Chapter 81 Drawn Blood

On the surface, it seemed like Xuan and the chimera were really master and pet.

In reality, however, he was secretly using his Dragon Might technique, extruding a terrifying aura from his eyes. Fortunately, this only worked against beasts, so the two from the Great Families didn't sense anything off. The chimera, instantly affected by the powerful energy radiating from Xuan's eyes, found itself unable to resist. Silently, it did as told, slowly crawling towards Xuan and letting him pet its head.

"There, there. That's a good boy."

With that, Xuan stood up and prepared to leave, but the man suddenly stopped them.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"… I believe our business here is done, no? We have already cleared up the misunderstanding."

"Maybe so, but your damned pet there hurt me. If you know who I am, then you should know the consequences of doing that!"

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Internally, Xuan let out a sigh. It looked like this was going to be more troublesome then he'd anticipated.

"… Fine, then. What would you like as compensation? There is not much I can offer, unfortunately."

At this, the man's lips sneered up into a smirk, and he pointed at the chimera.

"That's easy. Hand over that beast to me, and then get on your knees and apologize. Once you do that, I'll let you go."

From beside him, Zi Xiruo narrowed her eyes. "Brother Li, there is no need to go that far, is there?"

It seemed that she disapproved of him pushing this matter further, but he didn't seem to notice. This girl was smart—she recognized that if Xuan had a chimera as a pet, he would not be an easy figure to mess with. Unfortunately, the man surnamed Li was not so clever, and instead of being convinced, her words only served to spur him on further.

"Haha, no need to be generous here, Xiruo. This dumb beast wasted our time by making us think it was guarding some sort of treasure here, when all it was doing was waiting for its master to come back. Naturally, they should pay, no?"

Perhaps sighing internally just like Xuan, Zi Xiruo's gaze transformed from one of warning to one of amusement, like she'd changed her mind—perhaps, she wanted to see this man suffer from some embarrassment. That would be quite entertaining—and although Xuan would've liked to avoid trouble, it would seem that unless this idiot got taught a lesson, he would not simply let Xuan walk away.

If it had been just giving him the chimera, that was fine. Xuan couldn't care less about that. But to make him kneel…? Him, who had once stood at the peak of the world, kneel in front of a mere nobody?

He must be dreaming.

Zero bowed to no one, and he certainly did not kneel. Xuan calculated his chances of winning, based on what he saw from the fight earlier. This man's cultivation was quite high, probably a result of the best of the best cultivation resources. However, his foundations were not solid, and more importantly, he was an idiot. Defeating him in battle should be easy.

Slowly, he placed his hand on the handle of his sword, held inside the scabbard that hung by his waist. Then, in a quiet tone, he spoke.

"… Lady Zi. If I happen to kill your companion here today… will you say a word about this to anyone else?"

Li Yiren blurted out in laughter. "Hahaha! You, kill me?! Bold, very bold! Are all Flowing Qi stage cultivators nowadays this arrogant?"

On the other hand, Zi Xiruo remained as calm as ever, and simply smiled. "If I said no, would you believe me?"

Naturally, Xuan would not. He was not the type to leave any loose ends, unless it was inevitable. But in his head, he already had his preparations for that. The question he asked just now was just a way of declaring his hostile intents. With an emotionless expression painted over his coldly handsome face, Xuan slowly pulled out his Scarlet Passion Sword.

"It is unfortunate that we have to do this, but… you made the wrong request. Draw your sword," he ordered, lifting his arm and pointing his blade at Li Yiren. "You will regret it if you don't."

To his dismay, however, the Li Family heir merely let out a cackle. "Ha! To beat a mere Flowing Qi Realm, there's no need for me to use my weapon. Tell you what—if you can take one blow from me, I'll count it as your victory, and you can leave this place. Your personality is quite amusing, after all—and I don't want to have to kill someone in front of Xiruo."

Saying that, he focused Qi into his right arm, and Xuan narrowed his eyes. He was used to being underestimated like so. However, for some reason, that only served to spur him on, and his gazed carried the cold gleam of murder. Li Yiren didn't realize it, but Zi Xiruo did. She knew that the man before her was no normal person, and hoped that by observing him, she would be able to discover his origins.

Unfortunately, Xuan would give her no such chance.

"Take this! Star Eater Fist!"

Li Yiren, having finished charging up his ability, suddenly charged forward and unleashed a devastating swing with his right arm. A powerful purple energy surged out of his fist like a black hole threatening to devour Xuan whole, but he remained as calm as ever.

"Oh? Star Techniques? Interesting… although your comprehension of it is far too basic to injure me."

Emotionlessly, Xuan angled his blade, and narrowed his gaze. He was trying to spot a weakness—a weakness that, given Li Yiren's inexperience in combat, was bound to appear. Techniques built upon instable foundation would always be flawed, and could be exploited easily. That was precisely what Xuan was looking for.

What Li Yiren expected to be a simple fight… will instead be his own demise.