Nine Nether Dragon Emperor-Chapter 23: One Man, One Sword, Slaughtering the Four Great Families!
"Comprehend Sword Intent? What do you think Sword Intent is? I admit you’re a genius, having grasped Sword Qi in such a short amount of time, far surpassing the peerless Sword God. But Sword Qi and Sword Intent are on completely different levels!"
"The Sword God began learning the sword at the age of twelve and comprehended Sword Qi at fifteen. Do you know how long it took him to comprehend Sword Intent? Ten years! A full ten years!"
Ning Xuan still smiled. "I just reached the Seventh Layer Heavens of the Spiritual Realm. Moreover, I possess something he did not."
The White Tiger divine vein was focused on battle and slaughter. The moment he activated it, Ning Xuan felt a sublime sensation, as if with a sword in hand, he could even slay gods.
Zhao Qitian’s smile vanished. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Ning Xuan’s gaze was peaceful, yet Zhao Qitian saw within it a killing intent that soared to the heavens, a vision of mountains of corpses and seas of blood! At that moment, he had the unnerving feeling that what Ning Xuan said was true!
I’m doomed! I absolutely must not allow him to comprehend Sword Intent!
Without a second thought, Zhao Qitian lunged, holding nothing back.
Ning Xuan didn’t move an inch. He even closed his eyes.
Just as Zhao Qitian was about to strike, Ning Xuan’s eyes snapped open, and a bloody light flashed within them. In the next moment, his sword swung ever so lightly. An unparalleled Sword Beam surged from the blade.
SPLURT!
Zhao Qitian’s body, like a paper doll, was effortlessly sliced in half.
BOOM!
The terrifying Sword Intent, not yet extinguished, slashed a deep gash into a wall several dozen feet away. A large tree behind the wall was split in two, its halves toppling to either side.
On the other side of the courtyard, the dueling factions all froze.
"The... the Family Head was killed?" The Zhao Family experts were all dumbfounded. No one could believe what they were seeing. Their Family Head was the number one expert in all of Wuling City! Yet, he couldn’t even withstand a single strike from Ning Xuan.
The Eighteen Death Warriors were equally shocked, but their ability to accept reality was clearly greater than that of the Zhao Family’s men. In an instant, one after another, the heads of the remaining experts flew into the air. The Eighteen Death Warriors grew excited. They had originally expected a fierce battle, having even prepared themselves for death. But as it turned out, cutting down the experts of the city’s top family was as simple as mowing grass.
"Don’t kill me! I have something to report!" The last man standing came to his senses and immediately dropped to his knees as several bloody long sabers hovered above his head. "Young Master Ning, someone from your family is still alive!" he blurted out, daring not to delay.
Ning Xuan, who had also been startled by the power of his own attack, snapped back to reality. "You know the whereabouts of my parents?!" he asked, his voice filled with emotion. The Eighteen Death Warriors had told him his parents had managed to escape.
"No... no, it’s Meng Luo," the man said, his voice trembling with fear.
Meng Luo was merely Ning Xuan’s maidservant. The life of a maidservant was practically worthless. But he had no other cards to play; it was a desperate gamble.
"What? Sister Meng Luo! She’s not dead?!" Ning Xuan, however, became extremely excited.
Though Meng Luo was nominally his maidservant, Ning Xuan had always treated her as family. The two were childhood sweethearts who had grown up together. He called her "sister," but she was actually a month younger than him. Girls just mature earlier, and back then, she had been half a head taller and had jokingly told him to call her that. Ning Xuan, being mature for his age, didn’t bother arguing and had simply started calling her sister ever since.
"She’s not dead! She’s alive and well! Young Master Ning, I’ll tell you where Miss Meng Luo is if you’ll just spare my wretched life."
Ning Xuan nodded. "Agreed."
"She was taken away by a woman in blue. As for where they went, I don’t know."
A long-sealed memory surfaced in Ning Xuan’s mind. Clad in blue... If I’m not mistaken, that must be Si Lanyi, the fiancée I’ve never met. The Si Family is far away in Destiny City, the Prefecture Capital. How could she coincidentally appear here in Wuling City? Could it be...
Ning Xuan’s heart stirred with an irrepressible urge to set off for Destiny City at once. After all, if his speculation was correct, he might not only find Meng Luo but could also learn of his parents’ whereabouts.
"Young Master Ning, everything I said is true. Please, honor your promise and spare my pathetic life," the man begged.
Ning Xuan nodded again.
The man was overjoyed and began to thank him profusely. But the moment he turned, a blade flashed, and his head went flying.
Number One’s voice rang out coldly, "The Young Master is merciful and agreed to let you live. We, however, made no such promise."
The next moment, Number One dropped to his knees. "My apologies, Young Master. We have failed in our duty..." Meng Luo was still alive—how could they have been oblivious to such a vital piece of information? Unsettled, all eighteen knelt in unison.
"Rise," Ning Xuan commanded. "We still have much to do." He turned, his gaze falling upon the wide-open gates of the Zhou Family estate.
「An hour later.」
The Zhou Family mansion was engulfed in flames that soared toward the sky.
「Another hour passed.」
The Zhao Family mansion met the same fate.
All of Wuling City was in an uproar. The four great families had been annihilated! And the perpetrator was merely an eighteen-year-old youth. To say that he had slaughtered the four families with a single sword was no exaggeration.
"Have you heard? Zhao Qitian couldn’t even take one strike from Ning Xuan!"
"HISS! He was Wuling City’s top expert, and he couldn’t even survive a single blow! That’s horrifying!"
"Ning Xuan has comprehended Sword Intent!"
"What? How old is he?! How could he possibly comprehend Sword Intent!"
"If you don’t believe me, go look outside the Zhou Family’s main gate. The terrifying mark left by his sword is still there!"
While a storm raged outside, all was calm within the Ning Family estate.
Inside the Ning Family Ancestral Hall, Ning Xuan lit incense and kowtowed. "Ancestors, Grandfather, and all my uncles, brothers, and sisters," he murmured. "Please bear this temporary arrangement for a while. The day I crush the Ning Family in The Capital, I will find you all a new home!"
He then carefully wrapped each Bone Spirit Plaque and placed them all inside his Storage Ring. When the time came to raze the Ning Family in The Capital, they had to be there to witness it.
Number One’s voice came from outside. "Young Master, we’ve finished the inventory. Please come and inspect it."
"Just leave the Element Crystals for me," Ning Xuan replied. "You can deal with the rest as you see fit."
Right now, what he needed most were Element Crystals and various herbs. Having already taken the families’ herbs when he impersonated a Spirit Pill Master, the only thing of value left for him now was their Element Crystals.
Number One didn’t leave. Instead, he explained, "Young Master, they had quite a few profound Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills."
Ning Xuan remained unmoved. "Choose them for yourselves."
"Yes, Young Master!" Number One’s voice trembled with gratitude.
By the time Ning Xuan appeared before the Eighteen Death Warriors, they were still reeling from their excitement. Upon seeing him, Number One was about to give a detailed report on how they had distributed the Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills.
Ning Xuan raised his hand, cutting him off. "In the future, there’s no need to report such trivial matters. Oh, and if you find any Pill Recipes, make sure you give them to me."
"Yes, Young Master!" The eighteen men committed his words to memory.
At the same time, the question they had wanted to ask remained unasked. The Young Master comprehended Sword Qi and Sword Intent in just two days and was even capable of instantly killing Zhao Qitian, a warrior at the Fifth Layer Heavens of the Profound Realm. With that in mind, it’s only logical that he has also become a Spirit Pill Master.
"Go and prepare swift horses! We depart for Destiny City at once!" Ning Xuan said, dismissing the Eighteen Death Warriors as he gazed at the pile of Element Crystals before him.
The eighteen men bowed and left to carry out his order.
Ning Xuan immediately began to absorb the Element Crystals. His cultivation at the Seventh Layer Heavens of the Spiritual Realm, augmented by his Divine Vein and the Impermanence Swordsmanship, gave him the power to instantly kill a Profound Realm Martial Warrior, but it wasn’t enough. Destiny City, as the Prefecture Capital, was not only home to Profound Realm warriors but undoubtedly a multitude of Earth Realm powerhouses as well. Moreover, his current cultivation level couldn’t support such immense consumption of energy.
He needed to ascend to a higher level.
