4223 The Xia Clan
“Young man, relinquish your ownership over your spatial ring, and I’ll spare your life!”
The leader of the bandits, who was a rudimentary Supreme God, rose higher in the air and stared at Duan Ling Tian indifferently. If he rashly killed Duan Ling Tian, the spatial ring would self-destruct. As such, these words were a standard procedure; they would always request their victims to relinquish their claims over their spatial rings.
“Spare my life? Are you really going to spare my life if I do that?” Duan Ling Tian smiled faintly with a hint of derision upon hearing the other party’s words.
“Of course,” the rudimentary Supreme God replied without missing a beat.
“If that’s the case, why don’t all of you swear on the Devil Heart’s Blood Oath? I’ll relinquish my ownership of the spatial ring after you do so,” Duan Ling Tian said. His expression was serious, but if one took a closer look, one would be able to see the contempt in the depths of his eyes.
Before the rudimentary Supreme God could respond, one of the vice leaders said with a scoff, “Quit wasting our time! You’re not in the position to demand anything from us!”
The other bandits looked at Duan Ling Tian menacingly as the vice leader spoke.
“How insincere,” Duan Ling Tian said with a faint smile, “It seems like I have no other choice. I’ll hand my spatial ring over. I hope you’ll keep your promise.”
As soon as Duan Ling Tian’s voice fell, he vanished into thin air before he reappeared next to the rudimentary Supreme God.
The rudimentary Supreme God was caught off guard. He had let his guard down after he confirmed that Duan Ling Tian was just an advanced Emperor of Gods. As such, he could not react in time.
With Duan Ling Tian’s current strength, very few rudimentary Supreme Gods, including the powerful ones, were a match for him.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
A seven-colored sword ray pierced the rudimentary Supreme God’s body before it exploded into countless sword rays, bursting out of his body.
Subsequently, a figure appeared in the air and let out a cry before it collapsed. It was the phenomenon that announced the death of a Supreme God. However, since they were not in the Realm Battlefield, the phenomenon was fleeting and not very clear. Moreover, it was not huge to the point where it could be seen from far away.
“My lord!”
The expressions of the bandits changed greatly when they regained their senses. After a beat, all of them tried to flee. Alas, they were no match for the seven-colored sword rays.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The seven-colored sword rays easily killed the remaining bandits, except for the vice leaders. The sword rays were not strong enough to kill those imminent Supreme Gods, but they were more than enough to stop them while Duan Ling Tian killed them.
Needless to say, the imminent Supreme Gods could not resist at all when Duan Ling Tian killed them.
“There’s no way all of you could’ve escaped from me,” Duan Ling Tian muttered to himself as he shook his head and collected the bandits’ belongings. Then, he boarded the bandits’ supreme-grade flying ship.
Although the spatial rings had exploded upon the bandits’ deaths, Duan Ling Tian found a huge number of divine crystals in the flying ship. Since he also possessed a large number of diving crystals, he did not hesitate to fly the flying ship at top speed, which would consume a huge number of divine crystals.
When Duan Ling Tian finally arrived near the Xia clan, he had completely exhausted the divine crystals in the flying ship. Hence, he had to use his own divine crystals to fly the flying ship to the Xia clan’s estate.
When Duan Ling Tian arrived, he hovered above a huge glacier and looked in the distance.
“The Xia clan… So this is Ke’er’s home in her past life… Father, mother, Little Fei’er, and the others were imprisoned here in the past… I wonder if Third Uncle is here now…”
Duan Ling Tian recalled the unkempt middle-aged man he met in the mundane realm. The middle-aged man was Xia Jie, and he was Ke’er’s third uncle in her past life. Xia Jie was also the one who rescued Duan Ling Tian’s family and friends.
Duan Ling Tian wondered if he should pay Xia Jie a visit. However, he quickly dismissed the thought. There was no point in meeting Xia Jie now when he still had to return to the Realm Battlefield to look for Ke’er.
‘I don’t think Ke’er is here…’
…
Duan Ling Tian spent ten days near the Xia clan’s estate before he ran into a member of the Xia clan.
Duan Ling Tian easily restrained the young man with his Refraining Profundity before he cast a Formation to prevent the young man from sending messages back to the Xia clan.
The young man’s face turned ashen as though he could see death looming in front of him. He stammered, “W-who are you?”
Duan Ling Tian said in a leisurely manner, “Relax. I just want to ask you a few questions. As long as you answer me honestly, you’ll be able to leave in no time at all.”
The young man sighed in relief. He was willing to cooperate as long as he could preserve his life. He asked, “W-what do you want to know?”
Duan Ling Tian looked at the young man and asked, “Do you know Xia Ning Xue, the Eldest Miss of the Xia clan?”
The young man did not reply hastily. Instead, he stared at Duan Ling Tian with a solemn expression as he asked warily, “Why do you want to know?”
Duan Ling Tian grunted coldly before he said, “That’s because I want to rescue her. Don’t you know that she’s entered the Realm Battlefield and has yet to leave?”
“I know that,” the young man replied with a nod. After a moment, his expression changed as though he had just thought of something. He asked, “D-did you kidnap our Eldest Miss and came here to ask for ransom?!”
Thud!
Duan Ling Tian smacked the back of the young man’s head before he said, “Nonsense! I’m her husband. Why would I kidnap her?”
Duan Ling Tian did not bother to hide his identity at all. He was not afraid of the Xia clan, after all.
“Impossible!” the young man said as he shook his head vehemently, “I heard that our Eldest Miss married a mortal from the mundane realm. How can you be her husband?”
Duan Ling Tian laughed upon hearing the young man’s words. Then, he said, “It seems like you know quite a bit. Who are you?”
The young man raised his chin slightly before he proudly replied, “My father has served the Third Master since he was young. As such, he was bestowed the surname Xia by the ancestor.”
Duan Ling Tian raised an eyebrow. “Third Master? Do you mean Xia Jie?”
“How dare you address the Third Master by his name!” the young man said indignantly with a frown on his face, “Alas, I’m no match for you! If my father were here and he witnessed your impudence, he wouldn’t let you go!”
Duan Ling Tian smiled upon learning the young man was associated with Xia Jie. Then, he asked, “Is the Third Master in the clan’s estate?”
“No,” the young man said as he shook his head, “He’s entered the Realm Battlefield. It’s been so long, but the Eldest Miss has yet to return. He was very worried so he left to find her.”
Duan Ling Tian nodded before he patted the young man’s shoulder and said, “I’m sorry I offended you. Let me introduce myself. I’m Duan Ling Tian.”
As Duan Ling Tian spoke, he withdrew the Formation and flew away.
After Duan Ling Tian left, the young man frowned as he muttered to himself, “Duan Ling Tian? His name sounds familiar. Did father mention his name before? I’ll ask father when I return…”
The young man looked for his father immediately after returning to the Xia clan’s estate. He quickly recounted what happened to him outside of the estate.
The young man’s father, a burly middle-aged man, shook his head and said, “Impossible. You said that young man easily restrained you? Son, you’re an intermediate Emperor of Gods. The Eldest Miss’ husband is from the mundane realm and doesn’t possess such strength.” Then, he continued muttering to himself with a puzzled expression, “However, why did he say he’s Duan Ling Tian?”
The young man was shocked. “What? The Eldest Miss’ husband in the mundane realm is called Duan Ling Tian? No wonder I found his name familiar! Father, it doesn’t make sense at all. I remember you said that the Eldest Miss’ husband in the mundane realm wasn’t even a Celestial a few hundred years ago. It’s impossible for him to become so strong in such a short time.”
“I think it’s impossible as well. Alas, the Third Master isn’t here. He met the Eldest Miss’ husband in the past so he should be able to recognize him,” the middle-aged man said as he shook his head.
…
After leaving, Duan Ling Tian moved northwest to the Yun clan.
‘Yun clan… I can kill Yun Qing Yan this time, it’ll settle many matters. Everything will come to an end after he dies and Ke’er and I are reunited,’ Duan Ling Tian murmured to himself as he sat in the supreme-grade flying ship.
Duan Ling Tian used his own divine crystals to fuel the flying ship and let it move at top speed. He did not care about the high consumption. After all, divine crystals were no longer useful to him since the rewards he obtained were far more helpful to his cultivation.