9: Chapter 9 Barely Satisfactory

"Grandpa Dong, they're chasing us!"

A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl looked nervous, held in the old man's arms as he sprinted at high speed.

But it was visible to the naked eye that the old man's face, which didn't look particularly aged, was deathly pale, his breathing ragged.

Behind them, four middle-aged men in varied attire moved with swift steps, yet they didn't seem in a hurry to catch up.

"Old man, let's see how much longer you can run!" one of the middle-aged men, with a pale, beardless face, let out a sinister laugh, an iron fan tucked into his waist.

"Hand over that item, and we'll let you die quickly. Otherwise, not only you, but even that spawn of the Cui Clan won't have a good death!" the second man, a burly bald fellow with thick eyebrows and large eyes, sneered.

"Old man, the alley has come to an end; you have nowhere to run," the third man, who had disheveled hair and wore a headband, shouted.

For some unknown reason, the old man and the young girl in front really did stop in their tracks.

Before the four middle-aged men could rejoice, they saw four youths lying at the end of the alley, blood at the corners of their mouths, their life or death unknown.

Besides them, there was another youth calmly searching the bodies of the four youths whose life or death was unknown.

At this moment, the youth looked up.

He was a very handsome youth with an outstanding, rare appearance.

However, the four middle-aged men all stopped in their tracks, because the robes worn by that youth and the four youths on the ground were all the uniforms of a Disciple of the Qingwei Sword Sect.

'People from the Qingwei Sword Sect!' The four exchanged glances, seeing the hesitation in each other's eyes.

'Damn it, this old man and that brat just had to go and run right into an internal conflict between members of the Qingwei Sword Sect!'

The old man surnamed Dong, who looked to be about seventy, reacted quickly. Gritting his teeth, he fell to his knees in front of Yu Xiu with a thud, then pulled the bewildered girl down with him: "I beg the young hero of the Qingwei Sword Sect to save us; this old man is willing to offer up the treasure."

As he spoke, the old man signaled the girl to take out a wooden box, which she held up with both hands before Yu Xiu.

The four men behind them changed expressions drastically and shouted angrily: "Old thief, how dare you."

Yu Xiu glanced at the wooden box in the girl's hands. 'A treasure-delivering boy?'

'I actually have such good fortune!'

He raised his eyes, his gaze passing over the old man and the girl to look at the four men: "Do you want to die?"

"Friend from the Qingwei Sword Sect, don't meddle in other people's business, and there will be benefits for you afterward," the pale, beardless man said. "We are all in the Qi Sea Realm; four against one, Your Excellency has no advantage."

"Besides, young hero, you've injured your own sect members; I'm afraid that's not something you'd want to get out, right?"

'A threat?' When one is speechless, one truly laughs: "Do you know what this city is called? It's Qingwei City."

Threatening a Disciple of the Qingwei Sword Sect in Qingwei City?

No joke, if he just shouted, within three breaths, these four Loose Cultivators of the Qi Sea Realm would definitely be hacked into mincemeat.

If it took more than three breaths, it would mean the Qingwei Sword Sect was a dud.

"It is precisely because this is Qingwei City that you wouldn't dare make a scene after injuring your fellow Disciples," the man took a deep breath. "You have a guilty conscience; if someone saw this, I'm afraid you wouldn't escape the sect's rules!"

"Let's each take a step back; let's keep to our own affairs. We still have benefits to offer; why not do that?"

Yu Xiu smiled: "That does make some sense. Then, what if I don't agree?"

The pale, beardless man shook his head: "The swordsmanship of the Qingwei Sword Sect is peerless; among those of the same Realm, we naturally cannot compete. But if I'm not mistaken, you have only just entered the Qi Sea Realm!"

He pointed to the three people beside him: "The four of us, at our worst, are at the third layer of the Qi Sea Realm. How can you win?"

'Clang!' The long sword in Yu Xiu's hand left its sheath: "Why not test whether my sword is sharp."

It was true that he had just entered the Qi Sea Realm, but the Sword in the Hand lineage of the Qingwei Sword Sect cultivated internal Qi that was Sword Qi, and their Cultivation Technique was integrated into their swordsmanship, making their sword skills peerless.

More importantly, he possessed a Sword Heart Concealing Edge, and Sword Intent had already been born.

Compared to these Loose Cultivators, the Disciples of the Qingwei Sword Sect were all a cut above.

Before the words had even faded, Yu Xiu's body moved with his sword, striking out in an instant.

The Cloud Swaying Sword Art and the Flying Rainbow Sword were both sword techniques.

"You..." The four men were shocked, feeling a cold light envelop their bodies. For a moment, their spines turned cold, as if an invisible chill was piercing through every pore on their bodies, entering directly into them!

Even their minds seemed to be frozen and eroded by the chill, becoming slow and sluggish!

"Sword Intent! He has cultivated Sword Intent!" another man screamed, terrified out of his wits.

The sword had not yet arrived, but the Sword Intent had already reached their bodies, invading their limbs and bones, and even their consciousness. Before the fight had even begun, their strength had been weakened by more than thirty percent. How could they fight this!

More importantly, a Disciple of the Qingwei Sword Sect who had cultivated Sword Intent was surely an important figure in the Sect. His background was likely shockingly large. Not to mention whether they could win, even if they could, who would dare to fight?

If they killed Yu Xiu today, the Sect's Sword Qi would likely chop up their ancestors' graves unto the eighteenth generation by tomorrow!

This old thief was truly lucky to encounter such an existence to back him up!

"I don't care about any Sword Intent; if he wants to kill me, I will kill him!" The third man's expression was ferocious as he suddenly drew his blade, whipping up layers of blade light...

However, the sword light came even faster and was even more unpredictable. Even though the sword clearly looked like it was on the left, before his blade light could intercept it, that sword had already appeared above, piercing through his throat.

'The gap, how can it be so large...'

The man's eyes widened, but he could no longer make a sound, falling to the ground and never getting up.

But Yu Xiu's sword did not pause for even an instant; the sword light flashed past, and then it flashed out again.

The remaining three men felt their scalps tingle. One took out a short spear, one pulled out an iron whip, and one produced an iron fan.

As they circulated their internal Qi, the three struck out in unison. The spear light was like pricking stars, the iron whip was like splitting a mountain, and the iron fan shook open, slashing out like a blade, all striking toward Yu Xiu.

But Yu Xiu's sword was too fast, too swift, actually shrouding all three of them at once.

'He doesn't have three heads and six arms; how could he strike out so many swords? It must be phantom swords, feints!' the middle-aged man with the iron fan thought, but the blade-like iron fan was still retracted and then spread out again to block in front of him.

In the next instant, a point of cold light passed through the fan ribs, flashing and disappearing.

But a sword wound had already appeared on the middle-aged man's throat, and then blood surged wildly. His eyes widened, 'His sword, it really is this fast!'

The other man holding the iron whip felt the sword light before his eyes was heavy, unable to distinguish where it came from at all. He was so anxious that he broke out in a sweat, not even noticing that his companion beside him had already died.

"Pfft!" A splash of blood suddenly appeared. Even though his iron whip had been danced into a wind-tight defense, it still failed to block those heavy sword shadows, and his throat had been pierced through.

'This sword, where on earth did it come from?' He could no longer distinguish, falling to the ground and never getting up.

The last man holding the short spear retreated again and again, but he could never shake off the sword light before his eyes.

This sword was too mysterious, and too sharp. Before he could truly see the reality within, the long sword had already passed through his brow, exiting from the back of his head.

The long sword was retracted, and the last person fell to the ground; Yu Xiu, however, remained calm.

He had learned too many sword techniques to Perfection, and with a Sword Heart Concealing Edge and the augmentation of Sword Intent, it was difficult for those who were even above him in Realm to force him to use his full strength.

'Barely satisfactory,' Yu Xiu commented inwardly.