Chapter 151: Chapter 143: A Murderous Threat

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Despite his lean, withered frame, Uncle Fu wielded the massive black sword effortlessly. A constant whistling sound tore through the air as he relentlessly hacked at his opponent with powerful, heavy-handed Sword Techniques.

The wielder of the Crimson Treasure Sword let out an infuriated roar. He spun around as a screen of red light erupted, clashing with Uncle Fu once more.

A chill crept into the hearts of the two remaining Mad Sword Masters, one Fifth Rank and the other Sixth Rank. The female Sixth Rank Mad Swordsman’s eyes blazed as if on fire as she glared at Ling Xiao. "You brought this upon yourself!" she said, her voice frigid. "We weren’t going to kill you, but you killed two of our companions! Ling Xiao, die!"

With that, she pointed her sword at Ling Xiao. Sword Qi hissed forth as she tapped her feet on the ground and leaped nimbly into the air. Descending upon him, she unleashed a flurry of flexible, ever-changing Sword Techniques that targeted every vital point on his body!

The Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman behind her shouted, "Junior Sister, don’t!"

A cold glint flashed in Ling Xiao’s eyes. ’I know why they’re here,’ he thought. ’It’s for the sword skill!’ He had suspected as much, but the other Mad Swordsman’s shout confirmed it. ’I was wondering why they were so slow to act. So, they wanted to wait until I left the Imperial Capital to make their move. They must be wary of the two Sword Sect experts here!’

’But it doesn’t matter who you are. If you try to harm me, I will not spare you!’

Ling Xiao brandished his fine steel sword, executing the Sword-Breaking Stance from the Nine Swords of Dugu—a move said to be able to overcome any sword technique in the world!

A flash of white light. A pinpoint of Sword Qi deftly struck the female Mad Swordsman on the wrist. She shrieked, and her sword clattered to the ground. His expression cold, Ling Xiao thrust his fine steel longsword straight at her heart!

"Don’t!"

A blast of Sword Qi from the Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman swept fiercely toward him. Ling Xiao knew that if he insisted on killing the woman, he would be heavily injured in the process. Since killing her was not an option, he retreated, his body shooting backward in an instant.

The Sword Qi slammed into the spot where Ling Xiao had just been standing, carving a long, deep gash into the stone path!

Splintered stone and dust filled the air!

The Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman’s presence surged to its peak. ’How ruthless can this boy be?’ he fumed. ’Not only did he kill two of my junior brothers with a surprise attack, but he won’t even spare a woman like my junior sister!’

’What powerful Sword Qi!’ Ling Xiao marveled inwardly.

The Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman’s eyes glinted. "Boy, you’d better stop courting death! For us, killing you would be as easy as lifting a finger!"

"Wind Bell Sword Qi—Sweeping Frenzy!"

The female Mad Swordsman with the injured wrist somehow had another longsword in her hand. A peculiar ringing sound suddenly filled the air, like hundreds of wind chimes stirred by a gentle breeze. It was a crisp, pleasant sound.

But Ling Xiao sensed a dense killing intent within it. The leaves on the nearby trees, as if sliced by a blade, fluttered to the ground. The female Mad Swordsman’s sword was already upon him!

The Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman stamped his foot and sighed. ’I’m definitely going to be reprimanded when we get back to the sect,’ he thought. ’I might even get put in confinement. Why did I bring this little terror along? If she hadn’t proposed we intimidate Ling Xiao first, with my cautious nature, would I have resorted to destroying his carriage?’

But now, it was clearly too late to stop the furious woman!

In the distance, the wielder of the Crimson Treasure Sword saw what was happening and bellowed, "Ling’Er, don’t!"

Seizing the opportunity, Uncle Fu pulled an iron ball he often fiddled with from his robes and hurled it viciously at the woman’s head!

Anger flared in Ling Xiao’s heart. ’This woman is trying to kill me again and again, and just to steal my sword skill! Do we have some kind of deep-seated grudge?’

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. The snow-white Sword Qi pouring from his fine steel longsword instantly swelled to twice its size, erupting with a light as blinding as the sun that bathed the area in brilliant white! It was so bright that even the terrified expression on the face of the carriage driver, who was cowering to the side, was perfectly clear!

"Fiery Sun Sword Skill!"

Ling Xiao’s expression was solemn. This was the first time since he had arrived in this world that he had encountered such a powerful sword skill. It actually had a mind-bewitching effect; the moment the chimes had sounded, he had lost his focus for a split second! ’As a Sword Cultivator, I’m interested in any unfamiliar sword skill, especially one that can make even my Daoxin waver for an instant!’

And so, he decided not to kill her.

’This has nothing to do with her being a woman,’ he thought as his mouth twitched. The instant the black-clad female Mad Swordsman cried out in alarm, his chilling Sword Qi stopped at her throat. With but a surge of his Spiritual Power, she would become a corpse.

"Don’t kill her!" the Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman cried out. He saw Ling Xiao looking at him with a mocking expression, and his old face flushed red. The frustration in his heart was beyond words. ’Four Mad Sword Masters, and we couldn’t even take down a single Great Sword Master. He even killed two of us and captured another. Tsk, tsk, we’ve lost so much face we might as well have lost it all the way to the Western Continent, damn it.’ He lowered his voice. "Boy, killing her will do you no good at all. And I am absolutely not threatening you. Your family, your loved ones, even... your country! In the eyes of many, they are all fragile and insignificant. There are many people in this world you can’t afford to provoke. Boy, let her go, and I can pretend today never happened!"

Ling Xiao’s lip twitched as he sneered, "Hidden clans and sects?"

The Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman’s pupils contracted. ’The rumors said this boy had the support of a hidden sect, which is how he broke through his Celestial Vein and gained such strength. We scoffed at those rumors. The hidden clans and sects are terrifyingly powerful, but they aren’t omnipotent gods!’

’At least... our sect, including our terrifyingly powerful Grandmaster, has never heard of any super-sect capable of unblocking a Celestial Vein. Maybe the boy just has boundless courage and outrageously good luck. Maybe he used a Medicated Bath to unblock his Celestial Vein and then was taught a Sword Skill by some mysterious expert.’

’Because no one has ever seen Ling Xiao interact with anyone else! That means it’s likely just one mysterious expert behind him, someone who casually gave him a Sword Skill and a Cultivation Technique! There’s no major clan or sect backing him!’

’And that’s why we dared to come today! Succeed or fail, we had to try. If we could obtain a Divine-level Sword Skill, then even our sect—a bottom-tier one among the hidden sects—could probably ascend to the ranks of a third-rate sect within a century!’

So, the Fifth Rank Mad Swordsman regained his composure and said, "Since you know, hurry up and release her. You’ve already killed two of my brothers. Even if we provoked you first, that’s enough, isn’t it?"

At this point, the fight between Uncle Fu and the other Mad Sword Master had also ceased. Uncle Fu stared coldly at his opponent, but his heart was filled with horror. ’As expected, they’re from *those places*. Why are they targeting the Young Master? Could it really be over a fabricated Divine Sword Skill? Who the hell spread that rumor!?’

The Demon Sword Master, wielder of the Crimson Treasure Sword, glanced at Uncle Fu, then turned to Ling Xiao. In a low voice, he said, "Boy, release her. I guarantee we will no longer cause you any trouble. We are just a group of hired assassins. Now that the mission has failed, we won’t bother you again."

"Assassins? You dare lie to me!" Ling Xiao bellowed, and a needle of Sword Qi pricked the woman’s delicate neck, making her let out a terrified, shrill scream!

"AHH!"

"Stop!" the Demon Sword Master cried, both shocked and furious. He was about to make a move but felt the old man’s presence beside him surge as well. With no other choice, he softened his tone. "Alright, we surrender. Boy, what are your terms?"

Ling Xiao squinted at the woman. Her face was covered with black cloth, obscuring her features, but in her eyes, he could see both hatred and fear directed at him.

A Sixth Rank Mad Swordsman, subdued by someone who seemed to be only at the fourth or fifth rank. She wanted to die from the sheer humiliation, but she couldn’t summon the courage.

"First, tell me who sent you. I know why you’re here, but don’t think you can pull any tricks," Ling Xiao said, his icy voice devoid of emotion. "Second, leave her here as a hostage. My current strength is far beneath yours. If you come back with more people, I’ll be outnumbered and outmatched. That would put me at a huge disadvantage, wouldn’t it? But you can rest assured, I guarantee she will remain completely unharmed."

"Impossible!" The word erupted from three mouths at once, one of them an angry female voice—the very Mad Swordsman Ling Xiao held captive!

"Oh?" Ling Xiao’s Sword Qi flared slightly, and a bead of blood welled up on the black-clad woman’s throat.

"Wait!"

The Demon Sword Master with the Crimson Treasure Sword stared coldly at Ling Xiao. "So, you mean to keep her by your side for life? Absolutely not! I can guarantee that we will never trouble you again! I can even give you two Mad Sword Masters to serve as your bodyguards! Their lives and deaths will be yours to command! I can also agree to your first condition. In fact, you should have figured it out yourself. Your existence has impacted the interests of too many people, so it’s only natural that they want you dead. In a way, we were actually saving you!"

"Hahaha, what a glib tongue!" Ling Xiao laughed, a mocking smirk on his face. "So I should thank you? Do you take me for a child you can bully? I’ll say it again: this is a demand, not a request! You’re no match for my steward, and I can kill her right now. Therefore, your only choice is to agree. As for how long... don’t worry. It won’t be more than three years."

"Just kill me!"

The black-clad woman’s eyes filled with grief and indignation. ’Three years! I wouldn’t even want to stay by this monster’s side for three days! His bone-chilling killing intent is unbearable!’

"Ling’Er, stop fooling around," the Demon Sword Master said gravely. Then, to Ling Xiao, he added, "Aren’t you afraid that if you offend us, we will come for you in the future?"

"That would be three years from now. Besides, that’s my problem, not something you need to worry about," Ling Xiao said indifferently, his eyelids lowered. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more Chapters and to support the author and legal reading!)