Chapter 094 - Seven to Three Odds
"Let go of me you shameless woman!" Ancestor Ning's veins bulged at his temples, his fury a tangible thing in the air as his glare landed on Ning Yan. A scandal, that's what she was. It was widely known that she had been the one to usher Yun Xiao back to these grounds. "You... you're at fault for the destruction of the Azure Kite Sea too!" His voice shook with rage, yet Ning Yan offered nothing but silence in return.
The Sword Lord, uninterested in the burgeoning drama, interjected coldly, “Anyone else have grievances to voice? I’ve not yet had my fill of this petty bickering. Come, bring your complaints to the fore!”
The ancestors sealed their lips, locking away any further objections within them.
“Let’s proceed!” With a nonchalant air, the Sword Lord, flanked by Ning Yan and Yun Xiao, sauntered into the Sword Heaven, his every step languid yet purposeful, utterly unaffected by the stunned onlookers.
“Lin Qingfeng, your position of Sword Lord is but a hollow title,” the ancestor in red robes hissed through clenched teeth, blood lingering on his lips. “No one in Sword Heaven stands with you! What worth does your reign hold? When the Forbidden Tower Lord leads the Ten Great Families here to exact their vengeance, will anyone stand in your defense?”
Before the echoes of his defiance could fade, the Sword Lord reappeared before the red-robed ancestor.
The ancestor recoiled, eyes wide with a mixture of defiance and dread. “What more do you want?”
“You’ve still got a bone to pick, Second Uncle?” Without warning, the Sword Lord’s hand flicked forward, sending the ancestor tumbling to the ground, a stream of blood trickling from his nose.
The crowd, hundreds of Sword Heaven’s residents, could only watch, eyes reddening but tongues held, anger simmering beneath a forced calm.
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Outside the entrance to the Wind Listening Pavilion, a seemingly casual conversation unfolded.
“Yun Xiao, take these vials of Sword Heart Spring,” The Sword Lord said, extending three jade vials with an easy grace.
“Sword Heart Spring? What might that be?” Yun Xiao’s voice held a note of curiosity.
“An expired Sword Heart, no longer lethal. Ground down and refined with herbs into a liquid. It has the power to nurture a Sword Soul. Yours surged quite substantially today; I worry it might have caused some foundational damage. Let the Sword Heart Springs rejuvenate your Sword Soul and nourish your physical sword bone,” the Sword Lord explained, a chuckle vibrating deep in his throat.
“Got it. That Sword Aura did burrow into the bone; left my flesh aching quite a bit,” Yun Xiao, accepting the vials, offered a nod of gratitude, “Thank you, Sword Lord.”
“No need for thanks between fellow men on the path of the sword.” A gentle pat on Yun Xiao's shoulder accompanied the Sword Lord's sigh, “So many in this world, yet so few true confidantes. It's a weary thing, indeed.”
Yun Xiao, holding the vials of Sword Heart Spring, reassured with a gentle smile, “One true ally is sufficient. Fear not, Sword Lord. Your gamble on me will not be in vain. Sword Heaven will have a future, and so shall our people.”
Hearty laughter spilled from the Sword Lord, mingling with another swig of his wine.
“Tell me, Sword Lord, whose Sword Heart was used for this?” asked Yun Xiao, slightly curious. He understood that only those with great daring could leave a Sword Heart behind as they faced death.
“My father’s!” the Sword Lord replied.
“Admirable!” Yun Xiao exclaimed.
“Eh, it’s adequate, a tradition of Sword Heaven. When it's my turn, I’ll endure the pain and leave one for the descendants. Gives them something to remember, though it need not necessarily be used,” the Sword Lord explained casually.
Yun Xiao, gazing at the Sword Heart Spring in his hand, noticed its power had indeed ebbed away, leaving only its medicinal properties.
“Three vials, to be used over three days; you can use the first today,” the Sword Lord said, his voice carrying a paternal undertone.
“Three days? That's precisely when Ye Guying will emerge from his seclusion,” noted Yun Xiao, his voice barely above a whisper.
“No matter, I’ll guard you. You have ample time to spar leisurely with him,” the Sword Lord declared, a grandiose air about him.
Spar leisurely, indeed.
A gentle smile brushed Yun Xiao’s lips, a quiet serenity nestling in the curve of his restraint.
The Sword Lord, a man who whispered wisdom through the echoes of a sharp wind, spoke with earnest. “Yun Xiao, your Sword Soul, your instinct with the sword, they defy the heavens themselves. Yet, your Dao Seed Talent and your cultivation, lacks behind. So, train at your own pace, my boy. Your potential is lofty, and impatience casts a shadow upon such heights.”
“I understand,” Yun Xiao nodded with composed humility.
With a practiced ease, the Sword Lord unveiled a parchment, its pages worn yet imbued with an ageless dignity. “This is a Star grade sword technique, gifted through the millennia by Sword Heaven itself. Peruse it tonight, and tomorrow, we delve into its depths together.” The initial posting of this chaptter occurred via n00veel biin.
A flicker of recollection danced in Yun Xiao’s eyes at the mention of the Star grade technique, memories of the Sword Lord’s single stroke, which swept aside myriad blades in cascading defeat.
This technique, which soared majestically above the Azure Dragon Squall, boasted an undeniable potency, the sheer thickness of the sword manual dwarfing that of the First Sword of Azure Spirit fivefold!
Upon accepting it, Yun Xiao marveled at the unexpected weight in his grasp.
“Stay in the Wind Listening Pavilion. Stifle your wandering and immerse yourself in the sword,” counseled the Sword Lord, lifting his wine flask, eyebrow quirked whimsically. “Fancy a sip?”
“No more wine for me. The sword beckons!” Yun Xiao chuckled.
With a mirthful twinkle, the Sword Lord admonished, “Ensure you absorb the Sword Heart Spring, lad. Its healing properties wane with time.”
“Will do!” Yun Xiao cast a glance at the Sword Heart Spring. “Tell me, Sword Lord, safeguarding me... Does it burden you?”
“Oh, the weight is quite formidable!” the Sword Lord conceded with a light-heartedness that belied the sincerity of his words.
“Can you bear it?” Yun Xiao asked.
A sum of 200,000 Spirit Stones was a sizable fortune, one certainly capable of procuring a respectable piece of treasure armor.
“You’ve just eradicated the lineage of this Sea of Swords, and now you intend to wander into the Spirit Treasure Walk?” Blue Star cackled.
“Of course! Since when did fear ever stop me?!” Yun Xiao stood, his gaze firm towards the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, pronouncing, “Though a thousand swords may seek to impede my path, they shall not quench my resolve to purchase a gift for Senior Sister Zhao! I long to see her smile when we next converse. Heh heh...”
“You know, she is merely mortal, and your paths shall inevitably diverge,” Blue Star remarked somberly.
“Hold your tongue!” Yun Xiao’s glare silenced it instantly.
Blue Star stared, somewhat astonished. It was his first glimpse of the Creator Immortal being displeased due to his words. But rather than being annoyed, he chuckled, "Is this the new Creator Immortal? Intriguing..."
“Hell, you’re annoying!” Yun Xiao scolded, scooping Blue Star into an affectionate grasp. He ambled toward the door, navigated through the dwelling, and landed at the West Tower of the Wind Listening Pavillion. A gentle rapping followed. “Lin Lin, open up!”
"Who’s that?" queried a voice, fragile and startled, from within.
"Who else?" Yun Xiao murmured, rolling his eyes.
A resounding bang punctuated Lin Lin fiercely swinging the door open. Her eyes, alive with indignation, drilled into Yun Xiao. “My father's risking war with the whole Sea of Swords for you. And this is how you speak?”
Yun Xiao waived away her words, his demeanor as steady as stone. "Take me to the Spirit Treasure Walk."
“Spirit Treasure Walk? It's on Azure Kite Street, as plain as the nose on your face,” she retorted, a brow arching skeptically.
He nodded solemnly. "I know, but I'm buying a lady some clothes. You’d know best, being a woman and all. Help me choose a style."
Lin Lin chuckled, a note of ice present in the sound. "If you think I’m going to fall for some ill-thought ruse of affection, think again. You’ll say the clothes are for me, won’t you?”
Yun Xiao replied with silence, punctuated by a stern slap to Lin Lin’s cheek. "Would you stop fantasizing, Lin Lin? You two aren't even remotely the same size!"
And with that, a third slap reverberated through the space.
Lin Lin’s anger erupted, an inferno building in her eyes. Yet, after a pause, she steeled herself and hissed, “Fine, I’ll take you!”
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Meanwhile, the Forbidden Tower loomed, a pulsing heart of hushed whispers and grave exchanges, resonating an aura of grim determination.
“Finally I've broken through to the Late Origin Core Realm!” Holy Son Chu’s declaration, swathed in a veil of subdued joy, filtered through as he exited the cultivation room, two figures awaiting him outside.
Xiao He, his protector, and another—a green-robed man in his fourties, donning a goatee and a somewhat lecherous air—received him.
“My brilliant son, you’ve advanced?” The green-robed man’s eyes shimmered, a barely-contained excitement infusing his words.
“Father,” Holy Son Chu’s response was an emotionless murmur. He casually repelled the advancing man, approaching Xiao He instead. “Master Xiao, Yun Xiao still breathes, doesn’t he? I intend to rectify that.”
“Your hands won’t be needed,” Xiao He’s reply was an icy whisper.
Holy Son Chu paused, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?”
Patriarch Chu hurried forward, unfolding the recent happenings at the Azure Kite Sea, relating every detail to Holy Son Chu. The Holy Son absorbed the narrative, a numbing shock permeating his being.
“The Azure Kite Sea... is no more?” He hadn’t even challenged the Rank Six Azure Kite!
A solid half-hour passed, a time during which Holy Son Chu wrestled with a tempest of anguish and acceptance.
“Fortunately, Yun Xiao lacks a Dao Seed Talent and his cultivation is slightly beneath the Sword Princelings and Heaven Chosen. Not like Ye Guying, who possesses no discernable weak points!” Patriarch Chu consoled his son, “Child, your swordplay far surpassed his, even more so now. A mere half-stroke could obliterate him.”
“One hundred layers of Sword Aura?” Holy Son Chu's voice wavered, a shadow crossing his visage.
“No matter!” Patriarch Chu assured. “Without the cultivation to back it up, a sturdy Sword Soul is of no use. Avoid clashing swords with him, and a single, vigorous strike to his head shall suffice for his demise.” After speaking, he glanced appeasingly towards Xiao He, “Isn’t that right, Master Xiao?”
"Seven to three odds, I say! Chu Yan at seven, Yun Xiao at three. As long as one avoids clashing Sword Souls, it's an easy kill," Xiao He analyzed, nodding solemnly.
Yet, panic bubbled within Holy Son Chu. He recognized that Xiao He's analysis still rested upon his own prior assertion—that Yun Xiao couldn’t even parry a single one of his strikes! Everyone placed their belief in him. What was he to do?
“This man must die swiftly, or my cover’s blown and I’ll lose it all!” Holy Son Chu found himself riding a tiger, difficult to dismount.
“My son! I knew you'd break through today, so I've already set up a celebratory feast at the Spirit Treasure Walk. I've invited Patriarch Fan, Ning Que from the Ning family, and other noteworthy figures, of course, including your Master Xiao and his daughter Xiao Xing'er, to butter you up a bit,” Patriarch Chu said, beaming.
“Didn’t you say Fan Jian and Xiao Xing'er had their Sword Souls cracked today?” Holy Son Chu asked.
“The Tower Lord personally used two Sword Tempering Pills to assist them in their recovery. It was fortunate that the damage wasn’t severe,” Patriarch Chu's expression darkened, “That Yun Xiao actually ambushed them while they were absorbing the Azure Kite; his conduct is simply disgraceful, nothing like you my son!”
Before he could finish, Chu Yan snapped, “Would you shut it already!”
“Go, relax a bit. It’s a good opportunity to chat with Ning Que,” Xiao He stated icily, “I've heard that the Sword Lord went back and gave all five elders a good thrashing. There’s now universal dissatisfaction over in Sword Heaven; this might be a good time to probe Ning Que’s stance.”
“Is Lin Lin going?” Holy Son Chu asked.
“She fears the Sword Lord, of course, she dares not come,” Xiao He replied.
Even with some unease coiling within him, since Yun Xiao had already stirred up such trouble, what more was there to fear? And so, Holy Son Chu steeled himself, declaring firmly, “Let’s go! Let's all celebrate together!”