Chapter 431

Chapter 431: Chapter 430 Xiao Yuan’s cultivation was higher than that of Tian Boguang, but since Tian Boguang had been a great lecher for many years, his Fast Sword Skill was incredibly refined, his Divine Movement Skill unrivaled, and being constantly pursued, his practical experience was extremely rich. Even his skill in escaping was better than that of an ordinary person.

After several exchanges with Tian Boguang, Xiao Yuan felt that his Sword Sect’s swordsmanship, without the accompanying use of the Sword Energy Skill, could only exhibit less than half of its potential. In the eyes of others, he might already appear as an absolute expert, but in front of Tian Boguang, who was also at the early stage of Martial Venerate cultivation, it simply wasn’t enough. Frankly speaking, if the disciples of the Sword Sect did not cultivate the Sword Energy Skill, their swordsmanship, although exquisite, was essentially form without substance. Even if it could be combined with powerful Inner Strength to wield the Sword Qi, it was still too draining on one’s Inner Strength, and the power of the sword technique could not achieve even a tenth of its potential.

Now Xiao Yuan, consumed by his murderous intent, wanted to kill Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng along with Tian Boguang. Adding to that, Tian Boguang might have learned some of his secrets, and if he didn’t silence him, it could ruin his plans. After enduring for twenty years, posturing for twenty years, Xiao Yuan was finally on the verge of obtaining the Sword Energy Skill and the position of the Sect Leader in the Sword Sect. Then he, Xiao Yuan, would be capable of dictating the affairs of a Sect, and thus he could not afford any failure. So he resorted to using the Evil Demon Sword Skill after a few exchanges.

This intriguing set of sword techniques was discovered by Xiao Yuan behind the mountains of the Sword Sect, and he was instantly captivated by the moves. As he practiced, Xiao Yuan found that the deeper he went into the Evil Demon Sword Skill, the more he felt an uncontrollable urge to kill surging within him, and at the end, he was nearly losing his senses, knowing only slaughter. Despite discovering the harmful aspects of this swordsmanship, the miraculous, immensely powerful moves still made it impossible for Xiao Yuan to stop practicing. He would sneak into the back mountains every night when everyone else was asleep and secretly follow the sword techniques carved on a stone wall, until he had memorized all the moves. Only then did he destroy the stone wall without anyone noticing!

Over the years, Xiao Yuan had also been secretly practicing this set of swordsmanship in places where no one was present. He experienced the magical aspects of it; with one sword strike, the evil energies would fill the sky, and the thrill of the vicious, murderous aura was hard to resist. Thus, gradually, Xiao Yuan had trained the Evil Demon Sword Skill to a very advanced level. Only the last few moves were not yet fully comprehended. Even so, he had become incredibly formidable, much more so than when he had only practiced the swordsmanship of the Sword Sect without receiving the transmission of the Sword Energy Skill.

Boom, boom, boom...

With several loud noises, Xiao Yuan unleashed his sword light, filled with immense evil energy, in rapid succession. Had it not been for Tian Boguang’s unrivaled Divine Movement Skill, which was exceedingly fast, he would have been killed or severely injured. The sword light carrying the immense evil energy smashed into rocks and vegetation, not only pulverizing them but also leaving behind pitch-black marks, all contaminated by the evil energy.

"The swordsmanship you use is not that of the Sword Sect. It seems that you, the senior disciple of the Sword Sect, have long betrayed your Sect!" Tian Boguang said coldly, laughing.

"Hmph, Tian Boguang, you know too much. Today, you must die!"

Xiao Yuan had already resolved to kill the three persons present, including Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng. Only this way could his plot remain secret. To eliminate the roots, one must dig up the grass, but Tian Boguang was not easy to deal with because of his cultivation and Divine Movement Skill. In this moment, Xiao Yuan realized that Tian Boguang was talented indeed to have survived decades of being hunted, not becoming notorious without merit.

Swish!

A sword strike came, and a massive Sword Qi completely enveloped Tian Boguang. Tian Boguang quickly retreated, but when he moved back about ten meters, he felt obstructed by something behind him and couldn’t move his feet anymore. He was shocked to find that the evil energy had filled the area, and, with Xiao Yuan at the center, a circle with a thousand-meter radius formed unknowingly, enclosing both Xiao Yuan and Tian Boguang inside.

Thud!

With no place to escape, Tian Boguang had to brandish his wood-chopping knife to block the blow directly. He felt numbness in the base of his thumb. The strike had been received, but when he looked at his right hand holding the knife, he discovered that the base of his thumb was split open, and fresh blood was oozing out. When the blood started to drip, it didn’t hit the ground but was swallowed up by the evil energy in the air, turning into black smoke, a chilling sight. When Tian Boguang saw evil energy burrowing into his wound, he frowned, shook his right hand forcefully to disperse the evil energy, and then sealed the acupoint in the base of his thumb to stop the bleeding.

"From whence did you learn such sinister swordsmanship?" Tian Boguang couldn’t help but ask.

"Hmph, you won’t have the chance to know because you’re about to become a dead man, and the dead don’t need to know such things!" The sword in Xiao Yuan’s right hand had turned completely black, engulfed by the surges of evil energy, while he himself had bloodshot eyes and was brimming with killing intent. A black mark even appeared on his forehead, and his face darkened. Such a toxic and violent backlash of the evil energy suggested that repeated use would inevitably lead to self-destruction.

"I didn’t expect you to turn yourself into this just to gain the Sword Energy Skill of the Sword Sect and the position of the Sect Leader!" Tian Boguang spoke in a deep voice.

"Die!"

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Xiao Yuan made his move to kill, his figure flickering so fast that nearly in the blink of an eye, he had struck a sword blow from four different positions. The sword light he emitted was black as night, charging towards the sky, making the air buzz with its intensity and causing Tian Boguang to involuntarily step back twice, thinking of countermeasures.

His Fast Sword Skill was formidable, renowned for its speed, and the Divine Movement Skill was as fast as lightning. But he hadn’t expected that Xiao Yuan could strike a sword blow from four different directions. The sword light, full of evil aura, seemed to envelop the sky, overwhelming and unavoidable. No matter which direction Tian Boguang tried to escape using his Divine Movement Skill, a sword blow would come at him head-on.

"Brother Tian, be careful, this is the Evil Demon Sword Skill, don’t move from your spot!"

All of a sudden, Ye Tianchen let out a loud roar toward Tian Boguang, and at the same time, he rushed toward both Tian Boguang and Xiao Yuan. In the midst of his charge, Ye Tianchen’s hands continually formed Sealing Skills. He knew Tian Boguang was a combatant strong in offense but not so formidable in defense. His defenses mainly involved escaping with his Divine Movement Skill to dodge the opponent’s Slaughter Skills, but this time there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. Receiving this entirely malevolent swordsmanship with such potent Evil Sword Energy could lead to unpredictable consequences.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The same four booming sounds stirred up a cloud of dust and debris, which were sent flying into the air. Under Xiao Yuan’s vicious aura, they instantly turned into powder. Just as Xiao Yuan’s lips curled into a sinister smile, thinking that Tian Boguang had been shredded to pieces, his vile grin ceased abruptly. His expression shifted to one of extreme cruelty, his eyes bloodshot, his face pitch black, making him appear as ghastly as a ghost, terrifying to behold.

"With Brother Tian’s Fast Sword Skill and Divine Movement Skill, and my powerful defensive abilities, the one to die here today, Xiao Yuan, I’m afraid, will be you...", Ye Tianchen said with a cold smirk.

At that moment, Ye Tianchen was seen sitting on a huge gold brick, watching Xiao Yuan with an innocently harmless smile, utterly composed. All four massive bursts of evil sword light from Xiao Yuan had been blocked by Ye Tianchen, leaving Tian Boguang unharmed. Four large gold bricks surrounded Tian Boguang, used by Ye Tianchen’s "Golden Divine Shield"—his most powerful defensive Superpower Skill to date, which had successfully blocked Xiao Yuan’s four waves of malicious sword energy.

"Are you a Superpower User?" Xiao Yuan asked Ye Tianchen, surprised.

"You won’t have the chance to find out, because you’ll be dead soon. Dead men don’t need to know such things!", Ye Tianchen said with a nonchalant smile.

Speaking with an even more composed and confident tone than Xiao Yuan, Ye Tianchen’s response was immediate. Xiao Yuan felt a tightness in his chest, as if his lungs were about to burst. He had thought it would be an easy task to rid himself of these three, but now, without having killed even one of them, and if there were any more delays, the arrival of the elders from the sect would make it difficult for him to fabricate any excuses.

After Xiao Yuan had discovered Tian Boguang and the others, he sent the remaining disciple back to the Sword Control Sect to report. Extremely confident, he had prepared to kill Tian Boguang, believing it would allow him to concoct any story he pleased since the sect would definitely trust him. Tian Boguang, a notorious lecher despised by many, posed no concern to Xiao Yuan. However, after meeting Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng and learning from Tian Boguang about his own affairs, Xiao Yuan realized that Tian Boguang was no longer his biggest threat. The greatest threats were Dongfang Meng and Ye Tianchen, both of whom also needed to be eliminated.

Originally, he had thought that among the three, Tian Boguang was the strongest. Killing him would make it easy to dispatch Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng. Little did he expect that Ye Tianchen, so young, could possess such strength. This realization made Xiao Yuan feel it was not going to be as simple to instantly kill the trio.

"Really? I would like to know the name of someone so young and powerful as you.", Xiao Yuan asked with a grim expression.

Ye Tianchen suddenly jumped down from the gold brick. As he was about to speak, Tian Boguang also burst forth trying to stop him, and Dongfang Meng was also about to say something. Neither of them wanted Ye Tianchen to get involved in this mess. After all, the waters of the Ancient Martial Sect were deep, with too many masters—it was a place where one could not afford to be careless.

But who would have known that Ye Tianchen, with a shake of his head and a smile, turned down the well-meant intervention of Tian Boguang and Dongfang Meng. He was not one to shy away from challenges and boldly said, "Remember this name, I am Ye Tianchen. I’m sworn brothers with Tian Boguang. Offending my big brother is the same as offending me. You still have time to apologize!"(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)