"Shua!"
A sword light appeared above several official ships. On the flying sword, the young sword cultivator was dressed in white, exuding the demeanor of a sword immortal. His eyes swept over the group on the deck, finally settling on the man in official robes. "Are you the local magistrate?"
"Indeed!"
The man had a shifty look. "I am Gu Fan, the magistrate of Xian County, my courtesy name is Yizhi. Who are you, and why are you blocking the official ships? Do you know what a grave offense this is?"
Lin Zhao raised his hand slightly, and a stream of light shot out from the Yun Jian Lake, transforming into the flying sword Mingyue. Its tip hummed and pointed directly at Gu Fan's brow. The tip even pierced his skin, and a trickle of blood flowed down. In fact, Lin Zhao wished he could kill this dog official directly, but it seemed he still had a use.
"My lord!"
Several escorts on the ship drew their swords.
"Seeking death!?"
Lin Zhao moved his mind, and six more Great Desolate Ancient Swords shot out from the Lingxu. Their tips pointed directly at the foreheads of the escorts. He said faintly, "If you wish to die, make your move!"
"Sword... Sword Immortal..."
Gu Fan immediately knelt on the bow of the ship. "Sword Immortal, spare my life. I am an official appointed by the imperial court in Jiangzhou. I do not know how I have offended the Sword Immortal. I beg the Sword Immortal to enlighten me."
"Hmph..."
Lin Zhao chuckled. "As the local magistrate, have your dog eyes gone blind? With so many commoners on the rooftops and in the trees, why haven't you rescued them with such large ships? And why are your ships carrying a group of useless gluttons?!"
"You..."
A wealthy merchant frowned and sneered, "You little brat, after learning swordsmanship for a few days, you truly think you are a Sword Immortal? Attack him, kill him!"
Behind the merchant, two escorts drew their sabers and charged. Both were fifth-realm martial cultivators.
Without a second thought, Lin Zhao drew his Li Quan and swept his sword in a single strike, a true Sword Celestial Slaying move. Instantly, the escorts' health bars vanished. Following that, their bodies were pierced and slain by the flying sword Haoran. Then, Lin Zhao raised his finger, and the flying sword Mingyue pierced the merchant's brow, dealing over 90,000 damage and instantly killing him.
"Anyone else want to try?"
Lin Zhao stood with one hand behind his back, perched on the flying sword Hongye, displaying an unreasonable demeanor. He looked down at everyone, and finally said to Magistrate Gu Fan, "Rescue them immediately?"
"Yes, yes... Sword Immortal..."
Gu Fan turned and shouted at his subordinates, "Hurry, rescue them! Save the commoners first!"
Lin Zhao smiled and waved his hand. Twelve Great Desolate Ancient Swords transformed into streaks of multicolored light, carrying the corpulent merchants and hanging them all on the trees. He said, "Gu Fan, after you have saved the commoners, then save these people. If I find you have missed even one commoner, I will return and cut off your head with a single sword."
"Yes, Sword Immortal..."
Gu Fan's face had already turned pale with fear.
...
Lin Zhao, Chi Zhongyu, and Liu Liying continued to drift eastward on a small boat with the floodwaters. The sights along the way were unbearable, with more and more bodies surfacing with each passing day.
Liu Liying pursed her red lips, looking at Lin Zhao, who stood solemnly at the bow of the boat. She dared not say much. At this moment, her young master must be filled with anger and sorrow. Anger stemmed from the possibility that this disaster was man-made, and sorrow that even as a Sword Immortal, he could not control the grand scheme of the world. The hearts of men were like ghosts, difficult to influence.
Shortly after, Lin Zhao looked down at a vast expanse of water ahead. This area was once a village, but now it had become a flooded expanse, with corpses scattered everywhere on the water. In the distance, a covered boat was slowly approaching. Standing at the bow of the covered boat was an imperial official in official robes, a middle-aged man with an air of scholarly refinement. Accompanying him were several small boats with several prefecture soldiers. This official's rank was very high, certainly much higher than the magistrate named Gu Fan before. Judging by his official robes, he was at least a second-rank official.
"Lu Huaining?"
Chi Zhongyu's expression slightly stiffened, and he frowned. "Why is he here?"
Lin Zhao was surprised. "The Minister of Revenue?"
"Mm."
"How could a Minister of Revenue not have official ships and be traveling in a small boat?"
Just then, Lin Zhao's heart suddenly tightened. He detected an extremely strong demonic aura from deep beneath the water. He immediately leaped into the air, drawing his Li Quan, and shouted, "Be careful, there's something in the water!"
In the blink of an eye, the covered boat in the distance suddenly swayed, and then a dark dragon's head emerged from beneath the boat. It violently coiled its massive body, crushing the covered boat in half. Its gaping maw lunged towards Lu Huaining, the Minister of Revenue, who stood at the bow of the boat.
Lu Huaining, a seventh-realm Confucian cultivator, darted his body, barely evading the swallow of the eighth-realm black flood dragon from beneath the water. However, at that moment, two figures emerged from the water behind him, their crescent blades slashing fiercely at the scholar's back. They were two assassins.
"Audacious!"
An old man in grey clothes flashed from one of the small boats and instantly drew his sword. A streak of sword light flashed by, and the two assassins who had attacked Lu Huaining were decapitated. At the same time, the eighth-realm black flood dragon's tail fiercely swept towards the old man in grey. The old man immediately suffered more injuries, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Uncle!"
Chi Zhongyu thrust out his sword, the sword light hacking at the eighth-realm black flood dragon's head, causing its skin to tear open. However, the flood dragon's vitality was extremely strong. It was wounded but not dead, coiling its long body and lunging at Chi Zhongyu again. As for the old man in grey, he was naturally the pride of the Lingnan Sword Sect, Chi Zhongyu's uncle, Chi Yuran.
Lin Zhao had not made a move, his head lowered, looking down at the water. The most concentrated demonic aura was not from that black flood dragon. Indeed, after Chi Yuran and Chi Zhongyu had made their moves one after another, a green figure suddenly surged out of the water. It was an old man in green, with his index and middle fingers joined, stabbing ruthlessly towards Lu Huaining's chest. And behind him, terrifyingly, was the phantom image of a green flood dragon. This strike was both fast and fierce, and utterly unavoidable. At least, the seventh-realm Lu Huaining could absolutely not defend against this strike.
"Shua!"
Lin Zhao moved, and a silver light flew out from the Yun Jian Lake, transforming into the flying sword Mingyue. It circled around Lu Huaining's body and fiercely collided with the old man in green's finger. With a deafening boom, the water's surface was struck by a powerful blast, forming a huge basin-shaped area. Lu Huaining retreated rapidly, while Lin Zhao descended from the sky, his Li Quan delivering a fierce sword strike towards the old man in green's shoulder.
"You little bastard, how dare you ruin my plans?!"
The old man in green's expression turned ferocious. Half of his face showed scales, revealing his ninth-realm flood dragon true form. He twisted his body and pushed a fierce palm towards Lin Zhao. In his palm, a faint golden dragon claw phantom appeared, clearly a technique of a ninth-realm flood dragon. Just as Lin Zhao broke through the technique with his sword, the old man in green condensed a ball of water light in his left hand and laughed, "No one leaves today, you will all die!"
"Weng~~~"
A circular water screen descended from the sky, directly imprisoning Lu Huaining in mid-air. It was a water-based restraint created by the ninth-realm green flood dragon, filled with a strong demonic aura. Just as Lin Zhao was stunned, the ninth-realm green flood dragon sank its body, condensed its true form, and slammed headfirst into Lin Zhao's body.
For a moment, Lin Zhao retreated rapidly along the water's surface, his feet tapping on the water, surrounded by strands of martial cultivator's true qi. Even without reeds underfoot, he could naturally stop on the river like crossing with a single reed. At the same time, the tip of the Li Quan sword entered the water, dragging a long spray of water, using the water's momentum to neutralize the green flood dragon's critical strike. After all, the opponent was a ninth-realm green flood dragon, a true peak great demon in the Hundred Blossoms World. Ordinary people could not withstand this blow.
Therefore, when the ninth-realm green flood dragon looked at Lin Zhao, its eyes clearly showed surprise. Who was this white-robed sword cultivator, and why could he withstand the impact of its innate divine ability?
"No matter what, Lu Huaining will surely die today!"
The green flood dragon's eyes turned ferocious. It opened its right hand, its fingers transforming into the green flood dragon's sharp claws. Streams of water essence rose and evaporated between its fingers, intending to refine the water-based restraint along with Lu Huaining. Instantly, Lu Huaining, who was within the restraint, looked terrified as his flesh and blood were rapidly being drawn out and refined by the green flood dragon.
"This is bad!"
Chi Zhongyu shouted, "Quick, save Master Lu!"
He and Chi Yuran attacked from both sides simultaneously, their bodies wrapped in sword light, crashing against the water-based restraint. However, the restraint remained unmoved. It was no use. The ninth-realm green flood dragon had the advantage of being well-rested, while Chi Zhongyu had been busy all night, his stomach empty, and his spiritual energy depleted. His uncle, Chi Yuran, was clearly injured before and could not support the strength of a ninth-realm expert at this moment.
"It's over..."
Chi Yuran gritted his teeth, only able to watch Lu Huaining be killed.
But at this moment, Lin Zhao made another move. A flying sword shot out from the Yun Jian Lake, "Shua," separating a small world of Haoran, directly breaking through the ninth-realm green flood dragon's water-based restraint. He then ignited a Cavalry Killing Array talisman. Instantly, the river's surface was filled with the fierce aura of soldiers. Dozens of bloody cavalry figures appeared, carrying spears, swords, and sabers, charging towards the ninth-realm green flood dragon. Even two assassins were the first to bear the brunt and were instantly torn into a rain of blood.
"Not good!"
The ninth-realm green flood dragon roared, "Go!"
With that, its body flipped and plunged into the river, escaping with the eighth-realm black flood dragon. Lin Zhao and the others had no way to keep them. After all, the water was the flood dragon's domain, and Lin Zhao's strongest means of restraint was the Haoran Small World, which had already been used to save people and could not be cooled down in a short time.
...
"Young hero, thank you!"
Chi Yuran stepped forward and clasped his fists at Lin Zhao.
Lin Zhao nodded.
"Cover Master ashore. It is no longer safe in the water."
Chi Yuran frowned, his expression extremely solemn. He was the general dispatched by the Lingnan Sword Sect to Jiangzhou Prefecture to protect Lu Huaining. But as a result, Lu Huaining had been in danger repeatedly. If Lin Zhao and Chi Zhongyu had not been there just now, Lu Huaining might have been killed. This journey was not just a heavy responsibility, but filled with grave dangers.