Qingcheng Blocks the Way

The official road was deathly silent.

The wind seemed to have stopped, leaving only seven riderless horses restlessly pawing the ground and occasionally snorting.

The road, which had been bustling and filled with murderous intent moments before, was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All eyes were fixed on the seven corpses.

The Black Wind Seven Fiends!

Their leader, "Black Wind Saber" Wang Chao, and the second and third brothers were all renowned, top-tier experts. The other four were also notorious figures in the martial arts world.

It was said that even ordinary Xiantian experts had to avoid them when they joined forces.

But now, they were dead.

From the moment they had charged out to intercept the young man to the moment all seven of them had become corpses, the entire process was too fast for anyone to react.

There was no earth-shattering battle, no dazzling array of moves.

The young man hadn't even dismounted his horse the entire time.

He had simply raised his hand, flicked his fingers.

And then, the seven experts who could walk sideways in the Qingzhou martial arts world had died silently.

A tiny blood hole pierced through their foreheads, front to back. Other than that, there wasn't a single mark on them.

What kind of terrifying strength was this? What kind of unbelievable method was this?

The martial artists who had been whispering and waiting to watch the show moments before were now all pale. They felt a chill rush from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads, their limbs turning cold. They had even forgotten to breathe.

Some people couldn't control themselves and started trembling, not out of fear, but from a soul-deep shudder caused by an absolute crushing of their life level.

Fifty thousand taels of silver?

At that moment, everyone who had coveted the bounty had only one thought in their minds: The Blood Saber Sect was setting them up to die! This wasn't a reward, it was a death warrant!

Lu Shaoyou acted as if he hadn't done anything. He gently shook the reins, and the horse beneath him moved forward.

"Swish—"

The martial artists in front of him retreated to both sides as if they had seen a ghost, their eyes filled with terror. They carved out a wide passage on the crowded official road.

No one dared to block his path, no one dared to meet his gaze, and no one even dared to breathe loudly.

They lowered their heads, bowed, and watched the "plague god" depart with the humblest of postures.

It wasn't until Lu Shaoyou's figure completely disappeared at the end of the official road that the stagnant air seemed to begin flowing again.

"Gulp."

Someone, it was hard to tell who, swallowed with difficulty. The sound was exceptionally jarring in the dead silence.

"Dead... they're all dead... with a flick of his fingers, seven great experts... turned to dust..."

"Is... is this something a person can do? Is this even martial arts? This is sorcery!"

"Quick! Run! Get as far away from him as possible! We can't go to Blazing Fire City anymore! That's an invitation from the King of Hell!"

The martial artists who had intended to fish in troubled waters and watch the excitement in Blazing Fire City now scattered like birds spooked by a hawk. They turned their horses around, wishing their parents had given them two more legs, and fled madly in the opposite direction of Blazing Fire City.

Fear was contagious.

The news of Lu Shaoyou instantly killing the Black Wind Seven Fiends with a flick of his finger spread like a level 12 hurricane, at a speed faster than his horse's hooves, sweeping across the entire official road and wildly expanding in all directions.

The desperadoes who had been lurking in the shadows, holding onto a sliver of hope and waiting for an opportunity to strike, were all terrified out of their wits upon hearing the news. They immediately abandoned all their thoughts.

It was a joke. If even the Black Wind Seven Fiends, as a combination, were instantly annihilated, then they, these small fries, would probably not even be enough to fill his teeth.

In an instant, the number of martial artists heading to Blazing Fire City drastically decreased, while those fleeing grew in an endless stream.

Lu Shaoyou paid no mind to this. He urged his horse onward, letting the scenery on both sides of the official road blur past.

After traveling dozens of miles more, the road ahead was suddenly blocked by four figures.

They were four young men dressed in Qing Dynasty robes, with long swords on their backs. Their bearing was upright, their faces handsome, and they carried the unique arrogance of a prestigious sect.

The four stood quietly in the middle of the official road, their expressions solemn, possessing a majestic aura that was completely different from the rabble and bandits who had blocked the way before.

Lu Shaoyou reined in his horse and calmly looked at them.

The man at the head, about seventeen or eighteen years old, had sharp sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, with a steady demeanor. He took a step forward, cupped his hands in a salute towards Lu Shaoyou from a distance, his voice clear and resounding throughout the wilderness.

"Sir, are you Lu Shaoyou?"

Lu Shaoyou did not reply, merely looking at him.

The man didn't seem to mind and continued speaking on his own. "I am Xiao Yi of the Qingcheng Sword Sect. These three are my junior brothers, Qin Feng, Chu Yan, and Wei Shan."

He paused, and his tone suddenly became stern, his eyes carrying a sense of judgment.

"Lu Shaoyou, we are here to ask you about something!"

"You came from Yunzhou and entered our Qingzhou only a few days ago, yet you have destroyed two major halls of the Blood Saber Sect, killing hundreds of people, and even wantonly killing innocents on the official road, with cruel methods that resemble demonic ways!"

Beside him, a young man with a round face and a slightly fiery temper, Chu Yan, immediately interjected angrily, "Not only resemble demonic ways! He IS a demon!"

"The Blood Saber Sect maintains order in the Qingzhou martial arts world and has made great contributions. How can you, an outsider, disrupt it wantonly! Your actions have plunged Qingzhou into chaos and made everyone fearful. What is your intention!"

Their voices were filled with a sense of righteousness, as if they were righteous warriors acting on behalf of heaven.

However, after Lu Shaoyou listened, a strange expression appeared on his face.

He finally spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"The Blood Saber Sect, with great achievements?"

He asked back as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"When I first arrived in Qingzhou, in Tiger Roar City, I personally saw the daughter of the Black Tiger Hall Master whip an unarmed woman on the street for a hairpin."

"What's more, she intended to force-feed poison into the child's mouth, purely for amusement. The surrounding commoners dared not speak out despite their anger."

Lu Shaoyou's gaze swept over the four people, his voice calm, yet striking their hearts like a heavy hammer.

"Shouldn't such villains be killed?"

"Is this the order under the control of the Blood Saber Sect, as you call it?"

"Is this the so-called 'great achievements' from your mouths?"

The expressions of Xiao Yi and the other three changed instantly.

"This..."

The Four Swords of Qingcheng were instantly speechless.

They had lived in their mountain sect for a long time, and this time they were invited by Xue Yutang. They were ignorant of the hardships of the common folk. Upon hearing this, their faces showed a hint of embarrassment.

Lu Shaoyou's words were like a sharp blade, tearing open the shining, beautiful outer layer of their "prestigious sects" and revealing the unsightly interior beneath.

Xiao Yi, forcing himself to calm down, argued, "Perhaps that was just Xiong Tai's failure to discipline his daughter; it was an isolated incident! How can you implicate the entire Blood Saber Sect because of this and slaughter hundreds of people?"

"Your actions, massacring the innocent, are no different from the villains you speak of!"

"Massacring the innocent?" Lu Shaoyou laughed, a cold smile. "I gave them a chance, but they didn't cherish it."

"As for the difference..."

His gaze swept over the four, as if looking at four inanimate objects.

"The difference is that the people I kill deserved to die. As for you, you are abetting evil and aiding the wicked."

"You... you're slandering us!"

"Twisting black and white! Utter nonsense!"

Chu Yan, the most hot-tempered among them, was enraged and could no longer maintain his composure. He roared, "You demon, stop your deceitful words here! I see you have long fallen into the demonic path, your mouth full of lies!"

"Today, we, the Four Swords of Qingcheng, must act on behalf of heaven and eliminate a scourge for the martial arts world!"

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Four clear sword cries. Four sharp steel longswords were unsheathed simultaneously, their sword energies menacing.

Xiao Yi's face no longer held its previous composure. His expression was as heavy as water, and killing intent was evident in his eyes.

"Lu Shaoyou, your karmic sin is too heavy; you have already become a demon! There's no point in saying more!"

"Today, I will let you witness the 'Four Symbols Sword Array' of my Qingcheng Sword Sect! This array is specifically designed to punish demonic and crooked paths!"

As his voice fell, the four figures moved, instantly occupying positions in the four cardinal directions, their sword tips pointing directly at Lu Shaoyou.

Four sharp sword energies shot up into the sky, intertwining and merging in mid-air. A terrifying oppressive aura, far exceeding that of any one of them, was formed with a roar, locking onto Lu Shaoyou firmly.

The great battle was about to begin.