Chapter 396: Then I Alone Will Kill You

Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Then I Alone Will Kill You

On the cliff, Yi Xiaoyao and Ji Hao stared intently ahead.

A young man stood there, a bow clutched in his hand. It was the one who had just shot at Yi Xiaoyao.

But when he saw Yi Xiaoyao pull the arrow out of his body without leaving so much as a scratch, his expression instantly changed.

"Qin Ying! How dare you ambush us!" Ji Hao roared at the bowman.

Qin Ying sneered. "Hmph! So what if I ambushed you? It’s better than you stealing the Vitality Power from the vein!"

Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes narrowed. This man actually knew they were here absorbing the Vitality Power from the vein.

The cold glint in Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes didn’t fade. He and Ji Hao shot toward Qin Ying. He had been on the verge of a breakthrough for his Cyan Wood Nascent Soul, only to be interrupted by this man. If it weren’t for his Cyan Wood Undying Body, he would have been severely injured, if not killed.

And so, Yi Xiaoyao now wanted Qin Ying dead.

At that moment, the mine guardians approached and demanded, "What’s going on?"

Seeing Ji Hao and Yi Xiaoyao charging at him, Qin Ying knew he was outmatched and quickly retreated toward the guardians.

"Guardians, I am a disciple of the Cyan Cloud Sect. I was born with a Wood Spirit Body, which allows me to sense Vitality Power."

Qin Ying said to the guardians, "I just discovered these two from the Ji Family stealing Vitality Power from the vein. I tried to stop them, but now they want to kill me to silence me for exposing them!"

Hearing Qin Ying’s words, the group of guardians frowned and moved to block Yi Xiaoyao and Ji Hao.

"No wonder you two have been able to cultivate so quickly on this cliff. So you were stealing the vein’s vitality!"

Ji Hao, who was completely unaware that Yi Xiaoyao was manipulating the vitality, immediately said to the guardians, "That’s absurd! The Vitality Power was clearly surging into my body on its own!"

The crowd instantly erupted in laughter. It was the most ridiculous joke they had ever heard. Vitality Power just surges into someone’s body on its own? As if such a wonderful thing could ever happen!

Ji Hao’s expression turned ugly. Even he found it hard to believe, so it was no surprise that these people didn’t.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he’d thought of something. He turned to Yi Xiaoyao beside him and asked, "Xiaoyao, did you feel that surging Vitality Power just now?"

Yi Xiaoyao didn’t answer Ji Hao immediately. Instead, he addressed the guardians, "This Cyan Essence Stone Vein is currently unclaimed. We haven’t entered the mine, so even if we can absorb Vitality Power here, it can hardly be called stealing. It would be best if you all didn’t meddle in affairs that don’t concern you."

"Hmph. In the coming battle for the Cyan Essence Stone Vein, your Ji Family is guaranteed to lose. Therefore, this vein has nothing to do with the Ji Family. You absorbing Vitality Power here *is* stealing!" Qin Ying snorted coldly.

Among the guardians were three elders, one each from the Ji Family, the Liu Family, and the Cyan Cloud Sect. The Ji Family elder was naturally displeased by Qin Ying’s words, but the elders from the other two factions found his reasoning sound.

"Since someone from the Ji Family has admitted to absorbing the vein’s Vitality Power, then we, the Liu Family and the Cyan Cloud Sect, will forbid anyone from the Ji Family from setting foot in this place until the battle begins!" the Liu Family and Cyan Cloud Sect elders declared.

The Ji Family elder frowned, but one family couldn’t stand against two. He had no choice but to turn to Yi Xiaoyao and Ji Hao. "You two should leave this place for now."

"Ji Hao, I hear you’re participating in the battle for the vein. Try not to die by my hand when the time comes."

Seeing Ji Hao and Yi Xiaoyao leave in frustration, Qin Ying grinned smugly. Clearly, he would also be participating in the battle for the vein.

Ji Hao’s face was filled with indignation. Just as he and Yi Xiaoyao were about to leave, he heard Qin Ying’s taunt and whipped around, looking at him with contempt.

"The people of the Cyan Cloud Sect only know how to launch sneak attacks. After committing such a despicable act, you hide behind others, too afraid to come out. With cowardice like that, you think you’re worthy of being my opponent?"

"How ridiculous. The two of you were about to gang up on me, and you call *me* a coward? If it were one-on-one, what would I have to fear?" Qin Ying sneered.

A cold smirk touched Yi Xiaoyao’s lips. "You have no fear? Then I’ll kill you myself."

With that, Yi Xiaoyao beckoned to Qin Ying with a crooked finger.

Qin Ying scoffed. "Now that Ji Hao has improved his Cultivation, maybe he has the right to say something like that. But you? You’re not even worthy of me making a move."

"Just as Ji Hao said. You only dare to wound me with sneak attacks, but you don’t dare to face me in a real fight. The Cyan Cloud Sect is full of cowards."

Yi Xiaoyao said coolly, then turned to Ji Hao. "Let’s go."

’Since Qin Ying is going to be in the battle, he’s a dead man anyway,’ Yi Xiaoyao thought. ’Sooner or later, it makes no difference.’

Just as the two were about to turn and leave, Qin Ying shouted, "Stop!"

Yi Xiaoyao and Ji Hao exchanged a strange smile, then stopped and turned. It seemed this guy had chosen the ’sooner’ option.

Qin Ying had already drawn his bow, aiming it squarely at Yi Xiaoyao. He called out to the Ji Family guardians, "You all saw it. They’re the ones looking for death. When I kill this man from your Ji Family, don’t come looking for me."

"Kill him. With us here, these Ji Family members won’t be able to touch you," the Cyan Cloud Sect guardians said with a laugh.

Ji Hao also spoke to the Ji Family guardians. "Keep an eye on these Cyan Cloud Sect people. We wouldn’t want them causing a scene when one of their own dies."

The words had barely left his mouth when the arrow on Qin Ying’s bow let out a piercing shriek, seemingly tearing through space itself as it flew toward Yi Xiaoyao.

As expected of the one chosen by the Cyan Cloud Sect for the battle, Qin Ying had reached the Fourth Realm of Void-Entering at a young age. Even a cultivator at the Fifth Realm of Void-Entering would struggle to block this arrow, and for someone at the Fourth Realm, dodging was impossible.

Although Qin Ying could see that Yi Xiaoyao’s Cultivation was only at the peak of the Second Realm of Void-Entering, he hadn’t forgotten that his previous arrow had left the man completely unharmed. Thus, he didn’t dare to underestimate him.

After loosing the arrow, Qin Ying’s own body shot forward like a second projectile, following the arrow’s path toward Yi Xiaoyao. A cyan Light Seal glowed in his palm.

SHIING! Yi Xiaoyao drew his sword, but his body remained motionless. He was waiting for the arrow. Waiting for Qin Ying.

In the next instant, the arrow arrived. Qin Ying was right behind it, the Light Seal in his palm whistling through the air.

Yi Xiaoyao moved. With his Bloodthirsty Sword, he unleashed a cyan sword light imbued with the power to extinguish all vitality. It also contained an utterly terrifying Destruction Will.

When the three Guardian Elders saw this slash, their expressions changed drastically.

"That’s the Power of Will!"

"He’s only at the Second Realm of Void-Entering! How could he have possibly mastered the Power of Will?"

"And this isn’t Cyan Wood Will! This Power of Will is far more terrifying!"

These cries of alarm made Qin Ying, who had just closed in on Yi Xiaoyao, pale. By the time he realized what they meant, it was already too late.

The Sword Aura from the Cyan Wood Life-cutting Sword had already collided with the Sky-breaking Cyan Wood Arrow. The Destruction Will instantly obliterated the arrow before continuing on to slash at the Light Seal Qin Ying had unleashed.

CRACK!

Just like the arrow before it, the cyan Light Seal had no defense against this Power of Destruction. It was instantly destroyed, shattering into countless fragments that dissipated into motes of light.

Before these motes of light had even fully dissipated, Qin Ying’s terrified face and disbelieving eyes were cleaved in two by the sword. His entire body was then destroyed, bursting apart in a gory explosion.

Even though Qin Ying was two minor realms higher than Yi Xiaoyao, and even though he possessed the strength to fight opponents a whole minor realm above him—enough to contend with a Fifth Realm Void-Entering cultivator—he still couldn’t escape his fate: death by a single sword strike from Yi Xiaoyao.

At the very least, when it came to fighting above his own realm, Yi Xiaoyao had yet to meet anyone stronger than himself.

And this was the price Qin Ying paid for ambushing Yi Xiaoyao and interrupting his Cultivation breakthrough.

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