Chapter 699 - 699 Ye Qing Exposed (10th Update)
All communication was severed, and Ye Qing no longer attempted to call for help. Instead, he left Lin Huayu's small building and began to search the surrounding area. With so many members of the Lin family present, it was improbable that the assailants could have killed everyone. Until he saw bodies, Ye Qing clung to a sliver of hope.
The Lin family manor was vast, comprising over a dozen pavilions, each spaced some distance from the next. Ye Qing searched several pavilions without spotting a single soul, which only heightened his concern. Nevertheless, he did not falter and continued his search until he arrived at the main hall where the Lin family received guests.
As Ye Qing approached, he heard voices in the distance. His heart skipped a beat, knowing he had finally found some people. He proceeded with caution, slowing his pace and stealthily moving from the doorway to a window.
The voices grew louder, and Ye Qing could distinctly make out someone shouting, "Are you going to talk, or not? Speak up or you'll end up like him!"
The voice sounded familiar. Ye Qing furrowed his brow, peered covertly through the window, and his expression changed abruptly.
Inside the hall were more than thirty members of the Lin family, squatting in the center. Two bloodied bodies lay on the floor, seemingly beyond saving. Encircling them stood five or six individuals whom Ye Qing recognized—they were members of Sha Men!
Leading them was Blood-Sealed Throat, the Right Protector. Beside him was the Netherworld Scholar, half of whose face had been disfigured by Ye Qing and was now bandaged. He held a folding fan that covered his disfigured side, seemingly to conceal it. His unmarred half retained its handsomeness, but the concealment lent him a somewhat sinister appearance.
The Demon Queen He Qinghua stood to another side, her face perpetually adorned with a seductive smile. Ye Qing, however, knew too well that behind that alluring smile hid an even greater propensity for violence.
Near the window, Ghost King Li Ruoyuan intermittently let out a creepy, cackling laugh, his gaze chillingly fixed on everyone inside. Those he looked at shuddered uncontrollably, as if they feared he might lash out at them at any moment.
Another two individuals were subordinates of Blood-Sealed Throat, the Right Protector. In the center of the hall, Black Asura was gripping the collar of a Lin family member, loudly pressing, "I'll ask you one more time, where are Lin Zhen Nan, Lin Huayu, and the other key members of the Lin family? Don't try to deceive me. I saw them return before we arrived, so why have they disappeared now that we're here?"
Hearing this, Ye Qing took a deep breath of relief. It seemed that Lin Huayu and the others had not been captured; the situation was still safe for the time being, which was good!
"Forget about these key members of the Lin family. Just make him reveal Lin Huayu's whereabouts!" demanded the Netherworld Scholar coldly, "Listen carefully, we only want Lin Huayu. For her sake alone, are you willing to let the entire Lin family meet their demise? Life is fragile; your silence does not mean others will remain quiet. We can kill you and move on to the next person. Someone will talk eventually. So, I advise you to consider your own life. There's no need to sacrifice it for someone else's sake!"
Ye Qing's brow furrowed; the Netherworld Scholar dared to come for Lin Huayu, and the Right Protector and his group had even joined in, which enraged him. And upon closer inspection, Cui Yu, Cui Yulong, and the Netherworld Taoist were not among them. This meant the Right Protector must have bypassed them and come here on his own initiative. Otherwise, someone like Cui Yulong would not allow such an act!
After pondering for a moment, Ye Qing chose not to act rashly. Although he possessed the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, he knew very well that the individuals inside were far stronger than him. Even wielding the Ancient Sword, he would be courting death. He planned to step out and call Zhao Chengshuang, to have the police handle the matter.
However, as he was turning to leave, Right Protector Blood-Sealed Throat suddenly glanced over and said, "Since you're here, why the rush to leave?"
Upon hearing this, Ghost King Li Ruoyuan, who was by the window, spun around and ran to the edge, just in time to see Ye Qing. Li Ruoyuan let out a series of sinister laughs, pushed open the window, and sprang out, reaching straight for Ye Qing.
Feeling the danger from behind, Ye Qing's heart lurched, and without a moment's hesitation, he drew the Seven-Star Ancient Sword and turned with a strike.
Just as Li Ruoyuan's hand almost made contact with Ye Qing, the blade of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword slashed toward him. In full recognition of the Ancient Sword's power, Li Ruoyuan dared not block it with his hand and hastily dodged. Nonetheless, the wall behind him was carved by the Sword Qi, leaving a shattered section.
"Sword Qi!?" Li Ruoyuan's eyes widened as he stared at Ye Qing in shock. Being a first-rank expert, he understood that Sword Qi was essentially a manifestation of Internal Energy Release.
Internal Energy Release involved projecting one's Inner Strength to injure an opponent from a distance. With a weapon, the effect could be even more tangible, yielding forms like Sword Qi or Saber Qi. However, the reach of the Internal Energy Release was linked to the practitioner's level of Inner Strength. Even for a high-level expert like Li Ruoyuan, the limit was merely half a meter, and extending it further was extremely difficult.
However, when Inner Strength is externally released, if one uses a weapon, there is often another constraint, which is the inability to increase the distance. Take the simplest example, when Li Ruoyuan releases his Inner Strength externally, he could only reach half a meter at most. But if he grasps a weapon, intending to channel through it, this half-meter distance has to be reduced by the length of the weapon. That means if the weapon is half a meter long, then he basically couldn't emit any Saber Qi or Sword Qi, because the length of the weapon would match the distance of his Internal Energy Release.
However, Famed Instruments are different. Once a Famed Instrument recognizes its owner, its length becomes negligible. Moreover, Famed Instruments can greatly enhance one's Inner Strength, and this is what's truly terrifying.
The sword strike Ye Qing performed earlier had proven that he could externalize Inner Strength. Most crucially, the Seven-Star Ancient Sword recognized him, which was what really shocked Ghost King Li Ruoyuan!
As Li Ruoyuan hesitated, Ye Qing struck back with another sword slash, directly hitting the railing on the second floor. The railing was cut by the Sword Qi and fell down, causing Li Ruoyuan to hastily retreat a few steps to avoid the railing and the bricks and whatnot.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ye Qing turned and ran. He didn't dare to linger in battle because he was aware of the gap between him and these people. However, he had only run a few steps when a person dashed out from the room, none other than Right Protector Blood-Sealed Throat.
"Hahaha..." Right Protector let out a burst of cold laughter, catching up to Ye Qing in a few steps and reaching out to grab Ye Qing's collar. His moves were several levels stronger than those of Ghost King Li Ruoyuan, and much more fierce!
Ye Qing tried to repeat his previous move, attempting to horizontally slash with the Seven-Star Ancient Sword. But Right Protector was even faster. He slapped the blade, causing Ye Qing's sword to deviate. Right Protector's hand didn't stop, directly grabbing Ye Qing's collar with the other hand clutching his shoulder, and flung him back towards the loft.
Right Protector had astonishing strength; Ye Qing was thrown out like a sandbag, completely unable to resist. Fortunately, when his body hit the glass, he managed to borrow some force, and upon landing, he rolled to dissipate Right Protector's strength. He sprang up and charged straight at Netherworld Scholar. When he was five or six meters away from Netherworld Scholar, Ye Qing raised the Seven-Star Ancient Sword and chopped down at him.
Netherworld Scholar hadn't expected Ye Qing to run towards him and was momentarily flustered. He quickly raised his Folding Fan to block. However, the power of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword was not something a Fine Steel Folding Fan could withstand, and the fan was directly chopped apart. Luckily, Netherworld Scholar had quick reflexes and managed to step aside, narrowly avoiding the strike!
Ye Qing didn't pause at all. With Netherworld Scholar forced back, he ran straight past him towards another window, trying to escape.
But before he could reach the window, Netherworld Scholar and Black Asura quickly chased after him, each picking up a chair and smashing it towards Ye Qing.
Ye Qing hastily countered with the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, chopping both chairs to pieces. But Netherworld Scholar and Black Asura had already caught up and intercepted Ye Qing in the middle.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph..." Netherworld Scholar chuckled coldly, looking Ye Qing up and down, and said, "It really confirms the old saying, 'You wouldn't take the path to Heaven, but you barged into the gateless Hell instead. I hadn't even come looking for you, yet you delivered yourself to die. It's great, today I not only get to kill you but also gain the Seven-Star Ancient Sword and the Cold Moon Blade, hahaha, quite a bountiful harvest indeed!"
"The Cold Moon Blade is mine!" Black Asura said in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on the two Famed Instruments on Ye Qing.
"Don't worry, I won't fight you for it!" Netherworld Scholar sneered, "The Seven-Star Ancient Sword is fine too. Besides, what I really want is his life!"
"Then why waste words, attack!" Black Asura shouted, grabbing a table beside him and hurling it at Ye Qing.
Netherworld Scholar moved even faster, kicking two chairs in succession and smashing them towards Ye Qing.
Both men were very powerful but, wary of the Seven-Star Ancient Sword in Ye Qing's hand, they did not dare approach and had to use these objects to attack from a distance. Nevertheless, this method of attack was quite effective; a table and two chairs flying at him made Ye Qing extremely busy, occupied with dealing with these three objects.
Netherworld Scholar and Black Asura were waiting for an opportunity. Seeing Ye Qing busy with the three objects, they immediately charged at Ye Qing simultaneously. Black Asura reached for the Cold Moon Blade on Ye Qing's back, while Netherworld Scholar went straight for Ye Qing's neck!
(End of ten chapters, thanks for all the votes and rewards from my friends.)