390 The Meanings of Our Lives II

The vast majority of the cultivators surrounding the inn were at EtherealOpening. A small amount of them had successfully broken into Star Condensation,so in the world of cultivation, they could already be considered superiorexperts. To ordinary people, they could be considered even loftier existences.However, if this scene had occurred in the past, these people would be nothingmore than a gathering of ants compared to Su Li. It was just that now that hewas confronting the blustering swagger of the ants, he actually couldn't makethe smallest response. He could only lower his head in the rain. Su Li silently watched as the blood flowed down from the corner of hiseyebrows to his chest. His face, washed by the rain, was somewhat pale. Thiswas because of his injuries, or perhaps it also had something to do with hisemotions. With the falling of the rain, a dismal mood spread itself through theruins of the inn. Precisely as Chen Changsheng had said, if he had not battled with the demons,how could he have suffered such heavy injuries? If he had not been doggedlypursued after leaving the snowy plains until he had finally been encircled inXunyang City, how could he have been humiliated by these people? And he wouldsoon die at the hands of these people; how could this fact not cause grief andindignation, and even sorrow? At the distant end of the long street, Xue He slightly raised his brows. Thewords of the sect master of the Star Mysteries Sect had been utterlyunpleasant. The Red Cloud Qilin whose reins were in his hands lowered its head,allowing the water to drip down from its fiery mane. It was like it could notstand to see such a sight. Xiao Zhang and Liang Wangsun maintained their silence. Bishop Hua Jiefu ofXunyang City used his eyes to express his feelings, causing a priest to walkinto the crowd, and then upon reaching Sect Master Lin Canghai, whisper a fewwords into his ear. The rancorous and elated laughter stopped. Lin Canghai looked at the people onthe second floor and grimly laughed. "I could kill him right now, so what harmis there in me humiliating him with a few words? What a sham." He was the sect master of the Star Mysteries Sect, and his family was a tyrantof the north. Moreover, his cultivation was high, already at the middle levelof Star Condensation. As a result, he had been raised with an arrogant anddomineering temperament, not fearing anyone. There was no way he would miss outon an opportunity to humiliate Su Li. Su Li lifted up his head and looked down at the street. He pushed the hairsoaked by the rain backwards. His expression was calm, as if he had not beenstruck by that rock that had flown through the rain or been affected by thosehumiliating words. "Who are you?" "Haha…if this were in the past, your sort of behavior might really be a sortof humiliation. But right now, you aren't even worth a degenerate dog, so whykeep up the strong front? You're only making yourself look more ridiculous." Lin Canghai looked up to the inn and sneered, "A few days ago by the road, youkilled an important man from my Lin clan, as well as dozens of my Lin clan'selites. Today, why can't I take your life in exchange!?" Su Li glanced at Chen Changsheng. Chen Changsheng finally realized that this person had originally been arelative of northern tyrant Lin Pingyuan. On their journey south, under Su Li'sdirections, he had battled with and killed a few people. Only when he killedLin Pingyuan did he not have any qualms about it. This was because Lin Pingyuanwas a bandit that had committed all sorts of abominable deeds, an evil manwhose hands were covered in the blood of innocents. He declared, "I killed Lin Pingyuan." Lin Canghai was a little stunned by these words. Without waiting for a reply, Chen Changsheng added, "If you want to takerevenge, you should kill me." Lin Canghai's expression subtly changed. Still not waiting for an answer, Chen Changsheng stared into his eyes andcontinued, "But I know that you don't dare to kill me, because I'm thePrincipal of the Orthodox Academy. How could you possibly dare to move againstme?" Lin Canghai's mood became a tiny bit more apprehensive. Finally, Chen Changsheng declared, "So if I can survive this day, I willdefinitely think of a way to kill you." At the moment, he was extraordinarily angry, so he said these words veryseriously. A burst of cold suddenly rushed through Lin Canghai's body. In the cultivation world, he possessed considerable status, especially in thenorthern part of the continent, but how could it be compared with theOrthodoxy's? With Chen Changsheng's status and identity in the Orthodoxy, if hereally did have a mind to deal with him, how could he and his sect hold on? Hesuddenly felt a profound sense of regret. At a complete loss for what to do, heshouted out to the surroundings, "Is the Orthodoxy allowed to just bully otherslike this!?" After yelling these words, he had originally thought that he would receivesome support. It must be known that they had all come here to kill Su Li, sothey should have been of the same mind. Yet he could not have imagined thatnobody on the streets paid him the slightest bit of attention. It was only thenthat he understood that even though everyone had come to kill Su Li, none ofthem dared to offend the Li Palace. Naturally, there was also no one who daredto offend Chen Changsheng. "How like a small child to say such childish words." Su Li completely ignored Lin Canghai and looked at Chen Changsheng. "For amatter like killing someone, you should just do it directly. There's no need togive any sort of forewarning." Chen Changsheng said nothing. From his sleeve, he took out a handkerchief,then began to carefully wipe the blood and water off Su Li's face. "But it's reasonable for you to be angry. Something like throwing a rock isreally too petty, too vulgar. There's no meaning to it." Su Li let him wipe the blood off his face, so his voice came out somewhatindistinctly. On the side, Xiao Zhang cut in, "Correct, it truly was meaningless." Su Li replied, "Then please make way." Xiao Zhang silently, without a hint of reticence, stood aside and opened apath. A path that led from the ruins of the inn's second floor to the street. Many people had noticed and were rather confused. Lin Canghai was even moreconfused. Grimly laughing at Su Li, he said, "An old dog like you can't evencrawl, so what does it matter if you delay a little longer?" Su Li expressionlessly looked at him. The left hand gripping the Yellow PaperUmbrella abruptly moved. The thumb of his left hand pushed in the direction of the umbrella's handle.With a swish, a tiny section of the handle came out. The umbrella handle was the hilt of a sword. Inside the Yellow Paper Umbrella was the Heaven Shrouding Sword. Half of the sword emerged from the sheath. At present, Lin Canghai was still on the street, cursing him as a dead dog andother similar sorts of filthy language. Suddenly, his voice abruptly came to a halt. On his throat, a fresh sword scar appeared, blood slowly flowing out of it. When the people nearest to him saw this image, their faces suddenly turnedpale and they were shocked speechless. Lin Canghai didn't seem to notice that his throat had been severed. He wasstill pointing at the second floor of the inn, cursing something. It was justthat no voice came out, so the scene looked extremely strange and frightening. After a moment, he finally reacted. He subconsciously rubbed his throat. Upon withdrawing his hand and seeingblood, he suddenly sensed pain. His face was pale, his eyes filled with fear and confusion. He howled in pain,but it was impossible for his howls to emerge. He turned, thinking to escape from the inn, and yet when he took a step back,he realized that his two legs had already been cut off at the knees. Lin Canghai heavily crashed into a pool of blood, clutching his throat whilehe made some noises, his legs already severed at the knees. On seeing this scene, the crowd dispersed in alarm, keeping far away from him. In a short time, Lin Canghai ceased to struggle, and thus died. On his dyingbreath, he still could not close his eyes. His eyes were filled with shock andconfusion, never understanding just what had occurred. Su Li was heavily injured and on the verge of death, an old dog that couldn'teven crawl. How could he need only a single strike to kill me? There were still many people as shocked, afraid, and confused as Lin Canghaiwas. A deathly stillness once again settled over the street. The crowd once againturned to the ruined second floor of the inn, looking at the man on the chair.They were filled with reverence and unease. He really was worthy of beingcalled the strongest master of the path of the sword over the past severalcenturies. Even when he seemed on his final breaths, this single strand ofsword intent still possessed such might, able to kill a Star Condensationexpert! Chen Changsheng was somewhat amazed, and then relieved. He felt rather happy. Senior said it right. For a matter like killing someone, it really onlyrequires doing it; there is no need for a forewarning. The umbrella handle slowly returned, and the sharpness around Su Li graduallyretreated. He had once again returned to being a middle-aged man. He sat in the chair, gazing at Lin Canghai's fallen corpse on the street, thenimpassively said, "Although I can't even crawl, killing a person like you inone strike is still not difficult for me." Liang Wangsun's expression was abnormally solemn. Xiao Zhang's eyes hidden behind that white piece of paper seemed to growincreasingly crazed. This sword had truly been too powerful. Worthy of being Su Li's. As expected of a sword Su Li found worthy. "Now this is a sword." Xiao Zhang looked at him, not even attempting to conceal his admiration, oreven adoration. "This sword is absolutely capable of injuring any one of us.Why use it on these degenerate pieces of trash?" "Because I absolutely loathe this sort of fly. It’s very annoying, so I mightas well kill it to settle the matter. As for you and Liang Wangsun, I don'tfind you as annoying, so why do I need to kill you? Of course, the mostimportant point is that over these past few weeks, I've only managed to hoardenough for this one strike." Su Li continued, "If I could save up for two strikes so that I couldsimultaneously kill the two of you, then I would have naturally been moresparing." Liang Wangsun was quiet for a few moments, and then said, "I will not receiveyour feelings." Xiao Zhang commented, "Admirable, admirable." People at this level would never say anything unnecessary. The two comments of"admirable" were naturally about two different matters. He admired Su Li's sword. He even more admired that Su Li had used his one strike to slay Lin Canghaiand not used it on them. This signified that to Su Li, happiness would forever be more important thanthings like repaying gratitude or taking revenge.