Chapter 33
Chapter 33: The Destruction of the Blackclad Stronghold (Part 1)
The next day.
Inside the study of the Family Head’s residence, Li Xingge, dressed in a white robe, sat bent over his desk, dealing with the clan affairs that had piled up over recent days.
“Family Head, the Grand Elder has returned. He says he wishes to see you.”
A respectful voice sounded from outside the study.
Li Xingge froze for a moment. It seemed the Grand Elder had dealt with Mountain-Shaking Tiger and returned to report back.
At that thought, he raised his head, set down the brush in his hand, and instructed, “Invite the Grand Elder in.”
“Yes.”
A moment later, the Grand Elder entered. He looked travel-worn and somewhat bedraggled.
“Family Head.”
Li Xingge smiled and said, “You’ve worked hard, Grand Elder. Did your trip go smoothly?”
At those words, the Grand Elder could not help but sigh. His expression dimmed as he said, “It shames this old man to say it, but I failed. I have disgraced the clan. I ask the Family Head to punish me.”
Li Xingge’s brows rose slightly, clearly somewhat surprised.
With the Grand Elder’s Qi-Blood Realm strength, he had actually failed to take down a mere Mountain-Shaking Tiger, who was only at Great Perfection in the Physical Body Realm?
Unless that Mountain-Shaking Tiger...
Sure enough, the Grand Elder’s next sentence confirmed Li Xingge’s guess.
“That Mountain-Shaking Tiger somehow broke through the Qi-Blood barrier. This old man fought him for half an hour, but I could do nothing to him. Left with no choice, I could only withdraw.”
Li Xingge raised a brow, pinched his chin, and tapped his finger rhythmically against the desk.
“The Qi-Blood Realm? So this is the confidence that gave you the nerve to look down on my Li Clan?”
Li Xingge let out a cold laugh.
Then, seeing the shame on the Grand Elder’s face, he smiled and comforted him. “Grand Elder, there is no need to take it to heart. I was the one who overlooked it. I never expected that a mere bandit could also break through into the Qi-Blood Realm. Since that is the case, I shall personally make a move and meet this Mountain-Shaking Tiger myself.”
“That Mountain-Shaking Tiger is no ordinary opponent. I ask to accompany the Family Head.”
The Grand Elder requested the order.
But Li Xingge waved his hand and said with a smile, “No need. Grand Elder, you will stay behind and guard the clan. To deal with Mountain-Shaking Tiger, I alone am enough.”
Hearing Li Xingge refuse, the Grand Elder did not insist further.
He knew his Family Head was a cautious man. He never acted without confidence.
It seemed the Family Head had gained quite a bit from his last seclusion.
“Family Head, please be careful on the way.”
The Grand Elder still could not help reminding him.
Yet after waiting a long while without receiving any response, he raised his head—only to find that Li Xingge had already vanished.
.........
At the same time.
Inside Flying Dragon Gorge, within the Hall of Brotherhood of the Blackclad Stronghold, all the major and minor leaders had gathered together.
Mountain-Shaking Tiger leaned back against his tiger-skin chair, his gaze deep and unreadable, as though he were lost in thought.
“Chieftain, today you displayed divine might and defeated that arrogant Grand Elder of the Li Clan. You’ve greatly boosted the prestige of our Blackclad Stronghold.”
One minor leader flattered him shamelessly.
“Exactly. In my opinion, those so-called great clans aren’t anything special in the Chieftain’s eyes.”
“From now on, let’s see who still dares look down on our Blackclad Stronghold.”
“Hahahaha...”
The many leaders all spoke at once, chattering noisily as they vented the excitement in their hearts.
None of them noticed that the face of Mountain-Shaking Tiger, seated at the head, was growing darker and darker.
Beside him, the Second Commander, who was good at reading people’s expressions, leaned closer and asked in confusion, “Chieftain, defeating the Li Clan’s Grand Elder is a good thing. Why do you still look so troubled?”
Mountain-Shaking Tiger gave a bitter laugh. “Old Second, do you really think this is a good thing too?”
“Isn’t it? The Li Clan’s prestige in Baihe County is at its height, yet you still trampled them beneath your feet. If news of this spreads, even more heroes will surely come to join our Blackclad Stronghold. At that time, perhaps our stronghold may even dominate one region!”
Seeming to imagine his own glorious future, the Second Commander spoke with a face full of longing.
Hearing this, Mountain-Shaking Tiger could not help but sigh. Shaking his head, he said, “Dominate one region? Ridiculous. Our Blackclad Stronghold is already facing a great calamity.”
When the many leaders heard Mountain-Shaking Tiger’s words, all of them revealed expressions of disbelief.
“What does defeating a mere Grand Elder of the Li Clan amount to? The truly terrifying one in the Li Clan is its Family Head—Li Xingge.”
When he mentioned Li Xingge, Mountain-Shaking Tiger’s tone was filled with extreme wariness.
“Chieftain, why raise another’s prestige while diminishing your own? Those great clans are always the most puffed up. Li Xingge may have a great reputation, but who knows how much of it is just empty hype?”
One leader spoke with disdain.
“Exactly, Chieftain. You are divinely mighty and unmatched in valor. Why should you fear that Li Xingge?”
“We’ll just stay in the stronghold. What can Li Xingge possibly do to us? If he dares come, I’ll twist off his head and kick it around like a ball.”
A drunken leader slurred arrogantly.
Mountain-Shaking Tiger frowned and was just about to rebuke him when, all of a sudden, a deep sense of unease surged in his heart.
“Hahahaha, good. Then I’d like to see exactly how you plan to twist off my head and kick it around like a ball.”
An incomparably arrogant and domineering voice rang out from afar, drawing nearer and nearer, echoing through every corner.
The terrifying soundwaves shattered the doors and windows and slammed into everyone’s eardrums.
Some of the weaker leaders were knocked unconscious on the spot by the dreadful sonic force.
As for the minor leader who had just been shouting about twisting off Li Xingge’s head and kicking it around like a ball, blood was already pouring from all seven orifices. He had died on the spot.
An indescribable tension filled the air.
The once-noisy Blackclad Stronghold fell into dead silence in an instant.
The survivors all wore expressions of terror. They subconsciously tightened their grip on the weapons in their hands, as though that alone could bring them a sense of safety.
Mountain-Shaking Tiger slowly raised his head and looked into the distance.
Outside, atop the tall statue of the Mountain God in the central square, there stood a young figure.
He looked down upon the crowd like a deity.
He was tall and slender, with pale skin and his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a white robe, and a fine jade belt circled his waist, from which a treasured sword hung. His three thousand strands of dark hair flowed loosely behind him, dancing in the wind.
What a peerless young noble of the mortal world.
Even Mountain-Shaking Tiger had to admit in astonishment that perhaps the saying “a gentleman like jade, unmatched beneath heaven” was made for someone like this.
“Hu Yidao, Chieftain of the Blackclad Stronghold, greets Family Head Li.”
Mountain-Shaking Tiger looked at that distant figure with a complicated expression. The moment Li Xingge appeared, he had already known his identity.
The Family Head of the Qingfeng Li Clan.
The young prodigy, Li Xingge.
Only he could possess such terrifying might.
Although Mountain-Shaking Tiger had long known Li Xingge would come, he had not expected him to come this quickly.
At this moment, his heart was incomparably bitter.
Normally, beating the younger ones brought out the elders.
But damn it, he had beaten the elder, and now the younger one had come—and this younger one was even stronger and more terrifying than the elder.
“Hu Yidao, you did not put my Li Clan in your eyes.
So I came.”
With his hands behind his back, Li Xingge spoke in an indifferent tone.
That cold voice, filled with killing intent, made Hu Yidao feel a trace of fear.
Subconsciously, he took several steps back. “Family Head Li, please see clearly. My Blackclad Stronghold absolutely never intended such a thing. For so many years, the men of the Blackclad Stronghold have never committed the slightest offense against the Li Clan. What happened last time was only an accident. It was my subordinate’s lack of judgment. I am willing to present a generous gift as an apology. I ask Family Head Li not to punish us.”
Li Xingge paid no attention at all to Hu Yidao’s attempt to yield.
He merely let out a cold laugh and said indifferently, “Hu Yidao, I do not wish to hear your nonsense. I will give you two choices: kneel, and live; fight, and die!”
Under Li Xingge’s relentless pressure, Hu Yidao’s breathing gradually grew heavier.
His hands clenched into fists unconsciously. He was gripping so hard that veins bulged across them.
Just then, a figure stepped forward and stood in front of Hu Yidao.
He looked at Li Xingge with bloodshot eyes, his gaze filled with hatred and fury.
“Li Xingge, a man should bear the consequences of his own actions! I stole the medicinal herbs, and I killed those men. If you have the ability, then come at me!”
That man was none other than the Fourth Commander of the Blackclad Stronghold—One-Eye.
Looking at the one-eyed man who had suddenly jumped out, Li Xingge gave a mocking laugh. “A mere ant dares bark before me.”
The moment his words fell, the sword Zhanxu in his hand trembled faintly, and a flash of cold light streaked out.
One-Eye hurriedly raised his blade to block.
The cold light passed by.
Seeing that he himself was completely unharmed, One-Eye gave a sneer and mocked, “So the dignified Family Head of the Li Clan is only—”
Before he could finish speaking, One-Eye suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck.
He instinctively tried to touch it—
only to see a headless corpse.