In a secluded spot in the peak of a mountain, a string of houses and a large palace spread out across the scenery. In one of the rooms of the palace, a young man was taking a hot bath while looking outside at the beautiful landscape.
"Young master Xiong, your father has asked for you to come down to the main hall." A young servant girl entered the lavishly decorated room.
"Sh*t, the Lai family is here already?" The young man quickly dressed and came over to the servant. His face was devilishly handsome and was covered by strands of his snow white hair. His whole appearance radiated a feeling of being a sharp sword waiting to be unsheathed. The two walked together at an unhurried pace.
As they walked in, the young man saw his father standing at the other side of the room. Once his father's eyes landed on him, "Xiong Yi, what took you so long?"
Xiong Yi was initially confused because his father was rebuking him even though they were in their own territory but at that moment his eyes landed in the center of the room where three figures stood. One was an old man, the leader of the Lai family and to the side was Lai Qing, a young woman who was betrothed to Xiong Yi. He wasn't surprised at the two because they had come to finalize the marriage but in front of them was a young man whose aura he could not feel at all. What's more, behind him stood a row of body guards all at the peak of Qi Gathering realm. He was a highly regarded genius at the Qi gathering realm level 8 but any of these bodyguards could probably kill him.
He glanced at his father and saw that he had a layer of cold sweat on him. His father was only level 9 Qi Gathering realm which was considered the peak in the secluded village and at most, there were some low level Foundation Establishment ancestors in the Xiong and Lai family.
"Xiong Yi, right? It's quite funny how fate works, I was casually traveling around and saw a lightning arc at the top of this mountain. It was as if I was beckoned here by the heavens to meet this beauty!" The young master clearly heard his father speak Xiong Yi's name but acted as if it was not even worth remembering. What made Xiong Yi furious was that he casually mentioned that he was about to steal his future wife.
"Qing'er there's no way you agreed to this right?" Suppressing his rage, he could only ask. Lai Qing, who was standing behind the young man, bit her lips and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the young man. "Who said she has to agree? Hahaha, you, a dog from a nameless village, still think you have the right to decide?"
Xiong Yi's face went dark from the sneering of the young man. His father's cold sweat multiplied and he could only hurriedly blurt out. "Xiong Yi, hurriedly apologize to young master Mo Feng!"
"If I am a dog, why don't we spar to prove who is more worthy or are you even worse than a dog?" Xiaong Yi was not willing to swallow his pride and apologize in this situation. His father who was still standing to the side looked as if he was about to pass out.
"Hahaha, I, Mo Xiao, am not a barbarian, why would I need to fight or cultivate? With a single word, I can command a man much stronger than you" Mo Xiao pointed his finger in front of him and one of the warriors by his side rushed out. Without waiting for Xiaong Yi, the warrior unsheathed his long sword and struck down at him.
Clang
Xiong Yi wasn't slow either and reacted in time, unsheathing his sword as well. As the two swords met, a gust of wind was produced. Xiong Yi was pushed back in the exchange but, but the warrior was surprised. How could a country bumpkin take even one of his slashes? Considering his master's face, he directly used one of his powerful moves intending to quickly end the battle.
"Red Rock Blade!" A silhouette of a huge meteorite appeared in the air swinging down at Xiong Yi. The silhouette appearing signified greater completion of an art which was terrifying. A small village like the one he was in only had low tier or even no arts at all. If they did then how could the peak power be only at the Foundation Establishment realm? It was possible to cultivate to Foundation Establishment in a decade or more without any cultivation or fighting arts, but after that it was essentially impossible .
"F*ck do I have to reveal it this early?" Xiong Yi cursed in his mind. Seeing the scene of the red meteorite crashing on his son, his father realized that Xiong Yi would probably die here. Even if he was unwilling to offend the young master, he couldn't let his son be slaughered while he stood by.
BOOM
"Frost Giant Fist!" A figure of a huge blue giant appeared and struck at the descending blade which was instantly shattered. The warrior blocked with his hands which were covered with a layer of frost as he was thrown away.
"Interesting, after cultivating your whole life you do have some tricks after all" Mi Xiao looked surprised. Still he wasn't concerned and casually waved his hand making a few more warriors shoot out.
As each pulled out their blades, the air was filled with multicolored lights of different techniques executing. Xiong Yi's father used the same technique but the multicolored lights instantly smashed the frost giant and continued on their trajectory.
"Thunder Arc!" At the crucial moment the elder next to Mo Xiao also joined the battler. He jumped in front of Xiong Yi's father and unleashed an arc of lightning which destroyed a few more attacks. Ultimately, two couldn't break four and the two elders were thrown away by the residue of the attacks but they weren't injured too badly and got up immediately.
"Let's end it"
The warriors stopped messing around and four of them launched their strongest attacks at the two elders and Xiong Yi filling the area with silhouettes. The two's faces paled, the last round they were able to almost block because the warriors weren't serious but now it would be impossible. Xiong Yi who stood behind them suddenly radiated an extremely powerful sword qi.
It was as if he was fighting with the sword before, but only now was it that he became one himself.
"Silver Augmentation!"
Xiong Yi yelled as the terrifying aura radiating from him condensed into a silver sword. Swinging out his augmented sword, all 4 attacks were instantly shattered and the men were split apart.
"C-Could it be sword intent? No, it's at most half-step sword intent and a self-created technique. How did a small village raise such a terrifying sword genius… He can't be left alive! Activate the formation!" Mo Xiao actually felt a chill at his back for a moment but his confidence reappeared when he saw the exhausted state of Xiong Yi. Although sword intent was powerful, it required qi in order to use it and a mere Qi gathering cultivator couldn't show its whole might.
The ten remaining warriors did not waste time and formed into a circle. Even if Xiong Yi was almost out of power, Mo Xiao wouldn't dare be careless and actually used a one-time formation plate. It shone before turning into blue ashes which shot towards the space above the middle of the circle. The ten warriors channeled their power which made the small blue dot rapidly expand and turn into a blue blade. Naturally, the three did not let them accumulate power easily but the moment the elder's attacks landed on the outermost part of the circle, they disintegrated.
ZHENG
The blue blade, containing an earth piercing power which rivaled that of a Foundation Establishment expert, shot out. Normally, ten Qi Condensation Cultivators could not rival one Foundation Establishment expert due to the stark contrast in qi quality but the formation actually allowed them to wield a power of such extent!
Xiong Yi's power was almost completely depleted and he only had one option. His turbid mind cleared and all other emotions were eliminated. The attitude of a sword cultivator was naturally sharp and decisive, if he stepped back here, he would perish, so he had to try his best to cling to the smallest hope of life.
"ARGH!!" A snapping sound resounded in Xiong Yi's dantian which shattered like glass. Each particle disintegrated into dense threads of qi, forming a massive wave of energy which was immediately controlled by his half-step sword qi. Xiong Yi used everything he had to send out a last attack which stunned the heavens.
The sturdy sword he was holding was shattered by the power he emitted before reforming into a silver sword of condensed sword intent and qi. In that life and death moment, his mentality had made a leap and he was actually able to invent a new move!
"Silver Oblivion!"
Draining his broken dantian of all its qi, Xiong Yi swung the sword with all his might. The veins in his arms bulged, trying to squeeze out every drop of strength as a silver burst of light shot out at the blue blade as if piercing the heavens. The moment the two powers collided, the land within 50 square meters was razed and trees were uprooted before flying far away. Xiong Yi who was now powerless was blasted back with a tremendous force and tumbled on the ground before eventually reaching a stop. He struggled to endure the pain of his mangled body filled with cuts and bruises to look up at the scene of the battle.
He had succeeded! The blue and silver blade neutralized each other, neither gaining an advantage. This meant that his last resort attack actually matched that of a Foundation Establishment expert! The two elders were astounded but depressed at the same time. After all, Xiong Yi sacrificed his future to produce such a power.
"To think that such a sh*thole could produce such a genius, the heavens truly are unfair. Sadly, no matter how high your potential, you are now a cripple hahaha" Mo Xiao sneered in disdain but in reality his whole back was covered in cold sweat. Not wasting any more time he took out another formation slate and used it. The two elders and Xiong Yi who felt a moment of relief were plunged into hell again. Realistically, even without the formation plate, they would still be slaughtered by the ten warriors, the young master was too scared of another trump card so he decided to use his last plate.
A blue blade was once more formed above the ten men who were pushed to their limits. Mo Xiao pointed at Xiong Yi and the blade shot out at the collapsed figure in the distance.
"Yi'er run!" The two elders also broke their dantians in order to use more power. A frost giant appeared and struck the blade with its icy fist. The frost giant blew up from the power but the blade also lost its bright blue color. The other elder quickly followed up and completely wiped the blade out with a huge arc of lightning. Xiong Yi watched as the two sacrificed their lifetimes worth of accumulated energy in order to buy him some time. He could only try to get up and run away, but how fast could he be without a trace of cultivation and with a battered body?
"AHHH" Xiong Yi heard a scream behind him. He paused and looked back to find the ten warriors holding the severed heads of two elders. A wave of despair washed over him as he saw his father and his close friend be slaughtered mercilessly. Worst of all, they sacrificed themselves to buy him a chance.
"N-no" He mumbled as tears rolled down his cheeks. The warriors and Mo Xiao leisurely made their way over, getting closer and closer which made him snap out of his daze and continue running. He made it deep in the forest before he suddenly felt a familiar feeling. Changing his direction, he came closer and closer before he saw what it was. The ten warriors were already within 20 meters of him and if they wanted to, they could catch up within a second.
Once he saw the thing calling him over he collapsed in front of it. It was a tall plant which was weirdly shaped like a sword pointing into the heavens. Using the last bit of his power, Xiong Yi tore it with his hand and stuffed it into his mouth.
"What the f*ck is the kid doing?" Then group finally arrived in front of Xiong Yi but saw him having a seizure on the ground before he finally stopped moving and even breathing.
"Did he die of his wounds?" Mo Xiao told one of the warriors to examine him. A middle aged warrior knelt down to flip Xiong Yi around. Once everyone saw his face they all felt a deep dread. On it was a smile like the devil itself had possessed him while his eyes radiated a primordial sharpness.
The moment Xiong Yi ate the plant, he actually felt sword intent enter his body! Normally, once a cultivator comprehended sword intent, his dantian was able to develop it like qi but since Xiong Yi's dantian was destroyed he could not produce sword intent or even feel it. At the moment however, he actually felt that the sword intent which was left in his broken dantian was being enriched by the sword intent from the plant. Since the dantian was destroyed, he could not control his sword intent using his qi. This was because a cultivator cultivated qi and all other things he used were secondary, even sword intent, meaning that it had to be drawn out using qi which was actually infused with the sword intent.
The sword intent kept entering his body like an ocean without any bounds and infused itself into every part of his body. Not only that, he felt his dantian reforming itself using the insane amount of sword intent and Xiong Yi realized that he should try to cycle it to cultivate.
Miraculously, his meridians fully reformed and sword intent surged through his body exactly like qi before shooting towards the reformed dantian. It was just like using the energy from a spirit stone to cultivate, but the energy was sword intent and the spirit stone was the plant.
He had an absent minded look on his face as he was concentrating on cycling the sword intent while his expression was contorted in absolute bliss as he felt reborn.
Boom
His dantian rapidly expanded, from first level of Qi gathering all the way to the sixth before finally stopping, having exhausted all the sword intent from the plant. If he had only circulated it all from the start he would not have wasted any and would probably make it to the ninth level directly.
The warrior who was momentarily shocked, recovered from the horrifying feeling and attacked Xiong Yi.
"Gale Slash!"
A huge gale of wind was generated by the warrior's sword before it shot with a breakneck speed at Xiong Yi who still had an absent minded expression.
Realizing something was wrong, Xiong Yi remembered he was still in a perilous situation. He opened his eyes and saw the warrior launching his attack.
"Silver Oblivion!" Xiong Yi formed the same attack from before but now the qi was replaced by pure half-step sword intent. He had obviously underestimated its might which was around twice that of the one before.
The gale slash was instantly dispersed before the warrior was directly disintegrated by the unbridled silver light. Not only that, the nine unprepared warriors who stood close to him were all cut into pieces as well, only leaving Mo Xiao who used a defensive talisman to survive.
"Impossible, how are you still able to use that attack? It d-doesn't matter! Your entire village is DEAD once I report to the Dark Pavillion Sect" Mo Xiao was shocked for a moment before a gloating expression appeared on his face and he pulled out a scroll.
"I can't let him use the teleportation scroll!" If Mo Xiao got away and exposed him, he would be slaughtered by the higher ups of the sect. Channeling sword intent to his legs, he increased his speed to the maximum. His body which was completely infused and reformed with sword intent flew at terrifying speed causing Mo Xiao's hand to fly off.
The gloating smile dropped as he finally processed what happened.
"Where will you run now?" With how many artifacts Mo Xiao had on his body, Xiong Yi decided to cut off all his clothes as well as his legs and arms.
"No, please I am the dark pavillion's sect leader's second son! I-if you return me he will reward you g-greatly!" as he was about to proceed, Mo Xiao pleaded.
"Dead men tell no tales" Fueled by the anger of his slaughtered father, he ignored Mo Xiao's screams and pleas for help and left him as only a torso with a head attached. Because he was just a mortal, he left him in the forest to die out to bleeding instead of ending his life right away.
Mo Xiao yelled at him until his throat was sore, excruciating pain caused him to stop forming coherent words. As he saw Xiong Yi getting farther and farther away, walking away from him at a leisurely pace towards the village, the hope in his eyes dimmed. The beasts who were circling the forest clearing waiting for Xiong Yi to leave finally delightedly pounced at the limbless body tearing it apart.