Sensing the two murderous auras, the dormant Dragon Blood in Ye Tianling's body seemed to instantly begin to burn hot once more.
'Old dog, if I don't kill you this time, then I'm not Ye Tianling!'
Ye Tianling swore viciously to himself. For members of the Ye Race like Ye Liyi and Ye Tianyun, the intent to kill had already taken root in his heart.
'Ye Liyi is an Instructor Elder, after all. His power has already stepped into the Sword Essence Realm, at the First Heaven of Sword Essence at the very least. Killing him will be difficult. As for Ye Tianyun, he's not much of a concern for now…'
Ye Tianling was eager to act immediately, but while his Realm had advanced quickly, he was still only at the Sword Beginning Third Heaven.
Above the Sword Beginning Realm was the Sword Qi Realm. And above the Sword Qi Realm was the Sword Essence Realm.
With such a massive gap in Realms, killing his enemy would clearly not be easy.
Moreover, Ye Tianling didn't yet have a concrete assessment of his own Battle Power. If he made a single mistake in a situation like this, Ye Liyi would likely seize the opening and kill him with one strike.
Ye Tianling calmed down and carefully considered his options. He had to come up with a foolproof plan to kill both Ye Liyi and Ye Tianyun.
...
'The aura has faded here. There are two paths. Which one did he take?'
When he reached the fork in the road, Ye Liyi's expression turned grim and his face clouded over.
"Instructor Elder, I'll take the safe path, and you take the dangerous one. If either of us senses his Blood Qi through the bloodline aura on the Heaven-Testing Stone, we'll immediately send a signal."
Ye Tianyun said thoughtfully.
Ye Liyi said, "That little beast burned his Talent. He might be in a state of enhanced power right now, or he might have already started to weaken. If it's the latter, that's good. But if it's the former, we must be careful. Given his temperament, he's bound to choose the dangerous path. He knows he's going to die sooner or later anyway. A path of courting death to find life might actually be more advantageous for him."
Ye Tianyun said, "That may be true, but we can't rule out the possibility that he took the open and straightforward path. After going mad, that little mongrel's thinking has become bizarre, and his actions are unpredictable."
Ye Liyi said, "Fair enough. In that case, be extra careful. I'm worried he might hide and ambush you."
Ye Tianyun sneered, "That little mongrel? Does he even have the right to ambush me?"
Ye Liyi thought about it and agreed it was unlikely. After all, Ye Tianyun had already grasped Sword Qi and was in the Sword Qi Realm. Against anyone in a Realm below Sword Qi, the outcome would be a complete slaughter.
Ye Liyi said no more and parted ways with Ye Tianyun.
Soon, after walking about eight hundred meters, Ye Liyi detected a trace. He then proceeded for another two hundred-plus meters.
Immediately after, a cold, sinister sneer appeared on his face.
"Little beast, come out! Did you think you could escape my keen Sixth Sense?"
Ye Liyi suddenly barked out a cold command.
He then struck out with his palm toward the tree branches where Ye Tianling was hiding.
BOOM—
The branches instantly exploded, sending splinters flying. The giant tree shook violently, nearly toppled by the force of that single palm strike.
Ye Tianling's body fell instantly. After stumbling for a moment, he immediately bolted and fled forward.
"You dodged it? Not bad reactions! But it's no use, little beast. Resign yourself to your fate!"
Ye Liyi's figure flickered, and he closed in on Ye Tianling.
Ye Liyi looked old and withered, but when his Sword Essence Power surged, the resulting aura was truly astonishing.
The moment he moved, he struck like a thunderbolt, swift as lightning. He gathered Sword Qi with an incomparably sharp Sword Essence Power and slashed out through the air to kill.
Ye Tianling activated the Entry Level heart method of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique, circulating True Qi through his meridians. This True Qi then combined with his Dragon Blood Power and was channeled to his feet.
His speed increased almost instantly. The moment Ye Liyi attacked, Ye Tianling would trace an 'S' shape one moment and a 'B' shape the next, evading Ye Liyi's Sword Qi.
After Ye Tianling dodged the Sword Qi several times in a row, Ye Liyi's own Sword Qi reserves had been significantly depleted!
He didn't underestimate his opponent in the slightest. Every strike was infused with his full Battle Power—vicious and sharp—intending to kill Ye Tianling, who had insulted him as an 'old dog' and 'mutt,' in a single blow!
But against all expectations, Ye Tianling managed to dodge every time, one or even two breaths in advance, seemingly with ease!
'This little beast's Body Technique is incredible. Or is he still burning his Talent? What a terrifying Talent! How is it still burning after so long?'
A greedy light flickered in Ye Liyi's eyes. He desperately wanted to capture Ye Tianling and extract this Body Technique from him, but he couldn't risk any mishaps that might allow Ye Tianling to escape—after all, his Body Technique was both bizarre and fast!
'No, if I fail, the Clan Leader will surely blame me. As for this Body Technique... if I really kill Ye Tianling and take his body for research, the family might be able to discover some clues. I could even keep some of his blood and try to gain insights using the Bloodthirsty Soul Refining Technique.'
Ye Liyi quickly made up his mind. His thoughts grew fervent, and his killing intent erupted completely.
He stopped using Sword Qi. Instead, he gathered his Sword Essence Power, channeling it into a silver Longsword.
Then, he violently pushed off the ground with his legs.
BANG—
The ground shook, and a small crater instantly formed where he stood. Ye Liyi's body shot into the air like a cannonball.
"Trying to escape? You're not getting away, little beast!"
Ye Liyi shouted coldly. While airborne, he brandished his silver Longsword, gathered his Sword Essence Power, and unleashed an incredibly tyrannical Slaughter Sword Dao Slaughter Technique.
"Celestial River Sword Technique!"
"Celestial River Sword, descend from the Nine Heavens!"
Ye Liyi roared. The sword attack was like a blindingly cold light, carrying terrifying Force Qi that caused the air to shriek with its passage.
SWOOSH—
That beam of sword light was exceptionally terrifying. The Sword Dao Obsession and Slaughter obsession contained within it were particularly concentrated.
Ye Tianling's very Soul was impacted, and he seemed to freeze for a moment.
And that single moment of hesitation, in Ye Liyi's eyes, was fatal.
"Little beast, you won't even have a complete corpse left!"
In Ye Liyi's eyes, Ye Tianling was sure to die under this sword strike!
As he spoke, he layered on another wave of Sword Essence Power. The already lightning-fast sword strike instantly became a phantom image, hurtling toward the center of Ye Tianling's brow.
At that very moment!
'Nine Swords of Dugu, Sword-Breaking Technique!'
'This strike is powerful and condensed with a strong Sword Dao Obsession, but it lacks a Sword Realm! A sword without Sword Intent is nothing but empty Power of Slaughter before my Sword Venerate Dominating Body; it has no spiritual pressure.'
The thought flashed through Ye Tianling's mind. His body blurred, moving less than half a meter and avoiding the Absolute Kill of the sword light by a hair's breadth.
It was also at this moment that the drop of Dragon Blood Ye Tianling had been gathering throughout this entire ordeal began to boil over completely.
The Fiery Sun Sword he held in his hand suddenly began to vibrate violently.
The sword was crying out!
The Slaughter aura on the Fiery Sun Sword seemed to have been ignited by a Demon God.
AHHH—
As the Dragon Blood seeped into the Fiery Sun Sword, the power in Ye Tianling's body flooded out of him as if a dam had broken. He was nearly sucked dry in an instant.
But his determined will, cold-hearted nature, and ruthless attitude made him completely indifferent to his own dire situation.
'I, Ye Tianling, possess the Sword Venerate Dominating Body and bear the Dragon Soul Divine Blood. I am the inheritor of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Immortal Sword Technique. You, a mere Fiery Sun Sword, dare to devour my Bloodline Power? If you will not submit to my will, then should I survive this, I will use Samadhi True Fire to refine you into ash and bring you to utter Destruction!'
Ye Tianling roared in his heart.
At the same instant this powerful obsession was born, the Fiery Sun Sword suddenly stopped devouring his Bloodline Power.
A blood-red light emanated from Ye Tianling's body, as if he had burst into flames.
"He can still be Burning Bloodline Talent?"
The moment he saw Ye Tianling's state, Ye Liyi was actually stunned.