Chapter 74 : Close Protection

Chapter 74: Close Protection

“Does the Sword Heart have levels as well?”

A trace of confusion arose in Li Yunqing’s heart. The Cangshan Sword Canon had not described this.

Clearly, even the Sword Saint who pioneered the path of the Sword Heart likely did not know much about it, or perhaps the cultivation system of Sword Heart levels had not yet been fully established.

Yet she could clearly feel that the sharpness of her Sword Heart had grown even greater. The seven-colored radiance it emitted faintly carried an aura capable of destroying everything.

This increased the power of her sword techniques by at least thirty percent.

“And the Yin Spirit… if it leaves the body now, the danger is no longer life-threatening, but there is still risk.”

She raised her head to glance at the sky. It was noon—the time when the sun was at its fiercest.

“Perhaps at dawn or dusk, when the sunlight is weaker, the Yin Spirit can leave the body.”

“And the range of my spiritual coverage has reached a radius of ten zhang.”

Sensing the transformation of both her Yin Spirit and Sword Heart, Li Yunqing gained faint insights.

As her experiences and realizations accumulated, and as she moved closer to the goal she held in her heart, her Sword Heart would grow stronger.

This was likely what it meant that while the body has limits, the heart has none.

However, once she deviated, the Sword Heart would shatter.

Just like Lu Xingzhou in the past.

And if she were to compromise again, or marry and lose her resolve, her Sword Heart would either regress—or completely break.

While Li Yunqing was deep in thought, the three Demon Kings, who had retreated outside the city, were still staring at the Sword Saint of Cangshan with lingering fear.

A Sword Saint who had broken through to the Profound Realm was simply terrifying.

They were almost certain—if any one of them faced him alone, it would be certain death.

Sword cultivators possessed terrifying offensive power. A single strike had severely wounded them. If not for their combined strength, one of them might already have died.

Even more frightening was the fact that the Sword Saint had only just broken through.

If given more time to grow, even the three of them working together might be annihilated by that terrifying sword.

“Fortunately, for this revenge, I brought the Tiger King and the Wolf King!”

At this moment, the Three-Headed Profound Serpent felt a wave of relief.

To take revenge on the human race and teach them a lesson, it had paid a great price, even offering ninety percent of the humans in this city as a reward.

Only then had it managed to summon the Tiger King and the Wolf King, and gather over a hundred thousand demons.

If it had come alone, it would likely have died under that single sword strike.

“Attack the city!”

As the Three-Headed Profound Serpent’s roar fell, endless beastly howls erupted in response.

Thunderous rumbling rose from afar. The earth and the city walls trembled violently.

“Strike the bell—gather all martial artists in the city to defend the walls!”

“All major families must participate!”

“Also summon all able-bodied men—stand ready!”

The City Lord Qin glanced at his father’s withered corpse, suppressing his grief as he spoke:

“I ask Sword Saint senior to hold back the three Demon Kings!”

The Sword Saint of Cangshan nodded slightly. “Unless I die, the three Demon Kings will not enter the city.”

With that, he rose into the air and stepped out of Qingzhou City, standing in the void to face the three Demon Kings.

Now that the three Demon Kings had been deterred, they would not dare to surround and attack him for the time being, giving him a chance to recover.

“My strength is still insufficient… I can only delay them for as long as possible.”

The Sword Saint’s expression was solemn as he stood with his sword, continuously restoring his consumed True Qi.

Against a single Demon King, he had no fear—he could even defeat and kill it.

But against three working together, all at the same realm—and having been in the Profound Realm longer, nearing the middle tier—

In such a situation, he might kill one and severely wound another, but he would inevitably be gravely injured or even killed by the third.

Sword cultivators possessed unparalleled offensive power—but their defense was weak.

Because all their cultivation was focused on the sword, their defense was even weaker than ordinary Profound Realm Grandmasters.

“If only I had more time to create sword techniques suitable for the Profound Realm…”

The Sword Saint felt unwilling.

He had only just broken through. Though his strength had greatly increased, his sword techniques could not yet fully display the power of a Profound Realm Grandmaster.

If he could create Sword Ten, Sword Eleven… then that previous strike could have killed all three Demon Kings.

And now, he could not even afford to be injured.

Once injured, no one in Qingzhou would be able to stop the Demon Kings.

At that point, most of Qingzhou’s people would die, and the rest would be taken to the Demon Kingdom and imprisoned.

They would become renewable food for demons.

He had seen such scenes too many times.

In the demon lairs he had destroyed, those imprisoned humans lived in conditions worse than hell.

Forced to reproduce continuously, only to be devoured again and again—piles of infant bones forming mountains.

“Rumble…”

The sounds of battle echoed around Qingzhou City. Almost all martial artists had been summoned to the walls.

Even Lu Xingzhou, Jiang Yu, Qin Yu, and the young masters of the great families had all gone.

On the contrary, most female martial artists were refused—unless they were exceptionally strong.

The reason was simple: as long as men had not all died, women need not go to the battlefield.

After bringing the severely injured Xun Fei back to the Li Residence and settling her, Li Yunqing noticed that the entire residence had become eerily empty.

Her elder brother was likely still in the Demon Suppression Division, comprehending the Concept Fundamental Diagram. Her father had certainly gone to the city walls.

“I need to break through to the Qi Realm faster!”

Having witnessed the terror of the Profound Realm, she felt a sense of urgency.

Right now, before a Profound Realm expert, she was as helpless as an infant.

“Mingyu Divine Art Experience +10.”

“Mingyu Divine Art Experience +10.”

Time passed slowly in cultivation.

Suddenly, Li Yunqing’s brows furrowed. She looked out the window and realized the sky had already turned dark without her noticing.

“Has Father returned?”

“No… something’s wrong.”

Her spiritual power spread instinctively. With her Plant Spirit Body, she sensed someone stepping into the Li Residence.

Without hesitation, her Yin Spirit leapt out. With a wave of her hand, poison needles and a flying sword fell into her grasp as she entered the void.

Seeing the group sneaking in stealthily, Li Yunqing’s expression turned serious.

“The God-Worship Sect?”

“There’s actually a Qi Realm one!”

She instantly understood—now that all martial artists and great families were defending against the demon assault, this was the best time for the God-Worship Sect to capture her.

“Buzz!”

Her Yin Spirit moved through the air, quickly approaching above the Qi Realm martial artist.

“As expected—they can’t sense me!”

Even when she reached directly above him, she remained undetected, and her heart settled.

The palm-sized flying sword was grasped in her hand.

“Sword Nine!”

Her Yin Spirit body shone with seven-colored radiance, all converging upon the flying sword. At that moment, she felt as if she could split heaven and earth.

The instant her Sword Intent erupted, coldness surged. Within five meters of her, frost and snow began to fall.

“Chi!”

The sword light burst forth, carrying extreme cold, like pale moonlight tearing through the darkness.

“Who’s there?!”

The Qi Realm martial artist finally reacted, True Qi instinctively circulating through his body.

But in that instant, the seven-colored radiance on the sword flashed, piercing through his True Qi defense and sweeping across his neck.

“Puchi…”

Blood sprayed as his head flew into the air, crashing onto the ground and rolling away.

“Divine Envoy!”

Seeing their Divine Envoy suddenly release True Qi before his head inexplicably flew off, the God-Worship Sect disciples cried out in shock.

Their eyes darted around, filled with extreme terror.

The Divine Envoy was a Qi Realm martial artist—there was no one nearby—so how had his head fallen off?

In that instant, their hearts raced, their scalps tingled.

Their hair stood on end as an invisible chill made them instinctively hold their breath.

“The seven-colored radiance can actually pierce the True Qi of a lower-tier Qi Realm martial artist!”

Li Yunqing paused slightly, her expression filled with delight. The transformation of her Sword Heart had greatly strengthened her sword techniques.

Seeing the remaining six disciples fleeing in terror, she did not hesitate.

Forming a sword finger, Frost Sword Intent gathered, forming a pure white phantom sword that streaked through the night.

In an instant, it pierced through all six of their heads.

“Thud…”

The six fleeing figures froze, then collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

“I can now kill Qi Realm cultivators!”

“What exactly is this seven-colored radiance from the Sword Heart?”

Li Yunqing was delighted, though unable to fully comprehend it. Suddenly, she sensed movement behind her.

Her Yin Spirit rose into the air and returned directly to Ziyun Pavilion.

Moments later, her physical body walked out into the courtyard.

She saw Xiaolan, several servants, and even the recuperating Xun Fei all standing upright.

Feigning ignorance, Li Yunqing asked, “What happened?”

With the God-Worship Sect targeting her in secret, and many men harboring interest in her, she naturally could not reveal her true strength.

Moreover, something like the Yin Spirit could not be casually exposed.

“These people are from the God-Worship Sect.”

Xun Fei stepped forward to inspect, her expression grave as she pointed at the headless corpse.

“This one is a Qi Realm martial artist.”

“The others died strangely—there isn’t a single visible wound.”

At this point, Xun Fei’s expression grew even more serious.

“Junior Sister Yunqing, the city is already in chaos. For your safety…”

“Tonight, I must stay close and protect you.”

Li Yunqing: “……”

Fortunately, Xun Fei lacked the “tools”—otherwise, she might really start overthinking.