I Am Overlord c1-962
Page 106
Xiang Shaoyun actually did not defeat Xie Sanqian instantly this time. Rather, they seemed to be evenly matched. With Xiang Shaoyun's strength, he was definitely not weaker than Xie Sanqian. He was intentionally holding back for a reason.
He was afraid that if he defeated Xie Sanqian too easily, the potential opponents that he might get to face later would all hide in fear. If others knew what Xiang Shaoyun was thinking, they would most likely feel pity for that Guardian Qiu.
Xiang Shaoyun and Xie Sanqian exchanged a few dozen moves; the intensity of their battle was immensely satisfying to watch for the crowd around them. Since Xie Sanqian had increased his combat prowess with a forbidden technique, he was now able to utilize king-grade techniques. Each attack he unleashed was incredibly stunning. Every now and then, he would conjure the apparitions of wolves when attacking, shocking everyone witnessing the fight. From the combat prowess he was displaying, his reputation as a young genius was not in vain.
Even so, Xiang Shaoyun was still able to meet all of Xie Sanqian's attacks head on with his Purple Lightning Saber. He looked incredibly graceful and elegant as he drifted about the battlefield, his purple lightning attacks similarly possessing a shocking might that could not be underestimated. In fact, regular ninth-stage Transformation Realm cultivators were completely not a match for him when one considered the might he was displaying.
"They are really strong. I won't be able to take even one of their attacks."
"You think too much. Anyone who is not a peak Transformation Realm cultivator will stand no chance against them. It is really surprising how terrifying that Xiang Shaoyun kid is. Xie Sanqian still can't defeat him even after using a forbidden technique."
"From the look of things, Xie Sanqian will most likely be the one to lose. After all, he was the one who had used a forbidden technique, not his opponent. It is obvious who is the stronger one here."
"This Xiang Shaoyun uses the power of lightning, similar to the Lightning Kid. What will happen when the two meet?"
...
They kept on fighting for a while, and Xiang Shaoyun intentionally restrained even more of his strength, letting Xie Sanqian deal him some superficial wounds, making it look like he was the one at the disadvantage.
As for Xie Sanqian, the longer they fought, the more excited he became. He could already see Xiang Shaoyun being skewered by his spear. But right as victory seemed so near, he reached the time limit of his forbidden technique. Just as he was about to give Xiang Shaoyun a fatal attack, his entire body was suddenly emptied of all energy. He collapsed on the ground and started twitching.
"Ahhhh!"
The veins on Xie Sanqian's arms became visible, as if they would burst at any moment. He was in so much pain he started wailing. At this time, Xiang Shaoyun pushed on, looking like he was going to beat up Xie Sanqian.
Xie Sanqian's guard appeared before Xiang Shaoyun and said, "Our young master has conceded defeat. This ends here."
"Hmph. It ends just because you say so? According to the rules of the pavilion, the struggle between us of the younger generation has nothing to do with old fellows like you," said Xiang Shaoyun overbearingly.
Chapter 241: Just a Bunch of Useless People With Empty Reputations
The older generation would not involve themselves in the conflicts of the younger generation. This was an unwritten rule in the Cloud Margin Pavilion. Otherwise, if the younger generation all threw the weight of their seniors around to affect how things worked for them, how would the pavilion hope to continue unearthing new talents?
That was why Xiang Shaoyun was so confidently speaking up against Xie Sanqian's guard. The guard clearly knew that unwritten rule as well.
An unhappy look surfaced on the guard's face as the guard said, "Kid, know when to stop. Otherwise, you will only suffer losses in the future."
That was a clear threat.
Xiang Shaoyun roared with laughter as he said, "Hahaha, are you threatening me? Do you think you are above the rules? Are you trying to suppress me with your seniority? Are the elders of the pavilion nothing in your eyes?"
Faced with Xiang Shaoyun's series of questions, the guard's expression kept shifting. If those high-level elders heard those words, they would most likely assume that the guard was trying to challenge their authority.
Forced to take a milder approach, the guard asked, "What will it take for you to let go of my young master?"
"See? Things would have been much easier if you had asked this question from the get-go," Xiang Shaoyun replied, smiling. He continued, "Well, that depends on how much your young master is worth to you."
The guard frowned. "I will get someone to deliver you 10,000 spirit crystals later."
He was about to leave with Xie Sanqian when he heard what Xiang Shaoyun had to say next.
"Your young master is only worth that much? If news of this spread, he would lose all his face."
"Hmph. I'm referring to mid-grade spirit crystals," said the guard with a cold snort before lifting Xie Sanqian and leaving without looking back.
Xiang Shaoyun blanked out slightly before bursting out in laughter, "Hahaha, thank you very much. Oh, be sure to ask around about where I'm currently staying. Don't get the delivery address wrong."
He had assumed that the 10,000 spirit crystals would be low grade, but surprisingly, that old man was actually offering mid-grade spirit crystals. That was a price enough to put a hit on even a Skysoar Realm expert.
But that also served as proof of Xie Sanqian's remarkable background. He was definitely more than just a personal disciple of some elder. Despite the realization, Xiang Shaoyun still felt no pressure whatsoever. In any case, with Hua Cheng having his back now, ordinary people wouldn't dare to do anything to him anyway.
By the time Xiang Shaoyun waved at Gong Qinyin, who was blanking out, and reminded her it was time to keep moving, the crowd finally recovered from their shock. A great commotion erupted among them.
"Xie Sanqian was defeated. That Xiang Shaoyun is really strong."
"Looks like Guardian Qiu is faced with a thorny problem this time. I wonder if he will fight personally or avoid this opponent."
"Don't worry. Xiang Shaoyun might be strong, but we have a lot of talents in the Lightning Alliance. If he dares enter Guardian Qiu's estate, he won't be able to leave safely."
"Come on, let's go already. Xiang Shaoyun is increasing his speed."
...
Xiang Shaoyun knew that he had already done enough to establish his dominance. There wouldn't be many random people coming to challenge him anymore. Since that was the case, there was no point in continuing to walk slowly and dragging it out.
Soon, he arrived at Qiu Chonglei's estate alongside Gong Qinyin. The estate was already filled by a large number of people with solemn expressions. It was obvious these people were the Lightning Alliance members that were also inner disciples. Each of them was at least a Transformation Realm expert.
They had received news that Xiang Shaoyun was coming here long ago. All of them were currently glaring at him fiercely. Wen Jinrui and Wen Jinruo were among them. Even Wang Jiaohua was there. But traces of fear could be seen in the eyes of these three in particular.
Even if the Lightning Alliance managed to eventually take Xiang Shaoyun down, the three would have to pay a great price to compensate the alliance for what they did for them. Wen Jinrui would never believe that a regular king-grade weapon would be able to satisfy Qiu Chonglei. After the entire thing ended, he would most likely have to offer Qiu Chonglei even more benefits.
Xiang Shaoyun glanced at the group before him and smiled. "Where is your Guardian Qiu? I thought he had a bounty on me? I'm here. Is he not coming out to meet me? Is this how the Lightning Alliance greets a guest?"
"Hehe, if you are willing to join the Lightning Alliance, you will be a friend of ours. And naturally, you will be receiving an entirely different treatment then," said Qiu Chonglei with a smile as he walked out the estate with a small group walking
alongside him.
Xiang Shaoyun raised his brow as he studied the young man before him who was about 20 years old. He clasped his fists and asked, "You're Qiu Chonglei? You don't look that much, to be honest."
One ought to admit that Xiang Shaoyun was pretty good at provoking others' anger. Just a few words from him were enough to put a gloomy expression on Qiu Chonglei's face.
As one of the four great guardians of the Lightning Alliance, Qiu Chonglei was a person who spoke with his strength instead of his looks. As a matter of fact, he really wasn't a person with good looks. When standing near Xiang Shaoyun, the contrast between the two was extremely pronounced. Being a person who cared a lot about his reputation, Qiu Chonglei naturally couldn't swallow what Xiang Shaoyun said about him in front of so many people.
"Impudent. Since you are the one who had harmed someone from the Lightning Alliance first, I shall cripple you today. Men, go!" Qiu Chonglei ordered the people around him.
Just as the people were about to charge Xiang Shaoyun, Gong Qinyin suddenly spoke, "Who dares?"
Gong Qinyin knew Xiang Shaoyun was strong, but she was still afraid that there were too many enemies for Xiang Shaoyun to handle. In terms of strength alone, Gong Qinyin was nothing special in the Cloud Margin Pavilion. But her shout was still able to cause all of them to hesitate. There was nothing they could do. She was the personal disciple of the Zither Empress.
"Junior Sister Gong, this has nothing to do with you. You better leave immediately," said Qiu Chonglei with a frown.
Gong Qinyin raised her head and asked, "What if I say no?"
"Then you can't blame me if I don't hold back against you. I doubt the Zither Empress would interfere too much with this anyway," said Qiu Chonglei coldly.
"You—" Gong Qinyin wanted to continue speaking but was interrupted by Xiang Shaoyun.
He said, "This is a business between men. You don't have to get involved."
Gong Qinyin said anxiously, "But there are so many of them..."'
Xiang Shaoyun waved his hand and said candidly, "Just a bunch of useless people with empty reputations."
"He is completely looking down on us! Let me, Sun Qiang, show you what we are made of!" said a young man with his golden sword raised.
After he said that, a golden beam shot forth toward Xiang Shaoyun. Sun Qiang's attack was merely the start. The others attacked as well, and everyone started ganging up on Xiang Shaoyun.
They were aware of what Xiang Shaoyun had done earlier. Thus, none of them held back when they attacked. They were of the opinion that Xiang Shaoyun was most certainly exhausted after several battles. Now would be their best chance to take him. Unfortunately, they had still underestimated Xiang Shaoyun. That mistake was one they would suffer gravely for.
Chapter 242: Courting Death
Even when under attack by so many people, Xiang Shaoyun was able to navigate around their attacks like he was on a casual stroll. After avoiding all the attacks, he attacked with his Seven Scorching Sun Claws, sending fiery claws everywhere with his two hands.
"Ahhhh!"
The Lightning Alliance members, who were all powerful combatants in their own rights, were instantly shredded by Xiang Shaoyun's claws. Wails started ringing in the air. There was strength in numbers, but they had failed to actually surround Xiang Shaoyun, who held an advantage with his Overlord's Nine Nether Steps. That was why he had been able to face such a large number of people with ease.
But of course, the fact that he was far stronger than each of them individually played a key role as well. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to defeat them so effortlessly.
After he injured five people in a row, an eighth-stage Transformation Realm suddenly attacked with a concealed weapon.
Xiang Shaoyun had just injured another opponent with his claw attack and did not notice the sneak attack at all. That person was confident his concealed weapon would work against Xiang Shaoyun. Unfortunately, Xiang Shaoyun acted like he had a pair of eyes on the back of his head. He flickered and vanished, causing the sneak attack to hit the person who was in front of him instead.
"AHHHH!"
The person hit just so happened to be Wen Jinnuo. With an arrow in his stomach, he wailed like a pig being slaughtered before collapsing to the ground.
"Bastard!" That person wasn't furious because he had accidentally injured someone from his side; he was just annoyed because he had missed. With a shout, he flooded Xiang Shaoyun with a series of sword energies. One ought to admit that this person was much stronger than the others in the group, but he was still somewhat lacking compared to the likes of Xie Sanqian.
"Sneak attacking me? Real nice," said Xiang Shaoyun with a sneer. He did not even bother dodging the incoming sword energies and welcomed them with a punch.
Gold Helix Fist!
Nowadays, Xiang Shaoyun was already very proficient with this technique. His golden fist shot out like a golden drill, crushing all the incoming sword energies.
Clank!
The gloved fist then struck the tip of that person's sword before sending the sword flying from his hand. The person's face fell as he quickly retreated, but Xiang Shaoyun was much faster than him. Instantly, Xiang Shaoyun arrived and grabbed his collar. He slammed the person right into the attack of another who just happened to be trying to mount a sneak attack on Xiang Shaoyun as well.
"AHHHH!"
The first attacker suffered his companion's slash, which left a terrible wound on him. His blood gushed out without stop.
"Ah, s-sorry Senior Brother Zhao! That was an accident!" cried out the second attacker in panic. After all, the person he had hit was a senior brother whose strength was above his own.
The only thing poor Senior Brother Zhao could do was grip his wound and cry out miserably, "Save me! Save me..."
His wound was quite deep, and it had even hit a vital point. It was understandable that Senior Brother Zhao was begging for help. Xiang Shaoyun had no intention to keep pressing his attack. He knew that things would get tricky if someone actually died. Meanwhile, Wen Jinrui took the chance and snuck an attack at Xiang Shaoyun while Xiang Shaoyun was distracted.
"You are courting death," said Xiang Shaoyun, who was furious at the constant sneak attacks. He turned and grabbed Wen Jinrui before slamming him into the ground.
Bang!
Wen Jinrui crashed heavily into the ground and started vomiting everything he had in his stomach.
Even Qiu Chonglei couldn't remain calm after witnessing everything. He immediately commanded, "Save Senior Brother Zhao first."
He then led a group of people and quickly rushed toward the battlefield. The others stopped fighting when they saw him arriving. But to be precise, they weren't exactly stopping. It was more like they had all been dropped by Xiang Shaoyun and were no longer capable of attacking. Xiang Shaoyun did not attack. He also wanted to see if that Zhao guy was still alive.
"This is bad! Senior Brother Zhao is...dead!" cried out one of them in alarm.
"What?" cried the person who had slashed Senior Brother Zhao, his face paling. He shivered and dropped the sword in his hand while his body slumped down weakly.
This Senior Brother Zhao was a personal disciple of an elder. Since he was the one who had accidentally killed this Senior Brother Zhao, he would not have a good ending either.
Qiu Chonglei had not expected that things would escalate to this point. After all, although internal struggles were allowed in the Cloud Margin Pavilion, killing was absolutely prohibited. To do so would be a provocation of the pavilion's rules.
Qiu Chonglei quickly pointed at Xiang Shaoyun and shouted furiously, "Xiang Shaoyun, how audacious! You actually killed Junior Brother Zhao? Nobody can save you now! I will avenge my Junior Brother Zhao!"
A layer of yellow radiance appeared around Qiu Chonglei's body while a yellow saber appeared in his hand. He then charged Xiang Shaoyun. He was a late eighth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator with combat prowess comparable to ninth-stage Tra
nsformation Realm cultivators.
He swung his saber at Xiang Shaoyun, releasing a dreadful and thick saber energy that no normal person could survive. The combat prowess Qiu Chonglie displayed was much greater than even Xie Sanqian's, whom Xiang Shaoyun had defeated just a while ago. He was indeed worthy of being one of the four great guardians of the Lightning Alliance.
With the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps, Xiang Shaoyun avoided the attack and sent a fiery claw toward Qiu Chonglei. The claw easily tore through Qiu Chonglei's defensive energy shield and struck his body. However, it failed to do any damage, as Qiu Chonglei was protected by the high-level armor he had on him.
"That's a strong claw, but it is impossible for you to harm me with that," said Qiu Chonglei. The layer of yellow energy around him turned thicker and heavier, looking like an impenetrable wall.
At the same time, he slashed repeatedly, sending numerous saber energies that surrounded Xiang Shaoyun. Even Xiang Shaoyun had a solemn look when he faced this new attack, thinking, He is indeed quite capable. He is strong enough to fight any ninth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator.
He drew his Purple Lightning Saber and met Qiu Chonglei's attack with a slash of his own. This time, he had no intention of dragging it out like he did when battling Xie Sanqian. Instead, he directly smashed through Qiu Chonglei's attack.
Xiang Shaoyun's saber energy seemed boundless, and coupled with his remarkable innate purple lightning, not even Qiu Chonglei was his match. Qiu Chonglei's saber snapped, his energy shield shattered, and not even his armor was able to defend against the tier-5 king-grade Purple Lightning Saber. Several saber wounds instantly formed on his body.
At this point, Qiu Chonglei was already regretting his decision, It is totally not worth offending this kid for the sake of Wen Jinrui!
"Help me! What are you waiting for?" shouted Qiu Chonglei toward the people around him as he was forced to retreat repeatedly.