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The moonlight was misty, as if shrouded in fog. The stench of blood permeated the mountain pass, and the scars of battle littered the ground.
Yet now, four Xiantian Martial Ancestors had fallen. Only Situ Gong remained.
He felt deep sorrow, and his expression was wooden, as if he were attending his parents’ funerals.
After a moment’s silence, Situ Gong said, “I won’t lie to you. We each exchanged a stalk of tier-five spiritual medicine to learn your whereabouts from the Ten Directions Pavilion.”
“You can leave.” Su Yi put away the Abstruse God Sword and said casually.
Situ Gong found this hard to believe. “Young Lord Su, why aren’t you killing me?”
Su Yi paused to think, then said, “You came to seize my good fortune, but you had no intention of taking my life. Your crimes don’t warrant death. This is punishment enough.”
Situ Gong was stunned, and he looked conflicted. “So that’s why
 Many thanks for sparing my life.”
With that, he turned and left, cutting a desolate figure.
“Remember, you owe me a life!” He heard Su Yi shout from the distance.
Situ Gong paused, took a deep breath, and said, “I dare not forget!”
Before long, Situ Gong disappeared into the vast darkness.
“Qing Wan, go gather up the spoils.” Su Yi patted the Soul-Nurturing Gourd at his waist. Mist billowed out of the gourd, and Qing Wan shot into the air to do as she was told.
Su Yi, meanwhile, took out his wicker chair and lay down, fully relaxed.
“I’m afraid those filthy little beasts saw this battle too.” He stared up into the dome of the heavens. He was sure that, high above, the Ten Directions Pavilion’s Swiftlight Sparrows were watching.
The night was dark and heavy.
Roiling Cloud Temple had already been reduced to rubble.
Wen Zhongyuan and the others watched the young man in blue reclining in his wicker chair from a distance. All of them were dumbstruck.
They felt as if they’d just witnessed a battle between gods and immortals!
Four Xiantian Martial Ancestors had lost their lives here, and the one who killed them was just a young man!
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they never would have believed it, not even if you beat them to death.
Before long, Qing Wan finished gathering the spoils and returned.
The four dead Xiantian Martial Ancestors had, in addition to their spiritual weapons, carried various recovery medicines and pills necessary for cultivation. However, what attracted Su Yi’s attention the most were the tier-four spirit stones.
Each of them had a different-colored luster, as they contained different types of elemental energy: the green spiritual energy of wood, the crimson spiritual energy of flame, the golden spiritual energy of metal, and so on.
This was what made tier-four spirit stones so rare and precious.
In spirit stones tiers one to three, the spiritual energy they contained was ordinary. The only difference between tiers was their purity.
Starting from tier four, the spiritual energy in spirit stones contained a subtle elemental presence, which was enormously beneficial for tempering xiantian qi.
In the Great Zhou, tier-four spirit stones were like priceless treasures. Even Xiantian Martial Ancestors couldn’t bear to use them in their cultivation.
It was only when they were attempting to break through they’d use them to break down barriers.
Su Yi put away his spoils, then rose and decided to continue on his journey without delay.
When his gaze swept across the distant Wen Zhongyuan and Lasting Peace Academy disciples, he seemed to think of something. He casually picked up a shining silver longsword.
This was the weapon the gaunt man in white had left behind. It was fully spiritual, an extraordinarily high-quality spiritual weapon.
When they saw this, Wen Zhongyuan and the others jumped, then quivered from head to toe; they thought Su Yi was going to attack them next.
Especially Wen Zhongyuan. He instantly bowed in greeting, his forehead dripping with sweat. “Earlier, we had eyes, but we could not see. We apologize for offending you and humbly request your forgiveness!”
The youth in indigo, Li Gui, and the others were frantic too. They trembled in fright, so panicked they almost collapsed into the dirt.
Su Yi ignored Wen Zhongyuan. His gaze landed on Miss Xiaohe. Uncertainty was written all over her face as well; she was nervous to the extreme, like a startled fawn.
“Here, take this sword. It’s for you.” Su Yi smiled and tossed it over. The silver longsword streaked through the air and landed right in front of Miss Xiaohe.
This delicate young woman inexperienced in the way of the world instinctively took hold of the weapon. Then, she jumped and stammered, “For
 For me?”
“Stay true to your nature and work hard at your cultivation.” With that, Su Yi put his hands behind his back and led Qing Wan away, disappearing into the moonlit darkness.
Miss Xiaohe watched him disappear in a daze, looking utterly bewildered. He
. Why would that guy give me a sword?
Also, what did he mean by ‘stay true to my nature’?
“Fortunately, this Young Lord Su is magnanimous and disdained pursuing our earlier slights. Otherwise, given our earlier rudeness, I’m afraid our lives would be in danger.” Wen Zhongyuan let out a long sigh.
It was only now that Su Yi had left that this elder of Lasting Peace Academy realized that his clothes were already drenched in cold sweat.
The disciples wiped the sweat from their brows as well, and they inwardly rejoiced; they’d only just barely escaped disaster.
“Martial Uncle, what do I do with this sword?” Miss Xiaohe couldn’t help but ask.
Instantly, all gazes landed on the reflective silver longsword in her hands.
“If I’m not mistaken, the man in white was the ‘Wind-Splitting Sword Monarch’, Shi Chuang. Twenty years ago, he used the Wind-Splitting Demonic Chaos Sword to shake the nation. His sword arts were so exquisite that they won the praises and admiration of countless experts.” Wen Zhongyuan sighed. “Who would have thought that such a towering expert of the Dao of the Sword would fall beneath that Young Lord Su’s sword? It’s truly
. It’s truly unbelievable
..”
The group’s hearts churned.
Every last one of the dead—The Wind-Splitting Sword Monarch, the Yang Ardent Daoist, Mo Qingcang, and Madam Paulownia Blossom—were lofty figures they could only gaze upon from afar.
This was precisely why witnessing Su Yi suppress them, one by one, was so shocking.
Wen Zhongyuan paused, then said warmly, “That sword is extraordinarily high quality, and it's permeated with spirituality. The light of its edge is bone-piercingly sharp. Since Young Lord Su gave it to you, you should hold onto it.”
Li Gui and the others’ gazes silently grew heated, and when they looked at Miss Xiaohe, their expressions were faintly envious.
They would never have guessed that, in the moments before his departure, Su Yi would give her such a gift.
Miss Xiaohe stammered, “Martial Uncle, I
 I can’t use a sword of this level. How about you take it?”
Wen Zhongyuan jumped in fright, then hurriedly refused. “That wouldn’t be right. Young Lord Su gave that to you; how could I keep it for myself?”
He said this, then swept his gaze around the group. “I urge you not to set your sights on that sword. If you do, and if that Young Lord Su finds out about it, never mind me; even everyone in Lasting Peace Academy combined will be helpless to stop him!”
His words carried a warning.
Li Gui and the others’ expressions shifted, and they hurriedly promised not to try anything.
“Xiaohe, you might be inexperienced in the ways of the world, but you’re kind-hearted by nature. I imagine that’s what that Young Lord Su admired about you.” When he faced her, Wen Zhongyuan’s gaze softened, becoming gentle and benevolent. “Receiving this sword is like establishing a positive karmic connection between him and yourself. You’d best treasure it, and don’t disappoint Young Lord Su’s hopes for you.”
Miss Xiaohe nodded firmly. “Mm!”

..



“We can be certain of one thing: of the world’s Xiantian Martial Ancestors, only a sparse handful are even a match for Su Yi now.”
Meanwhile, beneath the same night sky, on the peak of a mountain, a gaunt, wizened old man, an elder of the Ten Directions Pavilion, had a complex look in his eyes. He looked shaken.
The Swiftlight Sparrows had only just returned with scenes of the battle at Roiling Cloud Temple.
The elders had already witnessed Su Yi’s illustrious bearing as he cut down an entire group of Xiantian Martial Ancestors.
“His sword qi is emblazoned with the profound, inscrutable charm of the Dao, and his cultivation base can link with the force of heaven and earth. That’s something only an Earthly Immortal should be able to do, but strangely, his cultivation is only in the second level of the Inner Furnace Realm
.”
The elegant youth in white looked utterly confused. “How could such a monster exist in this world? Don’t tell me
. Don’t tell me he really has been possessed?”
The fat monk and severe man in dark robes fell silent.
Although they were full of doubts, they were increasingly certain that Su Yi harbored an enormous secret!
After a while, the withered old man said with a strange look on his face, “If we keep selling Su Yi’s whereabouts, how is that any different from watching our customers throw their lives away?”
The others looked at each other, strange looks on their faces too. He was right; for an ordinary Xiantian Martial Ancestor to target Su Yi really was no different from suicide!
“That has nothing to do with our Ten Directions Pavilion,” said the fat monk with a carefree smile. “Besides, we already agreed not to leak the details of Su Yi’s battles. We can’t go back on our word, right?”
The stern-looking man in dark robes said, “Who else has paid their deposits for our intelligence reports?”
“The Hidden Dragon Sword Sect’s Lu Dongliu, the Su Family’s fourth lady of the house, State Preceptor Hong Shenshang, Second Prince Zhou Zhikun, Sixth Prince Zhou Zhili
.” The gaunt elder rattled off a list of names at top speeds. Every last person on the list could strike terror into the hearts of worldly martial artists.
He paused, then continued, “Of them, the greatest threat to Su Yi is almost certainly Lu Dongliu and his cohort. They’re true cultivators, and they possess secret cultivation methods. Their accumulations and strength far surpass mundane cultivators.
“But Lu Dongliu is scrupulously cautious. He currently has no plans to act, but I can guarantee that when he does take action, he’ll strike with unstoppable force, delivering a single lethal blow.”
This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
When the young man in white heard that, he said gleefully, “Su Yi isn’t so easy to kill. This time, I’m afraid the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect will fall flat on its face.”
The withered old man muttered, “It’s hard to say. True cultivators like Lu Dongliu undoubtedly have mysterious and powerful cards up their sleeves. If they find the right opportunity, they might well manage to deal Su Yi a fatal blow.”
“What’s the point of thinking about all that?” said the fat monk irritably. “If you ask me, we’d best hurry up and send Su Yi his cut of the spoils. We don’t want him to misunderstand.”
The others looked at each other. They couldn’t help but sigh
They were elders of the Ten Directions Pavilion. Most people’s threats were entirely beneath their notice.
But this threat came from Su Yi; they had no choice but to take it seriously!
If Su Yi demanded ninety percent of their profits, they dared not withhold it!
“Even Boss said to do what Su Yi wants. Let’s just carry out our orders,” said the severe man in dark robes.
The others naturally had no objections.
Thus, that very night, a Swiftlight Sparrow took to the skies carrying a heavy bundle and hurtled toward Su Yi’s current location.