Chapter 2461: Chapter 2461
Ye Liuyun couldn’t sense any murderous intent emanating from the Prince of Hell, which meant this man was exceptionally skilled at concealing his emotions—a true master of deception.
Once the fight began, Ye Liuyun would have to tread carefully to avoid falling into any traps.
That was precisely why he deliberately provoked the man—to rattle him and break his focus.
As soon as Ye Liuyun finished speaking, the surrounding martial artists all turned their eyes to the Prince of Hell, eager to see how he would respond.
But the Prince of Hell merely let out a faint flicker of killing intent before swiftly reining it back in.
With an indifferent tone, he replied, "Since you refuse to reveal your name, I won’t press the matter. However, if we were to fight, I believe it would be you who meets his end."
He had sensed the sword intent from Ye Liuyun’s earlier strike and deemed it unremarkable—assuming Ye Liuyun was no match for him. In truth, Ye Liuyun had deliberately held back, focusing instead on spatial energy to mislead him about his true strength.
"Suit yourself. If you’re too scared to come in, I’ll just go back to sleep," Ye Liuyun taunted.
He knew the Prince of Hell was hesitating because he, too, lacked absolute confidence in defeating him.
"Second Brother, should we charge in together?"
A young disciple spoke up, offering the suggestion to the Prince of Hell.
He had assessed the situation—either the Prince of Hell entered alone, or they all rushed in as one.
Faced with such a formidable opponent, the Prince of Hell’s reluctance to act likely stemmed from uncertainty. The disciple’s words were meant to ease the tension.
But the Prince of Hell merely waved a dismissive hand, rejecting the proposal.
If he backed down now, the onlookers would assume he feared Ye Liuyun—a disgrace to the mighty reputation of the Divine Sword Manor.
If they all rushed in at once, Ye Liuyun would undoubtedly activate his formation, making his disciples even less of a match for him.
Rather than sending his disciples to their deaths in vain, it was better for him to take action himself.
The only problem was, he still hadn’t figured out how to counter Ye Liuyun’s spatial abilities.
Now that his disciples were urging him on, he had no choice but to charge in immediately—otherwise, it would look like he was truly afraid.
*Fine then. I’ll use a shield for defense and go on the offensive the moment I enter!*
He hastily devised a plan on the spot. The rest would depend on how the battle unfolded.
He had faith in his sword intent. As long as he could unleash it fully, Ye Liuyun would be no match for him.
With that thought, he finally sprang into action, leaping over the courtyard wall in a flash.
Ye Liuyun’s eyes snapped open. He sensed that the Killing King’s murderous intent wasn’t particularly strong—right now, he wasn’t confident enough to rely solely on instinct against such an opponent.
In a duel between masters, even the slightest difference could determine the outcome.
But when he saw the Killing King actually pull out a shield, he couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.
*He really is scared!*
At that moment, the Killing King launched his attack. His sword intent, surprisingly, was the same as Fyeng Wanru’s—the Slaughter Sword Intent.
The instant he moved, Ye Liuyun sensed it.
It was indeed powerful—but not even close to the level of a perfected sword intent, let alone his own mastery at the peak of perfection.
"You call this skill? What gave you the confidence to challenge me?"
The thought had barely crossed Ye Liuyun’s mind when he sensed the resurgence of the Prince of Hell’s bloodline suppression power. At the same time, the man unleashed his full killing intent, aiming to overwhelm Ye Liuyun with this combined force.
But now that Ye Liuyun had gauged his opponent’s strength, his initial concern vanished. In an instant, he manipulated spatial energy, teleporting the Prince of Hell directly in front of himself while swiftly retreating a great distance.
The result? The Prince of Hell’s own deadly sword strike was now hurtling toward his own back.
Though the Prince of Hell had anticipated Ye Liuyun’s formidable spatial abilities, he never expected the young man to teleport *him*—a living, breathing target. By the time he realized what had happened, his own blade was already inches from his spine. Cold sweat broke out across his body—he knew all too well the devastating power behind that strike.
In a desperate bid to survive, he channeled every ounce of his spatial energy to evade while simultaneously releasing all his remaining qi to reinforce his defenses.
But it was too late.
The force of his own attack blasted him out of the void, leaving a deep, searing gash across his back. The impact sent him hurtling straight toward Ye Liuyun.
*This is it.* The thought flashed through his mind.
Caught off guard by his own technique, he was already grievously wounded. Worse still, he had expended all his qi in that last-ditch defense—now, he had nothing left to draw upon.
A faint smirk curled at Ye Liuyun’s lips as he swung his blade in a ruthless horizontal slash.
With no other options, the Prince of Hell could only muster the last remnants of his sword intent to parry—but it was a feeble resistance at best.
Yet Ye Liuyun’s overwhelming blade intent shattered his sword aura like dry twigs, then sliced cleanly through his neck in one fluid motion.
The head flew. With a casual wave of his hand, Ye Liuyun collected both the head and the corpse. He needed it as proof to complete his mission. While it wasn’t necessary to bring back every head, presenting key targets would help verify the mission’s success.
"Ah—!"
A collective gasp erupted from the crowd outside the villa.
The disciples of Divine Sword Manor stood frozen, utterly at a loss. The spectators, meanwhile, buzzed with shock.
"Again—just one strike!"
"Even the ’Living King of Hell’ was killed so easily! Then what about the Sword-master...?"
No one could say for certain now whether Ye Liuyun was truly a match for the legendary Sword-master.
Then, the disciples of Divine Sword Manor snapped back to reality.
A young disciple, his voice thick with grief and fury, shouted, "Avenge Second Brother!"
Without hesitation, he charged forward.
"Charge in together! Avenge Second Brother!" The others echoed, their eyes burning with rage.
One disciple, however, was held back—ordered to return and deliver the news. The rest stormed into the villa, blades drawn.
Faced with such overwhelming numbers, Ye Liuyun naturally activated all his defensive formations to trap them before picking them off one by one.
He even employed spatial manipulation, turning their own attacks against themselves. This unorthodox tactic proved devastatingly effective—most warriors only knew how to infuse spatial energy into their own strikes or movements. Who would expect someone to forcibly reposition their opponents mid-combat?
The disciples, caught completely off guard, fell like wheat before a scythe. While the crowd was fixated on the slaughter within the courtyard, Mo Sha struck from the shadows, eliminating the lone disciple attempting to flee and raise the alarm.
"Leave the courtyard to me!" Ye Liuyun immediately signaled Mo Sha to withdraw and conceal himself. Seizing the moment, he then unleashed a psychic assault, branding several skilled disciples with slave seals. The rest met swift, merciless ends—this was, after all, a mission to eradicate the Divine Sword Manor. Taking a few captives was permissible, but excessive leniency would constitute failure.
With no survivors to sound the alarm, reinforcements never came. Ye Liuyun collected the corpses, donned his cloak of invisibility, and vanished without a trace.
"Where’d he go?"
"Did he just... disappear?"
The onlookers gasped as the phantom executioner dissolved into thin air.
