Chapter 1193: Shadow

Proofreader: Papatonks

Ignoring the comments, Chu Qingcheng was tense enough as it was due to the opponent’s challenge. But she still raised her sword to point it at him and look tough, “Come! I’ll never hand over the Purple Gold Glazed Cup!” 

“Neither do I want you to, for it will be the winner’s spoils.” The leader’s hand released a gray energy, his eyes sharp as they made the young miss cower. 

Whoosh!

Before the leader even got to strike, however, Chu Qingcheng’s sword acted first.

A sharp sword energy went by the leader’s head, striking another Spirit King somewhere behind. 

Blood spurted everywhere as the victim was removed from this world.

Ugh!

The leader stiffened, frozen on the spot as if he regarded Chu Qingcheng like a monster or a creature beyond any comprehension.

He had no time to even flinch as the attack flew dangerously close to his own head before taking down a brother of his. Just an inch to the side and it’d have been him instead…

Gulp.

The leader was sweating buckets just as he saw the young miss looking perplexed at what transpired.

Her sword moved by itself!

Whoosh!

Chu Qingcheng’s sword acted up again, sending another sword wave, whizzing past the leader’s scalp to pop another Spirit King into a cloud of bloody mist. 

Everyone shuddered as they jumped back, looking at Chu Qingcheng like she was a devil. A twitch of the sword nailed one down. Such simplistic and efficient killing was that of an expert killer. What was even worse, she was mocking their leader, the one she was actually facing while culling them instead!

[Just how outrageous is this chick’s power to even slight a late-stage Spirit King? Is she an Emperor?]

As blood leaked out of a slight cut on the leader’s cheek, he now saw Chu Qingcheng with nothing but fear.

He never saw a faster sword in his life. The girl wasn’t innocent by a long shot. The strikes were shot with brutality, meant to execute with impunity.

“M-miss, who on earth are you?”

Unable to get even his voice under control, the leader shuddered in front of Chu Qingcheng’s guileless gaze.

Chu Qingcheng mused then replied according to the custom, with cupped hands, “I am Ruby Cloud Sect 362nd generation disciple, Chu Qingcheng. May I know who you are?”

“362nd… the youngest? How do you have such power and skill?”

Incapable of getting an answer, the leader frowned in thought. He regarded Chu Qingcheng again with utter shock now, “T-that’s…”

A shadow grew behind Chu Qingcheng, dark and shifty, and he only realized it now thanks to his Spirit-King-level cultivation. 

The force he felt from it left him weak in the knees and he staggered back.

He hastily cupped his hands, “I am in awe of miss’ incredible feat of strength. We’ll meet again if fate wills it.”

“Let’s go!”

The leader waved and was the first to flee for his life, his back soaked.

The rest of his men were right behind him. 

[The missie must be really something for the boss to choose retreat over attacking.]

Chu Qingcheng was absolutely perplexed, just saluting back on reflex, “Uh, yeah, later…”

“Humph, what frickin’ later? You came for a fight so don’t think of getting out alive!”

Chu Qingcheng didn’t care about them, while Zhuo Fan snickered from his cozy little bush.

Chu Qingcheng’s shadow shot out and her sword acted up again.

Whoosh!

A sword energy flew at the men in black, running through the chests of three people. 

Plop~

They all turned to a bloody mist, all Genesis Stage experts.

The leader snapped at Chu Qingcheng, “Miss, we never touched any of your people. We’re even leaving yet you would be so cruel as to kill us, fleeing men?”

“No, that… it’s the sword…”

Chu Qingcheng looked hurt at the accusation, lamenting as she turned to her sword. Her words got cut off, literally, as her sword had a mind of its own.

Sword energy flew galore, each robbing a wail of agony from a man in black, along with his life, sending them to the great beyond.

The leader looked at the heavy casualties and roared, “Curses, this chick is an oddity and bloodthirsty like a banshee. Run, we’ll pay her back later!”

“Well aren’t you a ray of sunshine, so optimistic. Humph, there won’t be any loose ends!”

Whoosh~

Zhuo Fan flicked from his bush with an insidious smile. Chu Qingcheng’s shadow moved her hand and sent more sword energy flying, making it so it was all her doing. 

The sky was filled under the gaudy lights of the sword waves, soon covering the ground in fresh and bloody corpses for the new grass to grow. The Ruby Cloud Sect disciples looked startled. 

[Since when was junior sister Qingcheng so cruel?]

Chu Qingcheng watched as lives were mowed down like grass on the verge of tears, shouting, “Stop, please stop…”

“No can do, Qingcheng. I’m ending this here and now for your sake.” Zhuo Fan muttered from the bush.

Chu Qingcheng held the sword with both hands, trying her best to get it under control. She cried, “Stop this instant or I will cripple my meridians. Without my Yuan Qi you can’t do anything!”

Zhuo Fan listened at last, with a shake of his head.

[Fine, since you said so and if it’ll make you happy…]

Chu Qingcheng’s shadow settled and the flood of sword energy slowed down to a halt. Though only three men in black remained, including the leader.

Glancing back at the she-demon, the wretched thieves ran for their lives while the girl was downcast. 

They came here thinking it was an easy gig, but luck had it they got almost all of their men killed. 

[We need backup to deal with this hellspawn!]

The Ruby Cloud Sect disciples glanced at Chu Qingcheng, slumped on the ground, with dull eyes. They couldn’t recognize her, only feeling fear.

“Senior sister, are you alright? I kept the Purple Gold Glazed Cup safe!”

Chu Qingcheng jumped back to her feet like nothing happened, beaming at the girls, “You’re all hurt. Want me to heal you?”

Pa!

Fang Min yanked the cup from Chu Qingcheng’s hand and mocked as a form of thanks, “Little junior sister, you sure kept to yourself all this time. But now you showed us. Without your help today, junior sister, our lives would’ve been forfeited. All of us are so useless, needing junior sister’s protection.”

“Senior sister, don’t say that. It’s my duty.” Chu Qingcheng was worried as she spoke obliviously to the sarcasm, “Senior sister, why aren’t you pleased that we have overcome this disaster?”

Fang Min chuckled with scorn, “Oh, I’m pleased as punch, of junior sister’s glorious future. You alone had finished off two dozen people and many Spirit Kings among them, making us fall short. But junior sister, when did you become so cruel to kill people on a whim? We all saw them leaving so why did you go after them still? If I didn’t know any better, you’d have to be from Devil Mountain than Ruby Cloud Sect.”

“Senior sister, I really didn’t want to kill them. It was my sword…”

“It just moved? That’s rich!”

Fang Min snickered, her tone biting and mean, “Sisters, let’s keep going. We don’t need to worry about little junior sister anymore. She has an almighty independent divine sword and can do away without our help.” 

Fang Min was the first to fly off, with the others taking healing pills before giving Chu Qingcheng looks of fear and then following. Chu Qingcheng was left alone and in guilt, looking at her baffling spiritual sword with conflicted emotions.

She liked the sword for coming to her and her senior sisters’ rescue, but hated it for going out of control and isolating her from her senior sisters.

It was never the sword however, but a man, the one wearing a creepy smile just off to the side in a bush…