Chapter 114 - Who Gave You This Unfounded Confidence?
The violent downpour of the storm beat down constantly on Lin Muzhe’s beautiful, yet pale face.
Apart from the expression that flitted from her face when Fang Lang’s first stab plunged into her chest, Lin Muzhe’s face was calm and indifferent throughout the later assaults. She looked coolly at this youth who had completely surpassed her expectations.
She completely lost the game despite having full confidence that victory was at hand. However, there was nothing she could do about it. This was because Fang Lang’s blade energy had completely destroyed a large portion of the meridian around her heart. This resulted in the severing of the connection between her spiritual sense and the energy center.
She had come to avenger her brother with confidence. She was a senior disciple of the Donglu’s Sword League. She was their most gifted disciple and also the disciple who inherited the teachings of a blade lord.
Boom!
The two of them crashed into the muddy ground. It was like a huge stone falling into a pond, sending countless waves of mud-colored water shooting into the sky.
Fang Lang’s arms were pressed against Lin Muzhe’s neck. Blood began to spread across the water in a twisted pattern. It was as though a trench had been cut into the earth.
The world was plunged into a dead silence—everything was calm and quiet.
“I killed Lin Yun with my sword on a rainy day, poetic. This is neat and tidy. What do you think about my present?” said Fang Lang with a warm smile.
Fang Lang looked at Lin Muzhe under the rain—she was deathly pale as he spoke. His smile was eternally kind and warm.
Blood spilled out of the corner of Lin Muzhe’s mouth. Her eyes were as calm as always as she stared at Fang Lang. After a long time, Lin Muzhe smiled.
“Y-your sword… How did it come to be?”
She did not understand Fang Lang’s sword. How could it destroy the ancient blade lord energy that she had manifested from her energy center? Did it falter so easily to the Blooming Lotus Sword?
That force did not resemble the blade energy of Taihua First Sword.
The sound of the pouring rain went on incessantly. It was followed by claps of thunder, startling the entire forest and sending numerous demons scurrying within the forest.
Fang Lang looked at Lin Muzhe. If Fang Lang did not have the means, if he was not able to hold out against the demon swarm, he would have died. When he died, the hope of the Sword Guild would be thoroughly crushed.
Even if this woman merely wanted to avenge Lin Yun, Fang Lang did not have any regrets when it came to Lin Yun. If Lin Yun did not die, Fang Lang would not have survived.
Lin Muzhe was asking about the sword that was not easily obtained. Fang Lang had to fight a demon swarm single-handedly, killing more than 300 demons until he was completely exhausted and all he could do was swing his sword around stiffly.
He then unlocked the prize and obtained a Reward Egg, from which he gained a Power Loan Card. By activating the Power Card, he borrowed the strength of Mentor Wen and used his power to unleash the killing strike.
He used his ten years’ worth of cultivation to nurture the sword. Of course, he would not fear the attack of a blade lord.
It sounded arrogant as Fang Lang’s current cultivation was as weak as a ninth-grade sword disciple. Of course, his strength was recovering slowly. This was not a huge problem as the drain was only temporary.
His attack merely borrowed Wen Ting’s strength and was not a true representation of the skill. Hence, Fang Lang struggled to imagine how powerful Mentor Wen would be if he unleashed the full extent of his true power!
In all honesty, there was some luck involved in his attack. Fang Lang did not like to depend on luck because luck could not be controlled. However, all that could be said was that the luck of this woman before him was pretty bad.
When she saw that Fang Lang had no intention of answering her question, Lin Muzhe continued to smile.
“Are you going to kill me? I’m sure you won’t have the guts to k-kill me, right?” said Lin Muzhe in a teasing, jovial tone.
However, she had barely started to speak when the cheerful expression on her beautiful face froze. Her pupils constricted, accompanied by the shock and disbelief that came in the face of death.
Fang Lang did not remove the Blooming Lotus Sword in her chest and was continuously destroying her meridians, severing the connection between her and her energy center.
On the other hand, he gripped the hilt of the Obsidian Sword with his other hand. With a swing that looked like a flash of black lightning, he aimed for Lin Muzhe’s bloodstained neck.
The storm continued to rage. All that was reflected in Lin Muzhe’s eyes was a young champion in bloodied robes.
Whoosh!
The sword landed and blood spilled into the waters. Lin Muzhe’s beautiful face was still. Her face was filled with shock at her impending death.
It appeared as though she was not really that cheerful after all.
“Who gave you this unfounded confidence? Who is the noble backing you in this?”
Fang Lang laughed as he rose beside Lin Muzhe’s body, lifting her head. Thanks to the Power Loan Card, Fang Lang still felt a sense of hollow emptiness. It was a unique sensation of emptiness as though his body had been drained from that attack.
At that moment, it would be so wonderful if he could have a sip of warm wolfberry tea…
The corner of Fang Lang’s mouth twitched. He rushed to chase this terrifying thought out of his head. He was only 15! He was still young!
Wolfberry tea… This thing should not appear in his life yet!
The rain continued to pour and gradually made the blood flowing out of Lin Muzhe’s corpse pool into the shape of a blood lotus at Fang Lang’s feet.
Huang Ying stood in a daze on top of the large tree. She watched as Fang Lang cut off Lin Muzhe’s head and was a little shocked.
Lin Muzhe, the most outstanding disciple of the Donglu’s Sword League—their pride and joy. She was recognized by Nan Yehuo as the disciple who was most likely to enter the blade lord realm.
Her head was chopped off by Fang Lang and her corpse laid in the storm.
A third-class had killed a fourth-class. With one swing, he felled the beautiful lady.
Huang Ying’s mind was a mess. With a flash, she landed next to Lin Muzhe’s corpse. She took out a medicinal pill and handed it to Fang Lang.
This was a recovery pill that would help restore his vital energy.
Huang Ying was a little dazed. It was as if she could see the shadow of Xuanyuan Taihua on Fang Lang. Perhaps it was the hope of the Sword Guild placed upon the shoulders of the grand champion.
Fang Lang took the pill and felt the weakness in his body dissipate slightly. He lifted Lin Muzhe’s head and retrieved her space ring. He flooded it with his spiritual sense and used Spirit Awl, instantly destroying Lin Muzhe’s space ring.
A loud bang sounded. The space contorted and a large pile of spirit crystals along with other personal belongings of Lin Muzhe was vomited into their dimension.
He swept an eye over the pile. There was one mid-grade spirit crystal, 57 low-grade spirit crystals and various bottles and containers of medicinal pills.
Huang Ying inhaled sharply.
‘How wealthy!’ she thought
Fang Lang pursed his lips and said, “How poor.”
Huang Ying was speechless.
‘Poor? If this was poor then what were the disciples of the Sword Guild?’
With a sweeping gesture, Fang Lang collected all the items greedily. After that, he took out a signal talisman and tossed it onto Lin Muzhe’s corpse.
After that, Fang Lang directed a wisp of blade energy and the signal talisman instantly exploded, sending out a mysterious ripple.
“Go.”
Fang Lang did not linger and left the area with Huang Ying. A short while after they left, a loud noise pierced through the rainy sky as two warriors from the Imperial Court of Judicial Review rushed over.
They landed beside Lin Muzhe’s corpse. The rain pounded against their bamboo hats. The edges of their bamboo hats seemed to become one with the mist.
“This signal talisman must have been set off by the killer after she died,” said one of the warriors of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review in a raspy voice.
“This is a provocation directed at us.”
“A provocation my *ss. There was a demon swarm surging in the forest. This must have been caused by Lin Muzhe… This is her getting what she deserved,” said the other Imperial Court of Judicial Review warrior coldly.
After that, they did not continue to argue as they picked up Lin Muzhe’s headless corpse and left the area.
…
Changan City, the Grand Palace.
It was terrifyingly cold and quiet. All the officials of various ranks were silent, not daring to say a word due to fear.
Lu Taixuan narrowed his eyes causing Li Puyi to frown deeply. The first prince looked just as he always did. The third prince looked doubtful.
The ancient mirrors floating in the square continued to swap images. Cold sweat dripped in a constant stream from the forehead of the spell master responsible for changing the images.
“How dare you! Hurry up and swap to the Sword Guild’s team!”
Old Man Gao’s expression was cold and stern. His pale temples were filled with sword intent as he fiercely gave the order.
The third prince frowned. The first prince said icily, “Aren’t you going to hurry up and change the image!?”
In the end, the spell master changed the image on the Thousand-Mile Mirror. The image flashed before showing a land scattered with corpses.
The storm continued to rage on as bloodied water flowed tortuous paths. Demon corpse after demon corpse piled on the ground!
The heavy rains, the bloody waters and the ground covered in demon corpses.
Among the demon corpses, Jiang Linglong, Ni Wen, Liu Bubai and Geshu Yuehua could be seen.
A huge commotion blew up instantly in the White Jade Square!
“H-how can there be so many demons… Did they encounter a demon swarm?’
“How could they have encountered a demon swarm in the Youzhou Demon Portal? In the outer boundaries as well? That’s ridiculous!”
“How interesting… Looking at all the demon corpses strewn all over the ground. Did this group of kids really kill so many demons!?”
Among the hundred officials, some people began to complain angrily.
Lu Taixuan frowned deeply, looking deep in thought.
Chao Xiaojian suddenly stood up and started clapping. He said with a smile, “Very well. These disciples of my Sword Guild have extraordinary luck to have encountered a demon swarm in the outer boundaries of Youzhou Demon Portal!”
“Your Highness! Please witness the Sword Guild’s hardship and achievement!”
The atmosphere was extremely tense, it was like there was a pair of cold, ruthless eyes observing the ongoings in the White Jade Square.
Chao Xiaojian’s white robes fluttered along with his white hair. “In the previous Resource Battle, the Sword Guild has been unfairly targeted. However, it was within the acceptable limits and no rules were broken.
“Even though it is unfair to my Sword Guild disciples and I was outraged, I still endured it. However, this time I can no longer tolerate it. If I let this slide, I will have dishonored the name of the White-Haired Sword Demon!”
Chao Xiaojian’s voice rang out louder and louder, sounding clearer and clearer, in the White Jade Square.
“Zhou Yiyuan is the organizer of this Resource Battle. With his ability, it is impossible he was unable to sense the presence of a demon swarm. So what on earth is Zhou Yiyuan doing?”
Chao Xiaojian’s voice rang explosively in the air.
The Minister of Rites, Zhou Yiyuan…
At that moment, everyone was thinking about Zhou Yiyuan. Chao Xiaojian’s words were true. With Zhou Yiyuan’s ability, it was impossible for a demon swarm to go unnoticed.
There was a problem with Zhou Yiyuan.
Unexpectedly, the first prince, Li Tianlin, stepped out before the Taiji Palace. He knelt down on one knee, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said in a serious tone, “Father! For such a thing to happen so close to your birthday! This is unforgivable! I’m in charge of the Imperial Court of Judicial Review. Allow me to head out with the Imperial Court of Judicial Review members to investigate this case and seek justice for the Sword Guild!”
Li Tianlin’s expression was extremely serious, his features were grim and his voice reverberated in the long corridor of the Taiji Palace.
Li Liancheng’s expression faltered slightly.
Li Tianlin knelt on the ground as snow gently drifted around him. It was as though everything had become incomparably peaceful at that moment.
A moment passed but it felt like an eternity.
Inside the Taiji Palace, an indifferent voice spoke out.
“You may.”
As soon as Li Tianlin heard those words, his expression became more stern. He stood up and his dragon robe fluttered. He walked in the direction of the White Jade Square.
“Pei Liao, prepare the troops! We’re heading to the Youzhou Demon Portal!”