On this day, a major event occurred in the Divine Phoenix Imperial Capital.
The Lingyue Courtyard, which had stood for nearly twenty years, was reduced to ashes in a massive fire.
The flames burned for a full two hours before finally dying out. Those who witnessed it all said the scene resembled the end of the world.
Strangely enough, the buildings near Lingyue Courtyard remained completely undamaged.
And on that same day, Ling Xiao’s name once again became a legend!
While others were still buzzing with discussions about the matter, Ling Xiao had already returned to Qingxu Academy and entered a secret realm to go into secluded cultivation.
His battle with Jia the steward had brought him immense gains. Mere epiphany was not enough to fully digest all that experience.
What he needed to do now was consolidate his cultivation while working even harder to master the Radiant Divine Sword, the Dark Demonic Sword, and the Human King Sword.
On the first day after Ling Xiao returned to Qingxu Academy, everything remained calm and peaceful.
Yet beneath the quiet surface of the imperial capital, undercurrents were surging.
With Jia Tianfeng and Kong Ming killed, added to the earlier deaths of Ji Mingxing, Feng Ming Heishan, and Peng Yue, Ling Xiao had thoroughly enraged some of the major powers in the imperial capital.
In particular, the Zhengqi Alliance’s Jia family, the Peacock Clan, the Great Peng Clan, and the faction under Feng Ming Wuliang harboured a bone-deep hatred for Ling Xiao.
In a certain dark corner of the imperial capital, within a pitch-black space, several shadowy figures could faintly be seen.
They sat around a round table, the atmosphere cold and frozen.
“Ling Xiao must die!”
After a long silence, an aged voice stated coldly.
“But Ling Xiao has the Moon Lady protecting him. We cannot possibly all go out to deal with her alone. If both sides suffer heavy losses, it might give the Black Crow Empire an opportunity to take advantage.”
Another person said.
“The Moon Lady is truly a difficult problem. With her around, killing Ling Xiao would come at an enormous cost.”
Yet another added.
“Are we just going to let our people die in vain because of this? Are you from the Peacock Clan, Great Peng Clan, and Jia family all useless?”
The first speaker suddenly turned towards the other three.
The dim light illuminated their faces, revealing none other than the Zhengqi Alliance Leader and Jia family patriarch, Jia ******; the Peacock Clan Leader and clan’s top expert, Kong Ran; and the Great Peng Clan Leader and clan’s top expert, Peng Nantian.
All three were Yin-Yang realm powerhouses, each at the second level of the Yin-Yang realm.
Although they were not as strong as Feng Mingxiao or the Moon Lady, if the three of them joined forces, they could still shock countless martial artists.
Yet the person hidden in the darkness who had not shown his face dared to speak to them in such a manner. Just how terrifying was that person’s strength?
“Chief, it is not that we are useless. The Moon Lady is simply too powerful. She is a powerhouse from the ancient era. Even the three of us together are no match for her. We can only delay her for a short time.”
Jia ****** frowned as he spoke.
“Enough! I do not want to hear such excuses. No matter what, Ling Xiao must be taught a lesson for what he did at Lingyue Courtyard.”
The old man addressed as Chief shouted sternly, “Send Ying Tianxia, the Sword Demon, and Zhu Wen. All three are cave heaven realm martial artists. They are also among the Ten Phoenix Children: the Thunder Eagle Phoenix Child, the Sword Phoenix Child, and the Vermilion Bird Phoenix Child. With them acting, the Moon Lady should not interfere casually.
If she does intervene, this seat will personally step in to block her. The rest can be left to you.”
Upon hearing these words, Jia ****** and the other two showed delight on their faces.
The Thunder Eagle Phoenix Child had previously ranked eighth. Now, because a new member had joined the Ten Phoenix Children, someone said to be even stronger than Feng Yinshan and Feng Ming Qishan, his rank had dropped one place.
The Sword Demon was the latest Tenth Phoenix Child bestowed by Feng Ming Wuliang.
His strength was probably not inferior to the Thunder Eagle Phoenix Child’s. He simply ranked last due to being a newcomer.
As for Zhu Wen, he was the former seventh-ranked Vermilion Bird Phoenix Child, now in eighth place.
These three had similar cultivation levels and comparable strength, all at the third cave heaven realm, and they were heaven’s chosen geniuses.
Moreover, they were no ordinary third cave heaven realm cultivators. They were far more formidable than typical ones.
If Ling Xiao were here, he would likely be very interested in the name Sword Demon, because this was the very person who had once destroyed his statue in the Heavenly Dynasty’s divine capital and killed many of his subjects.
After arriving in the Divine Phoenix Imperial Capital, Ling Xiao had searched for the Sword Demon, only to find that the man was not in the city at the time. He had reportedly left on orders from his sect to visit friends elsewhere.
Thus, that grudge had remained unsettled.
Of course, the Sword Demon was also eager to meet Ling Xiao.
Back in the Heavenly Dynasty’s divine capital, he had been quite disappointed not to encounter Ling Xiao.
“With these three taking action, even if Ling Xiao does not die, he will definitely lose a layer of skin!”
Jia ****** and the others showed smiles.
These three were not trash like Jia Tianfeng or Kong Ming. They were far stronger than Peng Yue or Kong He.
Even any one of them could give Ling Xiao a hard time, let alone all three together.
“In that case, act immediately!”
The Chief said coldly.
“Understood!”
Jia ******, Kong Ran, and Peng Nantian turned and left.
The remaining black shadows gradually faded away. Surprisingly, several were not physical bodies but mere soul projections. Although created with the aid of treasures and vastly different from true soul departure, they still required immense soul power to achieve.
At the very least, one had to be a Yin-Yang realm powerhouse.
From this, it was clear that the ten people in this room were all Yin-Yang realm experts. So many powerhouses gathered together was truly terrifying.
Yet amusingly, they had assembled solely to deal with a seventeen-year-old youth.
When only the Chief remained in the dark room, he lightly tapped the table and said in a deep voice, “Wind Demon, you go along as well. Find an opportunity and kill Ling Xiao!”
“Master, is this really necessary? Just a mere Ling Xiao. Those three Phoenix Children should be able to kill him easily, right?”
In the darkness, a shadow flickered as a sinister voice replied.
“Do not underestimate him. Ling Xiao is no ordinary youngster. He has repeatedly created miracles, even surprising this old man. This kid is probably even harder to deal with than Ji Lingyue back in her day.”
The Chief said coldly.
“Master is right to correct me. But no matter how strong Ji Lingyue was, was she not still stripped of her martial soul? After more than ten years without any news, she should be long dead by now, correct?”
“Not necessarily. That little girl’s talent was too terrifying. Just in terms of martial arts alone, she was already fearsome. Moreover, she inherited her mother’s attainments in soul power. Until her corpse is seen with my own eyes, this old man will never feel at ease.”
The Chief shook his head and said, “Go. Ling Xiao must die. I absolutely cannot allow a second Ji Lingyue to appear.”
“Yes!”
…
At Qingxu Academy, Ling Xiao, Long Chen, Feng Ming Lian, and the others were all in secluded cultivation.
At that very moment, atop the statues of past academy heads in the Qingxu Academy plaza, three figures suddenly stood.
One held a black long sword, cold and eerie, exuding arrogance over all things.
One had wings sprouting from his back, arms crossed over his chest, imposing and majestic.
One emanated seven-coloured radiance from behind, dreamlike and illusory, giving off an intense sense of mystery.
