Chapter 91 — The Oriole Behind
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 1 of 7
It happened without warning. In the darkness, change struck all at once, and the men of the Longevity Hall were caught off guard, unable to react in time.
In that instant, swift as a spark struck from flint, the Orthodox cultivators who had been lying in wait emerged one after another, each summoning their magic treasures and charging straight in to kill. With forethought against surprise, they held an enormous advantage—and every Orthodox disciple present was an outstanding heir of one great sect or another. In cultivation they might not match figures like Yuyang Zi, but against ordinary members of the Hall they were far superior.
For that brief span they were tigers loosed among sheep. Orthodox and Demonic had always loathed each other, and neither side held back its hand. Across the night, lights of every hue flashed wildly, and screams and shrieks filled the air without cease; the stench of blood rose at once and drifted through the marsh.
At the very forefront of those many-colored lights blazed a cold, dazzling emerald radiance—it was the Dragon-Slaying Sword of Lin Jinghong, a disciple of Dragon Ridge Peak of the Canglan Sect.
This young man, who had never before revealed his depth, was suddenly all brilliance and blaze. The Dragon-Slaying Sword gave a thunderous, keening cry, and a vast emerald light soared skyward, wrapping around its master as he plunged recklessly into the midst of the Longevity Hall crowd.
It was the most resplendent light in the night. His eyes were cold, yet deep in his pupils something like fervor burned—as though he thirsted for the blood that would burst beneath the cold gleam ahead.
The first several Hall members the emerald light swept past were scattered as a rain of blood.
The crowd cried out in alarm and surged to surround him, but Lin Jinghong seemed utterly heedless of the enemies striking at his back. His eyes fixed only ahead, he charged straight for the thickest press of men, cutting and slashing in every direction, unstoppable in his ferocity; wherever he passed, flesh and blood flew.
After a moment, the other Orthodox disciples caught up, each unleashing their magic treasures, and battle joined against the men of the Longevity Hall.
Amid the chaos, Xiao Yichen was still shaken by Lin Jinghong's display, and shouted at the top of his voice, "Brother Lin, be careful—"
But Lin Jinghong acted as though he could not hear any warning at all. In this moment he was utterly unlike the youth who had studied on Dragon Ridge Peak years before—Dragon-Slaying Sword in hand, his body itself become a blade of demon-slaying light!
Countless Hall members swarmed and encircled him, and yet he never once looked back. The Dragon-Slaying Sword flashed and wheeled through the night; endless blood sprayed up before him and fell again, soaking his garments.
In time, countless Hall members were pursuing him from behind, while ahead of him scarcely any dared stand their ground. All fled pell-mell, not daring to face this man who seemed a very mad demon.
Until, from deep in the darkness, came a harsh, wailing "whhooo," and a white light flashed—a round object spinning violently came hurtling down from the sky, striking straight for the crown of Lin Jinghong's head.
Lin Jinghong shouted once, and the Dragon-Slaying Sword, which had been dancing through the slaughter, flew back to him in an instant. He caught it and thrust it straight up at the heavens, and instantly the emerald light blazed forth and he rose into the air—but the disc above proved the fiercer. Black and white radiance alternated, and there amid the vast emerald glow it bore down upon him, brutally, without yielding.