Chapter 7: Take them all out, leaving no survivors

The crowd stood staring at Xian Yue as he stood in the midst of a much-chaotic scene, with the severed head of the Cao family's patriarch held in his hand. On any other day, the streets of Feihua City, one of the largest cities in the region, would be busy and full of different activities, but that day, its silence was eerie as the scene unfolded. Xian Yue, the clan leader who was relatively young, had an act that none could have imagined.

Feihua City was one of those places where clans the size of mountains reigning. And the Xian clan was no exception. Though Xian Yue was well-known, nobody viewed him as the strongest or most fearsome figure out there. Many young heirs from the city's most influential families had been training within a sect, preparing for the inevitable political and martial struggles that came with being part of such a powerful family. To the crowd, he was just another young noble on a long journey to gain strength. Yet, as they looked at him now, holding the head of the Cao family's leader in one hand with ease, they could hardly believe their eyes.

"Do we really see Xian Yue?" somebody whispered, voicing the disbelief shared by many.

"What... happened to him? How can he be this strong all of a sudden?" another asked, her voice trembling in fear.

Xian Yue, on the other hand, seemed quite unaffected by the shock and awe he'd dealt out. His face was impassive, as if this wholesale slaughter was some minor inconvenience. He looked at the blood on his hands and closed his fist over the severed head. "So this is it, then," he mused to himself, "this is what killing feels like?"

It was his first execution, but curiously enough, he didn't feel himself to be uncomfortable or hesitant. To him, it didn't differ at all from stepping on a few ants under his feet. Cold and unmindful, he did not even notice their terrified eyes staring at him. His eyes wandered over the battlefield, totally littered with the leftovers of a blood-soaked fight. Corpses were strewn all over the ground, most of which came from the three strongest families in the city.

"Everyone," Xian Yue said as he turned back to face his people-the remaining members of the Xian family, "I'll leave the rest to you."

Even his own clansmen were shocked. Many stood there like statues, unfathoming how Xian Yue could take down the three most powerful patriarchs with ease. The Xian family has long been considered relatively weaker compared to the other major clans. Yet there stood their leader, single-handedly destroying the heads of the three most powerful families as if nothing.

"Is this. the power of someone who has entered the Soul formation Realm?" Xian Feng, elder of the Xian family, muttered in a dazed voice, as if he were interrupting something and still couldn't fully accept what had happened. Between cultivation realms, there is a gulf that cannot be crossed. However, the difference in fighting strength is even greater. The three patriarchs, powerful in their own rights, were completely powerless against Xian Yue's power.

But the thing that was even scarier was that Xian Yue hadn't even broken a sweat. His raw physical strength in the Soul formation Realm is enough to shatter Second Grade spiritual weapons with a single blow. Such power only belongs to legend.

"Patriarch Xian is mighty!" exclaimed Xian Shan, a big muscular warrior of the Xian family, his battle-axe dripping with blood. He never knew whence Xian Yue's strength was coming from. He didn't care. For him, it was an auspicious sign coming from heaven. With a roar of elation, he flung himself headlong at the remnants of the three clans with his axe upraised, bellowing with his voice ringing through the battlefield, "For the Xian family!"

His battle cry rallied the other members of the Xian clan, who had anxiously waited for his signal. Emboldened by Xian Yue's sudden display of strength, they set upon the rest of the three clans with renewed ferocity... Clang.... Bang.... Screams filled the air, as sounds of clashing swords and other metal weapons pounded through once again.

The Great Elder also changed his direction and moved to join in on the battle, but Xian Yue slightly raised his hand before he could attack.

"Clan Leader?" Xian Feng inquired with a frown as at the command.

"Great Elder," Xian Yue said casually, "collect all the members of the Xian family who can still fight from now on. Let's get prepared for what is to come."

"What do you plan, Patriarch?" Xian Feng asked, though a doubt had already begun to sprout in his heart.

Xian Yue curled his lips into a grim smile. "The three families dared plot the destruction of our Xian clan. Do you think we can let them go? Today, we will wipe them out completely from Feihua City!"

Xian Feng's eyes widened in shock, but he soon thought that there was no time for hesitation. He looked at Xian Yue seriously; his face hard-lined as he nodded stiffly. The Xian family would have to make a decisiveness; they would be the only ones to face destruction. With no more words, he walked out to perform his patriarch's orders and shouted all the warriors from the Xian family to ready for the final battle.

And casually, he threw the shaking head of the Cao patriarch on the ground, expressionless. Cold fury shone in his eyes at recalling how that man had acted. The patriarch of the Cao family had attacked his mother. That by itself was enough offense for which Xian Yue would make him suffer far worse than death. But now the man was going to watch as his entire family was destroyed, then be executed.

"Mr. Xian, please!" screamed the head of the Cao family to Xian Yue from ground, his face paled like moonlight surface and blood streaming through his mouth. "I was wrong! I was blind! Have mercy! Save me, take everything that belongs to Cao family, I would become your dog servant for Xian family. We will never betray you again!"

Such a person was the crowd in shock, staring wildly with mouths wide open. The once bold leader of the Cao family, who was feared for his cruelty, now acts like a street beggar asking for mercy on his miserable life.

But Xian Yue cared not. He sneered at her groveling figure. "Your family's property? Do you really believe I give a shit about such trifling things? As for being a dog under my Xian family, do you even think you have the right?"

The Cao clan chief visibly shook, his face whitened of all coloring. He opened his mouth to speak once again, wanting desperately to promise something more in exchange for his life. "Then... then I will give you my wives! More than a dozen of them, all—"

"Enough!" Xian Yue's voice cut through the air like a knife. His face has been wrinkled with disgust. "Get out," he waved his hand out in one swift motion. A burst of energy went toward Cao family head who fell backward, spewing blood out of his mouth while he was aware enough to hurt himself on the floor.

"Pathetic," he verbalized from his mouth.

The war widens around him. Members of Xian clan quickly overrun the opponents. Other three families had brought their best fighters; however, they were all no match to Xian clan now, especially after witnessing the terrifying strength of Xian Yue. Their fighting spirit crumbled, and panic overtook them. One by one they fell to the blades of the Xian family.

Scream filled the air; limbs and bodies were cleaved apart, while lifeblood soaked into the earth and formed its pools around the cadavers. The smell of death hung in the air thickly and nauseated some people.

Desperate, several of the remaining elders from the qi gathering realm tried to stage a last counterattack in order to break their way through to escape. But nothing, however, could be done in front of Xian Wu who was now standing at the level of gold core. They were executed one by one. Not even the strongest of them, former giants, could do anything before the onslaught of the Xian family. The situation had turned into a bloodbath.

Deep in the heart of the battlefield, one of the clan's most fierce warriors, Xian Yin, cracked his bloodied knuckles as he stared down one of the Cao family patriarch's sons. The young man was quivering with fear: he had thrown aside his weapon and collapsed on his knees, begging for mercy. "I surrender! I surrender!" he cried, his voice filled with desperation.

Xiao Yue sneered. "If it was possible to save you by surrendering, then there would be no so many dead bodies in this world either." Without any hesitation, he punched the chest of the young man and caved it in with a sickening crack. Blood sprayed out into the air and the son of the Cao family patriarch fell lifeless onto the ground.

The Cao clan head wept all over the battlefield as though he were possessed. Not only had he just witnessed how his own son died before him, but sorrow and rage filled his voice as he hurled curses down at Xian Yue. "You will be paid for this! You and your entire Xian family will be repaid with divine retribution for this shedding of blood!"

"Retribution?" Xian Yue laughed, not even troubling himself to turn towards the broken man. "And who exactly is going to bring that retribution upon me? You?"

His words dripped with mockery, and he continued to watch the battlefield with cold detachment. He made sure to secretly intervene whenever one of his clan members was in danger, ensuring that no more Xian family blood would be spilled this day.

The battle was short-lived. What remained of the three clans lay splattered and shorn from the very face of the earth. Hundreds of bodies littered the ground, their eyes empty of life.