Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 408 - 385 - Decision

Qin Qing’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he was extremely cautious with every step, the other five people closely following behind him.

Qin Qing continuously used Sword Qi to probe his path by throwing stones.

The group’s pace was neither fast nor slow.

"We only have one day’s time! If we can’t get through the path of the Celestial Pond within one day, even if we reach the summit, we won’t be able to enter the Sword Cleansing Celestial Pond!"

Qin Qing pondered in his heart.

At this rate, it would probably take half a day just to get through Sword Valley.

And there was the Heavenly Sword Forest behind them.

The dangers of the Heavenly Sword Forest were on par with those of Sword Valley!

If it was going to take half a day for Sword Valley, then the time spent in the Heavenly Sword Forest would probably be even longer!

"With our current pace, I’m afraid we won’t be able to reach the summit of the Sword Cleansing Celestial Pond," Qin Qing said in a low voice.

"Senior Qin, I also have some understanding of formations. How about we scout the path together? With two people scouting together, we could move much faster!" Liu Huang stood up and offered.

Liu Huang, around twenty-five years old with a decent appearance, wasn’t as breathtakingly beautiful as Miss Hongxue, but she was definitely considered a beauty.

"Hmm, Qin Qing, Liu Huang is also a Fourth Rank Spiritual Array Master. Moreover, she mainly practices swordsmanship, so she should be fine if she’s careful!" Liu Hongxue said.

"Hmm! Okay!" Qin Qing nodded.

It seemed this was the only option they had!

Soon, Liu Huang voluntarily stood next to Qin Qing, and the two started to pave the way together at the front.

From the way Liu Huang released Sword Qi to probe for Spiritual Arrays, it was clear her mastery of Spiritual Arrays was indeed impressive; she stood out even among Fourth Rank Spiritual Pattern Masters.

...

On the other side, after Liu Hongxue had chosen to accompany Qin Qing, Liu Zhuoyan and a group of young disciples from the Liu Clan also stepped into Sword Valley.

Initially, as they entered Sword Valley, they could still see the figures of Qin Qing and his group.

But before long, the figures of Qin Qing and the others became blurry and distorted, and then disappeared completely.

It seemed that entering Sword Valley at different times might lead to different layers of space.

This part of Sword Valley wasn’t just a simple world as it appeared on the surface; it was filled with various Spiritual Arrays that divided the valley into different spaces.

"Brother Zhuo, I can’t believe Hongxue would choose to go with that Qin Qing guy. What was she thinking?" asked the young man with a mocking tone beside Liu Zhuoyan.

Liu Zhuoyan snorted and said, "Within the Liu Clan, there have been rumors that Liu Hongxue and that brat named Qin Qing have an affair. That Qin Qing... he’s just a barbarian from Qian Country. Liu Hongxue actually fancied such a barbarian, haha..."

Mockery was written all over Liu Zhuoyan’s face.

"So that’s how it is..."

That bald young man, Liu Bing, from beside Liu Zhuoyan, had an expression of sudden realization, and then said mockingly, "Liu Hongxue’s infatuated with love to the point of abandoning us to join that barbarian. And then there are Liu Ling and Liu Huang; they’ve chosen to go with Liu Hongxue too...

I bet they won’t even know how they died when the time comes!"

Laughter erupted from those around them after Liu Bing’s words.

Clearly, the Liu Clan disciples also believed that the choices of Liu Hongxue, Liu Huang, and Liu Ling were incredibly foolish.

"Be careful!"

However, at that moment, suddenly a huge tree beside them exploded, and myriad Sword Qi whirled towards the group of Liu Clan’s disciples.

"Quick, form up, block the Sword Qi!" Liu Zhuoyan promptly commanded.

But the attack of Sword Qi was sudden and dense, like a torrential rain of pear blossoms!

"Swish swish swish swish!"

In an instant, the Sword Qi struck.

The young disciples of the Liu Clan resorted to various measures, and most managed to block the sudden onslaught of Sword Qi.

However, some were caught off guard and impaled by the Sword Qi.

Two individuals were struck in vital areas and died on the spot.

Another seven or eight were injured to varying degrees by the Sword Qi.

Liu Zhuoyan was still shaken.

Liu Bing beside him was even paler; he had been hit by a streak of Sword Qi in the chest, and blood was gushing forth. If that streak of Sword Qi had deviated slightly lower and more to the left, he probably would have been killed on the spot too!

The other Liu Clan disciples all wore an expression of fear.

The burst of Sword Qi that happened without warning hadn’t been evident at all.

That towering tree next to them had looked perfectly ordinary a moment before; who could have imagined that it was actually formed from condensed Sword Qi?

"Whoosh whoosh..."

Suddenly, a strong wind rose.

The sky darkened, and countless whirlwinds materialized out of thin air.

The whirlwinds churned in midair, letting out a whistling sound that clearly contained innumerable Sword Qi!

"Move! Get out of here!" Liu Zhuoyan yelled.

The many Liu Clan descendants hurried forward at full speed.

"Crash!"

In an instant, countless whirlwinds swept in, engulfing the Liu Clan descendants in a sky-covering barrage of Sword Qi!

"Brother Zhuo, what do we do?" Liu Bing followed by Liu Zhuoyan’s side, asking in a voice full of panic.

"What else can we do? There are countless Sword Arrays here, and now they’ve been triggered. Everyone try to fend off the Sword Qi together and break through at the same time! Only by getting out of the Sword Array will we have a chance to survive!" Liu Zhuoyan shouted. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The Liu Clan’s disciples quickly formed an array under the command of Liu Zhuoyan, using the Battle Array to jointly fend off the Sword Qi that fell like dense rain.

"Ding ding ding ding..."

The unceasing sound of Sword Qi colliding could be heard, as if metal was relentlessly striking against a wall of bronze and iron.

"Pfft!"

Suddenly, another Liu Clan disciple’s head was pierced by a Sword Qi, and they died on the spot.

Then, the pressure grew even greater.

Quickly, the second, then the third Liu Clan disciple fell.

...

"No good, Zhuo bro, the situation is getting more dangerous! I’m afraid we can’t hold back the Sword Array any longer!" Liu Bing shouted anxiously as a Sword Qi streaked with lightning almost scraped past his face, burying itself into the ground beside him and emitting thick black smoke.

Liu Zhuoyan’s face was grim; the situation was growing dire.

It was all because they had been careless upon entering the Sword Valley, accidentally triggering a high-rank Sword Array, which then set off a chain of arrays, leading to an increasingly perilous situation!

Liu Zhuoyan’s gaze was fixed on the increasingly dense Sword Qi behind him.

Over the Sword Valley, all the Sword Qi had converged, creating a pattern like dragons and tigers.

Three Sword Dragons soared into the sky, and there was also a Sword Tiger formed by converging Sword Qi, which even let out the roar of a tiger in the air!

"Liu Heng, block those three Sword Dragons behind us!" bellowed Liu Zhuoyan.

The young man named Liu Heng’s face changed dramatically at the mention of his name.

How was he supposed to block the Sword Dragons coming from behind?

But by that time, Liu Zhuoyan had already waved his hand, casting out a Spiritual Treasure.

It was a crimson ancient bronze mirror.

Hum hum hum...

The void trembled in an instant.

Red beams radiated from the ancient bronze mirror, forming a barrier.

Liu Heng and several other Liu Clan disciples were shielded behind this barrier!

"Zhuo bro!"

"Zhuo bro, let us through!"

"Zhuo bro, we don’t want to die!"

The Liu Clan disciples trapped behind the barrier turned pale with fright, panic-stricken.

"Unleash your Spiritual Power, activate the Heavenly Canopy Mirror. Block the Sword Qi, and you will be able to survive!" said Liu Zhuoyan, who had taken his stand and let out a long sigh of relief.

The disciples behind the barrier fell into a state of despair.

But now, they had no choice but to do as Liu Zhuoyan said.

At least by activating the Heavenly Canopy Mirror with their Spiritual Power, they could temporarily fend off the Sword Qi from behind.

But it was only for a mere moment...

Not even ten breaths passed!

The Heavenly Canopy Mirror’s Defensive Shield shattered.

The dozen Liu Clan disciples were minced into a blood mist by the Sword Qi, not leaving behind even a single intact bone.

Dozens of Liu Clan disciples died a gruesome death!

However, those dozen breaths of time had bought Liu Zhuoyan and the others some time, and they had already rushed out of the Sword Valley, narrowly escaping the disaster!

"They’re dead... Zhuo bro, Liu Heng and the others are all dead..."

Liu Bing seemed still unable to accept what had just happened.

He watched as Liu Heng and his companions died one by one in the Sword Array, leaving no remains behind!

"Zhuo bro, how could this happen?" another Liu Clan disciple asked, nearly in tears.

Liu Zhuoyan’s gaze flickered, his expression dark and changing.

"Silence! Everyone knew the risks of coming to the Sword Pavilion; we had discussed them before coming here," Liu Zhuoyan said.

"But if Miss Hongxue were here, she definitely wouldn’t have allowed this to happen," someone muttered under their breath.

And that very comment was caught by Liu Zhuoyan, his expression turning even uglier!

"You’re talking about Liu Hongxue?" he glared coldly at the person who spoke: "Do you think they could survive such a dangerous Sword Array? If it weren’t for following me, you all would likely be dead!"

He nearly hysterically roared, seizing the person by the neck.

The Liu Clan disciple trembled with fright.

He was genuinely afraid that Liu Zhuoyan would kill him in a fit of rage.

The surrounding Liu Clan disciples also felt their hearts sink...

Many were angry, but none dared to speak out.

Liu Zhuoyan took a deep breath, realizing that the mood had turned sour, and that many might be harboring negative views of him.

"Everyone..." Liu Zhuoyan breathed deeply, and said, "I know my actions might be difficult for you to accept. But... everyone understands the dire situation just now. If I hadn’t deployed the Heavenly Canopy Mirror, we might have all been killed in the erupting Sword Array...

Before entering the Sword Pavilion, I made it clear to everyone that the Sword Valley is one of the two most dangerous places we might encounter, where the risk of life and death is inevitable!

And our only goal in coming to the Sword Pavilion is to enter the Sword Cleansing Celestial Pond!"

As the Sword Cleansing Celestial Pond was mentioned, the despondent expressions on many faces were somewhat lifted.

At that moment, Liu Bing also spoke, "Life and death are unavoidable; no one wishes for this to happen. Zhuo bro was trying to protect us by taking such desperate measures. Everyone should thank Zhuo bro instead. Also, someone mentioned Liu Hongxue just now - I think Liu Hongxue and the rest have likely already perished in the Sword Array, following them would have been marching toward certain death!"

However, just as Liu Bing’s words fell, suddenly a group of figures appeared not far away...