Chapter 2458: Chapter 2458
"You..."
Alchemist Pei trembled with rage at Ye Liuyun’s provocation.
"Die, you little brat!"
With a furious roar, he swung his sword toward Ye Liuyun. The blade erupted in searing flames, cutting through the air like a fiery whip aimed straight for the young man’s head.
"That fool’s done for! How dare he speak to someone from the Divine Sword Manor like that!"
"Exactly! He’s practically begging for death!"
Bystanders in the crowd chimed in, shaking their heads at Ye Liuyun’s recklessness. To them, the Divine Sword Manor was invincible. Even if this upstart had killed a couple of their weaker disciples, he stood no chance against their true masters.
And now that he’d crossed the Manor, they’d hunt him to the ends of the earth. His fate was sealed.
Yet Ye Liuyun remained utterly composed, not a trace of tension in his demeanor.
"Hmph. So this is all the famed Divine Sword Manor can muster?"
He analyzed Pei’s sword intent and found it barely stronger than A’Qian’s—just with some added firepower.
For an alchemist, the flames were decent enough. But compared to his own Golden Crow Sacred Fire? Not even close.
With an almost lazy flick of his wrist, he raised the Demon-Slaying Blade once more.
The same inky streak of light returned, but this time moving with blinding speed. It swept through the flames in midair, extinguishing them instantly, then arced toward Alchemist Pei’s throat.
Only then did Alchemist Pei realize just how overwhelming Ye Liuyun’s blade intent truly was.
The sheer force of it crushed his own sword intent completely. Even before the blade’s edge reached him, the icy chill of death had already seeped into his bones.
The dark light expanded in his vision—too fast to dodge. A flash, and the blade passed clean through.
Alchemist Pei’s head joined A-Qian’s in the air, severed in the same merciless stroke.
Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun summoned both heads toward him with a flick of his hand and hurled them backward. Then, with another motion, he seized their fallen swords and flung them like spears, pinning the severed heads to the merchant guild’s signboard.
The act was nothing short of a deliberate insult—a blatant declaration of war against the Divine Sword Manor.
The street fell deathly silent. Those who had dared to criticize Ye Liuyun moments ago now clamped their mouths shut, terrified he might turn on them next. Many were still too stunned to process what they had just witnessed.
Unfazed, Ye Liuyun casually collected the two men’s storage rings before striding back into the guild, leaving the corpses where they lay.
Inside, the attendant stood frozen, his face pale with shock.
"Find me a private courtyard," Ye Liuyun announced brashly. "I’m buying it. I’ll be waiting there for the Divine Sword Manor to come knocking."
As he spoke, he tossed a fake identity token at the attendant for registration.
"Y-yes, right away!"
The attendant snapped out of his daze, stammering his compliance.
He knew the Divine Sword Manor would never let this slide. Their members were notoriously arrogant—if he let Ye Liuyun slip away now, they’d take their fury out on him when they came looking for vengeance.
Now that Ye Liuyun was staying put, the Divine Sword Manor would be able to find him when they came investigating, which meant his own involvement was no longer necessary.
Eager to wash his hands of the matter, the merchant hurriedly agreed and recommended a secluded courtyard for Ye Liuyun—somewhere out of the way, where any potential fight wouldn’t endanger bystanders. Ye Liuyun didn’t mind; in fact, he preferred the isolation. It would make things easier when the time came.
Meanwhile, the streets buzzed with frenzied gossip. News spread like wildfire through the city. Some speculated that Ye Liuyun was a scion of some powerful faction, while others believed he had come deliberately to provoke the Divine Sword Manor.
But one thing was unanimous: everyone was certain Ye Liuyun would meet his end at the hands of the Manor. After all, their true experts hadn’t even made a move yet.
On the other side of town, no sooner had the merchant’s attendant settled Ye Liuyun into the courtyard than the City Lord’s estate caught wind of it. Under the pretense of maintaining order, they dispatched men to arrest Ye Liuyun, intending to hand him over to the Divine Sword Manor as a gesture of goodwill.
But the moment they arrived, before they could even approach the gate, a monstrous lion emerged from within the courtyard.
**"ROAR!"**
A single low growl, infused with overwhelming aura, sent the men trembling uncontrollably. They turned tail and fled back to the City Lord’s estate in panic.
“That was definitely a Heaven-tier Threefold Devil Beast, no question about it!” they reported breathlessly to the City Lord.
The City Lord paled. “A beast that powerful means he’s backed by someone formidable. We can’t afford to provoke him. Pretend we never heard a thing.”
With that, he abandoned his earlier plan and retreated into cowardly silence.
As for the merchant’s steward, after arranging Ye Liuyun’s lodging, he posted watchers at a safe distance from the courtyard and immediately sent word to the Divine Sword Manor—lest they blame him for any mishap.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun summoned the Qiong Qi and his other formation masters, tasking them with weaving intricate arrays around the courtyard. Some would ensnare intruders, while others served as defenses, ensuring the place wouldn’t be reduced to rubble in the coming battle.
The demonic lion had been deliberately unleashed by him to intimidate the City Lord’s residence. Once they retreated, Ye Liuyun swiftly recalled the beast.
He then informed You Ming and the others, recounting the events and sharing his thoughts. However, he instructed them not to approach but to remain hidden outside the Divine Sword Manor, keeping a close watch on its movements.
Before the Divine Sword Manor’s forces even arrived, numerous well-informed martial artists had already gathered outside Ye Liuyun’s villa, eager to witness the spectacle.
No one held high hopes for Ye Liuyun—most believed he was courting death.
The Divine Sword Manor had long been an object of admiration for them. Even the chance to learn a single move or technique from its disciples would be enough to boast about for years.
The entire small city buzzed with excitement. More and more people flocked to Ye Liuyun’s residence, until nearly every martial artist in the city had converged in the area, eager to catch a glimpse of the Divine Sword Manor’s prowess.
In fact, they were even more anxious than the Divine Sword Manor itself that Ye Liuyun might flee, so they took it upon themselves to blockade the area.
Ye Liuyun paid them no mind. Once Qiong Qi and the others finished setting up the formations, he stored them away in his spatial world and notified Ling Hai and the rest, instructing them to prepare for battle.
Among the martial artists he had captured, there were over fifty powerful fighters. The later captures were even stronger, and after several rounds of elimination, Ling Hai and Liao Yunyang were now among the weakest of the group.
Still, Ye Liuyun was satisfied with Ling Hai’s management of these warriors, so he had Liao Yunyang assist Ling Hai in leading them.
Meanwhile, his doppelganger transformed into the guise of an elderly man and slipped out of the villa unnoticed, lying in wait outside to coordinate with Ye Liuyun at the critical moment.
Sharman was also taken out by the doppelganger. Ye Liuyun had him lead ten thousand soldiers aboard a battleship, patrolling outside the city, ready to reinforce at a moment’s notice.
Mo Sha was also en route, preparing to assist Ye Liuyun covertly.
Against the Divine Sword Manor, Ye Liuyun dared not be careless in the slightest. The elite Blade Corps, the Falcon battleships, and other equipment were all primed for combat.
By the time Ye Liuyun had everything in place, the first wave of Divine Sword Manor disciples had arrived.
Eight young men approached, with a middle-aged man bringing up the rear like a seasoned overseer who had no intention of joining the fray.
Their sword auras were so intense that the crowd instinctively parted before them, some even bowing in respect. Yet their aggressive strides never faltered as they marched straight toward Ye Liuyun with unmistakable hostility.
"Liu Pei of the Extinguishing Light Sword!"
The leader of the group was recognized, sparking murmurs of admiration through the onlookers.
