Chapter 97 Kill the Chicken to Warn the Monkey! (Part 2)

  The Dragon and Phoenix Rankings and the Cloud Ranking are compiled by the Foreign Affairs Hall of Zixia Peak, and can be found in shops throughout the five major cities. However, they don't come cheap - each copy costs a white jade coin. Despite this, many people still buy them, perhaps because for many low-ranking swordsmen, buying these rankings has become a kind of psychological comfort.

  According to the Dragon and Phoenix List borrowed by Shu Yuan at the beginning of the month, Lu Qing, the young master of the Lu family, is actually an extraordinary figure. At just thirteen years old, he has broken through the Sword Origin Realm, a realm that many swordsmen may not be able to break through in their lifetime, and reached the Sword Guest Stage. Such achievements are almost enough to leave his name in the history of the Purple Mist Sect.

  But at this moment, Shu Yuan clearly remembered that the Dragon and Phoenix List said that Young Master Lu Qing had a six-product Heart-Purifying Heavy Sword, which should have been a non-five-element wind and thunder sword energy. However, what entered his body earlier was the same origin's Vajra Sword Origin, which was the result of his cultivation of the Human-Grade Sword Origin Skill - Vajra Sutra from the Sword God Temple. Could it be that Young Master Lu Qing wasn't one of the rare Wind and Thunder Sword Energies?

  It was clear that there was no time for him to think, Lu Qing had already walked out of the sword shop with Si Tu Long, took a step forward and pulled Lu Zhan who was at a loss, "What are you still doing here, hurry up and follow."

  Lu Zhan knew there was no room for maneuver now, anxiously stamped his foot and followed Shu Yuan out.

  Because swordsmen are fond of fighting, whether it's a friendly spar or settling personal grudges, they need a place to duel. To maintain peace in the town, two dueling platforms were set up in the northwest corner: one called the "Debate Sword Platform", which is used for swordsmen to engage in friendly matches, and the other called the "Life and Death Platform". Once you step onto it, life and death are decided by fate, equivalent to signing a death warrant. It also saves time for those with deep-seated hatred.

  Lu Qing and Situ Long walked down two streets, but unfortunately Lu Qing's Lian Xin sword was too eye-catching, and the Dragon and Phoenix List had been out for half a month since the beginning of the month. Anyone with some insight into swords would recognize Lu Qing.

  "I said who was so blind, it turned out to be the young master of the Lu family arriving in person."

  "Yes, the fifteenth name on the Dragon and Phoenix New Ranking is indeed so young."

  "But is he really only thirteen? I thought he looked at least fifteen or sixteen." The crowd following behind them was abuzz with discussion.

  Indeed, after the initial Blood Evil Sword Yuan Li's transformation, the Purple Emperor Sword body had grown a lot through Lu Qing's first layer of Gong Cheng, and at this moment, it looked no different from a young man who had just come of age.

  But obviously, Lu Qing didn't care about these rumors at this moment. These remarks had no meaning to him. In his view now, only strength was real. With strength, no one dared to bully you. With strength, he could no longer see others' disdainful and scornful eyes. At this moment, showing enough strength would make all the forces that were going to destroy Lu's family business weigh carefully whether they had such strength or not.

  For more than half a year, Lu Qing's understanding of this world has changed a lot. Although he never agreed with the idea that strength is supreme, his thoughts have also changed a lot by now. At least after discovering the behavior of the Situ family today, Lu Qing had the idea that without strength, it would be difficult to take a single step forward. Without strength, you can't protect anyone or anything.

  The Life and Death Stage was a square stone stage, tens of meters in diameter. The entire surface was gray, with many pockmarks from sword scars, clearly indicating that many people had fought on it before.

  Two people stepped onto the life-and-death stage, standing on opposite sides. At this time, nearly a hundred people had gathered below the stage, mostly swordsmen. Among them, Lu Qing even saw a middle-aged swordsman wearing a cyan-gray martial robe. Within a radius of several feet around him, no one dared to approach. Seeing him, Lu Qing felt as if he was looking at a pile of ice that would not melt for a thousand years, yet he could sense no killing intent.

  What a cold person, Lu Qing thought to herself.

  At this moment, looking at Lu Qing's calm face in front of him, Situ Long had a faint chill in his heart. This kid was able to remain so calm in the face of so many people, and just this composure alone was not something that ordinary people could match. Moreover, he was still so young. As the elder of the five major families, Situ Long would not think that there would be any age-related errors in the records on the Dragon and Phoenix List.

  This child cannot stay!

  At this moment, a cold gleam flashed in Situ Long's eyes. He had already decided to go all out and kill Lu Qing. The acquisition of the Lu family sword shop was a public decision made by the higher-ups of the Situ family and could not be withdrawn. But at this moment, Lu Qing's appearance made Situ Long sense a hidden crisis. Lu Qing's progress was too terrifying!

  Under the stage, Lu Zhan's face was filled with anxiety and worry. Beside him, Shu Yuan opened his mouth to comfort him: "Don't worry, with Young Master's cultivation, although he is one heavenly rank lower, it shouldn't be a problem for him to save his life. Moreover, Young Master isn't that simple." As he said this, Shu Yuan couldn't help but look up at Lu Qing.

  Although Lu Qing's heart was suppressing anger at this moment, his mind was very clear. The Soul Refining Mantra was operating, and the silver divine sense flowed like a starry sky in the Sea of Consciousness, illuminating the entire sea with a faint silver light.

  "Go ahead and make your move." Lu Qing said calmly.

  "How dare you, young one!" Shi Tu Long's eyes revealed a cold intent as he slowly drew out the Xuanjin Sword from behind his back. Shi Tu Long had cultivated the Human Rank Sword Manual of his family, the Xuanjin Sword Record. Now that he had entered the Middle Heaven realm, he had successfully merged with the Power Seed and achieved the Golden Sword Aura.

  The Xuanjin sword slowly emitted a golden glow, and a four-foot-long golden sword energy emerged from the tip of the sword, making a "poof" sound as it cut out a foot-deep trench on the ground.

  "What a sharp and fine Golden Sword Aura!" someone in the audience exclaimed.

  "In the Five Elements Sword Qi, the Metal Element Sword Qi's attack destruction is the strongest." A black-clothed swordsman with insight sighed and said, "However, this won't last long. Lu Qing possesses Wind and Thunder Sword Qi, and with only a one-rank difference, he might be able to remain undefeated."

  Undoubtedly, even if Lu Qing was considered a dark horse when he first appeared on the Dragon and Phoenix List at the beginning of the month, no one would have thought that he could achieve victory.

  Whoosh——

  Situ Long made his move, and the cultivators of Golden Sword Aura seemed to have no habit of using sword aura to protect themselves. Situ Long was also like this at this moment. At this moment, only his Xuanjin Sword emitted a four-foot-long golden sword aura, and he took two steps across a distance of ten zhangs. His long sword slashed horizontally towards Lu Qing's neck.

  "Get out of the way, young master!" Lu Zhan couldn't help but exclaim from below the stage, because from the moment Situ Long made his move to when he appeared in front of Lu Qing, within a few feet away, Lu Qing didn't make any movement at all, and calmly gazed at the incoming long sword and the sharp golden sword energy.

  The young man was so arrogant that a hint of anger flashed in Situ Long's eyes, and the Xuanjin Sword accelerated by another fraction, while the sword body's aura changed, and a realm of lifting heavy as light spread out.

  "Kid's done for, I heard that Situ Long's swordsmanship has reached the realm of 'heavy as a mountain, light as a feather' for four or five years now. This Lu Qing doesn't use evasive tactics and actually wants to take it head-on, truly reckless and arrogant beyond his youth!"

  "What!" The samurai who spoke had barely finished his words when he saw a shocking scene that he had never seen before in his life.

  When Situ Longxuan's golden sword was three inches away from Lu Qing's neck, Lu Qing's footsteps did not move, and his body suddenly swayed to the right, leaving a residual shadow of his upper body. At the same time, his sword tip slightly curved, and with a flick of Situ Long's sword, a purple-blue light flashed between his fingers.

  Ding——

  Lu Qing's finger collided with Situ Longxuan's Golden Sword, producing a sound like the clashing of gold and iron. At the same time, the Wind Thunder Sword Energy wrapped around Lu Qing's fingers instantly tore apart the Golden Sword Energy surrounding Situ Long's sword body.

  In an instant, Situ Long only felt a huge shock in the tiger's mouth, and the sword body was like being hit by a thousand-pound boulder, swinging to the right. The force was astonishing, and just now Lu Qing's finger, he couldn't grasp the trajectory of the fingertip at all.

  Handle with care!

  Situ Long's mind flashed with inspiration the moment his sword was knocked away, and at the same time, he took a step back, retreating several feet. But how could Lu Qing let him have it his way? His body moved like a shadow, and the tip of his finger drew out a layer of purple-blue sword energy that left behind a trail of slow and clear afterimages.

  Ding——

  Ding——

  Ding——

  The sound of gold and iron clashing continued, each echo accompanied by a massive tremor in Situ Long's tiger mouth. Situ Long felt the subtle dampness spreading across the hilt, wanting to retreat and execute his profound swordsmanship, but Lu Qing's speed was like that of a ghost, making it impossible to create distance.

  Is this still human? Situ Long's heart was shocked, the sword energy wrapped around the sword tip actually easily broke through the golden sword energy he had infused into the five-elemental Xuanjin sword. The force on that finger was like a six-eared violent bear, simply a humanoid brute beast.

  With each step back, every time he retreated one step, Situ Long's feet had to leave a half-inch deep footprint on the stage of life and death. Drops of fresh blood dripped from his right hand holding the sword, stretching for four or five zhang long.

  Looking at Lu Qing again, his feet slid smoothly as if he was strolling in a leisurely courtyard. One hand transformed into countless arm shadows, and with just one sword finger, he completely suppressed Situ Long, who was one rank higher than him. Moreover, his left hand remained behind his back, not intending to be used at all.

  The swordsmen under the stage were stunned, this was what kind of strength, actually completely suppressing Shi Tu Long who possessed the first five elements of Jin Xing sword energy, without any ability to fight back. Was that the power of Feng Lei sword energy? Every time the Feng Lei sword energy in Lu Qing's fingers broke through Shi Tu Long's sword body and sword energy, they would feel a flash of an overbearing aura that made their hearts skip a beat.