Chapter 224: Half-step Void Stage Xue Yun Translator: KurazyTolanzuraytor Editor: Lucas At any rate, Li Qing had never imagined that the ‘Duan Ling Tian’ whose name was spread and gave rise to much discussion in the Crimson Sky Kingdom, and whose name now shook the entire Imperial City, was actually the ‘Duan Ling Tian’ he wished for nothing more than to kill and rejoice after he’d done the deed! The disciple with another surname from the Branch Family under the Aurora City Li Clan and the Imperial City Duan Clan’s direct descendant disciple. They were actually the same person! Li Qing felt that this was absolutely the gods playing a joke on him, but when he tried to pinch his thigh, the pain that came from this thigh instead told him that all this was real. "How can this be possible....It can’t be....It can’t be...." Li Qing’s face was ghastly pale, as the scene before him caused all his hopes to be blasted to pieces. He planned to rely on the Swallow Mountain County’s County Governors Estate to break through to the Origin Core Stage, then return to the Li Clan and kill Duan Ling Tian in revenge for his grandfather....But now, the thoughts that he’d persisted on for two years had instantly crumbled. Moreover, not to mention Duan Ling Tian the fact that was the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard currently, even if he wasn’t, Duan Ling Tian was still an existence at the Origin Core Stage, and the publically acknowledged no. 1 genius of the Crimson Sky Kingdom’s younger generation! He was far from being capable of comparing with Duan Ling Tian. Duan Ling Tian sat atop his horse, and his calm gaze flashed pass Li Qing and Pei San. When he saw their current expressions, he didn’t even have the slightest bit of thought to make a fuss about the matter with them. "Hmph!" Duan Ling Tian’s cold and indifferent gaze descended onto the carriage driver. "Remember to slow down when you’re driving within the Imperial City in the future!" "Yes, yes!" The carriage driver nodded like a chick pecking on grain and didn’t dare hesitate in the slightest. As he now knew the youth’s identity and knew in his heart that if Duan Ling Tian wanted to kill him, it would be no different that stomping an ant to death. "Let’s go!" Duan Ling Tian spurred on his horse to move forward with the 10 Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him. Only after Duan Ling Tian’s group disappeared at the end of the street did Pei San and the old man behind him recover from the shock. "Blood Enmity....No, I ought to call you Li Qing now." Pei San’s gaze descended onto Li Qing, and a trace of icy coldness was faintly mixed within. As far as he was concerned, the reason why Duan Ling Tian had now slowly gotten further and further from him, even causing him to lose the hope of getting revenge, all of this was because of Li Qing. If it wasn’t for Li Qing intentionally being mysterious that time, it would’ve been impossible for Duan Ling Tian to grow to this extent. Li Qing seemed as if he was jolted awake from a dream when he heard what Pei San said, and he instantly knelt on the ground. "Third Young Master, spare me, spare me!" "Grandpa Huai." Pei San’s voice revealed gloominess. "Not good!" Li Qing’s heart jerked, and he hurriedly stood up, desiring to flee. However, he was only a martial artist that hadn’t even stepped into the Origin Core Stage, how could he possibly flee from the hands of a Nascent Soul martial artist? His skull was shattered by the old man with a palm strike in the blink of an eye, dead! Pei San took a deep breath after seeing Li Qing being killed and then returned into his carriage. He understood that even if he couldn’t let it go, some enmity must’ve been buried deep within his heart.... The current Duan Ling Tian was already someone that he couldn’t deal with, and if he were to be impervious to reason, he would only be courting death. And it might even possibly implicate his father, the Swallow Mountain County’s County Governor. "Hmm?" Duan Ling Tian was leading the group of Embroidered Uniform Guards on the main street when his vigilant Spiritual Force suddenly noticed that something was off. In the shadows, a pair of gloomy eyes were staring at him. Moreover, this person’s cultivation wasn’t weak; he was even skilled at concealment. If it wasn’t for Duan Ling Tian’s heart being calm as water now, he might not have been able to notice. "This is a powerhouse!" Vigilance arose within Duan Ling Tian’s heart, as relying on his Spiritual Force that was comparable to a Nascent Soul martial artist’s, he was able to sense how terrifying the person was. The person was extremely likely to be a Half-step Void Stage powerhouse! "Let’s return." Duan Ling Tian didn’t become panic-stricken and called out to the ten Embroidered Uniform Guard behind him, then he turned his horse around to head to the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ residence. On the way, Duan Ling Tian conversed with the two old men beside him in a low voice. "Old Hong, Old Qin.... Don’t panic no matter what I say next." Duan Ling Tian first gave the two old men a warning to stabilize them, then he spoke of what he’d noticed and asked the two old men to take precautions. The two old men nodded in understanding. Before long, Duan Ling Tian’s group returned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s residence, and under Duan Ling Tian’s orders, the main gate of the spacious and large courtyard house was closed. And at almost the exact same time that Duan Ling Tian’s group walked in, a figure silently leaped over the surrounding walls to lightly descend into the courtyard. "Who?" Instantly, the Embroidered Uniform Guard that was right at the back noticed the old man. Duan Ling Tian wasn’t surprised as he slowly turned around to look at the old man. The old man wore black clothes, a dense killing intent was revealed from between his brows, and his fierce gaze had precisely descended onto Duan Ling Tian. "As expected, I’m his target." Duan Ling Tian thought inwardly, as he knew that this person was the one that was watching him from the shadows earlier. However, he was slightly curious; who the heck was this old man? When this old man looked at him, it was as if the old man had seen a mortal enemy. Duan Ling Tian was sure that he didn’t know this old man and had never once seen him before. "You ought to be the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ Duan Ling Tian, right?" The old man’s gloomy gaze descended onto Duan Ling Tian. Instantly, besides Old Hong and Old Qin, the faces of all the other eight Embroidered Uniform Guards beside Duan Ling Tian went grim, and they moved to protect Duan Ling Tian behind them. "Exactly, I’m Duan Ling Tian. I wonder who you are?" Duan Ling Tian asked, with a tranquil gaze. Now he could almost be sure that this black-clothed old man was an existence at the Half-step Voice Stage, and the old man’s strength was extremely terrifying. "Who am I?" A trace of icy coldness appearance on the old man’s face as he said, in a cold voice, "I’m Xue Lu’s father!" "Xue Yun!" Instantly, the faces of Old Hong and Old Qin, who stood beside Duan Ling Tian, focused as they exclaimed in a low voice. "What? You two know me?" Xue Yun’s gaze descended onto Old Qin and Old Hong’s figures. "Are you two members of the Divine Might Marquis Estate?" Old Hong and Old Qin looked at Xue Yun with tranquil expressions. "Xue Yun?" Duan Ling Tian couldn’t help but recall that when he crippled the Dantina of Xue Lang and that City Guard Commander Xue Lu waited at the Paladin Academy gate for him, the Duan Clan’s Grand Elder had once mentioned this name upon arrival. It was precisely Xue Lu’s father! Now Duan Ling Tian came to a sudden understand. It’s no wonder this black-clothed old man would look upon me with such hatred. So it turned out that the enmity between them had long since been planted deeply. "Today, my target is Duan Ling Tian....I have no intention of making things difficult between me and the Divine Might Marquis. If all of you are sensible, then leave now! Otherwise, even at the hazard of offending the Divine Might Marquis Estate, I will still make all of you be buried with Duan Ling Tian." Xue Yun’s gaze went slightly cold as he said this in a deep voice. "What high-sounding sentiments! That would depend if you have the ability." Old Hong and Old Qin took a step forward with gazes that were like swords, and a trace of fury was mixed within their tone. "OK, let me see what ability all of you have!" As soon as he finished speaking, the black-clothed old man moved. Instantly, he seemed to have transformed into a bolt of black lightning that flashed straight towards Old Hong and Old Qin at an extremely swift speed. Moreover, above him, 1,500 ancient mammoth silhouettes condensed into form. "He’s a powerhouse who’s stepped into the Half-step Void Stage as expected!" Duan Ling Tian’s gaze focused. Even a ninth level Nascent Soul Stage martial artist exerting his full strength would only possess the strength of 1,200 ancient mammoths. The first level of the Void Prying Stage did possess the strength of 2,000 ancient mammoths. Although this Xue Yun’s strength was inferior to a Void Prying Stage martial artist, it far surpassed a ninth level Nascent Soul martial artist. Whoosh! Whoosh! Old Hong and Old Qin transformed into two bolts of lightning as well and moved to greet him in combat. Above Old Hong and Old Qin, there each appeared 1,500 ancient mammoth silhouettes. In terms of strength, any one among Old Hong or Old Qin weren’t inferior to Xue Yun; moreover, Old Hong and Old Qin had both joined forces now and suppressed Xue Yun within a short moment. The two of them worked together perfectly! "You two....You two are the Divine Marquis Estate’s Old Tiger and Old Crane?" Xue Yun’s face went gloomy when he guessed the identity of the two people that he was up against. Old Tiger and Old Crane? Duan Ling Tian couldn’t help but be stupefied. Old Hong and Old Qin still had such nicknames? However, he discerned that when Old Hong attacked, it was indeed like a ferocious tiger, whereas when Old Qin attacked, it was like a graceful crane. Old Hong was adept in attacking, and he firmly suppressed Xue Yun. Old Qin was adept in movement techniques, and he caused Xue Yun to have nowhere to evade. "I never imagined that the Divine Might Marquis Estate would go to such lengths....Actually sending you two Old Tiger and Old Crane to follow this little bastard!" Xue Yun’s body moved to dodge to the side and his face sank. "Since you two Old Tiger and Old Crane are here today, then I’ll give you two face! I’ll come take this little bastard’s life next time!" As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Yun wanted to flee. "Since you’ve come, then don’t think of leaving." Old Xin spoke with a cold and indifferent voice, then the white robe on his body fluttered as he flashed out. He seemed as if he had transformed into a swift, white crane that flew out to block Xue Yun’s path in an instant. In terms of speed, Xue Yun had no hope of rivalling Old Qin. Meanwhile, Old Hong caught up in time and blocked Xue Yun’s path from the front and back, causing him to have nowhere to flee. "Old Tiger and Old Crane, you seem to have forgotten my identity." Xue Yun’s face sank, as he knew very well that if it were to continue like this, it would be him who would die for sure. He extended out his hand to withdraw a command token, and atop the command token was the word Specter engraved on it. "I am a Specter Guard under the command of his majesty, the Mortal Emperor. If you two kill me, you will surely bring a great disaster upon the Divine Might Marquis Estate!" "His majesty the Mortal Emperor? Specter Guard?" A trace of bewilderment appeared on Duan Ling Tian’s face, as these two terms were so unfamiliar to him. "Xue Yun, you think too highly of yourself." Old Hong’s voice revealed a trace of disdain. "His majesty the Mortal Emperor would fall out with our Divine Might Marquis Estate for a mere Specter Guard? What a joke!" Xue Yun took a deep breath and said, in a deep voice, "He might not have in the past, but don’t you forget that your Divine Might Marquis Estate’s Senior Marquis is infected with the poison of the Dark Nether Mink and isn’t the Void Prying Stage powerhouse he was." "Then I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. In three months at most, the poison of the Dark Nether Mink will be completely expelled from the Senior Marquis." Duan Ling Tian couldn’t help but be amused when he heard what Xue Yun said. Did this Xue Yun really think that the Divine Might Marquis Estate’s power had declined due to the Senior Marquis being poisoned?