Chapter 278

Like a massive, aged beehive, the wasps had only ever seen others nervously dodge them when they left the hive; they had never imagined that someone would dare to punch their way into the nest.

Nearly twenty people were sitting or standing in the courtyard. Even though they had just heard the guard's roar outside, when they saw this gate—a symbol of terror and majesty—collapse like rotten wood the next moment, several people still stood frozen in place, pressing their hands to their swords.

But the gate was truly groaning loosely, and the youth just walked in without looking aside.

For a moment, shouts and questions rang out in confusion. A black-faced, scarred man with a thick beard raised a long blade and pointed it straight at him, demanding an answer. However, the youth carrying the sheathed sword said nothing; he looked up at the Longmen Tower, as if he only had legs, and strode straight ahead.

The bearded man's eyes widened like bells. He stepped onto a table, and his long blade slashed diagonally to meet him. With his sideburns fluttering, his tiger-like momentum was as fierce as fire.

Deng Shuiping, the number one hall master under Di Fei, was the one on duty guarding the courtyard tonight. Since he had lunged forward, the men who had been stunned and pressing their swords also immediately took action, the sound of blades being drawn ringing out in unison.

For a moment, seventeen or eighteen people charged, leaped through the air, or stepped off walls, swarming toward Pei Ye.

White blades dazzled.

Deng Shuiping was in the lead. His eight-foot long blade slashed almost into a full moon, the force cutting through the surrounding air and forcing out a sharp whistle.

Pei Ye turned his arm with the sword scabbard, blocking the blade that was slashing down at his head, and smashed his chest bone with one strike.

The man's body flew out thirty feet away like a broken bag, and at the same time, more figures surged up against him.

With white blades fluttering and dazzling, Pei Ye's long scabbard danced around him like a clean and swift swimming dragon. Every blade of light slashing toward him faced an uncontrollable "clang," and after every "clang" was a figure flying out and falling.

With the hilt, the scabbard body, the scabbard tip, bumping, striking, stabbing... every one of the youth's attacks was enough to make a person lose their strength. The enemies flew toward him like chaotic butterflies, but five breaths later, there was no one left standing in the courtyard.

And the youth had never stopped his forward pace.

He had clearly awakened the entire Longmen Tower, and two figures were sweeping down from the building.

Under the moonlight, one had a long blade with a black scabbard at his waist, his figure already showing a fierce and solid quality—this was "Silent Tiger" Di Fei; the other had a long fan in hand, wearing white clothes with fluttering ribbons—this was "Blood Plum Blossom" Xu Er.

Di Fei was a major gang leader who had been famous since the time of the old Dragon Head and had been in the Fifth Life Realm for many years; Xu Er was a young man who had come up with Kou Liyue and had also stepped into the Fifth Life Realm last year.

The two of them had always been able to suppress any disturbance in Seven-Meng Jiucheng.

At this moment, behind them, the tall Kou Liyue walked slowly to the railing, stood a heavy long blade on the ground, and looked down.

Xu Er waved his arm in the air, and three points of cold light stretched into three thin, long silver threads.

"Your Excellency visits the Longmen Tower; why not report your origin and name?"

The beginning of the sentence was at the top of the building, and the end was already at Pei Ye's ear.

Xu Er's pale face was pressed right in front of him. The scar on his cheek seemed to straighten, and the fierce light in his pupils completely destroyed the elegance of this face, making him look more and more like a gaunt snake.

His attack was indeed as venomous as a snake.

Pei Ye turned the sword scabbard in front of him, and with three "ding" sounds, the three sharp, thin silver threads flashed and vanished. The next moment, a long fan was already at Pei Ye's forehead, the cold iron wrapped around the ends reflecting the bright candlelit building behind him.

Pei Ye tilted his head and dodged to the side, the long fan pointing past his face, the force of the wind blowing up his bangs; the sword scabbard in his hand blocked behind him, just in time to catch Di Fei's mountain-splitting blade.

This was the heaviest impact so far, and the wild wind it brought kicked up half a foot of dust; the clear "clang" almost spread across half of Seven-Meng Jiucheng.

The next instant, the fan in front of Pei Ye opened with a "boom," spreading its tail like a poisonous peacock.

Nineteen extremely fine hair-needles shot toward his face, a ghostly green light flashing and vanishing on them.

The fan was already a dangerous close-quarters weapon, and the hidden mechanism for an explosive burst made it even more impossible to guard against. At this distance, the youth could feel the wind kicked up when the fan opened.

It was just that the needles were faster than the wind.

Young Master Xu Er's venomous technique, which he had used to win repeatedly, had never seen a survivor among those who had seen it. Now, seeing the youth before him steadily blocking Di Fei's long blade with his back turned, he released it with a "boom" without hesitation.

Yet the youth before him still had a calm expression.

He didn't even look at the small needles in front of him. Although Di Fei behind him was clearly gathering another half-moon strike capable of breaking a waist, the youth suddenly turned his head toward Xu Er.

His lips parted slightly, and a barely audible syllable burst from his mouth.

Xu Er paused for a moment before he could distinguish it. It was—

"Fire."

As his pupils shrank, a burst of flame erupted from the void. The flames, compressed until they were almost as thick as liquid, erupted from the youth's side, fluttering his bangs, submerging the long fan, submerging the ghostly green venomous needles, and submerging the arm Xu Er held the fan with.

It submerged his entire body.

It erupted and swept past, the violent hot wind pushing everything away. In this instant, the fiery light reflected an ascending, dancing orange glow on everyone's face.

But the next moment, all it stirred was the black hair behind the youth's head.

Pei Ye turned around. Di Fei's second blade was slashing down at his face. Pei Ye swung the scabbard up to strike, and two equally fierce forces collided with a clang!

It was unclear who had the upper hand, because before the result was settled, a silver light had already flashed out of its scabbard.

The sword body, like autumn water and a bright moon, swept past the long blade.

Hot blood sprayed silently into the air. Di Fei's pupils shrank; he had already lost his long blade and his forearm.

In his forty years of life, he had never seen such sword light. It was like thin ice flickering and vanishing, like a jade dream suddenly shattering. That beautiful flash vanished, and the dangerous sharpness was only realized in hindsight.

Pei Ye only struck one sword. When he returned it to the scabbard, he had already pinched the long blade in the air, filled it with Qi, turned, and threw it. The bright blade slashed past, piercing the human shape that was trembling and standing up below, pinning its abdomen to the wall.

Falling back, the sword scabbard smashed with a whistle, and Di Fei, who had lost his strength in the air, crashed into the wall far away, clutching his arm and falling in a heap.

Pei Ye landed on the ground.

The two Fifth Life experts could no longer stand up.

Kou Liyue on the top of the building was still looking down, motionless, but the heavy long blade in his hand had already slowly left its scabbard.

"Spirit technique..." the man's thick voice fell into the courtyard. "Sorcerer, what is your origin, and what grudge do you have with the Longmen Tower?"

No one answered.

Under the reflection of moonlight, fire, and candlelight, the youth raised a clear face and looked at the man on the roof without saying a word.

After a few breaths of silence, he slowly raised his hand.

He gently beckoned toward him.

Kou Liyue's face sank abruptly, and the railing on the top floor exploded! The man dragged his long blade behind him and swept down like a tiger or lion!

Pei Ye instantly braced his sword to meet him.

The next day, Zi Huang, whose spirit had already become somewhat sluggish, gripped his sword hilt tightly. By nightfall, they encountered three similar traces again, and they were getting fresher.

While leaping upward, Pei Ye's long sword left its scabbard silently.

There was not the slightest flow on the bright, resilient sword body, only a distant tranquility. He pointed his sword at the blade Kou Liyue was slashing down with.

Suddenly, a silver bottle shattered, and a snow mountain erupted.

Unimaginable violence and abundance burst forth from this autumn-water-like, tranquil long sword. Where the sword tip pointed, the air exploded into a void. As long as one was within this range, flags and ribbons shattered into the sky, railings were destroyed and shot out; nothing could escape. This was an unparalleled explosion!

Kou Liyue was like someone meeting a sea collapse; his downward-pouncing figure was violently struck back upward. Even the Qi of the Sixth Life was not enough to control his body in this instant. When his pupils shrank and he stretched his arms to grip the railing beside him to stabilize his body, he had already returned to the fifth floor.

In front, the youth was sweeping over, leaning on the eaves and wielding his sword, his pair of calm eyes fixed tightly on him.

The sword technique 【Snow Collapse】 was no longer the wobbly semi-finished product in Yang Yan's hands. In the hands of a true swordsman, it finally revealed its deserved terror.

On the fifth floor, the disheveled Sun Qingyi was looking over in astonishment.

He paused for a while, then suddenly turned and ran to pull the sword on the wall. The sword was hung quite high, and he pulled it three times before he could pull out the bright sword body completely. But when he turned around after pulling it out breathlessly, he stood frozen in place.

Kou Liyue shook his arm, and the vast, cool Qi surged in to eliminate the numbness. He still didn't know where the youth before him came from, but even if he did, it was no longer important.

Not to mention that the other party didn't look like they had any intention of negotiating, just the fact that the Longmen Tower was Kou Liyue's face—if someone killed their way in with a single person and a single sword like this today, and this person wasn't hung on the tower's flagpole the next day, he would become the laughingstock of the entire Xiangzhou City.

Just like that time three years ago...

The fierce intent in Kou Liyue's eyes suddenly burst forth. The long blade resting on the ground slashed upward abruptly, the floor shattered, cracking into a deep ravine, and the strong, abundant Qi crashed toward the youth without hesitation!

He didn't believe that the youth could use such a move repeatedly!

Pei Ye still faced him head-on; this time, sure enough, there was no 【Snow Collapse】.

The blade and sword collided in the air. The suppression of the sixty-four meridians was immediately evident. The long sword was pressed down by the blade body without suspense, but the next moment, the space under the blade suddenly emptied. That autumn-water-like bright light had transformed into a soft piece of silk, sharply probing toward his wrist.

Kou Liyue's Qi exploded on the blade, shattering the soft, snake-like, troublesome sword. He pressed toward the youth with his blade again; the beams blocking the blade's path were like rotten wood under the edge.

But the next moment, Kou Liyue felt the force in the sword retreat without collapsing. It didn't lose control after being shattered but spun a beautiful flower in the youth's hand.

"Clumsy Realm."

The blade was already extremely fast and fierce; anyone who touched it would lose control of their weapon, but the youth's shattered long sword tapped it three times, actually stabilizing it instead. Suddenly, the blade was weak and the sword was strong. The youth struck out a clear, resonant sound with his sword and pressed straight in.

"Peak of the Clumsy Realm!"

"Sun Qingyi fainted. I checked, and he didn't suffer much injury. He'll be fine after a night's rest." Pei Ye brushed his hands. "I dismantled Kou Liyue's arm and hung him on the central flagpole—everyone can go throw stones tomorrow."

The long blade still slashed fiercely!

Even 【Clear Resonance】, which stood the sword straight with strength, could not cross the chasm between the Fifth and Sixth. Even after several turns, the strength and weakness between the blade and sword were still clear at a glance.

The man and the youth approached with cold eyes, while the blade edge and sword light walked ahead of them.

The result of this collision was originally beyond doubt, but just as the blade and sword were about to touch, Pei Ye looked at the man in front of him and parted his lips slightly again, gently spitting out a syllable.

Kou Liyue's body tensed abruptly!

Just now, while looking down from the building, that fire dragon that obeyed his words had made his heart and lungs clench. Now that the same scene appeared before his eyes, the Qi already prepared in the man's body instantly braked his body.

Fire was just ordinary fire; it didn't possess mysterious characteristics like traveling through substance or being like a maggot on a bone. But unfortunately, Kou Liyue was still one layer away from the realm of being able to emit Qi externally and repel sorcery weapons.

Between the Fourth and Sixth, Qi could only be "internal" and not "external." Flames were indeed difficult to injure bones, but skin and flesh were just ordinary skin and flesh.

In battles where the realm was not enough to reach "Qi Sorcery," spiritual techniques like fire methods and water methods were almost impossible to crack. This was precisely the dominance they should possess.

To avoid this move, one could only retreat faster.

The moment the word "Fire" left his mouth, Kou Liyue stopped his blade and retreated violently, holding his long blade and accumulating a violent strike after the fire method.

The Sixth Life was indeed faster than the Fifth. The speed at which the flames could submerge Xu Er just now was definitely not enough to severely injure Kou Liyue this time.

But... no flames sprayed out.

Only the word "Fire" landed dryly. Kou Liyue's reaction as a startled bird seemed abrupt and ridiculous, while the youth's sword didn't stop at all, as if he had long foreseen his retreat, pressing straight toward his throat.

And the moment Kou Liyue realized he had been tricked, a copper light swept toward his face. Kou Liyue tilted his head to avoid it. The next moment, his scalp tightened, and the feeling of constriction reached his brain before the pain.

Intense heat erupted suddenly.

"He doesn't need to speak to release flames!!"

Kou Liyue's heart and lungs really shrank this time, and his whole body tensed. He exerted all his Qi to step forward, and his long blade slashed out with fire and wind.

He could only slash back against the fire!

And in front of him was the youth's long sword, which had gathered extreme momentum.

Pei Ye looked at him expressionlessly, collided solidly with this blade with one sword, and was bounced away the next moment, spinning a drifting sword flower. With a twist of his wrist, he slashed at the blade body again. At the moment of collision, the bead-like "ding-dang" sounds connected into one, and the force of the man's long blade was all drained.

And just amidst the bead-like sounds, Kou Liyue's blade momentum rose again, but the bright, light-like long sword suddenly lay horizontally before his eyes at a certain moment. The bright fire light behind him made his eyes ache, and the next moment, a light and lethal sword light had somehow shaken out, sinking into his shoulder blade with one strike.

A sword strike as if the process had been cut out, "Yellow Jade" Second Form: 【Hidden Clouds Catch the Sparrow】.

Kou Liyue's arm instantly lost strength, and the long blade fell to the ground with a clang. Pei Ye held his sword forward, crashing into his body without slowing down, pressing him with his sword to meet the surging flames behind him.

Bright, scorching flowers and waves submerged everything.

When the figure reappeared, one person had turned into a wounded, limp human shape.

Pei Ye gently twirled a sword flower and returned the sword to its scabbard. In front, the man's body fell limp to the ground. The youth opened his hand, and the fierce, arrogant fire flow quietly sank into his open palm.

He looked at the old man who was staring blankly while holding the sword with both hands against the wall and revealed a clear, bright smile: "Sun Qingyi, my friend said that play script was worth ten taels of silver, but you only asked me for two—I've helped you claim justice for those eight taels of silver."

The dog author dared to end it like this yesterday?

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(End of chapter)