Chapter 709 - 710: Another Conflict

"Golden Jade Fragrant Fruit!"

The woman immediately cried out in shock, her fair face filled with ecstasy and excitement.

"Master, there are five Golden Jade Fragrant Fruits here! Master, look! Haha, our luck is incredible!"

The excitement on the woman’s face was impossible to hide, brimming with elation.

There was no need for the woman’s reminder. The Tier Eight Second Layer Martial Emperor’s gaze had already fallen upon the valley.

"So that’s why this kid didn’t run when he saw us. There’s a treasure here. It seems the heavens have smiled upon us."

The ugly man was clearly more composed than the woman, but a hint of excitement still flickered in his eyes.

Ye Xuan’s heart turned cold. ’These two clearly don’t see me as a threat. They’ve already treated the Golden Jade Fragrant Fruits in the valley as their own.’

"Leave your Storage Ring, that black greatsword, and... yes, the Little Purple Mink on your shoulder. Then, get lost."

The ugly man stared at the Golden Jade Fragrant Fruits in shock for a while before recovering. He then glanced contemptuously at Ye Xuan and spoke in a cold voice.

If the ugly man had wanted to negotiate ownership of the Golden Jade Fragrant Fruits, Ye Xuan might have shown a bit of mercy. But he had immediately demanded his Storage Ring, and even tried to take the Sword of Judgment and the Little Purple Mink. This was no different from outright robbery.

Moreover, Ye Xuan detected a murderous glint in the ugly man’s eyes. It was clear that even if he left everything behind, the man had no intention of letting him live. The demand was likely just a ploy to lower his guard.

Ye Xuan’s gaze chilled. He knew this could not end peacefully.

CLANG!

The Sword of Judgment appeared in his hand. Ye Xuan said coldly, "Are you planning on robbing and murdering me?"

Ye Xuan’s words made the woman beside them bend over with laughter. She looked at the Tier Eight Second Layer Martial Emperor and said, exasperated, "Master, he doesn’t seem like a complete idiot, so why is he asking such a dumb question?"

In her view, since Ye Xuan had already figured out they planned to rob and kill him, he should have run for his life. Instead, he was standing here asking questions and had even drawn his weapon. ’Does this Tier Seven Second Layer Martial King actually intend to fight back?’

The ugly man clearly hadn’t expected Ye Xuan to ask such a question either. ’It’s a bit too stupid, isn’t it?’ But since Ye Xuan had asked, he saw no reason to hide it. He sneered, "You’re right. I am going to rob and kill you. Since you’ve figured it out, just stand there obediently and wait for me to do it."

A fierce glint flashed in the man’s eyes. As he finished speaking, a black saber appeared in his hand, and he prepared to strike.

Ye Xuan knew a battle was inevitable. Without waiting for his opponent to move, he took the initiative and slashed out with his Sword of Judgment.

CRACK!

A brilliant rainbow of lightning sword-light appeared between heaven and earth, transforming into a dense web of electricity that enveloped the ugly man. Terrifying Profound Yuan erupted within it, creating an apocalyptic scene.

The ugly man was furious that Ye Xuan had dared to strike first. ’A mere Tier Seven Martial King dares to attack a Tier Eight Martial Emperor like me?’ His fury was mixed with a cold sneer.

"You insignificant Martial King, daring to draw your sword before this Emperor. You’re courting death."

The ugly man snorted coldly. His black saber transformed into a black rainbow of light and slashed out with ease, clearly intending to instantly slice through the lightning Ye Xuan had unleashed. But the moment his blade’s light made contact with Ye Xuan’s sword-light, the ugly man’s expression changed. Something was wrong.

In his mind, with his level of cultivation, even using just fifty percent of his power should have been enough to shatter the opponent’s sword-light and cleave him in two. The reality, however, was that when his saber struck the sword-light Ye Xuan had conjured, it felt... suppressed. His saber was suspended in mid-air, unable to press down any further.

The ugly man was shocked. ’How is this possible?’ Fortunately, though he had been careless at first, his combat experience was vast. The instant his saber stalled, he didn’t hesitate, frantically channeling his True Yuan.

BOOM!

A magnificent wave of saber energy erupted from the blade and collided violently with the Sword of Judgment in Ye Xuan’s hand. The two forces clashed, and an astonishing power exploded outward.

The ugly man paid the price for his initial carelessness. PFFT! Several rays of sword-light pierced through his protective Profound Yuan, leaving several bloody gashes on his body.

’What?’ A surge of killing intent erupted in the ugly man’s heart. He stared in a daze at the wounds on his chest. He couldn’t believe that a mere Tier Seven Second Layer Martial King had actually managed to injure him. Such a thing had never happened before.

Even though the injuries were minor, for a Tier Eight Second Layer Martial Emperor to be wounded by a Tier Seven Second Layer Martial King was an incredibly shameful event. If word of this got out, it would be a huge loss of face.

"Master, are you alright?" The seductive woman at the side stared at the ugly man in astonishment. She clearly hadn’t expected her master to be injured in the very first exchange.

"You brat! How dare you injure me! Die!"

The ugly man, enraged by his own shame, roared and slashed out again. This time, he held nothing back. A sky full of blade-lights instantly transformed into a violent torrent that surged toward Ye Xuan.

At the same time, an invisible spatial force enveloped the area within a hundred-meter radius, trapping Ye Xuan inside.

Ye Xuan couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. ’This man is ridiculous. Is he the only one allowed to kill, while I’m not allowed to kill him back?’

But a sneer was just a sneer; Ye Xuan wasn’t the least bit careless. He activated the Feather of Void-Walking. Relying on his comprehension of spatial profundities, his figure twisted twice, and he instantly evaded the man’s attack.

RUMBLE!

Amidst a terrifying roar, the sky full of blade-lights carved a massive trench in the ground, kicking up countless clouds of black dust.

"Hmm? This kid isn’t bound by my Domain Realm’s barrier?"

The ugly man’s expression turned grave. He hadn’t held back in that last strike, yet Ye Xuan had still managed to dodge it. It was clear the young man before him was anything but ordinary.

But no matter how extraordinary he was, he was still just a Tier Seven Second Layer Martial King. ’Does he really think he can escape from me?’

The ugly man sneered. WHOOSH! He slashed out again.

This strike wasn’t as spectacular as the previous one; it looked quite ordinary. Yet an intense sense of crisis rose from the bottom of Ye Xuan’s heart.

At the same time, an invisible force throughout the space seemed to grip Ye Xuan’s body, desperately pulling him toward the light of the blade.

’What kind of saber technique is this?’

Ye Xuan was slightly startled. This pulling sensation was definitely not from the ugly man’s Domain Realm barrier; it was a power inherent in the saber technique itself.

Under the restraint of these two forces, no matter how well Ye Xuan understood spatial profundities, he was, after all, only a Tier Seven Second Layer Martial King. He immediately felt the strain, his body being involuntarily pulled toward the man’s blade-light.

At the critical moment, an ancient bronze mirror instantly appeared before Ye Xuan. HUMMM! The ancient mirror bloomed with a dazzling light and collided with the blade-light.

CRASH!

Ye Xuan’s Vast Light Grand Thousand Mirror had actually completely blocked the opponent’s attack. Furthermore, a faint wisp of saber energy reflected off the mirror’s surface, slashing back at the ugly man.

At the same time, Ye Xuan grunted, his face paling slightly as he was forced back several steps.

’What? The kid blocked it?’

The ugly man was astounded. The next moment, what shocked him even more was that as he faced the blade-light reflected by the ancient bronze mirror, he felt a pulling sensation on his own body. Alarmed, he hurriedly swung his saber back to annihilate the saber energy reflected by the Vast Light Grand Thousand Mirror.

"What kind of treasure is this? Not only did it block my ’Devouring Slash,’ but it even reflected the attack back at me—it even reflected the devouring intent within the attack!"

The ugly man stared at the Vast Light Grand Thousand Mirror in Ye Xuan’s hand, his face a mask of horror and shock.

While his opponent was stunned, Ye Xuan was thrilled. He could clearly feel that his own cultivation was constantly improving.

He recalled his time in the Celestial Capital Prefecture, when he was being hunted by Mo Qianshan, a Guest Minister of the Yuchi family. Mo Qianshan was also a Tier Eight Second Layer Martial Emperor. At that time, Ye Xuan had only been a Tier Seven First Layer, and the Vast Light Grand Thousand Mirror he used couldn’t even completely block the attack, leaving him injured.

But now, the ugly man before him was definitely much more formidable than Mo Qianshan. Yet, when he used the Vast Light Grand Thousand Mirror, he not only blocked the attack but even reflected a portion of its power. This made Ye Xuan clearly understand that his strength had, without him realizing it, improved tremendously.

"I refuse to believe that a Tier Seven Second Layer Martial King can block this Emperor’s attacks!"

Seeing Ye Xuan block his attacks time and again, the ugly man’s face turned savage. HUMMM! A hazy surge of martial soul power was released, and a misty black shadow appeared above his head.

Around the black shadow, seven stellar rings pulsed back and forth, emitting a terrifying martial soul aura.

The woman at the side couldn’t help but gape in shock. ’Master actually released his martial soul first? And that young man opposite him clearly hasn’t released his own. Is this boy really that difficult to deal with?’

Shock was one thing, but a mocking sneer soon appeared on the woman’s face. She knew that no matter what tricks Ye Xuan had, once her master unleashed his martial soul, he was doomed. No one knew the terror of her master’s martial soul better than she did.

Ye Xuan was a little speechless. He found that this ugly man was remarkably similar to Mo Qianshan, the one he had killed before. Both used sabers as weapons, and their martial souls were also similar. Mo Qianshan had a Yin Cloud martial soul, and this guy’s was also a shadowy mass.

In terms of saber techniques, however, this ugly man was far stronger than Mo Qianshan. ’I wonder how his martial soul compares to Mo Qianshan’s?’