The Peerless Emperor-Chapter 338 - 339: Border of Two States

As one of the leading forces in the Southern Domain, the Qin Dynasty naturally possessed astonishing strength, and as a millennium-old dynasty, its heritage was profoundly deep.

Because of this, many people in the Southern Domain were pessimistic about the chances of the forces from the four directions competing with the Qin Dynasty, whose heritage they could not match. Should full-blown war erupt, it was evident that the Qin Dynasty would stand a significantly better chance of winning.

Furthermore, the Sea Clan allies of the Qin Dynasty would also join the war, undoubtedly severely constraining the Eight-Armed Sea Clan.

Thus, the real adversaries the Qin Dynasty had to face were merely the forces of Double Pole Palace, Carefree Sect, and Blood Spirit Valley. With this array, the likelihood of the Qin Dynasty winning the war was much higher.

Apart from the continuous friction and conflicts arising at the borderlands between the Qin Dynasty and Double Pole Palace, both sides had yet to truly clash, seemingly brewing something.

Double Pole Palace controlled Liujiang State, which bordered the Qin Dynasty's Shunshui State. Soldiers from both sides constantly battled in this region, with lives lost daily.

Although the casualties had little impact on the overall war situation, they were nonetheless crucial—the skirmishes seemed more like contests of morale, each side trying to see who could claim more lives.

A key characteristic of Liujiang State was its dense forests containing dense networks of waterways, with rivers of varying sizes running throughout the woods. There were no tall mountains, and the land was very flat. The concentration of spiritual energy here was also exceptionally high.

Shunshui State was not like this. The water network of Liujiang State ultimately converged there into a turbulent river that surged toward the residences of the Qin Dynasty.

However, at the border between Liujiang State and Shunshui State, the dense forests and abundant rivers still prevailed.

Yet here, the spirit wood was even more luxuriant, and the rivers were neither as dense nor as intricate as those inside Liujiang State, with the waters deeper and broader.

Within the lush forests of spirit wood, disciples from Double Pole Palace, Carefree Sect, and Blood Spirit Valley emerged, as did soldiers from the Qin Dynasty clad in lightweight Soul Device armor, moving among them.

Compared to the soldiers of the Huaxia Empire, the Qin Dynasty soldiers' Soul Device armor was rudimentary and crude.

The overall design was intolerable. When Lin Qian returned to the Heavenly Art Department of the Huaxia Empire, one could always hear the department's scholars scoff.

"The joints aren't even protected—what inferior craftsmanship."

"It's truly laughable that their armor can't defend automatically, and soldiers must detect an attack themselves, activate their soul power, then engage the defense."

"Their armor is just so ugly—it looks like a metal can."

If the masters of the Artifact Refining Palace in charge of creating armor in the Qin Dynasty heard the Heavenly Art Department scholars' discussions, they would probably be infuriated to death.

The masterpiece of the Artifact Refining Palace, praised by the Human Emperor, was seen as nothing more than a metal can in others' eyes!

Of course, the artisans of the Qin Dynasty's Artifact Refining Palace were unaware of the scholars' talk and maintained a proud demeanor, continuing to craft their "metal cans"!

In the dense bordering woods, a male and a female disciple from Double Pole Palace, both clad in black and white robes, blood-soaked, fled toward Liujiang State, glancing back occasionally.

The dense forest provided the best cover. To fly through the air would make them easy targets, and soldiers from the Qin Dynasty would swarm from all around.

At that moment, the female disciple from Double Pole Palace suddenly groaned, her internal injuries flared, and her body, pervaded by fading soul power, collapsed to the ground.

"Junior sister, are you alright?" The male disciple quickly crouched down, helping the female disciple up, channeling his soul power into her body without regard for the loss.

Finally stabilizing her condition, allowing the female disciple to wake from her faint, the male disciple's soul power was nearly depleted.

"Senior brother, why are you so foolish?" Seeing the weak breath of the male disciple, tears burst from the female disciple's eyes, mixing with blood as they slid down her cheeks.

The male disciple gently shook his head, gripping the female disciple's shoulders, solemnly saying, "You must survive, hurry and escape, we can meet up with the other seniors in a moment."

"No, senior brother." The female disciple suddenly shook her head, instead looking resolutely at the male disciple in front of her, "If we die, we die together."

"Junior sister, you're not..." The male disciple, hearing her words, could hardly believe his ears.

In the past, he had always pursued the junior sister in front of him, but she often mocked and ridiculed him, pushing him to train harder in his cultivation.

"Fool, you are so lazy by nature; if I didn't provoke you, could you have achieved your current realm?" Seeing the incredulous look on the male disciple's face, the female disciple laughed through her tears.

The male disciple then understood why his junior sister would often mock and ridicule him daily yet always showed concern when he was injured, returning to her usual demeanor once he was healed, until he recently broke through to the Life and Death Realm, and she was somewhat nicer.

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"Can't run anymore, can you?" Just as the two shared a tender moment, a scar-faced soldier rushed over, stopping in front of them.

Seeing the newcomer, the male disciple quickly stood, positioning his junior sister behind him, warily watching the opponent.

"Hehehe, it looks like you, kid, have a massive depletion of soul power, no cause for concern," said the scar-faced soldier, rubbing his chin, looking toward the female disciple behind with squinting eyes, "Don't worry, I won't rush to kill you. I'll let you see how I 'take care of' your junior sister first, then I'll let you die with your eyes wide open, hahaha."

"Beast!" The male disciple glared at the scar-faced soldier in front of him, his teeth nearly shattering, and with a hoarse voice, he bellowed then quickly turned to his junior sister, "Run, run fast."

"Thinking of running?" The scar-faced soldier sneered, suddenly rushing forward and kicking the male disciple in the abdomen.

Whoosh!

The male disciple spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his body flying backward and heavily falling to the ground, clutching his abdomen in agony, writhing in pain.

Seeing this, the female disciple, gathering the last of her soul power into a sharp blade, moved to stab her own heart.

"Thinking of killing yourself?" The scar-faced soldier stepped forward quickly, slapping the female disciple across the face, dispersing her gathered soul power, and she too fell to the ground.

The scar-faced soldier approached the male disciple, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him next to the female disciple, sneering, "Boy, just watch how I enjoy myself."

"I'll fight you!" The male disciple screamed, his eyes splitting with rage, lunging forward and biting fiercely at the scar-faced soldier's ear, tearing it off.

The scar-faced soldier, covering his bleeding right ear, a surge of rage rising in him, picked up his successfully forged Primordial Weapon long knife, and swung it at the male disciple's forehead, "Since you seek death, I'll oblige you."

Swish!

The sound of the knife wind rang out, the male disciple involuntarily closed his eyes, but after waiting a while, he did not feel the knife blade land on him.

When he opened his eyes, he found a young man dressed in a white robe standing beside him, the opponent's Primordial Weapon long knife securely grasped in his hand, completely immobile!