Chapter 1737 - 314

Having too high a status, sitting too far forward in the sedan chair, is not necessarily a good thing sometimes.

Those sitting in the sedan chairs behind had all witnessed Zhao Yi's madness, yet even though Zhao Shan'an noticed something off about Zhao Yi, he didn't immediately take a drastic view of it.

Because it defied common sense.

Waves have inertia.

In this wave, following the tide, one would first kill someone from the Zhao family, then disguise as them, and finally infiltrate the Zhao Family Ancestral Mansion to complete the assassination of the Great Elder. This aligns well with the experience of past waves.

The river's waters won't give you straightforward arrangements; there's always a buildup, a process.

But this time, things changed.

When the Second Elder made things clear and the facade was torn, Zhao Shan'an was taken aback, quickly retreating.

But as soon as his toes touched the ground, he found the Second Elder reappearing before him, ghost-like, yet with a kindly face.

Zhao Shan'an lifted himself again, trying to retreat further, but the Second Elder retreated in advance, standing right on Zhao Shan'an's only retreat path.

The little old man held a lantern in one hand, while the other formed a palm, waiting for the willing fish to bite.

However, what clashed with him was not Zhao Shan'an himself, but a sword.

The little old man was slightly surprised.

Hiding the tool within the body, waiting for the right moment—this sword must have been planned from the first retreat.

More than the swordsmanship, the person's mindset was more exquisite.

The little old man pressed down with his palm, separating then closing his index and middle fingers to catch the sword edge, his gaze intense, his aura solidifying like a mountain.

Zhao Shan'an didn't add more force along with this sword; forcing the mountain would lead to his sword breaking and himself perishing.

Letting out a low growl from his throat, Zhao Shan'an flicked his ten fingers, making a preparatory stance.

The prepared little old man not only failed to notice the sword edge's swift advance, but found the sword's momentum rapidly weakening, and irregular patterns appeared on the sword body, which then cracked, transforming into sharp fragments that twisted and pierced, forming an array while rotating.

The little old man had to let go and retreat, stepping back three times, each step accompanied by a palm swing, smashing back the sharp fragments buzzing like bees ahead.

Zhao Shan'an gestured with his hand, and the broken sword returned, re-forming into a complete sword.

The little old man rubbed his hands and smiled, "Such exquisite swordsmanship."

Zhao Shan'an's breathing was heavy, his gaze severe; though he had successfully forced the other to retreat earlier, it was only due to extreme maneuvering under the opponent's immense pressure.

The little old man flicked the lantern in his hand, the lantern's flame turning blue, with a barely visible circulation of Sword Qi.

"Youngster, eat my sword."

Without a fancy sword form, the lantern directly aimed, its light turning into a radiant haze, instantly carrying countless Sword Intents unknown in variety.

Zhao Shan'an wielded his sword constantly, dissolving each Sword Intent, but while the opponent executed a simple move, he had to deal with it in such a complicated way.

Each time at an opportune moment, the little old man lightly flicked the lantern, as Sword Intents rained down as if costing nothing, scattering in handfuls toward the opponent.

Zhao Shan'an seemed trapped within this endless Sword Array; continuing on would surely lead him to wear himself out.

This is how a skilled warrior achieves victory without glaring merits, unwilling to even suffer a minor scratch.

Yet at the same time, Zhao Shan'an felt a strong sense of confusion:

The little old man's actual age was much older than appearance suggested, at such an age he should have entered a stage of declining vitality, targeting quick kills in short bursts should be the choice, rather than this extravagant approach.

But regardless of the underlying secrets in the Zhao family, Zhao Shan'an had to break the deadlock first.

Spinning his body, Zhao Shan'an shed the elder-like demeanor of a clan head, raising his long sword with momentum.

One sword scattered moonlight, forcefully pushing back the Sword Intents surrounding him.

Another sword brought the horizon to fingertips, putting Zhao Shan'an in front of the little old man.

At this point, any clear-eyed person could see Zhao Shan'an was like an exhausted arrow after consecutive moves.

The little old man poised to lift his lantern, wanting to finish him in one strike, but his expression suddenly froze and he immediately withdrew.

Zhao Shan'an's skin wrinkled and contracted to his chest, transforming into a short sword, piercing toward the little old man like a stream of light.

The little old man tried to catch it between retreat, but his fingers trembled, and along with bleeding from the cracks, the Sword Qi on the short sword bounced off his touch.

Though the sword's momentum was waning, its force still carried, directly entering the little old man's chest.

"Puh!"

The sword pierced just an inch, unable to go further. The little old man wanted to pull it out, yet feared the terrifying Sword Intent left on the blade. In the end, he sealed the short sword with both hands forming a Seal, finally letting the sword fall.

The little old man's face no longer showed kindness, his eyes sinister, looking at the stripped off human skin of the opponent.

It was a woman.

The woman appeared very young, about the same age as Zhao Yi, but her white hair covered the youth and liveliness this age should have.

Her eyes were not the least bit cold, with a vivid bloody red unable to fade surrounding her eye sockets.

"Is your family name Xi? Truly unexpected, the Huaiyin Xi Family still has descendants, while the world thought Liu Qingcheng, the Dragon King of the Liu Family, had exterminated the Xi family completely back in the day."

"My name is not Xi."

"Young lady, there's no need to be afraid, the Liu family is still the Dragon King's Court now, but it is no longer what it was back then, you can openly say your name is Xi."

"My name is not Xi."

The woman's right hand holding the sword was bleeding continuously, collecting and dripping along the sword edge down to the ground. The earlier killing move seemed to have hurt the opponent, but had only made him bleed a bit.

As for herself, her internal energy was already chaotic, feeling very unwell.