24: Chapter 24 Meng Guidu's Death

Meng Guidu spoke softly, still maintaining his gentle and refined demeanor as he talked.

With a casual wave of his hand, he sentenced Li Yuan to death.

"Let me break your hands first. You aren't worthy of using a blade, yet you chose to learn the way of the blade; this is your punishment."

"Allowing you to learn the blade is an insult to the blade itself."

"Every time you hold a blade, do you not hear it lamenting?"

Meng Guidu's words seemed to carry a tone of reproach toward Li Yuan.

Seeing Meng Guidu like this, Li Yuan was not in the least bit anxious.

He paused for a moment and countered with a question: "Young Master Meng, did anyone else see you come here?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Guidu sneered.

"Give up. Neither your elders from Da Shun nor anyone else from our Jin Kingdom knows that you and I have come here."

"No one will come here to save you."

"Besides, you are merely a lowly servant."

"Your disappearance is not a matter of great importance; Qianqiu Mountain will not care too much."

"That is good. It is good that no one saw us."

Li Yuan replied politely, then stretched his body, preparing to make his move.

"You still have some guts. Being this arrogant at a time like this… interesting."

Meng Guidu did not want to waste any more time with Li Yuan.

The moment his voice fell, the long blade in his hand was already slashed out.

With this strike, he intended to sever Li Yuan's hand.

But as the blade's edge drew near, it suddenly stopped.

It just hung there in mid-air, unable to fall and unable to be lifted!

The indifference on Meng Guidu's face vanished in an instant, replaced by an expression of extreme terror.

He had already sensed that something was wrong.

The space around him was filled with terrifying Qi, locking his blade in place.

He could move, and he could even exert force at will.

Yet, the long blade slashing toward Li Yuan refused to budge even a fraction.

"It seems I have not insulted this blade; rather, I fear you have not satisfied it."

"Your blade is scattered in strength and weak in Qi, not to mention lacking its essence."

While speaking, Li Yuan reached out and pinched the edge of the blade.

With a pull, it was in his own hand.

Raising the long blade, he brought it down toward Meng Guidu's neck; he did not even have the courage to flee.

At this moment, Meng Guidu finally realized that the person they were provoking was absolutely not some lowly servant.

This was a terrifying, top-tier expert.

Someone who defeated him in a single exchange, with his true strength completely unfathomable.

Not far away, Ruan Xingqiao's maid went pale; she wanted to flee and was looking for an opportunity to do so.

"You just stand there; you cannot leave."

Li Yuan gave a reminder, and with just that sentence, the maid seemed to be frozen in place.

It was unclear whether it was Li Yuan's Cultivation Technique or if she was so terrified that her legs had gone weak, rendering her unable to move.

"Since no one saw us, I can act with more ease."

"We originally had no feud or grudge between us; it was merely a slight resemblance."

"As you said, it is not actually that similar."

"Why did it provoke you to commit such a ruthless act?"

Li Yuan asked in pursuit.

After asking the question, Li Yuan shook his head, just as he had done earlier.

"Forget it, this question does not need you to answer."

"Since you cannot stand that someone resembles you, then go die and close your eyes."

"If you cannot see, then there is no such thing as being unable to stand it."

Having said that, the long blade in Li Yuan's hand slashed toward Meng Guidu.

In front of Li Yuan, Meng Guidu did not even have the right to struggle.

Without any suspense or reversal, this Young Master Meng, who had pretended to be gentle and refined, perished here.

Li Yuan was still holding that blade.

His gaze turned to the distance, where Ruan Xingqiao's maid was deathly pale, trembling uncontrollably.

"Being able to bring me to such a secluded place is quite convenient."

"For that, I will give you some credit."

Li Yuan said softly, walking toward her as he spoke.

The maid's mouth was moving, but no sound could come out.

She was truly panicked, so panicked that she had even forgotten how to make a sound.

"I have nothing to say to you. You helped others try to take my life; I do not need to return more, but at least it should be equal."

"Go and keep this Young Master Meng company."

"While alive, he might not have looked highly upon you, but this time, I will help you."

With that, Li Yuan sent the maid to her end.

After these two perished, Li Yuan did not waste the opportunity.

Compared to those Seniors who had cultivated for many years, the benefits gained from them would certainly be much less.

Less or not, there were still gains to be had.

[Corpse Looting Technique (Level 4): Picked up Needlework Experience from Cuihong]

From this maid named Cuihong, Li Yuan only picked up some needlework experience, which was useless to him.

After the Corpse Looting Technique upgraded to Level 4, it seemed that experience outside of martial arts could also be acquired.

[Corpse Looting Technique (Level 4): Picked up Martial Arts Experience from Meng Guidu, 20 years of Internal Energy, Cultivation Technique "Cloud-Rolling Blade Technique", Cultivation Technique "Eagle Strike Step", "Complete History of Secret Records"]

Li Yuan had gained quite a lot from Meng Guidu.

But as for what was truly worth his time to study, these two Cultivation Techniques were probably not it.

They could only be considered as broadening his understanding and getting a glimpse of other Cultivation Techniques.

That "Complete History of Secret Records" was much more interesting.

It was a booklet recording many hidden matters of the Jin Kingdom, containing a great many secrets.

It even included Meng Guidu's identity.

It turned out he was not the only son of the Prince of Lanjiang of the Jin Kingdom, and not even his biological son.

His mother was indeed the Princess of Lanjiang, but he was born from an illicit affair between the Princess and another man.

This was the reason why he had to flee to the Shun Kingdom.

Years later, the Prince of Lanjiang discovered he was infertile.

And that man had also been slain by him.

Having no children of his own was even harder for the Prince of Lanjiang to accept.

Coupled with Meng Guidu's increasingly better performance at Qianqiu Mountain, he thought about it and truly decided to raise him as his son.

He claimed to the outside world that his only son had been honing his skills abroad and had now returned to the country after achieving merits.

In reality, it was just that he had finally come to terms with it.

Li Yuan briefly went through this in his Sea of Consciousness, only feeling that the royal family of the Jin Kingdom was a mess.

The scandals involving their private lives were truly one after another.

No wonder it was called "Secret Records."

After using the Corpse Looting Technique, Li Yuan destroyed both of their bodies, not bothering to leave any clues for others.

According to what they both said, the elders of Qianqiu Mountain and the Jin Kingdom did not know they had come here.

The only one who might know some of the situation should be Ruan Xingqiao.

Given the current situation, her accusations against him would not have much of an impact.

Most importantly, no one would believe that Meng Guidu would die at his hands.

Even if he were dead, the elders of Qianqiu Mountain would only celebrate.

Having betrayed the Sect and brought so much harm to Qianqiu Mountain, it was only natural that they would want him dead.

After everything was done, Li Yuan returned to the palace as if nothing had happened.

For this distance, by circulating his movement technique, he could arrive in less than a quarter of an hour.

After a while, the people from Qianqiu Mountain finally got up and left their rooms.

Meals had already been prepared in the palace.

Li Yuan even went to the side room with Liu Weihe to have some breakfast.

And in the side room, Ruan Xingqiao saw Li Yuan immediately...