Steward Jia had originally thought that Ling Xiao would have no chance of escaping today, no matter how hard he tried.
But cruel reality told him otherwise. Ling Xiao had no intention of running away at all. On the contrary, this fellow was now unleashing a slaughter!
Steward Jia had actually seen Ling Xiao fight before.
Although he rarely went out, back when Ling Xiao first came to the imperial capital, he had defeated Jia Yun right here in Lingyue Courtyard.
At that time, in Steward Jia’s eyes, Ling Xiao was merely an ant that could be crushed at any moment.
He had not even considered taking action himself.
Back then, what was Ling Xiao’s cultivation? Seven Star Heaven or Six Arts Heaven?
He had forgotten, but anything below the Cave Heaven Realm was nothing more than an ant. That had been his truest thought at the time.
Yet how could he have imagined that the current Ling Xiao could now slay nine martial artists equivalent to the Third Cave Heaven Realm with a single sword?
Although this had something to do with his own misjudgement, it was still utterly terrifying.
He absolutely could not allow Ling Xiao any more time to live.
This fellow would surely grow into a true monster.
“Steward Jia, just now you said you wanted to turn me into a human pig? Please continue. I would very much like to see whether the one who ends up as a human pig today is you or me.”
Ling Xiao stood there, holding a three-foot green blade. Black qi enveloped his entire body, making him look exactly like a demon god stepping out from the demonic domain.
Even his words carried an incomparably chilling coldness.
The crowd could not help but shudder inwardly.
From the look of things, they had all been wrong.
Today it was not that Ling Xiao could not leave this place. It was that Steward Jia was finished. Ling Xiao clearly intended to destroy Lingyue Courtyard entirely.
From beginning to end, he had never feared Steward Jia.
At first, people thought Ling Xiao was simply unwilling to submit, merely putting on a tough front, pretending to be strong when he was not.
But after the battle just now, they understood.
Ling Xiao was not pretending, nor was he ignorant.
He was genuinely powerful.
At this moment, they actually started to worry for Steward Jia. Nine of his subordinates had been killed in an instant. Did Steward Jia still have the strength to fight Ling Xiao?
Steward Jia’s expression darkened, even turning somewhat flushed.
A mere seventeen-year-old boy was openly provoking him, a man in his forties, right in front of so many people.
Although his cultivation was not top-tier, he was still a Fourth Cave Heaven Realm martial artist. He might not dominate the imperial capital, but at the very least, among the younger generation, few dared to challenge him.
Those under twenty? Not a single one.
Yet today, he had met one.
The other party stood there. What was originally not a particularly tall frame now appeared incomparably majestic and powerful.
For a moment, his heart actually twitched.
Could he win?
He actually began to doubt his own strength.
No, he definitely could win!
Boom!
A terrifying aura burst forth, climbing to its absolute peak.
Although fighting with all his strength against a seventeen-year-old child was, to him, a complete humiliation.
But today he had no choice. The opponent was not easy to deal with. He had to be cautious.
Even though he felt profound shame in his heart, he could only accept it.
“Heh, so the Zhengqi Alliance’s Steward Jia is actually bullying the weak.”
“Exactly. A man in his forties, picking on a seventeen-year-old child, and he still calls others despicable. What a shameless person.”
“Shh, keep your voice down. Don’t let him hear you. A despicable fellow like that is capable of anything.”
Although many of the onlookers were prominent figures in the imperial capital, not all of them had close ties to the eight great clans.
There were still plenty who felt the Zhengqi Alliance was going too far.
You send assassins after someone time and time again. Now that your own people have been killed, you get angry and want to wipe out their entire family. So everything is your right, and others are just supposed to kneel there and let you kill them?
“Shut up! Whoever dares to speak another word, I’ll kill you all together!”
Steward Jia roared furiously.
The crowd immediately fell silent.
Steward Jia’s cultivation was not the absolute strongest, but it was still very formidable. At least among the current onlookers, aside from Feng Yinshan and Ming Jin, there seemed to be no one stronger than him.
So his words still carried weight.
Everyone knew that Steward Jia was currently furious. Provoking him at a time like this was simply asking for trouble.
Once a cornered dog jumped over the wall, this fellow really was capable of killing anyone.
Steward Jia was very satisfied that the crowd had shut up. He coldly looked at Ling Xiao and spoke in the cruellest tone in the world: “Ling Xiao, I warned you before. If you killed Young Master Jia, not only would you die! Your loved ones and friends would also die!
Even if Yue Nu is willing to protect them, she cannot protect them completely!
As long as the Zhengqi Alliance’s Jia family still exists, even if I cannot kill you today, you will watch your loved ones and friends leave you one by one, dying miserable deaths!
I will make you die in endless pain and torment!
This is the price for not listening to me!”
Ling Xiao’s gaze was icy cold. Looking at Steward Jia, he spoke in a voice that could freeze entire rivers: “You listen as well. This statement of yours will make your Jia family pay the heaviest possible price.
As long as I, Ling Xiao, do not die!
As long as my Heavenly Dynasty Empire does not fall!
Your Jia family will never know peace again!”
“I know you will seek revenge, so I absolutely will not let you live. You no longer have any chance.”
At this point in Steward Jia’s words, a series of cracking sounds suddenly erupted from within his body, leaving everyone stunned.
Even Ling Xiao was somewhat surprised.
With each crack of his joints, Steward Jia’s aura grew increasingly powerful.
It was an instantaneous surge.
Sunlight shone on Steward Jia’s body. His shadow rapidly expanded.
After about a dozen breaths, a terrifying sight appeared before everyone’s eyes.
“Steward Jia is not human?”
“He doesn’t seem to belong to any of the Divine Phoenix Clan’s races either?”
“What race is this guy exactly?”
“Hell Clan!”
Feng Yinshan also stood up. He looked in astonishment at the figure in the distance, which now stood four or five metres tall, and said: “According to legend, nearest to the Chosen Giant Gate are two parallel continents. One is the Immortal Court Continent, home to the Immortal Clan. The other is the Hell Continent, home to the Hell Clan!
There are tales that the Hell Continent connects to the ‘Netherworld’ beyond the Mysterious Realm. Although passage is impossible, the aura of the Netherworld constantly seeps into the Hell Continent. Martial artists there, influenced by that aura, have extremely strange appearances and are all extremely vicious.”
At this moment, Steward Jia’s entire body was a bizarre black-red colour. A pair of black horns even grew from his head.
Although his overall form remained quite close to human, his appearance was exceedingly ferocious. One look was enough to know he was not someone to trifle with.
“How could someone from the Hell Clan come to the Divine Phoenix Continent? Normally, isn’t it our martial artists who go over there?”
Ming Jin asked in surprise.
“Of course they can come over. However, due to the laws of the Mysterious Realm, they suffer a significant loss in cultivation, and they cannot remain in their true form for long. Today he was truly forced into a corner by Ling Xiao, so he had no choice but to reveal his true form to fight.”
Feng Yinshan explained.
