novelraw Chapter 991: If You’re Awesome, I’m Even More Awesome
Chapter 991: If You’re Awesome, I’m Even More Awesome
From the dejected demeanor of the middle-aged man, the fact that he used a Sixth Rank Sword Master’s prowess to perform a sword technique that even a Sword Saint might find challenging indicates that there is indeed a price to pay; his Qi is nearly exhausted.Han Yan was curious about what kind of strange and mysterious arts he used. She had seen plenty of such arts before, but had never encountered one that could enhance so dramatically without relying on elixirs or other Heavenly Materials and Earth Treasures, solely through one’s Qi.
Even Nian An Yao’s Beastly Heart technique sacrifices life span as the price and relies on the strength of the Dragon Whisker Thunder Beast to merely elevate from a Sixth-level Sword Master to a combat power equivalent to a Sword Saint.
"What sword is that?" The middle-aged man gazed at Han Yan with a look of exhaustion. He understood that the formidable strike Han Yan executed was entirely due to the Divine Sword in his hand. Without this sword, Han Yan wouldn’t have been able to exert his strength, and he might not have been defeated so thoroughly.
"Sword Han Xiao!" Han Yan slowly returned the sword to its scabbard and said with pride.
The Cold Sky Sword had finally been refined into a Divine Artifact, and her emotions were stirred with waves of excitement; a sense of unmatched heroism surged within her—a day will come when she surpasses her past self, reigning over heaven and earth, only then can she be worthy of such a Divine Sword!
"Han Xiao, Han Xiao, I didn’t expect you to possess such a Divine Artifact." The middle-aged man sighed with a long exhale and remarked with a bittersweet smile.
"Where are Uncle Yun and Mu Sha?" Han Yan had no interest in exchanging sentiments with him and asked again.
"Hehe, I said, even if you kill me, don’t expect me to speak." The middle-aged man laughed strangely.
"Not good!" Han Yan suddenly realized something was wrong and rushed forward with an agile step.
However, she was already too late, as his body convulsed and a trace of blood seeped slowly from the corner of his mouth, his life force rapidly dissipating.
Unexpectedly, the man’s ruthlessness knew no bounds; realizing escape was impossible, he chose to sever his heart meridian. Han Yan grabbed his pulse point with one hand, forcibly injecting Qi into his body, while her fingers quickly blocked multiple meridians, attempting to delay the dissipation of his life force.
But as the Qi infused into him, Han Yan discovered that he was even more ruthless than she imagined, continuously shattering his heart meridian and even breaking all his meridians throughout his body. Her Qi dispersed immediately throughout his limbs and organs as soon as it entered his meridians.
"Forget it, stop, it’s useless." Ye Lanfeng said softly. With the heart meridian shattered and all the meridians broken, not even the legendary descent of an immortal could save him.
Just as she finished speaking, the middle-aged man’s eyes lost their Divine Light, and the last trace of life breathed its last.
Huayue and the others remained silent; none had expected the once arrogant middle-aged man to commit suicide so decisively when things went awry.
Ordinary experts, having cultivated hard, wouldn’t take their lives so lightly; even when facing an unavoidable calamity, they would struggle to make one last effort, only conceding defeat then. Only those Death Soldiers trained since childhood by powerful families might act so utterly.
Just what was his background, and how powerful must the family be to cultivate such Death Soldiers?
Regretfully, he was ruthless to the point of being more severe to himself than his enemies, severing his heart meridian too quickly for Han Yan to stop him or inquire about the masterminds.
"What a pity, I should have thought of that." Han Yan said, feeling self-reproach.
With his death, she lost all leads, not knowing where Uncle Yun and Mu Sha were trapped, and even returning to the grandfather would likely achieve nothing. After all, Lin’an County was the domain of various aristocratic families, and even the Mu Family found it challenging to infiltrate.
"Even if you thought of it sooner, it wouldn’t have mattered," Ye Lanfeng said calmly.
"Don’t comfort me, if I had stopped him sooner, preserved his life, there would have always been a chance to make him speak." Han Yan knew Ye Lanfeng was comforting her, but refused to seek excuses for herself, she said with a wry smile.
"No, I’m not comforting you." Ye Lanfeng shook his head, seriously addressing Han Yan, "If the descendants of the Mang Mountain Guiyu Clan were determined to die, you could not have stopped them."
"Guiyu Clan, you know his origin?" Han Yan was startled at first, then exclaimed in joy.
"Guiyu Clan, the most mysterious and powerful family on the Holy Court Continent tens of thousands of years ago. At its peak, its influence spread across the mainland and even affected the succession of royal thrones," Ye Lanfeng said leisurely.
"That powerful?" Han Yan inhaled sharply, then puzzledly asked, "How could such a powerful family be one I have never heard of?"
"Because they were too aggressive, not only destabilizing the royal foundations of various countries but even dared challenge the Holy Court, thus being eradicated by them in one fell swoop.
The rise of the Guiyu Clan was too swift, as if overnight, they acquired incredibly formidable strength and extended their reach into the royal families of different countries, thus not known by the general populace. Later, when the Holy Court struck, similarly, in the span of a night, the entire Guiyu Clan vanished without a trace, leading to even fewer people knowing of them," Ye Lanfeng explained.
In silence, Han Yan reflected. Initially, hearing the power of the mysterious Guiyu Clan was shocking enough; upon learning the reason for its downfall, she realized what true strength meant.
Even a family once spanning across countries and influencing royal successions seemed trivial before the Holy Court, leaving one to wonder the extent of such power. To use a vulgar expression: you’re impressive, but I’m even more impressive.
"Have you discovered the whereabouts of the Guiyu Clan?" Han Yan looked expectantly at Ye Lanfeng.
Despite her awe, the Holy Court’s strength was irrelevant to her; her primary concern was the whereabouts of Uncle Yun and Mu Sha.
"The descendants of the Guiyu Clan perished at the hands of the Holy Court tens of thousands of years ago; how would I know their whereabouts? If not for the swordsmanship he demonstrated earlier, which matches the Evil Spell favored by the Guiyu Clan, I wouldn’t have recognized his origin," Ye Lanfeng responded, shaking his head.
"It seems we can only return and consult grandfather for further discussion." Slightly helpless, Han Yan instructed Huayue and the others, "You stay here to care for Mu Nan and Miss Yu, while I return to see grandfather."
After speaking, Han Yan prepared to set out.
"We might not have time," Ye Lanfeng, however, didn’t hurry to leave but pondered instead.
"Why is that?" Han Yan’s heart sank slightly as she asked.
"The descendants of the Guiyu Clan have hidden their identities for tens of thousands of years. Perhaps even the Holy Court thinks they have eradicated them completely. The Guiyu Clan has hardly managed to inherit until now; how could they easily reveal their identities?
Although the man arrived with vigor, he showed no peculiarities, resembling a typical family demeanor. All likely staged deliberately to avoid suspicion."