Qingcheng Blocks the Road

On the official road, there was a deathly silence.

Even the wind seemed to have stopped. Only seven fine horses that had lost their masters pawed uneasily at the ground, occasionally snorting.

The official road, which had been brimming with noise and murderous intent moments ago, was now so quiet that a needle drop could be heard.

Everyone's eyes were fixed firmly on the seven corpses.

The Black Wind Seven Fiends!

Their leader, "Black Wind Saber" Wang Chao, along with the second and third brothers, were all Super First-rate Masters who had made their names long ago. The remaining four were also ruthless figures known throughout the martial world.

It was said that when the seven joined forces, even ordinary innate experts had to avoid their edge.

But now, they were dead.

From the moment they had charged out howling and blocked that young man's path to the moment all seven became corpses, the entire process had been too fast for anyone to react.

There had been no earthshaking battle, no dazzling display of techniques.

That young man had not even dismounted from his horse from beginning to end.

He had merely lifted his hand and flicked his fingers.

Then, seven masters who could have swaggered sideways through Azure Province's martial world died without a sound.

There was a tiny bloody hole in each of their brows, piercing clean through from front to back. Other than that, there was not the slightest wound.

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

The martial artists who had been whispering among themselves and waiting to watch a good show all turned deathly pale. They felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads. Their limbs went cold, and they even forgot to breathe.

Some began trembling uncontrollably—not out of fear, but from the shudder that rose from the depths of their souls when their very level of life had been utterly crushed.

Fifty thousand taels of silver?

At this moment, everyone coveting the reward had only one thought left: the Blood Saber Sect was trying to get people killed! This was not a bounty—it was a death warrant!

As though he had done nothing at all, Lu Shaoyou lightly shook the reins. The fine horse beneath him started forward once more.

"Whoosh—"

The martial artists ahead of him recoiled to either side in terror as though they had seen a ghost, forcefully opening up a broad passage through the crowded official road.

No one dared block his way. No one dared meet his eyes. No one even dared breathe loudly.

They lowered their heads and bent their backs, seeing this "plague god" off in the humblest posture possible.

Only after Lu Shaoyou's figure had completely vanished at the end of the road did the frozen air seem to begin moving again.

"Gulp."

Someone swallowed with difficulty, the sound exceptionally piercing amid the dead silence.

"Dead... they're all dead... With a flick of his fingers, seven great masters... reduced to ashes..."

"Th-this... is this something a human can do? Is this still martial arts? This must be immortal magic!"

"Quick! Run! Get as far away from him as possible! We can't go to Blazing Fire City! That place is Lord Yama's invitation!"

The martial artists who had previously wanted to fish in troubled waters at Blazing Fire City and watch the excitement scattered like birds and beasts. One after another, they turned their horses around, wishing their parents had given them two extra legs as they fled madly in the opposite direction.

Fear was contagious.

News of Lu Shaoyou instantly killing the Black Wind Seven Fiends with a flick of his fingers swept across the entire official road like a Category Twelve hurricane, spreading wildly in every direction faster than his horse's hooves.

The desperadoes who had still harbored a trace of luck and lurked in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike, were all frightened out of their wits upon hearing the news and immediately abandoned every thought of acting.

What a joke. Even a group like the Black Wind Seven Fiends had been wiped out in an instant. If small fry like them rushed forward, they probably would not even be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

For a time, the number of martial artists heading toward Blazing Fire City plummeted, while those fleeing it formed an endless stream.

Lu Shaoyou paid no attention to any of this. He urged his horse onward at a gallop, letting the scenery on both sides of the road rush backward.

After another several dozen li, four figures suddenly blocked the road ahead.

They were four young men dressed in azure Daoist robes, long swords strapped to their backs. They stood tall and handsome, bearing the pride unique to disciples of a famed orthodox sect.

The four simply stood in the middle of the official road, their expressions solemn. They possessed the bearing of deep pools and towering mountains, utterly unlike the bandits and roughnecks who had blocked the road before.

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

The leading man appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. With sword-like brows, starry eyes, and a steady temperament, he stepped forward and cupped his hands toward Lu Shaoyou from afar. His clear voice carried across the open land.

"Are you Lu Shaoyou, sir?"

Lu Shaoyou did not answer. He merely looked at him.

The man did not seem to mind and continued, "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 the weight of judgment.

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

"You came from Cloud Province and have been in our Azure Province for only a few days, yet you have destroyed two halls of the Blood Saber Sect, slaughtered hundreds, and even massacred innocents on the official road. Your methods are cruel, no different from those of the demonic path!"

The round-faced young man beside him, Chu Yan, who appeared somewhat hot-tempered, immediately cut in with an angry rebuke. "No different from the demonic path? He is a demon!"

"The Blood Saber Sect maintains the order of Azure Province's martial world and has rendered tremendous service. How can it allow an outsider like you to destroy it as you please? Your actions have turned Azure Province into a storm of blood and gore, leaving everyone in fear. What exactly are your intentions?"

Their voices brimmed with righteousness, as though they were chivalrous heroes carrying out Heaven's will.

Yet after hearing them, Lu Shaoyou revealed an odd expression.

At last, he spoke. His voice was not loud, yet every person heard it clearly.

"The Blood Saber Sect has rendered tremendous service?"

As though he had heard the greatest joke in the world, he asked in return.

"When I first arrived in Azure Province, I personally saw the daughter of the Black Tiger Hall's master in Tiger Roar City whip an unarmed woman in the street over a hairpin."

"She even wanted to force poison into that woman's little daughter's mouth, merely for amusement. The surrounding commoners were furious but dared not speak."

Lu Shaoyou's gaze swept over the four of them. His voice was calm, yet it struck their hearts like a heavy hammer.

"Should such villains not be killed?"

"Is this the order you claim existed under the Blood Saber Sect's rule?"

"Is this what you call tremendous service?"

Xiao Yi and the others' expressions changed at once.

"This..."

The Four Swords of Qingcheng were immediately left speechless.

They had lived in the sect's mountain gates for a long time. This time, they had come at Xue Yutang's invitation. How could they have known about the hardships of the common folk? Upon hearing this, all of them found it difficult to keep their faces straight.

Lu Shaoyou's words were like a sharp blade, tearing apart the glamorous outer garment of their "famed orthodox sect" and exposing the unsightly ugliness beneath.

Xiao Yi forcibly steadied himself and argued, "Perhaps Xiong Tai merely failed to discipline his daughter properly. This was an isolated case! How could you implicate the entire Blood Saber Sect because of it and slaughter hundreds?"

"Your actions are indiscriminate slaughter. How are you any different from the villains you speak of?"

"Indiscriminate slaughter?" Lu Shaoyou smiled, and that smile was cold. "I gave them chances, but unfortunately, they did not cherish them."

"As for the difference..."

His gaze swept over the four of them as though he were looking at four dead things.

"The difference is that everyone I killed deserved to die. Yet you are acting as tigers' accomplices and helping tyrants commit evil."

"You... you're spouting blood from your mouth!"

"Turning black into white! Utter nonsense!"

Chu Yan, the most hot-tempered of them all, flew into a rage from shame. Unable to maintain his composure any longer, he roared, "You demon, stop using your silver tongue here! I say you have long since fallen into the demonic path and are full of lies!"

"Today, we Four Swords of Qingcheng may have no choice but to carry out Heaven's will and rid the martial world of evil!"

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Four clear sword cries rang out as four finely forged steel swords were drawn at the same time, their sword qi cold and piercing.

Xiao Yi's face no longer retained its former composure. His expression was dark as still water, and killing intent blazed nakedly in his eyes.

"Lu Shaoyou, your murderous sins are too grave. You have already entered the demonic path! Further words are useless!"

"Today, you will witness our Qingcheng Sword Sect's Four Symbols Sword Array! Once this array is unleashed, it exists solely to slay evil demons and crooked paths!"

As his words fell, the four moved in flashes, instantly taking positions in the four directions, their sword tips aimed at Lu Shaoyou from afar.

Four fierce sword intents surged into the sky, intertwining and merging in midair. A terrifying pressure far surpassing that of any one of them thundered into being, locking firmly onto Lu Shaoyou.

A great battle was on the verge of erupting.