Chapter 521 - 344: Shock (2)

Lie Yang's heart pounded. Even though he was the first in line to be the next Clan Leader, and even though Lie Suitian was not the Clan Leader, his status as the Grand Elder held immense sway throughout the entire Jingwu Family! Even Lie Yang's father, Lie Yan, held the utmost respect for Grand Elder Lie Suitian. Therefore, if Grand Elder Lie Suitian returned to the family and issued a kill order for Ling Xiao, the full might of the Jingwu Family would be mobilized against him!

'Hmph, Ling Xiao, let's see where you can run now!' Lie Yang's good mood was instantly shattered by Lie Suitian's next words.

"Announce that the East Sea Qin Family Members are Cultivating Evil Techniques, and that all are called to execute them! Send this notice to every sect and family we can reach, regardless of their size! Then, inform our own Jingwu Family members... that they are forbidden from making an enemy of Ling Xiao! Otherwise, they will be dealt with as traitors!" After speaking, Lie Suitian glanced at the vacant-eyed Lie Suixue. As expected, Lie Suixue's body trembled violently. He lifted his head, and a flicker of emotion finally appeared in his listless old eyes.

"Why?"

Lie Suixue's voice was weak, but it was the same question Lie Yang wanted to ask.

"Because if this continues, the Zhe Family will be our cautionary tale!"

Lie Suitian lowered his eyelids and sighed softly. "Before, I thought Ling Xiao was only so arrogant and presumptuous because he relied on some strange Array. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes today, I wouldn't have believed that a young man in his twenties could possess such formidable strength! Suixue, tell me yourself, are you his match?"

Lie Suitian's voice was gentle, but his words were like a sharp knife stabbing viciously into Lie Suixue's heart. Lie Suixue's face twisted in agony. Lie Suitian's question even made Lie Suifeng uncomfortable. He couldn't help but glance at Lie Suitian, thinking, 'What kind of question is that? If that kid were a match for Elder Suiyu, why would he have fled in such a panic?'

"I am not his match. If he wanted to kill me, it would be as easy as flipping his hand."

Finally, after a long hesitation, Lie Suixue uttered the words he least wanted to say. The moment he finished, he spat out another mouthful of blood and collapsed, completely unconscious.

Lie Suifeng shot Lie Suitian a reproachful look. 'Great,' he thought. 'Elder Suiyu wasn't wounded by the enemy, but you just had to provoke him until he coughed up blood.'

Lie Suitian shook his head helplessly and said, "Do you really think Ling Xiao fled because he couldn't defeat Elder Suiyu?"

"It wasn't?"

After a long silence, Lie Yang finally recovered from his shock. From his perspective, he had naturally assumed that Ling Xiao was no match for Elder Yu, even though Ling Xiao was already very powerful.

"Of course not," Lie Suitian sighed. "Even if it were me facing Ling Xiao alone, I'm afraid I couldn't do much to him. He ran because he was afraid that I and Elder Feng would intervene!"

"What?"

Lie Yang's jaw dropped. The shocks just kept coming today, and tragically, none of them were good news. He had originally thought that sending a single Elder at the Sword Venerable Realm to deal with Ling Xiao was already giving the man more than enough face. Three Sword Venerables ganging up on one person? Ha... what a pathetic joke!

Even out here in the wilderness, and even if the Lie Family's reputation was only average, sending one Sword Venerable to capture Ling Xiao was already a loss of face. For all three to attack at once... how shameless would that be?

At least at the beginning, neither Lie Suitian nor Lie Suifeng had any intention of actually making a move. The purpose of them appearing together was simply to intimidate Ling Xiao and make him back down.

However, Ling Xiao had done one thing right: herding Gongsun Sword and the others into the Urgently Cold Cauldron was an extremely wise decision. Otherwise, Lie Yang would have certainly targeted Shangguan Yutong to force Ling Xiao into submission. And as bystanders, how could the Lie Family allow word of such a thing to spread? They would have had no choice but to kill all witnesses!

But to have the three of them gang up on Ling Xiao... anyone who dared suggest such a thing to Lie Suitian would have been courting death.

No matter how worthless the dignity of a Sword Venerable might become, they would never stoop to ganging up on someone like a common thug.

"Then, what about our family's relationship with the Shushan Sword Sect in the future...?" Lie Yang asked hesitantly, a deep sense of defeat washing over him.

"Since our opponent is a tough nut we can't crack, the best course of action would be to become friends. That's impossible under the current circumstances, but we can at least have a pact of non-aggression," Lie Suitian said with a calm expression, showing no sign of humiliation in his eyes. For a Martial Artist of his realm, being toyed with was certainly infuriating. But considering things from the perspective of a high-level family leader, his choice was undoubtedly the correct one.

Lie Yang nodded, his face ashen. The hand hidden in his sleeve trembled slightly. At the same time, a certain phrase from Xiaoyan suddenly resonated deeply with him: 'The existence of the Elder Council is a major constraint on the family's development!'

'It's time for the Elder Council to disappear!' In his heart, Lie Yang approved of the mad plan Xie Xiaoyan had proposed—a top secret of the Lie Family! As a direct descendant, Lie Yang naturally had access to it. However, after he had told Xiaoyan about it, the Secret Technique originally meant for dealing with Magical Beasts had become something utterly insane in Xie Xiaoyan's plan!

'This is the only way. You've forced my hand!' A crazed fire danced in Lie Yang's eyes.

...…

Ling Xiao, riding his Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword, vanished into the night sky at incredible speed. He didn't stop until he had entered Shushan City, returned to the Shushan Inner City as fast as he could, and activated the Mist Array. Only then did he go to the reception hall and release everyone from the Urgently Cold Treasure Cauldron.

The moment Gongsun Sword came out, he immediately looked around. He was stunned to find himself already inside Ling Xiao's mansion and asked, "Big Bro, are you okay?"

Shangguan Yutong, Song Qi, and the others also stared at Ling Xiao with concern. Every second they had spent inside the cauldron was agonizing. The suffocating feeling gave them all, including Song Qi, a new realization: the Sword Emperor Realm, which was seen as god-like in the eyes of ordinary people, didn't even grant one the right to be a spectator in front of a true powerhouse.

"I'm fine now." Ling Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was ice-cold, with a faint, bone-chilling sensation. Only then did Ling Xiao realize his back was completely soaked. He let out a long breath. Just then, Ling Tianxiao and other members of the Ling family, who had been puzzled when the Mist Array was suddenly activated again, came looking for him.

In front of everyone, Ling Xiao recounted the perilous events of the night. The crowd was left dumbstruck, unable to believe so much had happened in just a few hours. The tale left them all deeply shaken.

Ling Xiao... had actually escaped from the encirclement of three Sword Venerable powerhouses!

The people of the Ling Mansion were not so foolish as to think Ling Xiao had lost face by fleeing, or to wonder why he didn't just kill a Sword Venerable before leaving. Most of them were battle-hardened. Even if Ling Tianxiao and the others were of a lower cultivation level, they could still imagine the immense danger Ling Xiao had just faced. If those three Sword Venerables had ganged up on Ling Xiao from the very beginning, it would have been harder than climbing to the heavens for him to escape!

"Well done!"

Ling Tianxiao stood up and clapped Ling Xiao on the shoulder, his face filled with relief and pride. To have a son like this was Ling Tianxiao's greatest source of pride.

"Will they... come looking for trouble again?" Shangguan Yutong asked, her pure eyes filled with a trace of worry. "We've only just established our sect. If the Lie Family is bent on making trouble for us, I'm afraid our future will be very difficult!"

Shangguan Yutong's words resonated with many people. After all, the Lie Family was a super-family. In most people's minds, even a first-rate family was already a lofty, untouchable existence. A super-family, then, was something almost mythical!

Gongsun Sword's thick brows shot up. "Let them try! If the Jingwu Family really doesn't know what's good for them, then the Zhe Family... will be their fate! The Gongsun Family will definitely not stand idly by!"

Gongsun Sword's words made Ling Xiao smile faintly. He glanced at the Gongsun Family's Sword Emperor Powerhouse standing behind Gongsun Sword, who was looking rather uncomfortable. Ling Xiao chuckled, "Thanks, brother!"