Kill them all.
Hearing Yang Xuan’s words, Li Youyou froze. She was about to speak when Yang Xuan had already charged out with his sword.
To Yang Xuan, many matters could be handled with leniency and room for future reconciliation.
But some matters had to be dealt with absolutely.
If he did not finish them completely, he would only leave future troubles for himself. He did not fear revenge, but there was no guarantee these people would not target the Yang clan instead.
These heretics were all vicious and ruthless. Against such people, one had to be merciless.
In a world where the strong reigned supreme, kindness and soft-heartedness would never achieve great things.
Li Youyou looked into the distance. Soon, agonised screams rang out. In no time at all, dozens of heretics had been slaughtered. Only one remained: their leader, whose strength was extremely formidable.
He was at the Great Grandmaster realm.
The heretic leader stared fixedly at Yang Xuan not far away, his eyes filled with wariness. “Who are you?”
Yang Xuan wasted no words. He charged forward and thrust his sword.
A flash of sword light instantly reached the heretic leader.
The leader’s pupils contracted sharply. With no room to retreat, he raised his spear and stabbed out.
Shik!
The Qingxuan Sword in Yang Xuan’s hand effortlessly pierced through the spear, then ran straight through the leader’s chest.
Disbelief covered the heretic’s face. “How is this possible… This spear of mine is spirit-grade…”
Yang Xuan said nothing.
Spirit-grade.
Divine objects were also ranked: first to ninth grade, followed by treasure-grade, then spirit-grade.
In the Southern Province, a spirit-grade item was already considered a divine treasure.
Yet before his Qingxuan Sword, it was as fragile as tofu.
He had still underestimated this Qingxuan Sword.
It was at the very least earth-grade, above spirit-grade.
Qingxuan Sword: “…”
At that moment, the heretic leader glared at Yang Xuan. “You dare oppose our Heretic Cult? Everyone connected to you will die horribly…”
Yang Xuan simply raised his hand and swung.
Shik!
The heretic leader’s head flew off.
Soul and spirit annihilated!
Yang Xuan took the leader’s storage ring, then returned to his own cloud ship. At this point, the passengers on board looked at him as though he were a monster, their eyes filled with dread.
He paid it no mind and said to the cloud ship steward, “We can set off now.”
The steward hesitated, then replied, “Very well.”
But just then, a woman in a white dress suddenly spoke up. “No.”
Everyone turned to her. She stared intently at Yang Xuan. “He killed heretics. The Heretic Cult will never let this go. They will surely seek revenge. If we share the same ship as him, we will also be targeted.”
Revenge from the Heretic Cult!
At those words, everyone’s expressions changed dramatically. They all turned to look at Yang Xuan.
He frowned slightly.
The woman in white continued staring at him. “You cannot travel on the same ship as us.”
Yang Xuan looked at her. “Miss, forgive my bluntness, but if I had not acted just now, not only would your innocence have been lost, you might have suffered inhuman torment. Is your current behaviour not a little ungrateful?”
The woman replied calmly, “Young master, there is no need to exaggerate. Those heretics already said they only wanted wealth, not lives. We could have escaped unharmed by giving up some money. But now that you have massacred them, the Heretic Cult will never let matters rest. They may even take their anger out on us…”
Hearing her words, the other passengers on the ship nodded in agreement.
Originally, they could have paid a little money and been fine. But now that heretics had been killed, the cult would surely fly into a rage. At that point, they might all be implicated…
With that thought, resentment toward Yang Xuan began to rise in their hearts.
The woman in white continued, “This could have been settled with money, yet now it has escalated to this. Young master, when you acted, did you once consider the rest of us?”
Yang Xuan nodded slightly. “It was my fault.”
Li Youyou suddenly snapped angrily, “Young Master Yang, how can this be your fault?”
She turned and glared coldly at the woman in white. “How stupid do you have to be to believe those heretics only wanted money and nothing else?”
When the heretics had first arrived, the way they looked at her and the other women on the ship—she understood perfectly.
The woman in white replied coldly, “You are on his side, of course you would speak for him.”
Li Youyou’s brows knitted. She was about to retort when a cloud ship suddenly appeared on the distant horizon. A group of black-robed figures stood aboard, each bearing a blood-red mark on their chests.
At the sight, everyone on board paled instantly.
Heretics.
At that moment, Yang Xuan suddenly said, “Everyone, do not panic. Do not be afraid. They only want money, nothing else…”
With that, he grabbed Li Youyou’s hand and turned to leave.
Watching them go, the woman in white opened her mouth as if to speak, but the words died in her throat.
She looked up at the approaching heretics, clutching her hands tightly, and whispered, “Only money… nothing else…”
Soon, a group of heretics landed on the ship.
The passengers immediately grew tense, their eyes filled with fear and dread.
The woman in white suddenly shouted, “It was that youth who killed your people! He is a sword cultivator—he just left…”
At her words, the others snapped awake and frantically pointed in the direction Yang Xuan and Li Youyou had gone. “It was him! He just left…”
The leader of these heretics was a voluptuous, veiled woman who held a sheathed long blade in her right hand.
She looked at the pale-faced woman in white, her gaze ice-cold. “This woman is a reward for you all.”
“Woohoo!”
Hearing her words, the heretics behind her let out excited whoops. One fat man immediately rushed toward the woman in white. Her face drained of colour in terror. “It was that youth who killed your people! Go take revenge on him… He only just left—you can still catch him…”
Beside the veiled woman, a man asked, “Boss, shall we pursue?”
She glanced coldly at him. “Someone who can kill over a hundred of our men in moments and even slay Commander Xiao—do you think such a person is ordinary? I came here personally because I wanted to meet him, to see if we could befriend him and form good ties…”
At her words, the woman in white was struck as if by lightning. She stood rooted, her mind blank.
The veiled woman looked at the now ashen-faced woman and sneered. “That young master saved you, yet you repay kindness with betrayal… You have no honour at all and disgrace all women…”
She turned to her subordinates. “Enjoy yourselves.”
With that, she leapt into the air and chased after the direction Yang Xuan and Li Youyou had taken.
Soon, blood-curdling screams echoed from the cloud ship…
Some of those screams sounded rather improper…
…
On the other side.
After leaving with Li Youyou, Yang Xuan found two horses in the city, bought a map, and the pair fled straight into the vast mountain range beyond the walls.
He could have flown on his sword, but the consumption was simply too great. At his current realm, he could only sustain sword flight for half an hour at most.
The journey from here to Central Province would take at least five days. With heretics now involved, he dared not deplete his profound energy.
After galloping for an hour, they arrived at a dilapidated temple. Night had fallen; it was not safe to continue travelling, so they had no choice but to spend the night there.
Inside the ruined temple stood only a broken Buddha statue. The place was in utter disrepair, covered in cobwebs.
The two sat around a fire.
Li Youyou glanced at Yang Xuan and asked, “Are you not angry?”
Yang Xuan was slightly taken aback.
She explained, “I mean what happened on the cloud ship just now…”
He smiled. “Angry, but I understand.”
Li Youyou frowned. “You understand?”
Yang Xuan replied calmly, “If people do not look out for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them. Human nature is like that.”
The darkness of human nature sometimes surpassed what ordinary people could imagine.
Sometimes, that darkness had no bottom.
Li Youyou stared at him. “If I had not spoken up for you, you would not have taken me with you, right?”
Yang Xuan smiled but said nothing.
She sighed softly. “Young Master Yang, the world calls you a peerless waste—taciturn, dull, and slow-witted…”
She shook her head slightly. “You have fooled everyone.”
From their time together, she had discovered that this man was nothing like the rumours. On the contrary, he was sharp-minded, decisive in killing, and far beyond ordinary people.
Yang Xuan did not respond. In his earlier years, besides keeping a low profile for safety and steady growth, there was another reason: he had matured far too early, far beyond his peers. Revealing that would likely have invited disaster.
Thus, he had chosen to stay low-key and develop quietly.
As though something occurred to him, he suddenly asked, “Miss Youyou, why are you heading to Central Province?”
She replied, “To enter the All Gods Academy.”
The All Gods Academy!
This was an academy founded by the Temple of All Gods, currently the finest academy in the entire Profound Realm. Those who entered could study legendary divine arts. It was the dream of countless young men and women throughout the realm.
Li Youyou suddenly asked, “Young Master Yang, are you truly going to Central Province just to dissolve the engagement?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
She looked at him but said nothing more.
At that moment, Yang Xuan suddenly spoke. “Since you have already arrived, why not show yourself?”
At his words, Li Youyou’s expression changed instantly.
Then, a voluptuous, veiled woman slowly walked out.
She stopped a short distance from them, her left hand resting on her blade hilt. She looked at Yang Xuan. “Young master, when did you notice me?”
Yang Xuan replied calmly, “The moment you arrived.”
The woman narrowed her eyes and stared at him without speaking.
For a time, the ruined temple fell silent, broken only by the crackling of burning wood.
Yang Xuan glanced indifferently at her. “Is there something you want?”
She answered calmly, “Young master, you killed over a hundred of my Heretic Cult members!”
He nodded. “I did.”
She stared fixedly at him. “Does the Heretic Cult have any grudge with you?”
Yang Xuan frowned. “They tried to rob me. Does that not count as a grudge?”
After staring at him for a long while, the woman smiled faintly. “So that is how it is. My subordinates were rude and offended you. I apologise on their behalf.”
An apology!
Hearing this, Li Youyou was rather surprised. This heretic woman had chased them all this way just to apologise?
Yang Xuan looked at the woman before him and said calmly, “Returning empty-handed like this would surely disappoint you. I will give you one chance to attack. Just one.”
At his words, the woman’s expression darkened.
So confident?
She stared at Yang Xuan, trying to find even the slightest flaw in his face or eyes.
But she was disappointed.
The young man before her remained completely relaxed, his gaze calm. When he looked at her, that calm gaze even carried a trace of disdain.
In the end, she gave up any thought of attacking and smiled. “I have disturbed you.”
Instead of turning to leave, she slowly backed away, her hand never leaving her blade hilt.
Yang Xuan did not watch her. He simply held a stick and continued poking the campfire.
Soon, the woman had retreated out of sight and vanished into the night.
Only after sprinting several li did she finally stop. The moment she did, more than a dozen heretics appeared around her.
One asked gravely, “Boss, why did you not attack just now?”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “A youth of only fifteen or sixteen who can kill over a hundred men in moments, and who showed not the slightest fear even knowing I am backed by the Heretic Cult—remaining completely calm and confident… Either he himself is extraordinarily powerful, or he has someone extraordinarily powerful behind him…”
Everyone fell silent.
The youth in the temple had indeed been terrifyingly composed.
The woman turned and cast a deep look toward the temple. “Let this matter end here. Cut our losses. Withdraw.”
With that, she led her group away and disappeared into the darkness.
…
