Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

"The East Sea Zhao Family? Known as one of the two great families of the East Sea, along with the Qin Family."

Song Mingyue muttered to herself, though she meant for Ling Xiao to hear. "But really, the Zhao Family isn’t even worthy of carrying the Qin Family’s shoes!"

’I wouldn’t even deign to become the Qin Family’s young mistress, so why would I ever be interested in a frivolous punk from the Zhao Family? No matter how bad Qin Feng is, he’s still a hundred times better than you!’

Song Mingyue’s words were quite vicious. In truth, anyone with even a slight understanding of the East Sea Zhao and Qin Families knew the situation, but no one would ever say it so bluntly.

If the East Sea Qin Family was a genuine first-rate family, then the East Sea Zhao Family could, at best, be considered second-rate. It was understood that the Zhao Family had never produced a Sword Saint, unlike the continent’s major families like the Zhe Family, the Qin Family, and the Song Family... Even Shangguan Yutong’s sect, Lengning Palace—a bona fide second-rate sect—had once produced a Sword Saint.

Therefore, the only reason the East Sea Zhao Family was even considered second-rate was because they currently had a powerhouse who had broken through from Sword Emperor to Sword Venerable. And that had only happened a few decades ago.

This Zhao Family disciple’s pride likely stemmed from that Sword Venerable elder. ’And so what if a family once had a Sword Saint?’ he thought. ’Once a Sword Saint enters the Holy Sanctuary, they can never return. So, using whether a family has produced a Sword Saint as a major criterion for judging its strength makes no sense at all!’

After all, the current East Sea Zhao Family had one Sword Venerable powerhouse, five or six Sword Emperor powerhouses, over twenty Sword Sect experts, and hundreds of Demon Sword Masters. He himself possessed the formidable power of a Third-rank Demon Sword Master. He was more than qualified to be dining in this luxurious restaurant. As for everyone else... he found them all quite displeasing to the eye!

He was especially disgusted after hearing Song Mingyue’s remarks. In his eyes, this young man and woman had not the slightest fluctuation of Inner Strength. Being so young, their power must be incredibly low. The fact that they were dining at the same table as him was one thing, but to then compare a hidden family to the Royal Family of the Mortal World... it was unbearably vulgar!

He hadn’t expected the pretty girl to know so much about his family and the Qin Family. With just a few words, she had ripped open the one wound the Zhao Family found most unbearable. If this could be tolerated, what couldn’t?

With a CLACK, Zhao Long slammed his cup down on the table. He stared coldly at Song Mingyue. "Apologize for what you said right now. Otherwise, the consequences for insulting the Zhao Family are not something you can bear!"

But Song Mingyue acted as if she didn’t know what was good for her. Beneath her neat, dense eyelashes, her incredibly beautiful eyes blinked, and she let out a soft laugh. Her smile was so stunningly beautiful that Zhao Long was momentarily dazed. Then he heard her cool voice.

"And what if I can’t bear them?"

Zhao Long snorted, his eyes fixated on Song Mingyue’s face... and her ample chest. His throat bobbed twice, causing the few people nearby to feel a wave of disgust. ’It’s rare to see a disciple from a great family who’s as frivolous, dissolute, and downright lecherous as him!’

"Just agree to dump that pretty boy next to you and be with me, and I guarantee nothing will happen to you." A smug look appeared on Zhao Long’s face. "But if you refuse... see this ship? This will be the end of the line for you two! I can make sure you never return!"

"Is that so?" Ling Xiao held a glass of water. The transparent glass was exquisitely crafted and looked quite valuable. "Your head isn’t very clear. I think I need to help you sober up."

As he spoke, he picked up the glass and smiled at Zhao Long. Zhao Long’s face flushed crimson. That pretty boy was clearly mocking him! With his power as a Third-rank Demon Sword Master, how could he possibly let himself be splashed by a glass of water?

But the other man’s look, as if he had him completely figured out, was infuriating. Zhao Long roared, "If we weren’t on a Qin Family ship, I’d slaughter you right here and now, boy!"

"Watch out now, I’m going to splash you!"

’Rage was already blazing in Ling Xiao’s heart. This man didn’t know what was good for him, insulting Song Mingyue again and again. Given Ling Xiao’s true nature, he was tempted to kill him!’

Since he couldn’t kill him now, teaching him a lesson was certainly an option.

"Damn you! You dare to defy me? Today, even if Brother Qin gets angry, I’m going to kill you, you ungrateful dog!" Zhao Long shouted, slamming the table as he shot to his feet. A sharp sword instantly materialized in his hand, long streams of Sword Qi hissing from its blade as he swung it viciously at Ling Xiao.

The few people nearby probably hadn’t expected Zhao Long to attack so suddenly and ruthlessly. They all leaned back, settling in to watch the show.

Just because Zhao Long was a fool didn’t mean everyone else in the restaurant was. Would someone who could dine in a place like this, someone whose words and actions showed no regard for the East Sea Zhao Family, be a simple character? Yet this Zhao Family disciple was utterly convinced that they had just snuck their way in.

It was true that the young master of the Qin Family had graciously allowed many people onto this last ship. But would anyone without some kind of backing dare to come up here?

This Zhao Family disciple must have subconsciously underestimated them because he couldn’t sense any Inner Strength fluctuations. But didn’t he consider another possibility... that their power was so far beyond his that he simply couldn’t detect it?

Unfortunately, the world is full of fools, or rather, people who refuse to use their brains; otherwise, the superiority of geniuses wouldn’t be so apparent. What’s more, these are the very people who love to think everyone else is a fool... a truly sad fact.

The water in Ling Xiao’s glass sloshed more and more violently with the movement of his hand, yet not a single drop spilled! Several times, the water sloshed over the rim of the glass, only to be pulled back as if by an invisible hand!

A few of the more perceptive and powerful onlookers saw this and almost cried out in alarm. To mistake this level of skill for weakness... that Zhao Family disciple was about to make a huge fool of himself!

Sure enough, just as Zhao Long’s sword was less than a hand’s breadth from the top of his head, Ling Xiao’s body suddenly erupted with an astonishing aura. With a flick of his wrist, he flung the water in his glass straight at Zhao Long’s face!

The spectators felt as if they were in a dream. The aura that had just exploded from Ling Xiao vanished in an instant, as if it had never been there at all.

And the water from his glass... his splashing motion was, for all intents and purposes, that of an ordinary person!

If an expert at the Sword Sect level or above had been present, they would have seen that the ordinary water from Ling Xiao’s glass had atomized into thousands upon thousands of uniform, minuscule droplets, so small they were invisible to the naked eye!

It shot out like a heavy punch, slamming viciously into Zhao Long’s face! "AARGH!" Zhao Long cried out as his body was thrown backward. His chair toppled over, and he slid across the floor, crashing hard into the solid wooden wall behind him. The immense force sent a deafening BOOM through the room, leaving a massive hole in the wall—a wall so thick it would have taken half a day to chop through with an axe!

Immediately after, a series of gasps came from outside. Zhao Long, a Third-rank Demon Sword Master, had been knocked unconscious by a single glass of water!

When the other diners looked at Ling Xiao again, all traces of disdain were gone, replaced by utter shock. Most of them were roughly equal in power. Some, like Song Mingyue and Qin Feng, were a cut above the rest, while others were slightly weaker, but they were all at least Second or Third-rank Demon Sword Masters.

They had just watched that Zhao Family disciple, a man who was likely a Mid-level Demon Sword Master, get knocked unconscious by a glass of water, face-to-face, while his opponent didn’t even stand up!

What kind of power was that?

Song Mingyue knew that Ling Xiao had been bottling up his anger for the past two days. This Zhao Family disciple was just unlucky enough to run right into him. After being insulted by him time and again, Ling Xiao had already shown considerable mercy!

Just as she was thinking this, a furious roar came from outside. "Damn it! Who hurt my son?! Get your ass out here!"

Ling Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle. ’Heh, this Zhao Family is interesting,’ he thought. ’Beat up the son, and the father immediately shows up to settle the score.’

He stood up, and Song Mingyue obediently took his arm as they walked out together.

The people in the luxurious restaurant exchanged glances, then all stood up in unison and followed them outside.

On the deck outside stood a middle-aged man in his forties who looked like he was cast from the same mold as Zhao Long. His eyes were filled with rage, his cold gaze fixed on the small restaurant. Beside him, several people were anxiously checking on Zhao Long.

An incredibly powerful aura erupted from the middle-aged man, preventing anyone nearby from daring to approach. There were probably few people on the entire ship whose cultivation surpassed his.

Seeing the group walk out, he said coldly, "Who hurt my son?"

"I did," Ling Xiao said, his face devoid of expression. "Your son doesn’t know how to speak like a human, so I helped him clear his head. Who knew he was so fragile he’d pass out from a single glass of water?"

"You’re courting death!"

The middle-aged man was furious. He hadn’t expected the other party to show no remorse, let alone fear. His words were clearly mocking his son for being trash. He had originally thought some old expert had injured his son, as he could also tell his son had been "splashed unconscious" with a glass of water. He was even planning to mock his opponent for bullying a junior.

But seeing that this young man—no, this teenager—was much younger than his own son, he had to swallow his words. Instead, he was the one being cornered and mocked. He became uncontrollably enraged. Pushing his aura to its peak, he said grimly, "I don’t care which family you’re from. You dared to hurt my son today, so I won’t spare you! I will make you pay the price!"

"Uncle Zhao, wait a moment..." From nearby, Qin Feng’s slightly rushed voice rang out.