Chapter 148: I Have a Sword

"Elder, your subordinate requests to fight!"

"Elder, if we all attack together, even against tens of thousands of troops, we have the strength to put up a fight. Plus, with so many disciples here, we might not necessarily lose this battle!"

"Shut up!" With a cold shout, the middle-aged man in red robes exchanged a look with the lean old man; they seemed to have understood each other's intentions and nodded quietly together.

If there were truly tens of thousands of people forming a Military Formation, it would be something no ordinary person could withstand. If there were also strong generals acting as the core of the formation to provide unified command, that Military Formation would be as immovable as a wall of bronze and iron.

If this battle were truly fought, the losses would likely be heavy and not worth it. If those ordinary disciples were gone, they were gone; they were just a bunch of chives—cut one crop, and another grows. But the elites before them were not easy to cultivate.

Afterwards, the middle-aged man in red robes looked at his subordinates, who were filled with righteous indignation, and raised his hands to press them down. To be honest, this scene still made him feel quite gratified; at the very least, the people he had recruited were not those who feared death.

Well, they were all top-quality cannon fodder!

"Alright, we have already suffered heavy losses in Songnan Prefecture and can no longer afford any more casualties, so what we must do now is preserve our strength. Once the experts sent by the Leader join up with us, we will take down that young Prefect in one fell swoop!"

"Everyone, follow me and leave through the secret passage. Do you understand!"

"Yes, Elder!" came the response, and everyone answered in unison. The entire process was without a hint of hesitation, and no one even suggested staying behind to fight to the death.

So the posture of having their blood boil and wanting to fight those people outside just a moment ago was all an act for my benefit? They are all quite something!

"Let's go!" With a slightly darkened expression, he led the people away, but just as they exited the main hall, he saw a figure blocking their path.

Under the moonlight, the slender figure was cast into a long shadow. The terrifying sword momentum on that person had been building for who knows how long; even just looking at it made one's eyes sting. The slightly thin frame before them seemed like a towering mountain, as if it could only be looked up to.

"Oh my, where are you all going? Would you like this official to send you on your way?"

"Who are you?"

"Elder, he is Shen Yu, Shen Hengzhi!"

"Oh, so it is you!" Feeling a slight shock in his heart, the lean old man looked up to size the other person up again. No wonder he could possess such might at a young age; truly, a reputation is never without substance.

However, although this Sword Qi was strong, it did not seem to exceed the Grandmaster Realm. He carefully observed the surrounding environment; there were no hidden soldiers, no helpers—he was all alone.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Has this little bastard become arrogant, daring to come here alone? If he had helpers by his side, he might have been three parts wary. But now, hmph!

He himself was a Grandmaster Realm Perfection expert, and the red-robed Elder beside him was at the Grandmaster Realm Ninth Layer. With so many helpers around, if they still couldn't kill one young man, they would have no face left to walk the Jianghu.

He signaled to the side, and the middle-aged man in red robes beside him nodded slightly. They had worked together for many years and had long been in sync. Even just a glance was enough to understand each other's intentions.

He waved his hand gently behind him, and the surrounding people immediately understood and quietly spread out. Following that, everyone stood in their respective positions, their Qi connecting as if they were a single entity.

Endless power surged continuously into the lean old man at the front. At this moment, under the infusion of this endless power, the Blood Gang Qi around the lean old man suddenly erupted, as if it were about to obscure the stars, sun, and moon.

Feeling the terrifying power surging through his entire body, he had never felt so powerful before; this was power he could never have reached in the past. Anything would surely be fragile and unable to withstand a single blow under this power.

"Kill!" With a thunderous shout, the old man soared directly into the air. In his eyes, the young man opposite him was already a dead man!

However, as he approached the other party, a golden protective barrier suddenly appeared, enveloping the other party's entire body, shielding it as if there were not the slightest gap.

"Clang!" The Blood Gang Qi collided with the golden protective barrier. In an instant, terrifying power swept through the surroundings from the point of impact, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

The scene he expected—the barrier shattering and the young man opposite being torn to pieces—did not happen. Instead, his full-force strike, which he took such pride in, actually vanished into nothingness under this golden light, not even causing the slightest ripple.

At the same time, a powerful and terrifying rebounding force came back, continuously battering his meridians and dantian.

What a terrifying Hardened Body Technique. He found it hard to imagine that the other party could have such attainments at such a young age.

If he were to force the fight, he feared that before he could break the defense, he himself would already be shaken to death by that terrifying rebounding force.

And just at this moment, the lean old man saw Shen Yu's movement—it was the motion of preparing to draw his sword. The other party was already this terrifying just by relying on his defense without even making a move; what would it be like if he actually attacked?

Facing this strike that had been building for so long, could they really escape?

Looking back at the people behind him, a flash of ruthlessness suddenly appeared in the lean old man's eyes. If he didn't use some methods, they would likely be wiped out entirely. Since these people behind him were going to die anyway, why not sacrifice them to achieve success for himself?

The Blood Evil Technique was inherently a Cultivation Method of top-down control; the superior would leave a bit of True Qi when passing on the technique to facilitate control over the subordinate. And when the subordinate practiced the technique, they could also feed back into the superior.

But in fact, the Blood Evil Technique had another function: at the most critical moment, one could easily devour the True Qi of all subordinates for one's own use. With so much power gathered together, its might would inevitably be unimaginably strong.

Why bring these people along to run away? Wasn't it just to use them at the critical moment? Now, it was time to let them make a sacrifice!

He reached his hand back slightly, and in almost an instant, he controlled the True Qi of all these people; this was the absolute control of a superior over a subordinate in the Blood Evil Technique.

Following that, an endless suction force appeared from his hand, and the source of power was continuously absorbed by the lean old man into his own body.

This time, he was going to harvest the chives ahead of schedule. Not only their True Qi, but even their life force and the essence of their flesh and blood—he wanted it all!

"Elder!" Feeling their power rapidly dissipating, everyone revealed looks of panic; this was not what they had imagined.

Wasn't it said that they were only lending their power when facing an enemy? This didn't look like lending at all; it was clearly robbery. Moreover, it wasn't just their True Qi; their faces also seemed to be aging rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This wasn't just taking their cultivation; it was taking their lives!

"You, why!" Feeling his own power being stolen as well, the middle-aged man in red robes raised his head, looking at the other person in disbelief. He could not believe that the person he trusted most would even go so far as to seize his own power.

Weren't they like teacher and friend, the closest of partners? Why did it have to be this way? So it turned out that from beginning to end, only he had been the one taking it seriously!

"Good grief!" The resentful look in the middle-aged man in red robes' eyes gave Shen Yu a chill. It was like the expression of someone abandoned by their lover—seeming pained, seeming disbelieving, seeming unable to accept it.

For two grown men to show such a look, it gave one goosebumps. Forget it, better to send you all on your way early!

He raised his sword, and the sword momentum that had been building for a long time erupted completely at this moment. The sharp Sword Qi seemed as if it were about to pierce the firmament; even the wind and air around them seemed to have stopped dead under this sword momentum, as if all things had frozen in that instant.

And at the same time, the old man's forced absorption on the opposite side seemed to have reached its end. At this moment, the endless power within his body filled his face with confidence. He was confident that he could tear everything before him into pieces.

"Shen Yu, today I will let you know my strongest power. To die under this power is your honor!"

"Are you people getting on in years? If you're going to fight, then fight; stop yapping. I have a sword I've never used before; today, I'll use you to sharpen it!"

"Sword, Twenty-Three!"