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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nThis was what baffled Song Maoxun the most. Since the very moment Lu Xuan had expressed his intentions to find Song Lingfeng specifically, it was as if the young man knew all that there was to know about the clan. Every trump card available to the clan and every single means that the clan had at their disposal seemed to be within Lu Xuan’s expectations.

nThat was what he found the most terrifying about Lu Xuan, as well as what he was least able to fathom.

nIt seemed like Lu Xuan had been able to play everyone as if they were puppets in his hands right from the start.

nLu Xuan grinned faintly and said, “All your secrets are no secrets to me.”

nLu Xuan knew every single means of retaliation that the Song Clan had from the very beginning. There was no way he would have asked specifically for those four bronze pillars from the Special Task Force if he did not mean to use them to prevent anyone in the clan from escaping.

nAll that preparation had been done in anticipation of the spell that Song Maoxun had just performed—Spirit Possession. Many cultivation forces had access to that spell.

nThe Spirit Possession of the Maoshan Sect was the most renowned of them all. The Spirit Possession spell of that particular sect allowed one to summon a Celestial Master Zhang of past generations to possess the summoner, enabling them to gain combat capacity far beyond their own.

nThat was the only means available to such huge organizations that Lu Xuan was really wary of.

nAt present, the highest combat capacity that was tolerated by the world itself was that of Level Eight Deity, yet there were some organizations with ancient legacies capable of bypassing such restrictions by making use of such Spirit Possession spells to temporarily boost their combat capacity.

nWhile specific methods and means available differed from one organization to another, the effects were mostly similar.

nLu Xuan had suffered huge disadvantages back in his past life when he fought people possessed through the use of such spells. Given how determined he was to act against the Song Clan and bring the whole clan down, there was no way he would have taken them on without making preparations.

nEnergies summoned through the use of Spirit Possession were mostly worn away by the rules binding the world itself, with most of whatever was left from the spell negated by the seal of the four sacred beasts. The few remaining bits were only able to bring Song Maoxun’s power to Level Eight instead of Level Nine.

nAn astonished glint was seen in Song Maoxun’s eyes.

nHe wanted very, very badly to understand just how Lu Xuan could be aware of every single trump card the clan had at their disposal.

nIt was impossible that a member of the clan might turn out to be a mole.

nIt was obvious that Lu Xuan had positioned himself as the enemy of the entire clan, and there was no way he was going to let the clan get away. No one in the clan would be stupid enough to leak their secrets to him.

nThus, the source of Lu Xuan’s intelligence remained a total mystery.

n“You people of the Song Clan should have left my family alone. What you suffer today is entirely your own doing,” Lu Xuan said with a cold smirk.

nAt that moment, Song Maoxun actually began to regret the way the clan as a whole had acted. They had been underestimating Lu Xuan right from the beginning, never considering just how dangerous the number one in all of Min Province might really be.

nThat was how all of their blunders had taken place.

nTo put it simply, Song Maoxun had done nothing wrong, and he hardly ever made any mistakes given his position as the Patriarch.

nBe it the choice to venture into Min Province or the decision to take out Lu Xuan after that, he had not done any of it only for the sake of his own personal interests; he did all that he did for the sake of the Song Clan, as well as that of the Holy Dragon Corporation.

nThe only miscalculation in all of his decisions was his underestimation of Lu Xuan’s abilities, for the young man was not one of those lone cultivators he had been able to easily manipulate in the past.

n“Enough talk. I’m going to make you pay for what you did to the entire Song Clan today!” Song Maoxun roared. Even though the power he had access to at the moment was a lot less than he had expected, he thought it was sufficient nonetheless.

nHe took a saber that was sealed in its scabbard from the side of the room. There was a surprising flash as the blade was drawn, and then a flash of over a dozen meters in length shot from the blade in an instant.

nThe dozen-meter-long flash was very devastating, and it was headed straight for Lu Xuan, intending to cleave him in half while he was in the air.

nThe saber was evidently not a common weapon; it was a power item, the same kind as Bloodthirst, which Lu Xuan wielded. The saber was able to amplify his Spiritual Qi, as his own powers would not allow him to generate a flash of such strength on his own.

nLu Xuan grunted and lashed out with Bloodthirst in his hand, generating a blood-colored flash from his position in midair.

nLu Xuan did not show any hesitation after shattering the incoming flash with his, and he dropped down right in front of Song Maoxun. Bloodthirst emanated very threatening killing intent from its place in his hand.

nSwoop!

nAnother flash, this one looking like a blood-red dragon, came from the sword as it descended on Song Maoxun.

nSong Maoxun lifted his saber to block the incoming attack.

nClang!

nThe two weapons clashed and a sharp clanging of metal was heard. Song Maoxun then felt a terrifying force traveling all the way up to his arm along the length of his blade, rattling him so much that his entire arm went numb.

nThe spot between his thumb and his other fingers was cut in that instant, tearing his thumb off and leaving blood gushing from the wound.

nHow did he get so powerful?! Song Maoxun thought to himself, deep down. He saw how frail and unassuming Lu Xuan appeared to be, and the young man’s moves always looked flighty and light.

nYet that move Lu Xuan pulled was easily able to wound the spot between his thumb and the other fingers so severely that the thumb was torn clear away.

nThat was some feat of monstrous strength, no doubt about it.

nSong Maoxun backed away immediately, yet Lu Xuan pressed on, following up with all manner of sword techniques. Every single strike felt entirely unpredictable and untraceable.

nSong Maoxun was unable to repel the attacks effectively. Frankly, he was unable even to read Lu Xuan’s moves with the sword.

nSomeone at Lu Xuan’s cultivation level was able to make every single simple, unassuming move look like the ultimate, devastating techniques of superhumans. He was even able to switch easily between moves without any hesitation.

nSong Maoxun suffered one setback after another. It was as if any move that Lu Xuan made immediately left bloody gashes on his body.

n“This is impossible. I’m at Deity level as well. There is no way I am inferior to you!” Song Maoxun roared.

nHis powers had been enhanced to Deity level in a very short span of time, with every single one of his attacks bringing about devastating damage. He was untold orders of magnitude stronger than he had once been.

nDespite all of that, he remained utterly incapable of fighting Lu Xuan head-to-head. In fact, at present, he was completely overwhelmed by the young man.

nHe had not been there for the battle back at Mount Qingyun, so he had no idea how Lu Xuan had gotten rid of Song Lingfeng, the Great Ancestor of the Song Clan.

nHe had instead gone to assault Lu Xuan’s manor, so this was his first time getting a taste of just how terrifying Lu Xuan’s combat capacity was. Despite being at a more or less similar level by then, he still found himself completely overwhelmed.

nBe it speed, power, foundation, or knowledge of the sword, he was entirely overtaken by Lu Xuan on all fronts.

nThe fight felt like a grown man toying with a child.

nDespite being at Deity level, his powers were utterly incapable of even threatening Lu Xuan at all.

nWorse yet, his stamina was wearing down rapidly. His current level of power had been a product of forced enhancement through the use of Spirit Possession, to begin with. Be it in terms of vista, experience, or realization, he was far below an actual Deity-level being. While he was no doubt far more powerful than Song Tongheng had been, there was still no way he was able to compare with Lu Xuan.

nSong Maoxun then sensed that the energy was leaving his body at a frightening rate.

nIt took mere moments for him to be returned to National Guardian level again. At the very instant he became just a National Guardian, blood began to gush from his throat, for Lu Xuan’s sword had punched right through it.

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