The scholarly man in white stared at the bearded man with an expression of contempt before lowly cursing, "You're really a hundred percent idiot. What people deem as trash, you actually treat as a treasure." His gaze shifted towards the leather bag that Ye QingChen was hugging like a baby. For this addict who treated wine like life to forsake his alcohol so easily, the contents of the bag would definitely have even better alcohol. No wonder he called the woodcutter a fool.
Not long after, the fragrance of snake meat started to waft through the air. The woodcutter took turns drinking from the jar of wine and gnawing on the wild boar's leg, enjoying his meal with extreme delight. As he started to belch, he turned to Ye QingChen and laughed, "Old Ye, you're really something. After I get back, this daddy here will gift you a jar of my own wine."
Ye QingChen smiled and thanked him, but he was thinking, 'So long as you don't fight me to the death later, I'll be burning incense to the gods as thanks! As for good wine... compared to what I have in my bag, yours is akin to swill. This old man isn't interested, so you can save it for yourself.'
The freshly roasted snake meat was finally done, and Li Xue, as though performing a magic trick, suddenly took out four bowls made of ice, placing them in front of everyone. This gave the other three Beyond Heavens Sect members a great fright!
It was still the beginning of autumn, so where did the ice come from? And furthermore, such an ice bowl that looked like it was crafted by hand?
Seeing their gazes, Li Xue laughed a little, playing it down as she said, "I had nothing to do, and suddenly thought that we didn't have any utensils to eat with, hence I casually made a few. I hope I did not insult you seniors with my lousy performance."
Casually made a few? The white-robed scholar and Ye QingChen stared with wide eyes in shock, while the bearded woodcutter stared at Li Xue with an open mouth like a beached shark...
Merely congealing water to form ice, while seldom seen, was not a skill of high difficulty. At least, the people present did not see it as a difficult task. The difficulty lay in the fact that Li Xue had obviously just created them from scratch moments ago, and yet none of them had discovered her actions! If she were to display her skills to the fullest, she would probably be able to fill the air full of frost without her opponents knowing what happened!
This was preposterous! To think that this dainty and slim lady was actually a peerless expert rarely seen in this world!
Ling Tian gave her a thumbs up in his heart, at the same time feeling as though she had boosted his image.
The white-robed scholar could not help but shake his head with a face full of shame. When he saw Ling Tian bring such a heaven-toppling beauty along with him, he had thought it was a problem that these young rich nobles had, which made him despise Ling Tian. Now he knew that he had misjudged, and could not help but turn red in embarrassment.
At this moment, Ye QingChen laughed to dissipate the awkwardness as he exclaimed, "Let's drink some wine!" As he spoke, he lifted up his leather bag, pulling the cork out from the jar within. He then proceeded to carefully pour the wine into the bowl, afraid of spilling even a single drop. Ye QingChen had long felt an itch, having a bottle of divine wine yet unable to taste it immediately. It felt as though his heart had twenty-five rabbits inside, with a hundred claws scratching at his heart.
A strong aroma wafted out following the opening of the cork and pervaded the surroundings in an instant. The white-robed scholar's nose twitched as he greedily inhaled the fragrance in the air. Looking at the crystal clear wine being poured out, he could not help but emotionally exclaim, "To think that this old man would have the opportunity to be able to taste the nectar of the Gods in my lifetime. I've not lived my life in vain!"
The moment the fragrance from the alcohol spread, the bearded woodcutter stood there dumbly with his eyes wide open for a long time. All of a sudden, he flung the wine gourd in his hands aside as he angrily hollered, "Good, Ye QingChen, you darned old fogey, no wonder you kept persuading this old man to drink your trashy wine, so you already knew that there was a divine wine inside the bag! To think of tricking this old man here, I will have it out with you!"
Ye QingChen merely blew at his beard in annoyance, "Stop spouting nonsense! It was you who treated wine like your life, snatching over my wine gourd and choosing to drink my expensive wine. You're actually blaming me now? You.. you... you will really anger me to death!" While his tone was that of anger, there was a secret scheming and delighted light within his eyes.
The bearded woodcutter stared angrily at him, as though wishing for nothing other than to wring Ye QingChen's neck. His nose constantly twitched as he smelled the euphoric fragrance, yet he was helpless about his full stomach... this sort of feeling was as though someone had just filled his stomach with a heap of fodder but then he was invited to participate in a banquet full of heavenly dishes...
The crowd could not help but break into laughter.
"Trying to let this old man watch all of you drink? Ye QingChen, dream on!" The woodcutter's face alternated between white and red, before suddenly coming up with a plan. He shouted, "All of you wait a moment, don't start drinking before this old man is back! Or else, this old man will fight it out with you." He threw this sentence down before he rushed into the forest.
Just when everyone was in confusion, a series of violent heaving and vomiting could be heard from inside the forest...
Not long after, the bearded woodcutter bounded out with a haggard yet excited face, laughing as he exclaimed, "Alright, we can begin drinking now."
Ling Tian began to sweat profusely!
Who are all these people? Are they the so-called peerless experts from the legends?!
Ye QingChen stared at the woodcutter with a flabbergasted expression, his face completely pale...
The white-robed scholar turned his head away, the muscles on his face twitching...
Li Xue stared with her beautiful eyes at this scene, struck dumb like a wooden chicken...
...….
"Lass, quickquickquick... please make me an ice bowl! Pretty please? Good lass...." The bearded woodcutter pleaded with an expression full of thirst and hope, his two eyes staring straight at the leather bag, with his big nose twitching up and down. A strand of saliva slowly descended from his gluttonous mouth. How was this the bearing of an expert?!!
Li Xue: ...
Ling Tian: ...
Everyone descended into silence... towards the woodcutter's actions and attitude, everyone only felt the highest form of reverence...
This guy was too valiant...
The result of this entire fiasco was that both Ye QingChen and the white-robed scholar gazed at their dream divine wine but suddenly felt as though they had difficulty swallowing it. Li Xue did not even touch a drop in her bowl, as she was busy holding back her desire to vomit....
Only Ling Tian and the bearded woodcutter were left, each taking bowl after bowl, drinking to their heart's content. The latter was even screaming out loud in sheer pleasure. This made Ye QingChen and the rest stare in shock. To think that Ling Tian, someone of noble birth and used to impeccable hygiene, would actually not even have the urge to vomit after the gruesome incident, and in fact could still gulp down bowl after bowl happily. This was something unexpected!
Noticing the looks on everyone's faces, Ling Tian coldly laughed to himself as he thought, 'This daddy here has even eaten trash and drank sewer water, would this mild incident bother me?! Li Xue is the true noble here, look at that direct disciple instead!'
Li Xue acutely felt Ling Tian's sorrow at this moment, and could not help but shift over, gently leaning her head against him. Feeling a sense of warmth, Ling Tian's depressed emotions took a turn for the better.
Suddenly, his brows furrowed and he gently placed his wine bowl down. Li Xue's gentle expression at the same time hardened like a layer of frost, and she sat up straight, her eyes coldly gazing towards the north.
Belatedly, Ye QingChen and the white-robed scholar finally understood why the two people were behaving as such. The ground was slightly shaking, which meant that there was a large number of troops coming in from the north. Combining this with what Ling Tian spoke about the five hundred elite troops from the Above Heavens Sect, the expressions of the two men turned sour.
The ground was trembling even more urgently now, as though hundreds of thousands of drums were beaten at the same time.
Li Xue coldly gazed at the horizon as she spoke, "For the Above Heavens cavalry to rush over even in the night, they must probably be aware that something has happened over here. If we let these people barge into Sky Bearing, then they will cause a high number of casualties, maybe even causing unthinkable consequences for us. I think that we have no need to show courtesy to them, we should just kill them all."
Ling Tian was aware that her sentence was not for him, but rather to remind the three Beyond Heavens Sect members. He nodded in agreement, "That's right, kill them all, leave none alive!"
Following these eight words, a blast of chilling cold killing intent was emitted by Ling Tian, giving the impression that it was corporeal.
The white-robed scholar frowned a little in displeasure at Ling Tian's attempt to start an undeclared war, as though disagreeing with him. However, just as he was about to speak, Ye QingChen pulled at his sleeve, silencing him. However, his expression still remained a little strange.
Ling Tian turned to them with a cold gaze in his eyes, but he warmly spoke, "I only seek for success, be it fair or foul means. But what I want is not just a victory, but also assuring the least deaths on my side! Going on a head-on clash might be exhilarating, maybe even just and honorable, but to do so would mean creating rivers of blood using my own subordinates in exchange! I, Ling Tian have never cared for fame nor reputation. To protect my own brothers' lives, I'm willing to bear with infamy!"
Pausing a while, Ling Tian continued blandly, "If Senior cannot accept this, you can choose to sit on the sidelines. Please do not attempt to lecture me right now, that would be the greatest support you can give!"
The white-robed scholar was tongue-tied, his face full of shame. Suddenly, he felt that compared to Ling Tian, he had lived so many years, but was still so childish in certain areas.
Li Xue let out a magnificently cold smile, before suddenly lifting up her hands. Two streams of extremely cold air landed on the campfire and the blazing embers were extinguished almost immediately. The surroundings were plunged into darkness, and with the cold air streams continuing to be emitted, a white layer of frost was formed, sealing up even the smoke.
Ling Tian and Li Xue stood silently together, and at this point, Ye QingChen and the white-robed scholar could no longer feel the existence of the duo! Their eyes clearly saw them standing there, yet they could not sense anything through their divine sense. Both of them were overwhelmed with shock!
This was obviously an extremely profound realm in martial arts: Heaven and Man as One! To think that at their tender ages they could actually achieve such a state in their martial path! No wonder they had the confidence to stop five hundred of the Above Heavens elite troops with just the strength of the two of them!
The white-robed scholar could only sigh and say, "Only now do I realize that I've been so narrow-minded, like a frog at the bottom of a well."
The galloping sounds got louder and louder! Suddenly, on a high slope to the north, a group of cavalry appeared. The group consisting of four to five hundred soldiers and warhorses flooded out like a river, forming into a long line. The horses sped along the plains, like a raging current in the river.
Ling Tian sighed to himself. Today night was fated to be a hard battle, an unprecedentedly hard battle!
The formation of the Above Heavens Sect people was definitely done to prevent ambushes, because with such a long train of cavalry, their losses would not be too huge at any given time...
A thousand feet!
Seven hundred feet!
Five hundred feet....
"Move!" Ling Tian lowly gave the command
Following his shout, the Ling and Li both pulled out their swords and rushed down. This distance was the optimal one, as they could display their strongest moves the moment they met with the enemy.
As to whether Ye QingChen and the rest chose to act, Ling Tian did not put them into account.
If not for Ye QingChen journeying with him this time, Ling Tian likely would not even converse with them. It was because of Ye QingChen's face that he even bothered explaining to the other. In actual fact, he was already really annoyed in his heart...
Ling Tian's Heaven Splitter soundlessly slid out of its sheath, and with an exchange of glances, Li Xue nodded, her sword also at the ready! Li Xue's sword had a full body of a black crimson color with a slim width. It was completely made out of Black Iron!
This was the first weapon Li Xue owned in this world!
The first rider was in the midst of rushing along when he suddenly felt something strange in front of him. Just as he was about to observe closely, a thick wave of cold air rushed forward, obscuring his vision!
Ling Tian's body left the ground, somersaulting once in mid-air. Following that was a circular blade light, carrying with it the beauty and coldness of the air around it, together with a frighteningly devastating might, being shot towards the lead rider from above him!
At the same time, Ling Tian's energy burst out from within him, bringing him as he flew ahead, leaving behind a loud boom in his wake! That was the sound of a sonic boom!
Peerless arts of killing, Sword and Body as One! Ling Tian's pure inner energy had already integrated as one with the Heaven Splitter, forming into a killing tornado which knew no mercy!
Enemy ambush! Fan out!!——" A shrill voice broke the silence, and everyone could hear from the voice that it was cut off due to his throat being sliced!
However, it was too late.
Under the high galloping speeds, no one was practically able to rein in their horses in so short a time. The Above Heavens head, a white-haired man with a beard, practically vomited blood as he saw that destructive sword light slice neatly through their formation. Like a hot knife through butter, it parted the bodies of the riders, and blood splashed as the screams of misery rang through the air!
One can imagine, that such a long troop formation, upon meeting with this sword light which only spelled death, what exactly was the end result. Under the high speed, the blood splattered and could be seen to have formed into a sort of blood alley!
Where the sword light flashed, one could only see the blinding light, so bright that not even the blood splattered could be seen. After that, head after head of the riders could be seen excitedly bobbing up into the air one after another...
The sword light did not even seem to lose a tiny bit of its luster even after passing through so many people, continuing to kill its way into the distance!
The asura of a generation, Ling Tian completely merging with his sword! Nothing could overcome that!
This was also the first time he had completely performed the state of Man and Sword as One!
All those who tried to stop the wave of sword light, could not even get close to it before shattering. No matter what sort of weapon it was, so long as it touched the light there would only be one ending, the complete destruction of that weapon!
As for those who died under the sword light, it was like being sentenced to death by a thousand cuts!
The white-robed scholar was walking about from the forest as well. Upon seeing this macabre scene before him, his skin crawled, and goosebumps appeared. He spoke in a trembling voice, "Old Ye, the martial skills of this little brother of yours..."
Ye QingChen also got a good scare, staring with his eyes wide open as he exclaimed, "This little monster, when did he achieve such a cultivation? Even that killing addict is only slightly better than him, right? This rate of improvement is too fast... it leaves one in shock."
On the side, the bearded woodcutter spoke with a muffled voice, "It's our turn to shine. What are the two of you speaking so much nonsense for?"
The three of them shared a bitter laugh and were about to fly out when they witnessed another unbelievable scene...
"Everyone, gather around me!" The white-haired old man used his inner energy to project his shout. Just looking at the brilliant sword light made his eyes bleed at the corners and caused a splitting pain in his heart and mind!
Just as he spoke, another wave of sword light shot out from within the frost and snow, shooting downwards onto the ground! It slammed like a meteor, exploding into a huge shockwave of colors and bone-chilling air. It followed the same tactics of avoiding the heads, instead indomitably slashing through the long line of riders!
If the previous sword light was akin to the sun in the nine heavens, then this sword light resembled an everlasting frosty mountain, the coldest intent possible!
Akin to a tough bull plowing the fields, it passed through the members of the Above Heavens, harvesting them like wheat!
The current troop formation meant that only the realm of Sword and Body as One pressing forward courageously could inflict the greatest harm upon them! Ling Tian and Li Xue simultaneously agreed on this method!
Both parties had only thrown out one move each, but the entire battlefield had already been thrown into a living hell, cruel and bloody beyond belief!
"This.... this was the pretty doll sitting with us just now?!" The white-robed scholar stared at Ye QingChen, seeking some form of confirmation. This was too unbelievable! To have such a high cultivation and sword realm at such a young age, one Ling Tian would already be too much, but there were actually two of them!
"Am... am I actually stuck within a dream?" The white-robed scholar struggled and pinched his waist, before grimacing in pain. His arrogant demeanor previously had been exchanged for an expression of shame. Upon thinking of how he still displayed such a haughty attitude before this couple previously, this was really foolish conceit on his part, making him ashamed and unable to show his face.
Ling Tian flew like a shooting star, his feet not touching the ground as he relied on the power of his one sword to pierce through the entire Above Heavens troops. After landing at the back of the troop line, only then did his sword light dissipate as he hyperventilated, his face flushed. While his inner energy reserves were deep and seemingly unending, to shoot out a sword light with all his strength also left him with a momentarily feeling of weakness.
He took a deep breath, revolving his cultivation base one complete cycle before recovering. As he turned around he chanced upon Li Xue's sword light, like a sun among the darkness, killing her way over to him!