The Prodigies War

Ouyang Qing violently shuddered.

With a deep breath, he composed himself, frowned, and stared at Yun Changkong. "You...who are you?"

Yun Changkong nonchalantly answered, "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that you and the one called Lan Yingxue will pay for this."

Clang!

Ouyang Qing drew the sword at this waist. It rose into the air like a dazzling river of stars, illuminating the surrounding forest.

"Pay? You think the likes of you can make me pay?" He swung his sword without the slightest shred of hesitation. Brilliant sword intent gushed forth like a tide, infused with the intricacies of the dao.

However, the sword was easily caught by Yun Changkong, as if a mighty god was grabbing a mere earthworm.

"You dare to treat others as ants with only this much ability?" Yun Changkong glanced at him and exerted a force through his hand.

Crack!

Ouyang Qing's heart sank, feeling as if he had fallen into an icy cave. It finally dawned upon him that he had likely encountered a difficult opponent this time.

"Come with me." As Yun Changkong spoke, he reached out and pressed his hand on Ouyang Qing's shoulder. Unable to avoid it, Ouyang Qing could only shiver as he felt his strength being sealed.

Immediately afterwards, he was lifted by the shoulder.

Shocked and angry, Ouyang Qing lashed out, "Do you know who I am? I’m the young clan leader of the Ouyang Clan. My father is Ouyang Zhenyuan, the ninth-ranked Cyclic Derivation expert in Ning Province..."

It was a clear threat.

Unfortunately, he still hadn’t realized that the individual before him was no longer Yun Changkong.

The one who had awakened in Yun Changkong's body was naturally Lin Xun.

Lin Xun nonchalantly replied, "Your father won't be able to save you even if he is the heavenly emperor."

Over the course of his life, he had traversed the cosmos itself and had been threatened countless times.

Ouyang Qing's threat was utterly useless.

"What are you trying to do?" Ouyang Qing's face turned pale as unease crept up on his face.

"Relax, I won't kill you." Lin Xun casually continued, "Don't you love to look down on ordinary people? I merely want to see how you will be treated after your cultivation is crippled."

A thunderclap exploded in Ouyang Qing’s head, and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, feeling absolutely terrified.

Cripple my cultivation?

There was no doubt that he would be heatlessly thrown away by Qixia Sword Palace. To make things worse, the disciples with grudges against him would more than likely use this opportunity to humiliate and even attack him.

Even if he somehow managed to survive, he would also be abandoned by his clan if he returned.

Forget the position of young clan leader, it would be a tall task to even maintain his dignity!

As someone who had grown up in a large clan, he knew best how cruel the in-fighting could be. The moment there was an opportunity, the clan members who were usually nothing but respectful to him would transform into the most ruthless of fiends and trample him to the ground!

At that time, all of his pride, achievements, fame, status...would crumble and be blown away like dust in the wind!

For a cripple who had fallen from a high place into the abyss, the only things that would await him were endless humiliation, contempt, and ridicule.

If that happened, his fate would be far worse than the ordinary people!

Overwhelmed by terror, Ouyang Qing desperately shouted like a person who was about to drown, "No, you can't do that, you can't..."

He had been so arrogant and conceited previously. He had looked down on Yun Changkong and viewed him as an ant whose life could be easily toyed with. His every word and action had been full of condescending indifference.

In this moment, however, he was panicking like a dog which had lost its home!

Lin Xun ignored him and sent a surge of power through his palm and fingers. Ouyang Qing's mouth was sealed, and he could no longer make a sound. His eyes could only widen, filled with an expression of helplessness, fear, and pleading.

However, Lin Xun continued to pretend not to notice.

……

Qixia Sword Palace.

As night descended, the glow of sunset bathed the buildings within in a dull gray hue.

At the towering gates of Qixia Sword Palace, the graceful Lan Yingxue, dressed in a blue dress, frowned as a hint of impatience appeared on her pretty face.

It’s been so long, why hasn’t Senior Brother Ouyang returned?

"Senior Sister Lan."

"Is Senior Sister Lan waiting for someone?"

"Senior Sister Lan, is there anything I can help you with?"

A few Qixia Sword Palace disciples passed by. When they saw Lan Yingxue, their eyes filled with adoration, admiration, and desire.

Several female disciples felt conflicted. Lan Yingxue was the pride of Qixia Sword Palace and the last disciple of the palace master. Given how talented she was, it was impossible to feel jealous even if they wanted to.

Lan Yingxue nodded in a dignified manner, her expression a sea of calm.

Internally, she enjoyed the feeling of being noticed, admired, and envied. It was a sensation she would never have experienced three years ago.

In order to maintain this, she had poured her everything into cultivation for the past three years.

No one else knew just how much effort she had put in to achieve her current status.

Hence, she could never tolerate returning to the life she had three years ago, a life of poverty and mediocrity...

Compared to her current life, it was basically a stinking quagmire!

Furthermore, Yun Changkong...was a toad in that stinking quagmire. It was preposterous that he wanted her to return and marry him!

Lan Yingxue inwardly murmured, "Don't blame me for being heartless. You’re just an ordinary person who can’t understand what I want..."

She took out the wooden box that Yun Changkong had given her. In the box, faint mysterious light seemed to linger around a dark green jade pendant which resembled a key.

It was an heirloom of the Yun family. From what she knew, a long time ago, the Yun family was a cultivation family with extremely old foundations.

However, due to this jade pendant, the Yun family suffered a devastating disaster and ultimately faded away into the long river of time.

At present, Yun Changkong and his mother were the last surviving members. They lived a hard life in a remote village.

"I didn't expect you to actually find it. Looks like my efforts to suppress my disgust and make you happy when I was little was all worth it in the end..."

Lan Yingxue kept the wooden box again.

When she was a child, she hated Yun Changkong and his life of poverty. It was funny how he believed they were childhood sweethearts and had a close relationship...

Lan Yingxue took a deep breath and told herself: From now on... there will be no more Yun Changkong, and no more of that stinking-quagmire-like life.

While my dao will only advance further and further!

Hm?

Lan Yingxue suddenly looked up to see Ouyang Qing walking over with someone who should not be here!

She couldn’t help but blurt out, "Senior Brother Ouyang, why are you..."

Halfway through her sentence, she realized something was wrong and immediately shut up. However, a dark look had already appeared on her beautiful face.

How can this be?

Lin Xun asked with calm eyes, "Are you surprised to see me alive?"

"You..."

Lan Yingxue looked at Ouyang Qing, only to find him ashen-faced. His eyes were filled with panic and helplessness as he repeatedly tried to signal something with his eyes.

This made her stunned again.

Lin Xun asked, "Do you like this version of Senior Brother Ouyang?"

Lan Yingxue's face was ice-cold. "What’s that got to do with you? Yun Changkong, on account of our past relationship, I advise you to disappear from my sight right now. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Uncontrollable hatred and murderous intent surged in her heart.

Lin Xun ignored her and lightly patted Ouyang Qing on the shoulder.

Bang!

Ouyang Qing fell to his knees, screaming in pain. His aura visibly weakened like the receding tide until it vanished completely.

Boundless despair flooded his heart, causing his final sliver of composure to snap with a shriek, "You...you actually dared to cripple me...I'm done for, but you won't survive either!"

A commotion soon ensued.

After all, this was the entrance to Qixia Sword Palace where many disciples came and went.

It would be hard not to cause a commotion when Ouyang Qing, who was regarded as the best and brightest among Qixia Sword Palace’s younger generation and was one of the five sword lords of Ning Province, was turned into a cripple and kneeling on the ground.

Lan Yingxue was dumbstruck, nearly unable to believe her eyes.

Ouyang Qing, a sword cultivator who had reached the perfect Spirit Sea Stage, was crippled by that ant?

How was this possible?

"Do you still like him now?"

The commotion didn’t affect Lin Xun in the slightest. He gazed at Lan Yingxue and indifferently said, "I guess you will fall in love with someone else. How can a loser who is worse than an ordinary person be worthy of the attention of a proud girl like you?"

Lan Yingxue trembled as her expression changed. A frightening glow burst from her eyes and she said, "Do you know how huge of a disaster you’ve brought upon yourself?!"

"Disaster? Because a mere bitch like you?" Lin Xun sneered.

Bitch!

The word made Lan Yingxue feel indescribable anger. How does this rotten person, who has lived in a stinking quagmire all his life, dare to call me that.

Unable to hold herself back, she swung her sword, "Die!"

Bang!

Her sword qi was sharp and dazzling. However, before it could get close, it exploded into a rain of light.

Meanwhile, Lin Xun waved his sleeve. An invisible and terrifying force spread, making it feel as if a hundred thousand mountains were crushing down from above.

Under everyone’s gazes, Lan Yingxue, who was a fairy to countless people, fell to her knees, twitching.

A deathly silence saturated the air.

The number one expert among the Qixia Sword Palace’s younger generation and the Qixia Sword Palace Master’s final disciple were both kneeling before a plainly dressed youth at this very moment!

Lan Yingxue's face was filled with disbelief, indescribable shame, and anger. She desperately struggled but was unable to get up.

She finally realized what Ouyang Qing had been trying to tell her with his eyes.

The Yun Changkong before them was no longer the lowly country boy she once knew.

"How dare you do something so heinous in front of Qixia Sword Palace!"

"Let's go and capture this evil criminal together!"

The youngsters in the vicinity finally recovered from their shock and rushed at Lin Xun from different directions.

Lin Xun didn't even look at them as he waved his sleeve.

The nearby space shuddered as dense sword qi emerged and spread out.

Boom!

With a dull thud, the approaching Qixia Sword Palace disciples were sent flying. They screamed in agony as they crashed into the ground, sustaining serious injuries.

It was utter mayhem.

Lan Yingxue was chilled to the bone when she witnessed this scene. That...was definitely not Yun Changkong.

There was no way the useless Yun Changkong could be so powerful!