The Return of the Condor Heroes: Starting with a Suicide Note and Conquering All Realms

Yang Guo drew his sword and stepped forward.

The sword tip dragged diagonally in the muddy water, carving out a deep black furrow.

The mud churned and made a sticky, teeth-grinding sound.

Zhao Zhijing lay prone on the ground, his ten fingers digging into the cracks of the bluestone slabs, his nails twisted and bleeding. He stared at the pair of mud-stained cloth shoes that had stopped in front of him, and his whole body trembled like a leaf.

"Guo'er...I am your master!"

Zhao Zhijing suddenly straightened up and slammed his forehead heavily onto the stone slab like a dying wild dog.

Once, twice.

His face was a bloody mess, covered in snot, tears, and mud.

"A teacher for a day is a father for life! Killing me is a heinous crime, deserving divine punishment!"

Yang Guo stopped.

The sword slowly rose, hovering beside Zhao Zhijing's neck. The cold blade reflected the dim firelight around them, and also reflected Zhao Zhijing's twisted and ugly face.

"Six years ago, you killed Xiao Cui, you killed Qing Feng, and you framed them." Yang Guo's voice was hoarse, devoid of anger, only filled with the deathly stillness of someone looking at the dead. "You led hundreds of Quanzhen Sect members to hunt me down, forcing me to flee into the deadly back mountains. Back then, did you ever treat me as a disciple, even for half a day?"

Zhao Zhijing was speechless, his mouth agape as he gasped for breath like a dried-up fish.

Not far away, Wang Chuyi clutched his chest, forcing himself to lift his head. The Quanzhen Sect's century-old reputation had been shattered tonight, and he couldn't bear to watch his disciples kill each other.

"Yang Guo..." Wang Chuyi's voice was extremely weak, "His martial arts are ruined. He was imprisoned in the forbidden cave for six years, never seeing the light of day. He has suffered enough. Since the Quanzhen Sect has been disbanded, you should... spare his life."

Yang Guo paused slightly in his grip on the sword.

Three steps away, Lin Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, and turned his head slightly upon hearing this.

The dark golden vertical pupils glowed eerily in the night. Within his dantian, the true essence crystal from a higher-dimensional world slowly rotated.

There was no need for him to make a move; a terrifying, tangible pressure slammed into Wang Chuyi, following Lin Yuan's gaze.

"puff!"

The remaining true energy within Wang Chuyi's body instantly reversed direction, a sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of purplish-black blood. He was pressed straight down into the mud, unable to move even a finger, as if a mountain was pressing down on his back.

The Quanzhen disciples kneeling around them fell silent, burying their heads in the mud.

Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze, his tone as calm as still water: "The rules of the Quanzhen Sect cannot save those who deserve to die."

These words completely severed Zhao Zhijing's last chance of survival.

Seeing that no one could save him, Zhao Zhijing's mental defenses completely collapsed. He clung tightly to Yang Guo's right leg, wailing, "I was wrong! I was really wrong! For the past six years, I've been eating dead rats and drinking filthy water in that cave, living like a monster. Please, have mercy on me, treat me like a dog, let me go!"

Yang Guo looked down and coldly stared at the dirty hands on his leg.

Six years ago, on the night he was hunted down by the Quanzhen Sect, the excruciating pain of the jade bee's poisonous needle piercing his flesh, the despair that haunted him in the dead of night... what was once an invincible nightmare now seems like nothing more than a disgusting pile of rotten flesh.

Behind them, Xiaolongnu, dressed in white, silently watched Yang Guo without uttering a word. The rules of the Ancient Tomb Sect dictated that each person must settle their own karma.

A flicker of listlessness appeared in Yang Guo's eyes as he tried to kill. He felt no pity; he simply felt that killing such a creature would sully his sword.

Just as Yang Guo's eyes subtly changed—

Zhao Zhijing, whose cries had not yet ceased, suddenly flashed an extremely venomous and fierce light in his lowered eyes!

He gripped Yang Guo's right leg with his left hand, locking his ankle tightly, while his right hand swiftly scooped up half of the steel sword blade that had just been broken by Lin Yuan's internal energy from the mud.

Like a cornered beast, Zhao Zhijing mustered the last bit of strength in his body and surged upwards like a venomous snake, his broken blade aimed straight for Yang Guo's throat!

The movements were extremely fast and ruthless.

However, Yang Guo's expression remained unchanged.

Six years of arduous training on the Jade Bed had transformed his foundation considerably. Activating his innate lightness skill from the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, Yang Guo used his waist to propel himself half a foot to the left like a ghost.

The broken blade pierced the air along his carotid artery, severing only a strand of black hair.

Yang Guo swiftly and coldly slashed his long sword upwards.

"puff!"

Zhao Zhijing's right hand, still gripping the broken blade, flew off at the wrist. The severed hand, carrying the broken blade, flew two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) before crashing heavily into a tree trunk.

Before the scream was even stuck in his throat, Yang Guo's wrist had already been twisted.

The sword pressed down smoothly, precisely piercing Zhao Zhijing's right knee!

Draw the sword. Slash horizontally.

The sword tip drew a cold arc in the night sky, severing Zhao Zhijing's throat.

Three sword strikes in quick succession, flowing smoothly without a single superfluous movement.

Zhao Zhijing slammed heavily to his knees. His left hand clutched his exposed neck, while his severed right hand gushed blood. His eyes bulged, and he hissed as he stared at Yang Guo with despair.

Yang Guo stepped forward and thrust his longsword horizontally.

"Sizzle."

The sword's edge pierced through his heart and emerged from his back.

Yang Guo twisted his wrist and drew his sword. Blood gushed out from the wound, and Zhao Zhijing's body crashed backward into the muddy water. His limbs twitched a few times before he died completely.

The open space behind the mountain fell into a deathly silence.

The only sounds were the rustling of the wind through the pine forest and Yin Zhiping's faint groans of pain in the distance.

Yang Guo stood before the corpse, his chest heaving violently, the knuckles of his right hand gripping the sword turning white. Six years of pent-up hatred were finally released in this moment.

But he felt no elation, nor the satisfaction of avenging a great enemy. Looking at the mutilated corpse on the ground, Yang Guo felt an emptiness in his heart, as if the pillar that had sustained him through the past six years had suddenly collapsed.

Become stronger, kill, seek revenge. And then what?

A warm and strong hand patted him heavily on the shoulder.

Lin Yuan had already walked up to his side without him noticing.

"Now that you've avenged yourself, don't let the dead drag you down with them." Lin Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a resounding bell, instantly dispelling the fog in Yang Guo's mind.

Yang Guo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the confusion in his eyes had completely transformed into determination.

He raised his arm and used his sleeve to wipe away the bloodstains from the blade, bit by bit.

"Clang."

The longsword was sheathed.

"Brother Lin, I understand." Yang Guo turned around and looked directly at Lin Yuan with clear eyes.

Lin Yuan nodded slightly.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the mess on the ground, over the trembling Quanzhen Taoists, and finally landing on the Little Dragon Girl standing in the dim light of the fire.

Clad in white, she was as pure and ethereal as a fairy. It was as if the bloody carnage that had just occurred had not touched her in the slightest.

Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked at Yang Guo again. The old scores had been settled; now, it was time to set the wheels of this world's true destiny in motion.

"Now that revenge is complete, let's talk about something else."

Lin Yuan spoke casually, but under the gaze of his unfathomable black eyes, the surrounding air seemed to freeze instantly.

Yang Guo was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "What is it?"

Lin Yuan stared into Yang Guo's eyes and, amidst this carnage of corpses and blood, dropped a bombshell that caught everyone completely off guard:

Do you like Little Dragon Girl?