As the curtain was fully lifted with the accompanying voice, a beautiful and delicate face was revealed. Between her ink-like eyebrows, there was a mix of surprise and disbelief.
Su Yi halted and turned to look, unable to hide his astonishment. "How could it be you?"
The woman on the carriage was none other than Xiao Zijin, also known as Princess Lingyao of the Lanling Xiao Clan.
Back then, at the banks of the Da Cang River outside Guangling City in Yunhe County, Zijin had encountered Su Yi while he was practicing the Songhe Forging Body Technique with her grandfather, Xiao Tianque.
It was during that time that Su Yi had helped Xiao Tianque resolve the corpse poison in his body and later assisted him in repairing the ancestral cultivation technique of their clan, the "Golden Ripple Art."
However, Su Yi hadn't expected to encounter her again after being apart for several months on this secluded official road leading to Baizhou City.
Moreover, it seemed that she had become entangled in an ambush.
"It makes sense. The Lanling Xiaos occupy the territory of Baizhou, so it's not surprising to find her here..."
Soon, Su Yi understood.
"Mr. Su, I didn't expect to meet you here either."
Zijin's delicate and fair face was filled with joy.
However, when her gaze inadvertently fell on the tense standoff near the tea pavilion in the distance, her jade-like countenance immediately changed, and she urged, "Mr. Su, please leave quickly. We can catch up later when we have the chance!"
Reunion with an old acquaintance should have been a joyful occasion.
But the current situation weighed heavily on Zijin's heart, forcing her to consider Su Yi's safety, fearing that he would be implicated.
"Why wait until later?"
Su Yi swept his gaze over the people in the distance and spoke indifferently, "They are just some insignificant people. They can't hinder our reunion."
Zijin was taken aback.
Xie Yuanshan, the strong man driving the carriage, also froze. This young man in the green robe appeared young, but he didn't expect him to be so confident in his words.
He sighed inwardly and spoke in a deep voice, "Young master, you don't understand the situation. It's better to listen to Miss and not get involved. Please leave quickly to avoid any danger."
In his eyes, Su Yi was already a young master who was unaware of the dangers of the world.
"Yes, Mr. Su, please leave quickly. We will... we will have a chance to meet again in the future."
Zijin hurriedly added, her brows filled with worry.
She had heard long ago that Su Yi had made a name for himself in Yunhe County, possessing the strength of a Sword Master. Even someone as powerful as Qin Wenyuan, the county governor, had died at his hands.
But now things were different. These opponents were all renowned Grandmasters within Baizhou, famous throughout the territory.
In the distance, Wen Qingqu coldly sneered, "Thinking of leaving now? There's no way out!"
Every scene of Su Yi's conversation with Zijin was captured by his eyes. At this moment, as he looked at Su Yi, his gaze carried a chilling killing intent.
"This kid indeed has a problem!"
The gray-robed youth's face darkened.
The old man in the linen robe, the beautiful woman, and the girl with braided hair beside him all emanated a sense of murderous intent.
Just now, they had almost been deceived by Su Yi!
Pei Yundu furrowed his brow and shouted in a deep voice, "Old Xie, quickly take your young miss and that boy away! There's no time to hesitate!"
"Attack!"
Wen Qingqu's voice was cold as he unsheathed his spiritual sword from his waist and immediately lunged towards Pei Yundu.
His sword aura was like a rainbow, extremely intimidating.
A fierce battle erupted.
Meanwhile, the gray-robed youth and the others swiftly moved, charging towards the carriage in the distance.
"Miss, you and this young man go first, quickly!"
Xie Yuanshan gritted his teeth, jumped off the carriage, and stood in the way, releasing his cultivation at the Triple Grandmaster realm.
"With me, Su Moyuren, present, why should you sacrifice yourself in battle?"
Watching Xie Yuanshan's willingness to face death, Su Yi couldn't help but sigh softly. He reached out his hand and, as if lifting a little chick, effortlessly moved the sturdy and powerful man to the side.
Xie Yuanshan was dumbfounded.
From beginning to end, he hadn't even reacted...
At this moment, the gray-robed youth had already launched his attack.
Boom!
He wielded a bronze mace in each hand, his figure swift as lightning, exuding a fierce aura as he struck down with powerful swings. The pair of bronze maces emitted dazzling light.
"Be careful!"
Zijin's face changed drastically as she had just stepped off the carriage, and she couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
Su Yi, on the other hand, found it both funny and exasperating, as if this sudden shock made it seem very dangerous.
"Die!"
A hint of ferocity appeared in the gray-robed youth's eyes as he closed in for the kill.
Then...
Su Yi gently waved his sleeve.
Boom!
In the empty space three feet away, the gray-robed youth's body exploded, shattered into pieces. The pair of bronze maces he had swung were crushed into fragments, scattering in all directions.
With just a flick of his sleeve, such power was unleashed, as if a divine mountain had descended, reducing the gray-robed youth, a Grandmaster-level figure, to a bloody mess with flesh and blood flying.
This terrifying scene caused the linen-robed old man and the other three attackers, who had arrived at the same time, to turn pale.
However, they were trapped and unable to dodge in time, otherwise, they would expose fatal openings.
"Die!"
The linen-robed old man gritted his teeth and fiercely thrust his short blade.
Almost at the same time, the beautiful woman launched an attack from the side. Her weapon was extremely unique, a nine-section steel whip. With a flick of her wrist, the whip crackled, bringing forth a terrifying aura as it viciously descended, causing the air to explode and scream.
Su Yi remained calm, flicking his fingers consecutively.
Two golden sword auras soared through the air, flashing across the sky.
Plop!
The linen-robed old man's figure was cleaved open, blood pouring out like a waterfall, and his short blade fell to the ground with a clang.
Plop!
The beautiful woman, along with her nine-section steel whip, was severed at the waist, emitting a shrill scream from her lips that abruptly stopped.
In the blink of an eye, the two Grandmaster-level figures were wiped out like flies!
The swift and casual manner in which it was done made the little girl with pigtails, who had already approached Su Yi, scream involuntarily in shock.
Just as she was about to dodge, her neck was gripped by a long and fair hand.
"When I first saw you, I could tell at a glance that you're not human. Inviting me to eat jujubes, do you know how disgusting it is to see a fox spirit like you pretending to be a little girl?"
Su Yi's gaze was indifferent as he stared at the little girl in his hand.
The girl's face turned pale with fear, and she pleaded, "Immortal, spare me!"
Bang!
Su Yi flicked his palm, and the girl's body collapsed like a deflated ball, sinking deeply. In the end, only a piece of human skin remained in Su Yi's hand.
"Even such a young child can be killed. She's nothing like Qing Wan, adorable and kind. It's not a pity for her to die."
Su Yi raised his finger, and the human skin burst into flames, turning into ashes that scattered in the air.
Afterward, he straightened his clothes and appeared at ease, as if the four Grandmaster-level experts he had just killed were nothing more than insignificant ants.
Xie Yuanshan stood there in a daze, filled with shock.
In the span of three blinks, four Grandmasters were killed like tearing up a painting!
How terrifying must one's cultivation be to achieve this level with such ease?
Zijin was stunned, her expression dazed. She was deeply shaken, realizing suddenly that her understanding of Su Yi seemed to have a massive deviation!
In the distance, Wen Qingqu and Pei Yundu were just locked in a battle when they witnessed the scenes of Su Yi annihilating the linen-robed old man and the others. It sent shivers down their spines, and their souls almost trembled out of their bodies.
Originally, they had thought of him as an ordinary youth, even if he was strong, he couldn't possibly be a match for Grandmaster-level figures.
Who would have thought...
This youth effortlessly slaughtered Grandmasters like plucking flowers from a basket!
It was too terrifying!
"Retreat!"
Wen Qingqu suddenly shouted, swiftly withdrawing and turning to flee.
Pei Yundu was about to pursue, but then hesitated.
A golden sword aura soared through the sky, tearing through the void, and struck Wen Qingqu from a hundred feet away.
Plop!
The leader of the largest gang in Baizhou City's underground, a Grandmaster-level expert at the fifth realm, was cleaved to the ground, blood splattering into the empty space.
Boom!
The ground beneath was split open by the unparalleled sharpness of the sword aura, with dust and debris flying everywhere.
Pei Yundu broke out in a cold sweat, instinctively turning his head to look into the distance, where the youth in the green robe remained as calm and composed as ever.
But in Pei Yundu's eyes at this moment, he saw a god-like figure!
"Thank you, young master, for your righteous intervention!"
He hurriedly stepped forward, bowing respectfully, his expression filled with reverence and admiration.
This veteran Grandmaster figure, renowned within the boundaries of Baizhou, was clearly completely convinced by the methods Su Yi had just displayed.
Xie Yuanshan, who had been standing there in a daze, also snapped out of his stupor as if awakening from a dream. He took a deep breath and bowed, saying, "I was foolish and failed to recognize your greatness earlier. If I have offended you in any way, I sincerely ask for your forgiveness."
The thought of how he had just regarded Su Yi as an ignorant young master filled him with shame and embarrassment.
"No need to be polite. It was just a small effort," Su Yi casually replied.
To him now, annihilating Grandmaster-level experts was truly effortless, and he felt no sense of accomplishment whatsoever.
Speaking of which, he looked at Zijin and asked, "How did you end up being intercepted?"
The esteemed Miss of the Lanling Xiao family, the current "Princess Lingyao" personally bestowed by the Emperor, being intercepted in the wilderness like this was indeed problematic.
Zijin composed herself and sighed lightly, explaining the reasons one by one.
It turned out that some time ago, her grandfather, Xiao Tianque, learned from an old friend that the Su family in Yujing City had dispatched forces to go to Gunzhou City to deal with a young man named Su Yi.
Immediately, she deduced that the Su family's target was none other than the "Mr. Su" who had once saved her life.
So, Xiao Tianque discussed this matter with his son, Xiao Hengqiu.
Xiao Hengqiu was the patriarch of the Lanling Xiao family. Upon learning of this, he realized the seriousness of the situation and immediately decided to mobilize the power of the Xiao family to go to Gunzhou and secretly rescue Su Yi.
However, unbeknownst to them, when Xiao Hengqiu, Xiao Tianque, and others made the decision to take action, the information was leaked by someone.
Xiao Zhongying, the elder of the Xiao family, led a group of influential figures to come and stop them, stating that if Xiao Hengqiu dared to help Su Yi, he would strip Xiao Hengqiu of his position as patriarch.
Naturally, Xiao Hengqiu refused.
But he did not expect that Xiao Zhongying had come prepared. He not only brought a large number of people but also invited the "Cloud-Soothing King," Shi Lanshan, stationed within Baizhou, to assist him.
Thus, an internal conflict erupted.
Xiao Hengqiu was deposed, Xiao Tianque was captured, and the power of Xiao Hengqiu's faction was almost completely wiped out, with many of them imprisoned.
With the support of Shi Lanshan, the elder Xiao Zhongying ascended to the throne of patriarch of the Lanling Xiao family.
Even Zijin was confined to her own residence, treated as a prisoner.
It was only last night that she finally found an opportunity to escape from the clan with the help of Xie Yuanshan.
But she never expected that just after escaping from Baizhou City and arriving here, they would encounter the forces pursuing them.
And then, the scenes that Su Yi had just witnessed unfolded.
After hearing the story, Su Yi couldn't help but furrow his brows. He never expected that the internal conflict within the Lanling Xiao family and Zijin's predicament were somehow connected to him.