Swordholder

In the eyes of the human race, Chen Yuan and his group recognized the identity of the Swordholder more than the incompetent Wuxiang Guard.

It is only because they still have a sense of human conscience and uphold an inviolable bottom line.

"Walk!"

Chen Yuan's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he immediately tried to leap out.

"Are we going to confront the Xu family head-on?"

Li Wei spoke up instinctively.

Chen Yuan stopped in his tracks, a chilling killing intent surging in his eyes: "The existing clues are enough to determine that Uncle Lu and the Xu family have an irreconcilable blood feud!"

"We are going there for two reasons: first, to avenge Uncle Lu's blood debt, and second, to rescue the trapped Swordholders."

"Good! Let's wipe out the Xu family!"

Li Wei grinned, his murderous aura soaring to the heavens.

"Dry up the Xu family!"

Nuomi roared fiercely, her black hair standing on end, and a surge of scarlet light appeared in her eyes.

Three figures silently left the Wuxiang Division's government office, transforming into three afterimages as they sped towards the southern suburbs.

······

The southern suburbs of Tianshan County.

A dilapidated temple stands alone in the wilderness, overgrown with weeds and the chill seeps into your bones.

Night fell completely, and a crimson crescent moon covered most of the sky, eerie and unsettling.

This place was originally inhabited by evil spirits, but now, with twenty or thirty sword-wielding cultivators surrounded by starlight guarding it, the surrounding evil energy has completely dissipated, leaving it deathly silent.

A gaunt, short-haired old man, dressed in a black leather jacket, with anxious triangular eyes, hurried to the front of the temple.

"Coo coo..."

Several bird calls came from the shadows, the pre-arranged rendezvous signal, and Zhou Ye immediately responded with the same bird calls.

"The sword strikes the high hill, a testament to the enduring glory of humanity in this region!"

Deep within the temple, a deep, resonant male voice slowly emerged.

Zhou Ye's mind was tense. He quickly scanned his surroundings and replied in a deep voice, "May our aspirations bring peace to the four seas, and may our shared path flow for ten thousand years!"

From the weeds beside the temple, a man with a sword slowly emerged. Upon recognizing the newcomer, he was immediately surprised. "Old Zhou, how dare you come here so abruptly?"

"Your whereabouts have been discovered, evacuate immediately!"

Zhou Ye urged him urgently.

The swordsman, however, remained confident, scanning his surroundings without making a move, and said calmly:

"Don't worry, we've deployed layers of sentries, so there's no chance of leaks. Let's go into the temple first."

After saying that, he reached out and grabbed Zhou Ye, and together they stepped into the temple.

Inside the temple, no lights were lit; only the blood-red moonlight pierced through the broken beams, vaguely illuminating the figures of twenty or thirty people.

Both men and women were present, and everyone had a solemn expression, exuding an aura of righteousness.

Zhou Ye strode up to the middle-aged man at the head of the group, his tone extremely grave, "Director Cai, take your men and leave immediately!"

Chen Yuan has his eye on us. He probably knows about this place, and you're still gathered here—it's extremely dangerous!

"Chen Yuan? The infamous Chief of the Wuxiang Division who's been making waves lately?"

A deep, resonant voice rang out, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

This man, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, exuded an upright and honest aura; he was none other than Cai Fu, the Chief of the Sword-Holding Division.

Beside Cai Fu, a middle-aged man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes spoke in a low voice, a hint of expectation hidden in his eyes.

"I heard that he previously protected the women of the Human Desire Pavilion, and all those he killed were cultivators of the Beast Transformation Realm."

Could it be... that although he is a member of the Wuxiang Guard, he still possesses a conscience? Could he be turned against him?

"Hmph! Just because they don't harm their own kind now doesn't mean they won't ruthlessly slaughter them later!"

A young girl interrupted coldly, her beautiful eyes filled with murderous intent, "Anyone who becomes a Wuxiang Guardian and still tries to climb higher is inherently ruthless and unscrupulous!"

"The higher the position of power, the greater the harm they inflict on humanity!"

"That Chen Yuan is obsessed with the power of the Formless One and will stop at nothing to achieve it; he must be a bad person!"

Zhou Ye was speechless for a moment, unable to refute.

He simply couldn't see through Chen Yuan.

The opponent acted ruthlessly and decisively, yet left a glimmer of hope for humanity.

Yet he possesses evil and demonic arts, and his methods are sinister; he doesn't seem like a proper human cultivator at all.

He took a deep breath and turned to look at Director Gao Zhongliang, whose eyebrows were sharp and eyes were bright. "Director Gao, don't be complacent. He practices demonic arts and is definitely not one of us."

The glimmer of hope in Gao Zhongliang's eyes vanished instantly, his face turning cold and grim.

"I had heard rumors that the boy boasted that he would capture us within seven days. Now it seems he really is not a good person."

The girl who spoke was named Gan Pinghua. She was still young, but she was already the director in charge of a region. Her talent was extraordinary.

She wore her hair in a neat bun, dressed in a light blue outfit, with striking eyebrows and a fierce hatred for evil. The short sword in her hand trembled slightly.

"Therefore, this place is not safe to stay any longer. You should leave immediately."

Zhou Ye pleaded with him again.

Gan Pinghua snorted coldly, her eyes filled with stubbornness: "Xu Dekui and Yang Liu, those two bastards who killed Lord Lu haven't been assassinated yet! We cannot leave until this grudge is avenged!"

"Since you refuse to leave, then you may all stay."

A cold, abrupt sound slowly drifted out from the depths of the hall's shadows.

"Who?!"

A chill ran down the spines of all the swordsmen in the hall. They all stood up, the sound of swords being drawn echoing throughout the hall, a cold glint in their eyes.

A series of rapid rustling sounds erupted outside the temple as all the sword-wielding sentries on patrol were silently killed.

In the blink of an eye, layers of dark shadows surrounded the entire dilapidated temple, and a ferocious killing intent pressed down from the sky.

Zhou Ye looked at the densely packed crowd around him, and his face instantly turned ashen.

"Heh heh, you old codger, you really are a spy!"

A chilling laugh echoed from the darkness, and figures slowly emerged. The leader's gaze was fixed on Zhou Ye, his face filled with malice.

When Zhou Ye saw who it was, his scalp tingled instantly – it was the Xu family!

The burly old man leading the group was none other than Xu De Kui, the former patriarch of the Xu family. Xu Zhilong followed closely behind, his gaze sweeping over the sword-wielding cultivators in the hall with fervent intensity, unable to conceal his excitement.

"A tremendous achievement, an immense feat of merit!"

Upon seeing Xu Dekui, Cai Fu and Gao Zhongliang's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and their killing intent erupted!

"Xu De-kui!"

Two angry roars rang out simultaneously, their hatred almost bursting out of their chests.

One torch after another was lit, the crackling flames illuminating the entire hall and revealing everyone's faces clearly.

Xu Dekui narrowed his eyes and sneered, "So it's you remnants of the Sword-wielding clique!"

"No wonder the Xu family members have been dying one after another recently, and their businesses have been repeatedly robbed. It turns out you were the ones secretly causing trouble!"

"Father, are these people all former subordinates of Lu Chengfeng?"

Xu Zhilong asked in a low voice.

"Exactly."

Xu Dehui gripped his heavy longsword tightly, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "Back when we were besieging Lu Chengfeng's unit, so many remnants were still left behind!"

Upon hearing this, the anger in the hearts of all the sword-wielders in the hall surged!

The scenes of past bloody battles and the tragic deaths of comrades flashed before my eyes.

Clang!

Gan Pinghua was the first to draw her twin swords, the blades of which spun with a chilling light as she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Avenge Lord Lu!"

"Don't act impulsively!"

Cai Fu and Gao Zhongliang shouted in unison, "Protect the younger generation and help them break through!"

"None of those present today will leave alive!"

Xu Dekui gave the order, and the Xu family members swarmed forward to attack!

The Xu family mobilized all their forces, having planned this for a long time, and had already laid a trap, cutting off all escape routes!

This siege was a key achievement for Xu Zhilong's promotion to Grand Director, and the Xu family was determined to succeed.

Boom!

The two sides clashed instantly, their spiritual energy surging, swords flashing, and screams echoing throughout.

However, the disparity between the two sides was so great that the battle turned completely one-sided in an instant!

Although the twenty or thirty sword-wielding cultivators were all elites, most of them were at the early or mid-stage of the Yellow Court realm!

Only Cai Fu and Gao Zhongliang reached the later stage of Huang Ting, almost achieving the Great Perfection.

If they were to assassinate high-ranking members of the Xu family, they might be able to succeed, but humans are inherently at a disadvantage when confronting beast-type cultivators head-on.

Furthermore, Xu Dekui had already reached the Great Perfection of the Yellow Court realm. Even without making a move, his immense aura and blood pressure were enough to suppress the entire scene.

Within moments, more than ten sword-wielding cultivators lay dead in pools of blood.

Zhou Ye trembled all over, filled with nothing but despair!

This is a deadly trap set specifically for the swordsman!

How to solve this?

Cai Fu and Gao Zhongliang stared at their comrade who had died tragically, their eyes wide with rage!

Both were burning with anxiety. They exchanged a glance and reached a consensus.

"Bao Hua Hua breaks through alone!"

Two roars exploded simultaneously.

Gan Pinghua was only seventeen or eighteen years old when she cultivated to the early stage of the Yellow Court. Her talent was unparalleled in the Tianshan Sword-Holding Division, and she was the only remaining hope for the Tianshan Sword-Holders.

The two were determined to use their own lives as a shield to fight their way out for the girl!

"kill!"

Two powerful spiritual energies erupted suddenly!

boom!

Cai Fu and Gao Zhongliang bravely broke through the Xu family's encirclement and stood firmly in front of Gan Pinghua.

Xu Dekui saw through the girl's potential at a glance and ordered sharply, "Kill that girl in blue first, leave no survivors!"

"yes!"

The Xu family's experts all turned their attack around, and the flashing blades and shadows of swords enveloped Gan Pinghua.

The violent collision shattered the temple's pillars, and the group fought their way from the ruined main hall to the outer wilderness.

A series of heart-wrenching cries rang out as Cai Fu and Gao Zhongliang were covered in deep, bone-revealing cuts, their clothes soaked in blood.

"Director Cai, Director Gao, don't worry about me, I'm willing to die in battle!"

Gan Pinghua's eyes were red and her voice was choked with emotion.

If the two of them break through alone, they still have a sliver of hope!

If we protect her, we'll only die together.

"No, you can't die!"

Cai Fu's face contorted in a ferocious grimace as he roared, "You are the hope of all of us!"

"If you die, the Tianshan Sword-Holding Division will be completely eradicated!"

From now on, no one will remember Lord Lu's passionate spirit of those days!

Gao Zhongliang gritted his teeth and roared, desperately blocking the long sword that was about to strike the girl.

Gan Pinghua gritted her teeth, watching her two seniors risk their lives to protect each other. She could only suppress her grief, hold her sword and fight her way out, not daring to linger any longer.

Zhou Ye's face was ashen. He knew that Xu family cultivators had their eyes on him, and he was doomed to die today.

He was filled with remorse, for his momentary lapse of judgment had dragged the entire Tianshan Sword-Holding Division into a deadly predicament.

In a daze, he couldn't help but think of Chen Yuan's figure, and a ridiculous thought arose in his heart... How wonderful it would be if he were also a sword wielder.

But in an instant, he cast aside this unrealistic expectation and used all his spiritual power to defend against the weapons attacking from all directions.

"Little girl, you can't escape. Prepare to die!"

A chilling laugh echoed across the wilderness. Xu Zhilong, brimming with fighting spirit, led the Xu family's high-ranking members to wipe out all of Gan Pinghua's guards!

boom!

A powerful blow sent the longsword flying from Gan Pinghua's hand, and the longsword, carrying a strong wind, slashed straight at the girl's slender neck!

Gan Pinghua was covered in blood, her spiritual power exhausted, and she had no strength left to resist. She was filled with despair.

"I never imagined I would die here today..."

Her eyes were filled with resentment as she stared intently at the approaching, icy blade of light!