Demon Sword And The Deathly Palm

Chapter — 4

After seeing Xiao Chen being taken away by Ye Yuan, the Xiao Clan Patriarch—Xiao Feng—finally let out a long sigh. For a moment, the heavy burden pressing down on his chest felt slightly lifted.

“Get as far away as possible …” Xiao Feng muttered softly, his voice barely audible over the din of battle. “Don’t ever come back to this place …”

But the calm only lasted a moment.

Xiao Feng's gaze immediately sharpened as he returned his gaze to the front. His opponent—a Mid-stage Grandmaster-level practitioner—was still standing there with a pressing aura, clearly not intending to let anyone get away with it.

“So … you were deliberately holding me back?” the man said with a cold smile, his eyes narrowing at Xiao Feng. “You think you can stop me?”

Xiao Feng didn't answer. He just raised his sword slowly, the tip of the blade pointing straight towards the opponent.

“I don’t need to stop you forever,” Xiao Feng finally said, his voice calm but firm. “Just until they’re far enough away.”

“Alright, good effort. You must think our leader wouldn't break his promise. But that doesn't matter; someone else will surely come after him,” the man said mockingly, glancing at Xiao Feng's naivety.

However, Xiao Feng ignored him and without waiting any longer, just moved.

Swish!

Xiao Feng's body shot forward, every movement filled with unwavering determination. There was no more hesitation, no more retreat. Every move he unleashed contained all the power he possessed.

Clang!

The first impact shook the air around them. Waves of energy spread in all directions, causing the ground beneath their feet to crack and sending dust flying into the air.

“Hmph!” his opponent snorted, easily deflecting the attack. “Is this all you’re capable of?”

But Xiao Feng didn't stop. He spun around, launching his next attack without pause.

Slash after slash was launched with great precision, each movement executed with utmost sincerity.

“I won’t hold back …” Xiao Feng said between his attacks, his breath becoming ragged. “No more …”

“Good,” his opponent replied with a faint smile. “At least you didn’t die a coward.”

Their fight was getting fiercer.

All around him, the devastation of the Xiao Clan was evident. The once-magnificent buildings now lie in ruins.

Fires blazed here and there, while the shouts and screams slowly died down—not because the fighting was over, but because there were fewer left to fight.

Xiao Feng glanced back briefly. Several elders were still holding on, though their bodies were covered in wounds.

“We … can’t hold out much longer!” one of the elders shouted hoarsely.

“You don’t have to hold out long!” Xiao Feng replied without looking back. “Hold them as long as you can!”

“Patriarch—!”

“This is an order!” Xiao Feng interrupted firmly. He focused completely on his opponent again.

In Xiao Feng's heart, he already understood the reality very clearly—the Xiao Clan would never rise again. Most of its members had fallen, leaving only a handful of people now fighting on the verge of death.

But precisely because of that, Xiao Feng could not retreat.

“Then … do you really want to die here?” his opponent asked as he stepped forward, the aura around his body growing stronger.

Xiao Feng smiled faintly, even though blood had started to flow from the corners of his lips.“Die?! I don't mind ….”

“But before that …” Xiao Feng continued with a cold look in his eyes, “I will make sure you pay a heavy price.”

His opponent chuckled. “With you? Don’t make me laugh.”

But Xiao Feng was not affected in the slightest. In an instant, the aura on his body surged. The energy around him vibrated violently, as if responding to his determination that had reached its peak.

“I will drag you down …” Xiao Feng said in a low but oppressive voice, “Or at least severely injure you so badly that you have to hide for years to recover.”

His opponent's expression finally turned a little serious.“Hoh … interesting.”

Without warning, Xiao Feng attacked again. This time, each move was fiercer, more reckless—as if he were truly risking everything with each swing of his sword.

Clang! … Clang!

Clash after crash echoed in the air.

Xiao Feng gritted his teeth and exhausted all his true energy to one hundred percent. He then combined sword techniques and lightning techniques, attempting to attack his opponent from all directions.

However, his opponent was really strong and also had very broad fighting insight.

It was really not easy for Xiao Feng, every sword strike made by Xiao Feng could always be parried or avoided by the practitioner.

Their exchange had passed for fifty moves. At that moment, Xiao Feng indirectly saw the atmosphere in the Xiao Clan's village area again.

The elders had also all fallen, while the men in black appeared to be observing the fight without any intention of interfering. However, the men in black clearly had mocking expressions on their faces.

Xiao Feng felt despair, and at that moment, his heart ached. The image of that afternoon flashed back to him. It was a vision of Xiao Chen's bright future.

***

The twelve-year-old Xiao Chen, that afternoon, had changed their family history with just one touch of his small palm on the talent testing stone.

Over the decades, the stone has witnessed hopes, failures, and disappointments.

Every Xiao Clan child who reaches twelve years of age will be tested there. Everyone will hold their breath, waiting for the light to radiate from its surface.

Five basic colors indicate martial talent on the testing stone.

Green is the lowest—a sign of ordinary talent, enough to be a guard or lowly soldier.

Red—better, has a chance of stepping up to the expert level, but rarely goes beyond a certain level.

Black—the color that for the past few decades has been considered the pinnacle of hope for the Xiao Family.

Gold—a color that has almost become legendary, because it never appears in the memories of the current generation.

And Purple—the highest color. A color that is only mentioned in old records and stories of ancestors.

This afternoon, when Xiao Chen stepped forward with small but steady steps, no one really expected what would happen.

“Put down your hand, Chen’er,” The Patriarch’s voice was deep at that moment, trying to sound calm.

Xiao Chen nodded slightly. His tiny palm touched the surface of the stone.

At first, nothing happened. A few breaths passed in silence.

Then … a faint green light appeared, followed by red, then a deeper black. The elders began to nod, feeling that the results weren't much different from the previous generation.

But before anyone could speak, the black color changed.

A golden gleam exploded out, dazzling the eyes.

Exclamations of surprise rang throughout the hall.

And just when everyone thought gold was the peak—the light trembled violently, then turned into a deep purple that shone gloriously like a flash of lightning in the night sky.

Purple, pure, bright, and flawless.

The training hall froze in silence. Even the elders who had lived for decades stared wide-eyed. Someone dropped their stuff.

A waiter sat limp.

The Patriarch of the Xiao Clan felt his heart beating so hard that it was almost deafening. He stepped forward, confirming with his own eyes.

The purple light didn't fade. It was steady, even deepening.

“Purple …” an elder murmured in a trembling voice. “Supreme martial talent …”

“This … this has never happened before nh…”

Indeed, in recent decades, the Xiao Family has only produced martial artists with the highest talent in the black color.

Even that was considered a great honor. Some of them had even reached the Grandmaster Realm—a pinnacle that was hard to reach.

And only by a stroke of luck, through almost impossible odds, did some manage to step into the Realm of Earth Warrior before ultimately stopping there, unable to go any further.

From then on, the Xiao Clan's hopes slowly faded. They remained strong, still respected in Northern Sky City, but no longer had bold dreams.

Until today.

Until Xiao Chen's small palm touched the testing stone.

That purple light wasn't just a color. It was a promise. It was a possibility that had only existed in legend—that the Xiao Clan would one day give birth to a Sacred Warrior.

***

However, that memory was quickly erased by Xiao Feng. Now it was not the success that the Xiao Clan had achieved, but rather destruction.

Xiao Feng let out a long sigh. “Now, all of you must also accompany the Xiao Clan on their path to death.”