Chapter 173: Thousand Faces – Xiao Chen, You Are Unworthy of Being a Heavenly Pride!

"Senior Brother!"

Ye Beixuan, seeing Xiao Chen flying in on his sword, was so moved he nearly burst into tears. Once a dignified Half-Saint, now reborn, he had hoped to dominate Tianxuan and suppress all other geniuses in this lifetime.

Yet he never imagined that his path of cultivation would be this treacherous.

Despite having a famous master, powerful treasures, and even obtaining all the fortunes he'd missed in his past life—

Ye Beixuan felt no joy at all.

Every time he encountered a great opportunity, he was either being hunted or… being hunted.

It left him questioning the meaning of his life.

Xiao Chen nodded slightly. "Fifth Junior Brother, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but be careful, Senior Brother. They're the infamous Black Demon Thieves—cunning and brutal in every way," Ye Beixuan kindly warned.

Xiao Chen's expression remained unchanged as he calmly said:

"Never heard of the Black Demon Thieves. Just a bunch of Heaven Origin Realm riffraff."

Ye Beixuan: "..."

So this was the confidence of the top genius of Wendao Academy?

The members of the Black Demon Thieves, upon hearing this, had murderous intent blazing in their eyes.

"You shameless brat, how dare you ambush your Grandpa Thousand Faces?! Name yourself!"

As a sinister voice rang out, a man in a black robe stepped out from the forest.

The thirteen members of the Black Demon Thieves quickly surrounded Xiao Chen and Ye Beixuan.

Xiao Chen spoke calmly, "Xiao Chen of Wendao Academy."

Upon hearing his name, a trace of shock flashed in their eyes, and they subconsciously stepped back.

Thousand Faces, noticing the fear in his comrades' hearts, sneered, "So you're the number one genius of Wendao?"

"Indeed."

Xiao Chen slowly raised the longsword in his hand and said indifferently, "Since you know who I am, will you end yourselves, or shall I send you on your way?"

The Black Demon Thieves were known for their cruelty. They were always the ones mocking others. Now being humiliated by a young brat—they erupted in rage.

"Just you? Kill us? Brothers, form the Black Demon Formation!"

With a loud shout from Thousand Faces, the twelve others pulled out formation flags and began to form a battle array.

Xiao Chen, though proud, wasn't foolish. Seeing them make a move, he didn't wait to be attacked. A divine radiance burst from his body as he spoke coldly:

"Have you ever witnessed the sight of ten thousand swords flying together?"

Black Demon Thieves: ???

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin!"

Xiao Chen elegantly swung his sword.

In an instant, countless sword lights filled the sky, raining down upon the Black Demon Thieves.

They had no time to complete their formation—each quickly drew their weapons to try and block the overwhelming storm of swords.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Amid the clashing sounds, some of the Black Demon Thieves were already wounded.

"Big Brother, this one's tough—quick, retre—ah!"

Before the man could even finish shouting "retreat," a sword beam pierced straight through him, killing him instantly.

His soul had just emerged from his body—

And was obliterated by the sword rain the next second.

Thousand Faces never expected this young man to be so terrifying. Without a word, he turned and fled, not even bothering to alert his comrades.

As long as he lived, the Black Demon Thieves would never truly be gone.

Xiao Chen watched the direction he fled, the corners of his lips curving slightly. "Think you can escape?"

With that, his sword thrust toward the vanishing dot on the horizon.

Clang!

A flash of sword light, swift as lightning, cut through the storm and—

Pierced that black speck in the distance.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Accompanied by a miserable scream, that dark speck slowly fell to the ground.

The surviving members of the Black Demon Thieves, upon seeing this, immediately turned to flee.

But Xiao Chen showed no mercy—switching from thrust to slash.

As the sword light swept through the air, several heads instantly fell to the ground.

In less than a moment, all thirteen members of the Black Demon Thieves had become corpses. Not even their souls managed to escape.

Ye Beixuan watched this scene, a cold sweat forming on his forehead.

So this… was Senior Brother?

Too powerful. I thought Second Senior Brother was already invincible in the world, but I didn't expect Senior Brother to be even more terrifying. These two… either one of them could've crushed all heavenly prides in my past life.

Yet such a tiny Miscellaneous Dao Institute could produce two peerless geniuses like this.

At that moment, a figure flew over from the horizon—it was Liu Yue'er, holding a puppet in her hand, her face filled with frustration as she spoke:

"Senior Brother, Thousand Faces escaped again. The one you just killed was only one of his puppets."

Xiao Chen smiled and said, "No matter. He can't run far. Puppet masters may control countless puppets, but he's still only at the Heaven Origin Realm. He's surely hiding somewhere within a hundred miles."

Hearing this, Ye Beixuan asked curiously, "Senior Brother, do you have a tracking technique that can locate Thousand Faces?"

Xiao Chen shook his head, then cupped his hands toward the void and said, "Elder Shan, I'll trouble you. Master once said: leave no loose ends when killing enemies."

A faint voice echoed from the sky.

"It's nothing. Trash like the Black Demon Thieves deserve to die. Killing him is no exception."

Ye Beixuan was stunned once more. He hadn't expected Senior Brother Xiao to actually command his own protector.

In his past life, his protector wouldn't act unless his life was truly in danger.

Was this… the difference between heavenly prides?

Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Junior Brother Ye, there's no longer any danger within a thousand miles. Do you want to break through here, or find a safer place?"

Ye Beixuan thought for a moment and replied, "I'll refine the Nine-Leaf Violet Lotus here. Please protect me, Senior Brother. These storage bags are from the beasts I killed—if anything catches your eye, feel free to take it."

Xiao Chen grinned. "Alright, I'll take it as your offering for my meal."

A hundred miles away, in the depths of a river—

The Black Demon Thieves' leader, Thousand Faces, was hiding underwater using a breath-concealing technique.

Watching the force he had built with so much effort wiped out by Xiao Chen so effortlessly, his heart burned with hatred.

They, the Black Demon Thieves, had killed disciples from holy lands before. Those disciples always had top-tier weapons and equipment.

But they lacked real battle experience, usually relying on techniques and gear to dominate their peers.

Yet Xiao Chen… was a battle-hardened monster.

"Damn it! That brat's even scarier than the rumors! Aren't you righteous cultivators always the loudest braggarts? Why the sudden humility this time?"

"Xiao Chen, just wait! One day, I, Thousand Faces, will grind your bones to dust!"

The moment his words fell, his body suddenly went stiff. Then, a disdainful voice came from above.

"Too bad. You won't get that chance."

Thousand Faces' expression changed dramatically. That was a Nirvana Realm voice.

In the next instant, a soul-shattering pain surged through his entire being. A sense of utter despair flooded his heart.

Just before he was reduced to ashes, a final bitter thought crossed his mind:

Xiao Chen… you shameless bastard. A so-called heavenly pride, yet you sent your protector to crush a mere Heaven Origin cultivator like me…

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