At this moment on the deck of the Qingfeng Pavilion ferry, the atmosphere was quite eerie.
Some found it unbelievable, feeling that witnessing someone confronting the cultivators of the Punishment Mansion was like witnessing history.
Others pursed their lips in disdain, feeling that the person was flipping somersaults off a cliff, bringing about his own death.
Some showed a look of compassion, thinking it wasn't worth it for that person to stand up for a member of the Demon Race.
Yet another person wore an expressionless face, merely raising the jug in their hand and taking a hearty swig, feeling greatly exhilarated.
Among them was one individual with a fierce countenance and sinister eyes, but at this time, he was smiling, intently watching the scholar on the field who was already sweating profusely, yet still staring directly at the people from the Punishment Mansion.
Once, a Teacher had said to Liu Sanbian what great courage was.
"Do you admire courage? I have once heard of great courage from the master: to return and shrink from not even ten thousand men will deter me."
Vaguely remembering, the Teacher, who never joked before him, after speaking, put down his chopsticks, sipped his rice wine lightly, and his mouth curved into a smile, his eyes seemingly shining.
Zhao Rong didn't know that Liu Sanbian saw the shadow of someone else in him. At this moment, he was barely sustaining his breath, with sweat pouring down his temples, but he did not wipe it away, instead looking up at that young officer from the Punishment Mansion.
Suddenly, a shaft of sword light broke through the sea of clouds.
The man in hemp robes reached out his hand.
The object seemed to shrink in distance, and in the next second, it was in the hemp-robed man's hand.
It turned out to be a miniature jade sword, currently vibrating slightly.
An anxious female voice cried out.
"Hurry, the old lady has found that beast's trace."
The man in hemp robes slightly raised his eyebrows, and the ten people behind him all looked solemn, waiting for orders.
The man in hemp robes glanced down at Zhao Rong.
"Your surname is Zhao?"
Zhao Rong looked puzzled, not knowing how he had found out, but he nodded anyway.
"Youngster Zhao Rong, styled Ziyu." He thought it best not to mention his place of origin.
"A descendant of the Zhao family studying Confucianism? Huh, having learned this thing, you even started speaking for the Demon Race."
"But you do have some guts."
Zhao Rong: "..."
The man in hemp robes snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, turned around, and after dropping a phrase, transformed into a sword light that shot into the sky and traveled thousands of miles away.
"Bai Wei stays, the rest intercept the other ferries."
"By your command!" The ten from the Punishment Mansion said in unison.
Then, nine streaks of sword light flashed and disappeared, leaving only the stern-faced woman in the air.
Bai Wei took a careful look at Zhao Rong, her gaze then swept over the little Fox Demon on the ground, before she turned her head away, instructed Qiao Yu and others on a few matters, overseeing their docking of the ferry at the nearby port. It seemed the matter with Su Xiaoxiao was left unresolved.
Zhao Rong, supporting his knees, gasped heavily as if a person who had just been rescued from drowning, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
At this moment, he didn't feel much like someone who had survived a jeopardy, but rather was thoroughly confused.
What did that man in hemp robes mean?
Liu Sanbian walked over, seemingly noticing his confusion.
"That was the young officer from the Punishment Mansion."
"He is called Zhao Qianqiu,"
Zhao Rong frowned, just about to ask more when Gui's voice slowly came through.
"You, a man surnamed Zhao, actually spoke up for the Demon Race, which is something I hadn't expected. Really bold of you, Zhao Rong."
Gui's tone was quite cheerful.
Having frequently lost arguments with Zhao Rong, it had decided to learn from his master's expertise and stolen some sentences it thought were "extremely powerful," now finally finding an opportunity to use them.
This sarcastically delightful feeling was truly satisfying. Ah, how had it never discovered such a thrilling pleasure before?
Gui felt this was even more exhilarating than the time it destroyed numerous so-called geniuses' Lifebound Flying Swords of Sword Immortal Seeds.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, it exclaimed, "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. You probably don't know yet, but the one guarding the Gate of Demon Desolation in Kun Capital, the one from the Fu Yao Elector, also bears the surname Zhao."
"All of the Zhao family in the world originate from the Fu Yao Zhao family."
...
The Zhao family has many Sword Cultivators.
This is well-known in the Xuanhuang Cultivation World.
Through the ages, the Heavenly Destiny Mysterious Bird Clan Emblem of the Zhao family has been engraved on countless Sword Immortals' swords.
The Zhao family takes pride in being Sword Cultivators, and Sword Cultivators take pride in being from the Zhao family.
Zhao Fu, the progenitor of the Zhao family, had abandoned the contention for the title of Great Emperor in Central Continent amid the turmoil of the Human Clan 70,000 years ago, voluntarily going to the west to stop the Ancient Demon calamity, slaying the Ancient Saint of the Kunpeng Demon Clan who attempted to summon extraterrestrial Ancient Demons, and then, Zhao Fu led a group of Sword Cultivators to guard the Gate of Demon Desolation left by the Kunpeng Ancient Saint.
When Emperor Cang ascended to power, in recognition of Zhao Fu's extraordinary achievements, he named him one of the Nine Great Protectors of the Human Clan, The Elector of Demon Suppression, granting him an Emperor Elector Sword and commanding him to establish Kun Capital, where his descendants would eternally guard the Gate of Demon Desolation.
Later, renamed by Emperor Cang, the Western Demon State became Fu Yao State, and the Elector of Demon Suppression became the Lord of Fu Yao, and Kun Capital was also renamed to Kun Capital.
Nowadays, all of the Zhao family in the world stem from the Fu Yao Zhao family, whether it is Zhao Lingfei from the Zhao family of Great Chu in Qianjing, Zhao Rong's branch from the Southern Tranquility State, or Zhao Qianqiu's family from the Yinchuan Zhao family, all are branches of the Fu Yao Zhao family.
The Zhao family members are incredibly spirited, with virtually no "poor relatives." They are either nobles or generals in secular dynasties or Cultivation families within Immortal Sects. Although not as distinguished as the main branch, they are predominantly extraordinary.
Furthermore, the descendants of the Zhao family are very united, supporting each other among different branches with very few disputes. Whenever the main branch of the Fu Yao Zhao family needs help, descendants from all over the Nine Provinces are eager to unsheathe their swords and head to Kun Capital to slay demons.
At this moment, Zhao Qianqiu, speeding through the sky at an altitude of ten thousand feet, felt somewhat depressed.
If he hadn't recognized early on that the scholar also bore the surname Zhao from a pair of Jade Pendants on him, he would have struck down the scholar who dared plead for the Demon Race before him.
After all, he despised nothing more than scholarship in Confucianism and sympathy for the Demon Race.
Very few descendants of the Zhao family follow the Confucian path; at most, they prepare just before the battle in the Vast Realm.
Because the Fu Yao Zhao family has always been on good terms with the Mo Family and only has average relations with the Confucian, often facing criticisms from Confucian scholars blaming the Fu Yao Zhao family for not restraining the Sword Cultivators in Kun Capital and being too harsh on local demons, executing them without mercy, although the Fu Yao Zhao family generally ignores these accusations.
Thinking of the Fu Yao Zhao family, a shadow crossed Zhao Qianqiu's brow.
He had personally experienced the shocking and outrageous event that occurred in Kun Capital over a decade ago, still vivid in his memory, causing him heartache whenever it crossed his mind.
Suddenly, thinking back to the recent actions of that Divinity Transformation Realm Demon Flood Dragon in Anling Country, Zhao Qianqiu became enraged.
Above the heavens, wherever he passed, seas of clouds burst apart, Sword Qi raged wildly, and his energy soared fiercely.
Bold beasts! Do they really think the Zhao family is undefended?
How dare they slaughter the entire Zhao family in Anling Country!
In fact, what enraged Zhao Qianqiu the most was not that this massacre was the fourth such extermination of the Zhao family in Wangque Continent in recent years, but that among those wiped out from the Zhao family in Anling Country, there was a young Zhao known as the Sword Immortal Beautiful Jade.
This young man had exceptional Sword Cultivation talents and was truly a Sword Immortal Seed, having already cultivated two Lifebound Flying Swords of notable grade in the Vast Realm.
This Zhao family youth, along with Zhao Lingfei—whose fame was significant within the Taiching Four Mansions—were regarded by elders of the Zhao family who practiced in Tianya Sword Pavilion as the twin jewels of the Zhao family in Wangque Continent this generation.
Zhao Lingfei was already internally designated by the Sword Pavilion Master; once she graduated from the Taiching Four Mansions, she would immediately join the Tianya Sword Pavilion as a Direct Disciple. The Sword Pavilion wasn't even worried about her failing to graduate.
And that Zhao family youth had been taken early on as a Closed-door Disciple by Zhao Qianqiu's grand-teacher.
But what he had never expected was that this Zhao family youth had just returned to Anling Country to visit his parents and soon after, news of his death had arrived.
At this moment, Zhao Qianqiu was gradually understanding that these incidents targeting the Zhao family branches throughout the years were not merely acts of Xuanhuang native demons seeking revenge; he was almost certain...
There were Ancient Demons within the Gate of Demon Desolation causing chaos!