Chapter 70: Slaughter

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Slaughter

Yi Xiaoyao charged toward one of the guards first, but the others hesitated, not daring to follow close behind.

When the twenty guards saw Yi Xiaoyao attack, looks of contempt appeared on all their faces.

"These petty thieves are such cowards. Only one brat dares to approach, and he’s just some reckless fool at the Second Realm of Foundation Establishment."

One of the guards sneered mockingly at Lin Chuang and the others as he ran.

The guard closest to Yi Xiaoyao said to the others, "He’s just a brat at the Second Realm of Foundation Establishment. Killing him will be as easy as slaughtering a chicken. Leave him to me!"

After speaking, the man raised his long saber high overhead, its blade wreathed in violent Spiritual Power. When he was just ten feet from Yi Xiaoyao, he brought it down in a powerful slash.

A wicked smile appeared on Yi Xiaoyao’s face as he unleashed a heaven-piercing Killing Intent. The Bloodthirsty Sword flashed with a demonic, bloody light.

"Nine Swords of Slaughter, First Form!"

The Sword Momentum was like a rainbow. The icy Killing Intent made the guard’s smile freeze, and a trace of horror flashed through his eyes.

’This sword strike...’

The flash of the sword was too fast—far faster than his own Saber Technique. Moreover, the destructive aura it contained sent a shiver down his spine. ’This is definitely not the power of the Second Realm of Foundation Establishment.’

"Aargh!"

The guard let out a miserable shriek. He had just abandoned his attack to dodge, but Yi Xiaoyao’s sword light still sliced off one of his arms. Blood gushed madly from the stump.

Before the man could even regret his carelessness, Yi Xiaoyao’s figure had already brushed past him, leaving a thin, red line on his neck.

"This!"

This was the first time Lin Chuang and the others had seen Yi Xiaoyao kill, and they were all completely stunned. An enemy at the Fourth Realm of Foundation Establishment was like a piece of tofu before Yi Xiaoyao, cut down with ease.

This scene was like a dawn of victory for them. All their previous doubts about Yi Xiaoyao vanished as they rushed into the fray, each one engaging a guard.

Seeing their brother die so bizarrely, the other guards were momentarily dazed.

"That brat at the Second Realm of Foundation Establishment is no simpleton! He’s the strongest one in this group of thieves!"

With a loud shout, over ten guards swarmed Yi Xiaoyao, roaring for vengeance.

Yi Xiaoyao glanced around him, his expression unwavering, that same wicked smile still playing on his lips.

"Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship!"

A top-tier Profound-rank Defensive Swordsmanship instantly enveloped Yi Xiaoyao in a flawless, impenetrable defense.

At that moment, more than ten long sabers tore through space and ripped through the air, all slashing toward Yi Xiaoyao.

CLANG!

Over ten attacks struck Yi Xiaoyao’s defensive sword barrier simultaneously. Under such a massive impact, anyone else present would have been ground into meat paste.

But Yi Xiaoyao merely sank down slightly, gritting his teeth furiously. He pushed his Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship to its absolute limit. The Devouring Spiritual Power flared like a colossal Black Flame, burning atop the dark barrier formed from Sword Shadows.

"Devour!"

With a low roar, his Devouring Power erupted at full strength. In the span of just two breaths, the violent Spiritual Power on the dozen-odd sabers was completely devoured.

Without their Spiritual Power, not only did the Saber Techniques lose their might, but the sabers themselves also lost all their killing power, left with nothing but their original weight.

"What kind of Swordsmanship is this?! It can actually devour the Spiritual Power from our weapons!"

The dozen or so guards stared in unison, their eyes wide with horror. They hastily withdrew their sabers, reconverged their Spiritual Power, and unleashed their Saber Techniques once more.

"Brat, your defense is freakishly strong, but I refuse to believe you can hold out forever."

"That’s right! With so many of us, we can just wear you down to death!"

As the guards gathered their Spiritual Power, they didn’t forget to sneer at Yi Xiaoyao.

But in the brief moment they were gathering their power, how could Yi Xiaoyao possibly miss such a perfect opportunity to counterattack?

"Hmph. You think all I can do is take a beating and defend?"

The Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship instantly transformed. Destructive Sword Qi surged forth, and from the edge of the Bloodthirsty Sword, a terrifying aura of silent annihilation began to spread.

"Annihilation!"

A silent Sword Shadow flashed past. Yi Xiaoyao’s sword edge shifted, and he once again switched back to the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship, deploying his defense just as the surrounding attacks were about to land.

"What?! Where’s Old Seven’s head?!"

The guards cried out in alarm, discovering that the companion who had just been grazed by Yi Xiaoyao’s sword of annihilation now had half his head missing.

As the body hit the ground, the guards were filled with a mixture of shock and fury.

’To remain unharmed while surrounded by so many of us, and even silently kill one of our own... his strength is simply terrifying.’

Yi Xiaoyao chuckled darkly and looked at one of them. "You’re next."

Fear appeared in the eyes of the guard Yi Xiaoyao had targeted. He immediately yelled to his companions, "Stop dragging this out! Kill this brat, now!"

The ten guards all wore extremely grim expressions. In their eyes, Yi Xiaoyao was no longer just some greenhorn at the Second Realm of Foundation Establishment, but an exceedingly dangerous monster.

The ten men attacked with their full power, slashing down with their sabers. Yi Xiaoyao blocked them with considerable effort, then immediately unleashed another sword strike just like before.

Sure enough, the head of the guard Yi Xiaoyao had just pointed out vanished, and his body collapsed.

For a moment, the remaining nine guards were gripped by panic, terrified that Yi Xiaoyao would target them next.

Yi Xiaoyao saw the tension on their faces. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

"You’re next."

The voice that came from Yi Xiaoyao’s mouth was like a death sentence.

In the next instant, the guard who had just been sentenced to death lost all composure and fled backward in a panic.

His flight was like the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The others also scattered and retreated.

Yi Xiaoyao’s smile finally widened. Like a Death God reaping lives, he began to harvest these cowards who had lost all will to fight.

Facing enemies who were solely focused on escaping, Yi Xiaoyao no longer needed to defend. He just had to swing his sword and kill.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!...

As his figure darted and weaved, flashes of sword light fell and beams of Sword Qi shot out.

The sound of tearing air, whistling wind, miserable screams, terrified cries, and splashing blood.

A terrifying symphony that could shatter any enemy’s will.

In that moment, it became Yi Xiaoyao’s one-man slaughter performance.

One man, one sword. One step, one life.

In less than ten breaths, all twelve guards who had been besieging Yi Xiaoyao were dead.

Meanwhile, Ye Ping, Lin Chuang, and the others, who were still fighting the remaining eight guards, witnessed the entire bloody scene.

The eight of them—Ye Ping and Lin Chuang included—were all frozen in place. As for the eight guards they were facing, seeing the corpses of their companions fall one by one had already scared them witless, and they all turned to flee.

A glint flashed in Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes. He raised his hand and shot out hundreds of streams of Sword Qi, sealing off the eight guards’ escape routes. His ghost-like figure shot forward once more.

A moment later, twenty corpses lay sprawled in pools of blood.

Lin Chuang and the others all swallowed hard, a collective "GULP" sounding from their throats. They stared at Yi Xiaoyao as if he were a demon of slaughter, their faces filled with fear.

Before, Yi Xiaoyao had merely made them wary. But after witnessing that scene, their wariness had transformed into a mixture of terror and admiration.

"Yi... Yi Xiaoyao, you actually... killed all of them!"

Lin Chuang had already forgotten the pain in his severed finger, and his resentment toward Yi Xiaoyao was completely gone.

"I told you," Yi Xiaoyao said calmly. "Letting you stay and fight with me was my way of giving you a chance to live."

...