Chapter 56 Of Course, Kill Them For Me

“Is there even a need to ask?” By now, Su Hongde should have a fair grasp of Xia Jiuxuan’s character.

“I understand.” Su Hongde nodded in comprehension and bowed once more to Xia Jiuxuan.

What is going on here?! Yang Zhizhong’s face was a mask of confusion.

“Su, you wretch, how far you’ve fallen! To call a greenhorn your master!” Though Yang Zhizhong’s heart was full of doubts, his face bore nothing but the utmost disdain.

“Even at death’s door, your tongue is as loose as ever,” Su Hongde replied, remarkably calm.

Others might not see it, but Yang Zhizhong knew Su Hongde’s temperament—he was about to kill.

“You really dare to lay a hand on me?!” Yang Zhizhong involuntarily took two steps back and said, “Twenty years ago, you were run through the heart by a sword cultivator from Blazing Island, your foundation shattered and your cultivation crippled! Do you really think you are my match now?”

Yang Zhizhong couldn’t gauge Su Hongde’s current strength and could only try to intimidate him with words.

That incident was a deep wound in Su Hongde’s heart. He had lost miserably in that battle, pierced through and trampled underfoot, enduring endless humiliation.

“Exactly! Old fool, do you think my great-grandfather is so easily bullied? You’d best get lost, or you’ll be killed as well!” Yang Hun, brimming with confidence in his great-grandfather, jumped out with a bark or two to lend his support.

Xia Jiuxuan, unwilling to watch any further of this drawn-out scene, said just one word to Su Hongde: “Kill.”

Without another word, Su Hongde gathered a strand of sword intent at his fingertip and flicked it out.

The sword intent shot straight through Yang Hun’s throat. Eyes wide with disbelief, he collapsed dead on the spot.

“Cur! You seek death!” Yang Zhizhong’s heart pounded with terror and rage. He had not expected Su Hongde to strike without hesitation.

Since Su Hongde had already made his move, there was no turning back. He drew his sword.

Boom!

The earth for a thousand yards around began to quake. Sword intent radiated from Su Hongde, a pressure that shook the heavens.

“You—how have you grown so strong?!” Sensing Su Hongde’s immense power, Yang Zhizhong instantly summoned all his inner force, armor enveloping him, warhammer in hand.

Yang Zhizhong intended to strike first, unleashing his full might in attack.

“Trash,” Su Hongde sneered. Twenty years had passed, and Yang Zhizhong had made no progress; he was still stagnating at the first level of the Transcendence Realm.

Yang Zhizhong’s warhammer crashed down, his cultivation pushed to its utmost.

Su Hongde raised his sword in a broad sweep, and a tidal wave of sword intent surged forth.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sword intent exploded upon the warhammer, and cracks began to appear across Yang Zhizhong’s body.

“Pathetic. You can’t even withstand a single blow.” Su Hongde’s cold gaze swept over the frantically retreating Yang Zhizhong.

“You—what sword art is this?!” Yang Zhizhong cried out in terror.

“The Sword Art of Slaughter!” In a flash, Su Hongde became a shadow, sword intent and sword images blanketing the sky as they descended upon Yang Zhizhong.

“If you want to kill me, cur, then I’ll take you with me!” Realizing survival was impossible, Yang Zhizhong attempted to self-detonate.

“Ten Thousand Swords as One—Sever!” But he had still underestimated Su Hongde’s strength. Before he could ignite his dantian, the condensed sword images pierced through him, and he crashed heavily to the ground, teetering on the brink of death.

At that moment, Xia Jiuxuan stepped forward and drove his spear through Yang Zhizhong’s head, ending his life.

The Yang family guards, already kneeling and their bones crushed by the overwhelming force, could not move. Xia Jiuxuan turned his spear and dispatched them both.

Except for Yang Hun, everyone who had come today was captured by Xia Jiuxuan’s Slaughtering Arena and transformed into new cultivation puppets.

Xia Jiuxuan was gravely wounded, and after the killing was done, he collapsed.

“Hurry…” he said weakly.

Su Hongde immediately knelt at his side, intent on using his inner force to heal Xia Jiuxuan.

But Xia Jiuxuan waved him off, feeble but insistent: “Quick, search them for resources and bring them to me.”

Su Hongde was speechless.

Was this greed not excessive? Gravely injured, unable to move, and yet his thoughts were still on resources.

With a dark expression, Su Hongde set about collecting items from the corpses as instructed.

Unfortunately, Yang Zhizhong’s spatial ring was high-grade; the moment he died, it self-destructed. The others’ rings were unharmed, and Su Hongde brought them to Xia Jiuxuan.

Xia Jiuxuan quickly examined them. The haul was ordinary—about three hundred thousand profound crystals, and a handful of materials and weapons.

“Guard me while I heal,” Xia Jiuxuan said, stowing away his spoils and managing to sit cross-legged.

He consumed all the healing pills in the spatial rings and activated his healing techniques.

After half an hour, Xia Jiuxuan was able to move again, although his shattered bones and meridians were not fully restored. He was no longer the frail, innate stage cultivator of old; recovery was not so simple.

“Han Yu, prepare to set out,” Xia Jiuxuan called to Han Yu, who had been quietly waiting nearby. He hefted his spear and made ready to head for their planned destination.

“Master, perhaps I should follow in secret to protect you,” Su Hongde suggested.

“No need. Return at once to the Grand Profound Academy and protect my niece,” Xia Jiuxuan replied.

“Uh… Very well, I’ll covertly guard the young miss then.” Su Hongde had realized that the little girl was Xia Jiuxuan’s everything; nothing else mattered.

“Good.” Xia Jiuxuan nodded slightly, then added, “I’ve heard the Yang family still has some old ancestor. Keep an eye out. And when you return, find Li Luoyan and have her teach you an ultimate sword art. Honestly, your Grand Profound Thirteen Swords are too weak.”

Su Hongde’s face darkened again.

If anyone else had said that, he would have chopped off their head on the spot.

But coming from Xia Jiuxuan, he acquiesced.

Wait—something was off!

Su Hongde realized and asked, “Master, you want me to learn swordplay from the young miss’s maid?”

Xia Jiuxuan replied calmly, “Is there a problem? As a second-level Transcendence sword cultivator, with the Grand Profound Thirteen Swords, you might barely contend with a typical fourth-level Transcendence. That’s too weak. If Li Luoyan teaches you any sword technique and you devote yourself to it, killing a seventh-level Transcendence would be nothing.”

!!!

Su Hongde’s heart skipped a beat.

Was this a joke?

The higher one’s realm, the harder it was to surpass someone of a higher level. In the Transcendence Realm, killing across even a single level was as hard as scaling the heavens.

He was only at the second level—could learning a new sword art really let him kill someone five levels higher?

He wouldn’t have dared dream of such a thing.

Still, doubt or not, Su Hongde would do as he was told.

“Very well, Master. Take care of yourself. I’ll go find Miss Li immediately,” Su Hongde said, bowing with fists clasped.

“Go. Remember—keep the young miss safe, or else… I will not spare anyone!” Xia Jiuxuan ordered.

“I understand.” With a flicker, Su Hongde vanished into the air, a strange feeling in his heart.

Xia Jiuxuan did not linger either, heading out of the imperial city with the thoroughly bewildered Han Yu.

They needed to reach a large aerial beast station in the suburbs, from which they would take a flying demon beast to a destination thousands of miles away.

On the city wall, a young man and woman who had taken Concealment Pills watched the departing youth.

“This guy’s background is serious. That old man just now was stronger than our teacher!”

“Damn it, he survived even this. How are we supposed to complete our task?”

“Forget it. Let’s go back and report. We’ll request the Hall send someone stronger. The two of us alone—it’s too risky.”

“Yes, it’s the only way. Let’s go!”

They had no courage left to attempt to kill Xia Jiuxuan and prepared to return to the Alchemists’ Hall with their report.

“What are you whispering about?” Suddenly, an apparition appeared beside them.

“You—how did you find us—”

Thud! Thud!

Two spear strikes, two heads pierced through.

“Han Yu, search them.”

“Uh…” Han Yu was frozen with shock; the most he’d ever seen was a chicken being slaughtered. To witness so many corpses in one day left him deeply unsettled.

After retrieving two spatial rings, Xia Jiuxuan led Han Yu toward the city gates.