Chapter 1938 Reversal

Behind Huo Jianghe followed a middle-aged man, tall and imposing, clad in armor, his eyes exuding a strong sense of authority. Xue Qin, who was about to leave, stopped upon seeing this man and bowed: 'Father! Senior Brother Huo!'

It was Xue Qian, the city lord of Xuanjiang City, who had been killed with a single slash by Zhang Xuan.

Behind the two were a dozen young people, all around sixteen or seventeen years old, each of considerable strength.

They were all the young talents who had come to participate in the assessment.

'Nephew Jianghe...'

Seeing that he had come to interrupt the interrogation of Xue Chen, City Lord Xue Qian looked over in confusion.

As the city lord, he was supposed to personally accompany the selection of talents in Xuanjiang City. Unexpectedly, just after the preliminary test and before the re-examination, this Huo Jianghe insisted on coming here, leaving him baffled and unable to make sense of it.

'The re-examination will be held right here. With so many people watching, it will better demonstrate fairness and justice!' Nodding, Huo Jianghe turned and sat in the central seat of the room.

In conducting the assessment, he represented the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, so even though Xue Qian was the city lord, he could only sit in a subordinate position.

Xue Chen was utterly bewildered.

In the middle of an interrogation, they were going to conduct an assessment—what was he supposed to do now?

'Senior Brother Huo, as a member of Xuanjiang City, may I participate in the assessment?'

Shan Xiaotian declared loudly.

'Of course you may!'

Huo Jianghe nodded.

'Young Master Huo, this Shan Xiaotian is only at the Saint Domain Sixth Layer, of low strength. Moreover, he colludes with bandits, harms the people, and has a despicable character. Allowing him to participate in the assessment is an insult to the Sword Pavilion...'

Xue Chen was extremely anxious.

Although he knew clearly that even if this fellow participated in the assessment, he wouldn't be selected, still... letting someone like that take part would make this interrogation utterly absurd.

'You say my strength is low?'

Shan Xiaotian looked over.

'Indeed! Lame, Saint Domain Sixth Layer, inferior even to ordinary people—if that's not low, what is?' Xue Chen raised his eyebrows.

'Since you say that, then let me ask... how is the strength of the Second Miss, Xue Qin?' Shan Xiaotian said calmly.

'My young lady is a genius. She is only sixteen this year and has already reached the Great Saint Third Layer Great Perfection, on the verge of breaking through at any moment!' Xue Chen said proudly.

'Heh!'

Shan Xiaotian suddenly raised his eyebrows.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Streams of sword qi shot out from his fingertips. The iron chains on his wrists, upon contact with the sword qi, immediately broke into pieces!

Breaking free from the shackles, the young man's aura continuously rose. In the blink of an eye, it stopped at the Great Saint Third Layer Great Perfection. His previously hunched back gradually straightened. He had appeared to be only about 1.6 meters tall, but now fully stretched, although not as tall as Zhang Xuan, he was about 1.75 meters.

Most importantly, as he walked forward slowly, there was no longer any trace of a limp in his leg!

Even his appearance seemed to have changed, becoming more resolute and handsome. Compared to him, the dozen or so youths from before all felt ashamed of their own looks.

'This is impossible...'

Her eyes nearly popping out, Xue Qin was going crazy.

In her mind, this fellow was synonymous with weakness and uselessness. She never dreamed that he would undergo such earth-shaking changes, as if he had become a different person!

Ignoring the shocked girl, Shan Xiaotian took a few steps, looked at Xue Chen not far away, and curled his lips: 'At the same level, I am a waste, and the Second Miss is a genius... I wonder, Instructor Xue, by what criteria do you judge? Your toes or your butt?'

'You...'

Stepping back, Xue Chen trembled.

When had this fellow been able to cultivate? And... at the Great Saint Third Layer Great Perfection?

Not only them, but everyone around was also dead silent.

Previously, the reason given was that this fellow couldn't cultivate and wanted to rely on the City Lord's Mansion to save his life, so he colluded with bandits to prevent Xue Qin from becoming a disciple of the Sword Pavilion. Now that he had strength, and such great strength, that reason naturally lost its persuasiveness!

'All of you, attack me together...'

Smiling faintly, Shan Xiaotian looked at the dozen or so youths brought by Senior Brother Huo.

'Attack together?'

The crowd was stunned for a moment. Seeing Senior Brother Huo nod in agreement, they all flashed their eyes, gripped their longswords, and stabbed over in unison.

Shan Xiaotian formed a sword with his fingers, reached forward like an eagle's claw, and immediately snatched a longsword from one of the youths. Flicking his wrist, he created a sword flower.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

Over a dozen streams of sword qi shot out from the sword tip.

Although he had only learned one move, 'Throwing the Sword,' from his teacher, his teacher had explained many basics of the sword. Even without using his ultimate technique, his combat strength was extremely high.

It was like Li Xunhuan's Flying Dagger—he wasn't just good at throwing daggers; without them, he was still one of the top experts in the world.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As the sword qi flew out, a sound of swords falling to the ground followed. The dozen or so youths all clutched their wrists, their eyes filled with terror.

The sword move Shan Xiaotian had casually executed had wounded them all in an instant!

Fortunately, he had held back and not used force; otherwise, their wrists would have fallen off.

Whoosh!

With a flick of his finger, the longsword shot like lightning and embedded itself diagonally in front of Xue Qin, trembling and emitting a sobbing sound. Shan Xiaotian stood proudly, like a white poplar in the wind: 'I wonder... can the genius Second Miss do what I, this waste, just did?'

'...'

There was a moment of silence.

Surrounded by over a dozen people, he casually snatched a sword, without moving his body, and wounded all their wrists with a single strike... Such strength and swordsmanship were simply astonishing!

If this kind of person was a waste... what were they?

Her pretty face turning pale, Xue Qin's delicate body trembled.

Although she was also at the Great Saint Third Layer Great Perfection, she absolutely could not do this!

If she charged over, she would likely be defeated instantly like the others.

'Even if you're not a waste... colluding with bandits is still a fact. Your neighbors can testify that bandits were seen in your mansion late at night...'

Xue Chen gritted his teeth.

'Did you both actually see bandits entering my mansion?'

Without answering him, Shan Xiaotian turned to look at the two witnesses who had just come forward.

'Yes... absolutely true!'

'We really... saw it!'

Under his gaze, both of them shrank their necks.

If the other party had always been unable to cultivate, that would be one thing. But now he could cultivate, and with such high talent, recalling the former prestige of the Shan family... they both felt some fear and were not as confident as before.

Just as they were trembling with fear, Shan Xiaotian's voice rang out: 'Seeing it, that's right... it means you're telling the truth!'

'Huh?'

Both were stunned.

Right?

Do you know what you're saying?

This would be an admission of colluding with bandits. Even if his talent was high and his strength great, with moral flaws, the Lingyun Sword Pavilion would not accept him as a disciple.

The others also erupted in uproar.

'Haha, since he admitted it, there's nothing more to say. Men, arrest this bandit-collaborator...'

Xue Chen was also stunned for a moment, then burst into ecstasy.

He had thought that after showing his strength, the fellow would stubbornly deny it, making his plan very passive. He never dreamed that this guy, as if lacking a brain, would directly confess!

And in front of so many people!

Now there was no room for maneuver... a big hat had been placed on his head, and he was doomed!

'Arrest me?'

With a cold laugh, Shan Xiaotian suddenly bowed with cupped hands: 'Senior Brother Huo, I would like to call a witness now, if you permit.'

'Mm.'

Huo Jianghe nodded.

'Come in!' Shan Xiaotian looked outside.

As he spoke, a figure in a black robe and bamboo hat walked in from outside. Coming before the crowd, he slowly removed his hat.

'It's Cao Chengli!'

'That bandit leader...'

'He dares to come to the City Lord's Mansion? Kill him...'

'Shan Xiaotian called him in; it seems they really are in collusion...'

...

Seeing the figure clearly, the crowd below erupted.

It was none other than the bandit leader... Cao Chengli!

This fellow had always hidden deep in the mountains and forests. The City Lord's Mansion had tried to hunt him down several times without success. Now he dared to come here—his audacity was too great!

'Everyone see? This Cao Chengli obeys his orders; clearly, they have long been in collusion...'

Xue Chen was so excited he nearly jumped up.

All the previous matters lacked solid evidence, at most some forged evidence. Now this fellow had actually brought the bandit leader here...

There was definitely no way to clear his name now!

'Collusion?'

Shan Xiaotian sneered, then looked at the black-robed bandit before him: 'As for who actually colluded with you... please answer yourself, Chief Cao!'

'It's him...'

Cao Chengli stepped forward, pointing at Xue Chen and Xue Qin: 'And her...'

'What nonsense are you talking? Don't slander people...'

Xue Chen raised his eyebrows.

'Slander?' Cao Chengli clenched his fists and stepped forward: 'Yesterday, this Xue Chen came to see me specifically and commissioned me to kill someone. The reward was fifty thousand Divine Currency Coins! I inquired and found out that the target had no strength and was a waste, so I agreed on the spot...'

'Kill someone?'

'A waste?'

Among the crowd, the clever ones had already guessed and looked in unison at Shan Xiaotian not far away.

In recent years, only he had borne this reputation.

'That's right, it was this young master Shan Xiaotian!'

Cao Chengli continued: 'I went to ambush him at night, but... Young Master Xiaotian's strength exceeded my imagination, so naturally I couldn't succeed! Thus, my entire force was wiped out, all killed by him...'

The fact that the horse and carriage had killed his men was too shocking; if he said it, no one would believe him, so it was better not to mention it.

'I was lucky to escape with my life. I went back to find this Xue Chen, and he only gave me five hundred Divine Currency Coins... I was furious and wanted to see who was behind it, so I secretly followed them. I saw the two of them enter the City Lord's Mansion, and coincidentally witnessed the scene recorded in this jade crystal...'

With a flick of his wrist, Cao Chengli released the footage recorded last night.

Everyone immediately saw that within the stern City Lord's Mansion, Xue Chen stood before the crowd, ordering the guards to change out of their bandit attire and solemnly instructing them to kill the entire Shan family!