Stronger by Killing

The old man walked very slowly,

but with each step he took, a powerful, razor-sharp aura could be felt. Though his sword remained sheathed, that astonishing Sword Intent relentlessly sliced through the very air, casting immense pressure upon everyone present.

"Buzz" "Buzz, buzz" "..."

Suddenly, a series of humming sounds echoed throughout the courtyard,

The Dong Family’s sword-wielding martial artists were all shocked to discover that the swords in their hands seemed unwilling to obey, as if yearning to leap from their sheaths. It seemed that, with just a word or a gesture from the old man, every sword in the courtyard would draw itself forth.

Everyone was deeply shocked,

only Gu Zhan sneered with disdain,

As a fellow Great Cultivator, these seemingly earth-shattering phenomena that the old man summoned were, in fact, nothing but a petty trick of the Dao Realm,

Gu Zhan wielded the saber, and had advanced from the Postnatal to the Dao Realm, refining saber techniques all the way to the Peak of Perfection, far surpassing peers in the same realm—yet even he could not stir every saber in the courtyard merely with Saber Intent alone.

However,

Gu Zhan knew these mysteries well; the others did not, especially those of the Dong Family, whose awe bordered on reverence.

The Patriarch Dong hurried forward, bowing and saluting, "Welcome, Sword Elder. May you, Elder, uphold justice for the Dong Family."

The old man nodded slightly, bearing the appearance of an immortal sage, and behind him followed a group into the great courtyard—heads of two other local second-class noble families, high-levels, and a number of Lingxi Sword Sect disciples.

At the same moment, members of the Dong Family brought out tables and chairs, inviting the old man and his party to be seated and serving them fine tea.

Once the old man was seated,

a young swordsman who followed beside him looked coldly upon Gu Zhan and the assembled Embroidered Uniform Guards on horseback and barked, "How brazen! The Sword Elder of the Lingxi Sword Sect stands before you, and yet you remain mounted?"

The Lingxi Sword Sect Sword Elder—

Just that title alone made many present instinctively rise in fear and awe.

The Lingxi Sword Sect was one of the seven foremost powers of Pingyang Prefecture, with status above all others. Even an ordinary disciple of their sect commanded respect in the Martial World, let alone a Sword Elder, whose station was incomparable.

The Sword Elder of Lingxi Sword Sect was named Chen Ranfeng, one of the sect’s three Great Cultivators, famed in the Martial World as the ’Flame Mountain Sword’.

Upon hearing the words ’Sword Elder’,

the Embroidered Uniform Guards were all intimidated, though none of them dismounted. Instead, they instinctively looked towards Gu Zhan.

On horseback, a thin smile played across Gu Zhan’s lips. Waving for the Lingxi disciple to come closer, he said, "What did you just say? This official didn’t quite catch it. Care to repeat yourself?"

Under Gu Zhan’s gaze, the disciple’s heart stuttered, an inexplicable fear welling up within him. But glancing at Chen Ranfeng, seated calmly on his chair, his courage returned. He proclaimed loudly, "Before the Sword Elder, you ought to dismount—!"

In that same instant,

Gu Zhan’s whip flashed out,

just a simple sweep, devoid of fancy technique,

and yet the Innate Realm Lingxi disciple realized in terror that he could neither evade nor draw his sword in defense—he could only watch helplessly as the whip lashed toward him.

But just then,

Chen Ranfeng, calmly sipping tea, suddenly flicked the lid from his cup,

spinning at high speed, slicing through the air,

waves of immense True Essence enveloped the ceramic lid, intercepting the whip,

Yet there was no thunderous clash,

nor any tempestuous upheaval of True Qi,

just the lid spinning and colliding with the whip,

with a soft "crack", the lid flew back into Chen Ranfeng’s hand, the whip rebounded away.

Chen Ranfeng smiled serenely and said in a gentle voice, "Gu Qianhu, young men do not understand propriety..."

In that split-second,

a metallic "clang" rang out explosively, and in the broad daylight, a flash of saber light flickered. A black shadow, ghostly and swift as a phantom, appeared before the Lingxi Sword Sect crowd,

Gu Zhan’s Horizontal Saber tore through space,

leaving only a single arc of saber light,

In a blink,

the young Lingxi disciple’s body quivered, a red line appearing on his brow, and with a dull "bang", his body split in two, blood spraying like rain in all directions.

Pandemonium erupted throughout the courtyard,

many who were seated leapt up in shock.

The Lingxi disciples, alarmed, all drew their swords in unison. The Dong Family throng prepared to act as well, and the atmosphere instantly turned suffocatingly tense.

With a lazy motion, Gu Zhan stabbed his saber into the ground, sat beside Chen Ranfeng, and said quietly, "If a young man cannot learn propriety, keeping him alive is just a waste of food. What do you think, Elder Chen?"

Chen Ranfeng’s face darkened. Not a drop of blood sullied him; he calmly took another sip of tea and slowly said, "Today, all the reputable powers of Youyang are gathered here, and yet you, Gu Qianhu, dare to kill before us, and even kill a disciple of my Lingxi Sword Sect. You owe us an explanation, do you not?"

Gu Zhan rested his hand on the armrest, fingers tapping lightly, and said flatly, "This is the last I’ll say it: In Embroidered Uniform Guard business, those who obstruct will share the same fate as the guilty. Is that not clear enough? The Lingxi Sword Sect, and these... these..."

Gu Zhan pointed at the other noble family heads, furrowing his brow in mock trouble, "These... utterly unworthy factions—I truly do not know what to call you."

In an instant, the complexions of those families turned ghastly.

Gu Zhan continued, "Never mind. In any case, you lot—over and over—have hindered this official’s investigation. Shouldn’t you be giving this official an explanation?"

At once, a patriarch roared out, "Gu Zhan, you—"

Gu Zhan suddenly turned, snatched up the teacup on the table, and hurled it out. With a loud "bang", the cup smashed into the patriarch, sending him sprawling with a miserable cry.

Gu Zhan spoke slowly, "When I’m talking, what gives you the right to interrupt? Elder Chen, please, your turn."

Chen Ranfeng snorted coldly, saying, "Gu Qianhu, such authority! Truly, you leave this old man astonished. Now I represent the entire Pingyang Martial World in asking you, Gu Qianhu: You claim the Dong Family colluded with the Mang Mountain Thieves—have you any evidence?

Gu Qianhu, if you have no proof, then this is slander. Even if the Sixth Young Master is your patron, we in Pingyang Martial World demand an answer. Do the Embroidered Uniform Guards consider us as mere chickens and dogs, to be killed at will?"

Gu Zhan smiled lightly and glanced at one of Dong Family’s servants.

The servant trembled from head to toe, nearly collapsing on the spot.

Gu Zhan gave a small wave and pointed at the teapot.

The servant desperately wished to ignore Gu Zhan, but he could not muster the courage; shivering, he dashed over, poured Gu Zhan a cup of tea, and hurried away in a panic.

Gu Zhan picked up his tea, took a sip, then turned to Chen Ranfeng and said slowly:

"Elder Chen, do you not know?

When the Embroidered Uniform Guard acts, evidence is never required,

or rather, the words of Gu Zhan—are evidence enough!"