Chapter 61: Still Daring to Block My Way? Kill!

Xia Jiuxuan strode forward and picked up the ancient, unadorned box. A wave of piercing familiarity surged into his mind.

“So it was this thing that was calling me.”

He understood now. He’d sensed something here tugging at him—this box was the source.

Opening the lid, Xia Jiuxuan found a gray bead nestled inside.

“The Soul Bead of the Boundary!”

He had not expected such an artifact to be hidden within. “Shouldn’t this bead be in the hands of the emperor of the Immortal Martial Dynasty?”

What was this bead?

It was the Soul Bead that governed the boundary between the Outside World and the Martial Realm. Xia Jiuxuan had specially crafted these beads when founding the world, to prevent cultivators of high realms from wantonly slaughtering those of lower ranks. If all low-level cultivators were wiped out, where would fresh blood come from?

Thus, he had set a rule: whenever a ruler ascended, they would receive an inherited Soul Bead to control the boundary.

“But wait—this bead’s internal rules are fractured. It must have been discarded; perhaps it belonged to the previous emperor of the Immortal Martial Dynasty.”

Xia Jiuxuan sensed its condition and quickly concluded as much.

His soul consciousness entered the bead, and he could clearly see the broken threads of the rules within.

“Not bad. Let me repair it.”

Though he could no longer create new rules, Xia Jiuxuan could still mend those he had once woven.

He sent several spirit stones to the Slaughter Arena and fell silent, focusing entirely on the task. One by one, he sorted out the broken threads, reconnecting them with his soul consciousness.

Three days passed in a blink.

Xia Jiuxuan opened his weary eyes. In his palm, the Soul Bead glowed with a gentle green light, once again capable of opening and closing the boundary.

“First Layer of Enlightenment.”

Having sent spirit crystals to the Slaughter Arena, his cultivation had formally stepped into the Enlightenment Realm.

Xia Jiuxuan packed up his belongings and walked out of the cellar.

Entering the courtyard, he saw a refined youth holding a white paper fan.

“Teacher, your disciple has awaited you for some time.”

The youth bowed to Xia Jiuxuan, emanating a scholarly grace entirely different from the brittle façade of the previous scholar—a world apart.

It was Han Yu, who had taken up the legacy.

“You’ve done well, boy. With your wealth of knowledge, you finally have a chance to put it to use.”

Xia Jiuxuan saw at a glance that Han Yu had inherited the scholar’s Literary Palace, now possessing the power to wield words as weapons.

“Disciple bows in gratitude for Teacher's recreative grace.”

Han Yu lifted his white robe, respectfully knelt, and prostrated himself.

Xia Jiuxuan accepted the bow without hesitation, then beckoned, “Rise. I have a few scrolls of the Evil-Subduing and Demon-Suppressing Scriptures for you to study.”

He sent the collected scriptures, which floated into Han Yu’s hands.

Han Yu stood and opened the scrolls. At a single glance, he was utterly absorbed, unable to tear himself away.

“A true scholar—this boy’s future is bright.”

Xia Jiuxuan nodded in satisfaction.

With Han Yu immersed in comprehension, Xia Jiuxuan left him alone and went to the forge. He began to reforge the damaged brush and inkstone.

Three more days slipped by. Drawing on memories of his battle with the Sage of Confucianism, Kong Tiange, Xia Jiuxuan inscribed concise Confucian runes onto the brush and inkstone.

This would allow Han Yu to unleash his fullest power in battle!

Then, Xia Jiuxuan went to the last location—the grand hall of the mansion.

In its center stood the statue of a scholar. By defeating the soul consciousness within, he could claim the spiritual mansion.

“Come forth!”

He called out to the statue.

“How dare you, fiend—!”

Boom!

Blood surged. The scholar's apparition barely formed before Xia Jiuxuan blasted it into dust.

His controlling will seeped into the statue. Xia Jiuxuan established a bond with the mansion and took possession.

...

Han Yu and Xia Jiuxuan walked out of the mansion gates.

With a thought, Xia Jiuxuan shrank the entire mansion and stored it away in his spatial device.

“Teacher, what a marvelous technique!” Han Yu exclaimed.

“Just a property of spiritual artifacts. How are your brush, ink, and paper?” Xia Jiuxuan asked mildly.

“Reporting to Teacher, I have mastered them—they are now my weapons.”

“Very good.”

Xia Jiuxuan nodded, pointing ahead. “See? The big black-armored beast has fled, but there’s a horde of smaller ones. I’ll charge in; you support me from behind. Understood?”

Han Yu was exhilarated, finally about to see real combat. “Rest assured, Teacher. I will give it my all!”

Xia Jiuxuan hefted his Dragon Scale Spear and charged ahead, reminding him, “Keep your distance. As long as they’re within your spiritual range, you can attack!”

Han Yu retreated a hundred yards, hid behind a stone, and set up his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, preparing to wield the power of the Confucian path for the first time.

Soon, Xia Jiuxuan was hundreds of yards away, his spear intent surging.

Chittering sounds echoed.

Thousands of black-armored beasts crawled from grass and earth, some as powerful as the fifth or sixth layer of Enlightenment Realm, and their defenses were monstrous.

Only decapitation could kill them.

Xia Jiuxuan fought the swarm, while Han Yu began his own attack.

Calmly reciting scripture, he lifted his brush:

“Demons and heretics disrupt the world; I raise my brush to write arrows of clarity... One arrow pierces three feet, eight bows fire in unison...”

He wrote faster and faster, and in an instant, a rain of flaming spirit arrows filled the air!

Swish, swish, swish!

On Xia Jiuxuan’s side, the arrows rained down on the black-armored beasts. Most bounced off their shells, but sheer numbers prevailed—many were pierced through the head, though the stronger beasts resisted with magic.

The arrows kept coming, several hundred even aimed at Xia Jiuxuan.

“You fool!”

Xia Jiuxuan cursed, sweeping his Dragon Scale Spear and shattering the arrows.

Han Yu sensed this with his spiritual awareness and shouted, “Sorry, Teacher! My mistake, pure accident. I’m new to this, please forgive me!”

“Only arrows? Write me some puppet warriors!” Xia Jiuxuan shouted back.

“Right away, Teacher!”

Han Yu took up his brush again: Left, a Golden Armored Soldier; right, a Yama Arhat; demons to aid...

Having summoned the puppets, Han Yu had to write their moves, shifts, and attack angles. It was a tremendous strain on his mind—three puppets was his limit.

Clang, clang, clang...

On Xia Jiuxuan’s side, three metallic humanoid warriors appeared, charging at the beasts.

Xia Jiuxuan stepped aside to watch.

Within a quarter hour, the three puppets had slashed each other several times, making Xia Jiuxuan roll his eyes.

He withdrew and flew to Han Yu’s side.

“Idiot. You can’t control three puppets—why write so many?”

Han Yu felt ashamed; he’d hurried through the moves, scrambling to improvise, and his puppets had ended up attacking each other.

“Listen carefully. You stay here and kill these beasts. Don’t leave until every last one is dead.”

“Disciple obeys!” Han Yu knew his methods were still rough and needed much practice.

Xia Jiuxuan, meanwhile, walked alone to the bronze gate.

“Hmph, still blocking me?”

He now controlled the secret mansion and could open the gate at will.

He sensed outside—dozens of sword cultivators had gathered, all at least Enlightenment Realm’s third layer, with four at the seventh.

“Open!”

He murmured, and the bronze gate swung wide.

The sword cultivators were startled and, looking up, saw Xia Jiuxuan.

“It’s that brat! He killed over twenty of ours and hid inside days ago!” The sword cultivator who had chased Xia Jiuxuan pointed his sword at him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Dozens of sword cultivators flew into the space.

“You brat! I thought you’d hole up forever, too scared to come out!” the cultivator sneered.

“Him? Brother Wen Yang, this kid killed over twenty under your nose? You must be losing your touch!”

Seeing Xia Jiuxuan—a mere sixteen or seventeen-year-old—everyone was baffled.

Lu Wen Yang, a dignified sword cultivator at Enlightenment Realm’s seventh layer, couldn’t kill a trash like this? Ridiculous!

Lu Wen Yang felt awkward, blaming himself for greed—he’d wanted to seize the sword.

“You saw it—the brat has a fierce sword. I wanted him alive, which led to the others being ambushed.”

Lu Wen Yang explained.

“Ha! The sword’s impressive, but to be fooled by this brat—you’re too stupid!”

Someone laughed.

“Shut up! I’ll kill him now!”

Lu Wen Yang, irritated, raised his sword to attack.

“Stop!” He was blocked as someone said, “Are you mad? The young miss ordered—do not kill the sword’s master before she arrives, or the sword will be ruined.”

“Oh, right. I lost my temper.”

Lu Wen Yang halted.

Xia Jiuxuan stood silently opposite, then spoke, “You done babbling?”

“You brat! Still so arrogant! When our young miss takes your sword, you’ll kneel and call me grandpa! Surround him—he’s cunning, don’t let him escape!”

Lu Wen Yang commanded fiercely.

A cold smile touched Xia Jiuxuan’s lips. “Escape? You think I’ll run? I’ll slaughter you all until not a trace remains!”

No sooner had he spoken than Xia Jiuxuan soared into the air.

“He dares attack? Get him! Break his meridians!”

Lu Wen Yang was first to charge, sword intent bursting forth, forming several azure sword shadows.

Xia Jiuxuan’s body shuddered—a terrifying spear intent erupted, colliding with the sword shadows.

Bang!

The swords exploded, while the spear intent pierced straight through Lu Wen Yang’s skull.