Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

As for the high-grade Xuan-level Spirit Binding Rope, it would be futile against such a powerful opponent—not only would it fail to bind him, but it might also break easily, making him a laughingstock.

"A sword formation?" Tuoba Hongzhen narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the four golden thunder swords around him. A playful smile appeared on his lips. "You've got some skill. I never expected that ten thousand years later, a sword prodigy like you would emerge. You haven't even reached the Grandmaster level yet, but you can set up such an exquisite sword formation on your own."

He paused, his tone shifting from playful to disdain: "Unfortunately, you've run into me."

As soon as he thought of it, two ancient bronze hammers appeared out of thin air in front of him. He held them firmly in his hands, and a faint red light surrounded the hammers, exuding a fierce aura.

The next second, countless sword lights suddenly appeared, and four golden lightning swords simultaneously burst forth with dazzling golden light. The Four Directions Sword Prison Formation was officially activated, and the fierce sword aura layered upon layer, becoming stronger and stronger, firmly enveloping Tuoba Hongzhen within it.

Su Mu gripped the Golden Rainbow Sword tightly, his body surrounded by streaks of sword light. With a flash, he charged towards Tuoba Hongzhen, accompanied by the sound of air being torn apart.

Undeterred, Tuoba Hongzhen swung his two bronze hammers with all his might, withstanding the bombardment of sword light from all directions, and charged towards Su Mu. The hammers collided with the sword light, producing a piercing metallic roar.

It is worth noting that Tuoba Hongzhen was wearing a simple and unadorned armor. The armor's defensive power was extremely astonishing. The sharp sword light generated by the Four Directions Sword Prison Formation could only leave faint marks on it, and could not penetrate it at all.

On the other side, atop the northern city wall of the Great Qian Imperial City, Xiao Anxun, Xiao Changshan, and other powerful members of the royal family stared in shock at the sky not far away—where sword light surged and energy fluctuations swept in all directions, as two top experts fiercely fought within a sword formation, a scene that was truly awe-inspiring.

"Eunuch Su probably didn't expect that he could catch two big fish by using me as bait," Xiao Anxun said sincerely, watching the fierce battle in mid-air.

"The barbarians actually have two Grandmasters hidden away. No wonder they're so determined to win this time." Xiao Changshan frowned, his face full of confusion. "But how did this young Grandmaster suddenly appear? There was never any mention of him before. It's too strange."

"It is precisely because there are two Grandmasters that it makes sense why their experts dare to act so recklessly," Xiao Anxun slowly said, analyzing, "If they only had one Grandmaster, and were unaware that we no longer have a Grandmaster on our side, they might not have dared to personally take the field so easily."

"Your Majesty is right." Xiao Changshan nodded, deeply agreeing. "Without absolute certainty, Grandmasters usually don't act rashly in such large-scale wars. After all, when top experts clash, a slight misstep can result in mutual destruction, which is a losing proposition."

At this moment, the Grandmasters of both sides were engaged in a fierce battle, and the barbarian army temporarily slowed its offensive on the northern city wall. The outcome of the battle between the top-tier warriors would directly determine the course of the war, and the barbarian army planned to wait until their own Grandmasters were victorious before launching a full-scale attack on the city to minimize unnecessary casualties.

With the enemy's siege intensifying, Xiao Anxun and Xiao Changshan were finally able to extricate themselves, observe the battle from a distance, and exchange a few words.

"Now that Eunuch Su's fishing plan has succeeded, Your Majesty need not risk your life any longer. Let's retreat to the city and await news for now," Xiao Changshan reminded him worriedly, fearing that something might happen to Xiao Anxun.

"Alright." Xiao Anxun nodded, not insisting on his own opinion. With a flash, he flew to his sister Xiao Anran's side. He didn't retreat too far, and could still see the battle situation in mid-air.

Jinzi hovered above their heads, chirping incessantly, its eyes frequently darting towards the sky outside the city, its little face full of anxiety—clearly, it was worried about Su Mu. But it was, after all, just a fledgling, not very brave, and even though it was extremely anxious, it didn't dare to fly over to help, and could only hover restlessly in place.

"With Eunuch Su's strength, plus that powerful silver puppet, dealing with a Grandmaster of the barbarians should have been a sure thing. I never expected that the barbarians would have such a young Grandmaster hidden away." Xiao Anxun sighed heavily, his tone full of worry. "That young barbarian Grandmaster seems to be even stronger than Lin Zhengying, the Sixth Elder of the Tianwu Sect. It seems that Eunuch Su did not gain the upper hand when he fought him."

"Yes." Xiao Anran's expression was also very solemn, her eyes fixed on the sky. "That young barbarian expert is like a war god. He can ignore Eunuch Su's sword formation attack. He is too terrifying."

"The world has undergone tremendous changes. It seems that more unexpected changes will occur in the future," Xiao Anxun said with a wry smile. "Even if we use the cultivation resources you control to fully enhance the overall strength of the royal family, we may not be able to protect this empire and imperial power."

"Right now, we can only take it one step at a time," Xiao Anran said softly, her tone full of helplessness. "Now, we can only hope that Eunuch Su can defeat those two barbarian grandmasters and force back the enemy troops outside the city."

The brother and sister were completely focused on the battle on the north wall. They had no time to worry about the situation on the other three walls and could only silently pray that the defenders on the other walls could hold out.

In mid-air outside the north city wall, under the cover of the Four Directions Sword Prison Formation, Su Mu activated his Wind Leopard Boots and used the Illusionary Shadow Step, his figure flickering unpredictably as he frequently clashed with Tuoba Hongzhen. Knowing that his opponent's origins were mysterious, he planned to entangle with him for a while longer, to figure out his background and find his weaknesses.

During the fierce battle, Tuoba Hongzhen also launched a soul attack on Su Mu. However, Su Mu had the Soul-Suppressing Pearl and the Free Bell guarding his sea of ​​consciousness, firmly protecting his soul fire and primordial spirit. The opponent's soul attack landed on him as if it had sunk into the sea, posing no threat whatsoever.

"Even a sword genius ten thousand years from now is nothing more than this." Tuoba Hongzhen grew more and more confident as the fight progressed, his disdain deepening. He could naturally sense that the power of the Four Directions Sword Prison Formation was constantly increasing, but he didn't take it to heart—he didn't want to wait until the sword formation's power reached its peak before making a move. Even if he achieved a spiritual body, he would still be suppressed by the sword formation's overwhelming pressure, and his strength would be damaged.

"I'm not playing with you anymore." Tuoba Hongzhen snorted coldly, his tone full of arrogance. "A mere Grandmaster from ten thousand years in the future dares to challenge a Grandmaster like me, truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth!"

In their previous encounter, he hadn't gone all out, but now he'd lost patience and decided to finish the fight quickly and go all out!

The two bronze hammers in his hands suddenly seemed to become incredibly light, and he swung them casually. Each strike was powerful and heavy, and where the hammers passed, sharp blades of light emerged—this was the barbarian's unique hammer and sword martial art, which combined fierce power with the sharpness to tear everything apart, and its power was boundless.

call!

Sensing the sudden increase in the opponent's combat power, Su Mu no longer held back. His body instantly ignited with raging acquired essence fire, golden flames enveloping his entire body. Within the flames, dragon shadows and roc shadows intertwined and swirled, exuding an incomparably domineering aura.

"Hmm?" Upon seeing the acquired essence fire on Su Mu's body, Tuoba Hongzhen's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with shock. With his knowledge, he naturally understood what it meant for the dragon and roc shadows to appear within the acquired essence fire—even just one of these shadows was already a sign of extraordinary talent, but for Su Mu's acquired essence fire to have two shadows coexisting was simply unheard of!

"A human genius ten thousand years later, to have such a destiny?" Tuoba Hongzhen was shocked and astonished. Immediately afterwards, he sensed an extremely special aura on Su Mu. The aura was majestic, domineering, and also carried a hint of holiness, inspiring awe.