Qin Dynasty: They've all turned into zombies, what's there to fear about a rebellion?

The massive, pitch-black city gate of Xianyang Palace now resembled the gaping maw of a giant beast.

Gai Nie stood before the door, the wooden sword in his hand long since replaced by the renowned "Yuanhong." The blade was long and slender, its cold light gleaming, subtly exuding a chilling sharpness. His descent from the mountain this time was not only to investigate Ying Zheng's fate, but also for the child trapped deep within the palace—Tianming.

"Stop!"

The Black Iron Guards guarding the city let out a low, mechanical growl, and their red electronic eyes instantly locked onto the white-clad swordsman.

"I'm sorry."

Gai Nie whispered something, and his figure instantly transformed into a white streak of light.

"Clang—"

A flash of sword light, so fast that even the afterimage was invisible. The two Black Iron Warriors at the forefront didn't even have time to raise their longswords before a string of dazzling sparks erupted from their thick iron armor.

The enormous impact sent the two heavy iron lumps, each weighing several hundred kilograms, staggering backward, carving deep furrows into the bluestone slabs beneath their feet.

Gai Nie frowned slightly.

It's not broken?

Although this sword strike was merely a test, it was enough to cleave through ordinary iron armor. Yet, when it struck these monsters, it only left a white mark? When did these Qin soldiers become so tough?

"roar!"

The attack on the Black Iron Warriors aroused their ferocity, and the red light in their eyes flashed wildly as they pounced forward, disregarding whether they would live or die.

Gai Nie no longer held back, unleashing his full agility, his entire body weaving through the heavy armor formation like a butterfly flitting among flowers. His Yuanhong sword energy surged, each strike precisely piercing the gaps in the armor's joints.

But these monsters are too strange.

They felt no pain, no fear. Even with severed tendons in their hands, they could still ram him with their shoulders; even with broken leg bones, they could still crawl and bite his ankle. This was no army; it was a pack of beasts clad in armor!

"Junior brother... what exactly did you create?"

Gai Nie's heart grew heavier, and his sword moved faster and faster. If he couldn't break the bones, he'd break the joints!

They advanced with unstoppable momentum.

When Gai Nie finally broke through the last line of defense and stood in the square of the main hall of Xianyang Palace, his white robes were inevitably stained with some dust.

At the top of those ninety-nine steps, the legendary "demonic" national advisor sat in a grand chair, holding a cup of bright red liquid, with a look of detached amusement on his face.

"Clap clap clap".

Su Ming put down his cup and clapped perfunctorily.

"Brilliant, truly brilliant. As expected of a Sword Saint, he actually managed to unlock my 'Master of Human Body Outlining' achievement. He stormed in here without killing a single person, was he just busy dismantling parts?"

Gai Nie stood with his sword drawn, his breath deep and resonant, his indifferent eyes fixed on Su Ming.

"You're Su Ming?"

"It's me." Su Ming crossed his legs. "What do you need? Are you here to apply for the swordsmanship instructor position, or to avenge your junior brother Wei Zhuang?"

"I'm here to kill you."

Gai Nie's voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable firmness: "You used your sorcery to bewitch the emperor, turning the Qin Dynasty into a ghost realm and turning the people into walking corpses. Today, I, Gai, will act on behalf of Heaven and slay you, you monster."

"Acting on behalf of Heaven?"

Su Ming shook his head helplessly, as if he had heard a joke. "Are you martial artists all a bit off your minds? Always talking about representing the will of Heaven. Does the will of Heaven pay you a salary?"

He stood up, dusted off his clothes, and walked down the steps, heading straight towards Gai Nie's sword.

"Come on, stop talking nonsense."

Su Ming pointed to his neck, then to his face, a smug grin on his face. "Aren't you the Sword Saint? Aren't you the best in the world? Slash here."

"If you can even scratch a sliver of my skin today, I'll admit defeat. I'll not only give you my head, but I'll also throw in a 'T-Virus deluxe package,' how about it?"

Gai Nie was stunned.

He had been traveling the world for many years and had seen people begging for mercy, fighting desperately, and even committing suicide, but he had never seen anyone willingly offering their face to be killed.

Is this arrogance or utter insanity?

"You think I wouldn't dare?" A cold glint flashed in Gai Nie's eyes.

"You may dare, but I bet you can't cut it."

Su Ming put his hands behind his back and even leaned his face forward. "Come on, don't be shy, use your strength. My skin has been 'nano-level stratum corneum strengthening,' and I'm just worried about not having a weapon heavy enough to do a destructive test."

This blatant provocation thoroughly enraged the usually composed swordsman.

"Arrogant!"

Gai Nie said no more and flicked his wrist.

There were no fancy sword moves, just a simple swing of the sword. But this sword was incredibly fast, as if it had traversed the distance of space. In the instant the sword light flashed, the sharp blade was already in front of Su Ming!

This sword strike is powerful enough to cut through gold and jade!

Su Ming didn't even blink, and there was even a mocking smile on his lips.

"clang--!!!"

A crisp, melodious sound, like the resounding toll of a bell, echoed across the empty square.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Gai Nie maintained his sword-wielding posture, and the blade of the famous sword Yuanhong was striking Su Ming squarely on the side of his face... about three inches in front of him.

There was no air there; instead, a thin, honeycomb-like transparent film appeared out of thin air the instant the blade touched it.

[Beep! Passive defense system activated.]

[The corpse gas field generator is operating normally; energy loss: 0.01%.]

Gai Nie felt a violent tremor in his wrist, and a huge recoil force was transmitted through the sword, making his tiger's mouth numb.

He stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

There was no bloodshed, no heads fell to the ground.

Even... not a single strand of the other person's bangs, which were fluttering in the wind, was broken.

Su Ming calmly extended a finger and gently flicked the sword blade that was so close to him, producing a soft "hum".

"this one?"

Su Ming sighed, looking at the dumbfounded Gai Nie with a disappointed expression:

"Sword Saint, haven't you eaten? With this little strength, you can't even scratch my 'corpse-proof coating'."