Chapter 1 The Killing Begins

The moment Xia Chuan drew his sword,

I shouted, "Kill—"

"Kill—" The battle cries of the Liangjie Hall echoed like a thousand thunderclaps exploding in the sky. The iron and blood spirit, the throat-tearing "kill," surged with violent intent in the night sky, tearing open the seemingly peaceful literary aura above the Stele Forest.

Taking advantage of the moment before external forces could interfere, both sides began a desperate fight to the death.

Amidst the flashing of blades, I soared into the air, wielding my twin sabers, which stirred up gusts of wind and waves of qi as I ferociously chopped down at the longsword in Xia Chuan's hand.

Xia Chuan's longsword collided with my twin sabers, and with a few quick steps, he leaped three meters away. His swift reaction and agile mind hardly seemed like those of a Confucian disciple.

We were evenly matched.

The other eight were also equally matched in strength.

Our forces were equally skilled in terms of martial arts and cultivation. The only difference was that the men of Liangjie Hall possessed a ruthlessness honed in the blood and waters of the martial world.

It was this ferocity that allowed them to slightly gain the upper hand.

Xia Chuan shouted sternly, "For the sake of Confucianism, the five great Confucian scholars of the Xia family bravely sacrificed themselves. Can't we see past life and death?"

"To die for Confucianism, the time is now!"

Xia Chuan's words seemed to possess a magical power, instantly filling his disciples with a willingness to die, allowing them to withstand the fierce attacks of our Liangjie Hall.

The battle was once again even.

A moment later, the Heaven-Shifting Earth-Changing Secret Art fully erupted. The literary aura pressing down from the sky felt like falling blocks of lead, slowing down our five people at the same time.

Ye Yang was the first to jump out of the circle. His zhenqi suddenly surged, tearing apart his white robe and revealing a body covered in scars.

Ye Yang had never bared his chest in past battles, no matter how intense. But this time, he exposed his chest.

What was he planning to do?

I only glanced back to see Ye Yang slicing open his chest with his sword, the glaring blood flowing down his front.

Even in the night, the blood was so vivid!

In the next instant, demonic energy blazed around Ye Yang. He became like a blood demon, his sword like a venomous snake, confronting the literary aura in the sky.

Ye Yang was using demonic swordplay again?

Was he trying to attract the attacks of the Haoran Righteous Qi to create an opportunity for us to counterattack?

The literary aura gathered in the air, like wind blades and crossbow bolts, hurtling towards Ye Yang.

Wang Butcher shouted, "Huanzi, go down and help Ye Yang!"

Wang Xiaohuan pushed back his opponent with a palm strike, retreating seven steps. As he waved his arms behind him, five Witch God Lamps rose into the air simultaneously.

Wang Xiaohuan spun around dazedly, slamming a palm onto his chest, spraying blood into the air, adding a layer of eerie crimson to the Witch God Lamps: "Blood guides the Netherworld, voice enters mountains and seas. Chen Ye's disciple respectfully requests the Witch God's aid in battle!"

Seeing the light of the five white lamps seeming to pierce through space and reach the horizon, Xia Chuan's expression changed drastically: "Stop her, don't let her summon the gods! Quick!"

"You want to stop her? Ask this old woman first!" Wang Butcher's bone-chopping saber stirred up a storm of shadows, like raging waves, blocking the two great Confucian scholars.

Although Lin Zhao didn't say a word, his Thirteen Ultimate Hands were unleashed to the extreme. Countless claw shadows clashed with the weapons of the two great Confucian scholars in the air, creating a sound of metal against metal that reverberated through the wilderness.

Confucian scriptures flew in from nowhere, impacting our spirits at this moment.

"Ah—" I suddenly let out a long roar, wanting to use it to suppress the power of the scriptures.

Unfortunately, the sound seemed to penetrate the brain, impossible to resist.

Wang Butcher shouted sternly, "We can't end this quickly! Kill! Kill until the world is turned upside down, and break their Confucian world!"

"Kill—"

We fought madly in the dark and chaotic Stele Forest.

We fought until our eyes were bloodshot, our eyes red.

We fought until our faces were flushed, our faces red.

We fought until our bodies were covered in blood, our bodies red.

Ten blood-soaked figures, like evil spirits crawling out of a hellish blood pool, roared and screamed from their dantian, sometimes separating, sometimes merging.

We were determined and desperate, wanting to kill each other.

Just as we were risking our lives, I suddenly heard a loud crash of a stone stele being shattered!

When I turned my head, I saw Xia Mengying holding a longbow, tears streaming down her face!

The direction her bow was aimed at was a stone stele that had been shattered by a long arrow!

Xia Mengying did not participate in the battle between Liangjie Hall and the Xia family, but instead destroyed the Demon Suppressing Stele!

The "Heaven-Shifting Earth-Changing" was a secret art based on the Demon Suppressing Stele. With the Stele Forest destroyed, the secret art would inevitably fail.

Xia Chuan roared, "Xia Mengying, do you want to betray Confucianism?"

Xia Mengying fired several arrows in succession without saying a word, continuously destroying several Demon Suppressing Steles, before slowly saying, "The prosperity of Confucianism lies not in power, not in trickery, but in the hearts of the people."

"If Confucianism can only restore its prosperity by such means, then that truly represents the decline of Confucianism!"

"Since the family head wants a gentleman's battle, Xia Mengying can only fulfill the family head's agreement!"

Xia Chuan roared, "Xia Mengying, stop! If you continue, you will be a sinner of Confucianism!"