Chapter 255: Liusheng Piaoxu

Jiangnan.

A coastal town.

The town is exceptionally prosperous, not only because it is close to the sea and merchant ships passing through must stop here to replenish fresh water and food or transship cargo, but also because it is the headquarters of the "Giant Whale Gang," the largest gang along the coast.

Twenty years ago, in the Battle of Taihu, the Eight Great Sects suffered heavy losses, and while they were recuperating, the Giant Whale Gang took advantage of the momentum to rise and expand aggressively.

Because the Giant Whale Gang exterminated the Japanese pirates and sea bandits ravaging the coast, and provided relief to disaster victims during natural and man-made calamities, they were highly valued by the Imperial Court.

With the support of the Imperial Court, the Giant Whale Gang expanded rapidly. Twenty years have passed, and it has become the largest gang along the coast. Today, in terms of wealth and the number of disciples, it even surpasses the Eight Great Sects. It only lacks top-tier experts and a deep foundation.

Three years ago, the Giant Whale Gang spent a large sum of money to recruit experts from the Dongying Xinyin Sect and Iga School to instruct their members in martial arts, using them to deal with the Japanese pirates and control barbarians with barbarians.

The Iga School sent elite disciples led by Kobayashi Masashi, while the head of the Xinyin Sect, Yagyu Tajima no Kami, traveled thousands of miles to personally arrive in the Central Plains.

Under the guidance of the Iga School and the Xinyin Sect, the strength of the Giant Whale Gang's members improved significantly, and the casualty rate in suppressing Japanese pirates was greatly reduced, so the Iga School and Xinyin Sect have stayed for three years.

……

This is a dry landscape courtyard with a distinct Dongying style, possessing a unique charm.

A beautiful figure is standing gracefully in the courtyard.

This is a stunningly beautiful young girl with exquisite features, wearing a princess-cut hairstyle, her jet-black, waterfall-like hair tied with a red ribbon and draped behind her.

The girl possesses the grace of a goddess; although she wears a Dongying Martial Warrior uniform and carries a katana at her waist, her slender waist, barely a handful, is like willow catkins drifting in the wind, making one involuntarily feel a desire to protect her.

But the residents of this town all know that this woman is by no means as fragile as she appears; her katana is fierce and sharp. If one speaks of high martial arts and powerful sword techniques, even Kobayashi Masashi of the Iga School is no match for her, second only to the 'Head of the Xinyin Sect', Yagyu Tajima no Kami.

And this woman is none other than the daughter of Yagyu Tajima no Kami—Liusheng Piaoxu.

Liusheng Piaoxu's beautiful eyes suddenly opened, revealing a sharp light. Her jade hand pressed against the hilt of her katana, and her whole person immediately revealed a sharp beauty; she could be viewed from afar but not trifled with, yet her grace was enough to make any man obsessed with her.

Clang!

The katana was suddenly unsheathed, sharp and cold blade Qi overflowing, the blade light sweeping out, bright and chilling, illuminating the entire courtyard in a snowy white.

Liusheng Piaoxu's sword technique is brilliant; let alone that tiny land of Dongying, even if placed in the entire Central Plains, few in the younger generation could compete with her. This is not only because her martial arts talent is extraordinary and Yagyu Tajima no Kami passed on his skills, but also because of her own bitter cultivation.

The girl's sleeves fluttered, her graceful figure like a flying celestial, but the katana in her hand struck out like lightning, blooming with dazzling brilliance.

For a time, blade light flashed like lightning, blade Qi surged like waves, and the entire courtyard was filled with a murderous aura.

It is unknown how much time passed, but Liusheng Piaoxu finally sheathed her blade, and a faint flush from the exercise appeared on her originally fair and crystalline face, making her look even more moving.

"Very good, Miss Piaoxu is not only beautiful, but this blade is also wielded beautifully; it was not in vain that I traveled so far."

Suddenly, a clear, bright voice of praise and the sound of clapping rang out simultaneously.

A light flashed in Liusheng Piaoxu's beautiful eyes, her figure spun suddenly, the katana in her hand was unsheathed again, and the blade light swept out like a long river.

However, this strike, which should never have missed, slashed into empty space.

"It's just that the killing intent is a bit heavy; you draw your blade at every turn."

That voice came from another direction again. Liusheng Piaoxu turned her head to look and saw a young man dressed in black, smiling as he looked at her.

Liusheng Piaoxu did not speak, but moved like a startled swan, her katana striking again, drawing a streak of lightning.

The young man in black seemed to have moved, yet it also seemed as if he had not moved, and this strike missed again; the subtlety of this is truly impossible to describe in words.

The young man smiled and said: "My 'Heaven Beyond Heaven' cannot be considered a righteous sect either; recruiting a female Demon like you is a perfect match."

Liusheng Piaoxu stared at the young man in black, her voice crisp as she said: "Who are you?"

After these two strikes, she had already sensed that the other party was an expert, perhaps even an unprecedentedly strong enemy, and she could not help but become solemn.

The young man in black smiled faintly: "My name is Yu Liancheng; you can also call me the First Heavenly Venerable."

Liusheng Piaoxu said: "Yu Liancheng? I have no acquaintance with you, sir; I do not know why you have trespassed into Piaoxu's residence?"

Yu Liancheng smiled and said: "I have established a force called 'Heaven Beyond Heaven', but I don't have many experts on hand, so I need to recruit talent, and you are one I have taken a fancy to."

"You want to recruit me?" Liusheng Piaoxu frowned.

Yu Liancheng smiled and said: "That's right."

Liusheng Piaoxu gently smoothed a strand of hair with her jade hand, but her expression remained shrouded in a layer of chill: "What if I don't agree?"

Yu Liancheng smiled and said: "There is no deal in the world that cannot be negotiated, and no wall that cannot be dug through."

"Ah!"

"Baka!"

"Who is it... ah!!"

Just at this moment, horrifying screams suddenly erupted outside the courtyard, the sound of weapons clashing rang out, and a bloody scent drifted in with the wind; it seemed that not far away, a slaughter had begun, and people were dying from time to time.

Liusheng Piaoxu felt anxious and said: "What happened outside? Was it your doing?"

The disciples of the Xinyin Sect all lived in this area, and she had already heard the miserable howls of many fellow disciples; clearly, they were being attacked, and their lives were uncertain.

Yu Liancheng said indifferently: "I am just settling the accounts for what they have done in the past. Don't worry, I will definitely calculate it very clearly and fairly. The greater the mistake, the greater the punishment; I absolutely do not... rarely kill the innocent indiscriminately."

Liusheng Piaoxu snorted coldly, unleashed her movement technique, and was about to dash out of the courtyard.

But her vision blurred, and she was blocked by Yu Liancheng, who smiled and said: "You have not yet agreed to my recruitment, so how could I possibly let you leave?"

Only a 'clang' was heard, and the long blade in Liusheng Piaoxu's palm was unsheathed again; this strike was as swift as lightning, yet carried the power of wind and thunder. The surrounding air seemed to have been swept away and emptied by this blade.

A fallen leaf that happened to drift onto the blade's momentum was instantly shredded into a pile of powder.

No one could have imagined that such terrifying power could erupt from Liusheng Piaoxu's slender and soft body.

Yu Liancheng praised: "This blade is also quite good."

Just from this strike, he knew that Liusheng Piaoxu's martial arts were by no means inferior to those of the Demon Sect's protectors and Elders. While he was speaking, he lightly pinched with two fingers.

This pinch was nothing more than a flash of lightning; only a "Zheng" sound was heard, and Liusheng Piaoxu felt the blade tip sink, the silver-bright blade light collapsing inch by inch.

Liusheng Piaoxu's pretty face could not help but change color; even if her father took action, he could never catch her full-force strike with just two fingers. She circulated her True Qi, wanting to pull the blade out from between the two fingers, but it felt as if it had taken root.

Yu Liancheng smiled slightly, flicked his wrist, and loosened his fingers; a surging force traveled from the blade, and Liusheng Piaoxu could not help but tremble, staggering back two steps, her Qi and Blood churning.

"Ordinary sword techniques pose no threat to me; use the Snow Drifting in the Human World or the God-Slaying Blade Strike that your father taught you."

……

PS: Still owe 39 chapters; I should be able to finish paying off last month's owed updates this month. Requesting monthly votes.