I Seriously Didn't Want to Be the Martial Alliance Leader

Han Dong was at the peak of the Qi Casting Realm, and Qi Ze was in its late stage, but they were still no match for Chen Yuan in terms of power.

The path of the Martial Dao had never been fair.

Disciples from the great Sects and Noble Families were guided by famous masters from a young age, with elixirs to aid their cultivation.

They also had a wide array of Cultivation Techniques to choose from, allowing them to pursue any path they wished.

Independent Martial Artists, on the other hand, were considered lucky to have even a single ultimate technique to their name.

For Independent Martial Artists on the level of the Dongjiang Five Swords, the Cultivation Techniques they possessed were at most Profound Level; Earth Level techniques were exceedingly rare.

And though Chen Yuan had no backing, his repertoire of Cultivation Techniques was no less impressive than that of martial artists from the great Sects and Families—some were even superior.

Now, fighting two against one, Chen Yuan had Han Dong and Qi Ze so thoroughly suppressed after just a few dozen exchanges that they were utterly overwhelmed.

"You both use a Giant Sword, yet you’re not even as good as Han Gang of the Yin Mountain Five Ghosts."

"Han Gang at least had some guts, but you’re so timid and hesitant you can’t even unleash the true essence of a Giant Sword."

Chen Yuan shook his head at Qi Ze and suddenly slashed horizontally. With a loud CLANG, the Giant Sword in Qi Ze’s hand snapped in two.

Just as when he’d fought Han Gang, he had aimed almost every strike at the same spot. The accumulated stress fractures caused the blade to shatter in an instant.

The Shocking Swan Slash descended in a flash. Han Dong tried desperately to save him, but a vicious gash was still torn across Qi Ze’s chest by the Sword Aura.

"Fifth Sister! Run! Split up!"

Han Dong roared at Gu Xinru.

Gu Xinru, for her part, didn’t hesitate for a second. She immediately turned and fled.

Chen Yuan had long since shattered her nerve. Every one of his slashes made her feel as if she was just a moment away from being cut down.

Of course, she wasn’t wrong.

If Chen Yuan hadn’t needed her alive to split the attention of the other four, she would have died by his blade long ago.

"Tsk, tsk. You all risk your lives to save your ’little sister,’ but it seems she doesn’t much care if you live or die. She certainly ran away fast enough."

Han Dong remained silent, but a wave of bitterness washed over him.

It was true that splitting up was the smart thing to do—he had been the one to tell Gu Xinru to run.

But for her to not even glance back... it still sent a chill through his heart.

But Han Dong had no time to dwell on that now.

He hoisted the heavily injured Qi Ze with one arm and tried to escape.

But would Chen Yuan really let them leave so easily?

Channeling the Killing Intent Origin, his Blood Fiend Power erupted once more.

Chen Yuan became a blur of blood-red light. In an instant, the sky filled with a storm of crimson Sword Auras that rained down on them.

A chill rose in Han Dong’s heart, and a look of terror appeared in his eyes.

’I can’t beat him... and I can’t escape!’

’Just who in the world is this person Zuo Feiyu wants us to kill?’

’Even the elite disciples from the top Sects and Families are only this powerful at best!’

With a furious roar, Han Dong burned his Qi and Blood to their absolute limit. He unleashed Sword Dance of the Celestial Stars, and for a moment, the space around him exploded into a dense constellation of sword images!

Blood Fiend power coalesced on Chen Yuan’s blade as Demonic Qi surged around it.

As the Wave-Treading Slash descended, it carried not only an incredibly powerful Sword Momentum, but also the combined might of those two tyrannical forces.

In an instant, the stars were snuffed out, the sword images dissolving into nothing.

Under this slash of ultimate power, Han Dong was split in two!

"Big Brother!"

Qi Ze, still spitting blood on the ground, cried out in grief as he struggled to rise.

"Don’t worry. I’ll send you to join your big brother."

With a flick of his wrist, Chen Yuan’s blade flashed. Qi Ze’s head flew into the air as blood erupted from his neck like a fountain.

Flicking the blood from his blade, Chen Yuan once again suppressed the surging Blood Fiend power within him and headed straight in the direction Gu Xinru had fled.

That woman, Gu Xinru, was incredibly weak. He wouldn’t even need to use his Blood Fiend Power to ensure she couldn’t escape.

Seeing Chen Yuan depart, the onlooking Martial Artists let out a collective sigh of relief.

They had been watching from the sidelines, hardly daring to breathe. The pressure radiating from Chen Yuan was simply too intense.

One against five had turned into a one-sided massacre.

The Dongjiang Five Swords, who held a considerable reputation around the Youning Border, had been completely wiped out. The man’s strength was monstrous.

......

In the dense forest, Gu Xinru fled in a panic, her heart filled with fear.

In all her years roaming the Jianghu, this was the first time Gu Xinru had ever known the profound terror of facing true life and death.

She was actually very lucky. As soon as she entered the Jianghu, she met Han Dong and the others and became sworn siblings with them.

Han Dong and the others took good care of her, even trying their best to protect her during their usual fights.

As a result, despite having been in the Jianghu for over a decade, Gu Xinru remained somewhat naive.

There is nothing wrong with being naive, but if one brings that naivety into the Jianghu, it can be fatal.

She regretted it now.

’The five of us had already carved out a name for ourselves in the Ning Province Jianghu. Our lives were free and happy.’

’Why did we have to join the Nine Swords Alliance? Why did we have to provoke this god of slaughter?’

’A single moment of foolishness, and the Dongjiang Five Swords are erased from the Jianghu!’

"They say even married couples flee in opposite directions when disaster strikes. It seems it’s the same for you sworn siblings."

Hearing that mocking voice from behind her, Gu Xinru’s heart was filled with terror.

’How is he so fast? Did he already kill Big Brother and Second Brother?’

Sensing the hum of a blade from behind, Gu Xinru shrieked. Her Inner Strength erupted as she spun around and launched a desperate attack at Chen Yuan.

Before, Chen Yuan kept her alive to distract the others, but now Chen Yuan had no need to hold back.

Wreathed in a torrent of Demonic Qi, the Wave-Treading Slash descended, instantly shattering the Foil in Gu Xinru’s hand.

The overwhelming Saber Qi sent her flying, and she landed hard, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Chen Yuan slowly walked over and placed the Cyan Dragon Blood Drink on her neck.

The blade pressed against her neck, and the bone-chilling sensation made her whole body tremble.

"Talk," he said. "How many people has Zuo Feiyu deployed to kill me? What are their strengths, and where are they now?"

Gu Xinru gritted her teeth. "Kill me if you’ve got the guts! I won’t say a word!"

Chen Yuan shook his head lightly. "You’ve only been under Zuo Feiyu for a few days, and you’re already this loyal to him?"

"I’m actually a man of principle. I never lay a hand on the old, the weak, women, children, or the innocent."

"The only reason I attacked you is because you tried to kill me first. I was forced to fight back."

"It’s not easy for a woman to make her way in the Jianghu. I don’t want to go too far."

"Otherwise... well, you know there are some methods that are far more painful than death."

Gu Xinru shivered violently.

No matter how naive she was, she knew about some of the cruel and ugly things in the Jianghu.

After a moment’s hesitation, Gu Xinru spoke in a hoarse voice, "Zuo Feiyu has recruited nearly a hundred Jianghu People, with strengths ranging from the Meridian Passage Realm to the Qi Casting Realm."

"However, the only masters at the Sea of Reincarnation Realm are Wei Guangming and Elder Qi’s Dao. Master Zuo is currently at the late stage of the Qi Casting Realm."

"Zuo Feiyu himself is in Zou City with over twenty men. Wei Guangming is leading the Iron Armor Sect in Pan Yang City, and Elder Qi’s Dao has over thirty men in Fanglin City."

"These three cities are the main routes into the heartland of Ning Province, and they have all been locked down."

"There are also more than fifty people who are like us, scattered in various places to hunt you down."

"Wei Guangming and Elder Qi’s Dao were seriously injured in the Sealed Demon Valley. Are they recovered now?"

"Master Zuo gave them Healing Elixirs. They haven’t fully recovered, but they should be about halfway there."

Chen Yuan nodded knowingly. "Alright. You can go reunite with your brothers now."

Gu Xinru’s expression changed dramatically. "I told you everything! Why are you still going to kill me?! You’re breaking your promise!"

"When did I say I wouldn’t kill you?"

Chen Yuan shook his head lightly. "I only said I don’t kill innocent people. But from the moment you decided to kill me, you were no longer innocent."

"Besides, you of the Dongjiang Five Swords swore an oath in the Jianghu. You didn’t ask to be born on the same day, but you swore to die on the same day."

"By killing you, I’m just helping you fulfill that oath. Think of it as me helping to complete a classic tale of the Jianghu."

As his words faded, Chen Yuan made a light motion with his Cyan Dragon Blood Drink. With a flash of red, Gu Xinru’s eyes widened in fury and disbelief as she collapsed to the ground.

Zuo Feiyu was a prodigy of Ning Province in the original storyline, a character who had a place even among the most outstanding members of the Jianghu’s younger generation.

Chen Yuan’s policy toward such people was to keep a respectful distance, so long as their interests didn’t clash.

But Zuo Feiyu just had to recruit Wei Guangming and Elder Qi’s Dao, two men who were his sworn enemies.

And now, Zuo Feiyu wanted to use his life as a stepping stone to build his own prestige. That was something Chen Yuan could not tolerate.

Chen Yuan took out a map of Ning Province.

This was one he had bought before entering Ning Province.

Zou City, Pan Yang City, and Fanglin City. These three cities formed a line and were the main routes into the heartland of Ning Province.

However, besides these three cities, there was also a small mountain path that led to the heartland of Ning Province.

Chen Yuan was sure that someone was already guarding that small path.

’That path is closest to Zou City. Zuo Feiyu is in Zou City, so he must think I’ll try to escape that way, making it easy for him to set up an ambush.’

’But why should I run?’

The saying "revenge is a dish best served cold" was true enough, but if Chen Yuan was confident he could win, he preferred to serve it hot that very same night.

When faced with an obstacle, Chen Yuan’s first thought was never to go around it. It was to cut straight through, leaving a path of clean destruction in his wake.

This was not a radical personality trait influenced by the Killing Intent Origin after merging with the Seven Kills Stele; it was just Chen Yuan’s own nature.

Perhaps this was also the reason he could smoothly merge with the Seven Kills Stele; his personality was a good match for it.

Putting away the map, Chen Yuan calculated the distance and headed straight for Pan Yang City.

Pan Yang City was closest to him and farthest from Zuo Feiyu.

’By the time Zuo Feiyu gets news of the Dongjiang Five Swords’ deaths,’ he thought, ’he’ll probably be getting news of the Iron Armor Sect’s annihilation at the same time.’

Furthermore, Chen Yuan had clashed with the Iron Armor Sect’s Martial Artists several times. He was familiar with their Cultivation Techniques, giving him even greater confidence in his ability to kill Wei Guangming.