"You! You have a big nerve, I am Yang Shan, the disciple of Zhou Chong, the elder of the Zhongling Sect, known as the Qiankun Sword Guest. I have revealed my identity, and you still dare to kill me? This is a provocation against our entire Xuanling Sect!"

  Yang Shan's mouth was shouting loudly, his tone no longer had the previous confidence and composure, and a hint of fear had already crept in.

  The thing didn't happen as he had expected.

  Yunlai Jianzong is so bold as to send him to his death!

  "You don't even have the identity token of a Xuanling Sect disciple, yet you dare to claim to be a Xuanling Sect disciple? For your behavior of impersonating a Xuanling Sect disciple and tarnishing the great image of the Xuanling Sect, I will take action on behalf of the Xuanling Sect today as one of the thirty-six sects of the Wanxia County, and strike you down!"

  Zi Lingyun spoke as the power of a 9th-level swordsmen fully erupted, and at the same time, Qin Tianyi and Qin Yuyan also stopped standing by idly.

  At the moment when Ziling Yun's swordsmanship storm suppressed Yangshan, the two of them suddenly joined the battle circle!

  Yang Shan, who was no match for Qi Lingyun, how could he withstand the joint attack of two high-level swordsmen again? With just one carelessness, he had already been caught by Qin Tianyi, and with a shock of his sword, he stabbed out and cut off Yang Shan's arm.

  "Ah!"

  Yang Shan let out a pained scream, his sword movement slightly disrupted. Qi Lingyun took advantage of the opportunity, his sword flashing through the air and piercing Yang Shan's chest. The true energy penetrated, shattering his heart into powder.

  "You... you..."

  Yang Shan's eyes widened in anger.

  Looking at Qi Lingyun, Qin Tianyi and Qin Yuyan, their faces were filled with resentment and unwillingness.

  Until his death, he couldn't understand where Yunlai Jianzong got the nerve to kill him, a high-ranking swordsman of the Xuanling Sect.

  "Hah!"

  Zi Lingyun let out a cold snort, drew his sword with a swoosh, and brought up a streak of blood color.

  "Boom!"

  Yang Shan, who had lost his vital energy, quickly fell down.

  Upon hearing this voice, Xu Juechen, Li Qiushi, Cheng Li, Ren Yuanbo and Fan Kaiyang in the private room all felt a simultaneous tremble in their hearts.

  Looking at the corpses lying in a pool of blood on the ground, an irrepressible chill rose from the bottom of their hearts, especially when Qi Lingyun, Qin Tianyi, and Qin Yuyan's eyes fell on them, they were so frightened that their hearts almost jumped out.

  Kill him!

  Yang Shan, a senior swordsman of the Xuanling Sect and a disciple of Elder Zhou Chong, was killed just like that.

  Although Xuanling Sect is a second-rate sect, with 6,000 disciples inside, it's possible to produce high-level swordsmen, but not even one in fifty has reached that level. Every single high-level swordsman is a precious treasure for the Xuanling Sect. Now, the few people from Yunlai Sword Sect have killed a high-level swordsman of the Xuanling Sect without batting an eyelid...

  This...

  When did Yunlai Jianzong have such audacity?

  The sky of Wanxia County is going to change?

  "You guys are quite bold."

  Zi Lingyun's gaze swept across the five people, his eyes gleaming with a fierce killing intent. Xu Zhechen and the others were drenched in cold sweat, especially Cheng Li, whose cultivation was only at the fourth level of Swordsmen, couldn't help but tremble, his legs shaking slightly.

  "Qī Lǎo... "

  Seeing that the atmosphere had already brewed to a certain extent, Qi Lingyun coldly snorted: "Although you few have been deceived by this self-proclaimed Xuanling Sect disciple, your malicious intentions towards our Yunlei Sword Sect are indeed facts! However, considering your efforts in maintaining Cloud Mist Town, Green Willow Town, and Smoke Wisp Town over the years, I'll give you a way out. Each town will hand over half of their wealth as a form of 'buying disaster relief', a lesson for your recklessness! Do any of you have objections?"

  "...turn over half of the property..."

  Several people seemed to have been cut off, and their hearts were bleeding instantly. However, the situation in front of them was that if they dared not to agree, Yunlai Sword Sect would absolutely not be lenient. No need for others, just any one of the three high-level swordsmen in front of them could kill all five people on the scene, and it would be easy to destroy their families as well.

  Compared with preserving one's life, this is already a great blessing.

  "We have no objection."

  "Thank you for Elder Qi's kindness."

  "After we return, this will be settled with a clear conscience, and personally sent to Yunlai Jianzong."

  Several people responded one by one, and Qi Lingyun nodded slightly.

  This approach was also agreed upon by several people after discussion.

  The Yunlai Sword Sect now has too few people available, the entire sect, including servants, only has around a hundred people, and there are only forty-four disciples, many of whom have only second or third-level swordsmanship cultivation. Letting them manage those properties in seven towns is simply beyond their capabilities.

  Moreover, this time Yunlai Jianzong used a thunderous and swift method to kill Yangshan, the main purpose of which was to intimidate the surrounding forces. This naturally includes those families and forces in the seven towns under its jurisdiction that have ulterior motives.

  "This man impersonated a disciple of the Yunlai Sword Sect, disrupting the stability among the 36 sects in Wanxia County. He has now been killed by my Yunlai Sword Sect. Did you hear that?"

  "Right! Right! Right!"

  "Right, this person impersonated a disciple of the Xuanling Sect and was killed by all of you."

  "Alright."

  Qī Língyún nodded slightly.

  Although these are just some superficial words, everyone knows what the truth is, but they can make Yunlai Sword Sect occupy a moral high ground.

  In this way, as long as Yunlai Jianzong demonstrates enough strength to withstand the first wave of counterattacks from Xuanling Sect, and then calls out again, other sects will not mind public opinion supporting them in suppressing Xuanling Sect.

  "Go."

  Zi Lingyun said a word and didn't waste any more time in Yunwu Town. He went straight to the mountain, heading for the gate of Yunlai Sword Sect.

  Seeing several people from Yunlai Sword Sect leave, Xu Juechen, Cheng Li, Fan Kaiyang, Li Qiushi, and Ren Yuanbo finally breathed a sigh of relief one by one.

  Taking a glance at the lifeless Yang Shan in the private room, Xu Juechen's voice trembled with rage: "This Yunlai Sword Sect is truly insane! Xuanling Sect, they actually dare to kill Xuanling Sect disciples!"

  "Just you wait and see! With the tyrannical power of Xuanling Sect, we will definitely take revenge. Under the overwhelming force of Xuanling Sect, Yunlai Sword Sect will cease to exist in just three days at most!"

  Cheng Li glanced at the few people in the private room, the fear on his face not yet dissipated: "Then our properties... will they be sent to Yunlai Sword Sect or not?"

  "Send? Ha ha, Yunlai Jianzong can't even survive this disaster, why waste our family's assets for nothing?"

  "But... what if Yunlai Jianzong defeats Xuanling Sect?"

  Li Jia's master Li Qiushi said somewhat uncertainly.

  "Yunlai Jianzong defeats Xuanling Sect?"

  When Li Qiushi spoke, all four people present were slightly stunned.

  Can Yunlai Sword Sect withstand Xuanling Sect? They had never thought of this, after all, Yunlai Sword Sect was declining, while Xuanling Sect was rising, the gap between them was too big.

  "The people of Yunlai Jianzong shouldn't be joking about the foundation they've built over a hundred years, wouldn't they know the consequences of killing Yang Shan? If they didn't have some degree of confidence, how could they dare to do this?"

  Li Qiushi glanced at several people, and vaguely, he was already shaken: "Sending those silver taels to Yunlai Sword Sect immediately and sending silver taels to Yunlai Sword Sect three days later are two completely different influences. If we continue to waver like this, I'm afraid that after Yunlai Sword Sect gets through this disaster, they will take us down."

  "This..."

  Everyone present hesitated when they heard Li Qiushi's words.

  "I don't want to gamble, nor do I dare to gamble anymore. Yunlai Jianzong was a top-notch sect 100 years ago and once led the Wanxia Prefecture's Sect Boundary. A dead camel is bigger than a horse..."

  Li Qiushi shook his head and left the private room, heading towards Yunxia Town.

  "It's a big deal, I also need to gather the people of our sect and discuss it thoroughly."

  Cheng Li said, and hastily stood up.

  Half of the family's property!

  If this matter is not handled properly, it will affect the foundation of their family in the local area. Their family may also be driven out by other rising families in the local area and lose its first place.

  "With such guts, no wonder you can't achieve great things!"

  Fan Kaiyang snorted: "They sent their property to Yunlai Sword Sect, showing their loyalty is not fake. But what if Yunlai Sword Sect can't withstand Xuanling Sect's revenge? Wouldn't that be equivalent to offending Xuanling Sect as well? This time, Yunlai Sword Sect didn't make a move against us, clearly they still have use for us somewhere. If they really withstood Xuanling Sect's attack, we can surrender to them later."

  Xu Juechen and Ren Yuanbo listened, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.

  ……

  "Qī Lǎo Zhāng, these people are clearly a pack of wolves in sheep's clothing. Are we really going to let them off like this?"

  On the way back to Yunlai Sword Sect, Jiang Caiyun furrowed her brow and said in a puzzled tone.

  "To deal with this incident, the best way is to win over some and suppress others. Don't worry, there will be results soon. Those white-eyed wolves, our Yunlai Sword Sect will never show mercy. However, for those who have a repentant heart, forgiving them is also acceptable."

  Zi Lingyun said, glancing at Qin Tianyi: "This is the Young Master's intention."

  Jiang Caiyun looked at Qin Tianyi with some surprise and nodded thoughtfully.

  "Next is the real test!"

  "The Xuanling Sect is about 160 kilometers away from our Yunlai Sword Sect in the Yunlai Mountains. This news will reach the Xuanling Sect by tomorrow at the latest, and eight or nine out of ten people who receive the news will send their masters to take revenge on our Yunlai Sword Sect immediately. In other words, whether our Yunlai Sword Sect can stand firm in Wanxia County tomorrow afternoon or evening, and whether we can deter all sides, depends on tomorrow afternoon."

  Zi Lingyun said, his gaze shifted to Qin Tianyi, somewhat worried: "Our Yunlei Sword Sect has a 9th-level swordsman like me, the Xuanling Sect will at least send a great swordsman to lead the team, to ensure that nothing goes wrong..."

  "Elder Qi, rest assured, our Yunlai Sword Sect will definitely overcome this calamity!"

  Qin Tianyi said, with a hint of coldness on his face: "It's best if the Xuanling Sect sends two or three great swordsmen with thunderous methods to destroy our Yunlei Sword Sect. Only then can we thoroughly intimidate all the insignificant ones and be done with it once and for all."