He and She-What Was Their Relationship? (5.8k)
The Ink Pine Sword was drawn with a clang, drawing an almost complete semicircle in front of You Su.
Apart from Ming Dao, no one saw him draw his sword. They only felt a flash of black lightning that momentarily obscured the moonlight.
This is the fastest sword strike in the Mandarin Sword — Chasing Wind and Lightning!
You Su rarely used this sword technique because he always felt he wasn't fast enough. He was never a swordsman known for his speed; his style was to figure out his opponent's moves, exploit their weaknesses, and strike a decisive blow.
But things are different now. After breaking through the Water Condensation stage, he has already mastered the Ruyi Wind-Controlling Technique, and in this night, speed is the strongest attribute!
Ming Dao was utterly baffled as to where such a resentful obstacle had suddenly appeared, but his opponent's speed left him no time to think. He almost instinctively twirled his sword. The Tingyu Sword truly lived up to its reputation as a half-step Immortal Sword, its wielded light as clear and pure as water!
In the brief moment of close combat, a violent shockwave instantly spread outwards in a circle from the two locked in a stalemate.
Ji Xueruo's long black hair was blown about by the strong wind. She looked at the boy's back, her eyes filled with admiration.
The Ink Pine Sword and the Tingyu Sword faced off, their grinding sounds incessant. The Sword Qi emanating from the two swords seemed to materialize, one black and one white locked in a life-or-death struggle.
"She's a demon! You absolutely must save her?!"
Ming Dao's expression was extremely solemn. He stared coldly at the boy's face, his surging anger hidden beneath the surface.
You Su ignored him and responded with an even more ferocious sword strike.
Ming Dao was inwardly astonished. There were actually two such troublesome Water Condensing Lower Realm?
Swordsmanship is a contest of strength. Everyone thinks that the Tingyu Sword emphasizes the speed of the sword strike, with a rain of swords overwhelming the opponent. But only Ming Dao himself knows that speed alone is far from enough to kill the enemy. In terms of strength, his master is not inferior to some Venerables who are known for their physique!
Normally, he would never have believed that Sword Cultivator at the Water Condensing Lower Realm could hold his own against him for so long, and even hold his own against him!
At that very moment, Ming Dao's heart pounded like a drum; he had the Unseen feeling that something was about to come!
He instantly glanced in one direction, and this spiritual sense grew even stronger!
He could no longer afford to compete with You Su in swordsmanship; he had to dodge this thing!
With a furious roar, he unleashed a burst of energy, using immense force to blast the relentless You Su away.
Suddenly, like a lion roaring through the mountains, a deafening roar seemed to materialize, shattering the trees along the way and sweeping towards Ming Dao like a whirlwind.
Everyone around covered their ears, their faces filled with astonishment, finding it unbelievable that such a move could make the earth tremble.
The roaring sound only gradually subsided after it had destroyed a tunnel nearly a hundred meters long. The group swayed precariously, their heads buzzing.
As the smoke and dust cleared, the beautiful female cultivator hurriedly searched for Ming Dao's figure, only feeling relieved when she saw Ming Dao standing proudly on the branch.
But Ming Dao's sinister expression at this moment felt unfamiliar to her. She had never seen this arrogant Little Sword Immortal Ming so disheveled. The left half of his Daoist robe was torn to shreds, revealing his bloody left arm.
"The Mountain-Shaking Golden Lion Roar..."
Ming Dao gritted his teeth, "Is it Fellow Daoist Ao Yunlie of the Golden Lion Clan?"
Calling the Demon Cultivator" fellow Daoist" is enough to prove his respect for Ao Yunlie.
"It's an honor to meet you!"
With a resounding cry, a burly figure leaped onto the battlefield, kicking up another cloud of dust.
Ming Dao narrowed his effeminate eyes, a cold smile creeping onto his lips. "I've heard that Fellow Daoist Ao, though Demon Race, has always acted with integrity and uprightness. I never expected him to resort to a sneak attack as a greeting."
Ao Yunlie, with his square face, said, "Ming Dao, you are mistaken. Whether one acts uprightly or not has nothing to do with whether one is Demon Race. If you say that, wouldn't I be Ming Dao although you are human, you like to bully demons and use your numbers to take advantage of others?"
Ao Yu, who followed behind, didn't give Ming Dao a friendly look and continued, "Talking about martial ethics with someone who doesn't have it is like talking to a brick wall!"
Ao Yunlie's expression turned strange upon hearing this. He thought to himself that it was indeed useful to have his younger brother read more books; he could even use idioms now, though they didn't sound very pleasant...
"I'll pass this on to you as well: trying to be polite to barbarians is like casting pearls before swine." Ming Dao's lips curled into a contemptuous smile.
"You!"
Ao Yu was furious. Language is a product created by humans, and some proverbs and idioms naturally belittle the image of animals, which leaves the Demon Race, which evolved from various animals, helpless.
Even though the Demon Race is an enlightened and intelligent being like the human race, it is not the creator of culture, which leads to inequality in cultural status. These fundamental contradictions are the root cause of the conflict between humans and demons.
"So, Fellow Daoist Ao, you've also come to attack me?" Ming Dao asked knowingly.
"Ming Dao is quite adept at twisting the truth. You're the one attacking us; I'm just here to save my compatriots." Ao Yunlie had absolutely no liking for this effeminate man.
Ming Dao laughed, his laughter like that of bats in a mountain cave at night.
"When your Demon Race besieged and killed my father, you used the same high-sounding excuse, but I'm not like my foolish father who trusted the Demon Race so easily... Come here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ming Dao suddenly unleashed an astonishing aura:
"As long as I, Ming Dao, live, your Demon Race's prodigies will never be able to rise to prominence!"
This statement is undeniably arrogant, but Ming Dao has the confidence to back it up.
The four men who were with him earlier had become somewhat demoralized due to Ao Yunlie's arrival, but seeing that Ming Dao was getting serious, they rallied again, and the situation instantly became five against five.
Ao Yu rubbed his hands together, eager to try. Although he had only just broken through to the Water Condensing Upper Realm, he still had his own abilities and pride. Miss He naturally also restrained her calm expression. This was a battle between races. Although her realm was not high, she would not back down. Ao Yunlie's aura was rising steadily because he had been looking forward to fighting against the human race's prodigy for a long time!
Just when everyone thought Ao Yunlie and Ming Dao would be a battle of kings, the two men in black moved.
It was You Su, sword in hand, rushing towards them, and Ji Xueruo, her sleeves adorned with snakes!
And their target was none other than the Ming Dao who stood on the branch!
"Brother... what does this mean?"
Ao Yu was completely bewildered, thinking, "Wasn't it my brother fighting this sissy? Why are you two fighting over him?"
Ao Yunlie was also taken aback, his face showing a bewildered expression as if he had no idea.
But Ming Dao was not so relaxed. He saw that two people at the Water Condensing Lower Realm were attacking him at the same time. His expression became serious, and he lowered his body. The Tingyu Sword slashed diagonally along his body, like a raging wave!
"He has mastered the 'Rolling Waves' technique from the Tingyu Sword Scripture to such a high level!" Ao Yunlie exclaimed in surprise.
"Why are these two just throwing their lives away?!"
Ao Yu was extremely anxious. He didn't know how powerful the Rolling Waves Sword was, but he knew that these two didn't know when to stop. Now it was obvious that Ming Dao was going to get serious, and they still thought they could gain an advantage!
"Not necessarily." Ao Yunlie frowned, actually looking forward to the two of them's performance.
To his surprise, the boy in black and the girl in black actually couldn't withstand the sword strike and were both sent flying back more than ten meters.
"You could have torn up the letter and left the island while I was sparring with Fellow Daoist Ao, but instead you chose to throw your lives away?"
Ming Dao glared at the two people in the distance, his voice tinged with resentment, as if he had reached his limit of patience with these two overconfident opponents.
But to his surprise, the boy and girl seemed not to hear him at all, and instead started arguing amongst themselves.
"What are you doing in my way? If you hadn't blocked my way, would I have been knocked back this far?" The girl in the black dress said coquettishly, her tone reproachful.
"Miss Xue Ruo hadn't pulled me back, my sword would have surely broken his sword momentum." The black-clad youth spoke with certainty, and made a move to attack again.
Ji Xueruo was speechless. She then used her Qi to pull You Su back, saying, "He's my opponent. Why did you try to get ahead of me?"
"If he wants to kill you, I will kill him."
"I don't need you to step in! I can handle him myself! He said he's going to fight the Demon Race's prodigy, what are you trying to prove?"
"You actually listen to that? He insists on elevating his personal grudges to a racial level to cover up his hatred. He's a despicable person, and I must kill him!"
"He messed with me, so I should kill him myself!"
"He offended me too, so if you kill me, who will you kill?"
The two of them kept talking back and forth, arguing amongst themselves without anyone rushing to their aid. They were like a quarreling young couple, completely ignoring Ming Dao as if he were just a cabbage on the roadside.
Ao Yu and Ao Yunlie looked at each other in disbelief, feeling that they had truly seen something new today.
"Young Master Ao, are those two... very familiar with each other?"
The Miss He was also dumbfounded upon seeing this, and became extremely curious about the relationship between the two.
Looking at Ming Dao's increasingly gloomy expression in the distance, Ao Yunlie guessed:
"This is Ji Xueruo, the patriarch of the snake clan, a rising star of our Demon Race. Her younger sister, Ji Lingruo, is the third disciple of the Lotus Sword Venerable of the Xuanxiao Sect, and thus this Brother You's junior sister... In terms of relationship, the two are related."
"I see, no wonder he was able to rescue people faster than we were." Ao Yu said with a look of understanding.
Miss He raised her eyebrows. Her junior sister's older sister?
But her keen intuition as a woman told her that the relationship between the two couldn't be that simple...
"Enough!"
Ming Dao roared, interrupting their argument.
The veins on his thin cheeks bulged, clearly indicating that he was extremely angry.
"You're You Su?"
He had naturally heard the conversation between Ao Yu and the others.
You Su was suddenly called out, and drew his Way of the Sword, saying, "So what if I am?"
"Good! I've heard that another swordsman has emerged in the Central Yuan Continent, but I didn't expect to run into him so soon!" Ming Dao's gaze swept over the group of demons. "It seems you've made up your mind to collude with the Demon Race!"
"Don't talk nonsense! My Demon Race doesn't want people who only know how to be strong and cause trouble!"
Ji Xueruo a clear voice and took a step to the left, as if she wanted to distance herself from You Su.
You Su felt a pang of disappointment, but even more so, he was deeply moved. Ji Xueruo's step away was clearly an act of protection for him.
There were five people here, and his identity had been exposed. He would inevitably stand on the opposite side of these people. If these people tore up the letter and left the island, exaggerating his collusion with the Demon Race to deal with the human race's prodigy, it would be a heavy blow to his reputation, and even to the reputation of his Mistress and the Xuanxiao Sect.
"Calling you a villain is no exaggeration; I can't accept such high praise." You Su declared with unwavering fighting spirit, "The first article of the treaty between humans and demons states that killing each other is forbidden on the grounds of race! This young lady has no grudge against you, yet you want to exterminate her simply because she is Demon Race. I'm helping her, not because of her, but to uphold this inviolable treaty!"
You Su's words were so assertive that he seemed to radiate the light of justice.
Ji Xueruo winked and looked at You Su's dignified appearance, thinking to herself that he was still the same old him.
Although this is an established agreement, how many people can actually abide by it? Once you're on the island, it's impossible to restrict your behavior by relying on the agreement to kill people and monsters. In the end, the killings can always be explained as a struggle for fortuitous opportunity rather than a racial feud.
"Stop trying to glorify yourself; you're clearly loyal to the Demon Race!"
The beautiful female cultivator who followed Ming Dao pointed at You Su and scolded her. Ji Xueruo glared at her coldly upon hearing this, and she immediately felt a chill and restrained her aura.
"The relationship between humans and demons is so terrible because there are too many fools like you. Brother You, your heart is not with the Demon Race, but with justice."
Ao Yunlie took a step forward, and dust instantly rose like mist. "Today, I, Ao Yunlie, am taking action for justice! Whatever you have to say, come at me!"
Seeing this, Ji Xueruo glanced at You Su, who had a serious expression, and whispered:
"I told you not to make things worse. Your intervention will only complicate matters. I can handle it myself."
"But he wants to kill you, I..."
You Su's tone softened, as if he had been wronged, but before he could finish speaking, Ji Xueruo interrupted him.
"Did you intervene to save me, or to vent your anger?"
You Su was taken aback for a moment, then honestly replied, "Yes, I have them all."
Upon receiving the answer, Ji Xueruo felt a warm feeling welling up inside her, and the corners of her lips naturally curved into a smile, which she quickly suppressed.
"If it's to save me, then you don't need to help, because I don't need your help; if it's to vent your anger, then you definitely shouldn't help, as that will only give others something to talk about."
"What grounds for criticism? Justice resides in the hearts of the people." You Su stood tall and proud. "Besides, I'm not afraid of giving people anything to criticize; you can't guard against all the petty people."
"Where is justice in this world?"
Ji Xueruo sighed softly, touched by You Su's willingness to disregard others' opinions for her sake.
She felt that the feelings she had suppressed for so long had not faded with time as she had hoped. With their reunion, these feelings were like a vintage wine that had been uncorked, releasing an even more intoxicating aroma...
"Don't act rashly. There are far more than just these few people here; many others, both demons and humans, are lurking nearby. Some want to sit back and watch the fight, while others are looking for an opportunity to strike. If you really want to help me, then keep an eye on our surroundings for me."
"But you..." You Su hesitated.
"What?" Ji Xueruo raised her eyebrows and retorted, "So you, Young Master You, have the confidence to cross borders and kill enemies, but others can't? I haven't even questioned whether you're putting on a show, but you're questioning me?"
Such an imbalance of trust is indeed hurtful, You Su quickly apologized, "I'm sorry..."
Ji Xueruo hearing this and turned her head:
"I haven't even used my true snake demon form yet, so he might not be able to defeat me. You watch closely, and tone down your arrogance. My Demon Race's prodigies are no less than your human race."
You Su didn't answer, but simply did as she said and looked at her closely. Wearing sunglasses, he stared at his long-lost lover without any restraint, even though she would never admit it, he still felt that way.
Her face was exactly the same as his junior sister's, but her temperament was completely different. She was like a plum blossom, proud and noble in the snow, with moonlight in her eyes and starlight draped over her shoulders. For a moment, he was mesmerized by her beauty.
"What are you looking at...?"
Ji Xueruo noticed You Su's gaze, and even though she knew he was blind, she still felt a little embarrassed for no reason.
"Didn't you tell me to keep a close eye on you?" You Su retorted.
Ji Xueruo sighed silently, "I'll show you how I beat someone up!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she rose lightly, her black dress fluttering in the wind, as if about to rush towards the battlefield where Ao Yunlie and Ming Dao were locked in a fierce battle.
You Su suddenly felt that while it was good for a hero to save a damsel in distress, being able to watch the person he liked shine was also a wonderful thing.
The remaining few then began their battle.
Seeing that You Su lost in thought, a foolish cultivator at the Water Condensing Upper Realm quietly circled behind him, intending to deliver a fatal blow.
Because Ao Yunlie and Ji Xueruo were both dealing with Ming Dao, the five-on-five situation was broken, and Ao Yu was forced to fight two opponents at once, unable to be in two places at once, so he could only shout a reminder:
"Blind man! Behind you!"
You Su remained unmoved, while Ao Yu grew anxious. Seeing the knife-wielding cultivator about to succeed, he disregarded everything else and rushed to save the man. After all, his impression of the blind Sword Cultivator had improved considerably after what had just happened, because he genuinely believed You Su was acting for justice...
But in the next instant, You Su dodged the seemingly inevitable blow in an even more absurd way than an ostrich burying its head in the ground!
The cultivator was horrified and was about to swing his sword again You Su himself against the ground, spun around with his sword, and created a gust of wind that forced the cultivator back.
You Su was also getting impatient. He only wanted to watch Miss Xue Ruo display her great power and was reluctant to let go of her gaze, but this person insisted on bothering him.
"Were you acting on Ming Dao's orders, or did you truly intend to kill her?" You Su asked coldly.
The monk being questioned was slightly taken aback. For some reason, a sense of fear welled up in his heart, and a bead of cold sweat seeped out from his back.
Everyone invited to the island probably considers themselves capable and ambitious, so how could he possibly be afraid of a blind man whose cultivation level is only at the lower stage of the Water Condensing Lower Realm?
Even if this blind man possesses sword intent, he is no ordinary person!
"The Demon Race should never have appeared in this world!" he roared.
You Su gripped the Ink Pine Sword tightly and said in a deep voice, "Then you won't have another chance to tear up the letter."
As soon as the word "meet" was uttered, he moved like lightning, his black sword like an impenetrable wall, crashing down on the enemy.
On the other side of the battlefield, Ao Yunlie sensed Ji Xueruo fight Ming Dao alone, and he wisely withdrew, even though this was a battle he had been looking forward to for a long time.
Ming Dao was dismissive of this, but Ji Xueruo's difficulty in dealing with him exceeded his expectations.
Her Technique Method weren't all extremely rare or Technique Method, but even these common Technique Method had their uses under her control. She was like a general strategizing from her tent, combining these Technique Method to produce unexpected results.
"This sword wasn't originally meant for you, but you've proven that you deserve to see it."
Ming Dao's voice was almost seeping out from between his teeth, carrying a chilling ruthlessness.
As his sword intent surged, the clouds in the night sky seemed to be moved as well, gathering towards his head like a dark tide.
His sword intent spread out, the sword twisted and gathered, and just a moment ago it was a hot and humid night, but now a tiny drop of rain fell from the clouds.
Ming Dao precisely grasped the timing of the raindrop's fall. Just as it was about to hit the ground, the Tingyu Sword sliced through its center. The raindrop condensed and did not disperse, clinging to the sword as if it had become a tangible sword intent!
A flash of lightning appeared in the clouds, followed by a thunderclap!
Ao Yunlie was shocked. A heavy rain was about to fall. This was definitely not half a step sword intent. Ming Dao was about to comprehend the complete Tingyu Sword Intent!
At the same time, Ji Xueruo also revealed her trump card!
Suddenly, her pupils turned into vertical pupils, and white snake scales gradually appeared at the corners of her eyes, spreading backward. Her body began to swell, and in an instant, she transformed into a giant white snake!
Her scales reflected the bright moonlight. She raised her serpent head, her large eyes like two dazzling gems. On her serpent head, there were two horn-like protrusions, like a crown.
The moment you see her, no one will associate her with the word 'demon'; they will only be deeply attracted by the snake's noble and profound aura.
She opened her snake mouth, and a ball of light mixed with various colors actually condensed in her mouth, even causing the space around her to fluctuate.
Ao Yunlie was even more astonished. He had never seen such a rich accumulation of elements, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.
Those who practice Technique Method are skilled in fire or water, and can maximize the effectiveness of their spells by using the Technique Method of their own preferred school. However, the Technique Method this snake clan chief is currently brewing actually contains various elements!
Ao Yunlie could only have one thought: she was either an all-around genius in the Technique Method, or she was insane!
This will be a cataclysmic collision!
But at that very moment, the world suddenly changed again!
The dark, turbulent clouds in the sky suddenly dissipated, and the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently. Everyone stopped what they were doing, looking at each other in bewilderment, swaying and confused.
The ground where Ji Xueruo, the snake demon in her true form, stood suddenly began to crack, and a hideous, blood-red maw burst forth!
Ji Lingruo was forced to stop preparing her Technique Method and hurriedly turned to leave, but Ming Dao, who was standing on a tall tree, showed no intention of stopping!