Chapter 519 - 343: Clashing Head-on

So fast!

Even a master at the Low-Tier Sword Emperor Realm like Lie Que couldn't clearly see Ling Xiao's figure. He clearly saw Lie Suiyu's sword pierce Ling Xiao's body, only to realize it had struck an afterimage!

'Big Brother is incredible!'

Lie Que thought to himself, 'I must ask Big Brother for guidance more often in the future. Yes, in the future! The future?'

Lie Que himself was taken aback for a moment. 'Could Big Brother really escape this alive?'

If Lie Que couldn't see clearly, then Lie Yang certainly couldn't. However, that didn't stop this scion of a super-family from understanding the current situation. The astonishment in his heart was written all over his face, a complete contradiction to the upbringing he'd received since childhood, which taught him to never let his joy or anger show. Although he rarely managed to hide his emotions on a normal day, right now, he was truly and utterly shocked.

'Is this a young man of my own age... No, someone even younger than me? Impossible!'

Elder Yu had been a Tier Four Sword Venerable for over fifty years. Although he had made no progress in all that time, he had perfected everything that could be cultivated within the Tier Four Sword Venerable Realm to the absolute limit!

And despite all that, he... hadn't managed to defeat Ling Xiao after all this time?

That's it, Elder Yu doesn't want to kill him! Subconsciously, Lie Yang came up with this reason for Lie Suiyu's failure to secure a quick victory. 'That's right, we need Ling Xiao's Array, Alchemy, Sword Techniques, Cultivation Technique... We want it all! Once we have them, they'll be mine! I'll soon possess the same strength as Ling Xiao. Lie Que? A genius Martial Artist? A Tier One Sword Emperor? To hell with all of them!'

Suddenly, an undisguised, greedy glint shot from Lie Yang's eyes, and Lie Que, who was standing to the side, saw it clearly.

In contrast to Lie Yang's scheming, the astonishment on Lie Suifeng and Lie Suitian's faces was completely genuine.

'Is this Ling Xiao's true strength? It's terrifying, isn't it? How old is he? According to our intelligence, Ling Xiao is only about twenty. A young man his age is actually trading over a hundred blows with an Elder from the Lie Family, the Tier Four Sword Venerable Lie Suiyu, and they're still at a stalemate?'

Ling Xiao's Sword Techniques were simply divine! If this were a sparring match, Lie Suiyu would have already lost!

A Sword Venerable expert, famous for hundreds of years, still unable to defeat a snot-nosed brat under twenty after all this time... it seemed Elder Lie Suiyu was losing more and more face!

...

Inside the Urgently Cold Treasure Cauldron, Gongsun Sword's face was flushed with intense anger. Although he was curious about this thing and how it could contain him, the humiliating feeling of being protected made his face burn with shame.

Just now, he had been in a daze over his grandfather's departure. So when Ling Xiao told him to get in, he only hesitated for a moment before entering the Urgently Cold Treasure Cauldron.

It wasn't until he was inside, feeling the wisps of cold air from the cauldron, that Gongsun Sword realized, 'What am I doing in here?'

"The Lie Family is a super-family, but so is my Gongsun Family! No, I have to get out! Big Brother is definitely in danger like this. I don't believe the Lie Family would dare to do anything to me!"

Gongsun Sword said with a face full of regret and anger. When the three of them became sworn brothers, they had promised to share all hardships. Lie Que's hands were tied, that went without saying, but for him to have shamefully jumped into this cauldron... how would others see him in the future? Gongsun Sword grew even more furious.

At that moment, Shangguan Yutong spoke in a soft voice, "Young Master Gongsun..."

"Sister-in-law, please stop calling me Young Master. It sounds weird. Just call me by my name," Gongsun Sword said resentfully, turning around and around inside the cauldron, hoping to find an exit. To this point, Gongsun Sword was completely unaware that they were inside Ling Xiao's ring. He also didn't know that this Urgently Cold Treasure Cauldron was a magical artifact; unless Ling Xiao died, only Shangguan Yutong could open its mechanism.

Gongsun Sword's "sister-in-law" caused Shangguan Yutong's cheeks to flush crimson. She huffed, "Who's your sister-in-law? Gongsun Sword, what do you think of the strength of those few from the Lie Family?"

Gongsun Sword rolled his eyes. 'Isn't that a stupid question?' he thought. 'Three experts at the Sword Venerable Realm... what do I think of their strength? Of course they're incredibly powerful!'

Shangguan Yutong didn't wait for Gongsun Sword's answer and continued directly, "Three experts at the Sword Venerable Realm. If they really wanted to do something, how many people in this world could stop them?"

"My grandfather could!" Gongsun Sword blurted out subconsciously. He immediately caught himself but pushed on, "Even if my grandfather has already entered the Holy Sanctuary, I don't believe they would really dare to lay a hand on me! Besides, the Gongsun Family and the Lie Family have no grudge or feud between them. They have no reason to attack us!"

"No reason? You're Ling Xiao's friend, and the Gongsun Family is an ally of the Shushan Sword Sect. The whole world knows this, doesn't it?" Shangguan Yutong's beautiful eyes were clear and pure as she looked at Gongsun Sword. "We're out here in the wilderness. Even if those three Sword Venerables from the Lie Family did something, no one would ever know. Do you really think... they wouldn't dare?"

Gongsun Sword was at a loss for words. Kind people always subconsciously assume others are just as kind, forgetting that there's another type of person in this world, one known as "wicked beyond redemption."

"Then what do we do? Are we supposed to just watch as Big Brother..." As he spoke, Gongsun Sword's hands clenched into tight fists, the veins on his forehead bulging. He gritted his teeth and said, "If anything happens to Big Brother today, the Gongsun Family will fight the Lie Family to the death!"

As Gongsun Sword spoke, both Shangguan Yutong and Song Qi noticed the expressions of the few Sword Emperors from the Gongsun Clan change. After all, Gongsun Sword's status was anything but ordinary. As the future Young Master of the Gongsun Family, words like these certainly carried weight.

"Young Master... Sect Leader Ling will be fine. Please, rest assured!" a steady, mature Sword Emperor behind Gongsun Sword advised. At a time like this, they could neither provoke Gongsun Sword nor let him make such promises unchecked.

Gongsun Sword glanced back at the Sword Emperor, nodded faintly, and suddenly calmed down. "I understand," he said. In his heart, however, he had already decided: 'If something really happens to Big Brother, not a single one of those bastards from the Lie Family will get away!'

...

The first level of the Star Sword Formulas, the realm of Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect, Ling Xiao already knew by heart. For the second level, Will Sword, Ling Xiao had also reached the stage of Initial Glimpse. The Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword held by his Nascent Soul had yet to even be drawn. Right now, Ling Xiao was wielding the Hundred-Thousand-Refinements Treasure Sword he had obtained from Zhe Wanqian!

Lie Suiyu grew increasingly agitated, his attacks showing no mercy. Every strike was aimed at Ling Xiao's vital points!

Lie Suifeng and Lie Suitian no longer called out to stop him. They understood Lie Suiyu; the caliber of a Sword Venerable was not just for show. If Ling Xiao was truly defeated and forced to retreat, Lie Suiyu would at most cripple Ling Xiao's cultivation, but he would absolutely not kill him.

Lie Suiyu suddenly let out a long cry, his eyes regaining their calm. The Jingwu Family's ancestral sword technique, Seven Kills, had been refined to near perfection by him! A monstrously dangerous killing intent radiated from his entire body, mixing with the pressure he released. The treasure sword in his hand moved with divine-like skill. Even the two observing elders, Lie Suitian and Lie Suifeng, couldn't help but cheer for him in their hearts!

'How many years has it been since we've seen Lie Suiyu use his sword techniques like this? It must have been a very long time! If he hadn't been angered to the point of coughing up blood by this young man today, the two of us probably wouldn't have had the chance to witness it!'

"Elder Yu's Sword Techniques have become even more exquisite!"

Lie Suitian sighed softly from the side, a trace of envy in his eyes. Lie Suiyu's Sword Techniques were arguably the strongest in the entire Jingwu Family! Although Lie Suitian was a Tier Five Sword Venerable, and Lie Suiyu would certainly be no match for him in terms of pure power and pressure, if the two of them were to fight using only Sword Techniques without any Inner Strength, Lie Suitian truly had no confidence he could defeat his brother.

"Elder Yu has an extreme personality and has spent most of his energy researching Sword Techniques. If he had put that same effort into his cultivation, his strength today probably wouldn't be inferior to yours," Lie Suifeng said with a light sigh.

There was no trace of displeasure on Lie Suitian's face; instead, he nodded in earnest agreement.

Once Lie Suiyu calmed down, Ling Xiao, who wasn't using a magical artifact, suddenly found himself struggling slightly. 'If I were to bring out all my artifacts, taking down one Lie Suiyu wouldn't be a problem,' he thought. 'But there are still two other Sword Venerables over there, watching like tigers! I can clearly sense that one of them has an aura much stronger than Lie Suiyu's. If I exhaust myself, wouldn't that just be courting death?'

'Besides, how could they possibly just stand by and let me kill Lie Suiyu?'

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Ling Xiao's hands didn't slow in the slightest. He suddenly shot high up into the air, simultaneously dodging a wave of Lie Suiyu's murderous Sword Qi. Then, gripping his sword with both hands from his high vantage point, his body began to spin down like a top. The colorless Sword Qi around him grew stronger and stronger with each rotation, and all the surrounding elements began to surge madly toward the man and his sword!

Lie Suitian and Lie Suifeng couldn't help but be flabbergasted. Lie Suifeng yelled involuntarily, "Be careful!"

In truth, he didn't need to say it. Lie Suiyu himself had already sensed something was wrong. But with the pride he had cultivated over many years and the dignity of a Tier Four Sword Venerable, how could he allow himself not to meet this strike head-on?

"Break!"

Lie Suiyu let out a furious roar that sounded like a clap of thunder. At the same time, his body erupted in a blinding light, and his treasure sword flared with intense Sword Qi as he brutally met Ling Xiao's strike!

The air filled with a ZZZZZZZT sound, a grating noise that made one's skin crawl, like a cat's claws scraping a board.

Lie Suiyu poured nearly all his strength into this single strike. The immense power twisted and distorted his face as he bellowed, "Ling Xiao, you brat, die!"

An incomparably majestic force shot out from Lie Suiyu's sword.

"BOOM!!!"

A massive explosion rang out, followed by an extremely blinding flash of light that erupted in the sky!

Lie Yang and Lie Que couldn't help but shut their eyes. The collision was too intense; even the unblinking eyes of Lie Suifeng and Lie Suitian couldn't help but flicker for an instant!

So strong!!!!