novelraw Chapter 53 – Lu Feichen's attitude
Chapter 53 – Lu Feichen's attitude
"Stop!"
Seeing Luo Xiu in mortal danger, Lu Mengyao's face changed color, and she shouted loudly.
"Lin Jingyun, if you dare to harm Luo Xiu, I will kill you!"
Though she was a woman, when Lu Mengyao spoke these words, a chilling murderous intent emanated from her.
Lu Mengyao's special status made Lin Jingyun wary, and his steps toward Luo Xiu halted.
He glanced toward the pavilion where Zhang Lüliang, the Outer Sect Steward responsible for overseeing the duel, was standing. Zhang Lüliang's voice transmitted to his ears, "Feel free to kill Luo Xiu. With my protection, that Lu girl won't be able to kill you. But if you don't kill Luo Xiu, I will kill you!"
Hearing this, Lin Jingyun's body trembled. Zhang Lüliang was notorious in the Free Spirit Outer Sect for his insidious cruelty. Now, whether he killed Luo Xiu or not, he was in a dilemma.
"I proposed this life-and-death duel. If I don't kill Luo Xiu, not only will Steward Zhang kill me out of spite, but Luo Xiu will certainly not spare me."
With this thought, Lin Jingyun steeled his resolve, raised his sword, and quickly approached Luo Xiu.
"Lin Jingyun!"
Lu Mengyao panicked and immediately used her movement technique to leap onto the Life-and-Death Battle Platform.
However, Zhang Lüliang naturally wouldn't allow her to interfere. His figure flashed, blocking her path.
"Miss Lu, I am responsible for overseeing this life-and-death duel. No one else may interfere," Zhang Lüliang said expressionlessly.
"Zhang Lüliang! Don't think I don't know you're behind this. Get out of my way!" Lu Mengyao's face was icy, and a slender sword appeared in her hand.
Zhang Lüliang was not afraid of Lu Mengyao's threat and said calmly, "As an Outer Sect Steward, it is my duty to uphold the rules. I hope Miss Lu does not act rashly."
"You!..."
Lu Mengyao snorted angrily and thrust her sword toward Zhang Lüliang.
"Miss Lu, you are too reckless."
Zhang Lüliang's expression turned cold as he slowly raised a finger, gathering Innate True Qi.
With a clang, his fingertip collided with Lu Mengyao's sword. Zhang Lüliang remained unmoved, but Lu Mengyao was sent flying backward from the recoil.
At that moment, a strong arm caught Lu Mengyao in mid-air.
"Father?" Lu Mengyao looked back anxiously, "Hurry and save Luo Xiu!"
The one who caught Lu Mengyao was none other than the Outer Sect Leader, Lu Feichen.
Lu Feichen frowned and said, "Have you forgotten the rules of the Life-and-Death Battle Platform? As the Outer Sect Leader, I must set an example and cannot arbitrarily break the rules set by our ancestors."
"Father, you..." Lu Mengyao was stunned, not expecting her father to stand by and do nothing.
"Luo Xiu, die!"
On the Life-and-Death Battle Platform, Lin Jingyun had already reached Luo Xiu, swinging his Battle Sword directly at Luo Xiu's neck, intending to decapitate him.
Lu Mengyao saw this scene and felt her heart turn to ash. She closed her eyes, unable to bear watching.
Just when everyone thought Luo Xiu was powerless to resist and doomed to die, a cold killing intent flashed in Luo Xiu's eyes as he lowered his head.
In a critical moment, Luo Xiu suddenly raised his head, and a black lightning bolt seemed to flash out of nowhere, disappearing in an instant.
With a thud, Lin Jingyun's body fell heavily to the ground, his eyes wide open. In his final moments, he saw an incredibly swift sword light!
"The one who dies is you!"
Luo Xiu slowly uttered these words. The final sword strike exhausted all his strength, aggravating his internal injuries, and he coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.
Everyone was stunned. No one expected that Luo Xiu would have the strength to strike at the last moment, killing Lin Jingyun before he could react.
After a moment of dead silence, the crowd erupted, discussing Luo Xiu's final, incredibly swift sword strike.
Luo Xiu's sword was already fast, but some martial artists above the seventh layer of the Qi Sea Realm could still vaguely trace his sword's path.
However, that ultimate sword strike just now was only visible as a black lightning bolt because Luo Xiu's movement was too fast for many to see clearly.
Undoubtedly, this battle made Luo Xiu's name famous throughout the Free Spirit Outer Sect!
Keep in mind, he was only at the third layer of the Qi Sea Realm. If he advanced to the fourth or even the seventh layer, wouldn't he be unmatched below the Innate Realm?
Not only the spectators, but Luo Xiu himself was also reflecting on his final, all-out sword strike.
Due to resisting three golden sword energies, he was nearly exhausted, with just enough strength for one more strike. If he failed to kill Lin Jingyun, he would surely die.
Thus, under the pressure of life and death, that sword strike clearly exceeded the Swift Sword Art's Minor Achievement level, reaching a level comparable to Major Achievement!
Indeed, the crucible of life and death is the best way to enhance one's strength.
The scene on the Life-and-Death Battle Platform made Zhang Lüliang's old face turn incredibly sour again. He thought he had accounted for everything, yet...
Lu Mengyao heard the crowd's uproar and slowly opened her eyes, seeing that the one lying on the platform was not Luo Xiu, but Lin Jingyun.
In an instant, the emotional rollercoaster made her cry with excitement. She broke free from her father Lu Feichen's arm and landed on the Life-and-Death Battle Platform.
Approaching Luo Xiu, she took out a healing pill and fed it to him.
Luo Xiu opened his mouth without hesitation, trusting that Lu Mengyao wouldn't harm him. At that moment, he had no strength left. After taking the pill, he closed his eyes and began to circulate the Pure Yang Technique and the Heaven's Life and Death Cycle to heal his internal injuries.
Moments later, although Luo Xiu's injuries weren't fully healed, he had regained his mobility through special means of repairing his Vital Meridians, despite feeling weak.
"Thank you, Mengyao."
In that life-and-death moment, Luo Xiu saw everything Lu Mengyao did, feeling deeply moved.
But compared to her, her father Lu Feichen seemed somewhat heartless.
Although Lu Feichen didn't intervene to save him due to the rules of the Free Spirit Outer Sect, which was technically not wrong.
However, Luo Xiu was a person who valued emotions and loyalty. He believed that rules were not unbreakable, but rather that Lu Feichen was unwilling to break them, or perhaps he thought Luo Xiu wasn't worth breaking them for.
Glancing at Lin Jingyun's corpse lying in a pool of blood, Luo Xiu collected the storage bracer and Battle Sword.
On the Life-and-Death Battle Platform, killing the opponent allowed one to claim all their possessions, which was also a rule.
With Lu Mengyao's support, Luo Xiu walked down from the platform, and the crowd automatically made way for him.
Just as Luo Xiu returned to his residence, the Outer Sect Leader Lu Feichen arrived.
"Mengyao, please step outside. I have some words to say to Luo Xiu alone," Lu Feichen said upon entering.
Lu Mengyao said nothing, glancing at Luo Xiu and then at her father. She nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.
In the simple and clean room, Lu Feichen looked at Luo Xiu and spoke in a calm tone, "You were nearly killed on the Life-and-Death Battle Platform, and I didn't intervene to save you. Do you feel uncomfortable about that?"
Luo Xiu didn't expect Lu Feichen to address the matter so directly.
However, to Lu Feichen's surprise, Luo Xiu shook his head and said, "The Sect Leader acted according to the rules, and it was right not to intervene. Besides, I'm just a newly admitted disciple with no personal ties to the Sect Leader. Why would you save me?"
Though Luo Xiu felt uncomfortable about Lu Feichen's inaction, he spoke his true feelings.
Lu Feichen frowned, "Don't you think that as my daughter's savior, I should have saved you?"
Luo Xiu still shook his head, "Sect Leader, you misunderstand. I never expected any reward for curing Mengyao's Severed Fire Yang Meridian."
"No reward?" Lu Feichen snorted, "I've met countless people in my life. If you claim you expect no reward, it means you have bigger ambitions!"
"I can see that Mengyao has some affection for you, but if you think that means you can rely on me as a backer in the Free Spirit Outer Sect, you're mistaken!"
Lu Feichen's words were harsh, giving Luo Xiu no chance to refute.
"Regardless, you did cure Mengyao's Severed Fire Yang Meridian. I can give you what you want, and from now on, you and Mengyao will have nothing to do with each other. We'll be even!"
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As he spoke, Lu Feichen produced a storage ring and placed it on the table beside him, "The pills and Yuan Qi Stones in this storage ring are enough for you to cultivate to the Innate Realm."
Lu Feichen knew that this wealth could even tempt an Innate Martial Master. No Qi Sea Martial Artist could refuse it.
But when he noticed Luo Xiu's expression, he found that Luo Xiu remained calm throughout, unmoved even when he mentioned the value of the resources in the storage ring.
"What? Do you think it's not enough?" Lu Feichen frowned again, thinking Luo Xiu was too greedy.
Luo Xiu looked at Lu Feichen, knowing that even if he insisted he expected no reward, Lu Feichen wouldn't believe him. Perhaps to someone like Lu Feichen, everyone in the world was driven by profit.
The less Luo Xiu expected in return, the more wary Lu Feichen became.
"Sect Leader, Elder Zhao Qiyuan told me that you said if I could become the number one in the Outer Sect before I turned eighteen, you wouldn't stand in the way of Mengyao and me. Is that correct?" Luo Xiu asked.
"Indeed, I did say that," Lu Feichen admitted, but then he changed his tone, "But now the situation is special. There's no possibility between you and Mengyao. I advise you to give up."
With that, Lu Feichen seemed unwilling to say more and turned to leave.
"Special situation? What does that mean?" Luo Xiu frowned, not even glancing at the storage ring on the table.
Luo Xiu believed that with Lu Feichen's status, he wouldn't go back on his word. Yet his sudden change of heart likely had to do with the special situation he mentioned.
He genuinely liked Lu Mengyao, unlike his youthful crush on Liu Yuxin at the Qingyun Martial Hall.
"Father..."
Lu Mengyao, who had been outside, heard the conversation between her father and Luo Xiu. So, as soon as Lu Feichen came out, she couldn't help but approach him.
She didn't understand why her father was so resolute. Luo Xiu's performance was outstanding, comparable to those so-called core disciples in the Inner Sect. Why wouldn't he give Luo Xiu, and her, a chance?
"Come with me, and I'll give you an explanation," Lu Feichen sighed.
Lu Mengyao glanced at Luo Xiu's room, eager to understand what her father meant by the special situation.