, an object of aspiration for every Martial Arts expert.

According to the narratives of the surviving Innate Experts by the Wujiang River, one side in this legendary battle was Xiang Yang of the Xiang Family. The other was mysterious, merely a man and an eagle. Who exactly this man and eagle were led many to investigate but still, it remained an enigma on the Hidden Dragon Continent.

Xiyang Town, a lavish feast.

"Haha, come on, cheers, cheers!!!" Xu Yuan’s face was slightly red as he stood up, drunkenly exclaiming.

With Xiang Yang dead, the battle lost its suspense, and the Qin Family completely relaxed. Xu Yuan, the chief military strategist who always refrained from drinking to stay sober, now indulged in drinking, throwing caution to the wind.

At this point, if the Qin Family were not victorious, the generals might as well find a block of tofu and smash their heads against it in shame.

"How many years has it been, Prince? We’ve prepared for this day for so many years, and finally, we’re about to succeed. Prince, we’re going to succeed. Just one more command from you tomorrow, to launch the final assault, and the last of Ba Chu County of the Chu Dynasty will be completely in our hands," Xu Yuan said, half-drunk and emotionally reflecting.

Qin De also downed a glass fiercely, nodding and saying, "Yes, eighteen years, a full eighteen years. All these years, I haven’t had a single day of peace, but finally... finally we’re about to succeed." Qin De’s whole demeanor had changed.

Gone was the cold severity of the past; what remained was a sense of ease and casualness.

"No, not just eighteen years, Father. Our Qin Family ancestors have been preparing for this for hundreds of years. Every generation of ancestors has made continuous preparations for our future actions. Without the Mu Family, without the Shangguan Family, without hundreds of years of preparation, how could we have such a situation?" Qin Zheng was also very excited.

"Yes," Qin De nodded vehemently. "The preparations of the Qin Family ancestors for hundreds of years, the hopes of so many years, and... Jingyi, she too has waited a long time for this day." Qin De suddenly fell silent.

He was recalling the scenes of the past.

"Father," Qin Feng’s eyes sparkled coldly, "That Xiang Guang, I will surely take his head to comfort mother’s spirit in heaven." The real scene he had witnessed as a ten-year-old boy was etched in his memory, and he had been waiting for this day ever since.

Qin De nodded, then suddenly said, "Zheng’er, have you kept a close watch over every movement of the Xiang Family in the Capital? Don’t let them escape in the end."

Qin Zheng confidently replied, "Father, rest assured, every member of the Xiang Family is under our control. Even the Emperor Xiang Guang won’t dream of escaping the Imperial Palace." By now, the Qin Family’s covert forces were entirely controlled by Qin Zheng.

Qin De nodded again, then looked toward Qin Yu, who was at that moment tossing a piece of roasted duck to Little Black. Qin De watched his third son with a smile, just smiling without saying anything.

"Father."

Seeing Qin De just smiling at him, Qin Yu couldn’t help feeling a bit awkward.

Qin De’s smile contained an extreme satisfaction of a father for his son, a smile of relief. With a son like this, he, Qin De, also knew pride in this life.

...

The next day, Qin De, clad in his battle armor, stood outside the West Gate of Xiyang Town, gazing toward the west. Behind him stood Qin Zheng, Qin Feng, Qin Yu, Xu Yuan, and others, with a group of elite warriors guarding these core members of the Qin Family.

"Hundreds of years of preparation, and now a single morning’s success," a glint shone in Qin De’s eyes.

To the west lay their target, Ba Chu County.

Suddenly, Qin De turned to the messenger soldiers behind him and shouted, "Send out the order, the armies of Thunder Blood County, Upper Sparrow County, and Zhenyang County must attack Ba Chu County with full force. Within half a month, I want the entire Ba Chu County to be subdued."

"Yes!"

Several messengers immediately took the command, then, riding on flying creatures, sped off to relay the orders.

...

In Thunder Blood County, Upper Sparrow County, and Zhenyang County, armies numbering into the millions, following the military order, charged directly into Ba Chu County. Many of the Xiang Family’s commanding officers foresaw the dire situation and surrendered early.

With the Qin Family’s spies bribing from within and the threat of the large army from without, the Xiang Family’s last county was simply unable to withstand the onslaught; it was swept aside by the Qin Family’s army as easily as one sweeps away withered leaves.

This was no siege; it was a race. The cavalry hurriedly traveled, securing a city and leaving some troops to guard it, while the rest of the army continued to advance. Even though troops were dispersed to garrison the cities along the way, in the end, the combined forces still numbered over a million, as such a force converged outside the Capital.