“Lin Xiao, I am very grateful to you. However, some words, you should not have said.” Shangguan Tong spoke to Lin Xiao. As soon as these words were said, her tone became very calm.
Lin Xiao frowned, and a look of disappointment appeared on his face. “This is your choice?”
“Linghuang Valley is an existence that you cannot afford to provoke, and it is also an existence that our Shangguan family cannot afford to provoke. I am not you. If you die, you die. But I still have my family, I still have my relatives. If you were in my position, how would you choose?” Shangguan Tong did not directly answer Lin Xiao’s words but instead asked him in return.
Lin Xiao, who had originally been disappointed, was immediately stunned by Shangguan Tong’s words. Standing in Shangguan Tong’s position, it seemed to make some sense.
As Shangguan Tong said, he was just one person, while Shangguan Tong had an entire family behind her. If they offended Linghuang Valley, Shangguan Tong’s relatives and clansmen would all be implicated. Even if she escaped or died, it would be inevitable.
And he, as one person, even if he died, it would only be one person.
If he had a father, a grandfather, and a clan behind him, perhaps he would also hesitate a little.
However, he was ultimately himself. Even so, he would not do something like repaying kindness with enmity.
This was the difference between him and others.
“I have my future, and my future is Linghuang Valley. I obtained it because of you, but I cannot waste the opportunity in vain because of you. I cannot disregard my family’s safety because of you.”
Shangguan Tong said affirmatively, “So, this is my choice.”
“Tong’er has grown up!” Hearing this, Shangguan Rui nodded with relief.
These people were not without kind hearts.
However, in the face of family interests, in the face of gains and losses, what good and evil meant nothing.
Only foolish people would constantly talk about good and evil and right and wrong. Mature people valued interests.
After a pause, Shangguan Tong looked at Lin Xiao and continued, “Lin Xiao, actually, I admired you when you killed Ouyang Chen.”
“However, you do not know how to assess the situation. Your recklessness and foolishness are destined to make you unable to go far.”
“Hahaha!” Lin Xiao could not help but burst into laughter and said, “Hypocrisy and sycophancy, looking before and after, currying favour with the powerful, fawning and flattering, even abandoning dignity. Can you go far like that? Is this your martial path?”
His voice rang out clearly, spreading throughout the entire Shangguan family.
These words made everyone’s hearts tremble involuntarily.
Indeed, the path of martial arts was not one that required hypocrisy and sycophancy, not one that required looking before and after, not one that required currying favour with the powerful, not one that required fawning and flattering. It was one of advancing without retreat.
But they quickly came back to their senses.
Abandoning dignity and fawning and flattering, they did not want to do that either.
But if they did not fawn and flatter, they would end up like you, becoming a dead person. Once they became a dead person, what future could they talk about? What martial path?
“Thank you for having admired me once, but if you are such people, you probably truly cannot admire me.” Lin Xiao said to Shangguan Tong with some self-mockery.
“Hahaha!” At this moment, Shangguan Xiong also could not help but burst into laughter. “You speak correctly! But what I want to tell you is that to go further on the path of cultivation, first, you must stay alive. If you die, nothing can be discussed!”
“Hiss!” At this moment, Shangguan Xiong’s spiritual power surged out, enveloping towards Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao frowned. It was clear that Shangguan Xiong was already prepared to make a move on him.
At the same time, his eyes lit up.
“Hiss!”
In this instant, before Shangguan Xiong’s spiritual power could attach to his body, Lin Xiao’s body seemed to be controlled. His entire person suddenly smashed towards Xue Ling’s front in an unprepared manner.
Shangguan Xiong was momentarily stunned and could not help but look towards Xue Ling on the side.
He had only just activated it, and the spiritual power had not arrived yet. How was Lin Xiao already controlled?
Could it be that Xue Ling could no longer hold back and wanted to make the first move herself?
Watching Lin Xiao smash towards her front in an unprepared manner, Xue Ling’s face was expressionless, as if she had long anticipated this.
Even though Lin Xiao could defend against being controlled as a slave, even though he had the combat power of a Martial Emperor, he was at most equivalent to a slightly stronger first-level Martial Emperor. Against Shangguan Xiong at the seventh-grade initial spiritual power realm, he would definitely be powerless to resist and would certainly be easily controlled by Shangguan Xiong.
Ouyang Kuo and the others were not too surprised. Shangguan Xiong had spoken to this extent, so it was obvious that Shangguan Xiong was making the move.
However, just as Lin Xiao’s body seemed about to smash onto the ground within half a zhang in front of Xue Ling, Lin Xiao’s body suddenly surged towards Xue Ling. His palm formed a fist, and one finger stabbed towards Xue Ling in a killing strike.
“Hmm?” Xue Ling was startled. Her eyes widened. With a cold snort, spiritual power surged out, attaching to Lin Xiao’s body, and fiercely controlled Lin Xiao to smash backwards.
And at that very moment, in Lin Xiao’s hand, a small red scale suddenly shot out, instantly rushing towards Xue Ling’s chest.
Xue Ling’s expression changed drastically. She instantly released the energy controlling Lin Xiao and fiercely moved her body backwards in retreat.
The two were too close, and moreover, Lin Xiao had used spiritual power equivalent to the combat power of a seventh-grade initial spirit controller. Xue Ling had also focused her energy on him.
Even though Xue Ling reacted extremely quickly, instantly flipping backwards to dodge, that red scale still sliced into a position half an inch at Xue Ling’s chest. As her body fell backwards, it already drew a long wound, and a stream of blood sprayed out.
After the scale flew past, Lin Xiao did not control it to rush towards Xue Ling again. Instead, it arced around and flew back towards Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao’s body was also smashed a certain distance, but after Xue Ling no longer controlled it, his body easily stabilised and landed at a position several zhang away.
That scale also flew back into his hand.
This was the Xuanwu Poison Scale.
Originally, he had planned to run away. After all, there were two great families here, with countless spirit controllers. Even if he was powerful, if the spirit controllers joined forces, he would still fall here.
While the group did not know his strength yet, he could retreat explosively at the first moment, and the others would not have time to make a move.
With his speed, escaping the pursuit of the group would still not be a problem.
At worst, he could use the Void Heaven Phoenix Wings.
And afterwards, making a move on Xue Ling would not be too late.
However, Xue Ling suddenly made Shangguan Xiong make a move on him, wanting the Shangguan family to kill him personally. He suddenly thought of this method, turning the scheme against them, taking the opportunity to use the Xuanwu Poison Scale to assault Xue Ling.
Xue Ling definitely would not expect that he still had such powerful spiritual power and would mistake it for him wanting to assault her, putting all her attention on him.
And Xue Ling definitely would not expect that the Xuanwu Poison Scale was not meant to pierce her directly but only to injure her.
As long as it pierced the wound, the intense poison of the Xuanwu Poison Scale would seep in. Even a Martial Saint would die miserably.
With this strike, Lin Xiao had succeeded.
In this instant, everyone was stunned.
They could never have imagined that at this moment, Lin Xiao would still dare to assassinate Xue Ling instead of protecting himself.
Moreover, he had succeeded, injuring Xue Ling.
“Spiritual power controlling objects, he is also a spirit controller!” Seeing the scale fly back into Lin Xiao’s hand, Shangguan Xiong immediately reacted.
And after flipping backwards a certain distance, Xue Ling’s body returned. Lowering her head to look at the blood-soaked wound on her chest, she said in a voice both shocked and furiously angry, “You actually injured me?”
