Chapter 52 - "Shangguan, You Shall Die!"

Chapter 52: “Shangguan, You Shall Die!”

Xiao Yu burst out from the frozen soil, landing on solid ground. His entire body—eyebrows, shoulders, and feet—was covered in icy shards, resembling a snowman from the far northern wilderness.

“Brat, the Profound Flame Mirror is a supreme artefact, wielding the power to obliterate mountains and seas,” Shangguan Ce sneered from above, standing bare-chested with his scorched torso exposed. “Yet, in the hands of someone as incompetent as you, it can’t even kill a Nascent Soul cultivator. Hand it over, and I’ll grant you a swift death.”

Suspended in the air, his surroundings were filled with spinning Nine-Turn Mystic Ice Spikes, his life-bound treasure, which hummed with chilling energy.

[Nine-Turn Mystic Ice Spike (九转玄冰刺): A formidable life-bound treasure known for its devastating power and precision.]

Xiao Yu squinted, his expression darkening.

“Your sect, the Flaming Sky Valley, prides itself on being the foremost sect in the southern territories. Surely, you don’t have more than a handful of Nascent Soul elders. So tell me, are you Shangguan Ce or Bai Yunqing?”

“Bai Yunqing? Hah!” Shangguan Ce scoffed arrogantly. “A whelp like you isn’t worthy of the Valley Master’s attention. Remember this well: it is Shangguan Ce, First Elder of Flaming Sky Valley, who is sending you to your death.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yu’s heart sank. Bai Yunqing might have left him some leeway, but Shangguan Ce, infamous for his ruthlessness, would not.

“I still don’t understand how you found me.” Xiao Yu’s voice was cold.

“Curious before you die?” Shangguan Ce sneered. “Very well. I tracked the remnants of Li Xun’s soul all the way to the Iron Pillar Monastery. There, I sensed traces of the Nine Yang Ruler’s aura on the old abbot. A single use of my Soul-Searching Technique, and the truth about you—Tianyong City’s First Disciple—was laid bare.”

Xiao Yu felt a tremor run through his heart.

The Nine Yang Ruler… He had indeed used it during the battle against the wolf demon. Yet, he hadn’t anticipated that the faint traces of its aura would doom the Iron Pillar Monastery.

“You killed the abbot?” Xiao Yu’s voice quivered.

“A mere ant. Killing him was effortless,” Shangguan Ce replied dismissively. He then chuckled as though recalling a joke. “Oh, and for the record, I didn’t just kill him. The entire monastery has been reduced to ash. Every single monk—man, woman, and child—died because of you.”

“What did you say?!” Xiao Yu’s eyes widened, his fists clenching tightly.

One hundred innocent lives, extinguished in an instant?

Xiao Yu’s blood boiled.

“You scum!” Xiao Yu roared, his anger propelling him skyward to face Shangguan Ce head-on. In each hand, he summoned his two signature techniques: the Empty Radiance Sword in one and the Illusory Void Sword in the other.

“Oh? You’re angry now? Youthful, brash, and oh-so predictable,” Shangguan Ce mocked, his tone dripping with condescension.

But Xiao Yu didn’t respond. Instead, he shouted one word:

“Fusion!”

In the sky above, the Empty Radiance Sword, brimming with pure yang energy, merged seamlessly with the Illusory Void Sword, steeped in yin’s quiet grace.

Together, they formed an immense, rotating sword array, vast as the heavens and earth.

The colossal array spun like a gargantuan gear, its movements echoing the natural laws of Two Principles Giving Birth to Four Phases. Countless radiant swords materialized within the array, each one brimming with power. These swords in turn gave birth to even more, creating an endless sea of blades that filled the sky.

“Empty Radiance… Illusory Void…” Shangguan Ce muttered in disbelief, his body taking an involuntary step back.

This wasn’t just any sword technique. It was Empty Radiance-Illusory Void Swordplay, the most fearsome technique of Tianyong City’s

Ziyin Zhenren

!

A legendary technique that stood alongside the Divine Sword Lightning Realms of the Zhuxian Sect as one of the two greatest sword arts under heaven.

Even Shangguan Ce, a seasoned Nascent Soul cultivator, felt a chill run down his spine.

“Shangguan Ce, your life ends here!”

Xiao Yu’s furious roar echoed across the heavens, filled with righteous indignation for the dead and a thirst for justice.

From the heart of the array, an ocean of luminous swords surged forth, their collective radiance forming a dazzling river of light. The swords plummeted like a torrential downpour, each strike imbued with Xiao Yu’s wrath, bearing down on Shangguan Ce.

“Nine-Turn Mystic Ice Spike!”

Faced with such an overwhelming attack, Shangguan Ce gritted his teeth and unleashed his life-bound treasure.