Seeing Lin Xiao’s face, Fu Yan’s brows furrowed slightly. Lin Xiao had claimed to be in seclusion, disappearing for over a month, yet he had somehow received news of the Red Pixiu cub and come here.
Glancing around and not seeing the Second Elder, Fu Yan could not help but ask Lin Xiao, “Lin Xiao, do you know where our Ling Sword Sect’s Second Elder has gone?”
The Second Elder had clearly come to this area, aware of the Red Pixiu cub’s presence, and should have been here.
Despite the grudge with Lin Xiao, he was still part of the Righteous Alliance. Fu Yan could hardly ask the Emperor Raiders across from them, so he had to question Lin Xiao.
Hearing Fu Yan’s inquiry, Lin Xiao’s expression grew unnatural, unsure how to respond.
He could hardly say, “Your Second Elder was killed by me,” could he?
Ling Xiao’s brows also furrowed slightly. Originally, seeing Lin Xiao here and their timely arrival to deal with the Emperor Raiders together was a good thing.
But judging by Lin Xiao’s demeanour, it seemed he had some conflict with the Ling Sword Sect’s Second Elder.
“Hahaha!” Before Lin Xiao could answer, Duan Huang burst into laughter. “Elder Fu Yan, you actually asked Lin Xiao where Elder Zhou went? That’s truly laughable!”
“What do you mean?” Fu Yan’s expression darkened as he asked Duan Huang sternly.
“What do I mean?” Duan Huang laughed excitedly. “Your Ling Sword Sect’s Second Elder was already killed by Lin Xiao. Asking him about it, isn’t that utterly ridiculous? Would he even answer you?”
At these words, even the Evil Sect Master and the Demon Sect’s Great Elder were stunned.
They had arrived late and were unaware of what had happened here, as Duan Huang had not yet had time to explain.
According to Duan Huang, before their arrival, Lin Xiao had killed the Second Elder of the Ling Sword Sect, one of their own?
Fu Yan was momentarily dazed, then an icy aura emanated from him. His gaze, cold as ice, swept towards Lin Xiao as he said gravely, “Lin Xiao, is this true?”
Ling Xiao’s brows furrowed deeply, and he quickly said, “Elder Fu Yan, with enemies before us, don’t fall for their divisive tactics!”
“This is no divisive tactic!” Duan Huang said with a smile, unhurriedly. “To be fair, it wasn’t Lin Xiao who actively killed Elder Zhou.”
“After Elder Zhou, Elder Ming Luo, and I dealt with the seventh-tier beginner spiritual beast, the Rhino Tapir, guarding the Red Pixiu cub, Lin Xiao happened to appear here. Elder Zhou pretended to flee and, during my fight with Lin Xiao, seized the chance to attack him.”
“Unfortunately, Lin Xiao was one step ahead. When Elder Zhou attacked, he unleashed a devouring energy spiritual technique, injuring Elder Zhou, and then took the opportunity to kill him.”
“Oh, and Lin Xiao’s cultivation has broken through to the sixth-level Martial Lord realm, which is one reason he could kill Elder Zhou.”
“Also, Elder Zhou’s storage ring is on Lin Xiao. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Lin Xiao to show his storage ring.”
Duan Huang spoke concisely and clearly, laying out the events in an orderly manner, making it easy to understand.
“Lin Xiao, you still won’t admit it?” Fu Yan’s expression was extremely grim. If it were just Lin Xiao opportunistically killing Elder Zhou, he might not fully believe it, especially in front of Duan Huang.
But according to Duan Huang, Elder Zhou had pretended to flee, attacked Lin Xiao, and was outsmarted. Fu Yan was seventy to eighty percent convinced.
Given Elder Zhou’s hatred for Lin Xiao, it was highly likely he would act this way.
If it were Fu Yan, he might have done the same given the opportunity.
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”
At that moment, Ming Luo, covered in blood, fled towards them, shouting from afar, “Elder Zhou was indeed killed by Lin Xiao. His body is still in Lin Xiao’s storage ring.”
“Lin Xiao!” Fu Yan’s expression grew even darker, his eyes filled with intense killing intent as he stared coldly at Lin Xiao.
Seeing Fu Yan on the verge of acting, Lin Xiao did not answer directly but said calmly, “Elder Fu Yan, you’re taking their word for it without question?”
“Then let me see all the storage rings you have,” Fu Yan retorted.
Lin Xiao’s brows furrowed. He did have a pile of storage rings. The other party only asked to see the rings, not their contents. Refusing now would essentially confirm he had killed Elder Zhou.
But if he showed the rings, Fu Yan would surely recognise Elder Zhou’s storage ring, given their decades or centuries together in the Ling Sword Sect.
Now, he was caught in a dilemma.
Frowning, Lin Xiao finally said, “Elder Fu Yan, as a member of the Righteous Alliance, isn’t it a bit excessive to embarrass me like this in front of four Emperor Raiders?”
“You really killed the Second Elder?” Fu Yan’s eyes narrowed, barely restraining the urge to act.
Seeing this, Ling Xiao sensed trouble and quickly interjected, “Elder Fu Yan, regardless, we are all part of the Righteous Alliance. With four Emperor Raiders here who won’t spare us, can we deal with the storage ring issue after handling them?”
Ling Xiao was frustrated. They had come for the Red Pixiu cub, only for this situation to arise.
At this rate, forget fighting the Emperor Raiders for the cub; Elder Fu Yan was ready to attack Lin Xiao.
In truth, Ling Xiao could already guess that Lin Xiao had likely killed Elder Zhou.
He was shocked. At such a critical moment, Lin Xiao had killed a Ling Sword Sect Martial Emperor. Even if they resolved this now, when the Ling Sword Sect’s Sect Master and others found out, who knew what trouble would follow?
If the Righteous Alliance split into factions, the situation would become extremely unfavourable.
But for now, they could only take things one step at a time.
“Elder Fu Yan, our Emperor Raiders’ main targets are Lin Xiao and the Red Pixiu cub. If you stand aside and don’t go after the cub, we won’t attack you,” Duan Huang said. “Moreover, Lin Xiao killed your sect’s elder. By not interfering, you can easily explain yourself to the Righteous Alliance, right?”
Hearing this, Fu Yan paused. The offer was indeed tempting.
Whether or not Lin Xiao had killed their Second Elder, Fu Yan wanted him dead.
Standing aside and letting them kill Lin Xiao would be a great outcome.
Besides, there was a strong chance Lin Xiao had killed Elder Zhou.
By merely standing aside and not joining the attack on Lin Xiao, he was already giving the Righteous Alliance plenty of face.
“Fine, you kill Lin Xiao, and I won’t interfere or go after the Red Pixiu cub,” Fu Yan said gravely.
“Elder Fu Yan!” Ling Xiao’s expression darkened. If Fu Yan did not act, they would be at a numerical disadvantage.
Although Lin Xiao had advanced a level in the Martial Lord realm, the enemy had one third-level Martial Emperor and three second-level Martial Emperors. With the Purple Corpse Puppet holding off one, Ling Xiao could only block the Evil Sect Master, leaving two second-level Martial Emperors against Lin Xiao, clearly an unfavourable situation.
Moreover, there was no telling if Fu Yan, standing aside, might suddenly attack Lin Xiao.
“If that’s the case, let’s fight. Emperor Ling, you only need to hold off one. The two of them can’t handle me,” Lin Xiao said, his face brimming with fighting spirit.
With his current strength, he truly did not fear two second-level Martial Emperors if Ling Xiao could hold off one.
Seeing Lin Xiao’s confidence, Ling Xiao was stunned, then said, “Alright, let’s fight and see what they can do to us!”
Now, there was no choice but to fight.
