Volume One: The Emperor's Sword Chapter 136: The Bizarre Silkworm King Cocoon

After a brief moment of silence, gasps of astonishment burst forth around the stream.

Tie Ye, who had previously defeated two chief swordsmen of the Yan Sword Palace, had suffered a crushing defeat, losing both of his arms.

And it was not a one-on-one defeat; ten of them could not even defeat a single opponent!

"The Northern Courtyard's Flying Frost Sword Technique! He is a disciple of the Northern Courtyard!"

On the side of the Yan Sword Palace, someone recognized the swordsmanship Yun Que employed, and this revelation shocked the crowd even more.

The Northern Courtyard did not even have a sword master; when did such a powerhouse emerge from there?

It was simply unbelievable!

The stone in Mu Qingyao's heart finally fell to the ground, Zhou Yuanliang let out a long breath of pent-up air, and Han Jiao clenched her fists so tightly that she still could not believe that was truly Lord Yun.

Han Jiao muttered incessantly to herself that it was impossible; Yun Que had entered the Sword Palace at the same time as her, which amounted to less than two months ago.

She had relied on her Dragon Spiritual Roots to reach the third layer of Qi Refining, nearly stepping into the fourth layer, so how could Yun Que have broken through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining in just two months!

In the recorded history of the Sword Palace, there had never been a figure who could reach the eighth layer of Qi Refining in two months.

Not only was there no such person in the Sword Palace, but looking across the entire world, perhaps not a single one could be found.

Crack.

Fissures appeared on the hundred-face mask, and then the entire mask shattered.

Fragments fell away one after another, revealing a delicate and handsome face, still wearing a smile at the corner of its mouth, except that the smile was extremely fierce.

"It's him!"

"The Northern Courtyard's sword servant!"

"The Marquis of Cold Water!"

The moment they saw Yun Que's true appearance, the many disciples of the Yan Sword Palace immediately recognized him.

When Yun Que engaged in a battle of wits with the elders of the Southern Courtyard, disciples from all the courtyards had been present; it would have been strange if he had not become famous.

Yet shortly after, the disciples of the various courtyards fell into a flurry of confusion.

How could a mere sword servant possess such combat prowess, capable of single-handedly taking on ten experts of the Barbarian Sword Palace?

Confusion aside, the facts were right before their eyes: Yun Que had indeed won, and he had won with overwhelming dominance.

In the eyes of the onlookers, Tie Ye was nothing more than a sparring partner, as if he had gone up merely to practice swordsmanship with the man.

Once the man had finished practicing, this target was no longer of any use.

Han Jiao instinctively covered her mouth; otherwise, she would surely have cried out in shock.

It really was Yun Que!

Amidst her astonishment, Han Jiao felt a boundless sense of envy.

It seemed that he must have obtained a supreme fortune in the Sword Burial Ground; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to become strong to such a degree.

Mu Qingyao and Zhou Yuanliang, after recovering from their initial relief, were also struck with immense shock.

Both of them had fought side-by-side with Yun Que.

During that battle in the mine cave, if Yun Que had not lured away the worm-master, none of them likely would have survived.

Yet they had never imagined that Yun Que could be this powerful.

Judging by this, even if they had confronted that worm-master head-on back then, Yun Que would have had a fair chance of winning.

How on earth did this guy cultivate?

A curious guess arose in Zhou Yuanliang's heart. He glanced at Mu Qingyao, thinking to himself, could it be that they practiced dual cultivation?

He himself had engaged in plenty of dual cultivation with women, so why did he still feel like a weak chicken?

In truth, Zhou Yuanliang was not weak at all; it was simply that the person he was comparing himself to was ridiculously overpowered.

While the disciples of the Yan Sword Palace were astonished, they also felt their pride greatly boosted, and their momentum was completely restored to its peak.

Wasn't the Barbarian Sword Palace arrogant? Let's see how arrogant they could be now!

While the other disciples of the State of Yan were rejoicing, only Yan Xu's expression turned extremely unsightly. He stared at Yun Que with resentful eyes, wishing he could rush forward and sever the other man's head.

As the chief swordsman of the Eastern Courtyard, he hadn't even dared to step up and challenge Tie Ye; yet now, Yun Que had fought ten opponents at once and won. By comparison, Yan Xu looked nothing more than a clown, fit only to be mocked.

From now on, whenever people mentioned this contest of swordsmen, Yan Xu would undoubtedly become the butt of the joke for cowardice and refusing to fight.

The side of the Barbarian Sword Palace fell into silence.

To this moment, the barbarian disciples still could not believe that Tie Ye, the strongest among them in the Barbarian Sword Palace, could possibly lose to an unknown nobody.

Not only had he lost, but he had lost both of his arms!

From this day forward, even if Tie Ye managed to survive, he would be reduced to a cripple, completely cutting ties with the path of cultivation.

Hao Ziliang of the Shaowu Sword Palace wore a look of utter shock, the gaze he cast upon Yun Que filled with deep reverence and fear.

At this moment, only a single thought occupied his mind.

A sense of great fortune!

He was fortunate that he had not crossed paths with Yun Que during the competition for the Silkworm King; otherwise, Tie Ye's fate would have been his own.

No, it certainly would have been even more miserable than Tie Ye's!

Hao Ziliang knew he was no match for Tie Ye; since he couldn't even defeat Tie Ye, facing Yun Que would mean certain death.

Xiu Xue of the Red Glow Sword Palace subconsciously took a step back, her pretty oval face filled with shock and wariness.

Why bother contending for the Silkworm King anymore? The Yan Sword Palace had essentially decided the outcome in a single battle.

As long as Yun Que stood beneath that tree, not a single second person among the sword masters would dare to step forward and challenge him this year!

At this moment, the slender figure beneath the tree had become a formidable deterrent. Anyone who witnessed this battle would look upon him with utmost respect, filled with awe and even goosebumps.

Tie Ye stood in the stream, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

It was as if he had yet to wake up from the outcome of his defeat.

He could not believe that he would lose.

He was the son of the invincible Barbarian King!

How could he possibly be defeated!

Thud.

Tie Ye dropped weakly to his knees in the stream. Staring at the shattered heavy sword at the bottom of the water, he seemed to see the large fish he used to catch with his bare hands in his childhood.

He had always loved catching fish with his bare hands and then eating their flesh raw.

Today, he finally understood the helplessness of those fish.

In the end, he too had become a fish.

A fish that had been caught by someone, and was about to be slaughtered!

"I... have lost..."

Tie Ye's strength seemed to have been completely drained away, and all his self-confidence collapsed in an instant.

He was not invincible.

There were stronger beings in this world.

He had not only lost, but he was going to die as well. He could sense that the killing intent from his opponent had not diminished in the slightest; instead, it had grown to its absolute peak!

The buzzing sound of sword blades vibrating in the air began to echo.

Yun Que slowly raised his hand and pointed at Tie Ye opposite him.

Following his gesture, the Snow Trace Sword obeyed his will like an extension of his own arm, aiming its tip directly at Tie Ye's neck.

How could the son of the Barbarian King be spared?

Yun Que possessed no surplus of benevolence, especially when dealing with enemies; he believed in eradicating the roots along with the weeds!

Just as the flying sword was about to descend, Tie Ye suddenly raised his head and let out a wild roar.

"I will not lose!"

Leaping up abruptly, Tie Ye lunged straight toward the Silkworm King Tree, scrambling up the trunk like a hairless baboon.

Despite lacking both hands, his feet were infused with spiritual energy, allowing him to sprint across the tree trunk as if walking on flat ground, rapidly charging toward the top of the tree.

Then, amidst the uncomprehending gazes of the onlookers, Tie Ye performed an action that exceeded everyone's expectations.

He actually bit down directly onto the largest silkworm cocoon!

Rip!

With his teeth, Tie Ye forcefully tore an opening into the Silkworm King's cocoon.

"He has gone mad," Hao Ziliang shook his head, believing that Tie Ye had lost his mind from the shock of his defeat.

"If he releases the Silkworm King, he'll be the first to die," Xiu Xue muttered under her breath, feeling that Tie Ye was committing suicide.

The Silkworm King was no ordinary Green Silk Silkworm; it was at least at the level of a Tier-1 demonic beast.

Tie Ye would naturally not have feared it at his peak, but now that he had even lost his hands, was he supposed to use his teeth to deal with the Silkworm King?

"How wonderful it would have been to just lose his head, yet he chooses to go feed the bugs instead. The barbarians certainly have eccentric thought processes," Zhou Yuanliang muttered inwardly.

Everyone believed that Tie Ye was bound to die this time, and in a manner even more wretched than decapitation.

Yet the very next moment, a startling sight unfolded.

From the torn Silkworm King cocoon, two furry arthropod limbs reached out, over two zhang in length!

They were definitely not organs belonging to a silkworm-type demonic beast; they looked ferocious and terrifying.

The limbs, sharp as blades, pierced straight through Tie Ye's shoulders, suspending him mid-air.

Viewed from below, it looked as though Tie Ye had grown two terrifying extra claws.

The bizarre Silkworm King cocoon looked like a nest incubating a monster, making one's hair stand on end.

"All of you are going to die! Hahahahaha!!! All of you are going to die!!!"

Amidst Tie Ye's frenzied roar, the Silkworm King cocoon emitted a strange squeaking sound and began to writhe.

At that moment, a sudden sense of crisis welled up within Yun Que.

He leaped backward, simultaneously slashing out a beam of qi that cleaved open a bucket-sized cocoon located in the middle of the tree trunk.

Lando had told him that not all silkworms in the large cocoons were Green Silk Silkworms.

Yun Que hadn't paid much attention to it earlier, but Tie Ye's bizarre actions now alerted him to danger.

When that large cocoon was sliced open by the sword qi, what fell out was indeed not a Green Silk Silkworm, but a pair of stark white human bones!