Rivalry of the Titans

The Tomb of the Peerless Sword Emperor was not the gloomy, cramped underground crypt that the world imagined it to be, but rather an extremely vast folded space.

Ye Xuan looked up. The firmament here presented a thick, impenetrable dark red, much like dried blood.

On the cracked earth beneath his feet, there was not a single living plant. Instead, densely packed broken swords of all kinds were thrust into the soil like wild weeds.

The broken blades reflected the blood-colored light of the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see. Lingering on every sword were ancient, desolate, and unwilling remnant souls of sword intent, emitting low hums in the wind.

Right in the center of this boundless sword mound hovered a massive, ancient altar built of unknown black stone.

In the open space around the altar, seven or eight distinct groups of people had already gathered, clearly divided.

These people were completely different from the rogue cultivators outside who risked their lives for a few spirit stones.

Each of them was dressed in extremely luxurious clothing, their treasures' radiance concealed. Spiritual energy flowed freely around them, and their auras were as deep as the sea.

They were all surrounded by sharp-eyed, powerful attendants and guards. Clearly, these were the chosen geniuses of top-tier forces who had entered the sword tomb early through various special channels.

The moment Ye Xuan, dressed in white, stepped into this core area with the timid Ying'er,

over a hundred sharp, scrutinizing, and even undisguisedly malicious gazes shot toward them, falling upon them as if they had physical weight.

After all, just half an incense stick of time ago, the news of him killing a Void Refinement realm elder of the Big Dipper Sword Sect with a single strike had already flown into the hands of these favored children of heaven via various high-level communication talismans.

Oh, I was wondering who caused such a big commotion. If it isn't Young Master Ye Xuan, who has recently made quite a name for himself in the Divine State?

A voice carrying obvious frivolity and mockery slowly broke the dead silence.

The speaker was a young man leaning lazily on a white jade palanquin. He wore an extremely eye-catching purple-gold python robe and had an effeminate face.

At this moment, he was carelessly tossing and playing with two precious orbs in his hand that continuously emitted crackling sounds of lightning. His narrow, peach-blossom eyes flickered with a cold, venomous light like a snake.

This person was precisely Lei Wanjun, the Young Pavilion Master of the top-tier force, Thunder Sound Pavilion.

So he is the rumored Ye Xuan?

Hearing this name, not far from Lei Wanjun, a peerlessly beautiful woman dressed in a snow-white palace dress, with a cold and aloof temperament like a fairy from the highest heavens, slightly furrowed her delicate brows.

Her beautiful eyes shifted, pausing for a moment on Ye Xuan's unparalleled handsome face, before she covered her nose and mouth with a silk handkerchief in extreme disgust, as if afraid of being tainted by something filthy.

She was the Holy Maiden of the Guanghan Palace, Murong Xue.

He does indeed have an excellent outer shell. No wonder he could use those looks to bewitch three female mighty figures.

Murong Xue's voice was as cold as crushed ice, her tone carrying undisguised contempt and condescension. It's just a pity that, deep down to his bones, he's ultimately something that can't be presented in polite society.

Pah! What bullshit genius? He's nothing but a pretty boy who lives off women!

On the other side, accompanied by a rough, bull-like sneer, a burly man nearly nine feet tall, carrying a black heavy sword the size of a door on his back, pushed his way out of the crowd.

His wild hair danced in the wind, and his exposed muscles bulged like twisted granite. Every breath he took sounded like a working bellows.

This was Kuang Tie, the Chief Disciple of the Tyrant Sword Sect.

Kuang Tie vigorously rubbed his fleshy chin, spat fiercely on the ground, and his muffled voice echoed across the area. I heard that his pitiful bit of cultivation was entirely force-fed to him by three female mighty figures using countless heavenly treasures and miraculous pills! Seeing him today, it really is incredibly flimsy. If we were to fight head-on, I'd only need my pinky finger to crush him and his bones into dust!

Following the remarks of these heavyweight geniuses, the surroundings instantly erupted into a burst of unbridled, mocking laughter.

All sorts of nasty discussions rose and fell, showing absolutely no intention of avoiding Ye Xuan's ears.

This king of living off women actually has the face to come to the Sword Emperor's Tomb?

Shh, keep it down. I heard this piece of trash always has two half-step True Immortal level old monsters secretly protecting him! Everyone should watch what they say. If he goes back crying to complain and angers the three masters behind him, we won't be able to handle the consequences!

Hahahaha! Away from a woman's skirts, what the hell is he? He thinks he's worthy of standing with us?

Gaze after gaze intertwined upon Ye Xuan.

Among them was jealousy of his looks, disdain for his status, and mockery of his strength. The only thing missing was even the slightest shred of basic respect between cultivators.

In the eyes of these people who fancied themselves as the favored children of heaven, sitting high and mighty, Ye Xuan was a disgrace who rose to power by selling his body, a laughingstock for the entire cultivation world to gossip about after meals.

Listening to the unbearable, filthy words washing over them like a tide, Ying'er, who was following behind Ye Xuan, trembled with anger.

Her small face turned deathly pale from extreme anger and grievance. Mist gathered in her eyes, and large teardrops swirled within them.

She wanted to rush out and retort, to loudly tell this group of blind people just how stunningly brilliant and powerful her master was!

However, when she faced the oppressive force of dozens of terrifying auras ahead—the weakest of which being at the late stage of Soul Formation, with some even at the Void Refinement realm—she felt a wave of suffocation. She opened her small mouth, but was so frightened that she couldn't make a single sound.

Yet, Ye Xuan, who was at the very center of the storm, showed no change in expression whatsoever.

His steps remained steady, and his breathing remained long and even.

He didn't even pause his footsteps for a moment, walking straight to a relatively empty patch of ground before coming to a halt.

Master... Ying'er finally couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears burst from her eyes as she reached out a trembling little hand and tugged hard at the corner of Ye Xuan's pristine white clothes, her voice thick with a crying tone.

Ye Xuan turned his head. Looking at the little girl's aggrieved appearance, his originally cold and hard gaze softened.

He reached out and gently patted the back of her freezing hand, giving her a reassuring look.

Then, he slowly turned back around.

When he once again faced this group of high-and-mighty, mocking geniuses, the laziness and gentleness on him vanished in an instant.

His gaze was surprisingly calm, like a bottomless, freezing pool that had been frozen for ten thousand years.

Are you all done talking?

Ye Xuan spoke indifferently.

His voice wasn't loud, and he didn't even deliberately channel his spiritual energy, but his deep tone strangely carried a soul-piercing magic that instantly drowned out all the roaring laughter and noise in the area.

The crowd's laughter faltered, and the surroundings abruptly fell silent. Lei Wanjun stopped rotating the lightning orbs in his hand, Murong Xue lowered her silk handkerchief, and Kuang Tie slightly narrowed his large, bell-like eyes.

Ye Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering loudly in the blood-colored wind.

His gaze slowly swept across the entire area. From Lei Wanjun's effeminate face, to Murong Xue's feigned aloof posture, and finally to Kuang Tie's eyes, which were filled with brutality.

Finally, his gaze swept over those hiding in the shadows, people who had yet to speak but whose eyes were filled with a dark, playful scrutiny.

For instance, the cold and stern young man hugging a rust-mottled ancient sword, dressed in clothes as black as ink, seemingly blending into the surrounding aura of death.

The strongest current successor of the Lonely Sword Tomb, Dugu Ming.

Or the scholar waving a gilded folding fan, a gentle and elegant smile hanging on his lips, yet with eyes flashing with a calculating light.

The chief disciple of the Haoran Academy, Nalan Xingde.

"It seems that you idiots have a very deep misunderstanding of me." Ye Xuan suddenly sneered and shook his head.

"You keep saying I live off women? That I rely on them?"

The mockery on Ye Xuan's face grew thicker, and his voice suddenly rose, echoing across the sky above the sword tomb like a massive bell:

"I might as well tell you clearly right here and now. I, Ye Xuan, have long since cut all ties with those three self-righteous, crazy women. I have absolutely nothing to do with them anymore!"

As soon as these words came out, it was like a meteorite crashing into a calm lake. The entire crowd instantly broke into an uproar, their faces draining of color!

"What? They have no relationship anymore?"

"Is this kid crazy? Does he know what he's saying? Those are three peerless female almighty experts! Is he really willing to give up such immense, easily accessible wealth and power?"

Lei Wanjun's hand tightened fiercely around his lightning bead, and a trace of extreme astonishment flashed through Murong Xue's normally placid, well-like eyes.

Ye Xuan ignored their shock. His gaze suddenly turned cold, and an absolute, resolute determination rose from his body:

"Every spirit stone on my body, every magical treasure, and even the favors I owed with my life, I have already paid them all back, with interest!"

"Right now, I am completely on my own!"

"There are no Dao protectors lurking in the shadows! No lofty backers! And certainly none of those ridiculous backgrounds you keep blabbering about!"

With this resounding declaration, Ye Xuan took a fierce step forward.

Bang!

The black stone ground beneath his feet instantly cracked. The aura of the mid-Soul Formation realm within his body was no longer held back in the slightest, erupting like a tsunami that had been building up for a thousand years!

Although his cultivation realm seemed a fraction lower than the most top-tier individuals present, the incredibly pure and fiercely unyielding sword intent that erupted from him forcefully shredded the thick surrounding air, emitting bursts of ear-piercing shrieks!

"Therefore..."

Ye Xuan lowered his head slightly, his bangs covering half of his eyes.

When he raised his eyes again, his mouth had curled into a chilling, bloodthirsty grin. His gaze became wild and dangerous, like a peerless ferocious beast that had finally broken free from all its chains!

"Please put away your disgustingly smug and nauseating faces!"

"If you are unhappy with me, if you want this fine head on my shoulders to claim a reward, or if you want to step on me to fight for this so-called Sword Emperor's inheritance..."

Ye Xuan violently raised his right hand and tightly grasped the hilt of the sword that had been strapped to his back, wrapped in coarse cloth.

"By all means, make your move against me!"

"Whether it's a one-on-one duel, or all you so-called heaven's chosen attacking me together, I, Ye Xuan, will take you all on today!"

"But there is one thing I must kindly remind everyone of..."

As Ye Xuan's right arm suddenly exerted force, the coarse cloth wrapping the longsword instantly exploded into a sky full of fluttering fragments!

That long-sealed Sun-Slaying Divine Sword, sensing the monstrous battle intent in its master's chest, let out a clear and resonant dragon's roar that pierced the clouds and tore through the air!

The longsword automatically unsheathed itself by three inches. In an instant, a brilliant golden sword light, like a blazing sun, shot into the sky, forcefully tearing apart the oppressive blood-red firmament above the sword tomb and illuminating half the sky as bright as day!

The golden sword light reflected on Ye Xuan's face, illuminating his wild and arrogant features like a descending god.

He pressed down on the hilt with one hand, his murderous gaze sweeping across the entire crowd like a thunderbolt. Pausing after every word, his killing intent was fully exposed:

"Once swords are drawn, life and death are your own responsibility."

"Don't end up as departed souls under my sword, forcing your family's ancestors to come crying and wailing to this Broken Sword Gorge just to collect the corpses of you pieces of trash!!"

Arrogant!

Too arrogant!

This was the only thought that explosively echoed in the minds of everyone present at this moment.

A washed-up pretty boy who had just personally admitted to losing all his backing actually dared to single-handedly point his finger and provoke all the top-tier holy land geniuses present?

Had he lost his mind, or did he truly have some unfathomable confidence?

"Good! What a 'life and death are your own responsibility'!"

Lei Wanjun's narrow eyes completely squinted into a dangerous slit. The spinning speed of the lightning bead in his hand soared to the extreme, and the purplish-black electrical arcs dancing on its surface emitted a scalp-numbing crackling sound. "Young Master Ye, it seems you are truly tired of living. Since you insist on courting death, then I, Lei, will reluctantly send you on your way today!"

Kuang Tie of the Tyrant Sword Sect let out an incredibly cruel and savage laugh. Gripping the hilt of his door-sized greatsword with both hands, he violently stabbed it into the ground!

Boom! The earth trembled violently, and spiderweb-like cracks spread madly in all directions.

Kuang Tie licked his thick lips, his eyes full of bloodthirsty excitement. "Good boy! Arrogant enough! My favorite thing to do in life is crush tough bones like you who don't know the immensity of heaven and earth! I hope that later, when your bones are shattered inch by inch by me, your mouth will still be as tough as it is now!"

Even Murong Xue, who had always relied on her status and remained as aloof and cold as an immortal, now flashed a trace of intense killing intent and disgust in her eyes.

She coldly flicked her sleeves and said in a chilling voice, "A grandstanding clown. Since you wish to seek death in this manner, I will grant your wish."

In an instant, several terrifying auras simultaneously locked onto Ye Xuan.

The smell of gunpowder in the air reached its absolute peak at this moment.

An epic battle destined to form rivers of blood was on the verge of breaking out!

And Ye Xuan stood all alone in the very center of the storm.

The fierce wind whipped up his white clothes. Even though he had only himself, one sword, and one maidservant behind him, he was not afraid in the slightest.

The blood in his body was boiling uncontrollably.

It had been too long!

He had been a caged canary for too long, suppressing his sharp edge for far too long.

At this moment, the incredibly overbearing Six Paths of Samsara Art within his body was circulating madly, greedily thirsting for the blood of his enemies to nourish it!

This was the cultivation world that he, Ye Xuan, truly desired!

No longer anyone's accessory, no longer a pet at the mercy of others.

Instead, he would use the sword in his hand to sever all restraints and carve out a path to heaven where he alone reigned supreme!

"Come."

Ye Xuan lowered his head, letting out a low, excited murmur.

When he raised his head again, grayish-white samsara vortexes had already begun to spin madly within his pupils, so profound that they seemed ready to devour the souls of everyone present.

"This era of great strife, filled with blood and wind, officially begins today by stepping over the corpses of you so-called heaven's chosen!"