The Demon Lords-Chapter 598 - 92 Shameless_1

The bewilderment and melancholy in the Sword Saint's words were apparent to everyone. Of the four great nations and the four great swordsmen, only he remained, a man without a country, without a home. No matter how glorious the path of sword cultivation, it ultimately seemed tinged with desolation. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Baili Xianglan had not come to chat with the Sword Saint. Her gaze swept past him and the blind man, lingering briefly on the carriage. "I ask the Sword Saint to kindly hand over the child to me to bring back," she said.

The Sword Saint leaned to one side, one leg dangling beneath the carriage. "You know I won't agree," he stated.

Did he toil so hard to bring this child all this way, only to hand him over to her midway?

"He is a child of my Qian State."

Hearing this, the Sword Saint chuckled. "Haha, so, do you take your mother's surname then?"

Baili Xianglan nodded. "Indeed, my elder brother and I both follow our mother's surname."

The Sword Saint was speechless.

The Baili Family was such a large clan; finding a live-in son-in-law would indeed be a trivial matter for them.

He shook his head, momentarily lost for words at Baili Xianglan's reply, and could only gesture towards the back. "Alright then. Go ask the child's father. If he doesn't object, I'll hand the child over to you immediately."

Go on, ask Tian Wujing. And while you're at it, ask the Jingnan Army. See if they agree.

Baili Xianglan drew her sword.

"You intend to draw your sword against me?" the Sword Saint asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

If her brother were here, they might be qualified to spar. But Baili Xianglan, after all, was not Baili Sword.

"Yes."

"If your brother were here, that would be more like it. If I were to defeat you now, and word got out, wouldn't I become a laughingstock?"

He, a renowned contemporary of her brother, bullying his younger sister? That would be truly shameless, preying on the weak.

"Escorting the child of an enemy, a man of Jin willingly debasing himself to become a servant of the Yan people—Sword Saint, you are already a laughingstock."

Nearby, the blind man mentally gave her a thumbs-up.

Her ability to cut deep with words was truly admirable. It was a good thing she was Baili Sword's sister, a member of the Baili Family. Otherwise, with such a sharp tongue, she'd surely have been beaten to death long before reaching adulthood.

The Sword Saint, however, didn't get angry. He merely nodded and said, "Yes, I am already a laughingstock."

Baili Xianglan began to walk forward.

The Sword Saint continued, as if to himself, "Since I'm already a laughingstock, I don't mind being ridiculed a little more."

As Baili Xianglan drew near, the Sword Saint's gaze suddenly sharpened. Three phantoms of Sword Energy materialized before him, speeding directly towards her.

Baili Xianglan's sword danced, deflecting all three streams of Sword Energy with three swift strikes. With power to spare, she pressed forward, thrusting her sword at the Sword Saint seated on the carriage.

Facing this fierce thrust, the Sword Saint didn't retreat but advanced, his body lunging forward, two fingers of his right hand extended.

Seeing this, Baili Xianglan tapped her toes to the ground and shot backward. Instantly, three streams of Sword Energy erupted from the spot she had just vacated, tearing through the ground and surging upwards. If she hadn't been vigilant, or had been even half a step too slow, she would have been sliced into three pieces.

"Would the Sword Saint resort to such tactics against me?"

The Sword Saint scratched his head, his form floating back to rest on the carriage. "Sigh," he said, "I've been corrupted by Tian Wujing."

In the past, a fight was a fight; it was a contest of whose sword was faster, whose blade was sharper. But ever since his defeat at Tian Wujing's hands, the Sword Saint had begun to ponder things beyond the sword itself.

It wasn't that the Sword Saint truly intended it, but for a swordsman to be defeated in a one-on-one duel by a Martial Cultivator—it was impossible for him not to dwell on it, not to analyze it. After much contemplation, he had gleaned some insights. He even began to find a certain bizarre appeal in Tian Wujing's methods of integrating strategy and planning into the martial path.

Baili Xianglan did not advance again. Instead, she held her sword horizontally, and it emitted a low hum.

In an instant, more than thirty figures rose from the surrounding mire. It was impossible to tell how long they had been concealed there, but they were clearly masters of concealing their presence; even the blind man hadn't detected them beforehand. Of course, this was partly because the blind man's "radar" couldn't be active constantly; it consumed too much energy. If he kept it on, he'd quickly turn into a dried-up husk. Besides, with the Sword Saint beside him, the blind man naturally decided to conserve his strength.

Over thirty Silver Armored Guard experts materialized, distantly encircling the carriage. Upon appearing, each of them radiated the potent lifeblood fluctuations of a master. The weakest among them was at the sixth rank, and there were even several fourth rank experts present. It was no exaggeration to say that the Silver Armored Guard had truly spared no expense this time, concentrating the majority of their top masters here.

This area happened to be Jin land, where the Yan people's Spy Bureau had a less than firm grip. Furthermore, the local head of the Spy Bureau had recently died. Thus, it wasn't entirely surprising that the arrival of this large group of Silver Armored Guard experts, having traveled hundreds of miles, had failed to elicit a response from the relevant authorities.

The Sword Saint regretfully touched his waist. Without Longyuan by his side, he felt a certain lack of composure when facing a fight.

No matter how powerful an individual, when faced with the machinery of a state, they still seemed somewhat insignificant. Street, after all, is just street. No wonder Tian Wujing always looked down on it.

Baili Xianglan cupped her hands again. "Sword Saint, I implore you to show mercy!"

This was her final diplomatic appeal. If the Sword Saint didn't retreat, then the Silver Armored Guard experts gathered here today would test whether they could truly detain this paragon of sword cultivation!

The Sword Saint stroked the back of his hand, a touch of helplessness in his sigh. "Tell me," he said, "this land we're on—does it actually belong to you Yan people?"

This territory is clearly occupied by the Yan people, and the child is undeniably one of yours. Yet, it's the Qian people who come to snatch him, and I, a man of Jin, am the one protecting him. Do you Yan people have no presence at all in this whole affair?

The blind man took a cigarette from his robes.

The Sword Saint's eyes lit up. "Now, this is good."

The blind man shook his head. "Too far."

"Then what was the point of taking it out?"

"To cheer you up a bit."

"I'm genuinely starting to like you."

"I..." the blind man trailed off.

"HAHAHAHA..."

The Sword Saint stood upon the carriage, laughing boisterously, his fingertips beginning to drip blood.

"Let's see who dares to approach!"

The dripping blood was a statement, an attitude far more resolute than merely wielding Longyuan. He was transforming his vital essence into a sword, his very core into its edge. This was a declaration of a fight to the death from the very outset.

For a moment, the surrounding Qian people's Silver Armored Guard experts froze. They knew who they faced and thus understood his terrifying power. Initially, they believed their superior numbers could likely overwhelm and capture him. But that would have been in a chaotic melee, a scenario where they might lose nearly half their experts to succeed. Death would have been a random chance; someone would surely die to kill the Sword Saint, and it would be a matter of luck who that unfortunate soul might be. But now, things were different.

To the blind man, a student of psychology, it was as if the game had shifted from Russian roulette to one where the first few chambers were guaranteed to hold live rounds. The psychological pressure was entirely different. Who would willingly be one of the first, inevitably sacrificed "consumables"?

The carriage moved slowly forward, flanked by the Silver Armored Guards who began to follow. Yet, strangely, no one dared to be the first to attack.

At the head of the procession was Baili Xianglan. She noted the Silver Armored Guards' hesitation and knew it well. These men were, for the most part, leaders within their own government office. They had grown accustomed to a comfortable life and, consequently, cherished their own too much. After all, it wasn't easy to climb to their positions or cultivate to their current level. Their lives were far from worthless, and it wasn't pure cowardice, but a reluctance to be the first to die as mere cannon fodder.

Baili Xianglan did not retreat. In fact, at this moment, she proactively advanced, sword in hand. She knew that if her side also fell back, this entire interception would become an utter farce.

Her sword point began to hum as she aimed it at the Sword Saint on the carriage, her Sword Energy gathering force!

"Don't think I'll show you any leniency on Baili Feng's account. When a swordsman draws their sword, they must be prepared to perish with it. Your brother should have taught you that."

The swordsmanship of the Baili Family was about seizing the fleeting moment, a style that, once truly unleashed, became an extreme, all-or-nothing struggle of life and death.

The clash to come would be different from their earlier probing exchange. Back then, Baili Xianglan hadn't used her full strength, and the Sword Saint had harbored no killing intent. But now, it would be a fight where one side could not retreat.

Seeing Baili Xianglan make the first move, the surrounding Silver Armored Guard experts finally cast aside their hesitation and charged collectively towards the carriage.

At the Sword Saint's fingertips, vital blood coalesced into a sword. Immense Sword Energy began to surge forth. Faintly, low, muffled rumbles of thunder began to echo all around. The Sword Energy, concealed within wind and thunder, promised a devastating strike when unleashed—a terrifying battle aura forged from the Sword Saint's own essence, his signature killing gambit.

However, just then, the blind man, who had been driving the carriage, abruptly flung open the curtain. He snatched the child from the astonished Ding Heng, simultaneously pressing a dagger to the boy's throat. His other hand brandished another dagger, its blade gleaming with a blue light—clearly poisoned—and undoubtedly crafted by the "dwarf" artisans of Shengle City.

The blind man didn't want to die—more precisely, he didn't want to die in this particular brawl. Like his My lord, Zheng Fan, he cherished his life dearly. More importantly, the blind man had grasped the underlying logic of the situation. There seemed to be a crucial misunderstanding. This wasn't a reenactment of the "Orphan of Zhao Family," nor was it a simple vendetta. The very thing they were trying to protect was something the opposing side feared losing even more. So, what was there to panic about?

Without a shred of hesitation, the blind man roared, "Nobody move, or I'll kill him!"

"..." The Sword Saint was stunned.

"..." Baili Xianglan was speechless.