"Since you could come, why couldn't I?" Xiao Yao's lips curled slightly, revealing his arrogance and confidence.
The scene automatically replayed in Yu Yangbo's mind: not long ago, Xiao Yao had cut down thousands of cultivators with a single sword strike.
This boy was absolutely not to be provoked!
But his grandson had already provoked him!
Yu Yangbo hurriedly cupped his hands. "Boss, I had no intention of offending you. Please..."
"No intention of offending me? Heh! Do you really think I'd believe that?" Xiao Yao's voice was full of menace and killing intent.
The blue-clad youth spoke up. "Grandpa! He's only at the Sea Opening Realm Second Layer Peak Cultivation. Why are you afraid of him?"
"That's because..." Yu Yangbo's voice suddenly trailed off.
He recalled what his grandson had said earlier. Knowing his grandson, it was highly likely that the threats to gouge out eyes and chop off all four limbs hadn't come from the god of slaughter before them, but from his own grandson.
He was... he was doomed!
How could there be a grandson in this world who screwed over his grandpa this badly?
At that moment, Yu Yangbo wanted nothing more than to kill the blue-clad youth!
"Young man, what do you want?"
Faced with the question, Xiao Yao answered calmly, "Your lives."
"Then there's nothing left to discuss?"
Yu Yangbo fixed his gaze on Xiao Yao, already preparing to fight.
Xiao Yao nodded. Before he could speak, an incredibly powerful, blinding green sword ray shot toward him from ahead.
But before the ray could reach him, it vanished completely. A sword ray had pierced through the old man standing in front of him.
"What? How could you..."
Yu Yangbo's bloodshot eyes widened. He looked utterly unable to believe that Xiao Yao had struck first.
Xiao Yao smiled faintly. "I'm not from some upright, righteous sect. Why shouldn't I attack first?"
His words made every cultivator below shudder.
Being strong was bad enough!
But to have no bottom line on top of that? How were they supposed to deal with him?
The blue-clad youth watched Yu Yangbo get swept away by Sword Qi until not even scraps remained. His whole body trembled, and he dropped to his knees, sniveling and begging for mercy.
"Please, don't kill me. I'm still so young."
Xiao Yao knew the youth wasn't begging because he'd realized his mistakes.
Besides, if you didn't pull out the roots, the spring breeze would bring the weeds back. He wasn't going to repeat his father's old mistake.
He casually swung his sword. A blast of Sword Qi imbued with sword wind roared forth, swallowing the blue-clad youth and the three Heavenly Sword Society cultivators in an instant.
"Is anyone here connected to that group?"
Seeing the cultivators below standing motionless, Xiao Yao continued to threaten them. "If you know something and don't report it, and I find out, you'll all be waiting to die!"
The cultivators trembled. Not one of them was confident they could take Xiao Yao on alone.
Just as they were about to join forces and attack, a Sea Opening Realm cultivator advised them, "He easily wiped out 143 Sea Opening Realm cultivators in one go, including some famous geniuses from the Southern Wilderness Domain and even other domains. So for the sake of your own lives, don't try to hide anything."
143 Sea Opening Realm cultivators?
Killed in one go?
The cultivators at Sword Mark Peak were all dumbfounded!
Before long, every cultivator connected to the Heavenly Sword Society was tied up and brought before Xiao Yao.
Xiao Yao glanced over them. Some looked terrified, some wept and begged for mercy, and others cursed him for being heartless.
None of that would change the fact that they were all about to die.
"Ying, ying, ying!"
Apparently disturbed by the cursing, the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox cracked open its eyes and cried out in displeasure.
Xiao Yao gently stroked the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox's back and spoke softly. "Go back to sleep. Those noisy fools will stop soon!"
The cultivators were dumbstruck!
No one had expected Xiao Yao to comfort the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox with such a vicious threat.
The cultivators who had been cursing all fell silent. They were afraid to die too; they'd only started cursing because they thought there was no chance of surviving.
Xiao Yao didn't want to waste any more time. He swung Taiyan Sword, unleashing an incredibly sharp and ferocious sword ray.
In the blink of an eye, everything before him fell utterly silent. Not another sound was heard.
Looking at the empty space ahead, Xiao Yao knew the matter was over. He sheathed Taiyan Sword and descended.
Just as he was about to join the queue, a group of Sea Opening Realm cultivators appeared before him and bowed respectfully. "Boss! Please come this way. We've arranged the best spot for viewing the sword mark at Sword Mark Peak."
"Weren't we supposed to line up?" Xiao Yao asked curiously.
Line up?
The cultivators were dumbfounded once again!
Soon, one of them realized that Xiao Yao might be deliberately testing them.
"Someone of your stature doesn't need to wait in line."
"He's right! Just follow us."
Xiao Yao didn't simply go along with the crowd. He asked again, "But wouldn't that be cutting in line?"
The cultivators exchanged glances. By now, they were convinced Xiao Yao was deliberately testing them.
"Cutting in line? This isn't cutting in line! You're the only Sea Opening Realm cultivator here who hasn't taken a seat. You came here through the proper queue."
"That's right! Sea Opening Realm cultivators have a separate queue."
Xiao Yao felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what.
Anyway, since he didn't have to wait in line, he might as well find a seat, watch the sword mark, and carefully comprehend the Sword Intent.
Surrounded by the Sea Opening Realm cultivators, Xiao Yao headed for the best spot to view the sword mark.
The cultivators waiting in line looked at him with envy, secretly resenting that they hadn't reached the Sea Opening Realm.
Once he reached his seat, Xiao Yao sat cross-legged on the ground and said, "If there's nothing else, go about your business."
The Sea Opening Realm cultivators all thought Xiao Yao was keeping his guard up against them.
So they didn't harbor any ill intentions and returned to their seats.
The Sea Opening Realm cultivator whose spot Xiao Yao had taken was resentful, but he still had a place from which to view the sword mark, so he didn't challenge Xiao Yao.
Xiao Yao gazed at the sword mark. It contained an incredibly profound Sword Intent.
[Drip! This sword mark contains fifty layers of Sword Intent and has existed for thirty thousand years.]
Thirty thousand years?
Hadn't the Giant Spirit Secret Realm only been opening for the past thousand years or so?
Xiao Yao faintly sensed that the Giant Spirit Secret Realm was far from ordinary.
But he only noted it to himself and didn't dwell on it.
An hour later.
Xiao Yao was enveloped in dazzling white light, and the Sword Intent around him began to rise to a higher level.
At once, every cultivator—those waiting in line and those who already had seats—looked toward Xiao Yao.
"That's the sign of Sword Intent advancing!"
"The Sword Intent he used earlier was at the peak of the third layer. Does that mean it's about to advance to the fourth?"
"If he isn't some old monster who's regained his youth, then comprehending fourth-layer Sword Intent at such a young age feels far too unbelievable!"
"He's only been observing for an hour. If he watches for all three days, I can't even imagine what things will look like then!"
Amid the shocked and astonished remarks, Xiao Yao's Sword Intent successfully advanced to the fourth layer.
Three more hours later.
Xiao Yao's Sword Intent advanced to the peak of the fourth layer.
Six more hours later.
Xiao Yao's Sword Intent advanced to the fifth layer.
Twelve more hours later.
Xiao Yao's Sword Intent advanced to the peak of the fifth layer.
After that, there were no further changes. The cultivators all breathed a sigh of relief.
"It'll be exactly three days soon! Do you think his Sword Intent can advance to the sixth layer?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Only a handful of Dao Integration Realm cultivators can comprehend sixth-layer Sword Intent, and he's only at the Sea Opening Realm Second Layer Peak!"
"That's true. If he really does comprehend it, then as far as this old man knows, he'd be the greatest swordsmanship genius among the younger generation today!"
Just then, the wind rose!
Zzzzz!
The wind grew stronger and stronger. The cultivators all looked toward its source, only to discover that it was Xiao Yao, who was about to finish observing for a full three days.
Suddenly, intense, dazzling sword rays circled around Xiao Yao.
"Could he really have comprehended sixth-layer Sword Intent?"
"He's defying the heavens!"
Boom!
The sword rays around Xiao Yao vanished, and his Sword Intent smoothly advanced to the sixth layer.
The cultivators present stared so hard their eyes nearly popped out.
"Monster! Is he a monster?"
"In his presence, who could call themselves a swordsmanship prodigy?"
"The path of the sword will be changed forever, starting today!"
Xiao Yao slowly exhaled. The five days and five hours of groundwork had all been for this final push.
He stood and gazed at the sword mark, which could no longer give him any further insight.
What a pity!
If the sword mark could keep giving him insights, maybe he could figure out the bottleneck in his current understanding of Sword Intent.
Still, he could go back and ask his master to make one. After all, his master was a Sword Dao Empress; her Sword Intent definitely exceeded fifty layers.
Xiao Yao turned to look behind him. The line was even longer than it had been three days ago.
At the front stood a frail-looking little girl. Xiao Yao thought his spot should go to her next.
But just then, a dark figure shot over from the distance and cut in front of the little girl, taking the first place in line.
Could someone really cut in line like that?
Xiao Yao felt as if his whole worldview had been turned upside down!
In his previous life, no matter how outrageous someone cutting in line had been, no one had jumped straight to the very front.
The manners and morals of these cultivators were truly appalling!
[Drip! To stamp out the bad habits of the cultivation world, a mission has been issued: teach the line-cutter a lesson. Completing it will earn an exceptionally generous reward.]
Before you continue