95: Chapter 94 Duanmu Yang's Past

The moment the two forces collided with a roar in the Void Realm, time seemed to freeze.

Immediately after, an extremely dazzling light erupted, instantly illuminating the entire Void Realm.

This light was so radiant that one dared not look directly at it, as if the most powerful force in heaven and earth had been released at this moment.

Accompanying the explosion of light, a suffocating shockwave surged forth like a stormy sea.

This shockwave, like a storm, swept rapidly through the Void Realm, and wherever it passed, the Void Realm seemed to be torn apart.

The giant palm and the savage beast foot that were originally confronting each other in the Void Realm vanished without a trace at this moment.

However, the moment both forces dissipated, that azure edge flickered like an agile green snake, circled a few times in the air, and suddenly transformed back into the appearance of the azure edge, carving a graceful arc in the air before landing steadily in Duanmu Yang's hand.

Duanmu Yang took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, as if he had just experienced a life-and-death struggle.

He slowly turned around, his sharp gaze like two bolts of lightning, falling directly upon the Grand Elder of the Xiantian Sword Sect, Daoist Lingjian. The killing intent and pressure contained within that gaze were almost tangible, making one shudder.

Feeling Duanmu Yang's gaze, Daoist Lingjian shuddered violently, as if struck by a powerful force. His old face instantly turned pale as paper, and a layer of fine sweat even broke out on his forehead.

He knew very well that within this void supreme treasure, his strength was severely restricted, and compared to Duanmu Yang, it was a world of difference; he was simply no match for him.

When he met Duanmu Yang's cold, ice-like gaze, the last shred of luck in his heart was completely shattered, and Daoist Lingjian could no longer maintain his composure.

He slowly lowered his head, as if that gaze weighed a thousand jin, making it impossible for him to meet it. "This young friend, I have never met you before, why must you push me so hard?"

"Perhaps my Xiantian Sword Sect did something wrong before and unintentionally offended you. But things have come to this, and since you have already killed two of our sect's Elders today, you should be appeased by now."

His tone became increasingly humble, even carrying a hint of pleading: "If you can raise your hand and spare my life, I can take charge and decide not to pursue your responsibility, and I will even honor you as a guest of honor of my Xiantian Sword Sect. How about that?"

However, facing Daoist Lingjian's desperate pleas, Duanmu Yang remained unmoved.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a smile full of mockery. He held his long sword, walked steadily to where Daoist Lingjian stood, and looked down at him, "You don't need to waste your breath here."

Duanmu Yang's gaze was like a torch, staring straight at Daoist Lingjian, and he continued: "The grudge between me and your Xiantian Sword Sect cannot be easily resolved just by the death of two Elders."

"As long as I am alive, your Xiantian Sword Sect will sooner or later completely disappear from this world!"

The moment these words were spoken, the expressions of Daoist Lingjian, Yuan Hua outside, and the Sword Cultivators of the Xiantian Sword Sect changed slightly, and they inwardly cursed Duanmu Yang for being too arrogant.

A cold light suddenly flashed in Daoist Lingjian's eyes, and he understood in his heart that there was no room for any retreat.

He gripped the long sword in his hand tightly, channeling all his strength into the sword body like surging waves.

In an instant, the sword body emitted a dazzling light, cutting through the sky like lightning, and flew straight towards Duanmu Yang.

Duanmu Yang stood in place, and faced with Daoist Lingjian's fierce offensive, his expression remained exceptionally indifferent, like a steady mountain.

He unhurriedly executed the unique sword technique of the Solitary Sword Pavilion. The sword light flashed like a meteor streaking across the night sky, and every strike seemed to be precisely calculated, landing accurately on Daoist Lingjian's vital points.

Although Daoist Lingjian tried his best to counterattack, in the face of Duanmu Yang's exquisite sword skills, his attacks appeared somewhat pale and powerless.

Every one of his strikes was easily neutralized by Duanmu Yang, while Duanmu Yang's counterattacks were as continuous as a rainstorm, leaving him unable to cope.

As time passed, the sword wounds on Daoist Lingjian's body increased, and his breathing began to become rapid.

Duanmu Yang did not give him any chance to catch his breath; his swordsmanship became increasingly fast and fierce, each strike containing endless killing intent, as if he wanted to tear Daoist Lingjian into pieces.

Finally, after a heart-stopping sword swing, a crisp snapping sound was heard.

In that instant, both Daoist Lingjian and the precious sword in his hand were sliced into two halves by this strike from Duanmu Yang!

This strike from Duanmu Yang was astonishingly powerful, as if it had torn the entire space apart, leaving one unable to help but marvel at it.

Immediately after, Duanmu Yang channeled his Sword Intent, which surged into Daoist Lingjian's corpse like a raging torrent, instantly shredding his soul into nothingness, ensuring he had no possibility of surviving.

After doing all this, Duanmu Yang calmly retracted the azure edge, a ripple appearing deep in his eyes.

… In Ten Thousand Swords City, all the Sword Cultivators were stunned by what happened on the screen, as if time had stopped at this moment.

Among the crowd, Yuan Hua's expression was particularly ugly. His eyes were so gloomy that it seemed like water could drip from them, and he stared fixedly at Duanmu Yang on the screen, the killing intent in his heart surging like waves.

Only he knew how great the power of that strike just now was.

Let alone the Sword Cultivators in the void supreme treasure whose cultivation had been suppressed to the Third Grade Realm, even some Cultivators in the Innate Realm would likely only have a dead end if they encountered his strike just now!

Yet, such a terrifying strike was actually blocked by the young Sword Cultivator from the Solitary Sword Pavilion, Duanmu Yang!

How could this be? Yuan Hua's heart was filled with shock and disbelief.

His hands gripped the armrests of his chair tightly, and because he was using too much force, his knuckles had already turned white.

At this moment, his killing intent towards Duanmu Yang had climbed to its Peak, and he wished he could tear Duanmu Yang into pieces immediately!

Just at this time, the three mighty figures from the Great Yu Dynasty sitting beside Yuan Hua suddenly turned their gazes towards Yuan Hua in unison. A hint of warning was clearly revealed in their eyes.

Yuan Hua naturally felt the gaze of these three, and he knew very well in his heart that although these three mighty figures had not delved deeply into his previous actions, that did not mean they would turn a blind eye to it.

If Yuan Hua dared to continue interfering with this competition, then there was no doubt that he was completely disregarding the rules set by these three mighty figures and the Great Yu Dynasty.

Facing such a warning, Yuan Hua did not immediately respond, but fell silent and lowered his head to ponder for a moment.

After careful consideration, Yuan Hua finally slowly loosened his tightly clenched palms, and his expression gradually returned to calm.

And at the same time that Yuan Hua made this decision, the competition on Duanmu Yang's side within the void supreme treasure also happened to end.

With Duanmu Yang's victory, the second round of the competition finally came to an end.

Those defeated Sword Cultivators were teleported back one by one. Their expressions appeared very dejected, clearly feeling very frustrated and disappointed with their failure.

However, in stark contrast to these losers were the thirteen remaining Sword Cultivators, including Duanmu Yang.

They stood out in this fierce competition and successfully advanced to the next round.

Immediately after, these thirteen Sword Cultivators were teleported together into a brand-new space, waiting for the final round of the competition.

After a short rest for the thirteen of them, they would proceed to the final round of the competition again.

This final round of competition was a melee; only three people needed to be eliminated from the thirteen, while the other ten Sword Cultivators would advance, successfully passing the test of this second round.

While they were resting, in the restaurant private room where Chen Zhiwen was.

Chen Zhiwen and Zheng Chen sat cross-legged by the window, sipping tea while observing the movements within the void supreme treasure.

"I still underestimated him. I really didn't expect that after not seeing him for a few years, his strength would have already improved to this extent!"

"With his current strength, if I were to fight him, I fear I would be no match for him at all."

"On the current hidden dragon ranking, I fear only the top three Prodigies could rival him." Zheng Chen exclaimed in great amazement.

Chen Zhiwen nodded slightly; judging from the strength Duanmu Yang just displayed, it was indeed exceptionally impressive.

Compared to Feng Qingyang of the Zetian Sect's inner cabinet and Ao Ming of the East Sea's Bi You Flood Dragon clan, he was not in the slightest bit weaker.

Just as Chen Zhiwen and Zheng Chen were talking, Leng Feng, having investigated all the information about Duanmu Yang, walked up and reported with cupped hands.

"Master, regarding the grudge between Duanmu Yang and the Xiantian Sword Sect, your subordinate has investigated it clearly."

"Oh?" Chen Zhiwen and the other cast curious glances.

"Speak quickly and let us hear it," Zheng Chen said.

"Master, Your Highness Zheng, this successor of the Solitary Sword Pavilion's original name is actually not Duanmu Yang."

"His original name was Zhou Qi, and he was the son of the master of a sword manor in the Great Yu Dynasty's Sword Domain that had been destroyed for many years."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chen stood up in surprise, "What did you say, Duanmu Yang was previously a person of my Great Yu Dynasty?!"

Leng Feng took a deep breath and continued: "According to the information we obtained, twenty-three years ago, the master of the Cangling Sword Manor in the Sword Domain, during a training trip, inadvertently stumbled into a secluded valley."

"In that valley, he discovered a plant emitting a strange light. This plant was entirely emerald green, its leaves were as sharp as precious swords, and its stem was even more incredibly hard."

"After careful observation, the master of the Cangling Sword Manor was surprised to discover that this plant was actually the legendary Heaven And Earth Treasure — Sword Bone Grass! This grass is extremely rare in the world, and it is said that it possesses a magical effect, which is the ability to mold the spine bones in a person's body into sword bones."

"And once one possesses such sword bones, the user will advance by leaps and bounds on the path of sword cultivation, progressing a thousand miles in a single day."

"This news spread like a whirlwind across the entire Sword Domain at an astonishing speed. After many sword sects learned of it, they all drooled over this Sword Bone Grass. They sent envoys one after another to the Cangling Sword Manor, hoping to use various precious treasures and generous conditions to exchange for that Heaven And Earth Treasure."

"At that time, Zhou Qi was still young, only three years old, and there was still a long time before he would embark on the path of cultivation."

"Zhou Qi's father, as the master of the Cangling Sword Manor, faced with the exchange requests proposed by the sword sects, thought it over carefully and decisively chose to refuse."

"However, who could have expected that this seemingly simple decision would actually trigger such a huge wave. This action of Zhou Qi's father seemed to ignite a fuse, pushing the Cangling Sword Manor into the abyss of destruction."

"In the dead of night, people from the Xiantian Sword Sect quietly sneaked into the Cangling Sword Manor. They killed everyone they saw, without mercy. For a time, the Cangling Sword Manor was flowing with blood, and screams echoed continuously."

"Facing this sudden attack, Zhou Qi's father engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the enemies. Although he was powerful, he was outnumbered after all, and in the fierce battle, he gradually could not hold on."

"At this critical life-and-death moment, Zhou Qi's father risked his life to cover a servant who took young Zhou Qi and fled from the Cangling Sword Manor."

In the private room, Chen Zhiwen and the others fell into silence as they listened to Leng Feng's words.

For Chen Zhiwen, although the plot of this kind of story was very cliché, the act of the Xiantian Sword Sect, as a giant among the sword sects in the Sword Domain, slaughtering an entire faction for the sake of a Heaven And Earth Treasure still made Chen Zhiwen feel extremely disdainful.

"Outrageous! The Xiantian Sword Sect actually has such guts!" Zheng Chen slapped the table in anger, his face livid.

Chen Zhiwen was much calmer than Zheng Chen, and he looked at Leng Feng and asked, "What happened next?"

"Later, under the escort of the servant, Zhou Qi went through all kinds of hardships and finally managed to barely save his life. However, the others in the Cangling Sword Manor were not so lucky; they all met a tragic end on that terrifying night, with None spared."

"After the Xiantian Sword Sect finished slaughtering the Cangling Sword Manor, they searched every corner of the sword manor, but they never managed to find that legendary Heaven And Earth Treasure. Thus, everyone began to suspect whether this precious treasure had been taken away by Zhou Qi."

"For this reason, the Xiantian Sword Sect dispatched a large number of experts to launch a carpet search throughout the entire Sword Domain, vowing to find Zhou Qi's whereabouts."

"And in order to avoid the pursuit of the Xiantian Sword Sect, Zhou Qi had to, together with that loyal servant, disguise themselves as beggars and hide in a Mortal city within the Sword Domain."

"Just like this, Zhou Qi and his servant lived in this small city for five whole years, hiding their names."

"During these five years, they were always on edge, terrified of being discovered by people from the Xiantian Sword Sect. Despite this, Zhou Qi still accidentally exposed his identity a few times, and each time it plunged them into extreme danger."

"Among them, during one danger, in order to protect Zhou Qi, that loyal servant stood forward and used his own life to buy a glimmer of survival for Zhou Qi."