Chapter 18: Request

No more than three seconds had passed from the moment that the gray-robed man appeared to the instant that Han Li slew both of his assailants.

Two seemingly invincible Core Formation cultivators had fallen in what seemed like the blink of an eye, and everyone in the courtyard, including the black-suited figures and everyone from the Yu Family, was completely flabbergasted.

What was particularly astonishing to them was the burst of white light that Han Li had blasted out of his mouth. It was far too fast to be traced with the naked eye, and it had slain the young man in an instant, even though he had already fled far from the scene.

In addition to that, the assertion that Han Li was a "sword cultivator" had all of the black-suited figures completely petrified, and they didn't dare to stay any longer as they summoned their magic tools and frantically attempted to flee the scene.

In the Spirit Domain Realm, sword cultivators were able to easily crush other cultivators of the same caliber. In addition to that, flying swords were extremely fast and could kill in an instant, so if they didn't get away now, it would be too late.

Spiritual light of all different colors appeared in the courtyard in rapid succession as around a dozen flying treasures rose up into the air at once before fleeing in different directions.

Han Li didn't even bother to take a glance at those people. Instead, he cast his gaze toward the young man's body, and he raised an eyebrow as a contemplative look appeared on his face.

All of the surviving members of the Yu Family exchanged a series of bewildered glances, and no one dared to say anything. As for the three elders, they didn't even dare to breathe too loudly for fear of attracting Han Li's attention.

Meanwhile, Daoist Master White Stone stole a glance at Han Li, and after a brief hesitation, he suddenly swept his right hand toward one of the fleeing black-suited cultivators.

His sleeve bulged slightly, following which a long golden rope shot out like a viper springing out of its cave, then ensnared something in mid-air before rapidly flying back.

A thin black-suited cultivator was dragged back out of mid-air by the golden rope, and he was completely bound as he slammed onto the ground in front of Han Li.

The black-suited cultivator paid no heed to the pain from falling from such a height as he immediately implored, "S... Spare me..."

Han Li ignored the black-suited cultivator before him as he turned to Daoist Master White Stone before asking, "Do you know of this Heavenly Ghost Sect?"

Daoist Master White Stone took a glance at Yu Qi, then carefully answered, "The Heavenly Ghost Sect and the Cold Flame Sect are both considered to be among the most powerful sects in the Spirit Domain Realm."

Han Li nodded in response, then turned to the black-suited man. "How many people did the Heavenly Ghost Sect send to Farbright City?"

The black-suited cultivator struggled into a sitting position as he hurriedly replied, "According to my knowledge, it's only the people that were sent to the Yu Manor today."

As soon as his voice trailed off, he felt a bone-chilling sensation run through his entire body, as if he had been plunged into a glacial pit.

The tall and imposing young man before him was suddenly looking at him with an incredibly cold gaze. His inky-black pupils seemed to have suddenly become infinitely massive, transforming into a pair of bottomless black vortexes, and if he dared to even consider the idea of telling a lie, he would immediately be sucked in.

This feeling only lasted for an instant before fading, but it still made all of the fine hairs all over his entire body stand up on end, and his back was completely drenched in cold sweat.

The black-suited cultivator wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Han Li, but he was unable to do so as he was bound by the golden rope, so he could only lower his head as a gesture of submission. "You have to believe me, Senior! I'm telling the truth!

“We are only outer court disciples of the sect who were ordered to come on this mission to the prime minister's manor. As for whether there are other disciples of our sect in the city, that is something I truly do not know!"

"Whose orders are you following? His orders?" Han Li asked as he pointed at the body of the young man not far away.

"Yes. His name was Qi Minghao, and he was an inner court disciple of our sect. He possessed exceptional cultivation aptitude, so he was held in very high regard in our sect. On top of that, one of his granduncles is an elder of our sect, and that further strengthened his standings, so we didn't dare to refuse his orders.

“If we had known that the Yu Manor was under your protection, we would've never dared to set foot here!" the black-suited cultivator said in a pitiable voice.

At this point, Yu Qi had already made her way over to the black-suited figure, and there were tears swimming in her eyes as she asked, "Was Yu Minghao telling the truth? Are my father and brothers..."

"Outer court disciples like myself had no right to participate in what happened in the capital city, but according to what I've heard, the situation is much the same as what Yu Minghao described," the black-suited cultivator replied in a fearful manner.

Yu Qi closed her eyes upon hearing this, and tears quickly flowed down her cheeks.

Another burst of sobbing rang out from the women and children among the Yu Family's survivors.

A moment later, Yu Qi reopened her eyes before asking with a pained expression, "If your Heavenly Ghost Sect has already taken over the Prosperous Nation, then just seize control over the existing imperial family. Why do you insist on wiping out our Yu Family?"

"This is an established practice in our sect. In order to gain complete control over the Prosperous Nation, the imperial family tied to the Cold Flame Sect and all of the families of the officials that served the past imperial family are to be killed, and the Yu Family falls under this category."

All of a sudden, a thought seemed to have occurred to the black-suited cultivator, and his voice began to tremble with fear as he continued, "Please forgive me for going off on a tangent, but Elder Qi of our sect is renowned for being protective of his juniors, so he's definitely going to come after all those involved in the death of his grandnephew. Even the outer court disciples like myself who accompanied him on this mission are sure to be killed."

All of the survivors of the Yu Family were horrified to hear this, and the expressions of the three elders also became extremely grim.

At this point, the graceful and regal facade of the Yu Family's second young master had been completely torn away, and his face was smeared with tears, dirt, and blood as he implored in a sobbing voice, "We can't afford to waste any more time here, Sister. We have to leave this place right away! You have a master at the Cold Flame Sect, don't you? Let's go to her, I'm sure she'll take us in."

Yu Qi paid no heed to him as she raised a hand before wiping her tears dry with her sleeve. She then made her way over to Han Li, Liu Le'er, and Daoist Master White Stone before extending a respectful bow. "Thank you for saving our lives."

Han Li offered no response and accepted her gesture of gratitude.

Daoist Master White Stone also remained silent, merely nodding in response.

"Sister Qi..." Liu Le'er's family had also perished under terrible circumstances, so she could empathize with Yu Qi. She wanted to say something to console her, but she didn't know what to say, so her voice trailed off into silence.

Yu Qi gave her a slight nod and forced a faint smile onto her own face.

After that, the grief and dejection in her eyes gradually faded, and a resilient and unyielding look appeared on her face. Even though she was still in her female attire, it was as if she had turned from the young mistress of the Yu Family to the young master that she occasionally posed as.

She picked up the dagger that had been knocked out of her hand earlier by Han Li, then plunged it viciously toward the black-suited cultivator's chest in a flash.

"No! Spare me..."

A blood-curdling howl rang out as the dagger was buried all the way up to its hilt.

The black-suited cultivator collapsed into a puddle of his own blood and spasmed a few times before falling still.

The survivors of the Yu Family couldn't help but exchange a few uneasy glances upon seeing this.

At this point, only around a dozen members of the Yu Family still remained, and Yu Qi turned to them with a determined expression as she declared, "The Yu Manor has fallen. Even with the Cold Flame Sect as our backer, we won't be able to recover from this anytime soon. All members of our Yu Family are to come with me to the Cold Flame Sect. As for everyone else, if you no longer wish to follow me, you can take some money from the storeroom and leave."

The surviving members of the Yu Family were horrified and at a complete loss for what to do, but with Yu Qi taking control of the situation, they gradually calmed down, and the sobbing coming from the women and children slowly subsided.

Han Li was quite impressed by this, and he turned to Yu Qi with a hint of approval in his eyes.

Yu Qi then cast her gaze toward the three elders and continued, "Elders, you have risked your lives to protect us, and words cannot express my gratitude. If you wish to leave, you can each choose a few of the treasures in our manor to take with you. However, if you're willing to continue protecting us on our journey to the Cold Flame Sect, then I'll be sure to offer your further compensation in the future."

The three elders exchanged a few hesitant glances upon hearing this, and all of them seemed to be waiting for Han Li and Daoist Master White Stone to make their decisions first.

Yu Qi took a glance at Han Li, and she immediately understood what the three elders were thinking. With that in mind, she immediately strode over to Han Li before extending a curtsey.

"Brother Liu, I know next to nothing about you, but it's clear to me that your powers are beyond what I can fathom. Normal treasures will most likely completely fail to appeal to you, so the only thing that I can offer you is a Wyrm Essence Bead that has been passed down in our family for generations.

“I'm willing to offer the treasure to you as compensation if you accompany us to the Cold Flame Sect," Yu Qi said as she looked straight into Han Li's eyes with an earnest expression.

A hint of greed appeared in Daoist Master White Stone's eyes upon hearing mention of a Wyrm Essence Bead, but he then took a glance at Han Li out of the corners of his eyes, and any sneaky thoughts in his mind immediately disappeared.

"Have you gone insane, Sister? How could you offer him our Wyrm Essence Bead?" the second young master of the Yu Family exclaimed in an alarmed voice.

Yu Qi didn't even bother to take a glance at her brother as she continued to look directly at Han Li. "The Yu Manor is already gone, what is a mere Wyrm Essence bead in comparison? If you're willing to accept my offer, I can bring you the treasure from our secret vault right away. What do you say, Brother Liu?"