Chapter 68: Please Don't Die

At this moment, a middle-aged one-eyed man sneered, "You actually dared to show your face?"

Xie Peiling chuckled lightly, "You came looking for me, yet now you ask why I came out. Isn't that rather laughable?"

"Why waste breath on him? Shouldn't we just kill him and take the betrothal letter?"

Not far away, a dashing young man dressed in a pale white robe stepped forward.

Even as he spoke, points of light gradually materialized around this young master, and before long, they transformed into dense, swarming flying swords.

Seeing this, some of the cultivators began to murmur among themselves.

"Interesting. Which sect's disciple is this?"

"Unclear, but this technique is truly marvelous. Not all of those swords are illusions; hidden among them is a genuine spiritual sword."

Xie Peiling smiled and said, "I know where you come from now. All the flying swords here can be swapped at any moment; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that every single one of them could be a real flying sword."

The face of the white-robed young master stiffened, and his hands trembled. Having his sword scripture and cultivation method exposed right to his face was utterly humiliating, tantamount to a direct dismantling of his technique. Coupled with the presence of so many people here, this single remark would allow many to devise countermeasures.

"You're courting death!"

Xie Peiling sneered, "You came here specifically to kill me. Why shouldn't I expose how your cultivation method works?"

Seizing the opportunity while he was speaking, those flying swords surged toward him like a rushing torrent.

Xie Peiling did not employ the 'Seven-Star Step'. Just as he had dismantled the white-robed youth's methods on the spot, to be on the safe side, he relied purely on the strength of his legs.

He laughed loudly, "Please make way! These ambiguous flying swords might swap at any second and transform instantly into genuine lethal blades."

The crowd hastily stepped aside, letting Xie Peiling shift his position while secretly pondering how to counter this technique.

If they encountered opponents from this sect in the future, it would greatly increase their chances of winning. While they hoped Xie Peiling would die, they hoped even more that he would expose a few more cultivation methods.

However, they were now even more curious as to why the person before them knew the origins of all these techniques.

The white-robed youth's face grew increasingly dark as he manipulated the long swords like streaks of light. In the blink of anいや, a dozen of them pierced through the surrounding buildings, attempting to arrive ahead of time and cut off Xie Peiling's escape route.

Every time a flying sword came within a foot of his body, he would suddenly turn and lean sideways. Each dodge was timed to absolute perfection, narrowly avoiding the blades before he kicked off forcefully, plunging straight into the crowd, only to weave back among the buildings a moment later.

The flying swords locked onto him relentlessly, never stopping for a second. Under the white-robed youth's manipulation, countless flying swords pursued and surrounded him.

The two of them thus engaged in a game of evasion and pursuit.

At the very beginning, the one-eyed middle-aged man had remarked, "He has lost. His swords are not fast enough."

Meanwhile, the white-robed youth was already drenched in sweat. Refusing to accept defeat, he frantically squeezed every drop of his spiritual energy, desperately trying to pierce Xie Peiling.

Yet without him realizing it, and completely undetected, Xie Peiling had drawn closer and closer to him.

Suddenly, Xie Peiling's speed increased manifold. Abandoning evasion, he launched a counter-offensive and instantly appeared right in front of the white-robed youth.

The white-robed youth was stunned. Only then did he realize he had walked right into a trap. He wanted to flee and evade, but found he had nowhere to run—it was far too close.

That iron fist came rushing toward his face, delivering a direct blow without the slightest reservation right onto the bridge of his nose.

"Boom!"

After sending the body flying, Xie Peiling pursued the trajectory of the falling form, intercepted it with one hand, grabbed the youth by the head, and smashed him down into the ground with all his might.

As the cloud of dust dissipated, the onlookers saw that the white-robed youth's eyes were tightly shut, and his head was deeply embedded in a small crater.

"H-He's dead?"

Some ordinary commoners couldn't believe their eyes. A life that had been so vibrant just moments ago was now gone, filling them with a sense of dread.

"He was merely bullying someone whose cultivation isn't refined yet. You must remember, that fellow doesn't even rank in Huming Province."

Xie Peiling searched for the source of the voice and retorted, "Spoken so nicely, then why didn't you come up?"

The person said nothing further, and Xie Peiling stepped forward, shouting loudly, "Next! Anyone weaker than him doesn't need to bother coming out. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back my hand."

A young man dressed in coarse cloth couldn't help muttering under his breath, "So arrogant? I'm almost tempted to go up and test just how capable he really is."

Xie Peiling heard him, so he turned his head and smiled, "Although I don't know who you are, since you've said so, come on up. Don't make me look down on you."

The young man said very earnestly, "Do you even know who I am?"

Xie Peiling looked at him and replied, "I don't know who you are, but since you've spoken, come over here. Empty boasts are mere pretense; don't make me look down on you."

The youth introduced himself, "Feihua Sect, Yu Huafei."

"Never heard of it."

Yu Huafei let out a cold snort, "Then you'll know today."

"Incorrect."

"What?"

Xie Peiling grinned and said, "Didn't your Feihua Sect have a disciple go missing recently?"

"How do you know?"

"I did it."

Yu Huafei said in a muffled voice, "Are you trying to provoke me into beating you to death?"

Xie Peiling merely replied, "Then I beg you not to die."

Yu Huafei was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected this person to be so unhinged, and he gave a thumbs-up.

"You are not bad, but you shouldn't be like this. You must know that not only is he the young master of the Feihua Sect, but even the very top geniuses of Huming Province are unworthy of her."

The moment he declared himself the young master of the Feihua Sect, this statement exploded outward like a bomb in all directions.

The Feihua Sect was indeed not particularly large, but the young master of a sect was an entirely different matter. His strength, even if placed within the top-tier sects of Huming Province, would allow him to enter the inner gates, and he might even be taught talismans to become a personal, closed-door disciple.

Yu Huafei's voice carried a hint of desolation.

"I have no personal grudge against you, and I came here not to take your life, because we are weak—so weak that those geniuses don't even deign to cast a glance at us. I am deeply aware of this, which is why I came to advise you: put down the betrothal letter and return the Tsangfeng Sword."

Xie Peiling shook his head and said, "I understand, but this requires an explanation. This betrothal letter... forget it. I have only one thing to say: let Chu Ling herself come and take it."

Yu Huafei walked out into the main street. Seeing him approach, the crowd parted to clear a path. With a solemn expression, he articulated his inner thoughts word by word.

"I don't look down on you, nor do I hold any prejudice against you; in fact, I even admire you, because such wild ambitions are something I lack and cannot even summon the slightest shred of. But I have a great issue with your actions, because you are not qualified."

Xie Peiling pondered for a moment, looking at him with utmost seriousness.

"In my view, regardless of whether one is a cultivator or an ordinary person, everyone is the same—we are all human. It's simply that each person has different thoughts and ideas. The qualifications you speak of are judged by human standards. Who knows how this matter will eventually turn out or how it will unfold? Moreover, the vast world is full of wonders, and there is nothing truly new under the sun. Such events happen everywhere, all sorts of dramas have been staged before. How could you possibly know how this will end?"

The one-eyed middle-aged man looked somewhat melancholic as he gazed at the very young Xie Peiling standing in the middle of the street, sighing, "Indeed, how could we know?"

"Why is that?"

The people present fell silent, asking themselves the exact same question: why indeed?

Yu Huafei said, "You have never seen true geniuses, which is why you don't understand."

Xie Peiling retorted, "How do you know I've never seen a true genius?"

Yu Huafei answered matter-of-factly, "If you had seen one, you wouldn't be so conceited."

"I am a genius myself."

Speechless, the people present could only feel the shamelessness of his claim.

The one-eyed middle-aged man asked, "You claim to be a genius. I wonder to which sect you belong?"

Xie Peiling's voice remained calm, "I belong to the Qionglin Feast, and I am unaligned with any sect."

The people present hardly knew what to say. Should they call him youthful and arrogant, or simply ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth?

Yu Huafei remained completely still, simply offering a natural, gentle smile.

"Then let me see what makes this self-proclaimed genius so special."

Before he even made a move, falling blossoms and fluttering catkins began to swirl around Yu Huafei, eventually condensing into a long sword. The moment he grasped it in his hand, a ripple passed through the hearts of the onlookers, as if autumn leaves were withering within their chests.

Yet he did not stop there; Yu Huafei summoned a second flying sword.

"Flying Flowers" and "Falling Rain."

The speed of the flying swords resembled rain falling from the heavens, seemingly originating from wherever the myriad flowers bloom.

In the mere blink of an eye, just as he pulled out the Falling Rain sword, the Flying Flower sword darted out from his hand without warning. It was indistinguishable from an erupting thunderbolt as it flashed past right in front of Xie Peiling's head.

The very moment Xie Peiling dodged, the other Falling Rain sword struck.

These two swords seemed divinely inspired, exhibiting extraordinary coordination—worlds apart from the clumsy attacks of the first challenger.

Not daring to treat the situation lightly, Xie Peiling abandoned all concealment from that exact moment.

Everyone had initially thought the outcome was decided and began to sigh. The attacks of the white-robed youth from earlier had been dense but considerably slower, whereas these two swords surpassed him not only in speed but also in lethal offensive power.

The onlookers sighed inwardly. As expected of a sect's young master; such strength was truly extraordinary. Some of the observing cultivators furrowed their brows, calculating how many chances they would have to successfully block such a move if they were in his shoes.

Yu Huafei showed not the slightest bit of carelessness. While controlling the two swords, he continuously calculated where Xie Peiling would land next.

He felt that his opponent should be more than this; if this was all the capability he possessed, then the words he had spoken earlier made him feel disgusted with himself.

Sure enough, just as the attack was about to arrive, Xie Peiling gently lifted his foot, moving like the currents of a river being calculated. A brilliant flash of light flickered across the vision of the crowd, and when they finally managed to see clearly, they found that the bamboo-hat-wearing figure had already vanished.

Yu Huafei did not move; the moment he saw the evasion, he immediately halted his attack.

To everyone's absolute astonishment, a third flying sword suddenly appeared beside him.

At this juncture, Yu Huafei sneered, sending a chill down the spines of the onlookers. It felt as though the Grim Reaper had placed a scythe over their heads, counting down the final moments of their lives.

Meanwhile, Xie Peiling, stepping on the Seven-Star Step, retreated instantly upon seeing that ominous flying sword, moving like a river of time flowing backward. He returned precisely to the spot where he had first been encircled.

And that flying sword vanished into the darkness as if it had dissolved into thin air.

Yu Huafei perceived it all—the opponent had preemptively used 'Flying Flowers' and 'Falling Rain' to intercept him.

Feeling as though his entire being had been seen through, Xie Peiling ceased using the Seven-Star Step and leapt straight into the air.

In the vision of everyone present, it began to rain in the sky—a rainstorm formed entirely from blossoms, trees, and foliage.

Flying flowers, falling leaves, everything became a weapon.

Falling rain, cascading mists, rolling ten-thousand-foot white waves across the horizon.

Merely by standing there and manipulating two flying swords with his left and right hands, Yu Huafei had driven Xie Peiling into a desperate plight.

Furthermore, a third flying sword lingered around him, waiting to suddenly materialize and strike the enemy at any given moment.

Xie Peiling did not dare to relax his vigilance in the slightest. The person before him was the strongest opponent he had faced thus far—without exception. Even Hui Feiran, who had summoned an ancient patriarch to possess his body back then, had not been this difficult to deal with.

Of course, the primary reason back then was that the host body possessed by the entity was too weak to sustain it. If Yu Huafei possessed such a method as well, there truly would be not a sliver of hope to defeat him.

"Go, Qionglin Feast, you can do it!"

At this moment, a young girl whose beauty seemed otherworldly came skipping over from afar. Disregarding convention and standing apart from the crowd, she watched the scene unfold and shouted encouragement at the top of her lungs.

Hearing this, the crowd turned to look. A young man froze for a moment before saying with a sour expression, "Where did this little girl come from? Truly..."

The one-eyed middle-aged man chuckled good-naturedly, "Is that the younger sister of the Chu family's eldest miss?"

This remark was like a thunderclap shattering the heavens. Everyone except Yu Huafei turned to look, including Xie Peiling.

The others were astonished as to why this person would speak up in support of the 'Qionglin Feast.'

As for Xie Peiling, he was simply curious as to why she had appeared here.

True to his initial declaration, Yu Huafei held no personal ambitions regarding the betrothal letter; he had simply come to advise Xie Peiling to annul the engagement.

"You have the audacity to be distracted while dueling with me?"

Not only did he speak, but his attacks grew even more merciless as he seized that momentary lapse in concentration, seemingly irritated that Xie Peiling had not given the battle his undivided attention.

A surge of power welled up from deep within Xie Peiling, and behind him, a bright moon seemed to bloom and adorn the sky.

He stopped retreating and smashed his fist directly toward Yu Huafei.

Yu Huafei manipulated his two flying swords with effortless mastery, transitioning from offense to defense in a flash. Suddenly, Xie Peiling's figure vanished once more, reappearing close to his previous position.

"Incorrigible!"

He cursed under his breath.

The moment he turned around, the radiance of that fist blazed even brighter. Instead of deploying his third flying sword, Yu Huafei wore a grave expression and chose to retreat by a wide margin.

Even so, to the onlookers, Yu Huafei still appeared calm and unruffled.

He continued to manipulate the two flying swords as though they were immortals descending from beyond the heavens.

Xie Peiling pressed forward with unstoppable momentum, the brilliance within his iron fist intensifying until it shattered both flying swords, sending them crashing to the ground.

Yu Huafei was stunned. Highly conceited as he was, he never imagined his technique would be broken in this manner, and he could only watch blankly as the bamboo-hatted youth closed in upon him.