Chapter 87 : Drawing the Sword

Chapter 87: Drawing the Sword

“Impudent!”

The eunuch delivering the decree was both shocked and enraged. The royal family was powerful, and delivering decrees was considered a prestigious duty—no one dared offend it.

He himself was insignificant, but when holding the imperial decree, he represented the dignity of the royal family.

In all these years, this was the first time he had encountered someone refusing to accept a decree to his face.

And the one refusing was a woman—a woman who, by tradition, obeyed her father at home and her husband after marriage.

“To refuse the decree… is equivalent to treason, a capital offense!”

The eunuch’s hands trembled. What was supposed to be a fortunate assignment had turned into a disaster—how was he supposed to explain this to the Emperor?

If dignity was lost, it would be the dignity of the royal family.

At that thought, his voice filled with fury. “Do you want your entire family exterminated?!”

“Family extermination?”

Upon hearing this, Li Yunqing’s aura suddenly erupted.

“Buzz!”

A terrifying chill poured outward from her as the center, frost forming on the ground at a visible speed.

In the sky above her head, snow began to fall in an instant.

Even the sun could not disperse that cold.

The Flying Sword in her hand instantly lengthened, transforming into a three-foot azure blade, slashing upward.

“Clang!”

Under the sunlight, the sword gleamed like ice, radiating seven-colored brilliance as it traced a crescent-like arc, vanishing in a flash.

“Slash!”

The eunuch’s hand was severed, and the imperial decree was directly knocked into the air.

The golden decree shot upward, flipping and gleaming under the sunlight.

But in the next moment, it was shredded into pieces by endless sword qi.

Amidst the falling frost and drifting golden fragments, the remnants of the decree floated through the air.

Seeing this scene, everyone was stunned. No one had expected Li Yunqing to actually make a move.

Severing the hand of the decree-bearing eunuch and destroying the imperial decree with a single strike—

This was a direct slap to the face of the royal family.

Clearly, Li Yunqing was truly willing to pay any price to defy the decree.

At this moment, all eyes fell upon her.

Dressed in a purple gown, she stood tall and graceful, her black hair flowing without wind.

Milky-white True Qi coiled around her body, her garments fluttering wildly.

Her long sword pointed diagonally toward the ground, her expression still gentle and calm, like the only warmth amidst the endless frost and snow.

Her lips moved slightly, her voice carried by True Qi—soft and ethereal—echoing across the entire plaza.

“I, Li Yunqing, have cultivated for two months and reached the Mid-Tier Qi Realm.”

“If a single member of the Li Family dies because of this matter, I… will slaughter the entire Yu royal family!”

Her voice was gentle—no shouting, no rage—calm as if she were stating a simple fact.

And it was indeed a fact.

Everyone could feel Li Yunqing’s aura.

Above her head, frost and golden fragments swirled.

Beneath her feet, ice spread.

Within a radius of thirty meters around her, cold energy raged.

Her True Qi surged, her Qi Realm presence fully unleashed, her clothes and hair moving without wind.

There was no doubt—this was the Qi Realm.

Everyone could clearly sense that Li Yunqing meant what she said.

Her cold gaze now fixed on the high platform, filled with sharpness, as if silently questioning—

Why must I choose?

What of the royal family?

Now, I will make you choose!

Will you gamble the lives of the entire Yu royal family against the Li Family?

Or will you let this matter end here?

For the sake of the Li Family, Li Yunqing was gambling.

As long as she did not die, she did not believe that the royal family would truly dare exterminate the Li Family given her talent.

As for exposing her talent—it was inevitable sooner or later.

With her current strength, she no longer feared it.

“Two months… Mid-Tier Qi Realm!”

Feeling her completely undisguised aura, everyone was stunned, their hearts pounding violently, blood rushing to their heads.

What did reaching the Mid-Tier Qi Realm in two months mean?

Compared to everyone present—who had cultivated for years, even over a decade—

Such talent meant that if given one or two years, slaughtering the royal family would not be empty talk.

It would be something she could truly accomplish.

If she did not fall prematurely, she would undoubtedly reach the pinnacle of this world.

At this moment, no one doubted her.

Nor did anyone disbelieve her.

Li Yunqing had never concealed her cultivation in the Martial Hall.

Anyone who had heard of the title “Number One Beauty of Qingzhou” knew of her.

What no one understood was when exactly this girl had broken through to the Qi Realm—and how her talent had remained completely hidden.

Just like her appearance—if not for that engagement banquet, perhaps all of Qingzhou would still not know what the so-called Number One Beauty looked like.

Had they known earlier, the great families of Qingzhou might have seized her by force while she was still weak and married her into their households.

A woman was not a man.

Once forcibly married and made to bear children, the bloodline bond could never be severed.

Especially this girl—she did not seem cold-hearted.

“She actually dared to resist?”

“So this is who she truly is?”

Within the crowd, Jiang Yu seemed to lose all his spirit.

A woman he had thought gentle as water had dared to resist the supreme authority of the royal family.

Yet he, Jiang Yu—a full-grown man—had endured in silence, resigned to fate, filled with suppressed anger and self-pity.

Compared to Li Yunqing, he was inferior even to a young woman.

“Father, I don’t want to watch the person I love face everything alone!”

Jiang Yu spoke, and in that instant, his spirit gathered, sweeping away his dejection.

A faint Qi Realm aura rose from him.

Step by step, he walked to Li Yunqing’s side, murmuring, “I know I’ve always been too soft, not decisive enough, hesitant and timid.”

“But today… I no longer want to be like that.”

Standing beside Li Yunqing, Jiang Yu fixed his gaze on the high platform. He fell completely silent, saying nothing more, yet his battle intent rose steadily.

“Uncle, do not worry!”

Jiang Jing’s figure flashed as he instantly appeared beside the stunned Li Yansong. “I once promised Yunqing that I would protect the Li Family once.”

“And I also promised to act on her behalf once. Today, nothing will happen to you.”

His voice, wrapped in True Qi, entered Li Yansong’s ears, snapping him back to his senses.

His expression turned resolute. “Commander, as long as my daughter is safe, there is no need for you to take risks.”

“My daughter… I will protect her!”

As he spoke, Li Yansong stepped forward, standing beside his daughter. His gaze was filled with complexity, yet without the slightest hesitation.

“Yunqing, don’t be afraid!”

The changes in the scene happened in an instant.

Seeing this, Qin Yu lowered his head.

He liked Li Yunqing—her beauty, her figure, her temperament, her gentle and quiet nature.

But he could not abandon the Qin Family, nor his own life, for the sake of a single woman.

Meanwhile, in front of the main hall, Lu Xingzhou said nothing.

Yet his Sword Intent surged violently, his eyes pure and sincere, the sword in his hand trembling with a ringing sound.

It seemed ready to unleash a heaven-shaking strike at any moment.

“Li Yunqing, do you know what you are doing?”

“To defy the decree is treason. Destroying the imperial decree is a grave offense of disrespect. Your entire family will be executed!”

The Sixth Prince, Yu Xuanfeng, shouted. Looking at the still gentle and quiet girl standing amidst the ice and snow, disbelief filled his eyes.

Wasn’t she supposed to be a soft and obedient girl?

How could she possess such courage—to defy the decree and even destroy it?

Reaching the Mid-Tier Qi Realm in two months was indeed astonishing talent.

But in this world, there were far too many stronger than someone at the Mid-Tier Qi Realm.

A genius who had not grown was not a genius.

By doing this, the royal family would never allow her to live—they would not give her the chance to grow.

They would not gamble.

The Emperor—any Emperor—would never gamble.

They would eliminate all threats, even those not yet formed, to rest easy.

“I know exactly what I am doing.”

“But do you know what you have done?”

Li Yunqing spoke softly. The sword in her hand suddenly rang, gathering frost and cold.

The next moment—

“Clang!”

A sharp sword cry erupted.

The blade burst with cold, drawing a crescent arc of seven-colored brilliance, like a bolt of lightning, slashing directly toward the Sixth Prince.

If the royal family needed to understand her resolve, then it would begin with him.

Even if he was at Qi Realm Perfection, it was not impossible for her to kill him.

At that very moment, the hunched old eunuch who had seemed half-asleep suddenly straightened.

Before anyone could react, he had already appeared in front of the Sixth Prince.

Raising his aged hand, he brushed lightly against the incoming sword qi.

In an instant, the seven-colored sword qi dissipated completely.

Yet the old eunuch suddenly raised his head, his eyes gleaming sharply as he stared at Li Yunqing. Beneath his sleeve, his wrinkled hand showed traces of blood.

A Profound Realm Grandmaster—injured by that strike.

Injured by someone in the Qi Realm!

At that moment, he too felt that if Li Yunqing were not killed, she would inevitably slaughter the royal family in the future.

A glint flashed in his eyes as he raised his hand, intending to seize her.

A woman—once captured, no matter how fierce, could be subdued.

With such talent, bringing her into the royal family would ensure even more outstanding descendants.

But just as his hand rose halfway, it suddenly froze.

A terrifying Sword Intent locked onto him from afar.

As if the slightest movement would result in him being torn apart.

“The Sword Saint of Cangshan!”

The old eunuch’s scalp tingled, his heart pounding wildly.

He had accompanied the Sixth Prince here to deal with the Three Demon Kings, but with the Sword Saint present, he had no need to act.

Yet he had witnessed that heaven-shaking sword—

One strike that slew three kings and split the heavens.

Under such a sword, he too would die.

“What is it?”

The Sword Saint’s gentle voice sounded, carrying a hint of curiosity.

In that instant, everyone’s vision blurred.

When they regained focus, the Sword Saint was already standing in front of Li Yunqing.

Behind him, Lu Xingzhou and Xun Fei firmly shielded her.

Only then did the Sword Saint’s soft, magnetic voice sound again:

“As a Grandmaster, are you bullying my disciple in front of me?”