Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

For the past three years, while teaching the disciples of Shushan, Su Xue had memorized countless exquisite sword techniques from the compendium Ling Xiao had brought back. She knew that ordinary methods would be useless against someone like Zhezhong Tang, whose power clearly surpassed her own. She used a dizzying variety of sword techniques to bait him, but what she hadn’t realized was that Zhezhong Tang had no intention of killing her anyway.

"Call it even? HAHAHA!" Su Xue cackled shrilly as she continued her frenzied assault. "Your Zhe Family wiped out thousands from my two clans, tore my child from me in their infancy, destroyed my Dantian, and forced me to live in the lands of the Beast Race for over twenty years! My husband died a terrible death, and my family is gone. And you think we can just ’call it even’? Let me tell you! There will never be a day we are even unless every member of your Zhe Family at the Sword Sect level and above is dead! So, what do you think? I’m far more merciful than your Zhe Family, aren’t I?"

Zhezhong Tang snorted. "In your dreams! Let’s see if you’re still so defiant once I’ve captured you!" With that, his Sword Techniques grew fiercer. The two of them were not like the other combatants, unleashing massive displays of Sword Qi that consumed enormous amounts of Inner Strength. Zhezhong Tang was a proud man, and seeing the elegance of Su Xue’s swordplay, he resolved to defeat her with his own techniques.

A cold smile unknowingly crept onto Su Xue’s lips as she recalled what Ling Xiao had said when he gave her that treasure.

’Aunt Su, your feud with the Zhe Family runs deep, so they will certainly never let you go. Take this to protect yourself. When you use it, you must do it like this...’

Suddenly, Su Xue created a deliberate opening...

’In fact,’ Zhezhong Tang thought, ’the woman is nothing but openings! A Tier Six versus a Tier Five... even if Su Xue could even the odds slightly with her Sword Techniques, she is destined to lose in the end!’

This opening of hers was far too wide.

Without suspecting a trap, Zhezhong Tang shot toward Su Xue like a bolt of lightning. "Come here!" he roared, reaching out to grab her shoulder.

A strange smile touched Su Xue’s lips. Zhezhong Tang froze, a sudden feeling that something was wrong. From out of nowhere, a giant black net descended from above, blotting out the sky and enveloping them both. Su Xue took out a Talisman and slapped it onto her own body!

Just as Zhezhong Tang’s immensely powerful hand touched Su Xue’s shoulder, he felt as if he had plunged it into molten lava! He let out a pained shriek and yanked his hand back!

Meanwhile, Su Xue’s body, as if weighed down by an immense force, plummeted toward the ground.

The giant black net was now less than two feet from his head! Zhezhong Tang suddenly felt as if something had violently ripped at his very soul, the pain so intense he nearly blacked out.

He wasn’t the least bit curious about this black net. He dove down abruptly, trying to escape it, only to find the way below had been sealed shut!

Zhezhong Tang suddenly recalled the terrifying news his clansmen had brought back from the Qin Family Island. He felt an irresistible, corrosive power begin to devour his soul. The agony, originating from the very core of his being, forced a blood-curdling howl from his lips—a sound far more horrific than the screams of those recently slain by Sword Qi.

Zhezhong Tang’s scream stunned the other Zhe Family Sword Emperor Powerhouses, and horrified looks appeared on their faces. In the distance, they saw a frantic struggle within the mass of the black net. But just moments later, the net snapped open. Despite the encroaching twilight, everyone saw what happened next with perfect clarity.

As the net unfurled and drifted down, a graceful figure shot up from below and swiftly retrieved it.

And Zhezhong Tang... had vanished!

Seizing the moment while the Zhe Family Sword Emperors were still in shock, Shangguan Yutong seemed to have a breakthrough. She swung the treasured sword she had also inherited from her ancestor, sending four streams of Seven-Color Sword Qi toward four of the Sword Emperors. As they scrambled to defend themselves, Shangguan Yutong suddenly burst forward. A clear cry rang out from her sword, and a massive, seven-colored bird wreathed in roaring flames shot toward one of them!

The Tier Five Sword Emperor didn’t even have time to dodge before the seven-colored bird swept over his head...

When they looked again, the Tier Five Sword Emperor’s entire head was gone. Only his headless corpse remained, falling to the dust below.

The remaining Tier Five Zhe Family Sword Emperors cried out in grief and charged Shangguan Yutong with insane fury. For a fleeting moment after the kill, an unnatural expression crossed Shangguan Yutong’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a cold, sharp light in her eyes.

Seven-Colored Phoenixes shot out from her treasured sword one after another. The remaining Tier Five Zhe Family Sword Emperors no longer dared to block them directly, dodging frantically left and right. The momentum of the fight had shifted back to Shangguan Yutong.

Su Xue flew back at high speed, unfurling the giant black net and casting it toward two of the Zhe Family Sword Emperors attacking Shangguan Yutong. Having just witnessed the net’s horrifying power, they didn’t dare to confront it and immediately fled.

Now only a single Sword Emperor was left to face Shangguan Yutong. A smile touched her lips as several beautiful Seven-Colored Phoenixes materialized in the dimming sky, surrounding the last enemy.

These Seven-Colored Phoenixes, condensed from Sword Qi, possessed an incredible amount of energy. This was Phoenix Dance, the legendary signature technique of Shangguan Yutong’s ancestor!

After countless years, who was left that could recognize a Sword Technique that even Saint Domain Emperors of the Holy Sanctuary once greatly feared? If Shangguan Yutong reached the Saint Tier, she would be able to conjure a massive Seven-Colored Phoenix over a hundred meters tall—a power capable of shattering mountains and splitting the very earth!