A sword appeared in Su Yi’s hands, seemingly out of nowhere.
The blade glowed a faint sky-blue with ripples of spiritual radiance.
A spiritual sword!
The crowd’s pupils constricted. Even Nan Ying and Ni Hao’s eyes flashed with a hint of greed. Isn’t this guy doing a bit too well for himself?
Huo Long and the other invitees were stunned. Don’t tell me Su Yi plans to throw all caution to the wind and attack?
Zhou Huaiqiu’s expression changed dramatically, and he was just about to say something when he saw a flash of sword light.
A head flew through the air, leaving an eye-catching trail of splattering blood in its wake. The red was particularly stark beneath the light of the private dining hall’s lanterns.
The head belonged to Huo Long.
His smile was still cold and disdainful as his head tumbled to the ground. A moment later, his headless body fell to the floor.
Everyone’s pupils constricted. They jumped in terror and paled with fright. Even Zhou Huaiqiu couldn’t help but gasp.He would never have guessed that when Su Yi struck, it would be without any wasted words. He didn’t beat around the bush at all; he was direct and efficient! So much so that although Zhou Huaiqiu wanted to stop him, he was one step too late.
Ni Hao and Nan Ying were startled too, and their eyes widened. They couldn’t even imagine it. This was the ninth floor of the House of Prosperity. Just where did he get the confidence? He actually killed someone here of all places!
It was Su Yi who first spoke to break the deathly silence. He said flatly, “It was the 396th year of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a winter morning. I picked a thirty-year Cinnabar Fruit on the cliffs of Xiaoxuan Peak. Just as I was about to climb back up, Huo Long blackmailed me from atop the cliff. He said I had to give him the fruit, or else he’d sever the rope holding me.”
Su Yi paused and swept his gaze across the group. “As you all know, Xiaoxuan Peak is over a thousand feet tall. Without the rope, I’d fall all the way into the gorge below. At the time, I chose to endure. I tossed the fruit up to Huo Long.
“But in the end, before I could climb back up, Huo Long cut the rope anyway.”
Zhou Huaiqiu exclaimed, “Something like that actually happened?”
But when he looked at Qian Yunjiu and the others, he saw that all of them looked uncomfortable. Obviously, all of them were well aware of this incident.
Nan Ying and Ni Hao weren’t surprised either; they’d heard about this too.
Su Yi continued, “Fortunately, as I fell, a pine growing from the cliffside stopped my fall. Although I was injured, I made it out alive.”
Once he finished his tail, he picked up one of the seven cups of wine and drained it. “Elder Zhou, tell me: did Huo Long deserve to die?”
From beginning to end, his expression was flat as ever, as if he were talking about someone else.
But it was this very cold indifference that sent a chill through Zhou Huaiqiu’s heart.
“Su Yi, all of that was in the past, and besides, you didn’t die, now did you? Yet now, you went and killed Huo Long. Aren’t you afraid of others getting revenge on you next?” Qian Yunjiu roared, “This is the House of Prosperity!”
Su Yi glanced at him. “Even if you shout louder, no one will barge in to rescue you.”
Qian Yunjiu’s expression shifted dramatically, and he turned to flee.
Clang!
The hum of a sword rang out.
Qian Yunjiu’s head toppled from his shoulders, splashing blood all over the floor.
Some of the others shrieked in terror, quivering from head to toe.
Even Ni Hao and Nan Ying went rigid, and their hearts shook.
But Su Yi just said indifferently, “Back then, Qian Yunjiu repeatedly stole medicine from the sect. After this matter came to light, he framed me for it. No matter how hard I tried to explain myself, no one listened to me.”
As he said this, he sighed. “The ridiculous part is, quite a few people even spoke up as witnesses on his behalf. They said I was the one who stole the medicine. How sharp-eyed are the sect higher-ups? They were naturally well aware that something fishy was going on, but they tacitly agreed to accept their words as truth. No one tried to get justice on my behalf.
“It was only after everything was over that I learned that, in their eyes, I was nothing but a low-class figure with no family background. That was why, despite knowing the truth full well, they preferred to force me to take the fall than allow anything to damage Qian Yunjiu’s reputation.”
Everyone’s expressions changed erratically once more.
Even Huang Qianjun couldn’t remain calm. He gnashed his teeth, and his temper raged within him.
He would never have guessed that Su Yi had endured such treatment during his time in Blueriver Sword Manor!
“Elder Zhou, you presumably heard about this incident too, but you chose to remain a bystander as well.” Su Yi glanced at Zhou Huaiqiu.
Zhou Huaiqiu sighed, and he looked ashamed. “I only took it as an ordinary incident of theft. I never paid it any heed. Who would have thought….”
“I never blamed you for that. You were a major figure in the sect. How could you concern yourself with a trivial incident like that?” Su Yi leisurely drained another cup of wine. He set down the cup, then fixed his gaze on Liu Ying.
She was immediately pale with terror, and she shrieked, “Don’t come any closer!”
The blood had long since drained from Yang Qi, Chu Lianheng, Zheng Xiaolin, and Zhang Fengtu’s faces as well. There was no longer any sign of their earlier arrogance or bluster.
Earlier, they’d been convinced that with a sect elder like Zhou Huaiqiu here, they had nothing to worry about, especially since this was the House of Prosperity. That was why they were so fearless at first; they didn’t believe Su Yi dared attempt murder under such circumstances.
But Huo Long and Qian Yunjiu’s deaths terrified them to the core. They finally realized just how much danger they were in.
Practically instinctively, all of them clustered behind Zhou Huaiqiu.
“Martial Uncle Zhou, Su Yi killed Huo Long and Qian Yunjiu right in front of you. He’s frenzied and depraved. Aren’t you going to get involved?” someone shouted indignantly.
The others voiced their agreement and gnashed their teeth, one by one. All of them were both panicked and terrified.
“Su Yi, making this incident even bigger won’t do you any good either. How about we let this end here? We can go to Blueriver Sword Manor together and resolve any lingering grudges, one by one.” Zhou Huaiqiu took a deep breath.
As the fourth-ranked elder of the sect, he naturally couldn’t bear to just watch someone kill his sect’s disciples.
By murdering two of them, Su Yi had already committed a taboo, and Zhou Huaiqiu was already beside himself with rage.
But Su Yi’s flat, indifferent response defied his expectations. “Once I’m finished with tonight’s banquet, I’ll naturally pay Blueriver Sword Manor a visit.”
He walked up, sword in hand. “But for now, Martial Uncle Zhou, you’d best step aside. If you refuse, don’t blame me for forgetting our former bond.”
He called it a bond, but it was really just Zhou Huaiqiu paying attention to him after he became the Outer Sect Sword Chief. It was as simple as an elder admiring and looking after a talented disciple.
Strictly speaking, all of that care and concern was just because he’d won the position of “Outer Sect Sword Chief”. They had no real “bond” to speak of.
“Enough!” Zhou Huaiqiu’s face was ashen as he glared at Su Yi. “A few grudges, all of them in the past. Is it necessary to resolve them in this way?”
“A few grudges?” A faint, mocking smile tugged at Su Yi’s lips. “Would you say that if it had happened to you?”
No one could fully understand another’s feelings. Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to argue about it, so he just said directly, “Tonight, all of them must die!”
“Martial Uncle Zhou, see how wicked he is? He’s so brazen, he even dares treat you with disrespect,” shrieked Liu Ying.
Even Ni Hao and Nan Ying watched in disbelief. They couldn’t even imagine it. How dare Su Yi talk to Zhou Huaiqiu that way?
It’s worth noting that the Bluepeak Sword Elder was a peak Qi Accumulation Realm existence. His “Thirteen Stances of the Bluepeak Sword” were famous throughout the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital!
“Su Yi, if you stubbornly refuse to see the light, don’t blame me for my poor manners.” Zhou Huaiqiu sighed, then unsheathed his sword. His gaze turned frosty and solemn, and his energy billowed and circulated around him.
Liu Ying and the others were instantly excited. Resentment was written all over their faces.
Su Yi, you might be tough, but are you tough enough to go toe-to-toe with Martial Uncle Zhou?
Even Ni Hao spoke up. “Junior Apprentice Brother Su, stay your hand. This is hard enough on Martial Uncle Zhou already. Don’t make things harder on him.”
But Su Yi directly ignored him. He didn’t so much as glance at him. This left Ni Hao red-faced with anger.
“Then I’ll just have to see your expertise for myself, Martial Uncle Zhou.” As he spoke, Su Yi no longer hesitated. He stepped forward.
Everyone’s eyes widened; it seemed they dared not believe it. His old enemies couldn’t help but laugh. This moron’s courting death! This couldn’t get any better!
“Su Yi, you’ve really let me down.” Zhou Huaiqiu sighed, then shook his blade and stabbed.
Whoosh!
He was like a towering mountain in motion, grand and spectacular.
This was one of the Thirteen Stances of the Bluepeak Sword, “Flying Peak”!
This attack was vast, a sword with the power to suppress the world itself. In Zhou Huaiqiu’s hands, all of its subtleties were on full display.
Everyone’s breathing stopped; it was as if they’d witnessed a blue mountain bearing down on them.
But Su Yi merely shook his head. With a shake of his wrist, his sword shot forward.
It arced like a rainbow piercing through the sun, the sword light dazzling to behold. It was incomparably fast, and it easily pierced right through the blue mountain.
Immediately afterward….
Clang!
A deafening impact followed. Zhou Huaiqiu’s wrists were in agony, and his sword flew from his hands and stuck in the massive vase on the other end of the hall. With a bang, the vase cracked, then broke apart, scattering fragments across the floor.
Zhou Huaiqiu subconsciously glanced down at his wrists and saw a faint, blood-colored cut in the flesh. It was as if he’d been struck by lightning.
He was completely stunned. How terrifying of an attack was that? It was so powerful, he couldn’t even begin to block it!
“This….” Liu Ying and the others’ smiles froze in place. They paled with fright, and their scalps went numb.
Zhou Huaiqiu was the glorious Bluepeak Sword Elder, the man ranked fourth amongst the sect’s elders and a peak Qi Accumulation expert famed throughout the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital, yet he couldn’t even block a single attack?
Even Ni Hao and Nan Ying were tongue-tied and dumbstruck.
Their impression of Su Yi was limited to what they saw in their last encounter, back when he took first place in the Dragon’s Gate Banquet.
Who would have thought that after just two weeks apart, Su Yi’s cultivation had already reached such unbelievably terrifying heights?
“With this sword, consider our former bond severed. From now on, there’s nothing between us at all,” said Su Yi indifferently.
Zhou Huaiqiu’s hands and feet went cold, and his expression changed erratically. He looked astonished and bewildered.
A while later, he let out a long sigh, his expression bleak. “No wonder you seemed so fearless. No wonder even Madam Cuiyun treated you like a first-class VIP guest. So, you’ve already grown this much….”
Then, he took a deep breath and said gravely, “But regarding what you plan to do tonight, since I’m here, there’s absolutely no way I’ll back down. If I do, how can I possibly face everyone in Blueriver Sword Manor going forward?”
He looked utterly decisive.
When he heard this, Su Yi didn’t bother wasting words. No emotions showed on his face.
He exerted strength through his arms, and Guiding Mysteries shot slashed forward.
Both of Zhou Huaiqiu’s arms rose as he blocked with all his power.
But the next moment, Guiding Mysteries sent him hurtling through the air. His gaunt frame tumbled to the floor. It was a pathetic sight.
He couldn’t even endure a single hit!