Chapter 76: Chapter 75: Battle of the Demon Swordsmen

Night Owl’s face twitched violently, his brow furrowed. At that moment, the mercenary named Da Hu seemed to have figured things out. He walked over and said defiantly, "Chief, forget it. Just make them pay!"

"You, shut your mouth!" Night Owl snapped. "You think you can cripple my man and get away with just paying money? Hmph. Little girl, don’t think that just because you’re a Demon Swordsman, you’re a match for me. My man was crippled because of you. I don’t want your money. As long as you agree to marry my subordinate, we’ll consider this matter settled today!"

A smug look flashed in the eyes of the mercenary named Da Hu, but he immediately clenched his jaw against the pain in his arm. Of course, he had said that on purpose. Night Owl had always been stubborn and headstrong; the slightest provocation would send him into a rage. Sure enough, he had just escalated the conflict.

"You’re trying to force my hand!" Shangguan Yutong couldn’t help but say angrily. "Night Owl, don’t think for a second that I’m afraid of you! If you’ve got the guts, let these students go—they have nothing to do with this. I’ll be more than happy to cross swords with you today! We’ll see just how strong a Tier Three Demon Swordsman can be!"

Before Shangguan Yutong could even finish her sentence, nearly all the students shouted, "We’re not leaving! We stand with our teacher!"

Shangguan Yutong’s eyes showed a hint of emotion, but she still said, "Nonsense!"

Night Owl gave a cold smirk. "Don’t worry, I have no interest in touching these kids. But you... if you don’t agree today, I’ll *force* you to agree!"

Long Xiang cursed from the side, "You wouldn’t dare! Hahaha, stop patting yourself on the back! So what if you’re a Demon Swordsman? The Imperial Academy is crawling with people who could beat you!"

Long Xiang’s constant invocation of the Imperial Academy truly infuriated Night Owl. He was an untamable character by nature. He admitted to being wary of the Imperial Academy and had no intention of doing anything to these young masters and misses. Night Owl wasn’t stupid enough to make an enemy of the Empire’s entire upper class.

But by the same token, he had never taken this teacher, who seemed all show and no substance, seriously. How could he tolerate Long Xiang’s repeated provocations? His icy gaze fell upon Long Xiang as he said grimly, "Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll be happy to oblige!"

During his younger adventuring days, Night Owl had found a sword technique manual in some Ancient Ruins. It was called "Fire Dragon Dance" and had no listed tier. After years of cultivation, he had mastered the fifth of its nine levels. When he occasionally sparred with others of the same tier, no sword technique below Earth-grade could stand against him. This led Night Owl to believe his technique was very likely Heaven-grade!

People talked about him being a Tier Three Demon Swordsman, but in reality, this unique sword technique was his greatest reliance!

The longsword in Night Owl’s hand suddenly glowed crimson, as if it had been forged in a scorching furnace. The searing heat forced the surrounding people to retreat. A blood-red Sword Qi shot forth from the tip of the bright red blade with a WHOOSH, extending over two meters long. The rolling heat waves were visible to the naked eye as it pointed straight at Long Xiang.

Long Xiang felt his hands and feet go cold as he finally realized just how much trouble he had caused. Xiao Lin and Su Embroidery also looked crestfallen. Demon Swordsmen were powerful to begin with, and seeing their opponent’s formidable sword technique sent a chill through their hearts. Their only hope was that Shangguan Yutong could fight him!

Shangguan Yutong’s expression was grim. The Cold Iron Sword in her hand was just an ordinary weapon. Besides, against such an opponent, it would be useless unless she was wielding a Third-tier Enchanted Sword!

"Marry him, or not!" Night Owl looked down on Shangguan Yutong, and on Long Xiang, whose face had gone from pale to beet-red upon hearing his words.

"Don’t even think about it!" Shangguan Yutong swung her Cold Iron Sword, and a stream of Seven-Color Sword Qi hissed from the blade.

"Fine! I’d like to see just how strong the little girl who used to trail after Wang Chao has become!" Night Owl let out a long cry and shot into the air. ’I need to end this quickly! With my current power, I can’t afford to waste my Fire Dragon Sword Qi like this. I’m only using it right away to establish my dominance!’

That’s right, Night Owl was quite intelligent. If he were just a brute, how could he manage such a large corps? He deliberately avoided mentioning the Imperial Academy, treating the incident as a private matter, and merely surrounded the students without attacking them. In truth, he was afraid someone might take the opportunity to harm one of the little brats. Night Owl wasn’t so arrogant as to think he was the best in the world. Although there didn’t seem to be many Imperial High-level Martial Artists around, he didn’t believe that was the case. The Adventurer Realm alone was teeming with talent, to say nothing of a place like the Imperial Academy, which was full of hidden masters.

’Any one of these brats could have a family that could easily wipe out my Mercenary Corps. Going out of my way to make trouble for them would just be asking for it. As for the Imperial Academy’s teachers? Hah. How many truly powerful people would be willing to teach? Besides, I have the moral high ground here. I’m in the right. Even if the Dean of the Imperial Academy himself came knocking, I, Night Owl, wouldn’t be afraid!’

’You people are supposed to be civilized, aren’t you? Well then, you have to be reasonable!’

’So, as long as I defeat this woman, everything else will be completely under my control!’

Forcing Shangguan Yutong to marry was just a ploy to provoke the woman and maximize his gains!

Shangguan Yutong calmly watched Night Owl’s descending trajectory as he swooped down. With a sweep of her Seven-Color Sword Qi, a rainbow seemed to flash across the sky, drawing gasps of amazement from the crowd.

Yisha whispered to Ling Xiao, "Brother Ling Xiao, do you think Teacher Shangguan can beat that bad guy?"

"Bad guy?" Ling Xiao was amused by Yisha’s innocence and shook his head. "The odds aren’t in her favor."

Worry clouded Yisha’s face. Her martial skills weren’t high, but even she could see that Shangguan Yutong didn’t have the upper hand. The man in black was fluid and nimble, moving like a lithe, cunning snake, constantly twisting and turning in the air. His scorching Sword Qi could be felt even from a great distance, let alone by Shangguan Yutong who was fighting him directly. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

But Shangguan Yutong’s Seven-Color Sword Qi was also quite marvelous. Although she was at a disadvantage, the fight didn’t look one-sided. She was gritting her teeth and holding on. The gap between Tier Two and Tier Three was significant, but Shangguan Yutong’s sword technique was by no means ordinary! She trained tirelessly, and her Inner Strength was profound. At least in the short term, it wouldn’t be easy for Night Owl to defeat her.

By now, the onlookers had already retreated a good several dozen meters. The mercenaries were only loosely surrounding the group of youths. They knew how weak the kids were and, more importantly, understood their chief Night Owl’s intentions. They were surrounding them to prevent them from running off, lest their powerful families come demanding them back later.

Meanwhile, the street vendor who had caused all the trouble had long since vanished without a trace. A few other groups from the Imperial Academy had heard the commotion and rushed over, but they could only watch in horror.

The overwhelming power of a Demon Swordsman was truly terrifying!

The clearing was constantly being scarred by Sword Qi. Stone chips flew from the once-smooth stone ground, and deep gouges appeared one after another!

Several huge trees were also sliced apart by the passing Sword Qi, crashing to the ground and kicking up clouds of dust, leaving the onlookers speechless with astonishment.

Unable to secure a quick victory, Night Owl grew furious. With a great roar, the crimson Sword Qi coating his longsword grew even more vivid, slashing toward Shangguan Yutong with an aura of destruction. ’I have over a dozen Great Sword Masters under my command,’ he thought. ’So even if I use all my strength, as long as I can defeat Shangguan Yutong, the situation will remain in my control!’

This was an open plot, executed in plain sight!

Veins popped on Shangguan Yutong’s crystal-clear, jade-like forehead. She let out a sharp cry as her Seven-Color Sword Qi clashed with the blood-red Sword Qi. She instantly looked as if she’d taken a heavy blow, spitting out a mouthful of blood as her face turned deathly pale in an instant!

Night Owl still had strength to spare. Pressing his advantage, he retracted his Sword Qi and pointed his blade straight at Shangguan Yutong’s throat, preparing to subdue her first.

Shangguan Yutong tried to dodge again, but it was too late...