Chapter Ninety-Three: Confrontation

“If you want to save Yao Ye, you must do as I say!” Hearing this familiar voice in her mind, Liu Xin froze, stunned.

“Could it be? Have the Demons intervened? Or was this all a demonic plot from the very start? What should I do?”

While Liu Xin was lost in thought, the others had already set off in pursuit of Yao Ye. At that moment, a middle-aged man approached.

“Lin’er, come back! This continent is about to be cleansed! How much longer will you persist in your delusions?”

Liu Xin glared at the man, hatred flashing in her eyes as she gritted her teeth.

“Don’t call me Lin’er! My name is Liu Xin now. From the moment you killed my parents, I ceased to be one of the Xuan Clan! Don’t try to deny it! I, too, have kin in the Xuan Clan!”

“That time, it was my momentary rage. But you—such great merit, yet you rejected it and chose betrayal. I am the Grand Elder of the Xuan Clan! Had I not acted, how could I command respect?”

Liu Xin drew her weapon, pointing her sword at Xuan Tiangang. “Xuan Tiangang! This is the last time I’ll speak to you so civilly. Next time, I will kill you without hesitation!”

Seeing that his words could not sway her, Xuan Tiangang’s expression darkened. “You want to kill me? Hmph! I’ll be waiting! Hah! Soon enough, you’ll come begging me!”

With a face full of disdain, Xuan Tiangang ignored Liu Xin’s posture, turned his back, and walked away into the distance.

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! Yao Ye is at the end of his strength—he’s finished! You’d best worry about yourself! Hahaha!”

Watching Xuan Tiangang laugh as he left, Liu Xin turned her gaze to where Yao Ye had disappeared, worry clouding her features.

“Yao Ye! Please be safe! Wait for me!”

She put away her weapon and quickly chased after the others.

“Yao Ye! You can’t escape! Prepare to die!”

“Yao Ye! Give me back my brother’s life!”

...

Yao Ye heard the curses shouted at his back but paid them no heed, fleeing swiftly into the distance while struggling to suppress his worsening injuries. He was like a rat scurrying across the street, reviled and hunted.

As time passed, Yao Ye’s speed grew ever slower. Suddenly, a figure shot up behind him, landing a savage kick to his back.

With a muffled grunt, Yao Ye plummeted toward the ground. Forcing his battered wings to steady him, he landed unsteadily.

The figure who had attacked landed as well. “Yao Ye! I told you—if you let me go, you’d regret it!”

That brief delay allowed the crowd to encircle Yao Ye, layer upon layer. Surrounded, Yao Ye rose and drew the Blood-Weeping Sword.

“Yao Ye! I shall eradicate evil today and uphold justice! Have you any last words?”

Sword pointed at the crowd, Yao Ye threw his head back and laughed. “Hahaha! Even a defeated dog dares to bark so boldly! When the tiger falls from the mountain, every cur thinks to bite him—so it is, so it is!”

Hearing Yao Ye mock him so brazenly before all, Mo Chen’s face burned with humiliation. He drew his weapon, about to attack.

Yao Ye glanced at Mo Chen with disdain. “Hahaha! Good! At least you have some spine. With you to accompany me on the road to death, I won’t be lonely!”

Mo Chen, who had once fought Yao Ye and knew his cunning and ferocity, hesitated. Cautious and unwilling to risk his life, yet unable to bear the shame of retreat, he stood conflicted.

“What’s this? Are you afraid? Hahaha!”

“To be wounded, surrounded, and still show such boldness—truly, you impress me. A pity you’re not of my clan. The sooner you’re eliminated, the better.”

Watching from the shadows, Xuan Tiangang’s face was dark as he recalled that he had orchestrated this. Leaving Yao Ye alive would always be a hidden danger. Yet, seeing the situation now, he made no move to intervene.

“Yao Ye! I will utterly destroy you, even your will to fight! Heh!”

With these words, Xuan Tiangang glanced over his shoulder and saw Liu Xin closing in, a sinister smile curling his lips.

As Mo Chen wavered, caught in an impossible dilemma, a disciple of one of the clans stepped forward.

“Why are you all hesitating? That fiend is no more than a lamb awaiting slaughter! If you won’t act, don’t blame me for seizing the glory! Hahaha!”

With that, spear in hand, he lunged at Yao Ye. At this point, Yao Ye’s wounds were dire; he dared not recklessly expend his energy. He resolved to end it quickly—kill one as a warning to the rest.

With a subtle sidestep, he dodged the oncoming spear and drove his sword straight into the young man’s heart. The disciple stared in disbelief at the blade protruding from his chest. As Yao Ye drew it out, he collapsed to the ground.

Yao Ye snorted coldly, looking at the crowd with utter disdain.

“Did you really think I was easy prey? That you could bully me as you pleased? Even wounded, I am no dog to be kicked by just anyone!”

Raising his blood-stained sword, its crimson glow flaring with the power of his energy, Yao Ye faced them all and bellowed, “Who else wants to try their luck?”

Startled, the crowd instinctively took a half-step back. Weapons drawn, they confronted Yao Ye, but none dared be the first to advance.