Xu Xiao's intervention drew a variety of reactions from the two sides.
The Four Great Evils wanted to fight but did not dare, yet they were unwilling to retreat. The Dali Duan Clan, meanwhile, was eager to have a go.
"Young master, who is this expert?" Ba Tianshi, one of Dali's Three Dukes, asked softly.
He had noticed Duan Yu, Zhong Ling, and Xu Xiao appearing one after another. He also recalled Xu Xiao dealing with Yun Zhonghe and Duan Yu's alarm when Zhong Ling was attacked.
The three of them are close. If we can get this expert to act, we might just be able to keep Duan Yanqing here!
Ba Tianshi had given the matter considerable thought and was even prepared to sacrifice Duan Zhengchun.
Duan Yanqing harbored the savage ambition of cutting off the Dali Duan Clan's bloodline. He had stormed the Dali imperial palace several times in an attempt to kill the reigning emperor, Duan Zhengming, but failed. In the end, he had only been able to abduct Duan Zhengchun, who had gone out in search of his son.
Leaving such a menace alive would always be a hidden danger to the Dali Duan Clan.
They had gone so far as to mobilize the Duan family's experts and elite troops. You might think they wanted to save Duan Zhengchun, but no, they had actually come to surround and eliminate Duan Yanqing.
After all, the Duan Clan still had Duan Yu as an heir. The prince's death would not affect the clan's succession.
But if Duan Yanqing escaped, they would have to keep watch over the Duan Clan's sole remaining shoot twenty-four hours a day.
One moment of carelessness, and the Dali Duan Clan's bloodline would truly be severed. It was a possibility that neither Duan Zhengchun himself nor the Duan family retainers dared gamble on.
Since ancient times, thieves had always had a thousand days to steal, but who could guard against them for a thousand days?
It was a good plan, but putting it into practice was difficult.
Despite their superior numbers, they were actually at a disadvantage against the Valley of Ten Thousand Calamities.
Duan Yanqing, the leader of the Four Great Evils, was a top expert of the martial world. Not one person on their side could exchange ten moves with him.
Only by relying on the Dali soldiers' military equipment and their own combined attacks had they managed to hold their ground.
With a force of elite soldiers and first- and second-rate experts, it was extremely difficult to surround and kill a top expert.
"This is Brother Xu. We've been... traveling the jianghu together!"
Duan Yu thought for a moment, but decided not to mention that Xu Xiao had confined him and made him a teacher.
After all, Xu Xiao had never been impolite to him and had even generously let him practice a peerless martial art like the Northern Darkness Divine Art.
Ba Tianshi glanced at Duan Yu, then leaned close to his ear and whispered:
"May I ask how close you are to him, young master? Could you ask him to help save the prince? If that's impossible, he should at least kill the villain in the lead."
"Well... I'll try." Duan Yu glanced at his father, who was being held hostage by the other side, then finally swallowed his pride and went over to Xu Xiao.
"Brother Xu, I have-"
"I know. You want me to save your father, right?" Xu Xiao looked up at him with the hint of a smile.
"Yes, Brother Xu. For the sake of the time we've spent together, please save my father and kill that villain while you're at it."
With his father's life at stake, Duan Yu was no longer the gentle, scholarly gentleman who cried out against fighting and killing. His words were filled with killing intent.
Hearing the killing intent in Duan Yu's words, Xu Xiao's expression grew increasingly strange. He wanted to say something, but in the end he only grumbled inwardly:
You silly boy, the man holding your father hostage is your real father. Are you sure?
Still, seeing Duan Yu's earnest expression, he asked again, "Are you sure?"
"Please help me, Brother Xu!"
Duan Yu cupped his hands and bowed deeply.
"All right, all right. You've been half a teacher to me, after all. I agree."
Xu Xiao stepped forward. Five iron shards suddenly flew from the pocket of his outer robe and hovered at his side.
"But I'll only save your father. Forget about killing Duan Yanqing. I'm afraid you'll regret it later."
Xu Xiao spoke with profound meaning.
He was no good person, and Duan Yanqing had nothing to do with him. If he wanted to kill the man, he could do it with a wave of his hand.
But Duan Yu was, after all, his teacher in all but name. He could not let him commit an act of such filial impiety.
Though Xu Xiao's intervention had already changed the plot, and Duan Yu might never learn that Duan Yanqing was his father for the rest of his life.
Xu Xiao would not do such a thing.
Xu Xiao had his own principles. With strangers, he acted as he pleased, but with acquaintances and friends, he observed a basic moral line.
By stepping forward, Xu Xiao had already made his position clear, and the situation changed in an instant.
"It seems you intend to become my enemy. Are you still unwilling to give me your esteemed name?"
Duan Yanqing's voice sounded through ventriloquism. At the same time, he tightened his grip on his slender staff of refined iron, ready to guard against the strange man's hidden weapons.
"I never change my name, whether I'm walking or sitting. You, Duan Yanqing, are qualified to know it. Remember this: my name is Xu Xiao."
As soon as Xu Xiao finished speaking, the iron shards hovering beside him shot out with a succession of buzzing sounds.
So fast!
Yun Zhonghe had been unable to follow the shards' paths, but Duan Yanqing, a top expert, could make out some of their movements.
Surging Internal Energy poured into the iron staff in his hand. His whole body swayed like a falling leaf, deftly evading the first wave of attacks.
But Xu Xiao's Telekinesis-driven iron shards were no ordinary hidden-weapon technique, attacking in straight lines and so easily dodged.
As his Telekinesis had grown stronger, its range had reached fifty meters.
Duan Yanqing had only just dodged the first volley of iron shards and had not yet had time to attack when he heard a piercing buzz behind him.
With no time to think, Duan Yanqing instinctively planted his staff on the ground and rolled several times in succession across the open space to evade them.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The muffled sound of iron piercing flesh rang out, and the smell of blood filled the air.
Duan Yanqing had managed to dodge, but the two people beside him suffered instead.
Ye Erniang, who was holding Duan Zhengchun hostage, had it especially bad. Once Duan Yanqing dodged, the iron shards swarmed toward her.
Anyone short of a top expert could not withstand Xu Xiao's iron shards, or even dodge them.
In the blink of an eye, the shards pierced the limbs of Ye Erniang and the Divine Crocodile of the South Sea, scattering blood everywhere.
"Get over here!"
Xu Xiao waved his hand, using Telekinesis to pull both Duan Zhengchun and the fallen Ye Erniang flying backward toward him.
"Erniang! Laosan!"
Duan Yanqing's eyes nearly split with rage. He had expected the man to exchange three hundred rounds with him.
Instead, the killing attack had been a feint, its real purpose to circle around and rescue the hostage. This man had no regard for the codes of the jianghu.
In a single exchange, three of the Four Great Evils had been taken out. It was the first time in over a decade that he had suffered such a crushing loss.
"What are you shouting for? Don't worry, I won't take their lives. I'm just making them pay a little for their past misdeeds."
Xu Xiao pointed at Ye Erniang and Yue Laosan by his feet. Both were wounded but alive.
Xu Xiao controlled the shards' flight paths. He had only severed their limbs, without injuring any vital spots.
Both were wicked people who had committed all manner of evil, and their deaths would have been no loss. Xu Xiao, however, intended to keep them as Internal Energy power banks.
He grabbed the still-shaken Duan Zhengchun and tossed him toward the Dali Duan Clan's ranks, then slowly said:
"Prince Duan, find two people skilled in treating wounds. These two can't die yet."
Two people dressed as military imperial physicians stepped out from the Dali Duan Clan's side and took Ye Erniang and Yue Laosan away.
Xu Xiao then looked at Duan Yanqing, whose face was filled with hatred a short distance away, and waved his hand:
"Go on, Duan Yanqing. I won't kill you, and there's no point in you staying here."
His tone was relaxed, full of arrogance and disdain.