"Ha, do you really take me for nothing?" Hearing their conversation, Zhao Xuan laughed in sheer fury.
He glared at Su Qianyu, murder surging in his eyes. "Brat, I gave you a chance just now, but since you don't know how to cherish it, then go die!"
With that, Zhao Xuan slammed his right foot heavily onto the ground.
As the earth trembled, he surged forward at lightning speed, closing the distance to Su Qianyu in an instant and throwing a punch straight at him.
Seeing this, Su Qianyu sidestepped and nimbly dodged.
"Bang!"
Zhao Xuan's punch smashed heavily into a large tree, actually piercing a fist-sized hole clean through the thick trunk!
Su Qianyu had also sensed his opponent's cultivation level: the True Profound Realm Seventh Layer, one minor realm higher than his own!
Seeing his attack miss, Zhao Xuan flipped his palm, and a sharp, azure-glowing longsword instantly appeared in his hand.
"I'll make you know the price of meddling in other people's business!" With that, Zhao Xuan thrust his sword forward, aiming straight for Su Qianyu's heart.
At this, Su Qianyu did not hesitate at all.
"Swoosh!"
The Jinghong Sword that Mu Bingjie had given him suddenly leapt from its scabbard.
Facing Zhao Xuan's assault, Su Qianyu likewise brought down his sword, slashing directly to meet the enemy's blade head-on.
"Clang!"
The next second, the two sharp swords collided violently, scattering a brilliant shower of sparks.
"Huh? You actually have such a treasure!"
Feeling the formidable power emanating from the Jinghong Sword, Zhao Xuan's gaze instantly turned greedy.
Even as the son of a Heavenly Sword Sect elder, he only owned a middle-grade Profound-tier spirit weapon. He never expected this reckless punk to possess a top-grade Profound-tier spirit weapon, which instantly filled him with pleasant surprise.
"Such a good thing is wasted on you anyway. It belongs to me now!" Zhao Xuan smiled triumphantly, then poured more strength into his arm.
"Phantom Kill!"
Zhao Xuan twisted his wrist, his blade weaving layers of illusions as it viciously hacked toward Su Qianyu's throat.
"Die!"
Zhao Xuan was immensely pleased with himself.
This was a top-grade Yellow-tier martial skill, and since his opponent's cultivation was lower than his, there was no way the brat could survive this strike!
Watching the incoming death blow, Su Qianyu's eyes narrowed slightly. He bent his knees, and the Jinghong Sword in his hand instantly cleaved through the void.
"Army-Breaker Slash!"
This "Army-Breaker Slash" was a top-grade Yellow-tier martial skill, and currently Su Qianyu's most powerful move as well.
"Clang!"
The two swords clashed once again.
To everyone's surprise, Su Qianyu's sword stroke directly shattered Zhao Xuan's attack, completely seizing the upper hand.
"How can this be?"
Zhao Xuan's expression turned quite grim. He couldn't understand why he was losing to a punk at only the True Profound Realm Sixth Layer.
"I underestimated you after all, but this time I'll make sure there's nothing left of your corpse!"
Zhao Xuan sneered hideously, then retrieved a dark red pellet from his storage ring, which radiated a violently volatile aura of Xuan Power.
"Once this Thunder Bead of mine detonates, anyone below the Earth Profound Realm is guaranteed to die! This is the price of offending me!"
Zhao Xuan laughed triumphantly. This Thunder Bead was originally left behind by his father for self-defense, but right now, he only wanted to kill Su Qianyu quickly and seize the treasure in his hands.
"I can't let him detonate it!" Sensing the terrifying fluctuations pulsing from the Thunder Bead, a cold glint flashed in Su Qianyu's eyes.
"Swish!"
In a flash, Su Qianyu charged forward once more.
"Hahahaha, go to hell!"
With that, he prepared to hurl the Thunder Bead at Su Qianyu while retreating himself.
But he severely underestimated Su Qianyu's speed.
"Rip!"
Su Qianyu hurled the Jinghong Sword from his hand. Accompanied by a blinding flash of light, the sword pierced straight into Zhao Xuan's arm.
"Ah!"
Zhao Xuan let out a cry of pain.
The Thunder Bead slipped from his grasp and dropped.
Zhao Xuan tried to bend down and pick it up, but the next second, Su Qianyu was already right in front of him, clamping a hand around his throat.
"You..."
Zhao Xuan stared at Su Qianyu, wide-eyed with shock and terror.
"Let go of me right now! My father is that Elder Zhao you saw earlier. If you dare to harm me, I guarantee you won't even have a burial site."
Hearing this, Su Qianyu smiled faintly.
"It seems you still don't realize your own situation."
With that, he tightened his grip forcefully.
"Crack!"
Zhao Xuan's neck was snapped directly. Only then did he stare at Su Qianyu in terrified despair, his eyes filled with utter remorse.
As an elder's son, he naturally would have had a bright future ahead of him after joining the Heavenly Sword Sect.
But now, it all lost its meaning. His grand and magnificent path of cultivation had ended before it even began.
"Ah!"
"Murder!"
Suddenly, a scream pierced the air.
Seeing this scene, the woman who had just finished putting her clothes back on turned pale with fright.
"You're saved now."
Su Qianyu turned his head to look at her.
"You... why did you kill him?!" But the next second, the woman stormed right up to Su Qianyu and demanded angrily.
"Didn't you ask me to save you?"
Su Qianyu asked back only after picking up Zhao Xuan's storage ring, his weapon, and the Thunder Bead.
The woman's face was full of fury as she pointed at Su Qianyu's nose and scolded, "I didn't tell you to kill him! He's Elder Zhao's son! If I could have latched onto him, I'd be set for life!"
At these words, Su Qianyu frowned.
"Then why did you resist him earlier?"
The woman's cheeks flushed red as she stammered defensively, "I... I didn't know then, okay? If I had known, I would have..."
"Stop!"
Su Qianyu cut her off directly. "You said yourself that if I saved you, you'd give me all your Profound Crystals. It's time to honor your promise."
The woman's expression shifted drastically.
"This..."
She had only said that in the heat of the moment to save her skin. Now that she had to hand over all her Profound Crystals, it felt as though her heart was bleeding.
"Is there a problem?"
Su Qianyu looked at her and asked.
"I... I'll give them!"
Catching the icy look in Su Qianyu's eyes and noting that he hadn't put away his weapon, she had no choice but to obediently hand over her storage ring.
"But you killed Elder Zhao's son! If we're found out, we're both finished," she added in a panic.
"There are only the two of us here. You keep your mouth shut, I keep mine. Who's going to know?" Su Qianyu looked at her indifferently.
The woman lowered her head.
"F... fine then!"
With that, Su Qianyu turned and began to walk away.
Once Su Qianyu's figure had completely vanished, the woman bit her red lips hard and said coldly, "He's the one who killed him—why should I help cover for him? If I tell Elder Zhao about this, I might even get a reward!"
With that thought, the woman instantly made up her mind, raised her head, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Help! Someone killed Elder Zhao's son!"
But the very next second...
"What are you shouting about?"
An icy voice suddenly sounded from right behind her.
A chill ran through her entire body. She hurriedly turned her head, only to see that Su Qianyu had somehow reappeared silently behind her!
"Why haven't you left yet?"
The woman's expression changed drastically.
"If I had just left like that, wouldn't I have been sold out by you?" Su Qianyu stared at her with a chilling gaze.
"N-no, I was just shouting nonsense! Please, give me a chance, I swear I'll keep my mouth shut!"
Scared out of her wits, the woman dropped to her knees and begged for mercy.
"No chance!"
Murder surged in Su Qianyu's eyes.
The thing he hated most in this world was betrayal!
Without any wasted words, he thrust the Jinghong Sword straight out!
"Rip!"
In!
Out!
In!
Out!
"..."
Su Qianyu thrust his sword several times in succession. Fresh blood poured out in streams. The woman in white widened her eyes, then collapsed to the ground, dying with a face full of regret.
"I hope that the next time you're being forced by someone, nobody comes to meddle in your business!" With that, Su Qianyu turned and walked away.