Above the Azure Cloud Martial Pavilion, swords formed a rainbow, and the sounds of clashing metal resonated continuously. The long dragon formed by converging silver sword shadows was powerful enough to tear through any Golden Core cultivator's defenses!
The early-stage Golden Core old woman was riddled with bloody holes.
She had just been driven mad by the death of her disciple, but now she regained her senses, staring blankly ahead. "The Sword King," she murmured, "Li Yaozu."
As her words fell, blood and flesh filled the sky!
Within the Azure Cloud Martial Pavilion, the experts who had revealed themselves all stared in terror at the sword shadows emerging from the cloud of blood.
Indeed, this generation of the Li family was powerful, just like Li Tianyi back then, dominating the entire arena.
Some even said that each generation of the Li family was stronger than the last.
But only those who had experienced that bloody massacre truly knew the terror of the Li family's older generation, especially the Sword King, Li Yaozu, the strongest swordsman in Azure Cloud.
He traveled throughout the Azure Cloud region, never concealing his whereabouts.
Of all the Li family members, it was easiest for the major factions to gather intelligence on Li Yaozu!
He traveled the world alone with his sword, challenging countless Sword Cultivators. Everyone knew that every time he defeated an opponent, his sword intent would visibly grow stronger!
It wasn't that no one wanted to kill Li Yaozu.
News had recently arrived that a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator from Starfall Region, having heard of Li Yaozu's extraordinary swordsmanship in the Azure Cloud region, came to test his skills. In that duel, a single mountain was split into three by their combined sword strikes.
That Nascent Soul expert, perhaps unable to accept defeat, pursued Li Yaozu for seven days and nights, but Li Yaozu still managed to escape.
That renowned "Heavenly Star Sword Saint," after returning home, vowed to emulate Li Yaozu, challenge sword cultivators throughout the world, and then return for another duel with Li Yaozu!
"Return."
Li Yaozu's calm voice echoed through the air once more.
The sword dragons that had pierced the early-stage Golden Core old woman returned to their source, and everyone saw the figure in the distance!
He wore simple black martial arts attire, his sword case still on his back. He possessed the unique aloofness of a swordsman. It was clear that he had recently cut his hair and shaved his beard.
The sword case on his back opened, and swords of various grades, even ordinary common weapons, flew into it as if returning home.
"Eldest Great-uncle!"
Li Kuanghua and Li Kuangtu's eyes widened. Although they had spent some time with their Eldest Great-uncle, during that time, they had discovered that the Eldest Great-uncle was quite different from the rumors. What others said were all falsehoods. Eldest Great-uncle was clearly a man of few words, with eccentric behavior and a somewhat kind demeanor.
But now...
This scene... how could this be their Eldest Great-uncle? He was practically a Sword Immortal in the flesh!
"Damn it, how can Eldest Great-uncle be so strong? This is what a true man should be!" Li Kuangtu wiped the sweat from his face. The image of his Eldest Great-uncle in his mind was clearly jumping back and forth between a divine pedestal and mundane reality.
"Amitabha," Li Kuangshi and Li Kuangcai chanted. "Great-grandnephews greet Eldest Great-uncle."
Compared to those two, Li Kuangshi and Li Kuangcai were clearly much calmer. They bowed toward Li Yaozu, who was approaching on his flying sword.
"Hmm."
Landing before the four juniors, his sky-filled swords now all sheathed in his sword case, Li Yaozu nodded slightly. Every time he met his juniors and family, it was after many years of separation. It was easier with his peers; he had many things to discuss. With Third Brother, it was even simpler; he could just yell and scold. Facing his father and mother, kneeling was enough. But with his juniors...
He never knew what to say. But he could sense that from the moment they first saw him, these juniors must have admired him greatly.
Thinking of this, Li Yaozu glanced around. Only a small number of the challengers in the Azure Cloud Martial Pavilion were still alive.
Many experts approached respectfully, cupping their hands with forced smiles.
They could sense it.
Li Yaozu's sword aura had locked onto everyone present!
"Greetings, Sword King!"
"I met the Sword King many years ago. Your demeanor remains as impressive as ever!"
"...."
Ignoring their praises, Li Yaozu didn't even glance at these people. He smiled at his four juniors. "Very good," he said, "daring to face Golden Core cultivators with your Fake Core Formation strength."
Li Kuangtu snapped out of his daze, his expression anxious. "Eldest Great-uncle," he exclaimed, "Elder Brother has been captured!"
"Yes, I know."
Li Yaozu's expression remained calm. "He wasn't captured," he explained, "he went to the Jun Prince's Mansion. Let him be."
"So, he was taken by the Jun Prince's Mansion."
Li Kuanghua, who had been listening quietly, breathed a sigh of relief, but then furrowed her brow. "Why did the Jun Prince's Mansion take Elder Brother away?" she asked. "Didn't we win? They can just openly announce that Elder Brother is their son-in-law."
"I don't know."
Li Yaozu casually shook his head, ignoring his four juniors. He glanced at the experts who were protecting the geniuses behind them, and with just one look, he made them all lower their heads.
Li Yaozu remained unfazed. "Leave all your valuables behind," he said, "and then take your juniors and depart."
"..."
"???"
As Li Yaozu finished speaking, everyone was stunned.
Li Kuanghua and Li Kuangtu were slightly better off; they had grown accustomed to this after following their Eldest Great-uncle for many years.
Eldest Great-uncle had said that sometimes, if there was no deep hatred, and if the enemy was someone they could never surpass, there was no need to kill them. Taking their possessions was enough.
Wait for them to make another mistake, and they could gain even more. Repeating this cycle, they would gradually discover that their opponents were all wealthy individuals.
This was called "worldly wisdom."
"Amitabha, Eldest Great-uncle is truly merciful."
The two monks also smiled, secretly thinking that the Eldest Great-uncle was a kind person.
Those cultivators who had been prepared to sit back and watch the Li family descendants be killed, or those who even wanted to intervene and take advantage of the situation, now revealed angry expressions.
The Sword King had quite a reputation.
But who among those present wasn't a genius who had cultivated for many years? They were experienced in dealing with such situations.
[Special Event: Fifth Generation's Marriage Challenge, completed!]
[Congratulations! You have acquired 20,000 incense merit points!]
[Your descendant, Li Yaozu, used his power to intimidate others, killing one Golden Core cultivator. He chose to extort resources from all the cultivators present, who were harboring various thoughts. They lined up and respectfully presented their resources to Li Yaozu.]
[The family has acquired a large number of spoils of war!]
[143 complete corpses of geniuses, 32 genius fragments...]
[5 mid-grade spirit artifacts]
[12 low-grade spirit artifacts]
[One Yellow Rank cultivation technique: Iron Beast Prostration.]
[...]
"This... we've struck it rich!"
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