Chapter 16: Despair

Chapter 16: Despair

The young man took a glance at the purple and golden badge, then turned his gaze back to Yu Qi with a faint smile. "Ah, I see you have an acceptance badge from the Cold Flame Sect. I've long heard that you are the number one beauty of Farbright City, and I can see that those rumors certainly aren't unfounded."

Yu Qi was instilled with some confidence by the fact that the young man recognized the badge in her hand, and she declared, "I don't care who you are, leave the Yu Manor right this instant. Otherwise, you'll be making an enemy out of the Cold Flame Sect!"

The three elders of the Yu Family were originally planning to take no further part in this confrontation, but they were all very much encouraged by this turn of events.

A hint of hope was also ignited in the hearts of the Yu Family's survivors.

The young man suddenly burst into laughter upon seeing this. "Am I supposed to be afraid of the Cold Flame Sect?"

"How dare you look down on the Cold Flame Sect?" Yu Qi accused with a furious expression.

"All you have is an acceptance badge, so you're not even an official disciple of the Cold Flame Sect. Even if you were an official disciple, did you think that would be enough to faze me?" A cold smile appeared on the young man's face as he flipped a hand over to produce a black badge that was around the same size as the badge in Yu Qi's hand, and there was a silver skull design emblazoned onto its surface.

A stunned look appeared on Yu Qi's face upon seeing this. "That's a Heavenly Ghost Sect inner court disciple badge! You're from the Heavenly Ghost Sect!"

The Heavenly Ghost Sect ranks alongside the Cold Flame Sect!

The three elders of the Yu Family drew a collective sharp breath, and they exchanged a glance with one another before falling silent.

A thought seemed to have occurred to Yu Qi, and a hint of color returned to her face as she declared, "Even if you're a disciple of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, don't forget that the Cold Flame Sect belongs to the Prosperous Nation. Are you trying to instigate a war between the two sects with your actions?"

"Under normal circumstances, I would say that you're correct, but I'm afraid that you're sorely mistaken here," the young man countered with a disdainful sneer.

Yu Qi faltered slightly upon hearing this.

"Let me fill you in. The Cold Flame Sect has already been defeated in the contest against our sect, and they've handed over the jurisdiction rights over the Prosperous Nation, so now, the entire nation belongs to our Heavenly Ghost Sect," the young man revealed with a cruel smile.

Yu Qi was completely rooted to the spot upon hearing this as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

The three elders of the Yu Family were also stunned by this revelation, and they reflexively backed away to open up some distance between themselves and the surviving members of the Yu Family.

Everyone from the Yu Family was even more disheartened by this, and their hearts had completely sunk.

They didn't know much about the world of cultivators, but they could tell from this exchange that this was not good news for them.

"By the way, there's something else I forgot to mention that I'm sure you'll be very interested to hear," the young man continued as his sinister smile widened.

Yu Qi's heart jolted upon hearing this, and she knew that there could only be more bad news to come, but she still couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"

"Some of the officials in the imperial court of the Prosperous Nation dared to oppose the orders of our Heavenly Ghost Sect, and they've been charged with treason. Yesterday, all of them were beheaded in public in the capital city, and I recall that Prime Minister Yu seemed to have been among them, alongside his two sons who were also serving under him," the young man said as he looked directly into Yu Qi's eyes.

Yu Qi's vision darkened momentarily upon hearing this, and she collapsed to the ground, while the badge in her hand also slipped out of her grasp.

Everyone else from the Yu Family was also plunged even further into the depths of despair upon hearing this, and several women were unable to contain themselves any longer as they burst into tears.

Just a moment ago, they had been the esteemed members of Prime Minister Yu's family, revered by the common folk from their lofty perches at the upper echelons of society, but all of a sudden, they were told that their nation had been conquered, the prime minister had been beheaded, and they were about to follow him soon.

The despair on Yu Qi's face brought a look of sadistic pleasure to the young man's face, and his cheeks became flushed with excitement as he cackled like a madman.

He loved nothing more than to drive others into the abyss of despair before taking in their expressions at the height of their helplessness.

Once his cackling subsided, the flush in his cheeks gradually faded, and he ordered in a cold voice, "Kill everyone, but leave the young mistress alive."

The black-suited figures immediately gave affirmative responses before closing in on the surviving members of the Yu Family with cruel grins.

At this point, the three elders had already backed away to the side with their heads lowered, seemingly waiting for an opportunity to escape. The young man was quite pleased to see this, and he made no effort to stop them.

One of the black-suited figures approached the young man as he said with a fawning expression, "You have an exceptional eye, Young Master Qi! This woman possesses no cultivation base, but she's already received an acceptance badge from the Cold Flame Sect, which means that she must possess decent cultivation aptitude. She would be a perfect dual cultivation partner for you,"

The young man burst into laughter once again upon hearing this.

Yu Qi shuddered as a hint of clarity returned to her eyes, and a look of finality appeared on her face. With one swift motion, she drew a dagger from her waist before plunging it viciously toward her own heart.

The young man's smile stiffened upon seeing this, clearly not expecting her to be so fiery and unyielding, and it was already too late to stop her.

All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind whistled through the air before striking the dagger in Yu Qi's hand, instantly sending it flying away before clattering onto the ground.

Several more sharp gusts of wind shot through the air, hurtling toward the black-suited figures who were about to slaughter the survivors of the Yu Family.

A string of agonized howls rang out, and the sharp gusts of wind were so strong that the black-suited figures who were struck were instantly sent flying with blood gushing out of their mouths.

All of their companions immediately stopped in their tracks with alarmed expressions.

"Who's there?" the young man asked as he turned toward an opening not far away.

Everyone else also turned toward the same direction, and the sound of footsteps rang out as several figures slowly emerged, revealing themselves to be none other than Han Li and his group.

The young man cast his gaze toward the group through narrowed eyes, but his gaze only lingered on Han Li for a brief moment before he quickly directed his attention toward Daoist Master White Stone.

"Daoist Master White Stone!"

"Daoist Master White Stone, save us!"

The survivors of the Yu Family were already awaiting death in a state of complete despair, but the arrival of Daoist Master White Stone instilled them with a renewed sense of hope, and they desperately implored for him to step in.

"Young Mistress!"

Xiao Wu paid no heed to the nearby black-suited figures as she rushed over to Yu Qi before helping her to her feet.

"Xiao Wu."

Yu Qi cast a complex gaze toward Daoist Master White Stone.

Daoist Master White Stone was a Core Formation cultivator, but the same had also applied to Daoist Master Red Robe, and he had been slain by the young man with ease, so Daoist Master White Stone was most likely no match for him, either.

All of a sudden, her gaze fell upon Han Li.

His physical appearance hadn't changed at all, but his eyes were no longer vacant, and he was giving off a sense of remarkable calmness given the situation that he was in.

"So you're Daoist Master White Stone? I'd advise you not to stick your nose into other people's business if you value your life!" the young man said as he turned to Daoist Master White Stone, and black light radiated from his body as he released a burst of enormous pressure.

Those sharp gusts of wind just now had been incredibly powerful, but they possessed no form, and it was as if they had arisen out of thin air.

The young man had no clue how those sharp gusts of wind had been generated, so he was rather wary of Daoist Master White Stone and was releasing his spiritual pressure for intimidation.

Daoist Master White Stone shuddered, and a hint of fear flashed through his eyes.

The spiritual pressure being released by the young man was already at the mid-Core Formation Stage, while he was only an early-Core Formation cultivator, so he was no match for the young man. With that in mind, he couldn't help but turn his gaze toward Han Li.

He had witnessed exactly what had happened earlier, so he knew that those sharp gusts of wind had been produced by nothing more than a few casual flicks of Han Li's finger.

A hint of a smile appeared on Han Li's face, and he didn't say anything.

Daoist Master White Stone's heart sank slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately made his decision, stepping forward in a righteous manner as he yelled, "I am an elder of the Yu Manor, how could I possibly just stand by and watch while you do as you please? You brazen bastards must be punished for the heinous acts you've committed here!"

A violent look appeared on the young man's face upon hearing this. "Fine. If you have a death wish, then I'll kill you along with everyone else!"

As soon as his voice trailed off, he raised a hand, and his white bone blade shot forth directly toward Daoist Master White Stone.

At the same time, he made a series of hand seals, and a vast expanse of white light erupted from the bone blade. A series of white skull projections emerged within the white radiance, and a chorus of ghostly howls began to ring out incessantly.