CHAPTER 204: 204- A WIDOW’S SORROW [2]

Fang Yuan’s blade blurred, intercepting strike after strike.

Sparks and blood-mist filled the air.

"Damn it all!" Fang Yuan spat between clenched teeth, his robe tattered, blood trickling down his lip.

He parried a blow that could have torn a mountain in half, then roared, his voice carrying to every corner of the Wu estate.

"Wu Matriarch! You scheming wretch, this is how you repay my Fang Clan’s goodwill!? Calling for aid, then leaving me to fend alone!?"

The matriarch, trembling and pale, opened her mouth to shout back, yet no words came.

Every cultivator of the Wu Clan shrank back in fear, of both the beast and the man.

Tyrant light sword—First form: Divine Line!

Fang Yuan’s sword qi surged one last time, splitting the sky as he forced back two Saberfangs at once.

The peak-stage beast reeled, its claws gouging a canyon through the earth to steady itself.

And then, it moved.

The peak Nascent Soul Saberfang opened its maw wide, shadows swallowing light as its gullet became a black abyss.

In a single, bone-shaking lunge, it surged past the other beasts and bit down.

Fang Yuan’s sword-light flared desperately, trying to cleave open an escape, but the beast’s fangs slammed shut around him.

With a deafening crack, his figure vanished into its jaws.

Dust choked the air as the Saberfang raised its head high and swallowed.

Just as silence threatened to crush the battlefield, a voice cracked the air.

"—Give him back!!"

Lin Zhaoyue appeared at the edge of the Wu estate, her face pale with fury, her robes whipping in the winds stirred by the battle.

Her eyes blazed like a woman driven mad with grief.

"Give me back my husband!" she screamed, her chest heaving as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Her hand shot to her hair, ripping free a jade hairpin.

With a flick, it transformed into a gleaming weapon, radiating emerald light.

The Saberfang that had swallowed Fang Yuan snarled, lowering its massive head.

"HEAVENLY TIMBER—First Form: Wood Explosions!"

The very air trembled. The wooden beams of the Wu Clan estate groaned, then burst apart in violent detonations.

Entire pavilions went up like tinder, collapsing in showers of splinters and flame. The ground shook under the cascading blasts as if the earth itself mourned with her.

Screams erupted from the Wu Clan disciples as they scattered like ants, bloodied and burned by their own collapsing halls.

Lin Zhaoyue advanced step by step, her killing intent suffocating.

Her weapon pulsed with verdant power, the force of her Dao bending the battlefield to her will.

To the Wu Clan, she looked every bit the heartbroken widow, unleashing despair in the form of divine wrath.

"Return Fang Yuan to me!" she roared again, her voice echoing across Coldwind City, ensuring every watching ear heard her grief.

The Saberfang that had devoured Fang Yuan snarled, its massive jaws dripping with blood and qi-light.

For a moment, it squared itself against Lin Zhaoyue’s furious advance.

But then, as though struck by instinct, the beast wheeled around with a thunderous roar and bolted.

The other three Saberfangs broke formation instantly, bounding after their leader.

The earth cracked under their steps as they barreled toward Coldwind City, their fangs flashing, their growls echoing like rolling thunder.

Lin Zhaoyue’s eyes widened. "You won’t run from me!" she cried, her jade weapon pulsing with lethal intent.

She gave chase, her form like a streak of green lightning tearing through the air.

The beasts surged toward the Zhao Clan first. The great gates of the Zhao estate barely had time to tremble before—

"Heavenly Timber—First Form: Wood Explosions!"

The entire compound detonated. Pavilions and towers burst apart in a chain of green explosions, wood and stone turned into a storm of shrapnel.

Zhao disciples shrieked as they were hurled into the air, blood spraying.

One of the mid-stage Saberfangs howled as splinters and shrapnel pierced its flank, blood spilling in torrents.

Its massive body staggered, leaving deep claw marks as it struggled forward.

The herd didn’t stop.

They thundered through the burning wreckage, scattering Zhao survivors like frightened dogs, and charged toward the He Clan.

Lin Zhaoyue’s eyes gleamed with cold fury masked behind her screams.

Her hands moved again.

"Heavenly Timber—First Form: Wood Explosions!"

BOOM!

The He Clan’s ancestral estate erupted in chaos. Entire courtyards vanished in a rain of wood and flame.

Screams filled the air as the ground split, houses crumbled, and disciples were buried beneath rubble.

The high-stage Saberfang roared in rage as the blast cascaded over it.

It leapt sideways, throwing its body in front of the injured mid-stage beast, taking the brunt of the explosion.

Its thick hide cracked, bleeding profusely as its protective qi was torn apart.

The Saberfang pack didn’t linger.

With blood dripping from their wounds and their howls shaking the heavens, they tore free of the city’s edges and vanished into the wild forests beyond.

Lin Zhaoyue skidded to a halt at the city’s edge, her chest heaving, her hair in disarray, her jade weapon trembling in her grip.

"Husband!" Her scream tore out from the depths of her soul, ragged and raw.

She fell to her knees, her body trembling as she beat the earth with her fists, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her voice echoed through Coldwind City, carrying grief that pierced even the hardest hearts.

Step by step, Lin Zhaoyue made her way back.

Her robes were torn, stained with dust and ash, her figure swaying like a woman on the verge of collapse.

By the time she returned to the Wu estate, the once-proud compound was nothing more than ruin.

The air reeked of smoke and blood;shattered beams smoldered, and rubble groaned under the weight of its own collapse.

Lin Zhaoyue’s chest rose and fell sharply as she stood among the wreckage.

Her jade hairpin weapon gleamed faintly in her trembling hand.

She swept her gaze over the Wu disciples, huddled together in terror, their faces pale and eyes wide.