“So this is how the so-called famous Divine Sword Sect does things…?” Yan Liqiang laughed furiously as he pointed at the people in the surroundings. With a bone-chilling voice, he said, “So you use underhanded tricks like kidnapping people first, then mercilessly torture an innocent young man who doesn’t even know you just to force him to tell you a secret technique that you wish to take for yourselves? Bravo…!”
“Shut up! We’ve brought Xue Cao to you now! Release Senior Martial Brother Luo! If you don’t, I will kill him…!” Ye Tiancheng’s son brought his sword against Xue Cao’s neck as he coerced Yan Liqiang.
“Try it if you dare…!” Yan Liqiang flicked his sword, and under everyone’s gaze, another finger went flying from Luo Tianyu’s hand, causing him to scream in agony again. “If you dare to even lay a finger on Xue Cao’s hair, I will cut off your Senior Martial Brother Luo’s fingers! If you dare to kill him, I will make all of you and the Zhu Clan pay with your lives…!”
Seeing how ruthless and decisive Yan Liqiang was, the expressions of the disciples from the Divine Sword Sect and the Zhu brothers immediately contorted. None of them dared to make another reckless move.
Perhaps Xue Cao’s shoes brushed against the wounds on his feet when they were being removed, but Xue Cao winced at the intense pain and slowly regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and witnessed the scene before him.
“W-What are you doing…?” Xue Cao’s eyes moved around, then spoke weakly through his cracked lips.
Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger in his heart. “Xue Cao, I am the archery academy’s Left Protector. The Protectorate General sent me here to rescue you…!”
Xue Cao’s glassy eyes instantly lit up at the mention of the ‘Protectorate General’. Hot tears streamed down his bloodstained face as his entire body trembled. “They’ve used all sorts of methods to interrogate me… but… but I didn’t tell… I maintained the secrecy of the archery academy… I didn’t betray my brothers… I didn’t betray the Protectorate General…”
Before Yan Liqiang came here, he was mentally prepared to not blame Xue Cao even if he revealed the secrets of the Five Animal Frolics technique. After all, no ordinary person could possibly endure the way they interrogated him. Yet Yan Liqiang didn’t expect Xue Cao to not spill the secrets of the technique after being held captive by Luo Tianyu for so long.
The one who personally interrogated Xue Cao was Luo Tianyu!
Yan Liqiang’s nose stung when he saw Xue Cao’s appearance, but he forced his tears back.
“BRING XUE CAO HERE…!” Yan Liqiang bellowed in rage. The blade of his sword broke the skin on Luo Tianyu’s neck, causing beads of blood to trickle down.
Looking at the situation, no one from the Divine Sword Sect nor the Zhu Clan dared to defy Yan Liqiang’s orders. They had no choice but to let someone cautiously bring Xue Cao over.
Yan Liqiang had brought with him a medicinal pill for healing and recovery when he came. As soon as he received Xue Cao, he immediately fed him the pill and had him swallow it.
“We have handed Xue Cao over! Release Lord Luo now!” Zhu Changhong demanded.
“You kidnapped and tortured our disciple until he ended up like this. Do you think that’ll be it?” Yan Liqiang glared at the Zhu brothers coldly.
“What are you planning to do?” Zhu Changhong’s voice grew terrified.
“Release Senior Martial Brother Luo…!” The other disciples from the Divine Sword Sect closed in on Yan Liqiang as they pointed the tips of their swords at him.
Yan Liqiang held Xue Cao tightly in his arms, looked around, and spoke loudly. “Xue Cao is a disciple from the archery academy and also a soldier enlisted under the Qiyun Protectorate’s Office! You have kidnapped an innocent disciple and injured my man. The perpetrator shall be subject to capital punishment! Xue Cao, who is the one who interrogated you…?”
With a trembling finger, Xue Cao pointed to Luo Tianyu who was on the ground. “He… is…”
Luo Tianyu’s expression contorted from the pain of having two fingers cut off by Yan Liqiang. While trembling on the ground in agony, he yelled, “You’re screwed! You dare offend the great Divine Sword Sect?! You’ll never be forgiven! My master won’t let you off the hook! Both you and Yan Liqiang shall die! If you’ll release me now, maybe…”
“Oooft…!”
Before Luo Tianyu could even finish speaking, Yan Liqiang stabbed his chest with his sword without any hesitation under everyone’s gaze. The tip of the sword pierced right through Luo Tianyu’s heart, instantly killing one of the Divine Sword Sect’s seven heroes.
At this exact moment, the other disciples from the Divine Sword Sect and the Zhu brothers were scared out of their wits, having witnessed Yan Liqiang’s ruthlessness. None of them expected Yan Liqiang would really dare to kill Luo Tianyu given his status in the sect.
Yet none of them knew that Yan Liqiang was actually someone who dared to challenge the Grand Chancellor and his ministers when he was only a nobody in the Imperial Capital. Hence, Luo Tianyu, a mere disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, was nothing in his eyes. He’d kill anyone who dared to do such a thing to his disciple from the archery academy. Even if it was an elder from the Divine Sword Sect, Yan Liqiang would still murder him without any hesitation.
After killing Luo Tianyu, Yan Liqiang held Xue Cao with one arm, rushed toward the Zhu Clan’s head at lightning speed, then swung his sword at Zhu Changyun…
“LOOK OUT, BROTHER…!” Zhu Changhong screamed, then swung his own blade at Yan Liqiang. His scream snapped the other disciples who had just witnessed Luo Tianyu’s murder back to reality. All of them raised their swords and their attacks converged on Yan Liqiang.
Zhu Changyun wasn’t that weak. However, a Martial Grandmaster like him still wasn’t Yan Liqiang’s match. When he realized Yan Liqiang was rushing toward him, he tried to escape while brandishing his sword in an attempt to defend himself. However, Yan Liqiang was moving so fast that his figure seemed like an illusion that was too quick for Zhu Changyun to catch.
Zhu Changyun performed a technique and felt the figure rushing at him move briefly. The next thing he felt was a pang of cold on his dominant right arm, followed by a piercing pain. It turned out that his arm was severed from his body and went flying. At the same time, he felt a jolt in his lower abdomen. The Dantian and Qihai in his body exploded and Zhu Changyun screamed miserably as he was sent flying.
Yan Liqiang’s figure flashed again. Zhu Changhong who tried to rescue Zhu Changyun also screamed miserably. Likewise, his dominant right arm was also detached from his body and blood splattered everywhere. His Dantian and Qihai were also heavily damaged as he was sent flying.
Seven swords pierced toward Yan Liqiang at the same time.
It took only Yan Liqiang one technique to knock all the seven swords out of the Divine Sword Sect’s disciples’ grips. The webs of their right hands were ruptured and blood gushed out of their wounds. Another sword gleam flashed by, and their Dantian and Qihai exploded too as they were sent flying, spewing blood from their mouths.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…! The guards from the Zhu Clan rained down a torrent of arrows on Yan Liqiang. Yan Liqiang’s figure spun like a spinning top and all the arrows flying toward him were deflected by his long sleeves. The guards who were riding at the top of the walls or standing on the roofs fell off with horrified screams.
There was one more person…
Yan Liqiang’s eyes swept across the area and realized that Ye Tiancheng’s son had silently made his way to the exit of the courtyard and was trying to escape while everyone else was attacking him.
Whoosh…!
Yan Liqiang immediately threw the sword in his grip at him. The weapon turned into a burst of light that traveled as fast as lightning. It pierced right through Ye Tiancheng’s son’s head and nailed him to the wall by the door.
In the next moment, Yan Liqiang zoomed out of the courtyard and disappeared into the darkness with Xue Cao in his arms, leaving behind the Zhu Clan in its chaotic state.
……
It was unknown as to how much time had passed since then, but Zhu Changyun slowly regained consciousness. As soon as he woke up, he realized that he was in a bed surrounded by noises. His right arm felt empty and he was in excruciating pain. Turning his head to the side, he realized that he had lost his right arm. His expression instantly contorted. As he tried to get up, he felt an intense pain shooting up from his lower abdomen and draining all his energy. He tried to circulate his Qi, only to realize that his Dantian had been crippled. This meant his cultivation had been crippled too as he couldn’t even muster an ounce of vital Qi…
Losing an arm and his cultivation. These were the consequences that befell him!
“YAN LIQIANG! THE ZHU CLAN WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU…!” the clan head howled in agony…