Chapter 1933: Xue Qin's Father

"You..."

Xue Qin was nearly furious.

The esteemed second miss of the City Lord's Mansion, a pearl among women, reduced to a maidservant... it was an utter insult!

"She is not my subordinate; I have no authority to decide!"

Frowning, Huo Jianghe said.

"Then there's no help for it. Three sword users came before, and I killed each with a single strike—no different from slaughtering chickens. You're probably the same; no need to compete."

Zhang Xuan stretched lazily and stopped: "Since you can't decide, forget it..."

A cold gleam flashed, and Huo Jianghe's eyes narrowed: "As a master swordsman, how can you go back on your word?"

"This woman just looked down on me, stirring up resentment in my heart that's hard to dispel. If I don't make her my maidservant, I can't swallow this anger! With anger in my heart, my swordsmanship can't be fully unleashed, and the duel loses its meaning... Such an important matter—how can you call it going back on my word?"

With hands clasped behind his back, Zhang Xuan wore an expression of noble consideration for his opponent: "I do this to better bring out my strongest combat power and display the most formidable swordsmanship, showing the greatest respect to you, my opponent! A master swordsman like you... wanting to duel me must surely wish to defeat the strongest version of me, not to take advantage of my weakness... Winning like that wouldn't be honorable, would it?"

Creak! Creak!

Huo Jianghe ground his teeth.

Seeing this guy brazenly spouting nonsense without a hint of shame, why did he feel such an urge to punch him?

What, if he didn't agree to this bet, he'd be bullying someone, and even victory would be unworthy?

"Senior Brother, you absolutely must not agree..."

Hearing how absurd his words were becoming, Xue Qin's face turned pale with fear.

"If you don't agree, then forget it. I'll still accept the duel, even if I'm weakened. Anyway, you just want to beat me; fairness doesn't matter..."

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan looked disheartened: "A strong cultivator from the Lingyun Sword Pavilion duels without caring about fairness—I've truly learned something today..."

"Enough, I agree!"

Huo Jianghe waved his hand grandly.

Although this guy was spouting baseless claims, since he represented the Lingyun Sword Pavilion and the other had clearly guessed as much, he had to be fair and just, leaving no room for criticism!

"Senior Brother..."

Xue Qin trembled.

She was the second miss of the City Lord's Mansion, a favored child of heaven who might soar into the Sword Pavilion... being wagered as a maidservant was the ultimate humiliation.

But before her voice could fully rise, Huo Jianghe's rebuke rang out: "Shut up! Do you think I can't win?"

"I..." Xue Qin's face went pale: "I wouldn't dare... With Senior Brother's strength, once you act, victory is certain..."

"Hmph!"

Too lazy to say more, he grabbed the long sword Xue Qin held, and it appeared in his palm. Fearing that more words might infuriate him to death, Huo Jianghe tapped his foot and landed on the arena, beckoning with one hand: "Please!"

"Refreshing!"

With a laugh, Zhang Xuan followed closely.

"In your previous battles with my junior brothers, you used a sword-throwing technique. I'd like to witness its power!"

The long sword left its sheath, emitting a dragon's roar, Huo Jianghe said.

Since he wanted to restore the sect's honor, he would naturally defeat his opponent at their strongest swordsmanship.

"Good!"

Zhang Xuan nodded, walked to the weapon rack, and took out another long sword.

...

"Elder, Elder, that Tianya has appeared..."

In Star Glory City, at the City Lord's Mansion, Yun Feiyang hurried into the room.

"Appeared? Good, let's go see!"

Elder Lu Yun's eyes lit up. He took out the Divine Communication Talisman from before, focused his mind, and entered it.

Soon, Yun Feiyang, Huang Tao, and the others followed.

Entering the Divine Communication Hall, before they even reached the public arena, the clamor of the crowd surrounded them.

"Hurry over, the duel between Tianya and 'One Glance River' is about to start!"

"Who is One Glance River?"

"I don't know either. I hear his swordsmanship is extremely high. A clash of titans—results will come soon!"

"Knowing Tianya's record and still daring to duel him shows his strength is no weakling. Who wins and who loses is still unknown..."

...

"One Glance River? That's Senior Brother!"

Yun Feiyang's eyes lit up.

"That boy Jianghe is not bad. He must have heard you all lost and wants to restore the sect's reputation."

Elder Lu Yun immediately understood and nodded approvingly.

"We are ashamed!"

Their faces flushed simultaneously.

They had lost, forcing the senior brother to step in—truly disgraceful.

"Jianghe has always been steady and experienced in battle. With him acting, he should be able to resolve this negative impact..." Elder Lu Yun stroked his beard. Even in the Divine Communication Hall, he maintained the image of an old man.

"We admire Senior Brother's strength. Since he's acting, he must have a way to counter it."

"Let's go see. Once he acts, the outcome should be decided..."

Elder Lu Yun nodded and led the four quickly toward the public arena.

Before they even arrived, a roar of exclamations soared to the heavens.

"There must be a result..."

The five hurried over, eager to see how Huo Jianghe had won, only to find the senior brother called 'One Glance River' lying on the ground with a long sword stuck in his head.

Soon, the corpse turned into light points and slowly disappeared.

"Senior Brother..."

Yun Feiyang and the others were stunned.

Elder Lu Yun stood frozen.

Hadn't the battle just begun?

How did it end in the blink of an eye?

Even the senior brother was no match, easily killed in an instant?

While the crowd was shocked, Xue Qin trembled, on the verge of madness.

She had thought the senior brother would win easily, never expecting that he would throw his sword... and the senior brother would fall... in less than two breaths, it was over!

Did that mean she had become... his maidservant?

"Wench, aren't you coming over to massage your master's shoulders?"

As she was agonizing, she saw the young man on the arena walk down and approach her with a smile.

"You..."

Xue Qin gritted her teeth in fury, flipped her hand, and suddenly slapped at him.

Make her a maidservant or servant? Dream on...

Before her palm could land on his face, she felt her wrist tighten—he had caught it—and then pain flared on her cheek.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

Four consecutive slaps to her face left her once-beautiful cheeks swollen like a buttocks.

Though she knew this was a false world, not real, Xue Qin still felt her face burning as if on fire. If there were a crack in the ground, she would have crawled into it.

She had thought that by attaching herself to Huo Jianghe, the outer sect senior brother of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, she could soar and realize her life's dream. Never in her wildest dreams...

Had she become more miserable than before.

"A servant daring to strike her master—quite bold!"

After slapping her, Zhang Xuan snorted coldly.

He had no sympathy for this venomous woman who had broken off the engagement and even tried to kill. If not for intending to leave her for his student to teach a lesson, he would have slapped her to death long ago.

"I'll kill you..."

Xue Qin's eyes reddened. Just as she was about to fight this man to the death, a rebuke rang out: "Enough! Haven't you disgraced yourself enough?"

The girl stiffened and quickly turned around, seeing a middle-aged man who had appeared not far away.

"Father..."

Her knees went weak, and she knelt.

"Calling him father? Could this be... City Lord Xue Qian of Xuanjiang City?"

"City Lord Xue Qian is a strong cultivator at the Ancient Saint Fourth Layer, the Void Shattering Realm. I didn't expect him to come personally!"

"With his daughter becoming someone else's maidservant, how could he sit still?"

"If he acts, this Tianya is surely finished..."

"Yes, insulting the city lord's daughter and slapping her—just that alone, no one can save him..."

...

Ignoring the crowd's murmurs and his kneeling daughter, the middle-aged man looked up at Zhang Xuan: "Friend, one must be lenient when possible. It's good for the young to have sharp edges, but too sharp, and you go too far."

"Yes, one must be lenient when possible. I've never liked pushing people too hard..." Zhang Xuan nodded, agreeing with the man's words. "Of course, unless they're not human."

The middle-aged man, Xue Qian, immediately narrowed his eyes, killing intent boiling around him.

The crowd had already revealed his identity. As a city lord, coming over personally was already a great courtesy, yet this man spoke like that!

Showing no respect at all!

In truth, it wasn't entirely Zhang Xuan's fault. If he hadn't intervened, this disciple named Shan Xiaotian would have been killed long ago.

All because of an engagement—breaking it off and killing...

And the key was that the City Lord's Mansion had a good reputation... Such hypocrites and pretenders—he couldn't just let them off easily.

"It seems you're very confident. Fine, I'll duel you."

Seeing the crowd of onlookers growing, and knowing today's matter couldn't be resolved peacefully, the middle-aged man looked over.

"Fine! Simple. The wager: four hundred thousand Divine Communication Coins! Agree, and we duel. If not, I'll go back to sleep. It's late, and my newly acquired maidservant isn't attentive. I'll go spread the word... The dignified City Lord's Mansion can't even manage its own daughter—how can it govern a city of millions?"

With a light laugh, Zhang Xuan wore an expression of a dead pig unafraid of scalding water.

Since the City Lord's Mansion was rich enough to support so many soldiers, he'd make them bleed a bit.

Creak! Creak!

Xue Qian's eyes shot lightning. He had never craved killing someone so much.

As a city lord revered by tens of thousands, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

This was practically cursing him to his face and deliberately hitting his daughter.

"Young man, leave some leeway. Don't go too far in anything. Though the Divine Communication Hall can hide names, it's not absolutely leak-proof."

Xue Qian's tone carried a threat.

"What, afraid to bet? Then get lost... Don't waste my time!" Zhang Xuan stretched lazily.

"You..." Taking a deep breath to suppress his rage, Xue Qian gritted his teeth: "Fine, I'll bet with you!"

Four hundred thousand Divine Communication Coins was a huge sum even for the City Lord's Mansion, but... if he didn't bet and let the man leave to spread rumors, the prestige the mansion had built over decades would be utterly destroyed.

And judging by the man's demeanor... he would indeed do it...

When had the City Lord's Mansion ever offended such a bottom-line-less expert?