"Who are you? How dare you be so insolent!" Hai Tian’s face contorted with rage, his lips trembling as he pointed a finger at Ling Xiao and roared. But as soon as the words were out, his face twitched, and the hand hidden in his sleeve trembled slightly. ’This boy... his power has actually surged!’

What horrified Hai Tian was that he could feel the surging, tempestuous power within Ling Xiao’s body! He couldn’t help but think: ’How is this possible? How could he have broken through his Celestial Vein? Even if he survived that near-fatal Medicated Bath, how could he have improved so much in such a short time?’

’It must be a hallucination. I’ve been too tired lately!’

Hai Tian kept trying to console himself, but his mind was crystal clear. The boy who had forced him back two steps with his mere aura during their first encounter had truly grown much stronger. Hai Tian absolutely did not want to leave himself an enemy that would rob him of sleep, but... killing the child of a high-ranking minister in front of the Grand Imperial Prince today was not appropriate. Hai Tian’s face turned incredibly grim, and an irrepressible thought rose in his mind. ’I will not let Ling Xiao live through the night!’

Back when Ling Xiao dueled with Wulan Tuo, Li Tianluo had not been present. Although he knew a High-tier Martial Artist had rescued Wulan Tuo, who would have otherwise died by Ling Xiao’s sword, he didn’t know it was the man before him now. However, for Ling Xiao to act this way, it must be a deep-seated grudge. Thus, he smiled faintly, glanced at the magnificently dressed and handsome young man opposite him, and raised an eyebrow. "Well, what a coincidence. Eldest Brother is here for a meal as well?"

The magnificently dressed young man smiled gently and nodded. Then he looked at Hai Tian beside him and said, "Elder Nameless, how is it you know my Second Brother’s friend?"

Hai Tian’s expression instantly composed, and he said respectfully, "Your Highness, I am not sure myself. Perhaps... this young friend has mistaken me for someone else? Though he is a bit arrogant, I won’t stoop to a child’s level. Since he is with Your Highness’s younger brother, let’s just forget it. I won’t pursue the matter of his insolence."

Yisha, however, shot a cold glance at Hai Tian, her voice crisp and icy. "As far as I know, your name is Hai Tian. More than a decade ago, you committed a major crime in the Imperial Capital and are an A-rank fugitive of the Empire! Last time, when Brother Ling Xiao was dueling Wulan Tuo under a signed noble’s life-and-death contract, it was you who appeared, injured Brother Ling Xiao, and took Wulan Tuo away. Therefore, you are not ’Nameless,’ and there’s no way Brother Ling Xiao has the wrong person. I can’t believe that a grand Demon Swordsman, such a High-tier Martial Artist, could be so utterly shameless. It’s truly despicable!"

Yisha’s words were sharp and direct, laying bare the grudge between Ling Xiao and Hai Tian and causing the expressions of everyone on both sides to change.

Understanding dawned on Li Tianluo. No wonder Ling Xiao had disregarded him and drawn his sword. It was just... although Ling Xiao’s power seemed to have increased greatly, he didn’t believe Ling Xiao could win against a long-famous Demon Swordsman like Hai Tian. To be honest, he wasn’t optimistic, but he also knew he couldn’t say anything right now, or he would dampen Ling Xiao’s momentum. He couldn’t help but glance anxiously into the shadows, where he made an imperceptible gesture. Over there... were several of his personal guards, all of whom had also reached the level of a Demon Swordsman!

Someone in the shadows gestured back, and Li Tianluo relaxed slightly. He then turned his gaze to his older brother, the Crown Prince’s eldest son, Li Tianlie.

Li Tianlie’s expression turned ugly. He couldn’t believe someone had directly exposed Hai Tian’s identity. ’I’m a prince! What does it look like for me to be associating with a wanted criminal?’

At that moment, Hai Tian snorted heavily. An unseen current of force shot through the air toward Yisha. Yisha’s face froze. Ling Xiao took a diagonal step, moving to block Yisha, his eyes fixed coldly on Hai Tian. "What else do you have to say?"

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" Hai Tian roared in a rage. "You little girl, you’re spouting malicious lies!"

Just then, a middle-aged man from Li Tianlie’s group, who looked scholarly and refined with an air of righteousness about him, shouted, "Are you Ling Xiao over there? Your father and I serve together in the imperial court. You must not be so rude!"

"Enough with the nonsense!" Ling Xiao poured his Inner Strength into the Fine Willow Sword. The blade immediately began to tremble, letting out a whining sound. The atmosphere suddenly thickened, and an immense aura forced everyone on both sides to retreat involuntarily!

Li Tianluo protected Yisha as they retreated more than twenty steps. On the other side, Li Tianlie and his group also backed away hastily. A few of the weaker scholars in the group turned deathly pale, shocked that this young man could put them in such a sorry state with his aura alone.

Hai Tian’s expression flickered with uncertainty. Just then, Ling Xiao said coldly, "Feel free to use your full strength. Life and death are decided by fate!"

Originally, Ling Xiao didn’t need to say this. He could have just relentlessly attacked Hai Tian, who, due to his many constraints, would never have dared to use lethal force. After all, Hai Tian was with Li Tianlie. If he dared to kill Ling Xiao, not even the Crown Prince would let him off. But Ling Xiao disdained such tactics. A Martial Artist must have a Martial Artist’s dignity. Someone like Hai Tian had already lost all dignity as a Martial Artist. ’What was the difference between him and a dog?’

The Ling Family’s influence was mostly within the military; they didn’t have much sway in the noble circles of the Imperial Capital. Therefore, many great noble families could afford to ignore the Ling Family. But the Crown Prince was different. He was the one person who dared not offend Ling Tianxiao! At least, not before he inherited the throne.

Hai Tian was old and cunning; how could he not understand this? That was why he didn’t dare to truly harm Ling Xiao. But after hearing Ling Xiao’s words, his heart couldn’t help but leap. ’You asked for this, kid! At worst, I’ll kill you and flee the Imperial Capital immediately. The Eldest Prince has already called me Nameless, so it will be easy enough to deny everything later.’

"Do you mean it?" A grim killing intent surfaced on Hai Tian’s face. A common longsword appeared in his hand. Clearly, he was still conscious of his status and chose only an ordinary sword. A wave of arrogance washed over him. ’You’ve just used some Secret Technique to temporarily boost your strength, and I don’t even sense that you’re stronger than me,’ he thought. ’How dare you be so arrogant? If I don’t kill you today, there’s no guarantee I won’t die by your hand in the future.’

’So, kid, you’re the one courting death!’ Hai Tian thought, as a powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body. "Make your move!"

Ever since successfully reaching Foundation Establishment, Ling Xiao had been thinking about how to expend the power from the Foundation Establishment Pill within his body. This was actually a result of the strict demands Ling Xiao placed on himself. In reality, the residual power from the Foundation Establishment Pill left in his Dantian was even more effective than the Purple Blue Fruit that Ye Wen Ni, Chunlan, and Qiuyue had used. But one thing remained true: it was ultimately an external power! It was fundamentally different from power accumulated through one’s own efforts.

If Ling Xiao only cultivated the Martial Dao, he wouldn’t need to care at all. But Ling Xiao cultivated the Immortal Path! Inner Strength, in the end, must be converted into Immortal Spirit Power! Therefore, every single drop had to be slowly accumulated through his own cultivation to ensure no problems arose in his progress.

"Old bastard, die!" Ling Xiao gave a cold smile. A gray stream of Sword Qi, over a meter long, shot out from the Fine Willow Sword. With a flick of his wrist, the Sword Qi writhed like a serpent as it stabbed toward Hai Tian.