*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The sounds of weapons clashing echoed through the air as waves of energy spread in all directions. The whale spun and moved his spear as if he were playing with an opponent in the Heavenly Saint Realm.
The enemy, on the other hand, had a twisted expression of frustration. He couldn’t gain the upper hand against a mere cultivator in the Spirit Fusion Realm?
The whale’s eyes pulsed with an earthy tone. The enemy swung furiously with his sword, but the whale sidestepped, parrying the attack.
A deafening sound resonated around. The opponent’s cultivation was far superior to his, and the whale obviously couldn’t block the strike with just skill; however, his body was covered by earth runes. After deflecting a third of the power of the strike, the rest was absorbed by the earth defense.
After blocking, the whale repeatedly thrust his spear dozens of times. The opponent blocked with the sword, causing explosions that shook the heavens.
The narrow alley where they had first appeared was long destroyed. However, the surrounding buildings were protected by powerful formation runes. Only a gap between the buildings had appeared, and the dome kept them confined.
Despite both fighting with everything they had, their attacks ricocheted off the spatial formation. Only a subtle aura escaped, enough to make a mortal cultivator cough up blood, but without risk of death, allowing them to flee safely. High above the formation, Ruri, tasked with keeping everything intact, was doing her job.
"You damned little punk, I’ll rip you apart limb by limb!" roared the cultivator. His hair stood on end, eyes red, and he looked consumed by madness.
He was using all his power, experienced enough to know that even if he attacked with everything against the formation, it would take several minutes to destroy it. By that time, the imperial family would have already surrounded him. He was completely doomed and only wanted to vent his anger by killing someone before he fell.
Several soldiers in flashy armor had already surrounded the area. They were, precisely, the main soldiers of the royal family. They threatened to interfere, but four figures quickly came into contact, and they recognized them, being forced to stop.
*CRACK!*
The cultivator’s movements were refined and cruel, as well as strange and cunning. He often launched sudden attacks at the whale’s blind spots, which made the experienced soldiers sigh in admiration.
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"How... how does a half-human, two realms below, manage to fight like this?" One of the soldiers exclaimed in shock.
The whale seemed like a war veteran fighting unarmed against a child wielding a gigantic sword. His movements were precise in parrying and blocking the enemy’s strikes.
But the most impressive thing was that he had no wounds at all. All the enemy’s power seemed to slam into an impenetrable steel wall; he wasted energy uselessly with every move.
The four followers of Nenuo were busy holding back the soldiers. However, their expressions were equally shocked. The whale had simply asked them to wait while he checked something.
Then he sent a message asking them not to interfere, emphasizing that this would completely change the future of the twins they wanted to protect. They had no idea what he intended, but the confidence he and the whole group exuded made them believe and help without hesitation. Now they were stunned, but felt they had to do as instructed.
One of them wasn’t present; it was precisely Zia. She was with the unconscious Nenuo on another mission. She received some runes from Ruri for a pre-established formation and returned to the only entrance to this closed world.
"Why is he only attacking with his sword?" a soldier murmured. Another, more experienced, observed the fight equally intrigued and commented:
"He must be planning something hidden. That half-human won’t last long, but don’t worry, we’ve surrounded everything. When the prince arrives, he won’t be able to escape."
The general impression was that the whale was miraculously holding out. No one could imagine the true reality, except for that poor man.
He even tried to manipulate the laws around him to use elemental techniques, but the dome-shaped formation came from the Dao of the Formation God. It wasn’t a simple trap; it cut off all contact with the world’s laws outside it.
In the middle of the fight, almost imperceptible, a zither was being played softly. Only the enemy could hear it, and because of the formation, he was limited to using the laws of his internal runes to attack. However, they refused to move easily in his body.
He could force them, but the cost and time would be ten times greater. If he tried, he knew the other figures around would move dangerously. His only option was to use his superior Qi, but he was just a spy, focused on gathering information and occasionally assassination. His specialty was concentrating his Qi to hide and strike, and the best way to do that was with simple attacks using his weapon.
The outcome of the fight was clear to him; there was no hope, and he was completely cornered. Unable to use his laws and techniques, he couldn’t overcome this simple opponent. Hatred grew with every second; was he going to die like a turtle stuck in a jar?
More soldiers from the royal family arrived, all in the Heavenly Saint Realm, quickly recognizing who the enemy was by his movements. However, despite wanting to intervene, the four young ones were the protectors of the royal family’s twins. Although they were low-level hybrids, they were still officially members of the family. The soldiers couldn’t oppose them and awaited the arrival of a superior.
A minute later, a deep voice echoed through the skies, startling all the soldiers. "Who is this young man? His battle experience is terrifying!"
The two combatants moved so quickly that it was almost impossible to track them with the naked eye. Only now did the hundreds of soldiers focused on the fight finally notice the figure in the sky; they took a deep breath and spoke in unison: "Immortal Crane Prince!"
In the sky, a beast radiating a pure and sacred aura floated with its wings moving gently. It was an Immortal Crane with colorful feathers, each adorned with a small glowing rune.
The space around it seemed frozen, and just observing this beautiful bird, it was as if time stopped. This ancient divine beast was born with a rare affinity for controlling time, the twin law of space. Space-time were sides of the same coin, similar to Yin and Yang. One needed the other, and one completed the other, blending easily.
As he spoke, a voice echoed in his mind: ’Brother, please help me! I was just recruited, but I’ve worked so much for the royal family. You know, to find their nest, I followed their traces with all my strength for over a hundred years, and all my hard work finally bore fruit today. Quickly, capture that shameless bastard!’
’Alright, I’ll look into your words later. But the royal family will reward you for your efforts.’ He replied with a slight nod.
The skies trembled, and Ruri turned to the Crane, extremely curious. The cultivator within the formation felt as if his existence was sinking into a mire. All his Qi was slowly stagnating.
The Laws of Time slowed the opponent down terrifyingly. It didn’t just affect movements but also thoughts, senses, response times, and much more. Everything became difficult and strange.
"Face your death," a calm voice said, and its wings flapped lightly. A spatial blade formed, and the beast, like a striking beam of light, fell from the sky upon the man.
When the Immortal Crane entered the barrier, the man snorted, glaring up with his eyes glowing ominously. Silently, the whale beside him only watched, but internally a sarcastic laugh echoed.
"FUCK OFF!" The cornered man roared as his whole life began to burn away.
**BOOM!**
The two sides clashed, and both spat out blood, being thrown several meters in opposite directions. Forced to retreat, this exchange really ended in a draw, shocking all the soldiers.
The Crane rose slightly, and the other man did too. They stared at each other until a message sounded in the whale’s mind.
’Hurry up and help. You have good defenses; I need you to hold him for a while until I build up energy for a big attack.’
’How long will it take to store up energy? I won’t be able to hold him off for long. If you let me die, it will be an irreparable stain on your whole family!’ the whale replied in a desperate tone.
’I just need you to hold him for a few breaths. Also, you’re not allowed to tell anyone that I asked for help,’ the Immortal Crane said seriously.
The response came back curt: ’Why does it seem like all the benefits will go to you, and I’m just forced to keep your secret? The responsibility is yours, not mine.’
’Stop wasting words. I’m the royal prince; I assure you I’ll reward you handsomely.’ His words came just as the enemy attacked fiercely.
The whale snorted, saying, "Alright, time to work. Attack!"
The whole group around heard and drew their weapons. At that moment, the entire capital seemed to be engulfed by a suffocating pressure.