Chapter 58 Destruction

Li Yang continuously whipped his horse, and the black horse beneath him galloped at full speed, traversing through the swirling snow mist like a black Dragon. Fortunately, the terrain in this area was gentle, and the snow had not melted, allowing the black horse to advance freely.

After shaking off Zhao Linglong for a while, Li Yang finally saw figures. At the end of the earth were two peaks, and between the peaks, a large group of Martial Forest people gathered. He looked from afar, his brows furrowing.

He held the reins with one hand, while the other hand tucked the horsewhip into his belt. Then, he raised his hand to take out the long spear from his back, like a fierce general charging alone into a thousand armies, swift as the wind and lightning, without hesitation.

As he got closer to where the various Schools were, his face grew darker. He had not expected so many people to attack the Qingxiao Sect.

Although he had lost to Wu Maner and witnessed Jiang Zhaoxia’s power, he did not believe the Qingxiao Sect could stop so many Martial Forest people.

Just then, he saw figures continuously flying up from behind the group of Martial Forest people, which made him realize that a major battle was already underway ahead.

“Presumptuous!”

Li Yang roared in anger, but unfortunately, the Martial Forest people did not hear him; they were all focused on the front.

Dozens of experts from the Seven Peaks Alliance, Qing Cult, and Iron Peak were besieging Yang Jueding, while others stood by and watched, unable to join in. Of course, many more did not want to get involved.

Yang Jueding, while dodging attacks from Bai He, Second Alliance Master, and Zhang Songjing, also swung his palm. As the Nine Heavens Divine Palm was unleashed, Qi burst forth, swirling up snow like a long Dragon, striking and sending Martial Forest experts flying. His posture appeared so domineering, extremely powerful.

“The Dragon-Subduing Hero truly lives up to his reputation! No wonder he was ranked among the top ten on the heavenly character ranking by the Prefectural City. In my opinion, if he had attended the last Martial Arts Assembly, the title of Martial Arts number one might not necessarily have gone to Yu Zhiyi.”

“Did he really obtain the martial arts myth’s ultimate technique?”

“His palm force is so fierce; I can feel it even from this far away.”

“No wonder the three major Schools brought so many people. Just one Yang Jueding is so formidable; adding Jiang Zhaoxia, it would indeed be very difficult to take them down.”

“The Vice Cult Leader of the Qing Cult seems like he’s about to be beaten to death!”

The various Schools discussed amongst themselves. Some were affiliated with the three major Schools, while others came for the rumors, like the Iron Bone Sect, hoping to seize divine techniques amidst the chaos.

They brought so many people, not actually to attack the Qingxiao Sect, but to compete with other Schools for the divine techniques.

At this moment, Bai He, the Vice Cult Leader of the Qing Cult, was the most disheveled, his robes torn, hair disheveled, as Yang Jueding had been most ruthless towards him.

Second Alliance Master and Zhang Songjing were startled by Yang Jueding’s current power, so they intentionally held back, not daring to clash head-on with Yang Jueding, hoping to deplete his internal Qi and wear him down to death.

They already believed that Yang Jueding had obtained a divine technique, because they knew Yang Jueding’s original martial arts. His progress in recent years had been too exaggerated, and only by learning the martial arts myth’s divine technique could it be explained.

“Stop!”

A furious roar came, but Second Alliance Master and the other two merely glanced over, not stopping their fight.

Without them even needing to give orders, someone tried to block Li Yang, who was charging on horseback.

Seeing someone blocking him, Li Yang became enraged, thrusting his spear and sending the obstruction flying. But this caused even more Martial Forest people to surround him.

A short, stout middle-aged man sprang out from the crowd, grabbed his horse’s reins, and dragged it, causing the black horse to immediately lose its balance and stumble sideways. Li Yang reacted quickly, leaping up swiftly.

As soon as he landed, he was surrounded by a group of Martial Forest people.

“Which School are you from?”

The stout man stared at Li Yang, asking in a cold voice. He had dragged a galloping horse as if nothing had happened, making Li Yang extremely wary of him.

Li Yang held his long spear and shouted angrily, “I am the top scholar in martial arts, Li Yang! What are you all doing gathered here in such numbers? Are you rebelling, treating the laws of Great Li Dynasty as nothing?”

top scholar in martial arts!

The Martial Artists of the surrounding Schools stirred. Those Martial Forest people who had participated in the Martial Arts Assembly recognized him, and word spread quickly, soon confirming his identity. However, the Martial Artists of the various Schools were not intimidated; instead, they looked at Li Yang with playful eyes.

Being surrounded by the various Schools, Li Yang’s pressure increased greatly. Looking from afar and being surrounded were completely different feelings. He looked in every direction, seeing a sea of people, too many to count.

The stout man asked contemptuously, “top scholar in martial arts, if we beat you to death here, do you think the government would find out and arrest the true culprits for you?”

Hearing this, Li Yang grew even more furious. He pointed his spear at the stout man and cursed, “Villain! State your name!”

The stout man twisted his neck and sneered, “Qing Cult’s Branch Leader, Duan Tu!”

As he spoke, he walked towards Li Yang. The surrounding Martial Forest people all showed expressions of watching a show, even cheering, wanting to see what the top scholar in martial arts was capable of.

Yang Jueding, who was still fighting, also noticed Li Yang’s predicament. He secretly cursed that this top scholar in martial arts was truly troublesome.

However, he had heard Li Yang’s words, which clearly indicated he had come to help their Qingxiao Sect. How could he ignore him?

Thus, Yang Jueding charged towards Li Yang’s direction, his right palm forward, Qi like a Dragon, sweeping all before him; no one could stop him.

Second Alliance Master and Zhang Songjing no longer held back. They both landed in front of Yang Jueding simultaneously and struck with their palms. Two powerful internal Qi forces directly collided with Yang Jueding, raising snow several feet high, and the terrifying Qi forced the surrounding experts back… Half an hour earlier, Yang Jueding had already seen the figures of various Schools on the mountain. He sent a Disciple up the mountain to report, and by the time he was ready to support Li Yang, the messenger Disciple had run all the way into Lingxiao Courtyard, found Zhang Yuchun, and informed him of the situation.

Zhang Yuchun’s face darkened, and he immediately ordered people to summon the Disciples, preparing to descend the mountain for battle.

The Qingxiao Sect acted quickly. The messenger Disciples swiftly went to various work locations, and Zhang Yuchun was the first to descend the mountain, conscripting any martial arts Disciples he encountered along the way.

Inside the courtyard, Zhu Yan, who was just about to start painting, saw figures running past outside the courtyard and couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “What happened?”

Su Xiling immediately went out to inquire. She stopped a Disciple, who was in a hurry, only saying there was an enemy attack, and then bypassed her to descend the mountain.

She returned to the courtyard and informed Zhu Yan of this news.

Zhu Yan had been on the mountain for the past two years and was unaware of the rumors in the Jianghu. She asked in surprise, “The Qingxiao Sect is not involved in worldly affairs, so how could there be an enemy attack? Looking at this situation, there are quite a few enemies.”

Su Xiling, however, didn’t find it strange. She casually said, “It’s quite normal, Young Miss. Haven’t you noticed how many Geniuses the Qingxiao Sect has? How can one School have so many Geniuses? Their School’s ultimate techniques must be extraordinary. As Jiang Zhaoxia gains fame in the Jianghu, people will inevitably covet them.”

Zhu Yan frowned tightly, no longer in the mood to paint.

“If Young Miss is worried, should I go down the mountain and take a look?” Su Xiling asked playfully.

“Go ahead.”

Zhu Yan nodded, and Su Xiling immediately bowed and left.

In another courtyard, Yan Lan, sitting on a stone stool, witnessed the Qingxiao Sect Disciple summon Qin Ye away. He immediately guessed what had happened down the mountain.

Yan Lan looked at the book in his hand and sighed, “The conflicts in the Jianghu are no less than those in the imperial court. Living in the mundane world, no one can escape.”

Bitter One came to his side and said, “Your Highness, do you need me to go down the mountain and check the situation?”

“Hmm, just be careful,” Yan Lan replied softly, then focused on his reading.

Bitter One took his silver staff and went down the mountain, while Bitter Two sat cross-legged under a tree in the courtyard, circulating his Qi to regulate his body. He had been injured by Li Qingqiu before and had not yet fully recovered.

Above the eaves was a sky full of flying snow, making the mountain scenery a vast expanse of white. What they didn’t know was that at this moment, someone was looking down at them from the mountain peak. This person was naturally Li Qingqiu.

Li Qingqiu stood on the edge of the cliff. He saw Su Xiling and Bitter One successively descend the mountain and wondered whether to take Zhu Yan and Su Xiling as his Disciples.

As for Bitter One and Bitter Two, he had no such thoughts. The Crown Prince could not stay in the Qingxiao Sect indefinitely, and he also found it troublesome and would not let the Crown Prince reside on the mountain for long.

Li Qingqiu was not worried about the battle down the mountain. He believed the current Qingxiao Sect had the ability to resist, but to prevent any accidents, he still decided to go and watch, trying not to intervene if possible.

The Qingxiao Sect was still in its Early Stage of development, and he would be heartbroken if even one Disciple was lost.

Just as Li Qingqiu was pondering, a prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes:

【Given that a Disciple of the Qingxiao Sect has destroyed a force hostile to the dao lineage, demonstrating the power of the dao lineage, you have received one Legacy reward opportunity】

A smile appeared on Li Qingqiu’s face. He raised his hand to his mouth and whistled. With Origin Qi infused, the sound was extremely penetrating and carried very far.

Soon, a colossal figure pressed down from the swirling snow mist, and the strong wind made Li Qingqiu’s robes flap violently… Between the two mountains, on the snow plain, bodies and blood dotted the surface. Yang Jueding and Li Yang were still fighting, less than five zhang apart.

Compared to Yang Jueding, Li Yang appeared very miserable, his long hair disheveled, his face covered in blood, and the robes on his chest stained deep red. He held his long spear, his strength and speed greatly diminished from before.

Li Yang thrust his spear, striking a Martial Forest person’s shoulder and sending him flying. This thrust made him stumble, almost falling. He quickly planted his spear into the ground, trying to support himself.

Currently, the main attackers against the two of them were still people from the three major Schools; other smaller Gangs merely stood outside, watching the battle.

By this point in the battle, quite a few Martial Forest people felt a sense of pity, and this pity stemmed from Li Yang.

“Although this top scholar in martial arts’s martial arts are strong, he doesn’t kill people, which is completely self-destructive.”

“Yes, in contrast, Yang Jueding acts without restraint and is still unharmed.”

“Perhaps he’s afraid of violating the laws of Great Li Dynasty.”

“They’re not really going to beat this top scholar in martial arts to death here, are they?”

The Martial Artists of the smaller Gangs whispered among themselves. Some felt compassion due to Li Yang’s actions, while others feared the matter would escalate too much.

Jianghu disputes, no matter how much they fought, were still Jianghu matters. Who among them didn’t have a murder case on their back?

Reporting to the officials was a lose-lose situation.

They only wanted to seize the divine techniques amidst the chaos and did not wish to offend the imperial court.

No matter what they thought, the experts of the three major Schools were already enraged, vowing to kill Li Yang here.

While dealing with the surrounding experts, Yang Jueding also had to support Li Yang from time to time, otherwise Li Yang would not have lasted this long.

Li Yang had barely caught his breath when more people rushed at him. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight. He finally understood what it felt like to be on a battlefield.

After becoming the top scholar in martial arts, he had always wanted to join the army, but his father held him back. His father felt that his Heart-Nature was not yet sufficient to be a general, so he came to roam the Jianghu.

The actual enemies besieging him numbered only a few hundred, yet they already made him feel powerless. He could not imagine what it would feel like to be on a battlefield with hundreds of thousands of troops.