"Family Head... has been defeated?!"
Whether it was the Qi Seeking Realm powerhouses of the Hua Family inside the hall or the ordinary Hua Family guards outside, they all had to accept this fact.
Yet, deep down, they were extremely reluctant to accept it, even though earlier Yun Xiao had forcefully slain five members of the Hua Family, they never thought that the Family Head would be defeated, who was a genuine Peak of Qi Seeking Realm powerhouse.
But now, this bloody fact was laid out in front of them, leaving them no choice but to believe. Hua Beisheng's mouth was spewing blood, and the shattered Protective Necklace both signaled that the strongest of the current Hua Family generation had been soundly defeated by a youth only at the Middle Stage of the Qi Seeking Realm.
Looking back, exactly what methods that youth had used seemed somewhat blurry; it appeared that he had defeated Hua Beisheng merely with physical strength. Hua Beisheng didn't even get a chance to use any Meridian Techniques.
At this moment, some of those with keen minds began to speculate that Hua Beisheng had been too clever for his own good, believing he could crush his opponent with ease just by defending against the techniques from earlier, only to meet with such an outcome in the end.
"No, I am not satisfied, I refuse to lose!"
Compared to the bystanders, Hua Beisheng, who had spat out a mouthful of blood, was filled with resentment and bitterness. He had always been full of ambition, planning to expand to the surrounding cities after dominating this New Mountain City, eventually even bringing the Yang Family into his Hua Family's sphere of influence.
But his journey, just at its beginning, was strangled in the crib by a stranger at the Middle Stage of the Qi Seeking Realm. Not only did five cultivators of the Hua Family's Qi Seeking Realm die, but even he, the Peak Qi Seeking Realm Family Head, was defeated.
To die before achieving one's ambitions was not something everyone could accept. However, Hua Beisheng retained a sliver of rationality. Despite his resentment, he knew there was a gap between himself and that Middle Stage Qi Seeking Realm youth, especially being severely wounded, he was certainly no match now.
Swoosh!
Hua Beisheng's mind whirred and his eyes darted around wildly before he suddenly spotted a somewhat lonely figure. Instantly, his body moved at an extremely fast speed towards that lone figure.
"Ying'er, be careful!"
Seeing Hua Beisheng's movements, Hu Yuqing, who was a bit farther away, couldn't help but his face turned pale, as he realized Hua Beisheng's target – he wanted to capture Hu Ying'er as a hostage.
It must be said that although the Hua Family Head was severely injured, his speed was still extremely fast. And Hu Ying'er wasn't Yun Xiao. Even though she reacted in time, at the Early Stage of Spirit Vein Realm, she was still captured by Hua Beisheng with a simple move.
At this point, Hua Beisheng couldn't care less about any uncle and niece relationship. All he hoped for was to save his own life; as long as he survived this catastrophe, there would be chances to make a comeback in the future.
Hu Ying'er, standing alone due to some reasons, was undoubtedly Hua Beisheng's last straw. Seeing that he was holding Hu Ying'er with his left hand and his Round Shield in his right hand, it was already pressed against Hu Ying'er's throat.
Despite being a protective item, the edge of the Round Shield was exceedingly sharp, rivaling even ordinary Earth Rank Low-Level offensive weapons.
No one doubted that with a slight slice of the Round Shield's edge across Hu Ying'er's throat, the sole beloved daughter of the former Hu Family Head would perish in an instant, making today's situation, once again, became confusing and uncertain.
"Uncle, are you... really going to be stubborn to the end?"
Hu Ying'er, captured by Hua Beisheng as a hostage, found her calm after a short moment of panic and spoke in a deep voice, her tone even containing a hint of gentleness.
"This is you forcing me! You're forcing me!"
But Hua Beisheng at this moment appeared to have fallen into a state of frenzied madness and didn't listen to Hu Ying'er's words. All he knew was this was his last straw, and he would not let go easily.
"Ying'er, don't make any deals with such a person, besides, we have no need to negotiate with him!"
Just as a sliver of hope rose in Hua Beisheng's heart, the dark-skinned youth spoke up coldly, leaving no room for discussion in his tone as everyone understood clearly.
"Brother Xingchen, you..."
Seeing this, Hu Yuqing was extremely anxious. In his eyes, Xingchen had no significant ties to the Hu Family and thus wouldn't care much for Hu Ying'er's life. But it was different for the members of the Hu Family.
Hu Yuqing was already old, and Hong Liu was not a direct descendant of the Hu Family. Therefore, all the Hu Family's future hopes were pinned on Hu Ying'er alone, especially since she had just awakened an astonishing talent. If she were to die at the hands of Hua Beisheng now, it was likely that the entire Hu Family would never see the day to turn things around.
"Xingchen, as long as you agree to spare the Hua Family, I promise not to hurt Ying'er!"
Hua Beisheng didn't want to give up that last glimmer of hope, but as he spoke, he felt an uneasy feeling in his heart, as it seemed the youth named Xingchen didn't have a deep relationship with the Hu Family.
"I've already said, there's no point discussing any terms with someone like you!"
Yun Xiao lifted his head, repeating his previous words as if to emphasize something, and then added, "Because you don't have the right to negotiate with me, and the bargaining chips you believe you have, don't actually exist!"
"Ying'er, are you ready?"
As his voice faded, Yun Xiao didn't concern himself with the puzzled looks from Hua Beisheng and the onlookers. Instead, he addressed Hu Ying'er with a seemingly inscrutable statement.
"Uncle, I'm asking you one last time, are you still going to persist in your delusion?"
Hu Ying'er did have some regard for family ties after all, yet what she forgot was that her uncle naturally wanted to negotiate, but that Brother Xingchen wouldn't even give him the chance.
"If that's the case, then let's all perish together!"
Hua Beisheng glanced at Xingchen, who showed no sign of compromise, and feeling the severity of his own internal injuries, a surge of fury rose within him, and he couldn't help but bellow out, "No!"
Seeing that Hua Beisheng's right hand had already slightly moved, and then the sharp edge of the round shield was about to slash towards Hu Ying'er's neck, Hu Yuqing was so terrified that his soul nearly fled his body, and he couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
Although Hu Yuqing had some confidence in Yun Xiao and believed that he would not allow Hu Ying'er to die just like that, at this moment, the distance between the two of them was too great. It seemed like a fanciful dream to rescue Hu Ying'er before Hua Beisheng could act.
Boom!
However, at that very moment, as Hua Beisheng lost his reason and was about to cut Hu Ying'er's throat directly, an extremely powerful force suddenly burst out from her, and those originally clear eyes turned blood red at this instant.
"This...this is..."
Hu Yuqing, the Great Elder of the Hu Family, who was very familiar with Hu Ying'er, seemed to have noticed something, especially upon seeing the blood-red eyes, which gave him a peculiar feeling.
Clearly, it was the outbreak of Hu Ying'er's special physique, but as far as Hu Yuqing knew, such a discharge of energy from Hu Ying'er was usually uncontrollable. How could it be timely enough to erupt at this critical moment?
"Could it be that he knew all along?"
As the thought crossed his mind, Hu Yuqing's gaze shifted to the dark-skinned youth, thinking of all the changes since they met Xingchen, and he began to form a suspicion.
"This girl indeed has astonishing talent; it seems she has truly begun to gain initial control of the Double Flower Pure Lotus Body!"
Sensing the overwhelming aura emanating from Hu Ying'er, Yun Xiao couldn't help but feel moved. His earlier confidence was precisely because of this, and he also knew that Hu Ying'er, with the Double Flower Pure Lotus Body activated, would definitely give the Family Head of the Hua Family a big surprise.
Although Yun Xiao was aware that Hu Ying'er, with only an early-stage Spirit Vein Realm cultivation, wouldn't be able to reach the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm like Hua Beisheng even after activating the other aspect of the Double Flower Pure Lotus Body, just having such a moment of shock was enough.
Indeed, when Hu Ying'er's Double Flower Pure Lotus Body was activated, her Meridian Qi Cultivation broke through directly to the early stages of the Qi Seeking Realm. This significant leap made Hua Beisheng's actions involuntarily pause.
Swoosh!
Seizing this opportunity, Hu Ying'er's alternate personality quietly emerged, moving swiftly to dodge her head from the sharp edge of the round shield, escaping the lethal danger.
"Hmph, think you can escape?"
Hua Beisheng was only momentarily absent-minded. As soon as he sensed that Hu Ying'er had only reached an early-stage Qi Seeking Realm, his confidence returned, thinking to himself that this person's power couldn't possibly be as monstrous as that dark-skinned youth, right?
As it turned out, even with the Double Flower Pure Lotus Body activated, Hu Ying'er could not compare with Yun Xiao, but at this moment she was not fighting alone; Yun Xiao might have been waiting for this opportunity all along.
Swish!
Just as Hua Beisheng moved his right hand and the edge of the round shield was still aiming to slash at the back of Hu Ying'er's neck, a black light suddenly flashed out from Yun Xiao's waist, striking furiously and rapidly towards Hua Beisheng.
"What is that? A... Wooden Sword?"
Despite the black light's astonishing speed, some sharp-eyed individuals could still see clearly; they instantly recognized it as a rather unimpressive-looking wooden sword, even more blunt than the kind of wooden swords children play with.
"This shabby wooden sword thinks it can harm the Family Head?"
Even though Hua Beisheng had just been miserably defeated by Yun Xiao, when the Hua Family members saw that wooden sword, they still couldn't help but sneer, since the weapon seemed too shoddy.