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Translator: Silavin & Danny
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“Formation!” With a fierce shout, nearly three hundred Flowing Shadow Sword Sect disciples moved to form a Sword Formation, their auras connecting with one another and their Sword Intent condensing into a single entity.
It seemed that what stood in front of the City Lord’s Mansion was not the three hundred cultivators, but one Heaven defying sword. The chilling Sword Intent could be felt prominently by all the cultivators in the entire Flowing Shadow City.
Yang Kai looked contemptuously at the Sword Formation in front of him and sneered, “Sect Master Li, is this the way your noble Sect entertains guests?”
If Li Qing Yun answered ‘yes’, Yang Kai would not mind killing all the three hundred cultivators.
Even if the Sword Formation was impressive, it could not stop him.
“Let them pass.” A calm voice came out from inside the City Lord’s Mansion.
Given that Yang Kai already pushed his way to his front door, Li Qing Yun had no way to avoid him anymore, but it was beyond everyone’s expectation that Li Qing Yun did not intend to make things difficult for Yang Kai and instead told his disciples to make way.
“Sect Master!”
The Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator who was serving as the core of the Sword Formation looked back at the City Lord’s Mansion with a face full of disbelief.
This Sword Formation was formed with the combined forces of three hundred disciples, so even an Emperor Realm Master would have a difficult time before it. How could they simply tolerate Yang Kai and his group after they had killed so many of their people at the city gate?
“I said let them pass!”
Li Qing Yun commanded again, but with a more dignified voice this time.
The expression of the Elder who presided over the Sword Formation changed several times, but after a moment of hesitation, he still shouted through gritted teeth, “Let them through!”
*Hualala… *
The crowd immediately split into two, and the startling Sword Intent instantly weakened a lot. With the crowd scattered, the Formation naturally disintegrated.
“Wise choice,” a trace of doubt flashed across Yang Kai’s eyes, feeling that this Li Qing Yun was a bit interesting.
Under the hostile gazes of everyone, Yang Kai led Ye Jing Han and Du Xian into the mansion. Yang Kai was calm, but Ye Jing Han and Du Xian were the complete opposite. They secretly gulped as they circulated their Source Qi rapidly, ready to react in case this group of Flowing Shadow Sword Sect cultivators reneged on their promise and suddenly backstabbed them.
But when they entered the City Lord’s Mansion safely, they exchanged confused looks and could not help letting out a sigh of relief.
A man was sitting cross-legged in the main hall of the City Lord’s Mansion. His figure was tall and straight like a sword, carrying the demeanour of a true Master. In front of him was a sword about a metre in length, placed horizontally. For some reason, this sword kept making a clanking noise. Furthermore, the closer Yang Kai approached, the fiercer this sword trembled, as if it was trying to scream out in warning.
Yang Kai could not help taking a few looks at this sword.
Li Qing Yun’s eyes remained closed for a time before he suddenly reached out his hand to caress the sword, immediately calming it down. Then, he explained, “The Jade Illusion Sword is the Supreme Artifact of my Flowing Shadow Sword Sect. Only the Sect Master may wield it. It has the ability to sense danger and the stronger the enemy is, the louder its warning will be. This Li has avoided many dangers thanks to it in the past, unfortunately, I’m afraid I cannot avoid danger this time.”
“Sect Master Li!” Yang Kai greeted him with his fists cupped and nodded lightly.
Ye Jing Han and Du Xian who stood behind Yang Kai glared at this man with flaming gazes, as if they could not wait to rip him to pieces.
“May I ask Your Excellency’s identity?” Li Qing Yun opened his eyes and looked at Yang Kai.
“I’m no one important, Sect Master Li wouldn’t know me even if I told you,” Yang Kai answered indifferently.
Li Qing Yun replied, “Fame is something you can earn. Your Excellency, after today, your name will certainly be widespread.”
Yang Kai snickered, “All fame in the world turns to dust eventually. Life itself is but a fleeting dream and only the Martial Dao is eternal!”
Li Qing Yun peered at Yang Kai as he felt that every word he said was like a gem, pounding on his heart like a heavy hammer. It seemed that he had reached an epiphany from Yang Kai’s words.
But after a few careful thoughts, he comprehended nothing, and could not help frowning.
With a faint sigh, he remarked, “Sure enough, the talents of the new generation will supplant those of the old generation.”
He looked dejected and seemed to be demotivated badly by something. After a pause, he continued, “Your Excellency, are you here to seek justice for the Thousand Leaves Sect? If so, let us end this now. This Li doesn’t believe he can triumph over you, but he will not just sit waiting for death either.”
Yang Kai turned to Ye Jing Han and Du Xian, and asked, “Do you want me to kill him? Just nod and I’ll take his life.”
Du Xian and Ye Jing Han gritted their teeth, their eyes bloodshot to the extreme as chilling murderous intent pulsed from their figures.
It was this man who broke into the Thousand Leaves Sect a year ago with a large number of Flowing Shadow Sword Sect disciples and caused a massacre. Countless Thousand Leaves Sect disciples died at his hands, and over the past year, there was not a single moment they stopped thinking about killing him to avenge their dead brothers and sisters. However, now that the enemy was sitting in front of them, even though they believed that Yang Kai could honour his word about taking Li Qing Yun’s life for them, they simply could not nod their heads.
As if their minds were connected, Ye Jing Han closed her eyes and whispered, “Senior Brother!”
Du Xian also took a deep breath and stated, “The revenge of exterminating our Sect should be obtained by ourselves!”
Yang Kai smiled as he looked at them, “Then you two will have to cultivate harder, for your enemy is an established Emperor Realm Master.”
Du Xian gritted his teeth, “We are younger than him.”
Youth was the biggest asset anyone could have.
Li Qing Yun nodded lightly, looking at the two with his eyes full of complicated feelings, “This King will be waiting for you.”
Du Xian pointed at him, “Don’t worry. One day, your Flowing Shadow Sect will be destroyed by me, Du Xian. When that day comes, I will personally remove your head.”
After saying this, Du Xian seemed to finally put down the stone in his heart, though he still had some mixed feelings.
“Sect Master Ye is not dead.” Li Qing Yun disclosed slowly.
“What?” Ye Jing Han and Du Xian were shocked at his words. The former shook excitedly, “Are you telling the truth?”
Li Qing Yun nodded, “Sect Master Ye is now in our Flowing Shadow Sword Sect. If you want to see him, you can pick him up at any time.”
Ye Jing Han was stunned but soon burst into tears. Du Xian took her into his arms and comforted her before turning to Li Qing Yun with a cold face and asking, “Why are you doing this?”
Li Qing Yun frowned, “Our Sect has no grievance with your Sect. It was not our will to exterminate the Thousand Leaves Sect, and now that the one who ordered this has obtained what he wants, he no longer cares whether Sect Master Ye lives or dies.”
“What do you mean?” Du Xian looked at him, puzzled.
With a single thought, Yang Kai questioned, “So, there is really someone behind you. Is it Star Soul Palace?”
Li Qing Yun’s face changed, and he shut his mouth, obviously unwilling to disclose any further information.
Yang Kai noticed his expression and knew that he was afraid. He immediately changed the topic, “You just mentioned that someone has gotten what he wanted. What did that person want?”
Li Qing Yun shook his head and did not answer.
Yang Kai snorted, “Does Sect Master Li really think that this Young Master is so benevolent? A trivial Flowing Shadow Sword Sect can be exterminated by this Young Master with a wave of his hand!”
Li Qing Yun answered solemnly, “The Flowing Shadow Sword Sect and this King are nothing but trivial pawns. Your Excellency, why must you make things difficult for me? If I don’t satisfy you, you will destroy the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect, but if I do, others will destroy the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect. I will die no matter what.”
Yang Kai sneered continuously, “It seems that the mastermind behind Sect Master Li is really not simple, just look how scared you are.”
Li Qing Yun shook his head, “Your Excellency, you don’t have to probe anymore.”
Yang Kai snorted, “Alright. Since Sect Master Li is so straightforward, I will stop being hard on you and just ask something that you can answer. Where is the Star Master that you captured from the Thousand Leaves Sect?”
Li Qing Yun freely revealed, “Your Excellency, why do you still ask since you have already guessed? My Flowing Shadow Sword Sect is just a pawn being pushed to the frontline. The people and the treasures we obtained are not in our hands now.”
Yang Kai’s face darkened. He had made some assumptions before, but he still could not help feeling a bit disappointed listening to Li Qing Yun’s answer.
If Ai Ou was imprisoned in this Flowing Shadow City or in Flowing Shadow Sword Sect, Yang Kai could immediately rescue him, but the problem was that Ai Ou was not here, and Li Qing Yun probably did not know where he was locked up.
Someone else was just using the Flowing Shadow Sword Sect to carry out the so-called auction.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai asked, “Other than the Star Master, who else did you abduct that day?”
Li Qing Yun thought for a while before answering, “There were a few cultivators from a Lower Star Field, but they are not as important as that Star Master.”
“Are they dead or alive now?” Yang Kai queried while trying his best to suppress his emotion.
Li Qing Yun shook his head, “I don’t know.”
Yang Kai furrowed his brow, and pressed on after a few thoughts, “Last question, who is the mastermind behind all of this?”
Li Qing Yun shook his head again, “I don’t know.”
…
Inside a certain attic in Flowing Shadow City, a pale old man was sitting cross-legged. The old man looked so old that he could die at any time, but his vitality was extremely vigorous and the aura that he unintentionally released actually reached the terrifying Third-Order Emperor Realm.
Beside the old man, a beautiful woman in an elegant dress knelt on the ground. Her hair was dishevelled and she looked listless with a pale face, as if she had suffered some torture.
From time to time, a dreadfully painful expression would flash across the face of the beautiful woman.
*Deng deng deng… *
Footsteps were heard, followed by a knock outside the door.
“Enter!” The old man shouted.
When the door was pushed open, a middle-aged man came in. He swept his eyes across the beautiful woman kneeling next to him then quickly looked away, greeting the old man with cupped fists, “Honoured Master!”
The old man opened his eyes and looked at him, asking, “What is the situation?”
The middle-aged man replied, “The fish took the bait.”
As soon as he said this, the tender body of the beautiful woman who had been kneeling on the ground trembled. On the other hand, the old man’s eyes lit up as he grinned, “Good, good, very good. This Old Master’s year of preparations has not gone to waste. The time has finally come.”
The middle-aged man questioned, “Honoured Master, that little brat is just a First-Order Emperor Realm Master. Since he is already here, why not allow this Disciple to directly take him down? I don’t think he can make any waves.”
The old man smiled lightly as he shook his head, “Don’t underestimate that boy. He is proficient in the Dao of Space, so although he is just a First-Order Emperor, if we are not fully prepared, even this Old Master himself is not confident he could take him down.”
The middle-aged man did not seem to care about these words, because he thought that his Honoured Master had simply overestimated this boy. He was a Second-Order Emperor Realm Master while the opponent was just a First-Order Emperor; it should be easy for him to take a little brat down, why did his Honoured Master have to waste so much effort to do this?
The old man knew what his disciple was thinking and simply glanced at the beautiful woman kneeling next to him, asking, “Your Junior Sister Qing Si has been with him for a long time, so she is quite familiar with that boy’s strength. If you don’t believe this Old Master, ask her instead.”
Ahh Hua Qingsi arc is such a drag..blearghh
Has it been mentioned how many star envoys of each rank does Star Soul Palace have? Also, are Elders of the Third-Order Emperor Realm Gold star envoys, or are they not included?
I remember Xiao Chen’s master, the one that first came to Maplewood City was a Second Order Emperor and he was a Silver Star Envoy, would he also be an Elder or a Deacon or something?
I believe there were three. Whether every third order Enperor is an envoy is unknown, probably not tbh
Thx for the chapter
The Dao of Meow precedes the Dao of Time