16: Chapter 16 I'll Let You Have Ten Moves

Lady Lan's expression also changed at Su Xuanji's words. Just as she was about to explain, Xia Jin raised his hand to stop her.

Xia Jin met Su Xuanji's cold gaze, a trace of a smile hanging on his lips. "I presume this must be Cult Leader Su of the Hehuan Sect."

Su Xuanji held her longsword pointing diagonally at the ground, looking at Xia Jin with an unfriendly gaze. "Speak, who are you?"

"Great Xia Dynasty, Xia Jin." Xia Jin stood with his hands behind his back.

"Xia Jin?" Su Xuanji's pupils suddenly constricted. "You are that... 'Emperor of the Underworld' of the Great Xia Dynasty?"

She glared fiercely at Lady Lan, her voice leaking disappointment and anger. "Floral Lord Lan, you actually brought our enemy here? You have betrayed my Hehuan Sect!"

"Betrayal?" Xia Jin let out a light chuckle, his eyes showing a hint of disdain.

"Hahahaha! Lady Lan was merely assessing the situation and making the wisest choice. She is seeking a path of survival for your entire Hehuan Sect, yet you say she betrayed you?"

"Does Cult Leader Su not see the current state of the world? The Demonic Path is waning; how dare you oppose my Great Xia? To put it bluntly, if this Prince wished to wipe out your Hehuan Sect, it would be as easy as turning over my hand! Submitting to this Prince is your only path to survival!"

"Submit to you!?" Su Xuanji's fingers tightened around her sword until her knuckles turned white. She said coldly, "My Hehuan Sect has stood for hundreds of years; when have we ever submitted to anyone else?"

"You don't want to submit to this Prince? Then this Prince shall wipe out your entire Hehuan Sect today!" Xia Jin took a step forward, his terrifying pressure directly forcing Su Xuanji back several steps.

"Your Highness!!" Seeing this, Lady Lan hurriedly called out.

"Hmm!?" Xia Jin frowned, then sighed. "Very well, today this Prince will give Lady Lan some Face. How about this: I will make a bet with you?"

"Bet on what?" Su Xuanji looked up.

"It's simple." Xia Jin was calm and composed. "Within ten moves, this Prince will only defend and not attack, letting you use whatever you wish. If you can harm this Prince even slightly, I will turn and leave immediately, never mentioning the subjugation of the Hehuan Sect again. I can also promise that as long as the Hehuan Sect does not proactively make an enemy of Great Xia, the Imperial Court will let bygones be bygones regarding your past."

As he spoke, his gaze became incredibly sharp. "If, after ten moves, this Prince is completely unharmed... then everyone in the Hehuan Sect must submit to me and follow my orders from now on. Cult Leader Su, do you dare to bet?"

Ten moves, only defending and not attacking... Even if the opponent was a Great Grandmaster, the legendary number one person in Great Xia, this was simply too arrogant!

Su Xuanji fell silent.

After ten breaths, she finally gritted her silver teeth, and the longsword in her hand let out a clear 'buzzing' hum. "Fine! It shall be as you say, a limit of ten moves! However, even if you have reached the realm of a Great Grandmaster, you are far too confident!"

"Come." The corners of Xia Jin's mouth curled up slightly; everything was going according to his plan.

"Please."

"Hmph!"

Su Xuanji said no more. Her gaze focused, and the True Qi around her body instantly surged.

With a sharp cry, her figure shot out like a red swan. Her longsword flourished into a spark of cold light, stabbing directly toward Xia Jin's Shanzhong acupoint.

Facing this sword strike as fast as lightning, Xia Jin indeed did as he promised: he neither dodged nor avoided it, not even blinking an eye.

*Clang—!*

The sound of clashing metal rang out!

The moment the sword tip touched Xia Jin's chest, Su Xuanji felt a massive counter-force surge back. The longsword actually bent into an arc!

It was as if she hadn't stabbed a Physical Body of flesh and blood, but a wall of profound iron!

A numbing sensation instantly rushed through her entire arm. She let out a muffled groan and had to use the momentum to retreat several steps to dissipate the counter-force.

She steadied herself and snapped her head up, her eyes filled with horror.

Xia Jin was still standing in the same spot, that same smile still hanging on his Face.

"This... how is this possible?!" Su Xuanji cried out in a low voice, her eyes fixed on Xia Jin. "What kind of Protective Divine Technique is this?!"

She believed that her previous strike could easily pierce through refined steel and thick armor. How could someone withstand it with just their Physical Body and remain completely unscathed!

Xia Jin did not answer, only nodding slightly. "The first move. Cult Leader Su, there are nine moves left."

"I don't believe it!" Su Xuanji's pretty Face was frosty. Refusing to believe what happened, she gave a sharp cry, her True Qi circulating at full power as her sword stance changed again!

Exquisite and ruthless sword techniques poured out like a torrential storm.

For a moment, the small courtyard was filled with chilling sword light and rampaging energy, leaving it in a state of total mess.

The frantic Sword Qi even forced Lady Lan to retreat several steps.

However, Xia Jin, at the very center of the storm, remained as steady as a monolith.

Nine moves passed in an instant.

Su Xuanji's arm was sore and numb, and her longsword almost slipped from her hand.

Her chest heaved violently, and beads of crystalline sweat appeared on her forehead.

Yet Xia Jin still stood calmly in place. The sunlight filtered through the dust and fell upon him, making him look like a deity.

"Ten moves are finished." Xia Jin spoke slowly. "Cult Leader Su, you lost."

"I... lost." Su Xuanji murmured, an unprecedented sense of defeat sweeping through her entire body.

The martial arts she relied on and the sword path she had cultivated so hard seemed so pale and laughable in the Face of the absolute gap in their strength.

Is this the number one person of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Emperor of the Underworld who has never known defeat?

She had actually thought of joining the Ming Cult and others to suppress this man. Thinking about it now, that idea was truly ridiculous!

Lady Lan, who had been watching from the side, now had a brilliant light shining in her beautiful eyes. Her gaze was fixed tightly on Xia Jin's figure, which stood as tall as a mountain.

This is the number one person of the Great Xia Dynasty, the legendary Emperor of the Underworld... With such power and such bearing, one wonders who his future Dao Companion will be?

I wonder if I have a chance...

Pah! What am I thinking? Lady Lan shook her head, quickly tossing this absurd thought out of her mind.

She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said to the despondent Su Xuanji, "Cult Leader, the winner has been decided. You have seen this lord's strength with your own eyes. That rabble from the Ming Cult are nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs before him."

"If our Hehuan Sect can follow him, it might be a very good opportunity. Cult Leader, for the future of the Hehuan Sect, for the lives and futures of the thousands of Disciples in the sect, please... think carefully!"

Su Xuanji slowly closed her eyes, her chest's heaving gradually calming down. When she opened them again, her gaze had become somewhat complicated.

She tidied her slightly messy hair and red robes, took a few steps forward, and lowered her head—a head she never easily bowed—to Xia Jin.

"Su Xuanji, Cult Leader of the Hehuan Sect... is willing to lead the entire Hehuan Sect to submit to the Lord. From now on, we shall follow your every command!"

Xia Jin looked at Su Xuanji bowing to him, a flash of satisfaction in his eyes.

"Good, good, good! Cult Leader Su, there is no need for such ceremony. From now on, we are one family. Rest assured, by following this Prince, your Hehuan Sect will only be better off than it is now."