Chapter 309: The Prelude!

  Ying looked up at the second floor to see a swordsman leaping down to cleave her in half. Hao Gang was urging her to try something, and despite her annoyance at this entire situation, she didn't mind listening to him. She's never seen this meat form of Hao Gang and wondered what the hell it could do. With Gang's urging, Ying pointed the giant meat festival of a sword at the incoming cultivator.

  Everyone inside the restaurant watching saw the swordsman and Ying clashing with their blades in a matter of seconds. The two stood a distance from each other after their clash. One smirked, while the other only seemed confused. Blood dripped down Ying's cheek. No obvious injury could be seen on the man's body.

"Heh... You should've controlled that temper of yours, girlie. Now you're going to die because of it!" He confidently boasted, turning around to face Ying.

"You should talk big only when you win." Ying mentally berated Hao Gang.

"Why don't I do that right n-" A blood-curdling scream startled the entire restaurant.

  Slowly, the confident and cocky swordsman began to twist. It started with his arms. They quickly twisted themselves into an unrecognizable mangled mess of flesh. The pain was quick, unavoidable, and torturous. But it didn't end there; his legs soon followed afterward. He dropped to the wooden floor of the restaurant in agonizing and unimaginable pain. Tears dropped from his eyes; he begged and pleaded for forgiveness. Anything to get the pain to stop. All of it heavily pressed down on the hearts of those watching the fight.

  Maybe this was too cruel, some thought. While those from the world of cultivators were somewhat accustomed to sights like this. Usually, fights didn't get to this level of brutality. Most fights between cultivators either ended in a swift death or the loser fleeing to save their own life. Regardless of their thoughts on how the orange-haired beauty ended the fight, everyone would remember her in their hearts as someone not to mess with.

  Not everyone has been informed about the Yue Family's only daughter's return to Clear Wind City. Only a special few are even aware of her existence. So, to the eyes of those watching the orange-haired beauty, she was simply a sword fairy with a ruthless disposition and a weird spirit sword! Everyone tensed up as she looked around the restaurant, seemingly waiting for more challengers. No one dared to raise their heads or make any noises. Even if they were comparable to her in cultivation, no one could tell just how the hell did she cripple that guy in the first place. At best, they knew it only took a single cut.

  Ying scoffed after seeing the reactions of everyone inside the restaurant. She went over to the counter with the shivering worker, silently begging and pleading for his life. She dropped two low-ranked spirit stones from her storage ring on the counter and silently walked out of the restaurant feeling relieved.

  On her way out, she was met face to face with a large group of martial artists. She didn't give them more than a passing glance but was slightly interested in why such a big group of cultivators came to her city. She didn't recognize their sect symbols, so they must not be that important. With a satisfied yawn, she walked past them and made her way to Clear Wind City's busiest street. Ying ate a good meal, relieved some stress, and was in the mood to play around a bit. It was still early in the day, and she had plenty of time to find something fun to do before finding an inn to stay at until the Noble Martial Arts Exchange Meeting.

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  Xue Que's eyebrows twitched in irritation after passing by the yawning beauty. Xue Que was the #1 disciple of the Heavenly Palace Sect and has been treated with nothing but fear, respect, and awe since young. No one hasn't heard of him, and no one that dared treat him carelessly. Even at this pitiful martial arts exchange meeting in Clear Wind City, most of these fat cows are only interested in trying to get their young masters and young misses accepted into the Heavenly Palace Sect.

  As the representative of the Heavenly Palace Sect, it was his job to keep an eye out for any outstanding talents that would be useful to their sect. Xue Que was irritated that he had to do this but would've been outraged if anyone else had been chosen for this task given by the elders. He only planned to keep an eye out for any talented beauties. Recruiting a talented man for the sect would only potentially put his position as future sect leader in danger. A woman, however... Xue Que inwardly snorted. It would be best for her to put her talents to use by serving him and their future children.

  The fact that the giant sword-wielding beauty didn't recognize him or purposely chose to ignore him took most of Xue Que's attention as he walked into the restaurant. On his way in, he stumbled upon a grotesque and disturbing sight that nearly ruined his appetite. A one-handed cultivator carrying a crippled cultivator over his shoulder. The disgusting duo bumped into Xue Que without a word of apology. They even stained his glorious robes with their filthy blood!

"Hey! You filthy cripples! Do you know who you just bumped into!?" A disciple from the Heavenly Palace Sect shouted in righteous fury.

"I... apologize..." The one-armed man's breath was labored.

  He tried to continue walking out of the restaurant with his comrade, but the Heavenly Palace Sect disciples blocked his exit. "Do you think you can just disrespect Senior Xue and get away with it!?" One person yelled. "You must kneel right this second and beg for his forgiveness!" Another joined in. "Maybe if you show enough sincerity, Senior Xue may even let you leave unharmed." This disciple rubbed their fingers together, greed in their eyes.

"Please, forgive us, Senior Xue. Someone of your stature would find it beneath himself to engage with trash such as us. Please let us leave..." The one-armed cultivator pleaded.

  Xue Que's face was as calm as could be. Handsome, young, and powerful. No one could have expected for this well-mannered and good-looking youth to suddenly flash his sword. The two miserable cultivators were cut in half in the time it took one to blink! Xue Que simply walked past their corpses without a single drop of blood on his robes.

  Even those from his sect were surprised and didn't expect this merciless outcome. They, too, walked past the corpses and made it to a table large enough to accommodate them all. It didn't take long for people to begin walking out of the restaurant after seeing this. One brutal sight was enough for them. This restaurant was a death trap today.

  First, it was the sword fairy, and now these people? Today was not the day to enjoy a nice relaxing meal inside Qiwanghuasheng. Customers started leaving in droves. Who knew if they would be next on the chopping block? The owner of Qiwanghuasheng could only silently cry at the sight. However, Qiwang did not forget his professionalism. Tears may be falling down his cheeks, but a professional smile was stuck on his face as he took the orders of the Heavenly Palace Sect disciples.

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  Heavenly Palace Sect wasn't the only sect to arrive in Clear Wind City at this time. They were simply a few of the firsts to arrive before the Noble Martial Arts Exchange Meeting began. The Heavenly Palace Sect was supposed to meet up with the representative of the noble Han Family just like some of the other middle-ranked and low-ranked sects with connections with the noble families in Clear Wind City. But Xue Que decided to take matters into his own hands, considering it beneath himself to follow the Han Family like a dog. In his eyes, the Han Family should be wagging their tails toward him.

  It didn't take long for information to spread across Clear Wind City about the sects arriving. This sent the city into a small panic. Merchants, noble families, aspiring youths, and cultivators all took this chance to do what they could to get as many benefits as they could from these visiting sects. Yue Gou was not one of these people, unlike his son.

"Father. You know as well as I do that our family needs this partnership with the Han Family." Yue Tang avoided eye contact with his father.

"Do I?" Yue Gou stared at his son; disappointment was prevalent in his eyes.

"You don't honestly believe that Ying has gotten strong enough to carry the family name back to the heights in which it used have!" Yue Tang stood up suddenly.

"What I believe is giving my granddaughter a chance to back up her words." Yue Gou's voice didn't rise above a conversational tone.

"So you think I was wrong for trying to marry her off?! What's wrong with trying to do what's best for our family?! There is nothing wrong with the Han Family's future patriarch!"

"I didn't say that. But tell me the reason you insisted on pushing this so quickly. Did the Han Family pressure you into marrying Ying to their son as quickly as possible, or did the benefits of the joining together of our two families blind you?"

  Yue Tang merely gritted his teeth and refused to speak any further. He felt like he was digging himself a hole by answering his father's questions.

"You need more patience, boy. I'm going to find Ying. In the meantime, you just need to sit put and wait till the end of the martial meeting. If she does as well as she said, refuse the marriage. If she doesn't, I'll support you in having her married to the Han Family's kid. Is that good enough for you?" Gou turned his back to his son.

"I can accept that..." Tang couldn't see himself losing regardless of each outcome.