Chaotic Sword Emperor

Chapter 14 – A surge of effort, then decline, and exhaustion after three attempts

"Mind your own business." Su Mu spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. The pressure from over a dozen powerhouses had been too fierce, leaving him with serious injuries. Yet now, he felt every drop of blood in his body boiling. Just from this brief combat, he had already condensed three drops of essence fluid, and he was on the cusp of breaking through to the third layer of the Fate Palace Realm!

But the greatest benefit from this battle was the deepening understanding of the Lawless Sword Trick. He was now ready to attempt the second move of the technique—Question the World!

Everything begins anew with the strongest Question the World, for to question is to bring about the end of the world!

The power of Question the World was comparable to a Celestial Rank Battle Technique!

"Just a bit more." Su Mu thought of the power of the second move of the Lawless Sword Trick, his heart surging with excitement. He was close, yet the first move, Transcend Sin, had not been fully mastered. But this battle would definitely allow him to unleash the second move!

"Su Mu, you've hidden so many powerful treasures. The Family Head was right not to spare you; you've been disloyal and unfaithful to the family from the start!" The Fourth Elder's old face trembled with anger as he rebuked.

"Hand over my treasures to you ungrateful wretches? You're not worthy!"

"Whoosh!"

Seeing Su Mu charge at him, the Fourth Elder's expression darkened. Selfish and greedy, the Family Head was right not to spare him!

"Then you and your treasures can all be buried underground!"

"Clear Wind Howl!" The Fourth Elder swung his sword, and a green shadow flashed by, followed by a distant sound, like a flute playing in the bamboo, bringing tranquility to the heart.

Clear Wind Howl was a Battle Technique he had acquired by chance, of upper Common Rank. It allowed the practitioner to calm their mind and unleash their strongest power!

However, this technique had significant side effects, severely draining one's mental energy. His willingness to use it meant he was fighting desperately!

Su Mu sensed the power of the Fourth Elder's Battle Technique and tensed up, knowing it was not an attack to be recklessly faced, and he chose to momentarily avoid the brunt of it.

"Clang!"

With one sword strike, he sent a steward flying and turned to face the other two elders.

"Where do you think you're hiding!" The Fourth Elder, seeing Su Mu's intent to dodge, gritted his teeth and roared, quickly pursuing him.

But evading his attack was not difficult for Su Mu. Firstly, his strength was continuously growing during the battle, and secondly, there were too many of them. Each one eager to kill him, they easily ended up blocking each other's attacks.

After all, they were not an army; the coordination between the Fourth Elder and his group was not that high.

"Pfft!"

"Clang... Ah!"

During the Fourth Elder's pursuit, Su Mu had already used his growing strength to kill three stewards!

"Bastard!"

The Fourth Elder, seeing three stewards fall to Su Mu, was so furious his eyes nearly burst. So many powerhouses, and yet they were being counter-killed by Su Mu—it was a disgrace!

"Die, old man!" Seizing an opportunity, he aimed a strike at Su Mu's head, thinking, "Let's see how you dodge this time!"

"Clang!"

Su Mu immediately countered with a strike, and both figures were forced to retreat!

"Whoosh!" The Fourth Elder steadied himself, disbelief on his face as he saw Su Mu pushed even further away. It seemed he had the upper hand, but his use of Clear Wind Howl was meant to be a one-hit kill!

Seeing the Fourth Elder's incredulous expression, Su Mu coldly smiled, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and turned to continue his assault on the stewards.

"A surge of effort, then decline, and exhaustion after three attempts. Old Thing, don't you understand even this simple logic?"

When the Fourth Elder used Clear Wind Howl, Su Mu had already seen that the technique came at a significant cost and couldn't last. By simply avoiding the initial onslaught and dragging out the time, he could weaken the Fourth Elder's attacks, and his strategy proved correct.

"Ah..."

Another scream rang out, and the Fourth Elder, jolted back to reality, turned to see two more stewards slain by Su Mu's hand!

"What are you doing!" The Fourth Elder roared at the other two elders in fury. Were the two of you just decorations? Allowing that mongrel to kill two more stewards!

The two elders responded with a bitter smile. They didn't want Su Mu to succeed in killing either, but Su Mu would disengage as soon as they faced him, turning to attack the stewards instead. They couldn't even react in time.

"Fourth Elder, his strength has increased," one elder spoke up, pinpointing the main reason. If Su Mu's strength hadn't grown, how could he have broken away to kill the stewards?

"What? His strength has increased?" The Fourth Elder was shocked, looking at Su Mu with disbelief.

"How could his strength still increase after being suppressed for so long and sustaining so many injuries!"

By now, Su Mu was covered in wounds. Although not critically injured, they were enough to hinder him, and the prolonged battle must have drained him. How could his strength still be increasing!

But looking down at his own sword, he fell into confusion. Recalling his recent exchange with Su Mu, he indeed felt Su Mu's strength had increased, and it wasn't something he could deny.

"His strength has increased by at least thirty percent! What kind of monster is this!"

Looking at Su Mu again, he now seemed so unfamiliar. Was this really the same genius of the seventh-grade Fate Palace? This was a monster!

"Fourth Elder, we can't drag this out any longer!"

"If we do, his strength may become even more formidable!"

The shouts of the two elders brought the Fourth Elder back to his senses, his gaze sharpening. Su Mu was indeed too strange, but the stranger he was, the quicker they needed to kill him, or they would be the ones to die!

"Forget everything else, if we don't kill this boy, none of us will return!" The Fourth Elder roared, taking out a pill and swallowing it with a ferocious look.

The other two elders' faces changed dramatically, and after a moment of struggle, they too harshly took out a pill and consumed it.

"Miss, Young Master Su Mu is too powerful!"

Behind the water reeds, the two servants were dumbfounded. They had been worried before, but seeing Su Mu grasp the Sword light, they were somewhat relieved. Yet, witnessing Su Mu being suppressed by over a dozen people and still managing to counter-kill five, they were utterly astonished.

But beyond the shock, they couldn't help but feel joy, as Su Mu's victory was what they most hoped to see.

"Pills? Miss? What are they taking? Are those elixirs?" Little Huan exclaimed upon seeing the actions of the Fourth Elder and the others.

"Pills? Not good!" Huang Yiyun's eyes flashed with confusion, then her face turned pale with realization.

"They're taking forbidden drugs!"

"Forbidden drugs?" Little Huan looked puzzled, encountering yet another novel concept.

Huang Yiyun nodded gravely and explained, "Forbidden drugs are essentially poisons. They generally have two effects: one is to instantly restore one's condition to its peak, and the other is to temporarily enhance one's strength."

"But no matter the effect, taking forbidden drugs comes with a heavy price. At best, one is severely injured; at worst, one's cultivation plummets or even the foundation is completely destroyed!"

"They must have taken the second type of forbidden drug!"