Chapter 317 - Leading Out Of Darkness
Yi's beautiful blue pupils gradually started losing their colour, turning darker and darker until they turned completely black, looking like two black pearls found inside the white interior of the clam. Her blonde hair also started changing, turning into a similar colour to her eyes, black.
She looked completely different compared to Pio which made Xuefeng quite worried. Would her normal look be similar to Pio's darkness transformation? He was the one who made her take the ability as he didn't have time to explain anything so if anything bad happened to her, Xuefeng would be the one responsible.
As he stood right in front of her, he lifted her chin which was still laying on his palm and glanced into her eyes trying to see some consciousness in them. For some reason, Yi looked as if she lost her soul, staring blankly at Xuefeng's eyes.
As he didn't want to do anything wrong, Xuefeng wanted to ask Little Ming for help when Yi suddenly opened her mouth and whispered in her soft voice, "Help me…"
'Great, she is finally absorbing my Fate Qi! Wait… it seems like there is still something wrong with her…' Little Mind said excitedly but then she realised there were still some complications.
'Of course... She literally just called out for help…' Xuefeng rolled his eyes speechless as he commented sarcastically but didn't roast her too much as he knew she was focused on the Fate Qi transfusion.
Xiao Feng who was ignored by them looked at the scene himself and finally found out why the cultivators around them were all squinting their eyes. Everyone could see earlier how Pio was using the Star-shaped crystal to battle and now they saw Xuefeng taking it from him and giving it to the Princess' servant. They wouldn't be suspicious if they didn't see the instantaneous transformation she just went through.
Who, from all the cultivators gathered there, wouldn't want to take over Pio's abilities? After seeing the power this crystal could give, it would be hard to find even one person who would reject it. Now that they saw one could take away that ability by just taking the crystal from the person, it would be a surprise if the greed didn't awaken in their minds. With the target being as weak as Yi was, together with her status as a servant, it was obvious that all Sage Cultivators were feeling tempted.
Unfortunately for them, it was Xuefeng who gave her the crystal so it was a tricky situation. Not many could claim they would be able to defeat him. Xiao Feng knew the greed for power of a cultivator so he wasn't surprised by that but it didn't mean he would allow it.
He glared at everyone, forcing their gazes away before spawning a barrier around the four of them which blocked everyone's vision.
Xuefeng wasn't concerned about the situation around them as he naturally had plans to protect Yi afterwards and tried to contact the Star Shaper Fate Spirit to figure out how they could help her. Too bad even after calling for a few times, he didn't receive any reply.
'I tried already but she is still too weak. I need to send more Fate Qi to her.' Little Ming said with a sigh, not disturbing Xuefeng earlier in the hope the Spirit would reply but it seemed like she wasn't the only one without luck.
Knowing she was probably using Fate Qi out of her own bank, Xuefeng proposed 'Take as many Fate Stones as you need later to replenish what you lost. Ling will give you some.'
'Ah, don't worry. Ling is right next to me. We are working a lot together recently… I'm in her space right now.' Little Ming assured him, acting cutely and Ling confirmed it right after, 'She looked so cute that I couldn't leave her alone. The complete opposite to her other self...'
Little Ming giggled as he asked, 'Hehe, don't you just like cuddles?' Xuefeng could almost imagine the two cuddling each other and even imagined joining them but quickly disregarded those thoughts knowing the priorities.
He didn't hesitate to scold them both, 'Leave playing around for later and focus on the current situation!'
'Yes!' They both acknowledged him and they both started pumping Fate Qi into Yi's body. It didn't take long for her to start releasing dark miasma from her body which forced Xuefeng to pull away a bit, only holding his hand on Yi's forehead to keep the connection between them. The black miasma didn't burn him but rather the opposite, it feels extremely cold. He felt like his arm would turn into ice and break if he touched it.
Just then, Yi muttered once again, acting as if she was sleep talking, "It's cold and dark here…" She would blink from time to time but her gaze was empty as if she was in another space.
This time Xuefeng didn't hesitate and called out, hoping to reach her, "Yi! Can you hear me?!"
Unfortunately, Yi didn't act as if she heard him and continued talking to herself, "It's so dark… I am scared… Where are you, Young Master…"
At that very moment, as Xuefeng was troubled with what to do with her, Little Ming informed, 'Yi's Spirit finally replied! Yi is trapped inside her own mind as she is being consumed by her own darkness. The moment she was connected with her Fate Spirit there were only bad emotions filling her mind and they quickly amplified, trapping her inside of it. She seems to be attached to you for some reason so the spirit asked you for the help.'
'What can I do?' Xuefeng naturally didn't mind that, wanted to help her anyway.
'She will create a way for your voice to reach her and you just need to convince her to discard all negative emotions and cheer her up. Yi doesn't seem to listen to her Fate Spirit so this is the only thing we can do.' Little Ming passed the message.
'No problem. Let's do this.' Xuefeng quickly agreed and when he got the signal from Little Ming, he grasped Yi's cheeks, saying, "Yi, I am here! Don't be scared."
This time Yi finally reacted as she turned her head into the direction of his voice and asked hesitantly, finding that it belonged to a certain someone she liked, "Young Master...? Where are you? It's so dark that I can't see you… I'm so scared…"
"Don't be, I am right in front of you… You just need to reach out to me." Surprisingly, Yi listened to him and slowly reached out her hands, encountering Xuefeng's chest as the first target. Her hands soon raised up to his face, trying to confirm it was him by touching everywhere.
First, her fingers landed on his lips before slowly checking out his cheekbones and the shape of his face. Not even his ears were spared as she finally said happily, confirming it was him, "Young Master…"
"You can call me Xuefeng from now on." Xuefeng said with a smile, letting her feel the change with her hands
"Can I really…? Xuefeng… I like that name…" Yi said softly as a bit of redness appeared on her cheeks.
Xiao Wen and her father who were watching from the side figured out that Xuefeng was trying to help her so they didn't disturb him but Xiao Feng already knew he didn't like Yi' feelings for Xuefeng.
'It's working! Keep talking to her and make her think positive.' Little Ming exclaimed but she didn't have to as Xuefeng had eyes. The more he talked to Yi, the more strands of hair turned from black to silver. This made him try even harder as it didn't look so hard to do and started talking with her as intended.
"You remember the crystal I gave you? How are you feeling?"
"I remember you placed it on my forehead… and then everything turned black… I don't like this darkness… Can you take me away from here...?"
"I will. You know, I took this crystal from Pio and it will grant you the same abilities as he had. Now you will be able to join our group and travel with us. Do you want to?"
"Yes! Of course, I want to!" Yi cried out happily as she agreed right away and threw herself onto Xuefeng's neck, hugging him. "Ah, I'm so happy right now."
Xuefeng could see that more than half of Yi's hair swiftly changed into silver and even the black matter lessened, no longer wrapping around her without restrains. Unfortunately, this wasn't it as there was still a lot of darkness he had to get rid off.
He tried to think of a good plan that will help him achieve it quickly and he somehow thought of one. Even if it was a bit forceful, he believed it would work just fine in this situation. Pulling her arms away, he called out happily, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go right away, follow me."
He acted as if he was leaving but Yi speedily caught his shirt and pleaded, "Xuefeng, don't go! It's still somewhat dark here… I still can't see your face…"
"Well, I guess you don't want to go with us then. You have to decide, now or never." Xuefeng gave her the ultimatum to motivate her.
"I really want to go with you guys…" Yi was a bit sad at first but then Xuefeng stopped her speech, "Then get rid of this darkness and come with me."
He grabbed onto her hand and added, "To get rid of the darkness, you just need to really want for that to happen. Imagine me standing right in front of you and smiling while holding your hand then close your eyes, wishing it was real. When you open your eyes, I will be there."
She naturally didn't want to believe it was this easy as she asked, "This simple?"
Xuefeng could only agree and motivate her further, "Yes. If you really want it, nothing is impossible. But it will only work if you want it from the bottom of your heart."
"Alright, I will try then." Yi didn't have reasons not to try and closed her eyes, imagining everything that she wanted, even something more, wanting a sweet and tasty kiss from him as she didn't have anything to lose.
Xuefeng could naturally see the changes from the outside and just as he expected, the Black matter quickly started disappearing and the black hair turned into beautiful silver hair, falling gently onto her shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she returned back to how they were before and saw what she wanted, Xuefeng.
"It worked! You are amazing, Xuefe— Young Master…" Yi naturally exclaimed, knowing Xuefeng's method worked and planned to continue using his name but then she realised where she was. Seeing Xiao Feng's glare quickly forced her old habits of a servant to resurface and she lowered her head.
Fortunately for her, Xuefeng noticed this behaviour and didn't hesitate to act, lifting her chin up and scolded her, "What is that bowing?! From today onward you should never bow to anyone as you are above all of them and you..." Xuefeng pointed at Xiao Feng and added, "...Yi is no longer a servant so you can get that glare off your face. I don't wish you to glare at my friends."
Xuefeng didn't care if Xiao Feng was his future father-in-law or not when he was in his scolding mode. If Yi wanted to stay in his group, she had to act like one of his members. He didn't want any of his friends to have the status of a servant.
He ignored Xiao Feng's reaction and looked back at Yi, asking sternly to confirm, "Do you understand?"
"Yes!" Yi naturally agreed, a smile appearing on her face. It was quite a rare occurrence today so it was definitely special.
"Good girl." Xuefeng patted Yi on the head before explaining as he smiled back at her, "Listen, I lied to you. We still need to get rid of the Tang Family and only then we will be able to leave. I hope you don't mind? I will explain everything else later on. I know you have many questions."
He knew that having a Fate Spirit, she would have a lot of questions so he left that for later.
Chapter 318 - Domineering Xuefeng
"Do you have anything you want to tell me?" Xiao Feng asked as he saw that Xuefeng didn't plan on telling him anything of what happened just now.
Unfortunately, Xuefeng only shook his head and explained, "Nope. I respect you but this is not something we can share with you. You already saw enough."
"Are you going to open it?" He asked as he pointed at the barrier.
"My daughter can't say anything but you don't seem to be connected to that organisation. Nothing is stopping you." Xiao Feng said as he naturally would not give up easily after finding the opportunity to learn of all the secrets that have been bothering him for so long.
Xuefeng placed his hand on the barrier, testing its strength and seeing that he would need a lot more space to break through it, he suddenly realised something. Why can't he trade this information with him? Just like Xiao Feng said, he wasn't bounded by anything yet and could do as he wished. Xiao Feng wouldn't just go around and tell everyone so he was safe in this scope but at the same time, he could profit immensely from that.
Knowing that, Xuefeng turned around and nodded, "Fine."
"Great. I wanted to kno—" Xiao Feng smiled, a bit surprised that Xuefeng agreed so fast but then thought it was because he was his future father-in-law after all. Only after a moment did he learn how wrong he was as Xuefeng interrupted him, giving him one big list, "One thousand Rank 1 Storage Artefacts, five hundred of Rank 2, three hundred of Rank 3 and Rank 4 on top of one hundred Rank 5 Rings."
"What? Why do you need so many—" Xiao Feng naturally frowned, not understanding what Xuefeng was talking about but he got disturbed once again as Xuefeng continued, "Also, I want all Spirit Artefacts looted in the upcoming battle. All of that for Fate secrets that you wanted to know for so long. Not that expensive, right?"
Xiao Feng's eyebrow twitched when he heard the words 'not that expensive' and was about to comment sarcastically when Xuefeng stated once again, "You have ten seconds to decide. We wasted too much time. Tang Family probably prepared themselves for our siege already."
Xiao Feng frowned even deeper, calculating everything that Xuefeng demanded in exchange into the Spirit Stones and couldn't help but choke when he got the final number. And this was just the Storage Artefacts he wanted, not even counting all the loot from Tang Family's members. He knew that the treasury would be all cleaned up and transported away by Tang Fei's wife but there would be still many treasures left by her. Was it worth it to trade all that to satisfy his curiosity?
Clap!
Xuefeng clapped his hands together creating a sound that woke Xiao Feng up from his thoughts and said while calling out to the ladies, "Time's up. Xiao Wen, Yi, we are leaving." Xiao Wen for some reason couldn't stop herself from smiling, seeing how Xuefeng extorted her father. She already figured out what was the reason he did it, so she didn't mind that.
Seeing both Yi and Xiao Wen walking up after Xuefeng's call, Xiao Feng stopped them and gave a counter-proposal, "Wait! I can agree on the Storage Artefacts but you will only get loot from the cultivators you kill. It wouldn't be fair to the others who also take part in the battle."
This was what Xuefeng expected even before he made that demand so he didn't mind it, saying with a shrug, "I'm fine with it. We will trade after the battle with Tang Family is over."
"Fine." Xiao Feng nodded and finally lifted the barrier. Everyone who gathered around them looked at Yi who fully completed her transformation, showing off a similar hair colour like Pio had and their eyes brightened. Naturally, it wasn't hard for Xuefeng to see that and he didn't ignore it this time. His Golden Wings spread on his back and like a burning star he rose to the sky, glaring at everyone.
Pointing at Yi, he declared loud enough so that everyone could hear him, "From today onward, Yi is no longer a servant but rather my, Liu Xuefeng and Xiao Family's friend. If anyone disagrees with that, you can come out right now to face me in a life and death duel."
As he said so, his Black Flames Slayer lit up, this time the flames containing shiny elements of gold which brightened it even stronger. The flames started spreading around his body, turning him into a golden devil as he glared at everyone on the ground.
Gulp.
There was a complete silence where one could hear the gulps of the saliva of the cultivators next to them. They still remembered how Xuefeng killed Pio just a moment ago, playing with him for a while before smashing him with one attack.
Seeing no one raising their hands to battle him, Xuefeng didn't stop right there as he still saw many that looked like they didn't like this situation and called out angrily, "Weren't you all greedy to acquire the new power just now?! I offered you all a chance you wanted, so why is no one stepping out?!"
Just then, finally one Sage Cultivator with a bad temper stepped out, calling out what everyone wanted to say, "We all know that Lady Yi's Spirit Talent is not high so this power would be wasted on her. Why not give it to someone else who can actually—"
Xuefeng noticed that Yi lowered her head upon hearing the man's words and Xuefeng quickly interrupted the man, asking back, "So you think you are strong enough to be the one who inherits Pio's power?"
The man hesitated for a second but knowing he had his friends next to him who backed him up, he nodded as he admitted, "If I would compare myself to Lady Yi then yes, I would say so."
Xuefeng didn't give the man any time to wait as he cried out, "Let's test it then!"
He suddenly disappeared from his position and reappeared moment right after in front of the confident Sage Cultivator, his sword plunging forward. The man didn't expect that Xuefeng would actually attack him this fast without any duel agreement, going for the kill straight away and that brought his doom.
His sword was extended to block the strike but that wasn't enough to stop Xuefeng, his sword going straight through the men's chest as it bypassed the block. Xuefeng pulled it out right after, leaving a hole inside his chest only to hear a loud thud when the man fell to the ground.
"I guess he wasn't strong enough to take over that power. Too bad. Is there anyone else who wants to try and take away the present I gave to my friend? Is there anyone else dissatisfied with my decision?" Xuefeng asked coldly as he once again raised into the skies. He had to take a stance on what is right and what is wrong. He wouldn't allow anyone to even think of hurting his friends or women.
Xiao Feng didn't say anything the whole time, waiting for Xuefeng to finish his scene, somehow feeling there was something else up his sleeve. He wanted to settle the greed of his own men later but now than his son-in-law was taking care of it, he couldn't be more than happy.
He had to leave the family to him in the future so if he can handle the job, he wouldn't mind. Losing one Sage Cultivator was a tragedy but if that one life could be traded to establishing his authority as the future Master, it was a worthy trade.
This time, no one spoke anything, looking at the killed man whose wound was still burning. They knew they would have to probably fight it out with Xuefeng and after his display of power, not many had the confidence that they could take him head-on.
It would be strange if he didn't find anyone who started to dislike him after seeing his cruelty but Xuefeng already had something planned, continuing to ask them loudly, "I see that many of you are still dissatisfied with my decision. Is that because of Yi's Spirit Talent? Is this why she doesn't deserve it? Idiots! Spirit Talent is nothing! Her Dark Blue Spirit Talent? I can improve in within seconds!"
As he said so, he dived downwards, heading towards where Yi was standing, gracefully landing next to her. Everyone's minds were focused on Xuefeng's words, thinking that he actually went crazy but then they saw him reaching out to Yi's forehead as if he was actually going to do it.
They all thought in her minds, 'Increasing someone's talent? As if that was this easy!'
Chapter 319 - Golden Heavenly Tribulation
"Xuefeng… You don't need too…" Yi whispered as she raised her head to look at Xuefeng's approaching face but he didn't mind her words as he commanded, "Stay still, close your eyes and don't resist my Qi."
Seeing his gentle smile and warm hands touching her cheek, her mood couldn't help but brighten. She returned the smile and nodded lightly, closing her eyes for him. There wasn't anyone else who she had this much trust like she had in Xuefeng. She knew no matter what he wanted to do, he would never hurt her.
Xuefeng didn't waste time and ordered as he already decided to reveal one of his abilities, 'Ling, increase her talent to a gold one and don't suppress the phenomenon, let them see who they are against.'
'Alright.' Ling didn't question him, already knowing he had to do it to establish himself in the capital. Sending her Fate Qi inside Yi's Dantain, she was met with the new Fate Spirit resistance but she was quickly let in. They already helped Yi so much so it would be strange if Xuefeng now tried to hurt her right now.
As Xuefeng didn't have to do anything, he didn't pretend he was focusing on his job but instead, he grinned cooly as he looked around at the faces of the gathered cultivators. They immediately thought that Xuefeng was just playing with them but oh boy, they were wrong.
They suddenly heard a rumbling coming from the distance and just as they looked at the sky, a loud thunder lightened it up. Bang! The sound of it shocked everyone as they looked at Xuefeng dumbfounded.
'He was actually doing it…' Everyone's minds connected as they thought of the same thing. With the thunder brightening the sky for a moment, they could see purple clouds gathering from every corner in the horizon.
What was more surprising was how effortless he turned her Dark Blue Talent into a purple one. He smiled, grinning at them without even looking at Yi and in a matter of seconds she was already a Purple Talent.
Such talent wasn't rare in the Central Region as many had it but the sheer possibility to have it increased in seconds made them forget about Pio's power, looking at Xuefeng with awe. What did he try to prove there? That he could increase anyone's talent as he wished! How could they make an enemy of such an individual?
Bang!
Just as they thought about it, another thunderclap resounded throughout the Capital, this time showing that clouds covered the whole sky, illuminating them right above them. It wouldn't be surprising if they were of a purple colour but they were black like coal!
"Black Talent!" One Saint cultivator called out in shock, confirming everyone's guesses. Even though Xuefeng increased her talent to Black, he was still going which made them think out loud, "Is he going to increase her talent to Gold one…?"
Naturally, when one person pointed it out, others couldn't get rid of that thought from their minds and they stared at the sky to confirm it.
'Xuefeng, prepare to receive the Heavenly Tribulation for her. When I turn her into a Golden Talent, she will be struck by bolts of Lightning but I don't think she is strong enough to receive them. This is why we always do it sneakily to not anger the heavens.' Ling warned.
'I know, don't worry. I remember my own Heavenly Tribulation. It wasn't that hard.' Xuefeng replied confidently and suddenly shouted into the skies, "Heavens! Do you remember me!? You didn't even leave a scratch on me the last time! You think today will be different?!"
Just as he yelled, the clouds suddenly rumbled once again and started changing into a bright golden colour with golden flashes of lightning buzzing all around the clouds. It was dark just a moment ago and but all of a sudden, the Capital turned into a day with golden clouds illuminating the thousands of kilometres of land around them.
"Golden Talent!" Seeing the clouds, many cried out at the same time, this time fully believing Xuefeng that this was nothing for him. They finally understand why Xuefeng had so much confidence in himself. He could turn anyone into a Gold Talent in a less than a minute!
This information took a lot to sink in their minds but once it did, they realised how good of a future Xiao Family would have with Xuefeng leading them. Wouldn't many of them turn into a Golden Talent and have a chance to ascend if they were his faithful subordinates?
The sheer thought if that made them ecstatic, making all the of them forget about Yi completely. What is worth it? Definitely not. Even with Pio's power, if they had a bad talent, they would still get stuck trying to reach higher stages.
Rumble!
As if the Heavens heard Xuefeng's challenge, a horrible thunderclap resounded throughout the Capital, waking everyone up and momentarily, three golden thunderbolts launched towards Xuefeng. They ignored Yi completely as if they knew that it was Xuefeng who was the cause of everything.
Xuefeng only smiled and let go of Yi, also launching into the skies, planning on facing the three lighting bolts by himself. Xiao Wen reached out to hug Yi, protecting her just in case he Heavens wanted to punish her as well.
"Haha!" Xuefeng hid Black Flames Slayer back into his dantain and faced the three thunderbolts with his own body just as Ling suggested. For others, Heavenly Tribulation might be life and death danger but for him, this was just a quicker way of training. The Tribulation Lighting was not only made from pure Lighting Qi but also large amounts of Golden Spirit Essence which he wouldn't mind to take and refine.
Bang!
Xuefeng's body was hit from three sides but he wasn't even forced back, the lightning disappearing into his body as if it was absorbed by a black hole.
"Haha! Thank you for the treat! It seems like Heavenly Tribulation can only get this powerful! Nothing special! Barely even tickled me!" Xuefeng laughed as he licked his lips, provoking the Heavens to attack him more.
"Madman! The Heavenly Lightning didn't even push him back!" Someone commented and at the same time, another three Lightning bolts got launched towards Xuefeng from the skies, this time much bigger and thicker.
'Xuefeng, you need four more bolts of lightning like that and you should advance to the Saint Stage. You are not that far already. The Spirit Essence from the Heavenly Lightning is one of the purest so it is also strengthening your Dantain.' Ling informed him right before the three thick bolts landed on his body.
The most of it was quickly absorbed by him but because there was just too much of it, the Lightning started wrapping around his body, creating a round zone that constantly tried to burn him. He could feel his Dantain getting warmer and stronger the more essence he absorbed but what pissed him off was his black jacket getting ripped in a few spots.
Seeing Wuxing getting wrapped in thick lighting, Yi, who already opened her eyes, cried out of worry, "Xuefeng!"
Thanks to her improved talent, with each breath she could gather so much Spirit Qi. Not only did she receive a powerful spirit but he also gave her a Golden Talent. How could she possibly repay him for that? The only idea she could think of was giving herself up to him but that also wasn't enough in her opinion.
"Don't worry, he will be fine. Just watch." Xiao Wen patted Yi on the head and looked at the sky, having full confidence in Xuefeng. Yi didn't stop watching and just as Xiao Wen said, Xuefeng quickly absorbed all the lingering lightning and once again stood strong while looking at the golden clouds in the skies.
'Even if he wanted me to be his servant forever… Would I reject him?' Yi asked herself, for some reason already knowing the answer to this question.
"Ah! You almost got me! I don't think I would be able to resist another lightning! That was so hard!" Xuefeng this time did not provoke and instead pretended with a pained expression that heavens almost got him, trying to lure another Lightning but unfortunately, just as he said that, the skies rumbled for the last time before beginning to disperse.
Xuefeng instantly stopped pretending and launched after them, trying to stop them but the Heaven's didn't waste their time on him, "No! Wait! Just one more lightning! I know you want to!"
Too bad that the Heavens ignored him and soon the sky returned back to the clean night with all the clouds dispersed.
"Damn, I guess it's not the time for me to advance." Xuefeng cursed before flying back down. He saw that all cultivators were watching him like some kind of god descending from Heavens.
He immediately cried out, scolding them, "What are you guys looking at?! There is a battle ahead of us! Surround the Palace and wait for the signal!" When the barrier around Tang Family drops, they had to be careful to not let anyone escape so Xuefeng didn't hesitate to command in Xiao Feng's stead.
Naturally, no one rejected his order as they quickly moved, flying towards the barrier and surrounding it in an orderly manner from all sides. As a Xiao Family head son-in-law, he naturally had such authority and they could see that Xiao Feng didn't say anything to stop him from taking the lead. Many wouldn't mind following Xuefeng right away, knowing they had more chances to get their Spirit Talent increased this way.
Elder Yang didn't like what was happening and sneakily approached Xiao Feng, advising, "Master… We still need to break the barrier, attacking everyone at one point. Spreading around won't help…"
Unfortunately, Xiao Feng only smiled and raised his hand to stop him from speaking further, saying, "Don't worry, let him do what he wants. I'm curious about what his plan is."
Chapter 320 - Saber Devil
Hey guys, I went out with friends yesterday so there was no chap. I only go out once a month. This slave will go back to work now. ^.^
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"So he does have Ling! I knew my intuition wasn't wrong! He is one of the top ten. Now we need to find seven more and we are set." Seeing the Golden Clouds dispersing, Liena naturally exclaimed happily, knowing they had the right guy.
"Milady, we are still not sure he will help us. He is already not happy with our organization and he is being protected by those two men," the golden-robed youth commented, utilizing his ability to the max only to sigh while admitting, "I can't feel their position at all but that could be expected from the Council members. They are on a completely another league."
Liena smiled as she already forgot of their previous plan and said, "I know but did I say we will force him? We should use a gentle approach and try to please him as much as we can. Ling is the main key to open the Fate Kingdom so we can't lose her. This Xuefeng seems to value friendship a lot. We should meet with him after they settle Tang Family matters and become his friends."
"Mhmm…" Golden-robed youth nodded but then glanced at the area a few buildings away from the Tang Family Palace and asked while squinting his eyes, "Milady, are we going to do anything about that rat? He is probably going back to inform everyone about Xuefeng at our Fate Sanctuary."
The youth already felt one Fate Holder some time ago but he didn't care much about it. Only now it seemed somewhat relevant as they had to be mindful of what they are doing just in case they angered Xuefeng.
Liena already saw him earlier as well but she quickly rejected, "No. Let him go. Xuefeng made the scene so big that no matter what we do, it will still reach the ears of other Fate Holders. We would have to kill everyone here to silence the news which is simply impossible. He is being protected by two Council members anyway, so we don't need to worry about his safety. Even if others attack him, I don't think he would have problems beating them."
The youth prayed in his mind as she said, "Hopefully nothing major will happen... Once they hear about Xuefeng's ability, there will be many who is consumed by greed. Having the ability to increase everyone's talent, creating a powerhouse sect or family wouldn't be an issue." He could already imagine how many Fate Holders will blindly rush to kill Xuefeng before he joins the organisation.
"Or become rich overnight by selling their service. Fortunately, Xuefeng is not that dumb to do it else the whole balance would be broken. We can use that fact to convince him to join us. Let's only watch for now." Liena added, finishing their conversation as her gaze returned back to Xuefeng.
Meanwhile, the rat they were talking about sneakily moved in between the various buildings, heading towards the northern entrance of the Capital. Once outside after getting no problems from the Capital guards, clearly being a local, the man flew into the night sky and only landed when he reached certain debris with hundreds of giant boulder.
With a strange mist surrounding them all, it will be extremely hard to navigate between them but the man didn't hesitate, flying right into the mist before landing right in front of a medium, not any outstanding boulder. With just a single touch on its surface, the man disappeared as if he was sucked inside of it before reappearing in the middle of the city centre with many tall towers surrounding him.
He seemed to know the topography of this hidden city as he immediately dashed towards the closest building with a name board above the entrance, 'Devil's Den'.
The moment Rat entered, he rushed towards one of the private rooms and called out the moment he opened the doors, "Guys! I got some fresh news! You won't believe what just happened in the Capital!"
There were three men inside, drinking some wine while chilling only to be disturbed by Rat's shout. One of them scolded him, "Rat, you idiot, why are you screaming so much? What happened? If you want to tell us about Tang Family demise then we already know about."
"No! It is something completely different." Rat shook his head excitedly and finally revealed after closing the doors tightly, "There was a Golden Heavenly Tribulation in the Capital!"
"And? Is that this shocking? This news is not worth shouting." The men were not that excited to hear that as such situation happened a few times a year.
The Rat continued to grin and added, keeping the mystery in the air, "What if I tell you that this one is special? It wasn't a normal tribulation."
One of the senior men was already triggered by Rat and called out annoyed, "How different can it be? You can only trigger Heavenly Tribulation when awakening your Spirit Talent. Stop grinning and tell us."
Hearing him, Rat laughed and said, "Haha! And you are wrong here. Not only the girl didn't go through it during her Awakening Ceremony but she also didn't have Golden Talent just an hour ago."
"What? Did her talent increase out of nowhere? This is not possible, unless…" The old man thought of some possibility and asked, "Don't tell me that Thunder Goddess is back? Didn't she ascend already?"
Rat could only nod as he replied, "One of the top ten abilities is back, but the person changed."
One middle-aged man in black robe sighed when he heard that, still remembering the mesmerising charm of Thunder Goddess, "Does that mean she is dead? Damn, it's such a pity… She was a great beauty."
The old man asked right away, proposing them, "How is his strength? He should be kiddo, right? How about we kill him and take over his ability? The one with this ability would be heavily favoured by our Milady. I wish she just looked at me once..." It wasn't strange for the Fate Holders to kill outside the arena as long as the Holder wasn't in the Fate Organisation.
Rat wanted to laugh but only rolled his eyes and said, "Ha! As if that was easy. Do you remember that strong rookie that recently hit the arena stage? That Pio guy, another one with from the top ten."
"Mhmm." The three nodded and Rat didn't wait to reveal the truth, "That guy killed Pio just a moment ago, slapping him left and right with ease. We can't be rush else we will only end up dead like Pio. He is the future Master of Xiao Family as he hooked up with their Princess Xiao Wen. Are you going to find the whole Xiao Family?"
They naturally didn't believe as the middle-aged man questioned, "What? He killed Pio? I can understand if he dates Xiao Wen even though I find it extremely unbelievable but killing another top ten Fate Holder? How would Milady even allow that to happen? Wouldn't she have to wait another sixteen years or more then?"
Rat didn't stop at it and revealed more, "Everything I said before was nothing. Listen to this. He found a way to preserve Pio's Fate Spirit after killing him and gave it to his female friend!"
When this last piece of news dropped, they all stood up and cried out, "What?! Bullshit!"
The Rat knew it was hard to believe and he wouldn't believe either if he heard such news so he recorded everything just to be sure. He pulled out a recording crystal and played the whole scene to them, everything from Pio's death till the moment Xuefeng saved Yi. Only after that they finally believed but their faces were all dumbfounded.
One of them instantly proposed, his face filled with greed with the other two joining as well, "We definitely need to get that method out from him."
"Yes. We should group up and try to take him down. This opportunity is too much."
"I agree."
Only Rat rolled his eyes at them and called out, trying to refresh their minds a bit, "How do you want to do that, huh? Even with the four of us, if we hold back not to kill him, he will definitely win against us. Only by fighting with the intention to kill him would we be able to kill him and we all know that killing him is not an option. Didn't I tell you about his connections to Xiao Family? We would be hunted for ages and it would be a pain in the ass."
Knowing they would only waste his time, the Rat proposed his own idea, "How about we force him by using his woman? Xiao Wen who is this Xuefeng's woman is also a fate member. It just happens that her slot for the monthly challenge will be up for grabs in a few days. We can use it."
"We four are not enough to beat her. No one ever forced her to use her abilities so we don't even know what they are. How do you want us to fight her?" The old man was the first to complain but Rat had the answer to all of his questions.
"Did I ever said we will fight her personally? We just need to find someone strong enough who can match her. I think we have a few options available, hehe."
"Wait… don't tell me you want to ask the five devils for help? Don't they prepare to ascend? Why would they waste their time fighting in the arena?"
"Hah, it just happens that one failed their attempts at ascending and is looking for a place to vent his frustration. What will happen if we place Xiao Wen right in front of his nose? If we tell him that the power to improve his Spirit Talent appeared, he would definitely want to get it into his hands. Afterwards, we can pay him some Fate Stones to increase our talent."
The old man finally asked, seeing that everyone wanted to know, "Who is it?"
Rat only smiled and said the name one word at a time, "Saber Devil."
...….
'You know that to destroy the barrier you need the power of at least a few Monarch Stage Cultivators?' Drakos asked after hearing Xuefeng's request. He definitely liked the concept of going full high profile but was still required to inform Xuefeng about it.
'Can't your claw strike destroy this barrier easily?' Xuefeng asked as he forgot to ask that before he sent all the people away.
'Naturally.' Drakos confirmed which made Xuefeng sigh in relief but then added, 'But that will cost you another thousand high-tiered Fate Stones.'
'What? Didn't I give you a thousand before?' Xuefeng was naturally surprised, feeling scammed.
"The previous batch helped me regain some of my power but I already used it. Some time needs to pass for it to regenerate. If you want me to use it now, I need another batch.' Drakos explained and Xuefeng could imagine a grin that was planted on his face but he didn't have a choice, already choosing to not hold back anymore.
Knowing that he had only one path ahead of him, he moved forward without hesitation, 'Alright, deal. I'm going to get much more stones from the sales later. Let's do this.'
Chapter 321 - Draconic Longsword
"Mom! You can't leave me like this!" Tang Taizong cried out, seeing her mother taking all of their family treasures in a few high ranked Storage Rings. There was basically nothing left inside the treasury aside from some cheap stuff and pills. She wouldn't bother with low-ranked pills as she didn't have time to pack them all.
As all Escape Crystals were really expensive and rare, they were mostly in her husband's possession. Now that he was dead, they were taken by Xiao Feng and she was only left with her own that she received a long time ago. Why would she sacrifice her own life for her son like that? Maybe it sounded cruel but that was the mentality of a cultivator. Most were selfish and put their own pleasure and safety first. People like Xuefeng who would die for their loved ones were extremely rare.
"Get out of my way." Tang Fei's wife called out coldly to her son as he was standing in her way when she tried to reach the last treasure she was still yet to retrieve. She left the only Rank 9 Spirit Sword for last because she knew it would take her the most time to tame. It was easy for her to grab all the pillboxes but she couldn't hide sentient artefacts into the Storage Ring without taming them.
What's more, Taizong was creating problems for her the whole time which further prolonged the time of all Taming. They were lucky that Xiao Family surprisingly took a lot of time to break the barrier which allowed her to clean everything.
"Mom! How can you be like this?! You have to save me!" Taizong wasn't stupid and he knew that he would die if his mother didn't take him out from here. He was still too young to die, so he stubbornly stood in front of her, not letting her pass until she agreed to save him.
"If you want to live then fight for your life. Now leave me alone." His mother didn't have any mercy and shrugged him to the side, walking towards the bloody red Draconic Longsword that was laying on a stand.
She already expected that her son would be persistent but didn't foresee he would be this annoying. Just as she was about to take the sword into her hand, Taizong appeared from behind and dived towards his mother's leg, wrapping his arms and legs around it.
"Bastard! Let go of me! How did I raise you?! Stop being a pussy and fight for your future! Life is not always sunshine and rainbows! You have to man up and pave your way towards greatness! This is how every cultivator should be!" Taizong mother cursed at him and gave him her last life lesson before ordering, "Now let go of me!"
Unfortunately, Taizong didn't have any of it and continued to hug her leg, calling out in tears, "No! Once I let you go, you will leave me here without any support and only death awaits me!"
His mother naturally got pissed off and suddenly raised her leg, lifting him up into the air before swinging it like a whip while crying out, "God Dammit! I said get off me!"
Shh-thud!
Due to the strength she used, Taizong was forced to let go of her leg which made him slide on the rocky floor before facing a nasty hit on the wall. Blood was oozing out of his legs and arms as his skin was wiped while sliding on the floor.
His mother didn't feel any worse for that as she already decided to abandon him and immediately started her taming. Even for a Monarch Stage Cultivator, it was still hard to tame a Spirit Artefact of such a rank so she needed full focus.
She hovered her hand on top of the sword and tried to sense the Spirit of the sword but who would have guessed that she would be once again disturbed by her useless son as he once again dashed towards her. She knew he would interfere with her taming no matter what so she decided to settle it once and for all.
Bang!
She launched like a rocket and her leg found their target on Taizong's belly as she sent him flying before he even realised he was hit.
Crash!
He was once again heading towards the wall but this time one of the pillars blocked his way and he destroyed it with his body as he crushed into it. Momentarily, he lost air in his lungs and couldn't breathe, only looking at his mother who started approaching him.
"You know why we were so hard and strict on you all those years?" His mother asked coldly as she lifted him up by his neck, stealing even more breath from his lungs.
"Wh—y…?" Taizong asked, barely able to speak this one word.
His mother didn't let him listen without another wave of pain as she tossed him to the side before saying in the coldest voice she could, "Because you are adopted."
"Cough, cough!" When Taizong dropped to the ground and heard this cruel sentence, his heart tightened as if it wanted to break and he coughed out blood that got into his lungs due to the fall. He looked at the women he was calling mother just a moment ago in disbelieved and asked, "Wh...at?"
The woman glared at him and no longer pretended, explaining, "What do you not understand? I'm not your mother. You were born from a servant that your father was doing behind my back. To avoid controversy, I didn't say anything and even treated you as my son for so many years but who would have thought you would turn out so useless. I am really lost for words. You will never achieve anything so why should I save you?"
She didn't waste any more words on him and walked back towards the sword, planning on trying with taming one more time but just at this moment, a giant explosion resounded throughout the Palace, shaking it as if there was an earthquake.
Rumble!
"Damn, they broke the barrier. I guess it's time to run." Tang Fei's wife cursed, already knowing what that signified and pulled out the only Escape Crystal from her ring not hesitate to crush it.
Taizong was still in shock after he learnt the news and finally understood everything that has been happening his whole life. Why his father beat him up every time he failed in his training, why his mother didn't even raise him and why their servant showed so much love towards him, treating him exactly like a mother could treat a son.
Crazy emotions of hate and disgust started spurting inside of his mind as he began hating both his father and fake mother for never telling him this. His life got suddenly turned into a joke.
Just then, right when his mental sanity was on the brink, a strange but seductive voice knocked to the doors of his head and asked, 'What are you waiting for?'
"What?" Taizong asked out loud, not exactly knowing someone was talking inside of his mind.
'She is not your mother. Take the sword and kill her. She definitely has other ways to escape. You can still save your life.' The voice explained, corrupting his mind the more it talked.
"She is not my mother… I can still save my life…" Taizong repeated the words out loud, his mind focused only on survival. His legs moved on their own and before he knew it, he was already dashing towards his fake mother who was currently being wrapped in Space, ready to be sent away.
Suddenly, the Red Draconic Longsword moved from the stand and flew towards Taizong on its own, aligning perfectly for him to catch and Taizong swung it at his mother, his mind filled with evil thoughts, "Kill her! She deserves it! She ruined your life!"
"Huh?!" Tang Fei's wife was already immobilized, entering the void when the walls of it were suddenly ruptured and a red sword passed through them, heading straight towards her body.
The moment she realised what it was, her chest was pierced through and fear filled her face. It was at that moment that pain filled her body as the swords momentarily sucked her blood away but no voice came out of her mouth, disappearing in the void.
Bang!
The space cracked and exploded, but the body of a woman impaled by a red sword stayed inside the room.
Thud.
She dropped on the floor as she slid out of the sword. There was no life inside of her eyes as well as blood which was fully sucked away from her body.
"Hahahaha, the blood of a Monarch is so tasty, aaah. I finally drank something nice after so many years. I can feel my energy levels rising. I need more blood!" The Spirit inside the Draconic Sword laughed, his blade shining much brighter than before.
He was already filling Taizong's mind, trying to take complete control over him but he was still too weak so he continued to advise for now, 'She is dead! Now take your loot! Check if she has any Escape Crystals.'
Taizong did not have a reason to reject the spirit and wore all the rings onto his fingers before wearing them on his own. He rashly looked through them all and his face turned ugly when he realised there were none.
"Do not worry! There are bound to be others who have them! You just need to find and kill them! This is your only chance of survival!" The Spirit continued to cloud his mind.
"My only chance of survival…" Taizong repeated out loud, his eyes empty as if he was possessed.
'Yes! Go and kill!' The Spirit confirmed happily and suddenly hit Taizong with some of his power, turning his eyes red as the desire to kill filled his mind. Taizong didn't wait anymore and dashed out of the treasury, his mouth of repeating one word, "Kill, kill, kill!"
Chapter 322 - Half-Beast, Half-Human
"What?! Did he destroy the barrier with just one attack? How strong is he right now?" Xiao Feng was the first to ask in surprise after seeing the barrier disintegrating in the blink of an eye after Xuefeng's claw collapsed on it.
"Master, I doubt those were his limits. I could still feel there was some power left in the strike." Elder Yang said as he nodded in approval.
Seeing that the battle will start soon but everything was still unorganized, Xiao Feng pulled out his double hammers and said as he decided it was finally time to fix the rookie mistakes of his son-in-law, "Let's go. We can't have such a mess in the battlefield else the chaos will be too hard to handle."
Xuefeng who hovered in the sky right above the top of the barrier looked down at it, seeing it slowly disappear after just one attack of his. He somehow expected it but he was still amazed by Drakos strength when he saw it for his own eyes.
'After another thousand Fate Stones, my strength increased once again. Don't be that surprised. The more Fate Stones you give me, the more strength I will recover. I can tell you that this isn't just one-thousandth of my former power.' Drakos explained proudly, feeling he deserved more praises for his greatness.
'What?!' Xuefeng naturally got shocked by that and asked curiously, planning on doing some calculations, 'How many Spirit Stones do you need to recover completely then?'
Drakos treated it as if it was nothing, saying nonchalantly, 'Ah, just a small number. Five to ten million should be enough.'
Xuefeng almost fell down from the sky when he heard that and quickly rejected, 'Small Number?! There is no way I'm giving you ten million! I still have my own needs and I want to support my women too. When they all become Fate Holders, I will need a lot to support them all.'
Drakos wasn't in a hurry as he trained his patience for many thousands of years so he replied, 'We will talk about it later. If you don't hurry, your precious loot will be stolen by others.'
Xuefeng turned around and saw that everyone was looking at him, waiting for the signal of an attack. He even saw Xiao Feng who was already rushing towards the line of the cultivators as if he wanted to be the first to attack. Xuefeng realised how important his role right now was feeling like a general of the army.
Knowing that Xuefeng took it seriously and thought as he looked at all the forces they had, quickly realising what was wrong, 'Wait, our position is bad. If everyone attack solo like that, we will be all slaughtered in the depths of the palace. We need to group up. The Tang Family members seem to be sheltered inside so the moment we enter, we will be at a disadvantage.'
He immediately wanted to implement his plan and before Xiao Feng had a chance to speak, Xuefeng called out to everyone from above, "Everyone! Make small groups of ten to twenty people, now! We outnumber them so let's use that to our advantage! Don't let yourself be caught off-guard."
"Yes, Young Master!" The cultivators agreed right away and to Xiao Feng's surprise,
started grouping up just as Xuefeng wanted. They completely disregarded him and only listened to Xuefeng as if he was already leading Xiao Family.
'Cough, maybe I was too passive earlier?' Xiao Feng thought for a second but then he dismissed those thoughts, knowing this was exactly what he wanted. He would definitely ascend with his wife in a year or two so it would be best if there was already someone who can lead the family for a while.
It would be for the best as he didn't believe that Xuefeng will ascend alone without any of his women. While ascending, if one is strong enough, they can take their dao partner with them but what about the others? It's not possible to take four, five or even six of them. Each and every one of them would have to reach the peak of Monarch stage to allow them to continue their cultivation journey together.
Seeing everyone was getting in groups, Xuefeng also wanted to go up to Xiao Wen and Yi but then, an explosion happened inside the palace, gathering everyone's attention. Even Xuefeng was disturbed as he halted his movements and looked down in search of the source.
He didn't expect that he would actually see tens of Tang Family cultivators flying in panic out of the Palace. They didn't seem like they cared where they were flying as long as they were as far away from the Palace as possible. They all spread out in all directions, flying towards the Xiao Family cultivators as if they didn't see them.
'What is going on…?' Xuefeng asked himself before quickly waking up and ordering everyone by yelling, "Don't let anyone escape! Kill them all! Leave no one behind!"
His experts naturally listened as this was exactly what they were waiting for and they swiftly grouped up, killing every expert one by one, but they also noticed that something was wrong. Each Tang Family Cultivator had a scared look on his face as if their whole family just died and they couldn't do anything to defend, only forced to run to save their lives. They didn't even notice hundreds of cultivators in the skies, waiting to slaughter them.
Xuefeng also figured that out as he killed the tenth cultivator, gathering a sweet collection of goods and seeing more and more coming out from the Palace without any organization. If they all rushed out together, they would at least have some power behind them and chance to break out but all they did was run away alone or in the groups of maximum two people.
"Something must have happened inside…" Xuefeng thought out loud and proceeded to confirm this by catching one of the Tang Family Cultivators alive before beginning his interrogation. To make sure that he will talk, Xuefeng created a fireball in his hand as a threat and asked while almost burning the man's body with it, "What is going on here?! Why are you running?!"
The Saint Cultivator didn't even touch the flames but he still cried out hopelessly, no longer willing to struggle while at the same time lost in despair, "Ahh! Just end my life! He killed my family! He killed my little daughter! She was only five! Tang Family is over! I don't have anything left! Just end me!"
"Who killed your family?" Xuefeng could feel the pain from the man's eyes but that didn't mean he would let him go.
"Devil! He is a Devil!" The man cried out and before Xuefeng could ask more questions, they both heard a loud demonic laugh coming from the inside of the Palace.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"He is coming!" The cultivator shouted when he heard it, his body all tensing up and immediately struggled in Xuefeng's grasp, wanting to run away by attacking Xuefeng but he was faster, cutting his head off at the same time. He would feel bad by taking the loot from such a miserable man if that was earlier but he already got used to the bloodshed in this world so he didn't hesitate when taking the man's ring and life now.
Xuefeng had a bad feeling about this, knowing that the person who could chase away hundreds of cultivators by himself would be quite troublesome to deal with and just as he thought about it, the same person who laughed earlier called out from the inside, this time the man's voice sounded much clearer as if he was getting closer, "Where are you all running?! Hahaha, give me your blood!"
It seemed like most of the cultivators were out already but there was this one young man who appeared to be the last to escape. Just when he crossed the line of the main entrance, he tripped while looking behind him in panic. He rolled on the ground hitting his head in the process which made his head bleed. He was flabbergasted for a second but when he saw the person slowly walking up to him, he began pushing himself away, dragging his body on the floor.
"Hahah! A mere Overlord kid dares to run away from this Majesty. Stay still and let me eat you!" The person from the inside called out in his evil voice as he finally left the Tang Family Palace and showed himself.
Many thought it was a person but now that they looked at him, they realised no one was correct as even calling him human would be wrong. The man looked like half-beast half-human with more than half of his body covered by weird, red scales. Both his left arm and leg were that of a beast, having sharp claws that looked like that of a lizard. Half of his face was also covered by the same scales and one of his eyes turned black.
"L-leave me alone…!" The young man pulled out his sword aiming it at the half-beast with his shaking hands, using it to defend himself.
The half-beasts turned out to be Taizong who turned due to the power of the sword and he laughed in a completely different voice, "Haha, you think you can defeat me with this small sword? Die!"
Punchi!
The Draconic Longsword pierced through the young man and the blood was immediately sucked away from his body acting like a big straw. After sucking everything dry, he raised the body of the young man with his sword, causing his limp arms to sway right in front of him. He shamelessly took the storage ring before tossing the body away.
"Ah! I love blood. But so many escaped, what a shame." Taizong said with a Draconic Longsword Spirit's voice as if his body was completely taken over by the Spirit already.
Just then, he saw Xiao Family cultivators in the sky and grinned while calling out, "Haha, I guess the party's not over!"
When Xuefeng saw that scene, he cursed, "This bastard took all my loot! Look at how many rings he has!"
Unfortunately, Drakos didn't share the same thoughts as his focus was on the Red Draconic Longsword which was slowly corroding Taizong's body with its transformation and cried out angrily, 'That is not important! Look at the sword in his hand! That is Draconic Tribe's signature Spirit Artefact! It's not supposed to appear in the Earth Realm!'
'Draconic Tribe? Is it your clan or something?' Xuefeng asked confused but he didn't expect that Drakos would get even more furious as he spat, 'Tfu! Don't compare this mighty Dragon from Dragon Race to those lizards. Get that sword from this guy before he fully transforms else it will be too hard to take him down. I will help you scare him. Those lizards are just slaves to us, Dragons.'
'Fine!' Xuefeng didn't mind that as he already planned to rush and battle. He wanted all the loot as he was already lacking Fate Stones. In this world, only by fighting would he get rich enough to support himself and his family.
Chapter 323 - True Dragon's Voice
As Taizong looked at the sky with his tongue licking his lips, many Xiao Family cultivators saw his right profile clearly, allowing them to recognize him. Naturally, many were ultimately confused as they asked, "Wait… Isn't that Tang Family's Young Master? How come he turned into a half-beast?"
"I always knew he was a beast. It turns out he was literally a beast!" Another Saint cultivator commented. Since the marriage between him and their Young Princess Tianshi got cancelled, many learnt about her suicide attempt just because she didn't want to marry. Since then, everyone from Xiao Family started disliking him and called him many different nicknames. Seeing that they were actually very close to the truth didn't surprise them.
Of course, that was mostly the opinion of the lower-ranked cultivators because most Sages and seniors could actually see the reason for this transformation. If one looked closely, the sword in Taizong's hands was quite exquisite and powerful. Its appearance was also very similar to his body as it was also covered with scales and red thorns on the handle.
"This sword… Where did Tang Family get it and why didn't I know about it?" Xiao Feng asked his right hand, Elder Yang but even he had no idea how come there was a new Rank 9 artefact in the hands of their enemies.
"We never got information from our spies about it. There is a possibility that it was found by Tang Fei which would explain the lack of leaks. It seems really powerful. Master, maybe we should take care of it together." Elder Yang proposed but he didn't expect that just as he said so, Xuefeng would launch downward without warning while calling out happily, "Let me take care of him!"
"Xuefeng! Come back! Don't be rash!" Xiao Feng this time wasn't sure if Xuefeng could handle it so he tried to call him back but Xuefeng ignored him which annoyed him so he scolded his daughter instead, "Wen, stop your man. He is asking to get himself killed. We shouldn't act rashly in our situation."
Unfortunately, Xiao Wen wasn't supportive as she only smiled and said, "I believe in him. He isn't someone who would battle without a brain. If he decided to fight, he will for sure win."
Yi who was being supported by Xiao Wen in the air also nodded, agreeing with this fully. She wanted to stay on the ground but Xiao Wen already promised to protect her so she could only take Yi with her.
Before Xiao Feng could get angry, Elder Yang suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! Master. Look at Taizong's fingers. He has Tang Fei's wife's Storage Ring. What if…" Elder Yang wanted to finish but he was preceded by Xiao Feng as the one said, "Xuefeng saw the rings as well and now he wants to defeat Taizong to get all the loot Tang Family gathered over the many years. Damn. Let's go!"
It was one thing if all the loot from Tang Family was gone because of Tang Fei's wife escape but if she is dead and the loot is there, Xiao Feng couldn't let Xuefeng get everything for himself. That's the whole generation of riches they were talking about!
Seeing that Xiao Feng was getting ready to join Xuefeng, Xiao Wen also wanted to move as to help Xuefeng secure the kill but with Yi in her arms, she could only watch from the sidelines. Even if Xiao Feng was her father, she would still stay on Xuefeng's side.
Fortunately, It wasn't necessary as just when her father grabbed his hammers and wanted to rush out, he was stopped by a sudden outburst of pressure coming from Xuefeng who already reached Taizong's side. Every cultivator's face paled and those who were the closest even coughed out blood. They naturally backed away, observing from far away instead, with only the strongest staying in their places.
Yi also felt the pressure but it was quickly dispersed by Xiao Wen, allowing them so stand closer and observe.
"What the…" This time, even Xiao Feng was dumbfounded by the power Xuefeng displayed because even he couldn't unveil such pressure. He felt like he couldn't grasp Xuefeng anymore. What was more annoying was Xiao Wen's proud smirk which was sealed with her teasing words, "Hehe, how does it feel to be weaker than your future son-in-law?"
...….
Xuefeng didn't hear Xiao Feng's explosion of shame as he was focused on the red-scaled lizard in front of him. Just a moment before, he launched himself towards Taizong who was already waiting to receive him and Drakos suddenly borrowed some of his Fate Qi to release a terrifying pressure of a Legendary Dragon.
It did not seem like the pressure caused any damage to Taizong but based on his facial expression, one could tell he was shocked beyond words.
"How do you have the presence of a True Dragon! Impossible!" Taizong cried out, his hand which held the sword shaking as he spoke. With his reaction, it was clear that he was scared of Dragons just like Drakos said earlier.
Xuefeng used that moment of his disorientation and attacked, planning to end Taizong's life in one stroke.
Feeling the burning sword heading towards his neck, the Taizong cried out while parrying it, "No!" He bounced Xuefeng's sword with everything he had before jumping away, his black eye glaring at Xuefeng as if he tried to see through him.
"Dragons are not supposed to be in this Realm! You are fake! You must have used one of their relics! I don't believe it!" Taizong quickly debunked Xuefeng's power, staring angrily at him, but for some reason, his legs were still backing out, searching for a way out.
"Haha!" Xuefeng only laughed and started walking towards escaping Taizong before asking with a confident smile on his face, "Then why are you running away? Let's test if the members of Draconic Tribe are as weak as I remember."
Hearing that Xuefeng knew even that, the Sword's Spirit controlling Taizong didn't hesitate anymore, turning around and running away without looking back.
Xiao Feng quickly reacted, knowing that the whole wealth of Tang Family was in the hands of Taizong right now and shouted to the other side of the encirclement, "Stop him!" He also rushed forward himself, ignoring the information about Dragons that Taizong was spitting, planning on confirming it later on.
Just then, Drakos shouted hurriedly out of nowhere, 'Quick, let me take control over your vocal cords! Let me show him who is the Master and who is the slave.' Even before he finished his words, Xuefeng felt pressure around his neck as if something tried to break in. He didn't stop Drakos and soon felt as if someone took control over his voice.
Taizong didn't even run away too far when Xuefeng took a deep breath and suddenly bellowed in a changed, imperial voice, "Halt!" As if struck by lightning, Taizong froze on the spot.
"Come here." This time Xuefeng asked without yelling but his voice was still lofty and powerful as if a great elderly was speaking out.
To everyone's surprise, Taizong turned around and began walking back to Xuefeng which made everyone else halt, hovering in ready if there was a need to react.
"Kneel." Xuefeng continued with another order. During this third order, Xuefeng felt some pain in his vocal cords, but it was understandable, knowing they were not used to such a power-filled voice.
Taizong looked really unwilling but in the end, his knee bent as he supported himself with the red sword. It has been a long time since he heard this voice but after so many years of hearing it in the past, it was impossible to forget about it.
'Can we handle a big one?' Drakos asked before he continued with the last order, knowing it was really straining for him. Ling was overworking herself with her regeneration but it was still not enough to cover the amount of destruction the voice of a True Dragon was doing to Human vocal cords.
'Just speak slowly else it will hurt him…' Ling admitted just as she finished healing the previous damage.
Drakos didn't give Ling a break as he said once more, trying to talk slowly, "If you don't want to die... return to the sword." Xuefeng really wanted to cough half-way but stopped himself, suppressing the pain for as long as he could.
"Damn… Just as I came out—" Taizong cursed under his breath and the scales started withdrawing from his body, returning back into the sword but even before he finished speaking, Xuefeng's hand moved, cutting Taizong's head off cleanly.
Before Xiao Feng appeared next to Xuefeng, the body of Taizong dropped to the ground but the rings and the sword were quickly grabbed from Xuefeng, leaving nothing behind. The sword was taken by Drakos into his space inside the bracelet while the rings were distributed to Ming and Ling so they could segregate the loot.
Seeing Xiao Feng behind him, Xuefeng turned around and grinned, saying in his normal voice, "I'm done. We can now move to talk about business."