The side of the warblade that faced the sky was burning fire, while the side that faced the ground rippled with unrelenting water. Though the divine patterns were scarcely visible under the elemental effects of the blade, it was clear to see that two types of divine hazards were used in its forging. The Heaven-Earth Sunderer seemed to be higher quality than any other divine artifact he'd seen, being probably along the lines of a grade-three divine artifact.

No doubt, artifacts on that level had powerful divine patterns. When it was waved around, fire and water intertwined. With the toughness of divine ores and the elemental powers of divine hazards, it was a great force multiplier. Liu Qinghuan came stomping toward Tianming as he waved his blade around. Little did he know that the reason that Tianming hadn’t sent his godswords to help out his lifebound beasts but kept them by his side was because he believed he could best Liu Qinghuan without the beasts.

"Liu Qinghuan, if a watchdog like you doesn't die, all of my efforts would've been wasted." Tianming did feel a little sympathetic toward a fellow beastmaster. After all, it was mainly the divine moonrace that annoyed him. However, he could tell from what Liu Qinghuan had said that he was submissive and loyal to his masters through and through, so Tianming was left with no choice.

He charged toward Liu Qinghuan with all ten of his totems slashing at the same time. That was a sight to be marveled at indeed; even Liu Qinghuan was appalled by the sight. "Divine Moon Skycity is Lianlian's life's work! No matter your talent, I won't let you destroy it!"

He used a third-realm divine art, Skyriver Forge. It was the legacy of a divine moonrace ancestor. A cold river was contrasted by a burning forge, and both of those blade intents were contained in a single slash, perfectly melding them together. The first move of that technique was called Twinworld Bladehell. As its name suggested, two worlds manifested during the slash, one of infernal purgatory and the other of desolate frost. 

"Give up while you still can, boy!"

As Liu Qinghuan smiled, Tianming's godswords worked with him to execute Seaborne Moon. It was the move he had used to kill the two grand moon guides, but this time it was even stronger! Tens of thousands of bright moons appeared as the sword formation manifested and clashed with Liu Qinghuan's attack, causing countless sharp clangs to ring out. Though Liu Qinghuan was a ninth-level ascendant, Tianming had ten totems, so it was like he was fighting ten against one!

When Twinworld Bladehell and Seaborne Moon clashed, the Grand-Orient Swords were parried by the warblade but Liu Qinghuan couldn't block all the godswords. Amidst the flurry of slashes, he was sent flying by the explosions of the totems’ attacks. Though armor manifested around his body at the moment of the clash, it was torn apart before Tianming even got a good look at it.

"That was a gift from Lianlian!" Liu Qinghuan saw red as he climbed back up like a mad, raving demon, glaring at Tianming. Lianlian was probably the imperial guide's name. Tianming didn't know why this man loved that cold and arrogant woman so much, even to the point that he would be enraged over something she gave him being destroyed.

"You... you!" Liu Qinghuan raised his blade once more, each of his eyes reflecting the elements of his blade. One burned bright and the other exuded cold killing intent. "You never should've done that!"

He roared and came charging in with even more ferocity, still intent on stopping Tianming. Thanks to the sovereign's intention of using Tianming to make a breakthrough, he had no choice but to go against her. There wasn't much time left, neither for Tianming himself nor for Ye Lingfeng. There was only one way to save Ye Lingfeng: crushing Sovereign Xi. So, the only way he could buy time was to keep her occupied. He wouldn't be able to escape either, having been marked by her Bluemoon Heart.

"Liu Qinghuan, I'm just doing what I must to survive," he said amidst the storm. He understood that to be a good emperor and someone who could protect his loved ones, he had to be merciless and decisive. I must fight and take the initiative in order to change my fate!

His resolve renewed, he struck once more with his godswords, executing the Moonnight Subdued Strike, Sight Across Shores. The first and second strikes were actually connected, with Seaborne Moon being the first move that set up the stance for the killing blow of Sight Across Shores. The second could only come after the first, followed by a change in stance during the rise of the moons. All twelve swords completely changed and melded into one, blasting out with full force upon release. The countless moons around Tianming congregated at a single point, the resulting density of sword intent causing spacetime itself to begin ripping. When the swords themselves struck, spacetime was torn apart in a fantastic flash of light.

"Die!" The moonlight-colored flash of sword light completely tore apart Liu Qinghuan's second strike, Waterflame Skyrise, which was a fusion of the fire and water stances. But even so, that was child's play compared to Tianming's twelve-sword-fusion strike. Before the water and fire could even adequately fuse, it had been completely scattered by Tianming.

"That move!" Liu Qinghuan watched as his will began crumbling, realizing that not only had he underestimated Tianming's talent, he had also miscalculated how intent Tianming was on killing. That mistake would cost him his life!

The sword flash pierced through his chest and even continued on to strike the building behind him, blasting through many layers of barrier formations. That was the place Liu Qinghuan had spent most of his life at, and it would also be where he was laid to rest. He knelt on the ground wide-eyed, still gripping his blade, then fell flat into a pool of blood.

"I don't care who you've sworn your loyalty to. Just don't get in my way in your next life." Tianming didn't have another moment to spare to look at him. He immediately turned around to hunt down the four remaining enemies: two grand moon guides and two hounds, the latter of whom were already dumbstruck.

After Ying Huo and the rest regrouped, the hounds joined up with the grand moon guides to apply pressure on them. Many of Xian Xian's vines and leaves were burned and hacked away, dealing lots of damage to it. Lan Huang was struggling the best it could, but the sheer gap between levels in the Ascension stage made it so that it faced a lot of pressure even while utilizing all the astralforce it could muster. Meow Meow, on the other hand, had to hold off twelve totems and two grand moon guides, and was being overwhelmed. There were just too many opponents!