Chapter 537: Chapter 319: The Strongest

Late at night, as the bustling crowd dispersed, Jiang Wang also entertained thoughts of leaving. Today marked the absolute pinnacle of his life. His Inner Disciple had married the legitimate daughter of a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family. As the master, he had unexpectedly sat on equal footing with the Patriarch of the Xiao family to accept the newlyweds’ toast.

"HICCUP..." Jiang Wang belched. He had drunk quite a bit of Spirit Wine today. Far too many people had come to toast him—the patriarchs and elders of every major faction in Yunzhou City had all raised their cups, and he couldn’t refuse a single one. Carrying a hint of drunkenness, Jiang Wang stood up and walked outside.

"Mr. Jiang, where are you going?" A servant of the Xiao family approached and reached out to support Jiang Wang.

"I want to return to the city!" Jiang Wang said. He wasn’t truly drunk. With his Cultivation at the Celestial Essence First Layer, even though he had been drinking Spirit Wine all day, he merely felt a slight buzz. He wasn’t at the point of needing assistance. If he wanted to, he could circulate his energy at any time to regain his sobriety. However, with such a joyous occasion as his disciple marrying the legitimate daughter of a Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family, how could he possibly force out the alcohol?

"Why return to the city? The Chief Steward has already given orders. Your guest room is fully prepared," the servant of the Xiao family said. A Thousand-Year-Old Noble Family typically would not allow outsiders to stay the night. However, now that Huo Xiaochen had become a son-in-law of the Xiao family, his master, Jiang Wang, was naturally no longer an outsider.

"Let go of me. I still have matters to attend to back in the city." Jiang Wang pushed the servant away. What was the point of staying overnight at the Xiao’s villa? On such a wildly joyous day, he naturally had to return to Dragon Ascending Street and let the elders of other Sects behold the boundless glory that Jiang Wang now possessed.

"Does Mr. Jiang absolutely insist on returning to the city?" Xiao Yun, one of the Stewards of the Xiao family, walked over.

Jiang Wang nodded. "I still have a few matters to handle back in the city." His mind wavered in a momentary trance. Xiao Yun, a Steward of the Xiao family, was once a prominent figure he could only gaze up at in awe. Now, this very man was affectionately treating him as a peer. All of this was simply because he had a disciple with Root Bone Perfection.

Xiao Yun nodded and waved at a nearby servant. "Go prepare a horse-drawn carriage, and arrange for two people to escort Mr. Jiang back to the city." Since Jiang Wang didn’t want to stay, Xiao Yun naturally couldn’t force him. After all, it was inherently inconvenient for outsiders to stay at the Xiao’s villa. It was just that Jiang Wang’s status was special, so it wouldn’t be proper not to make any arrangements.

Jiang Wang waved his hand and smiled. "No need to arrange a carriage. I actually want to take a walk to get some fresh air and admire the moonlight."

Xiao Yun pondered briefly before nodding. "We’ll do as Mr. Jiang wishes." Both of them were Celestial Essence Martial Artists. Xiao Yun naturally knew that Jiang Wang couldn’t possibly be drunk, so he allowed him to leave as he pleased.

Jiang Wang made his way out of the Xiao’s villa, utterly unable to suppress the smile curling at the corners of his mouth. The Xiao family had already promised that once Huo Xiaochen and their legitimate daughter had a child, they would assist him in stepping into the Celestial Essence Second Layer Realm. Furthermore, some of the Xiao family’s precious resources would be opened up to the Iron Sword Sect. Once he returned to the Iron Sword Sect, even the Sect Leader would have to treat Jiang Wang with the utmost respect.

"Jiang Wang?" Xu Yang’s gaze slightly narrowed. He hadn’t managed to wait out Huo Xiaochen, but surprisingly, he ended up waiting out Jiang Wang instead. And the man was entirely alone.

"To kill or not to kill?" Xu Yang pondered. In his conflict with Huo Xiaochen, the true culprit behind it all was this old geezer, Jiang Wang. If Jiang Wang hadn’t tried to throw his weight around the Purple Sun Sect, neither he nor Huo Xiaochen would have been suppressed by Zhang Jingyuan. Since he wanted to kill Huo Xiaochen, he naturally had long harbored the desire to slaughter Jiang Wang as well.

But the problem was that killing Jiang Wang now would alert the enemy, and he would subsequently lose this chance to assassinate Huo Xiaochen. On the other hand, if he didn’t kill him, truth be told, he had no confidence in finding another opportunity to strike down Huo Xiaochen over the next few days. After all, Huo Xiaochen was a genius with Root Bone Perfection who had just become the son-in-law of the Xiao family. Given such astounding talent and connections, the Xiao family might very well secretly arrange a Protector for him.

"Kill!" Xu Yang quickly made his decision. He would first kill the one he could. If Huo Xiaochen didn’t show up in the coming days, once the Dragon Ascension concluded and Jiang Wang left, he would entirely lose the chance to eliminate Jiang Wang.

Pulling a black cloth Mask over his face, Xu Yang concealed his aura and vanished from his spot like a phantom.

"To think that someone like me, Jiang Wang, could experience such a moment in life," Jiang Wang sighed with emotion as he admired the moonlight. Today, countless prominent figures he once could only look up to had conversed with him with beaming smiles.

"It’s a pity that Mr. Liu is no longer here, otherwise he would have rejoiced for me today." Thinking of Liu Qingyuan, with whom he shared an unbreakable bond, Jiang Wang felt a stifling heaviness in his chest. Even to this day, this dear friend’s murder remained unavenged. He didn’t even know who the killer was and could only vent his misplaced anger on Xu Yang and Elder Huoyun, whom he had previously clashed with.

"Once the Secondary Dragon Ascension concludes, I will definitely request the Xiao family to dispatch experts to pressure the Purple Sun Sect, forcing them to find the murderer who killed Mr. Liu..." A bloodthirsty gleam surfaced in Jiang Wang’s eyes. He had never forgotten Liu Qingyuan’s feud; it was merely that he previously lacked the strength to do anything about it. He and Liu Qingyuan had once roamed the Jianghu together, forging a profound friendship. Liu Qingyuan had even saved his life on several occasions.

Suddenly, a faint whistling of the wind reached his ears. As his five senses locked onto it, he realized the sound was rapidly closing in on him. He was being ambushed!

Jiang Wang jolted back to his senses. He had never imagined that on such a day, someone would have the sheer audacity to ambush him on the road leading from the Xiao’s villa to Yunzhou City.

BOOM!

The Gang Yuan within his body erupted into motion. Jiang Wang quickly whipped his head around, looking toward the direction of the wind. At the same time, his Heart Spirit spread out like a massive net, enveloping the surroundings in every direction. He immediately spotted a dark silhouette drifting from the adjacent woods like a ghoul, accelerating the instant it was discovered.

Xu Yang executed the Wandering Dragon Void Step. His speed was astonishingly fast, resembling a flood dragon soaring across the sky, while the Martial Dao Imagery trailing behind him possessed world-shaking momentum. He hadn’t expected Jiang Wang to remain oblivious to his presence anyway. For a Celestial Essence Martial Artist, even the slightest rustle in the grass would be detected immediately. He merely needed to get close enough to Jiang Wang to secure an opportunity to strike.

The Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength, which he had prepared long in advance, circulated rapidly, instantly amplifying his Combat Power by 1.3 times. A sharp Sword Intent tore out from his body, and an invisible blade of light shot up into the sky from above Xu Yang’s head. In all directions, vegetation swept by the invisible Sword Intent was cleanly and silently severed.

BUZZ BUZZ...

Simultaneously, a crisp ringing sound akin to a dragon’s roar echoed out. The Spirit Weapon Fenli, bestowed upon him by Elder Huoyun, shot out of its scabbard like a silver dragon.

The Fourth Layer of the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique!

Borne by the Spiritual Soldier, this strike was as fast as thunder and as fierce as lightning. Containing nothing but pure slaughter and death, it felt as though it could cleave heaven and earth apart. The sharp Sword Intent transformed into a blade of lethal light, its sheer might leaving even Xu Yang slightly startled.

This could unequivocally be considered his most powerful attack! This singular strike encapsulated the Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength, the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique, and the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture. The Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture wasn’t a pure Saber Technique; rather, it was a profound method for condensing Sword Intent and Heart Spirit. Up until now, he had only ever utilized the Sword Intent refined by the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture at a superficial level. At this moment, driven by a murderous Saber Technique like the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique, the Sword Intent he had cultivated through the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture finally unleashed its true, deserved might.

With a flash of the blade, lacking even a sliver of sound, the arc of light sliced cleanly through Jiang Wang’s waist as effortlessly as cutting tofu.

Jiang Wang didn’t even realize he had been bisected at the waist. He instinctively tried to raise his hand to counterattack, only to find that he couldn’t muster a single ounce of strength. The entirety of his Gang Yuan seemed to have vanished, reducing him to a mere mortal. He didn’t even feel any pain, for the Sword Intent, brimming with death and slaughter, had instantly decimated the life force within his body.

Xu Yang’s figure slowly materialized, standing tall with his blade in hand. In order to completely deny Jiang Wang any chance to escape or cry for help, he had unleashed his absolute strongest strike. This slash condensed the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture, the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique, and the Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength. Even the likes of Huo Xiaochen and Lin Jingyu would be hard-pressed to withstand it, let alone an ordinary Celestial Essence First Layer cultivator like Jiang Wang.

Before him, Jiang Wang’s face was painted with absolute disbelief. His eyes widened as he looked down, watching a bloody line slowly emerge across his waist.

"What a fast blade!" he muttered under his breath as an ashen gray hue rapidly crept across his face. Struggling, he lifted his head, desperately trying to see clearly who stood before him, only to find the attacker wearing a Mask. All he could see was a pair of eyes as sharp as knives. "The Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique... You are from the Purple Sun Sect..."

He couldn’t recognize the person in front of him, but he instantly recognized that strike infused with death and slaughter—it was undoubtedly the Purple Sun Sect’s Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique.

"Not a bad eye, old geezer!" Xu Yang said indifferently.

"Xu Yang..." Jiang Wang’s eyes bugged out. The moment he heard the voice, he knew precisely who his killer was. Xu Yang! This little beast’s strength was actually this terrifying! To completely obliterate him with a single strike—this was unquestionably the talent of someone in the top ten of the Lingyun List. Therefore... Liu Qingyuan had also been killed by Xu Yang.

"What a deeply hidden little beast." Spurred by his sudden agitation, Jiang Wang’s body split apart faster, and his upper half tumbled to the ground.

Xu Yang reached out and shoved his head back down. As Gang Yuan surged forth, he grabbed Jiang Wang’s corpse and launched himself into the sky.

The mountain pass returned to tranquility, as if nothing had ever happened.

A quarter of an hour later, Xu Yang arrived at another mountain pass dozens of miles away, carrying Jiang Wang’s corpse. Bending down to search the body, he found that aside from several thousand silver banknotes, Jiang Wang also had ten spirit coins on his person. Of course, there was also Jiang Wang’s Spiritual Soldier. However, he didn’t dare to take this item with him for the time being. He could only bury it on the spot and retrieve it to melt down once the heat died down, planning to use it in the future to forge a spirit-tier Pill Furnace.

As for Jiang Wang’s corpse, he directly channeled the Iron Refining Hand to burn it to ashes. With his Cultivation at this moment, given enough time, the Iron Refining Hand could melt down even a Spiritual Soldier. Burning a corpse was naturally not an issue. After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Jiang Wang was incinerated into flying ash, leaving not a single trace of his bones behind.

Xu Yang didn’t seek out another opportunity to kill Huo Xiaochen. With Jiang Wang dead, Huo Xiaochen and the Xiao family would inevitably be on high alert. Going back now would be nothing short of courting death.

Returning to the Purple Sun Sect’s encampment, he immediately crashed onto his bed and fell asleep. The night quickly passed by.

Upon opening his eyes the next day, he immediately checked the interface.

[Killed Jiang Wang. Points +200]

[Obtained ten spirit coins. Points +20]

[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 1536]

"To think this Old Deng actually posed such a massive threat to me?" Looking at the points rewarded by the interface, Xu Yang felt somewhat fortunate for making the decisive choice to kill Jiang Wang first last night. This wasn’t his first time killing a Celestial Essence First Level Martial Artist, but in the past, the point rewards from the interface had always hovered around twenty or thirty. Jiang Wang, however, had yielded a whopping two hundred in one go. This meant that in the interface’s judgment, Jiang Wang posed a severe threat to him.

"That’s right, this old thing has been constantly plotting to kill me." He quickly pieced everything together. Huo Xiaochen’s hostility toward him was merely to fight for face and vent anger on his master’s behalf; he might not necessarily harbor murderous intent. However, Jiang Wang held incredibly intense killing intent toward him. Because Xu Yang truly was the killer who took Liu Qingyuan’s life. Having latched onto the towering branch that was the Xiao family, Jiang Wang would likely have leveraged their power to relentlessly track down Liu Qingyuan’s murderer. Naturally, the threat he posed would be immense.

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