allendalepharm Chapter 174 The Deposed Crown Prince
Chapter 174 The Deposed Crown Prince
……
She did not resist; only a single tear silently slid down her cheek.
Tianze's pupils constricted sharply, his knuckles tightened abruptly, and his anger boiled over: "Crying? This weak appearance is unlike the Yan Lingji I know!"
Under the moonlight, she was dressed in red, her black hair cascading down her back. The evening breeze stirred, causing her hair and clothes to flutter together. That poignant beauty was more captivating than any raging fire. And the hand that had once gripped fate tightly now loosened its fingers, letting the wind slip through its gaps.
A slight smile played on her lips, her beautiful face radiating a gentle glow. Her eyes, soft and tender, gazed at Tianze, her voice trembling yet resolute: "This period of time is worth a thousand days of the past."
...............
"You're asking for it! You deserve to be damned!"
Tianze's voice was like an icicle scraping against an iron plate, his eyes flashing with a chilling killing intent, his anger having long since burned away his reason.
He's going to kill Yan Lingji!
If he can't have her, no one else can touch her—she's always been his woman, from beginning to end.
Yan Lingji slowly closed her eyes, the wind, frost, rain, snow, and figures of the past few days flashing before her eyes, finally settling on that face that always wore a calm smile. That person was fearless, every gesture was confident, as if the most difficult things in the world were nothing more than something that could be easily overcome in his eyes.
"Release them immediately! Otherwise, you'll have a bloody hole in your heart in the next breath!"
"What?!"
Tianze froze, turning around in disbelief—and there was a figure standing behind him! Silent and stealthy, like a ghost, a cold blade was pressed against his back, its chill penetrating to the bone.
That voice was so familiar.
Yan Lingji suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze meeting that of the man behind Tianze—Lin Tian was smiling gently at her, his brows furrowed with certainty.
But Tianze swung his hand back and threw her out hard!
Lin Tian flashed forward and caught her steadily as she fell, pulling her into his arms. His palm gently touched her back, and a wisp of warm internal energy quietly flowed in, soothing her surging blood and fear.
Once she had calmed down a bit, she asked softly, "Why are you here?"
"How could I possibly be absent from an invitation from an old friend? Stand firm, and I'll avenge you," Lin Tian replied with a smile.
He had been waiting quietly behind Tianze for a long time. Among the reward cards he received after eliminating the seven members of the Eight Linglong Sect last time, he had chosen an extremely handy secret technique—the "Heavenly Concealment Technique." This technique originated from Japan and was later refined and perfected by the masters of the Central Plains Taoist sect, reaching a state of perfection. It was originally found in the "Meteor Butterfly Sword" lineage.
When mastered, one can conceal their breath like a sleeping tortoise, leave no trace on the ground, and become invisible, approaching enemies as if entering an empty land, truly a king of assassination and a saint of escape.
At first, he also thought that Yan Lingji had broken her promise and could only sigh; but after witnessing the whole process, he truly understood the struggle and perseverance in her eyes.
It was once faith, now it is testimony.
In particular, the line "This period of time is worth more than a thousand days in the past" was like a flame that unexpectedly burned into his heart.
The Yuanhong Sword was drawn, its cold light pointing directly at Tianze's throat. He said, each word distinct and deliberate: "Release your hand."
Tianze's pupils shrank suddenly. This time, he was no longer shocked, but a chill seeped from his very bones—this man was so strong that it made his spine go cold and even his breathing become labored.
He was afraid. Truly afraid. The overwhelming pressure made his limbs stiffen and his mind reel.
Yan Lingji stood still, her eyes sparkling, and said with a smile, "Master is lying to people again. He is just a deposed prince of Baiyue."
She still recognizes this fallen prince. Lin Tian's heart stirred slightly—it turns out that this woman, who is like a blazing flame, is outwardly fiery but inwardly pure, knows her own joys and sorrows, values loyalty and righteousness, and has never betrayed a true heart.
"The deposed crown prince of Baiyue, Red-browed Dragon-Snake Tianze... Tsk, what a resounding name. Why don't you try slicing off my sword and see if it can sever your head?"
Before the words were finished—
Before the sword was drawn, the intent had already cleaved the sky! Snow blades flew, mountain shadows shifted, sword light surged like a tide, but the figure had vanished without a trace.
The deadly sword intent had already been forged into the formless sword bone. With the activation of the innate, body-breaking, invisible sword energy, Lin Tian felt that this martial world was nothing more than a small chessboard.
A flash of cold light appeared, and Tianze didn't even have time to think of defending himself. He could only watch helplessly as the sword shadows poured down like a waterfall.
"knock off."
The two words fell to the ground, and Yuanhong returned to its sheath. Lin Tian was already standing five steps behind Tianze with his hands behind his back.
And at this moment, Tianze—
His clothes were torn to shreds, and dozens of fine sword wounds appeared all over his body. His skin and flesh were rolled up but not deep, and he didn't even feel any pain—it was too fast, so fast that even the pain couldn't keep up with the sword's edge.
Only after Lin Tian finished his attack did he suddenly throw his head back and roar, "Ah—!!"
His knees buckled, and he knelt heavily on the ground. His hands trembled as he groped his entire body, grimacing and panting heavily, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The dragon and snake chain around his waist had already broken into pieces, cracking and snapping as it shattered into pieces of iron scattered on the ground.
Lin Tian's figure flickered again, already close to Tian Ze's nose, his right palm raised high, ready to strike.
His palm was already three inches above Tianze's crown, his voice as cold as a blade: "Crown Prince Tianze of Baiyue—you shouldn't have touched Yan Lingji even a finger! She's no longer your shadow, she's now the one who follows me. If you hurt her even a little, I, Lin Tian, will tear you apart tenfold; if you harm her even an inch, I will crush you a hundred inches!"
This palm strike was imbued with the power to shatter mountains and split rocks. Even before the palm wind landed, the air trembled and vibrated, as if even heaven and earth held their breath. In the world, the only one who could withstand this blow and survive was probably Lin Tian himself, who had miraculously returned from the dead; as for others? Even if the King of Hell himself came, they would likely not be able to prolong their lives.
Just as the palm strike was about to land and life hung by a thread, Yan Lingji suddenly screamed:
"Lin Tian—please stop!"
The palm strike was like a knife, shaving off the stray hairs on Tianze's forehead, making them dance wildly, each strand standing on its own, and causing a dull ache to run down his scalp.
"Give me a reason." Lin Tian's voice was calm, yet it was like an undercurrent surging beneath the ice.
Yan Lingji rushed over and grabbed his wrist. Her fingertips trembled slightly, her eyes reddened, but her lips curved like a flame that was about to go out: "Because he was once the Crown Prince of Baiyue... and I was once the fiercest fire in Baiyue."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Tian let out a soft sigh: "So be it. The pain from these broken bones and torn tendons will stay with him for the rest of his life."
The killing intent vanished abruptly, the sword silently returned to its sheath, and the cold light faded away.
He looked down at the disheveled Tianze on the ground, his voice laced with sarcasm: "Truly worthy of being called the deposed crown prince of Baiyue—Yan Lingji following you is like casting pearls before swine, a wasted life."
Lin Tian knew in his heart that Yan Lingji's last wisp of soul was extinguished by Tian Ze himself.
What's even more painful is that Tianze never gave her what she wanted—not power, not protection, not even a solid promise.
When Bai Yifei set up an illusion, using the guise of Tianze to lure her into revealing the whereabouts of the Baiyue treasure, she still led her people to the ruins of Zheng Palace without hesitation. If she hadn't discovered halfway through that the face was a fake made of painted skin, the entire Baiyue treasure would have already fallen into Bai Yifei's hands.
The sweet words and vows of eternal love spoken by "Tianze" in the illusion were perhaps the echo she longed for most in her heart—but unfortunately, they were all illusions, all poisoned bait, all a bewitching potion carefully brewed by Bai Yifei.
Lin Tian knew that if he hadn't intervened and things had continued along the old path, Yan Lingji would have remained a fool clinging to empty promises and delusions until the moment she breathed her last.