Chapter 580: Seven Death - Ten Thousand Swords Return

A familiar figure stood at the entrance of a street-side restaurant below. Though she had been disguised perfectly, Li Xiaofei could still see through it. It was the person he had been searching for. The Goddess Ye Liuying! But there were also a few familiar faces beside her.

Liu Xiao. Nan Tianxing. And... Oh? Did the captain grow her hair out?

Li Xiaofei finally exhaled in relief. He dove downward and landed in front of Ye Liuying and her group.

"So, the Xie family patriarch wasn’t lying," Li Xiaofei said, his eyes scanning Ye Liuying. "You really were rescued. But you don’t look to be in great shape."

Ye Liuying smiled softly. She rarely smiled. But now, she didn’t hold back.

"Poor skills and carelessness cost me all my cultivation," Ye Liuying said with a faint smile. "This time, I owe my life to Captain Yan and the others. I likely wouldn’t have survived without them."

Li Xiaofei turned to Yan Chiyu and the others. Without hesitation, he opened his arms and embraced his old teammates. In troubled times like these, when the foundation itself was crumbling, no one was truly spared.

Great Xia was on the brink of collapse, invaded by foreign races who were leaving untold suffering in their wake. Countless warriors had given their lives to protect their homeland, shedding their blood across the land.

He had lost many old acquaintances, so to see Yan Chiyu and his former friends alive was, without a doubt, a rare blessing.

"You’ve grown stronger," Yan Chiyu said sincerely, her voice tinged with awe. "You’ve reached a realm we can no longer comprehend."

"I had some fortunate encounters..." Li Xiaofei replied. Then, changing the subject, he asked, "By the way, Captain, what brings you to Lanfu Base City?"

Yan Chiyu explained, "When the Yiggs invaded the northwest, some classmates and I returned together, hoping to join the army and fight back. But the Xie family betrayed us as soon as we arrived at Lanfu Base City. We were forced to stay here and go underground to continue the resistance."

Her words were calm and her tone was measured. But inside, her emotions churned like a tempest. The hidden feelings in her heart had grown longer than her once-short hair. She had felt an uncontrollable dryness in her throat during Li Xiaofei's earlier embrace as her heart raced in ways she hadn’t anticipated.

"Now that I know you’re safe, I can rest easy," Li Xiaofei said with a faint smile. "It seems I really wronged the Xie family earlier. What a headache. Looks like I’ll have to eliminate the rest of the Xie family to send them to the underworld. There, they can explain the misunderstanding to Xie Yunlong and the others and convey my heartfelt apologies."

The group across from him couldn’t help but laugh. This was the unmistakable style of Li Xiaofei. Even his way of expressing apologies was unique, unconventional, and awe-inspiring.

Li Xiaofei issued a silent command. The Yiggs crew members parasitized by Subspace entities immediately began a systematic hunt for the remaining high-ranking members of the Xie family within Lanfu Base City.

It was a straightforward task, as the Xie family had always flaunted their strength openly, and the identities of their upper ranks were well-documented.

Ascending into the air, Li Xiaofei addressed the city.

"I am a member of Great Xia’s Dragon Group. Today, I deliver justice by exterminating the traitorous Xie family here. From this moment forward, Lanfu Base City is once again under the banner of Great Xia. To all citizens of Great Xia within the city: maintain order, stay calm, and avoid chaos.”

"Those who dare to loot or steal—death!”

"Those who dare to set fires or destroy property—death!”

"Those who dare to bully the weak—death!”

"Those who dare to disrupt order—death!”

"Those who dare to collude with the enemy—death!”

"Those who dare to betray Great Xia—death!”

"Those who dare to consort with foreign races—death!"

Li Xiaofei’s voice reverberated across the skies of Lanfu Base City, carrying both authority and unshakable resolve.

Nearly everyone in the base city had witnessed Li Xiaofei slaying the Xie family’s elite and taking control of the massive spaceship. At this moment, he stood as the undisputed strongest in Lanfu Base City and a true God of Slaughter.

The residents of the city did not panic when they heard his Seven Death Command. Instead, waves of cheers erupted across Lanfu Base City. The northwest belonged to Great Xia; it had always been part of Great Xia.

Though the Xie family had long dominated Lanfu Base City, Great Xia’s enduring efforts to protect the common people, invest in public education, and support the weak had deeply rooted themselves in the hearts of its citizens.

Conversely, the Xie family’s relentless exploitation and oppression of the people had earned them nothing but disdain. Moreover, Great Xia had always upheld the ideal of unity. They were the descendants of the Dragon and the children of the Yellow Emperor. These two identities had always been a source of pride and spiritual faith for every citizen of Great Xia. Who would willingly become a traitor to this legacy?

Even many of the troops under Xie family control harbored no loyalty to the family and were simply forced into submission by circumstance. Now that the tide had turned, who wouldn’t seize the chance to return to the righteous path?

The unrest in Lanfu Base City subsided in short order. The Seven Death Command struck fear into many who harbored reckless ambitions. The takeover of the Yiggs spaceship further crushed the hope of any remaining dissidents. Those unwilling to be shackled to the Xie family took swift action, capturing or killing their rebellious leaders.

Many government officials promptly pledged their allegiance to Great Xia. The most die-hard Xie loyalists within the city’s military were swiftly eliminated by Star Armors experts deployed from the spaceship. Other officers surrendered at the first opportunity.

In the grand hall of the Xie family headquarters, the atmosphere was tense and heavy.

"The matter of the military is your trouble to address, Goddess Ye," Li Xiaofei said.

Only Ye Liuying, with her military background and extensive experience in commanding and managing troops, was suited for the task.

Ye Liuying nodded. "I can take over, but I’ll need your assistance. Without my cultivation, I can’t command the respect of the soldiers."

The military revered strength above all else. While Ye Liuying’s reputation was considerable, if she didn’t have the strength to back up her orders, controlling Lanfu Base City’s nearly one million soldiers in a short time would be an uphill battle.

Li Xiaofei smiled faintly. "I’ve already prepared something for you."

As he spoke, he retrieved an electronic file he had prepared earlier.

"Take a look," he said.

Ye Liuying accepted the file and opened it.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return?"

She paused in surprise.

This... is a cultivation manual?

But with her inner qi destroyed, restarting her cultivation and reaching the Golden Body Realm would require significant time. Even with her prior experience, regaining her full strength would take no less than ten years. Right now, time was the one thing she lacked.

However, when she began to study the file closely, she quickly became engrossed. Her exquisite oval face lit up in astonishment.

"This... this technique..." she murmured, her voice tinged with disbelief.

When Ye Liuying opened the first page of the electronic manual, two lines of small text immediately caught her attention:

From destruction, life is born; A sword shatters ruined veins.

Return to the origin of martial arts; Ascend to endless greatness.

The horizontal alignment of the text made her pause momentarily. Then, realization struck her. There was a shocking message hidden within the verses.

Self-destruction of martial arts! This is a swordsmanship manual that required the practitioner to first destroy their remaining martial foundation before beginning cultivation anew?

Disperse qi from the veins, reverse to Taichong; invert heaven and earth, transform softness into steel.

These four lines of instruction sparked something in her heart. Curiosity piqued, she continued reading as she focused. Before she realized it, she was fully immersed in the text.

Those around her began to sense an extraordinary shift in the air. Suddenly, a peculiar and powerful sword intent began to radiate from Ye Liuying’s body.

Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!

The long swords hanging on the waists of some of the bystanders began to vibrate at high frequencies. It seemed like they were eager to leap from their scabbards and submit to an unseen force. It was as though the entire hall was enveloped by an invisible yet palpable sword domain.

Everyone was stunned.

What is happening?

Wasn’t Ye Liuying’s cultivation entirely destroyed?

Why is her body now emanating such an overwhelmingly sharp and unrivaled sword intent?

It felt even more ferocious and untamed than when she was at her peak. Ye Liuying, however, remained completely unaware of the changes. She was fully immersed in the manual, entering a state of total detachment where self and surroundings were forgotten.

As time passed, the sword qi within her grew increasingly potent and vast. Her entire being seemed to transform into an unparalleled divine sword as she started to radiate an aura of unmatched sharpness.

The intensity of her presence was so overwhelming that no one apart from Li Xiaofei dared to remain in the vicinity. They quickly retreated to a safe distance.

The entire hall was now filled with the howl of her sword qi. Li Xiaofei had to release his own aura to stabilize the room and prevent it from collapsing under the sheer force of her sword qi.

"A true swordsmanship prodigy," Li Xiaofei remarked in admiration.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Ten Thousand Swords Return was the pinnacle of sword techniques from the Wind and Cloud Wuxia high-martial world. That dimension was renowned for its advanced martial arts, where techniques rivaled divine abilities and possessed destructive force akin to celestial magic.

The fact that Ye Liuying could unleash such a phenomenon so quickly was a testament to her extraordinary talent. In the legendary tales, it was said that Nameless, hailed as the Martial Arts Myth, had faced Despot Absolute God. Betrayed by his disciple and poisoned, his cultivation had been destroyed, and he had been left to rot in prison awaiting death.

Yet, at that critical moment, he comprehended the pinnacle of swordsmanship and the sacred manual Ten Thousand Swords Return, which had always eluded his understanding.

To master this art, one must first destroy their martial foundation.

Nameless practiced Ten Thousand Swords Return with his ruined body and rose stronger than ever to become a new Martial Arts Myth.

Now, the swordsmanship talent Ye Liuying was displaying seemed no less exceptional than Nameless himself. After only a few dozen minutes of studying the manual, sword qi had already begun to manifest within her body. She was a natural-born swordswoman!

Li Xiaofei’s anticipation grew.

What kind of strength would Ye Liuying wield after she fully masters Ten Thousand Swords Return?

Three hours passed in what felt like moments. Suddenly, Ye Liuying’s eyes snapped open, and she rose abruptly to her feet. The swirling sword qi that had filled the room was instantly reined in, retreating into her body like swallows returning to their nest.

The hall, which had been suffused with a palpable edge moments ago, was now eerily calm. She had gained control.