Chapter 446: Remote Status Enhancement

"You've made progress since a few years ago. It seems that encounter back then didn't kill you; now you've truly become a serious threat."

Murong Jian sneered, "How dare you bring up the past? If it weren't for Aixi's support, you would have died by my sword long ago. It's a pity I didn't know your identity back then, otherwise..."

"Enough talk. Today, you and I will settle this! After I kill you, I'll go eliminate those little brats from the Xuanmen Sect!"

Roar!

Taida let out a long roar, a terrifying bellow that surged skyward, somehow drawing out a unique power fluctuation around the surrounding ley lines.

At the same moment, Taida's body was inexplicably enveloped by a layer of deep, purplish-black, special energy protection.

Gripping his Blood-Burning Saber, Taida seemed to be fully revitalized, charging recklessly towards Murong Jian.

"What's happening? His aura seems completely different!"

At this moment, Yun Shu, who had been observing from the rear, instinctively frowned, a worried and anxious expression appearing on her face.

"If I'm not mistaken, he's being empowered by some special long-range force. I just don't know the source of this power."

Long Kun's words provided Yun Shu with a clue, but they also inexplicably made the young woman think of an even more terrifying name.

"The Dark Night Monarch?"

"The Dark Night Monarch? Who's that?" Long Kun asked back, looking at Yun Shu with a bewildered expression.

"That's a legendary monarch said to live deep within the dark, dense forests of the Northern Frontier. He's also the only Demon King-level entity from the Northern Frontier who has reached the pinnacle of cultivation! It's said that he has some blood relation to Taida; the exact relationship is unknown to outsiders, but the rise of the Blood Barbarian tribe is largely attributed to this Dark Night Monarch."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yao's expression also grew somewhat serious.

"To be able to grant such a powerful status from such a distance, the mastery of spatial laws required is probably beyond even our boss. It seems completely annihilating the Blood Barbarian tribe overnight will be very difficult. I was indeed a bit reckless."

"Not necessarily."

Long Kun, however, said with a grin, "You don't quite understand our boss. If he's in a good mood, it's not entirely impossible for him to just step in and eliminate that so-called monarch for you as well."

Yun Shu's expression faltered. Although she couldn't yet determine whether the Dark Night Monarch or Xu Yang, who was currently dominating the situation, was stronger, at least with Xu Yang present, they would have a fighting chance even if they couldn't truly defeat that ultimate boss of the Northern Frontier.

If they didn't seize this opportunity to completely eliminate the hidden danger, and Xu Yang, Long Kun, and Ling Yao were to leave later, the Xuanmen Sect would truly be in peril if the Blood Barbarian tribe launched an all-out assault and called upon the Dark Night Monarch to intervene.

"Your boss... just how powerful is he?"

Long Kun glanced at Ling Yao, and both of them simultaneously stuck out their tongues and shrugged helplessly. "His limit? Even he probably doesn't know... A god? Perhaps something close to that."

Yun Shu was speechless.

"Boy, I'm going to see just how tough you've become now!"

Taida lunged forward. Murong Jian, with no intention of dodging or retreating, raised his precious sword and directly clashed with him.

But the moment these two supreme forces collided, a terrifying power surged back through the sword hilt into Murong Jian's entire arm, shocking half of his body into almost immediate numbness!

"What terrifying power! Has this guy suddenly gone berserk?"

Looking at the purple-glowing protective barrier around Taida, Murong Jian deeply realized the threat this power posed and instinctively began to retreat.

"Hahahaha! Boy, that's not like you! Murong Jian, the mighty Border General, the invincible, actually knows fear?"

"Take this!"

Just as Taida was in hot pursuit, a silver light poured down from behind. A long, silvery-white spear materialized in Yun Shu's hand. The spear emanated a powerful aura, and the strike she unleashed was truly at the Tribulation Transcendence level, erupting with a trembling roar like a tiger's howl and a dragon's cry.

However, the attack didn't seem to have the desired effect.

Boom!

A dull thud echoed as the silver spear pierced into the center of the purple protective barrier, but it didn't immediately return to Yun Shu's hand. Instead, it was firmly held in place by Taida's unique empowered aura.

"Hmph, Yun Shu, you're not strong enough! If you had even half your father's strength from back then, the Xuanmen Sect wouldn't be in such a diminished state today."

Unbeknownst to Taida, his words struck Yun Shu's only weakness. Whenever her father was mentioned, Yun Shu's heart would become deeply agitated.

Indeed, Taida's goal was achieved.

As the sinister sneer on his lips entered Murong Jian's vision, danger quietly approached!

"Watch out!"

The next moment, Taida suddenly locked onto Yun Shu's aura and unleashed his most powerful attack yet, intending to utterly crush her. His goal was to 'capture the king to defeat the army,' thereby eliminating any hope for the Xuanmen Sect.

Given the strength of Taida's Blood Barbarian tribe, eliminating Yun Shu would inevitably lead to the Xuanmen Sect's complete fragmentation, making it much easier to defeat them individually afterward.

However, at this critical moment, Murong Jian had already rushed in front of Yun Shu, powerfully deflecting the obliterating force with his longsword.

He coughed, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. Murong Jian's meridians were shattered by the impact. Although his diligent cultivation over days and nights had built a deep foundation, preventing instant death, this single blow drastically reduced his core combat power.

This scene filled Yun Shu with shock and deep anguish. She realized that this man had seemingly melted her cold heart.

Yun Shu held Murong Jian's body. In that moment, her mask fell away, and tears streamed down her face. Their eyes met, and a spark finally ignited between them.

At the same time, the formidable Xu Yang noticed the situation. He frowned slightly and, like an unrivaled monarch, spoke coldly to Taida below.

"You dared to touch my brother? Are you tired of living?"

With a wave of his hand, the King's Sword—its spirit and blade perfectly fused—was unleashed by Xu Yang with the immense power of his Tribulation Transcendence peak realm.

This sword whistled down with the momentum of a startling dragon, emitting a fierce aura that threatened to tear everything apart, forcing all surrounding obstacles to retreat.

Countless hundreds of Blood Barbarian soldiers were instantly obliterated, and the sword also perfectly locked onto Taida's aura, making it impossible for him to escape.