Volume I: The Emperor's Sword Chapter 155: Is Killing Not Allowed?

The delivering disciple had barely uttered the words when a resounding slap landed on his face.

The blow sent him spinning three times on the spot, his vision filled with golden stars.

The one who struck him was Quan Yu.

Quan Yu was already boiling with suppressed rage. Glaring furiously, she cursed, "You scoundrel! How dare you talk nonsense in front of the elders! How could a disciple from the Illusionary Realm return from the front gates!"

Not only did Quan Yu refuse to believe it, Gu Shaoyang and Chu Chen did not believe it either, and even the Sword Master deemed it impossible.

Yet the reporting disciple was no fool; why would he bring such news?

Upon hearing this, Xue Ziyi trembled all over. She rushed forward, grabbed the disciple by the collar, and demanded sharply, "Make it clear! Who has returned? Are there any disciples from the North Courtyard?"

Dazed from the slap, the disciple clutched his face and grievance-strickenly replied, "Y-Yes, there's one. It seems to be that Marquis of Chanshui."

"Yun Que isn't dead!" Xue Ziyi gasped in joyful surprise. Had the elders not been present, she would have leapt into the air.

"Don't dream, Xue Ziyi. Do you think that's even possible?"

Qian Yuxiu poured cold water on her from the side, sneering, "Even if someone could emerge from the Illusionary Realm, it certainly wouldn't be a sword servant. That little junior brother of yours has undoubtedly been reduced to a skeleton by now, gnawed clean by the fierce beasts inside the realm."

Hearing Qian Yuxiu's words, the joy on Xue Ziyi's face instantly faded.

What she said made sense.

For a sword servant to survive even a single day in the Illusionary Realm was already a miracle of supreme fortune; how could anyone possibly come out after the realm had closed?

Ma Yong and Niu Bucai watched helplessly as their Senior Sister's face turned pale once more. Secretly, the two of them blamed the reporting disciple: what was the point of talking such nonsense? Everyone had already accepted that Yun Que was dead, only to be given false hope and subjected to another wave of agony. Wasn't this pure torture?

Chu Chen scrutinized the reporting disciple, his tone stern and authoritative. "What is the meaning of this? Who has returned? Speak plainly."

Clutching his face, the reporting disciple wanted to explain in detail, but fearing another blow, he pointed beyond the plaza and said, "They're arriving right now. Look! Here they come!"

Following the direction of the disciple's finger, several figures walked into the plaza. Their auras were chaotic and they were utterly exhausted, led by none other than Yun Que.

"Junior Brother!"

Xue Ziyi, Ma Yong, and Niu Bucai cried out simultaneously, then rubbed their eyes frantically, terrified they were experiencing hallucinations.

Qian Yuxiu frowned, her expression turning sour. Beside her, Huan Zhi instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword, a surge of intense hatred rising within him.

Quan Yu's eyes widened to their limits, her face turning the color of a bruised liver.

She had watched Yun Que enter the Illusionary Realm with her own eyes and personally issued the additional bounty mission. Seeing him return from the outside now was no different than seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

Qin Shangzhang's delicate brows lifted slightly, Gu Shaoyang was struck speechless, and Chu Chen's face was a mask of confusion.

Upon seeing Yun Que, Chu Hu gnashed his teeth in hatred. He had searched the Illusionary Realm for a full day without finding Yun Que, assuming the fellow was bound to die inside. Never had he expected to see the man reappear before his eyes.

Every single disciple from the various courtyards stood frozen like clay statues, only their eyeballs moving to follow Yun Que and his companions' footsteps.

Witnessing a miracle that had not occurred for hundreds of years with their own eyes left many disciples questioning, aside from sheer shock, whether the Illusionary Realm truly possessed another exit.

***

Yun Que, carrying Mu Qingyao on his back, approached Xue Ziyi and said, "Senior Sister, I'm back."

"You really are my little junior brother!"

Disregarding her decorum, Xue Ziyi reached out and patted him from head to toe, exclaiming in delight, "He's alive! My little junior brother is alive!"

Ma Yong and Niu Bucai broke into foolish, relieved grins.

Luo Xiaoyu placed her hands on her hips and pouted with a look of immense pride, thinking to herself, *I told you so! Senior Brother Yun was bound to come back, and none of you believed me, humph!*

"Qingyao!"

Discovering that the person on Yun Que's back was none other than Mu Qingyao, Quan Yu rushed forward in a few strides and snatched her beloved disciple away.

"Qingyao, what happened to you! Who wounded you like this?"

Clasping the unconscious Mu Qingyao in her arms, Quan Yu roared like a tigress who had lost her cub.

Zhou Yuanliang said with a pale face, "Reporting to Master, Junior Sister Qingyao was injured by Xiuque, the chief sword disciple of the Scarlet Glow Sword Palace. Please save her quickly, Master."

"Her dantian has been destroyed! How vicious of the Scarlet Glow Sword Palace!" Quan Yu swept her spiritual sense outward, and upon a slight perception, she immediately flew into a fury of rage and humiliation.

The injuries were too severe!

Though a breath of life remained, even if she could be saved, her cultivation path was effectively crippled, and her journey in martial arts would likely end here.

Chu Chen stared at the group and demanded sharply, "How did you escape from the Illusionary Realm?"

Yi Hongwen, a disciple of the West Courtyard, hurried forward to answer: "Reporting to the Elder, we found a spatial rift within the Illusionary Realm and thus narrowly escaped to return."

"A spatial rift? How could there be a spatial rift in the Illusionary Realm? What is the meaning of this? Explain yourself clearly." Chu Chen's gaze turned frosty as the majestic pressure of the Core Formation stage erupted, enveloping them all.

To extract accurate intelligence, Chu Chen resorted to intimidation through pressure.

He was confident that beneath his overwhelming pressure, disciples at the Qi Condensation realm would never dare to lie.

Under the crushing weight of the pressure, Yi Hongwen collapsed directly to his knees, shivering uncontrollably, while Zhou Yuanliang, Han Ning, and Han Jiao involuntarily bowed and hunched over.

When a powerhouse surpassing them by two major realms unleashed their pressure, low-tier cultivators would feel as though they were facing a natural predator, filling their hearts with awe and dread.

This was the suppression brought by the realm—a universal method for the strong to bend the weak to their will.

"Hmph!"

The satisfied expression that had just surfaced on Chu Chen's face instantly shifted to astonishment.

While his Core Formation pressure could easily suppress Zhou Yuanliang, Yi Hongwen, Han Ning, and Han Jiao, it failed to subdue Yun Que.

Yun Que remained standing firmly in his place.

Forget bowing his head, he hadn't even lowered it; he stood tall and proud!

Feeling that he had lost all face, Chu Chen let out a cold snort and intensified his pressure once more, unleashing nearly his full might.

This time, Zhou Yuanliang was forced down onto one knee, drenched in cold sweat, not to mention Han Ning and Han Jiao, who were shaking like a sieve in the wind.

Yet Yun Que still showed no change at all.

Like an unyielding blade of uncompromising integrity, he stood proudly between heaven and earth.

Infuriated, Chu Chen concentrated his pressure into a single point, converging it entirely upon Yun Que.

He refused to allow a mere sword servant to dare raise his head and refuse to kneel before him.

As the pressure converged on a single point, Chu Chen's pupils suddenly constricted. He shuddered as if pricked by a needle.

"Such overwhelming killing intent!"

Chu Chen sensed the dense, lingering killing intent radiating from Yun Que—an intensity so fierce that even he, a Core Formation expert, felt a chill in his heart.

"Just how many people have you killed?!" As Chu Chen shouted the demand, his spiritual energy surged violently.

Relying on pressure alone, he simply could not subdue the fellow; he intended to use his spiritual energy to force Yun Que into total submission.

"Are lives not meant to be taken inside the Illusionary Realm?" Yun Que glanced indifferently at Chu Chen.

That single look was like a blade, making Chu Chen almost hesitant to meet his eyes.

Chu Chen flew into a rage.

As an esteemed Elder of the West Courtyard, when had he ever been treated with disdain by a mere disciple, let alone one who was just a sword servant?

In truth, Yun Que was growing increasingly impatient, his aversion toward this West Courtyard elder deepening by the second.

Disciples had returned alive from the jaws of death in the Illusionary Realm, yet instead of inquiring about their injuries, this elder had immediately interrogated them about how they escaped.

Such an elder clearly cared nothing for the lives and deaths of his disciples; all he cared about was the extra exit discovered in the realm.

"You dare talk back to an elder?!"

Consumed by rising anger, Chu Chen condensed his spiritual energy into a massive palm and brought it down toward Yun Que.

Though spiritual energy was invisible, everyone present could feel a sudden, violent gale whipping up in mid-air.

Xue Ziyi was startled.

She could perceive the ferocious surge of spiritual energy and foreseeing that Yun Que was in danger, she tried to rush to his aid, but she could not get past.

Chu Chen's pressure had formed a barrier; her Foundation Establishment strength was simply unable to break through it.

Just as the spiritual energy palm pressed downward, another wave of spiritual energy rose from the ground to meet it.

The two streams of spiritual energy collided head-on, then simultaneously vanished into nothingness.

The fierce gale scattered in all directions, blinding the surrounding disciples and snapping the fabric of Yun Que's robes aggressively.

When the gale subsided, Qin Shangzhang slowly withdrew her jade-white hand.

It was precisely this Sword Master who had intervened to block Chu Chen's spiritual energy palm.

"Why must Elder Chu stoop to bickering with a junior?"

The Sword Master's voice remained soft and gentle, carrying no discernible hint of defense or reprimand.

Chu Chen let out a cold huff and ceased his harassment of Yun Que, though deep within his eyes lingered a trace of wariness toward the Sword Master.