Chapter 117: Chapter 114: I’m Back
"It’s you, White Head Sword Sect!"
Ning Jiang’s appearance was like a sudden clap of thunder, sending a massive shock through everyone present.
After all, rumors had been circulating that Ning Jiang was dead. Who could have imagined that he was still alive and kicking?
If this news were to get out, the entire Luoyang City would be shaken.
Bai Yueru stared blankly at Ning Jiang. Looking at this young man who had once stirred her heart, hot tears almost welled up in her beautiful eyes.
This young man was still alive. He hadn’t died.
And he had appeared just when she felt trapped in a desperate situation with no way out.
It was as if he had pulled her from the water just as she was drowning.
"Good. Very good. The outside world was rife with rumors of your death. It seems you didn’t die at all, but have been in hiding all this time."
A cold killing intent emanated from the Innate Realm experts of the Wang Family. "If you had kept hiding like a coward in your shell, our Wang Family would have had no way to deal with you. To think you’d dare to show yourself—you’re really courting death! Fine, we’ll capture you today. It will be a great merit!"
"Capture me?"
Ning Jiang glanced at them with disdain. There were four people in this group, and the strongest was merely at the Innate Late Stage. He could kill them with a flick of his finger.
But he didn’t act, intending to leave them for Bai Yueru instead.
"Bai Yueru, these people have pushed you so far and humiliated you. Will you kill them or not? This is the greatest taboo for a Sword Cultivator: an unsettled will. Once your will is unsettled, your sword will be difficult to advance. You should understand this principle."
Ning Jiang said faintly.
"Yueru, don’t listen to his bewitching words! The Wang Family is not someone we can afford to offend."
The expressions of the Bai Family’s Innate Realm experts changed. How could they dare to offend the Wang Family?
"You brat! Haven’t you caused enough harm? You actually want to drag our Bai Family down with you? Your intentions are sinister! I’ll be the one to capture you!"
Bai Yueru’s older brother, the middle-aged man in purple, let out a furious roar. He stomped his foot on the ground, cracking the floor tiles. Like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, he shot forward, the full aura of his Innate Late Stage cultivation erupting from him.
Although his Cultivation was not as high as Bai Yueru’s, he could still be considered a formidable expert. As he rushed forward, he unleashed dozens of palm strikes in an instant, each one incredibly swift and as ferocious as thunder.
"Looks like we won’t need to do anything."
"I can’t see through this White Head Sword Sect’s Cultivation right now, but he was at the Postnatal Peak before. Even if he broke through to the Innate Early Stage in the past few months, he’d be no match for him."
"Don’t let him get killed. We need to take him back alive."
Thinking the situation was already decided, the Wang Family’s Innate Realm experts commented coldly amongst themselves.
A flash of worry appeared in Bai Yueru’s eyes, and she was tempted to intervene. But seeing Ning Jiang’s calm and unconcerned expression, she decided to trust him.
"Like an ant."
Ning Jiang’s fingers were long and slender. He pressed his middle finger against his thumb and flicked it gently.
POP.
A ball of Innate Gang Qi shot out, creating a sonic boom. With the force of splitting bamboo, it easily shattered all of the purple-robed man’s attacks and continued onward, unabated, to strike him in the chest.
SPLAT.
Before everyone’s shocked gazes, a series of CRACKLING snaps echoed from the purple-robed man’s chest as bones broke. He vomited a torrent of blood and was sent flying backward even faster than he had charged, finally slamming into a wall.
With a single flick of his finger, he had severely injured an Innate Late Stage expert.
HISS!
A series of sharp gasps rang out one after another. Everyone stared at Ning Jiang as if they had seen a ghost.
"Innate Limit?"
The previously aggressive experts from the Wang Family now felt their legs tremble and their scalps go numb.
Only an Innate Limit Strong Person could possibly possess such power.
"Another figure at the Nine Great Young Masters Level."
"No, he’s far more terrifying than the Nine Great Young Masters. He’s only sixteen!"
The Innate Realm experts of the Bai Family felt a chill run down their spines, their voices trembling.
They realized that in just four short months, this young man had truly matured into a formidable power!
If the Ning Jiang of the past was a Treasure Sword hidden in its Sword Scabbard—everyone knew the blade was sharp, but it had not yet been drawn.
Now, however, Ning Jiang was an unsheathed sword, his brilliant edge exposed, ready to slay all before him.
The current him was now qualified to contend with the absolute strongest experts in Cyan Cloud Country.
"What does the Wang Family even count for? Bai Yueru, kill them as you please. Whatever the consequences, I will bear them all!"
In the silent space, Ning Jiang’s voice slowly rang out.
CLANG.
Bai Yueru’s longsword left its scabbard, its cold light glinting in all directions.
She no longer had any misgivings in her heart. With Ning Jiang’s immense strength, what was there to fear?
Besides, Ning Jiang was right. The greatest fear for a Sword Cultivator was an unsettled will. If she didn’t act today, this incident would become a Heart Demon that would affect her for the rest of her life.
"The Wang Family will not let you go!"
The Innate Realm experts from the Wang Family let out shrill cries as they desperately tried to defend themselves.
"Die."
Bai Yueru was, after all, at the Innate Peak. Moreover, she was a Sword Master who used Body Sword Control, so her combat power was extraordinary.
After ten moves, she first killed the Innate Late Stage expert from the Wang Family. The remaining three were then killed by her in succession, her sword stained with blood.
"Satisfying."
After killing them, Bai Yueru felt her will become clear and unobstructed, and her spirit felt incomparably light.
SHIIING.
Just then, Bai Yueru slashed her sword across the ground. Gang Qi pulsed from the blade, carving a deep gash.
"From this day forward, I am no longer the Clan Leader of the Bai Family. As for the position, whoever wants it can take it."
Bai Yueru said coldly. The events just now had thoroughly broken her heart.
"Yueru, what do you mean by this? We were in the wrong just now. Don’t act on a whim," an Innate Realm expert hurriedly said.
"I am not acting on a whim. I have already thought it through. The position of Clan Leader may seem glamorous, but it is actually a rope that only binds me. I want to become a Sword Sect, to step into a higher Realm. Some things must be severed."
After she finished speaking, Bai Yueru felt a weight lift from her. Letting go of the Clan Leader’s position freed her from all attachments. A sense of the unrestrained freedom unique to a Sword Cultivator welled up in her heart.
She walked to Ning Jiang’s side and said, "Just like Xie Baichuan, I will join Kunlun and follow you."
"To gain, one must first give. Since you are willing to give up the position of Clan Leader to wholeheartedly pursue the Sword Dao, you will surely reap rewards. I accept," Ning Jiang nodded.
...
「The Zhou Family Estate.」
"I heard from Bai Yueru that the Zhao Family has been suppressing your Zhou Family for the past few months because of me?"
Ning Jiang said faintly in the main hall.
After he and Bai Yueru left the Bai Family estate, they first came to the Zhou Family estate, which was the closest.
As for Zhou Lingwei, Ning Jiang’s initial impression of her in the Demon Mist Mountain Range hadn’t been good. However, at Crescent Lake, Zhou Lingwei had bravely stepped forward when facing Ling Tianxu.
That act had earned her his approval.
Zhou Lingwei, a pretty young woman, looked at Ning Jiang and nodded gently. "Yes. The Zhao Family claims I have a connection to you and has been using it as an excuse to suppress us. They demand we hand over 50,000 Primordial Stones every month. This month, they’re demanding 100,000."
Zhao Feng had died at Ning Jiang’s hands, creating a mortal enmity between Ning Jiang and the Zhao Family.
And Zhou Lingwei, as someone who had associated with Ning Jiang, was implicated as a result.
How could the Zhou Family, a mere third-class family, possibly stand against the second-tier family, the Zhao Family?
Moreover, the Zhao Family, the Xue Family, and other second-tier families had now formed a massive power bloc with the Wang Family at its head. No one in Luoyang City could stand against them.
For the past few months, the Zhao Family had come to the Zhou Family every month to extort Primordial Stones.
Faced with the Zhao Family’s pressure, the Zhou Family had continuously yielded. But yielding hadn’t improved the situation. Instead, the other party had become even more aggressive, raising the demand from the original 50,000 Primordial Stones to 100,000 in one go.
For a small, third-class family like the Zhou Family, 50,000 a month was already a crippling blow. Demanding 100,000 Primordial Stones was simply impossible.
"Brother Ning, you have to help us! The Zhao Family said if we can’t produce the Primordial Stones, they’ll seize my sister and make her a concubine! They’re going too far!"
The little girl, Zhou Chuchu, had an angry expression. Her small face flushed red just talking about it, showing just how much they had been wronged these past few months.
"Don’t worry. Now that I’m back, this kind of thing won’t happen again."
Ning Jiang’s eyes narrowed, a cold light flashing within them.
"Zhou Lingwei, get your ass out here!"
Suddenly, a furious, aggressive shout echoed from outside the Zhou Family estate.
Zhou Lingwei’s pretty face changed, and she looked at Ning Jiang with a pleading expression.
"Good timing. We’ll start with the Zhao Family!"
Ning Jiang let out a cold laugh. All those families who had taken advantage of his situation and kicked him while he was down—he wouldn’t let a single one of them go!
"It’s time to let Luoyang City know that I have returned!"
