Chapter 258: Chapter 256: Unrivaled
The Grand Elder lay on the ground, wheezing raggedly. He roared, "Lao Qi, you did well! In my whole life, this is the... most... goddamn..."
"Shut your mouth!"
Qin Li stomped on the Grand Elder’s mouth, crushing it and forcing the rest of his words back down his throat.
"Didn’t you say you were going to let us leave?"
Qin Li sneered, looking at the fierce-looking Seventh Elder.
"Enough talk! Aren’t you going to throw over your weapon?" A flush crept up the Seventh Elder’s face as he spoke excitedly. "Her mother’s gone, so using her as a substitute is just as well! You slaughtered the people of my Divine Eagle Sect and think you can just walk away? Dream on! You dare talk back, you little beast?"
"Fine, fine, I’ll throw it!" Qin Li said with a smile. He gestured with the Blood-Drinking Sword toward the members of the Divine Eagle Sect, who instantly scattered in a panic.
When they saw the sword was still in Qin Li’s hand, their faces twisted with humiliation and rage.
"You little mongrel, how dare you act so brazenly!"
"Drop the sword, you little beast!"
"You little punk! I’ll see how long you can keep up this arrogance!"
The group from the Divine Eagle Sect, feeling utterly humiliated, erupted in a volley of curses.
A mocking smile played on Qin Li’s lips. He then tossed the Blood-Drinking Sword toward a massive boulder by the side of the road. With a soft *THUMP*, it plunged straight into the ancient stone—a rock that had likely stood there for millennia—leaving only the hilt exposed.
’It really is a Divine Weapon!’
Greed flared in the eyes of many as they stared at the sword.
"Anything else you need me to do?" Qin Li asked the Seventh Elder, his eyes crinkling in a smile.
Qin Li’s cooperation made the Seventh Elder feel an indescribable unease. ’I’m the one who should be feeling smug, right? So why does this little beast act like he doesn’t care about the girl at all? Ah, that must be it. He thinks I won’t dare to harm her!’
Having convinced himself he understood the situation, the Seventh Elder sneered. "Don’t think I won’t hurt her, you little beast. If you make one wrong move, I’ll have no qualms about crushing this delicate flower!"
"Right. It’s not like you haven’t done it before. As I said, what else do you want? Just name it!"
As Qin Li spoke, Shangguan Shiyu stood quietly in her white dress. Her beautiful face was as cold as frost, and she looked like an ethereal Fairy, untouched by the mortal world. There wasn’t the slightest hint of fear in her eyes.
"I want you dead!" the Seventh Elder snarled through gritted teeth. He then turned to one of his sect members and commanded, "Go and pull that sword out for me!"
The few young people who had encountered Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu earlier were all present in the crowd. But under the circumstances, they wouldn’t dare admit to having seen the pair before. It would be obvious that Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu had followed them here, and it would be a miracle if the Seventh Elder didn’t punish them severely for it later.
One of the Seventh Elder’s personal disciples, a man who looked to be over a hundred years old, stepped forward. His cultivation had already reached the Celestial Integration Realm, making him the most outstanding among the Seventh Elder’s students.
Hearing the order, he hurried over to the boulder. He expected to pull the sword out easily, but to his surprise, it felt as though it had fused with the stone. It wouldn’t budge!
’This is so humiliating! With my power, I could shatter this boulder with a single palm strike. How can I not even pull out a sword?’
"Hah!"
He let out a sharp cry, flooding his body with Primordial Power and yanking with all his might. A strange thing happened. The sword suddenly came free as if it hadn’t been stuck at all. The disciple, caught off guard by the sudden release, was thrown off balance. He staggered backward, and if not for his considerable strength, he would have landed flat on his ass.
Seeing his disciple’s pathetic display, the Seventh Elder cursed, "Useless trash!"
He then turned to Qin Li with a sneer. "Hand over the map!"
"What map?" Qin Li asked, looking at the Seventh Elder with a puzzled expression.
"Stop playing dumb with me! You rescued that bitch; how could you not know where the map is? Let me tell you, if you don’t hand it over... you see this woman here? I won’t kill her easily, but you understand what the consequences will be!" A flicker of lust finally showed in the Seventh Elder’s eyes.
"I understand jack shit!" Qin Li’s expression turned completely cold. His gaze softened as he looked at Shangguan Shiyu. "Shiyu, did you hear that?"
"Mm."
Shangguan Shiyu hummed a soft "Mm," her voice as if it were formed from Cold Ice.
"So tell me, does a piece of scum worse than an animal like him deserve to die?"
"He deserves to die."
"You little beast, still talking tough—" Before the Seventh Elder could finish, he suddenly felt an immense danger envelop him. Horror filled his eyes as he realized he couldn’t move!
He instantly channeled all his power, trying to break free from the invisible shackles.
*SLAP!*
Another crisp sound rang out as Shangguan Shiyu slapped him hard across the face. She glared at him, her expression murderous, and said, "You deserve to die."
Her hand rose and the sword fell. In an instant, the Seventh Elder’s head rolled to the ground.
His eyes were still wide open. Even in death, he couldn’t understand how he had died, or why a terrifying pressure had suddenly appeared and pinned him so completely that he couldn’t even twitch.
The pressure had come and gone in a flash, and no one noticed the transparent Crystal Stone that had appeared in Qin Li’s hand.
"Return my sword."
Qin Li’s gaze fell coolly upon the disciple holding the Blood-Drinking Sword, who was staring blankly, completely stunned.
The other members of the Divine Eagle Sect were also filled with horror. They stared at Qin Li as if they were seeing a ghost. The powerful, almost tangible pressure from moments before had rendered every last one of them immobile.
’If he had wanted to slaughter them all, this place would already be a river of blood!’
"Did you not hear me?" Two beams of light shot from Qin Li’s eyes, piercing toward the disciple of the Celestial Integration Realm like a pair of sharp swords.
The Divine Eagle Sect disciple suddenly cried out in terror. His hand went slack, and the sword flew toward Qin Li. The disciple collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide and vacant.
Qin Li caught the Blood-Drinking Sword and said coldly, "You’ve sullied my sword. For that, you can die."
As he spoke, a stream of Sword Qi shot toward the Celestial Integration Realm disciple on the ground. Though he was dozens of meters away, the disciple had no time to react before a thin red line appeared on his throat.
A moment later, the gash burst open, and blood sprayed from his neck.
And through it all, not a single member of the Divine Eagle Sect dared to intervene.
To them, Qin Li was now an existence more terrifying than the Death God himself. None of this could be explained by common sense!
Qin Li glanced at the Fourth and Sixth Elders, sneering. "A moment ago, it seemed the two of you were also quite loud, weren’t you?"
"Ah, no, not at all! Th-this is a personal grudge between you! It has nothing to do with the Divine Eagle Sect!" The pale, portly Fourth Elder’s face turned even whiter, and his voice trembled.
’He took down their strongest, the Grand Elder, in a flash, then that terrifying pressure appeared out of nowhere and pinned them all down while the Seventh Elder was beheaded. Who would dare provoke such a person?’
The gaunt Sixth Elder, also looking nervous, added in a low voice, "That’s right. This is a private matter. Since it’s been settled, you should leave at once!"
"Heh, you change your tune quickly, don’t you?" Qin Li laughed coldly. "But now, I don’t feel like leaving. Just now, you dared to insult my wife. So now, I’m going to take a piece of you. A hand or an ear—you choose."
"Kid, you’re taking this too far!"
"Boy, do you really think the Divine Eagle Sect is a pushover?"
"What happened to ’little beast’?" Qin Li’s smile was icy. He then bellowed, "If you won’t do it, I’ll take it myself!"
The group of Divine Eagle Sect Elders leaped into the air almost as one, launching a ferocious assault on Qin Li. Waves of immense power, carrying destructive force, thundered toward him!
"You moved first!" Qin Li sneered. His body shot into the sky, and all their attacks hit empty air.
In the next moment, they felt it again—a pressure so powerful it made their very souls tremble.
At the same time, Qin Li’s figure plummeted back down from the sky.
A purple halo spread out like a ripple, the scene surreal and dreamlike.
All sound froze, then vanished.
Then, lines of blood suddenly appeared all over the bodies of the Fourth and Sixth Elders. With a sickening sound, they burst apart. Arms fell, legs dropped, and finally... their heads rolled to the ground.
Qin Li’s single sword strike had dismembered them completely.
The others had all suffered injuries of varying degrees. They were blasted backward, falling to the ground, spitting blood, their spirits broken.
When they looked at Qin Li now, their eyes were finally filled with unconcealable terror.
"They deserved to die, so they died," Qin Li said calmly. "Your crimes aren’t worthy of death, so I’ll spare you." He walked over and took Shangguan Shiyu’s hand, slowly infusing her with a stream of Innate Purple Qi. Shiyu had just used the Suppression Technique and was completely exhausted, but no one noticed anything amiss.
They watched as the two youths, looking like a celestial couple, floated away, leaving several corpses on the ground. In this single battle, the Divine Eagle Sect had lost four of its dozen or so strongest Elders, not to mention a disciple at the Celestial Integration Realm and all the others who were wounded.
Every face was ashen. They finally understood just how terrifying this young pair was. Annihilating their entire Sect would probably be an easy task for them.
The Second Elder, who hadn’t spoken a single word from start to finish, let out a heavy sigh. He looked at the Grand Elder, who was lying on the ground, barely clinging to life. He shook his head slowly, and then, as the Grand Elder looked at him with eyes full of hope, he waved a hand. A burst of Power shot into the Grand Elder’s throat. "Rest in peace," he said softly. "Better to die and be free than to live on in agony."
"Clean this up. We’ll discuss this when the Sect Leader returns." After saying this, the Second Elder turned and walked away.
All that remained was the Grand Elder’s eyes, wide with disbelief, staring blankly at the sky.
