Disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect, Hear My Command!!

"Blood Slaughterer Li Guanqi hasn't returned?" Before anyone could answer, a golden sword light spanning fully a hundred zhang came crashing down from the heavens! Boom! Rumble! The brilliant golden sword light slammed violently into the barrier! The barrier that had stood uninterrupted for over two years shook violently at that moment, ripples rolling across its surface! Immediately after, crisp cracking sounds rang out in rapid succession. Crack, crack, crack! Bang! Under the shocked gazes of everyone present, Mo Zhiyuan shattered the boundary barrier with a single sword strike! The instant the barrier shattered, everyone's heartstrings snapped taut! With the barrier broken, the Great Xia Sword Sect beneath was revealed to the world as it stood today. It was a magnificent sight of an immortal sect. Clouds and mist curled all around, every wisp of it spiritual energy so concentrated it had turned to vapor. Two towering main peaks pierced straight into the firmament like unearthed divine swords. Pavilions and towers stretched endlessly into the distance. A figure clad in white slowly raised a hand, and an imprint of spiritual power instantly coalesced in the empty air. It grabbed hold of the descending sword light and squeezed with immense force! Bang! Rumble! The terrifying sword light was effortlessly crushed by that giant hand. With a gentle wave across midair, the man swept away the remnants. Not even a ripple remained. This sight completely stunned the onlookers! The white-clad man's eyes were icy cold. Stepping into the void, he appeared high in the heavens, stared forward, and sneered. "From where did a stray cur come to bark outside my Great Xia Sword Sect's gate?" The moment Lu Kangnian spoke, the spectating cultivators all around drew in sharp breaths of cold air. One burly fellow raised an eyebrow, looked at the imposing Lu Kangnian, and could not help speaking up. "Hiss... Has Lu Kangnian gone mad after staying in seclusion for over two years?" "He humiliated his opponent like that—it seems there's no way this ends peacefully!" Another sect elder gave a cold, indifferent scoff. "Haven't seen Lu Kangnian stand this tall in two years, have we?" "Still... does he think this is Ziyang Palace? How could this be so easily dealt with..." Hearing this, many onlookers turned their gazes toward the speakers. These people were the leaders of powers neighboring the Great Xia Sword Sect, and quite a few in the crowd recognized them. Someone nearby could not help sneering. "Back when the entire Great Xia Sword Sect unsheathed their swords against Ziyang, I didn't see you lot dare to jump out like this." "Just tuck your tails between your legs! What, looking to lick a new master's boots and keep playing the dog?" The man showed no mercy with his words, and the exchange drew a great deal of attention. When the crowd clearly saw who had spoken, understanding dawned on them. The speaker was none other than the Mountain Master of Zhenyue Mountain, Shen Ye. If Li Guanqi had not stepped in to rescue his son Shen Qi back then, Shen Qi would have died in that mystic realm long ago. Seeing that it was Shen Ye, the men did not say much, merely huffing cold sneers before ignoring him. When Shen Ye turned his gaze back toward midair, a glimmer of worry flickered in the depths of his eyes. With the Mo Family this time... this truly could not end peacefully. "Still... by the looks of it, Old Lu never planned to settle this peacefully either." Indeed! In midair, Mo Zhiyuan narrowed his eyes at Lu Kangnian standing before him, looking him up and down. It had to be said that as the master of a sect, Lu Kangnian radiated immense presence. Moreover, the moment he appeared, he had stated his stance with absolute firmness. Mo Zhiyuan frowned slightly, a cold light flickering in his eyes as he looked at Lu Kangnian. From just this single encounter, he could sense that Lu Kangnian's strength was not below his own—in fact, Lu Kangnian faintly suppressed him by a fraction. "You should know why my Mo Family has come!" Lu Kangnian curled his lip, glanced up at the figures behind Mo Zhiyuan, and let a mocking gleam show in his eyes. "So what if I know?" "The youngsters have no ability, so the old bastard comes to stick his head out." "A thousand years of cultivation, and it all went straight into a dog's belly?" "Tsk, tsk. Truly pathetic. You must have spent quite a fortune hiring Dark Crow, haven't you?" Standing on the square below, Li Sheng'an, Zhong Lin, and the others could not help chuckling. Zhong Lin shrugged, looking up at Lu Kangnian. "How come I never noticed our Sect Master had such a sharp tongue before?" Li Sheng'an, who was no longer a chubby youth, tucked his hands into his sleeves and said with a beaming smile, "Perhaps the Sect Master never had a chance to hold his head this high in the past." "Care to see who chops down more of them in a bit?" Zhong Lin shot Li Sheng'an a sidelong glance and scoffed, "I can't beat Old Li, but I can't beat you? Bring it on." Mo Zhiyuan was left speechless by Lu Kangnian's barrage of insults. His action had been intended to use sheer pressure to force Li Guanqi to show himself! Wandering the martial world, life and death were one's own responsibility. This was an unwritten rule of the cultivation world. Otherwise, why bother fighting and killing while out in the world? People might as well just state the names of the family powers backing them to determine who was superior. Going directly after a disciple's sect the way he was doing would make him a laughingstock if word got out. Why else would so many people have gathered around the Great Xia Sword Sect? Not all of them were here just to enjoy the show; a large portion had come specifically to watch the Mo Family make fools of themselves! Mo Zhiyuan's expression darkened completely. He glared fixedly at Lu Kangnian and threatened, "Tell me where Li Guanqi is! Otherwise, I will wash the Great Xia Sword Sect in blood today!!" Hearing this, Lu Kangnian burst into roaring laughter, though his face gradually turned dark once the laughter subsided. The next instant! Clang! A three-foot azure blade in hand, sword qi soared to the clouds, cleaving the vault of heaven! Holding his sword, Lu Kangnian stood alone atop the peak of Tianjian Peak, swept his gaze over his surroundings, and shouted in a deep, booming voice, "Back then, Ziyang Palace threw the weight of their entire sect against us, mocking Great Xia for having no one to stand up!" "Yet we still dared raise our swords against Ziyang, all to uphold our Great Xia sect rules!" "And now, your Mo Family thinks you can make me hand over our own disciple just like that? Hahahahahaha! What a joke!!" Boom! In an instant, crisscrossing sword qi erupted, and a domain barrier snapped open in a flash! Yet as this barrier expanded halfway, Mo Zhiyuan blocked it. A cold light flashed in Lu Kangnian's eyes. Along with a cold grunt, an overwhelming, boundless pressure bore down from above! Mo Zhiyuan's expression changed drastically as his domain barrier was frantically forced backward. One of the men behind him stepped forward with a grave look and deployed his own domain as well, only then barely managing to hold the line! Yet this disgraceful scene was witnessed by everyone present. Mo Zhiyuan and Lu Kangnian were cultivators of the same realm, yet in a minor clash, Mo Zhiyuan had fallen into an immediate disadvantage. The skin on Mo Zhiyuan's face twitched slightly, a trace of madness flashing in his eyes. Pointing his sword at Lu Kangnian, he roared furiously, "Disciples of the Mo Family, hear my command! Kill them all!" "Until Li Guanqi shows his face, keep killing without mercy!!" Boom! Instantly, the cannons aboard the cloud boats lit up in unison! Hundreds of figures swooped down from the decks! Lu Kangnian showed no fear toward the attacking cultivators. Watching the endless stream of figures diving from the cloud boats, he pointed his sword at the firmament and bellowed with resounding power, "Today marks the emergence of our Great Xia Sword Sect back into the world!" "Disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect, hear my command!!" Boom! Rumble, rumble! Successive waves of imposing aura erupted with deafening roars as thousands of figures soared into the sky! Some rode flying swords; some stepped through the void! Fully a thousand figures took to the air, every face brimming with soaring battle intent! Among them, all seven peak masters of the Great Xia Sword Sect stood at the forefront of the host. Discipline Master Qin Xian stood beside Lu Kangnian with his hands clasped behind his back. On the other side stood a chubby, rosacea-nosed old man clad in hemp robes—Ling Daoyan! Only then did the crowd realize that the Great Xia Sword Sect actually possessed a staggering seven Soul Formation Realm experts! "We await your orders!!" The disciples' voices converged, reverberating through heaven and earth like a clap of thunder. Cold sweat broke out on Mo Zhiyuan's forehead, his throat bobbing slightly. A sneer curved on Lu Kangnian's lips as his piercing gaze swept across the surrounding expanse. "Slaughter them all!!!"