Above the Galaxy
Chapter 230 - 167, "Broken Sword Style"!

Chapter 230: Chapter 167, "Broken Sword Style"!

Crab Island.

Crab Island is not famous for its crabs, but because from a high altitude, the whole island’s shape resembles a giant crab.

Crab Island has not been developed for large-scale tourism, but some early interstellar immigrants chose this place, with its green mountains and beautiful waters, to settle down and live.

Generation after generation, they multiplied and branched out, leaving behind a considerable population.

Bamboo cottages, fenced courtyards.

Misting rain, refreshing scenery.

It was raining, a light drizzle with delicate, thread-like droplets, like fine velvet needles.

Ling Yunxiao liked the rain because such weather made people lazy, their bodies languid, and their minds unwilling to ponder unnecessary matters.

He was a simple man, and most who are devoted to the Sword Dao are simple.

After his last battle with Tang Fei, Ling Yunxiao had hidden himself here.

Firstly, to heal his wounds, and secondly, to seek refuge.

He had not expected Tang Fei to injure him, considering their levels of cultivation, it should have been a surefire mission.

In industry jargon, it was like: picking up money.

But he was hurt.

Although he had slashed Tang Fei into a bloody mess, the remnant Sword Qi from Tang Fei’s blade had severely damaged his body, displacing his internal organs. He had spent several cycles regulating them with Yin Yang Qi, but still had not fully recovered.

Secondly, to seek refuge, he knew that a failed mission would inevitably lead to people knocking at his door. Some wanted to silence him, others to extract the mastermind’s identity from him.

There was a common misconception about the assassin profession; people said it was a business without capital.

No, they also needed to pay a price.

That was their own lives.

Life for money, life for a life.

Ling Yunxiao sat under the porch, sipping tea. The tea was bitter chrysanthemum, a local product of Crab Island, wild-grown, and in autumn, the hills were covered with it. Cheap in price, it was a fine medicine for cooling and reducing inflammation.

There were no complex processing steps. After picking and cleaning, they were dried before being tossed into a cup—just a handful. The initial taste was slightly bitter, but the aftertaste was sweet.

The golden chrysanthemum flowers slowly unfurled in the transparent glass cup, undulating, and rolling about—quite a lovely sight.

The tea was at a nice temperature, and just as he was about to take a sip, a strong sense of crisis hit him.

Ling Yunxiao’s hand, which was reaching to pick up the tea, moved toward the sword on the table instead.

A man appeared in his courtyard.

No, rather, a youth in white.

Seventeen or eighteen years old, fresh and elegant, with eyebrows like stars and piercing eyes. His features were delicate and exquisite, at a glance, he seemed like a beautiful girl.

His hair was long, casually tied into a ponytail with a red silk ribbon, which added an air of uninhibited elegance to his appearance.

His gaze was cold, as if it were the millennia-old ice and snow of the Kunlun Mountain Range.

His entire being was like an unsheathed treasured sword, sharp and brimming with murderous intent.

Ling Yunxiao thought well of his own appearance, but in comparison to this youth, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of shame—as if they were as different as heaven and earth.

He had seen many handsome men before, but this was the most good-looking youth he had ever encountered in his life.

Suddenly, Ling Yunxiao thought of Tang Fei, who he had tried to assassinate some time ago. That was another attractive lad, but compared to the one before his eyes, they were entirely different styles...

Tang Fei had a wild nature, full of cruelty, cunning, and unrestrained freedom, which was memorable.

And this one, he was feminine, handsome, and cold as frost.

Are the young ones nowadays all so outstanding?

So young, and already taking part in this business of killing and plunder?

Ling Yunxiao looked at the youth before him and asked, "Who are you? Who sent you?"

The young man did not answer.

After a pause, Ling Yunxiao spoke again, "You’re not from the Beehive... I’m familiar with how the people from Beehive operate; they all seem to have a certain noble air about them, an air that makes one uncomfortable just by the smell..."

The youth in white still did not respond.

He just stared at Ling Yunxiao with icy eyes, a look of exasperated boredom on his face.

Ling Yunxiao couldn’t help but chuckle, saying, "You look even more like an assassin than I do... I’ve always thought that an assassin should look the part... just like you..."

Before he killed someone, he would think to reveal his identity.

He didn’t strike down nameless ghosts with his sword.

He also hoped that those he killed would be clear on whose blade they met their end...

Chatting with someone doomed to die was an interesting affair.

At that moment, the emotions of the prey would magnify infinitely—rage, hate, or tearful begging for mercy...

Sometimes he even enjoyed this way of communication.

Clearly, the young man before him had no such thoughts or needs.

He was here only to kill.

This child was born to be an assassin.

"It seems we only have one way to communicate," said Ling Yunxiao aloud.

Regrettably, he didn’t know who had sent him or precisely who wanted his life.

Ling Yunxiao’s body, which had been sitting in the chair, suddenly vaulted into the air; mid-leap, his long sword was already unsheathed.

With one stroke, he unleashed a chilling Sword Qi.

The rain threads that filled the sky suddenly froze into needles, as ten thousand silvery-white long needles hurtled towards the young man in white in the center of the courtyard.

This was one reason Ling Yunxiao enjoyed rainy weather.

His swordsmanship followed a route of extreme Yin and extreme cold. Rainy and snowy weather naturally enhanced his skills.

He could extract the chill from nature and use it for himself. Under the guidance of Sword Qi, the cold transformed into icy blades and snow arrows to attack the opponent.

Although the young man before him was quite young, Ling Yunxiao felt danger emanating from him.

Therefore, he went all out in his attack, paying enough respect to the young man.

As an assassin, he knew better than anyone that every sword strike could be the last.

Until his opponent really drew their last breath, he couldn’t afford to relax in the slightest.

The young man watched expressionlessly as the dense mass of silver needles flew toward him, then abruptly drew his long sword.

With one slash.

Crack!

There were no anomalous natural occurrences, no crisscrossing Sword Qi.

Simple, brutal, direct.

If you hadn’t seen him draw his sword, you’d hardly notice he had moved at all.

But then, something bizarre happened.

The moment before the Silver Needle Array was about to harm the young man’s body, it mysteriously vanished without a trace, as if devoured and melted away by some immense force.

The sword strike Ling Yunxiao unleashed similarly disappeared without a trace, as if it had never occurred.

The young man completed his slash, then sheathed his sword.

It was as if the battle had already concluded, and nothing else had anything to do with him anymore.

Ling Yunxiao was still hovering mid-air, his pupils dilated, and his face filled with disbelief as he stared at the stunningly beautiful young man before him.

For a long time.

For a long time.

"Pfff..."

Only then did he suddenly spit out a mouthful of fresh blood, falling from the air in a sorry state.

"’Broken Sword Style’?" Ling Yunxiao fixed his gaze on the white-clothed young man, shouting excitedly, "Are you using the ’Broken Sword Style’?"

"Yes." The young man in white nodded and voiced his answer, "This is the ’Broken Sword Style’."

"Who in the world are you? What exactly do you want to do?" Like a wounded lone wolf, Ling Yunxiao glared at the white-clothed young man and roared, "That sword strike just now, you could have killed me... but you didn’t do it..."

"You’re not an assassin, you didn’t come to kill me... What exactly do you want to do?"

"Someone wants to see you." The young man in white said calmly.

-------

"Chief manager, Ling Yunxiao is hiding in the mountains," a burly man covered in muscle pointed towards the mountain peak and spoke.

Chen Fenglei surveyed the surrounding terrain and sneered, "Truly a notorious assassin from the Star Sky rankings—mediocre at killings, yet quite good at hiding..."

"Chief manager, our men have surrounded this island, no escape to the heavens or entrance to the earth, and sea routes are cut off... Even a rabbit wouldn’t dream of escaping..." the muscular man stated confidently.

"You guys maintain a strict watch on the perimeter," Chen Fenglei turned towards a middle-aged man standing beside him and instructed, "David, lead all the drones and follow me up the mountain. I want to personally meet this Three Sabers, Three Swords, and Three Fools’ Extreme Cold Sword..."

"I want to see if his sword is colder, or if my blades are colder..."

The organization controlled by Chen Fenglei was called Beehive; worker bees were responsible for intelligence gathering and clearing the perimeter.

The drones were tasked with carrying out missions, espionage, and assassination.

Each of these drones was carefully chosen, every one able to fight a hundred, truly formidable characters. Among them, there were many Cultivators of high Cultivation Realms.

To learn both literary and martial arts and to serve the Emperor’s Family.

For many Cultivators, the ultimate goal was to serve the Royal Family, securing a future for themselves and their descendants.

"Yes, chief manager," David responded to the order.

At Chen Fenglei’s command, a group of men quickly made their way towards the small courtyard at the mountain peak.

Soon, the courtyard was completely encircled by the drones.

David led a squad of men inside, and after a thorough search, he returned to report, "Chief manager, there’s no one in the house."

Chen Fenglei walked under the eaves, sat down on the old bamboo chair, and touched the glass cup on the small bamboo table, which still contained chamomile tea, and said, "The tea is still warm, proving he was just here."

He then stepped into the middle of the courtyard, found a crack in the stone floor, touched it lightly with a finger, and said, "The Sword Qi has dissipated, but the Sword Intent lingers..."

Chen Fenglei looked up, his expression dark as water, resembling the weather outside, and said coldly, "Someone got to him first and took him away..."

"What?" David’s face showed alarm as he exclaimed, "Our men were always watching outside, they saw no one ascend the mountain."

"The person capable of silently taking Ling Yunxiao away, how could they possibly be discovered by them?" Chen Fenglei sneered repeatedly, "Interesting, truly interesting... Just as our men discovered Ling Yunxiao’s whereabouts, someone beat us to him and took him away..."

Chen Fenglei turned to David and asked, "What do you think this means?"

Thump!

David knelt on the ground and said solemnly, "Chief manager, I am utterly loyal to you, you have treated me with boundless kindness... I have absolutely no reason to betray you."

Chen Fenglei stared at the top of David’s head for a while, as if discerning the truth of each word he spoke.

After a long time, he finally spoke somberly, "If it’s not you, then it must be someone else. Search, search for me. Root out that rat. Without resolving internal threats, how can I ease the King’s concerns?"

"Yes, chief manager."

"Also, search within a five-hundred-mile radius... I don’t care who that person is, but if they’re carrying someone half-dead... they’re bound to leave some clues behind..."

"Yes, chief manager, I’ll arrange it right away." David got up from the ground and hurried out to issue the orders.

Chen Fenglei looked at the deep sword mark in the stonework, lost in thought.

What a dazzling sword strike it must have been.