Tyrant Sky Martial Soul
Chapter 404: The Struggle of Power_1

Chapter 404: Chapter 404: The Struggle of Power_1

Ling Xiao’s expression remained very indifferent, and he did not show the slightest sign of nervousness when faced with Elder Jin’s interrogation.

The more nervous he became, the more likely he would be to misspeak.

Moreover, he had done nothing to feel guilty about. One does not fear a knock at the door in the middle of the night if one has done nothing wrong. However, there were some matters that he still had to conceal for the time being.

"Let’s talk about the mission first."

Ling Xiao slowly replied, "The reason the three of them failed is actually quite simple. It’s because not only were they weak, but also too stupid! Knowing that the Plague Demon King excels in plagues and array formations, they didn’t bother to bring any pills to ward off the plague, nor did they ask a disciple skilled in array formations to accompany them."

"Such arrogance, do you actually believe you are stronger than they were?"

"That’s right!"

Ling Xiao nodded, full of confidence.

"Haha, has this kid gone mad?"

"He actually claims to be stronger than Wan Yan Jun? Wan Yan Jun is a martial artist at the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm Third Layer!"

"He must be panicking because of the interrogation. He doesn’t know how to answer, so he’s just spouting nonsense," someone said.

A moment later, the scene erupted with laughter. These Inner Sect Disciples, who were all elites, with the weakest among them at the early phase of the Transcendent Realm Third Layer, naturally looked down on an Outer Sect Disciple.

But Ling Xiao did not pay attention to their mockery. Instead, he continued, "As for the array formation outside the gate, it was indeed set up by me, but I merely utilized the existing Plague Osteoporosis Array of the Plague Demon King. It wasn’t difficult. When I was at the Moon Hua Sect, I learned array formations from the masters of the Array Method Hall. Fortunately, I have some talent in this area."

"I can testify to this! This young man even found a loophole in the array of Guanghan Palace, and as a result, he executed two intruders who dared to breach Guanghan Palace!"

Guanghan Celestial Venerate said, "Speaking of which, the reason why Demonflame Celestial wanted to kill this young man is also greatly related to this matter."

"Well, even if that’s true, the claim that you’re stronger than Wan Yan Jun, Chen Zui, and Shangguan Lei is simply unbelievable," Elder Jin said with a frown.

"Elder Supreme, high cultivation level does not necessarily mean great strength!"

Ling Xiao did not want to explain too much, as the more he said, the more likely he was to expose flaws.

He only had to prove that his strength surpassed that of Wan Yan Jun and that he was skilled in array formations to explain how he was able to complete the mission.

As for the deaths of Wan Yan Jun and Chen Zui, they were indeed without witnesses. Unless Elder Jin was willing to shamelessly pin the crime on him, Ling Xiao had nothing to worry about.

So, in essence, there was only one key issue right now.

Whether he, Ling Xiao, was indeed stronger than Wan Yan Jun, the martial artist at the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm Third Layer.

As long as it was proven that he was stronger than Wan Yan Jun, all the doubts would be dispelled. Without evidence, Elder Jin and the others would have nothing to target Ling Xiao with.

Let’s not forget, there was Guanghan Celestial Venerate present, and she would not allow Elder Jin and Elder Tu to act recklessly.

As for Golden Light Heavenly Lord, he was clearly completely neutral, not siding with either party.

Shangguan Lei did not come this time, but he had already been questioned when he was at the sect.

That man’s description of Ling Xiao was that of an extremely powerful existence, comparable to that of a core disciple. Not only did he help them a great deal, but he eventually saved him. It was just unfortunate that the enemies were too strong, so Wan Yan Jun and Chen Zui were still killed.

This statement had been discussed between Shangguan Lei and Ling Xiao, although Shangguan Lei exaggerated a bit.

Neither of them wanted to mention the betrayal of Wan Yan Jun and Chen Zui to the Moon Hua Sect. Even though it was the truth, if the two of them were to sully the names of the deceased, they feared they would be despised and suspected by many.

To avoid trouble, naturally, one must not speak.

The higher-ups of the sect had originally been skeptical of what Shangguan Lei had said, but now that Ling Xiao also claimed as much, if Ling Xiao truly possessed formidable strength and excelled in both alchemy and array formations, then it might really be as Shangguan Lei had described.

"Elder Supreme, since this boy is so full of hot air, why not let a disciple try out his strength?"

Hei Suo had a grudge against Ling Xiao, and on top of that, he had been tormented nearly to death by the Plague Osteoporosis Array set by Ling Xiao earlier, so he had plenty of pent-up rage with nowhere to vent it.

Now that Ling Xiao had claimed to be stronger than Wan Yan Jun, Hei Suo saw his chance.

"Hei Suo, you are an early-phase Transcendent Realm Fourth Layer martial artist, which makes you far stronger than Wan Yan Jun. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for you to test him?"

Guanghan Celestial Venerate frowned as he spoke.

"Reporting to Guanghan Celestial Venerate, since Ling Xiao claims he could complete the mission alone, then logically his strength should be greater than the combined strength of Wan Yan Jun, Chen Zui, and Shangguan Lei. At most, I am just slightly stronger than the sum of those three."

Hei Suo said with a smile.

"That’s not a valid argument, is it? If three people can’t work together effectively, their combined strength may even be less than that of one person. How can you calculate it like that?"

Guanghan Celestial Venerate retorted.

"Guanghan, how about this, I have a suggestion. There’s no need for Ling Xiao to defeat Hei Suo. As long as he can withstand fifty moves from Hei Suo, he will be considered to have passed. How does that sound?"

Elder Jin really didn’t believe that a mere half-step grandmaster, even if he practiced some terrifying martial skills, could truly stand up to an early-phase Transcendent Realm Fourth Layer martial artist.

He had lived for over two hundred years and had never heard of such a thing.

It was normal for him not to have heard about it, because Ling Xiao was not actually a half-step grandmaster; he was a pinnacle Transcendent Realm Second Layer martial artist.

He had simply used the Mountain and River Martial Soul template to conceal his cultivation level.

"How about it... Ling Xiao, what do you think?"

Guanghan Celestial Venerate turned to ask Ling Xiao.

"As long as the elders deem it acceptable, I naturally have no objections!"

Ling Xiao agreed with a smile, "But are you really planning to let this Hei Suo make a move? Back in Yunkong City, he was already defeated by me."

"That’s because you used despicable and shameless tactics."

Every time he recalled the incident at White Cloud Temple in Yunkong City, Hei Suo felt pain in half of his body.

At that time, his terrifying strength had him trampling over the experts of White Cloud Temple, including Master Baiyun himself.

Yet, faced with Ling Xiao—who at that time was a mere Martial Vein Realm Eight-Layer martial artist—he had taken a big tumble and nearly died there.

Ling Xiao was practically his inner demon, an obstacle in his martial path.

He hated that he couldn’t kill Ling Xiao to eliminate this inner demon and clear the barrier on his path to martial enlightenment.

However, to his frustration, all attempts to secretly deal with Ling Xiao had been thwarted one after another.

Even his master, the Demonflame Celestial, had been gravely injured because of this youngster and was still recuperating.

"Despicable, huh? When you encounter an enemy outside, do you really expect them to ask for a fair fight face to face? Laughable, considering you’re supposed to be an elite among Inner Sect disciples."

Ling Xiao disdainfully remarked, "What you did before—oppressing several Martial Vein Realm martial artists with your Transcendent Realm Third Layer cultivation—was the real shamelessness. You have some nerve calling others despicable."