Chapter 296: Deterrence
Watch the show?
The entire ground realized that Xiao Zhongying was hinting at something!
Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Family head, are you saying that the Su Family’s forces have long since made ample preparations? And that so long as Su Yi dares show his face in the White Province, he’ll die beyond a shadow of a doubt?”
“I don’t know whether Su Yi will live or die,” said Xiao Zhongying calmly. “All I know is that the Cloud-Scraping King is ready and biding his time, just waiting for Su Yi’s arrival!”
He paused, then broke into a grin rife with hidden meaning. “Everyone, that Su Yi kid might well be strong enough to slay Xiantian Martial Ancestors, but the Jade Capital’s Su Family… They’re no pushovers! As for us… We can just stand back and relax.”
Having said his piece, he casually grabbed a teacup and took a sip, looking perfectly at ease.
“Reporting to the family head, the young mistress has arrived, and she…” A servant scurried into the hall to deliver a report.
However, before he could finish, Xiao Zhongying cut him off. His expression frosted over, and he feigned confusion. “The young mistress? Which young mistress??Why didn’t I know that our Xiao Family still had a young mistress?”
The higher-ups’ expressions all turned a little strange, while the servant was instantly frantic. He threw himself to his knees and said in a quavering voice, “I deserve to die! I deserve to die!”
“Try saying it again,” said Xiao Zhongying flatly.
The servant took a deep breath, then said, “Reporting to the family head, the traitor Xiao Hengqiu’s daughter, Xiao Zijin, has returned!”
This time, Xiao Zhongying nodded in satisfaction. “No matter what, Zijin is still my niece, and the Xiao Family’s blood flows through her veins. Since she’s repented and seen the light, I won’t be harsh with her. Pass on my orders: have her placed under house arrest in the Coldstone Hut.”
But the servant said frantically, “Family Head, Xiao Zijin brought people with her. They’ve barged into the family estate!”
The entire group was stunned.?They’ve barged in? Xiao Zijin sure is gutsy!
Xiao Zhongying’s brow furrowed. “How many people did she bring? Have we taken her into custody yet?”
The servant’s forehead was covered in sweat. He stammered, “Three people came with Xiao Zijin: Elder Xie Yuanshan, Grandmaster Pei Yundu, and an unfamiliar youth…”
Before the servant could finish, Xiao Zhongying couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “And here I thought the girl had done something impressive. So, she only brought three people with her?”
The others in attendance laughed too. Xie Yuanshan? He was just another one of Xiao Hengqiu’s old lackeys.
Pei Yundu was worth taking note of, but no more than that.
In the Xiao Family’s territory, never mind Pei Yundu; even a Xiantian Martial Ancestor would have no choice but to lower their head!
“Yongzheng.” Xiao Zhongying?casually?ordered, “Lead a group and capture them. I want the whole lot of them to kneel before me and confess to their crimes.”
“Yes, sir!” A powerful-looking man in black rose, turned, and left.
His name was Lie Yongzheng, and he was a peak fifth-level Grandmaster, as well as Xiao Zhongying’s right-hand man.
Xiao Zhongying sipped his tea and said, “Everyone, let’s wait here for a moment. Xie Yuanshan doesn’t amount to much, but Pei Yundu… He actually dared interfere with our clan’s affairs! We’ll have to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.”
The others laughed and voiced their agreement.
However, just a few moments later, frantic, scattered voices emanated from the lakeside.
“Shit! The young mistress’s followers are killing their way inside!”
“Family Head, this doesn’t look good!”
“No——!”
The uproar was mixed with piteous cries. The group in Windchant Tower heard it all clearly.
“What happened?” Xiao Zhongying’s expression darkened. He suddenly rose, then emerged from Windchant Tower and stared into the distance.
The other higher-ups in attendance rose as well, and all of them followed him.
……
A chaotic scene unfolded on the shore.
The Xiao Family’s guards, servants, and ordinary clansmen were all scurrying about in panic, screaming and shouting in obvious terror.
Meanwhile, a small group was headed straight toward Windchant Tower. Xie Yuanshan, Pei Yundu cleared a path, while Xiao Zijin and Su Yi trailed after them.
They were just four people, but it was as if no one else were around!
Wherever they passed, the Xiao Family’s experts dared not block their path.
The reason for this was simple: from the moment they first barged through the gates, countless people had attempted to stop them. However, without exception, all of them had been defeated by Pei Yundu and Xie Yuanshan!
They’d made their way here with unstoppable momentum, like an axe cutting through bamboo.
Xiao Zhongying saw this from a distance, and his expression turned incomparably dark. He suddenly bellowed, “All of you, retreat! Allow them to come over.”
His voice boomed like thunder, spreading throughout heaven and earth.
The Xiao clansmen were already frantic and terrified, and they felt a massive weight lift from their shoulders. All of them scattered, their ranks receding like waters at low tide.
Su Yi and his companions smoothly arrived at the white jade bridge to Windchant Tower.?By then, Xiao Zhongying had already led the family higher-ups to the gates of the tower’s first floor. All of them were visibly infuriated, and their expressions brimmed with killing intent.
“Zijin, you sure are brazen! And here I planned to spare you and not pursue your earlier transgressions. To think you’d lead people into our territory to kill your own clansmen!? Your crimes warrant execution!” Xiao Zhongyin said, his tone icy and imposing.
Xiao Zijin took a deep breath, then said evenly, “Xiao Zhongying, I’ll give you one last chance. Submit and come quietly, and you can escape death. Otherwise, Windchant Tower shall become your grave!”
When they heard this, Xiao Zhongying and his allies were so angry that they laughed. They almost dared not believe their ears.
“You little bitch! You really don’t know what’s good for you. Just relying on Xie Yuanshan, Pei Yundu, and that… that young man, you dare be so impudent?” Xiao Zhongying’s expression darkened, and his eyes surged with murderous intent.
Suddenly, another family higher-up chimed in, “Family Head, something’s not right here! Where is Lie Yongzheng?”
Xiao Zhongying’s pupils constricted, and he swept his gaze across the area, but he saw no sign of Lie Yongzheng.
“Don’t bother searching for him. Lie Yongzheng is already dead,” said Zijin evenly.
“What!?” Xiao Zhongying and the other Xiao Family experts were startled, and all of their expressions changed dramatically.
Lie Yongzheng was a fifth-level Grandmaster! In the Lanling Xiao Family, he was already a peak-level expert. How could he die just like that, and so quickly?
Everyone was bewildered and uncertain.
“Pei Yundu, did you do this?” Xiao Zhongying’s gaze immediately locked onto Pei Yundu, and the rage and killing intent emanating from him intensified.
Pei Yundu shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t possess such skill.”
If it wasn't Pei Yundu, then who was it?
Without any prior discussion, the higher-ups’ gazes all converged on the young man standing beside Zijin.
Neither Zijin nor Xie Yuanshan could possibly have been a match for Lie Yongzheng. That left only one possibility.
The killer had to be that unfamiliar youth in blue!
Except…
Based on his aura, he was obviously only a third-level Grandmaster. How could someone like that possibly oppose Lie Yongzheng?
As Xiao Zhongying and his allies were racked with confusion and uncertainty, Su Yi turned to Zijin. “Are these the ones who colluded with the Cloud-Scraping King and seized your father’s position?”
Zijin nodded. “That’s right.”
Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Should I kill them all, or take them alive? Just tell me your decision.”
Zijin was instantly hesitant.
Xiao Zhongying and the family higher-ups working with him were all her seniors. In the past, when her father was still head of the family, they’d all been extremely good to her.
But the cruel thing was that they were also the same group who’d stripped her father of his position, imprisoned her grandfather, and attacked her father’s supporters.
This left her incomparably conflicted.
It was then that the graying middle-aged man beside Xiao Zhongying burst into cold laughter. “What a brazen young man! Who do you think you are, boasting so shamelessly in front of us?”
The others laughed coldly as well. Kill them all or capture them alive?
How arrogant!
“Shut up.” Su Yi glanced at the graying middle-aged man and flicked his fingers. A streak of golden sword qi shot through the air like lightning.
“You’re courting death!” The graying middle-aged man was a Grandmaster, and his reputation in the White Province was no inferior to Pei Yundu’s.
When he saw the sword qi streaking toward him, he bellowed and swung his fist.
Then, beneath the crowd’s dumbstruck gazes, the sword qi continued ahead, as if nothing could stand in its way. It effortlessly broke through the man’s punch, then took his head clean off.
Splurt!
The man’s severed head flew through the air. Blood gushed from the stump, and a headless corpse thudded to the ground.
Everyone present fell silent.
Xiao Zhongying and his allies’ bodies went rigid, and they felt a chill in their hands and feet.
A single effortless slash had slain a Grandmaster as if he were a chicken!
Who would dare believe this was the work of a young man, a mere third-level Grandmaster?
“You still haven’t decided yet?” Su Yi glanced at Zijin, who jumped.
“Master Su, please just execute Xiao Zhongying. Once my father and grandfather escape captivity, they can deal with the others.”
“That works too.” Su Yi nodded.
It was then that—
A chubby old man, another one of Xiao Zhongying’s allies, cried out in alarm. “I know who he is! He… He’s Su Yi!”
Su Yi!
It was just a name, yet it seemed to possess magical power; Xiao Zhongying and his allies reacted as if they’d been struck by lightning. All of them shuddered, and they felt chills course down their spines, as if they’d been plunged into an icy abyss.
How… How could it be him?
They’d only just been discussing the Ten Directions Pavilion’s report. At the time, they didn’t take it to heart; they were even planning to sit back and watch the show.
Who would have thought that before the show even began, Su Yi, this supremely terrifying youth, would kill his way right to their doorstep?
This shocked the gathered Xiao Family higher-ups out of their wits. All of them were flabbergasted.
Wasn’t the Cloud-Scraping King, Shi Lanshan, supposed to have arranged everything? Wasn’t Su Yi supposed to suffer a fatal blow as soon as he arrived?
Why had Su Yi shown up here, at the Xiao Family estate?
“You… Are you really Su Yi?” Xiao Zhongying still dared not believe it. His eyes widened.
“In this world, who could possibly be fearless enough to impersonate Young Lord Su?” Pei Yundu laughed coldly.
Xiao Zhongying seemed to break down. He shouted, “Attack! Hurry up and attack! Otherwise, all of us will be purged! Hurry!”
But as awkward as it was, all of the experts gathered around him hesitated. Not one dared attack.
A man’s character was like a tree, and his reputation was like its shadow.
Even the mighty Lu Dongliu of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect was no match for Su Yi. How could the likes of them oppose him?
If they really attacked, how would they be any different from eggs flinging themselves against a rock?
“All of you…” Xiao Zhongying was alarmed and furious. He felt as if he were on the verge of going mad.
Recently,?he’d wielded?the highest authority in the Xiao Family. When he wanted wind, it was windy. When he wanted rain, it rained. When he gave orders, none dared disobey.
Yet now, he suddenly discovered that in the face of Su Yi’s imposing majesty, his authority as the head of the family seemed utterly empty!
Splurt!
Su Yi attacked, and a streak of sword qi shot through the air, decapitating Xiao Zhongying.
Even in death, the former grand elder’s expression brimmed with dense bewilderment and bitterness.
The entire area fell so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
Waves coursed through the hearts of everyone present.
So what if you wielded vast authority?
In the face of true strength, authority couldn't match up to a single swing of an expert’s sword!
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