Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Shangguan Yutong's body trembled slightly. Her starry eyes looked toward Ling Xiao as she asked softly, "Kill them all?"

Ling Xiao smiled faintly and gently patted Shangguan Yutong's slender shoulders. "I didn't say we have to kill them all. The weak ones can just be trapped here forever!" As Ling Xiao spoke, he glanced at the quiet manor. 'In a few moments, this place will be plunged into a bloodbath, won't it? I don't know if this decision is right or wrong, but I don't regret it one bit! All I've ever tried to do is give my family and friends a better life. Anyone who dares to touch them is my enemy! If you must blame someone, blame yourselves for being born into the Zhe Family!'

Ling Xiao let out a long breath. 'The civilians who died in Shushan City back then, the soldiers of the Lightning Legion... they were innocent too!'

The Array Ling Xiao was setting up was not a killing array. Shangguan Yutong had hesitated just now because she thought he was going to deploy one. After all, most of the people living in this vast manor were innocent.

Ling Xiao moved with extreme speed, beginning to deploy the Ice Blue Water Light Array around the Zhe Family Manor. In a way, one could even consider his actions a form of protection for the weaker members of the Zhe Family. If the outside world learned that the powerful, first-rate Zhe Family had been wiped out, their first reaction would likely be to rush over and plunder their resources. The wealth accumulated by a first-rate family with a history spanning countless years was unimaginable. Ling Xiao and his group were only here for revenge, not robbery, so they had no intention of touching the Zhe Family's riches.

Ling Xiao's current proficiency in setting up Arrays was beyond imagination. Within moments, all the Magic Beast Crystal Cores had landed in their precise locations across an area dozens of miles wide.

Just as he was about to complete the great Array, Ling Xiao suddenly sensed a faint fluctuation. It was extremely weak, as if someone was hiding nearby. 'Amusing,' Ling Xiao thought. 'Looks like someone from the Zhe Family did manage to slip out.' He had originally planned to ignore it, but the person seemed to have sensed the danger as well. Even though they hadn't seen anything, they quietly got up and tried to continue their escape.

Ling Xiao hovered in the hazy night sky, watching the fleeing figure. He shook his head slightly. After a full night of fighting, he no longer had the desire to kill.

Suddenly, Ling Xiao's gaze froze. A cold light shot from his eyes as he stared at the figure who was glancing around warily while running. A mocking smile appeared on Ling Xiao's face. He vanished from his spot and reappeared next to the person in the next instant. "Wu Liang," he said coolly. "What a small world. To think I'd run into you in a place like this."

The man who had been sprinting forward froze abruptly. After a long moment, he turned around. Who else could it be but Wu Liang? He forced a smile that was uglier than a grimace and said in an obsequious tone, "Oh, you... you're Brother Ling Xiao? What a coincidence, meeting you here!"

"Brother? Don't you dare insult that word. Weren't all your 'brothers' betrayed by you?"

Ling Xiao stood there, seemingly full of openings and completely unguarded. His face was devoid of expression, yet Wu Liang could feel the righteous fury burning within the young man.

"Hehe, you're exaggerating. How could I, Wu Liang, ever do something like that? Brother Ling Xiao, you must have heard some rumor and misunderstood, haven't you?"

Wu Liang remained on high alert, watching Ling Xiao's expression while thinking to himself, 'You want to trick me into attacking first so you have an excuse to kill me? Not a chance! Hmph, so what if I sold them out? You have no proof!'

Little did he know, at Ling Xiao's current level, why would killing him be so troublesome?

"Wu Liang, we were never close, but I don't recall us having any grudges either..."

"Exactly, exactly! What happened back then was just a misunderstanding... a simple misunderstanding!" Wu Liang seized the opportunity, chuckling. "So, I can go now, right? Ah, I'm a lone wanderer now. These mountains are full of danger, so you should be careful too!" He turned, about to leave.

"Did I say you could go?" Ling Xiao's voice rang out again.

Wu Liang wanted to lash out in anger but didn't have the courage. He had just witnessed the Zhe Family's Sword Venerable ancestor die at Ling Xiao's hands. He knew with absolute clarity that if Ling Xiao wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.

"I have no grudge against you, but there are some things you should go back and say to Tang Ming and Anya."

Wu Liang's body trembled violently as Ling Xiao's voice sounded once more.

"Are you going to come with me willingly, or do I have to make you?"

"I... I'll go with you!"

Wu Liang hesitated for a moment before deciding to go back with Ling Xiao. He had known for a long time that Wang Chao was dead, but Gaia, Tang Ming, and Anya were all still alive. Wu Liang decided to take a gamble—a gamble that kind-hearted people like Anya and Gaia wouldn't actually kill him. After all, they had worked together for many years, and there was no direct evidence that he was the one who had betrayed Wang Chao.

Following behind Ling Xiao, the two returned to the mountain where the battle had just taken place. Ling Xiao's tall, imposing figure stood at the edge of the cliff as he gazed intently at the situation in the manor below. He knew that the Zhe Family's destruction was now a foregone conclusion.

Wu Liang stared in terror at the mountain peak that had been sheared off by a hundred meters, carefully avoiding the bottomless craters and fissures. Although he had been at the Zhe Family Manor and knew that all the Zhe Family's Sword Emperor Powerhouses had been killed, seeing the battlefield with his own eyes truly made him understand just how terrifying Ling Xiao's power was.