Chapter 444 - 243: Paragon
Chapter 444: Chapter 243: Paragon
The raging gale vanished, and only Song Shixian’s agonized screams echoed through the mountains.
Xu Yang soared into the air like a great bird and snatched the tumbling Spiritual Soldier, feeling its weight sink into his grasp.
In the next moment, drawn in by the weapon’s energy, his Golden Gang Qi began to pour uncontrollably into the Spiritual Soldier.
The Spiritual Soldier trembled and hummed, releasing a blinding light. A sharp aura swept out in all directions.
Xu Yang felt his Sword Intent surge. The saber in his hand became an extension of his body, the two merging into a single entity.
"Man and Sword Unity!"
A brilliant light flared in his eyes. A fierce Sword Intent burst from his body, and a golden saber shadow shot toward the sky. He was overcome with the urge to unleash a strike.
BOOM!
He did not suppress the urge. Guided by the Sword Intent and the Spiritual Soldier, his Gang Qi roared out like a bursting dam. A blade of light, over a hundred feet long, slashed down upon the earth.
RUMBLE...
The ground quaked, and a dragon of dust and smoke surged into the sky. A massive gash appeared in the earth—hundreds of feet long and nearly twenty feet deep—as if the ground itself had been torn open.
The fierce Sword Intent pulsed through the mountains. Vegetation snapped silently, as if severed by an invisible blade.
"What a blade!" Xu Yang couldn’t help but bellow.
His opponent hadn’t cultivated Sword Intent and was thus incapable of unleashing the Spiritual Soldier’s true might. He had merely scratched the surface of its power.
’This saber was meant for me!’
’Only a person like me, who has cultivated Sword Intent, can bring out the true power of this Spirit Saber. For anyone else to wield it is an insult to the blade.’
"Sword Intent... He’s cultivated Sword Intent, too!" Song Shixian watched in horror as the Spirit Saber willingly submitted to Xu Yang, his mind reeling.
’When Xu Yang displayed his Martial Dao Imagery before, I thought he was already terrifying enough.’
’I never imagined he had more than one type. He’s even mastered Sword Intent, a form of Martial Dao Imagery that’s far more difficult to cultivate.’
A chill ran through him; it was hard to believe. ’How could such a monster appear in a place like this?’
Of course, what he felt more than anything was regret!
’This time, the Song Family, after one or two hundred years of prosperity, is in grave danger.’
’With talent like Xu Yang’s, in a year and a half at most, even our Celestial Essence Ancestor won’t be able to touch him. After that, all the Song Family can do is wait for his power to surpass Song Yushao’s. Then, he’ll move to annihilate us.’
He regretted provoking Xu Yang!
There had been no real enmity between the Song Family and Xu Yang. Things had escalated to this point solely due to the arrogance and pride of a great family.
Song Wenxuan had provoked the Wushan Four Fiends on his own; there was nothing wrong with Xu Yang simply watching him be killed. A genius of that caliber had no reason to curry favor with the Song Family, and the Song Family was in no position to demand he risk his life to do so.
He realized this now, but it was too late. The enmity was already forged.
"Which Elder of the Song Family are you?" Xu Yang asked, walking toward him with the Spirit Saber in hand. His oppressive aura made Song Shixian feel as if his body was about to be ripped apart.
The ghost-faced mask he wore had shattered, its fragments scattered on the ground beside him, revealing an old, pale face.
Blood gushed continuously from his caved-in chest, and his life force was rapidly fading.
Song Shixian remained silent. He couldn’t admit his identity and bring disaster upon the Song Family. His only hope now was that after he was gone, the family head, Song Shirong, wouldn’t seek revenge on Xu Yang. Instead, he should lead the family and flee Cyan Yang City immediately. Perhaps then the Song Family would have a sliver of a chance at survival.
"Not talking?"
Xu Yang smiled. "I can just cut off your head and have someone identify it."
"I am Song Shixian, the Grand Elder of the Song Family," Song Shixian said, his face ashen.
He knew hiding his identity was pointless. His intention was to prevent the Purple Sun Sect from coming after the Song Family, but this was no longer about the Purple Sun Sect. This was about Xu Yang.
Even if the Purple Sun Sect let the matter drop, Xu Yang could still easily annihilate the Song Family in the future.
"Fellow Xu, the Song Family was in the wrong here. Please accept this Spiritual Soldier as our apology. If you let me go, I will persuade my family to offer you further compensation to resolve this feud," Song Shixian said, his face a mask of sincerity.
Now that Xu Yang had revealed two different types of Martial Dao Imagery, Song Shixian instantly understood what a terrifying genius his family had provoked. In his mind, the question of right and wrong had been completely turned on its head.
Before, the Song Family had despised Xu Yang, this peasant, for standing by while their young master was killed. They had even seen him as the culprit. But now, Song Shixian felt it was only natural. Why should a genius like that care about the life of some spoiled brat? He had earned the right to be arrogant.
Now, all he wanted was to bow his head, admit his fault, and return to his family to warn them of how terrifying Xu Yang was. He wanted the family to use all its resources to resolve this feud.
"What if I told you that I was the one who killed Song Wenshan and his men? Would you still want to resolve this feud?" Xu Yang asked mockingly.
’Song Shixian hasn’t had some great epiphany about the Song Family being wrong. He just knows his family is about to be destroyed, and that it won’t be long.’
"You..." Song Shixian’s pupils constricted, and a flash of hatred appeared in his eyes despite himself.
’So Song Wenshan and Song Shizhao didn’t die in some accident... they were killed by Xu Yang?’
The next moment, it dawned on him. With Xu Yang’s talent, Song Shizhao and his men trying to kill him was simply a suicide mission.
"My Song Family failed to distinguish right from wrong. We deserve this fate," Song Shixian said, suppressing the hatred in his heart.
’Revenge?’
’Right now, he had to consider the survival of the Song Family. Faced with the threat of complete annihilation, what did hatred matter? The deaths of a few young masters were nothing; even if the family head himself had died, it could be written off.’
"You’re only realizing now that you can’t tell right from wrong? It’s too late," Xu Yang snorted. "If you didn’t know you couldn’t afford to provoke me, would you be bowing your head like this?"
’Whether Song Shixian’s plea for peace is genuine or not, I can’t just let this go.’
’Besides, with his injuries, even if I let him go, he probably wouldn’t live long enough to make it back to the Song Family anyway.’