Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

”What impressive swordsmanship!”

Yang Tian was inwardly impressed.

His figure, however, leaned to one side.

Yang Xiao’s sword slashed straight down, yet it somehow missed.

”Hmm? A prediction?”

Yang Xiao’s expression changed.

The Bloodthirsty Sword in his hand immediately twisted. This time, he employed its Vibration ability.

Instantly, the Bloodthirsty Sword seemed to grow larger.

This was an illusion created by its high-frequency vibrations.

But Yang Tian...

...simply dodged again.

To Yang Xiao’s surprise, he had dodged again.

Not only that,

even the Vibrating Sword Wave hadn’t harmed him.

He had appeared in one of the Vibrating Sword Wave’s blind spots.

”How is this possible?”

A hint of astonishment flashed in Yang Xiao’s eyes.

”Too slow! If this is the extent of your strength, you’ll only ever be a big fish in this small pond.”

Yang Tian said nonchalantly.

’Small pond? So it’s true! This guy’s an outsider.’

This confirmed one of Yang Xiao’s suspicions.

But his expression grew even graver.

’If even a random outsider is this strong, then my current power is still far too lacking.’

Yang Xiao knew full well.

His current strength seemed impressive in the Celestial Cloud Region.

But in reality, on the Divine Land Continent, it was nothing. Even on other powerful continents, his strength would only be considered average.

Just a cut above the rest, that’s all.

By comparison, Yang Xiao’s previous two lives had been far more remarkable.

In one life, an Innate Fire God.

In another, an Innate Daoist Body and the Human Emperor Bloodline.

Now, his physique had only just reached the Peak of a Mid-grade Spirit Body, not even an Upper-Grade Spiritual Body.

To say nothing of a Treasure Body or a Dao Body.

As for his cultivation, he was merely at the Martial Grandmaster Peak of Third Layer.

On the Divine Land Continent, true geniuses his age had probably already ignited their Divine Fire and condensed a Divine Format.

There were even those, like him in his first life, who were born as True Gods.

The gap.

It was far too vast.

But Yang Xiao wasn’t dejected.

Because he possessed the heart of a true powerhouse.

A heart that always pressed forward, one that would never admit defeat.

’I have to leave this place, and to do that, I must defeat this Yang Tian! If I can’t even beat him, what right do I have to go out into the wider world?’

Yang Xiao’s resolve hardened.

The Bloodthirsty Sword in his hand...

...swung out once more.

This time,

he didn’t use his self-created technique, Meteor Fall, again.

It was just as Yang Tian had said:

The technique was powerful, but compared to Yang Tian’s speed, it was too slow.

Therefore,

Yang Xiao used Nine Hundred Life and Death.

The Celestial Desolation Swordsmanship.

The first form.

”Hm? Is this the ultimate skill of the Northern Wilderness Sword God, the Celestial Desolation Swordsmanship?”

Yang Tian’s eyes lit up.

His expression also grew a little more serious.

The swordsmanship of the Northern Wilderness Sword God was the only technique that could possibly counter his ability.

’So fast!’

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind,

than Yang Tian felt a terrifying, bloodthirsty sword lunging for his throat.

He dodged in a flash,

a purely instinctive movement.

But a section of his sleeve was still sliced open.

”Still too slow.”

Yang Xiao didn’t press the attack.

he said, sounding dissatisfied.

But Yang Tian was furious. ”You call that slow? You brat, you almost skewered me, your senior brother!”

”Senior brother?”

Yang Xiao froze.

’What the hell is this guy talking about?’

Hearing this, Yang Tian realized he had let the cat out of the bag.

He cleared his throat.

He gave a strained explanation, ”As the saying goes, the disciples of the Nine Sects are all one family. I’m a True Disciple of the Profound Celestial Sect, and you were a True Disciple of the Purple Sun Sect. It’s only right for you to call me senior brother, don’t you think?”

”Bullshit. You’re clearly an outsider. Spit it out. What’s your real origin? And why do you claim to be my senior brother?”

Yang Xiao was completely unconvinced.

Seeing this, Yang Tian...

...smiled sheepishly.

He tried to weasel his way out of it. ”Well, uh, can I just say it was a slip of the tongue and I misspoke?”

Yang Xiao shot him a scornful look. ”Do you take me for a fool?”

”This... Fine. The truth is, I have an ability. I can foresee the future. When I saw you, I foresaw that you are destined to be my junior brother. That’s why I’m helping you. You believe me now, don’t you?”

Yang Tian said with a completely straight face.

”Foresee the future?”

Yang Xiao was stunned for a moment. But seeing Yang Tian’s deadpan expression, which couldn’t hide the smile in his eyes, he grew furious. ’This guy is lying to me again? Foresee the future? I doubt even a Saint Emperor could do that, so how could he?’

”I don’t believe you.”

”Believe it or not. I’ve said my piece.”

This time, Yang Tian decided to be shameless about it.

Yang Xiao looked at his roguish, shameless demeanor.

He felt a sense of helplessness.

He knew he probably wasn’t going to get any more information out of him.

As for this ”foreseeing the future” business?

At first, Yang Xiao had been a little inclined to believe it.

After all, the brat’s ability to anticipate his moves had been uncanny.

But now, he didn’t believe a word of it.

The man was clearly untrustworthy.

However...

”You say you’re my senior brother?”

Yang Xiao said, his expression turning serious.

”That’s right. The genuine article, guaranteed.”

Yang Tian flicked the dust from his clothes and said with a deliberately dashing air.

”Then you must know the origins of this Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, right? And you must be clear on the rules here, too? Why don’t you tell me about them? Also, you say you can foresee the unknown. I wonder, can you foresee where Xuan Tianzhan is? When will he appear, and when will I kill him?”

Yang Xiao fired off a series of questions.

He expected Yang Tian to be surprised.

But the man, with a perfectly straight face, answered every single one without missing a beat.

”The origin of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion is simple. It was built by the Northern Wilderness Sword God. He was the most fearsome Sword God of the Middle Ages and even contended with the Xuanyuan Sword Emperor. Although he never attained the rank of Great Emperor himself, he achieved the feat of slaying one.”

”It’s just a shame that we don’t know what kind of entity this monstrously talented Divine King encountered that led to his death. His demise became another great mystery, right after the death of the Profound Sun Emperor.”

”As for the rules here, they’re simple. You entered the Inheritance Tower, didn’t you? You should know that as long as you have an Inheritance Sword Order—also known as the Northern Wilderness Sword Order—you can receive an inherited technique and are given a certain amount of time to learn it. However, this is the 1st Layer, so you can only learn the first move at most. If I remember correctly, it should be the first form of the Celestial Desolation Swordsmanship: Nine Hundred Life and Death.”

”You’re right about all that. So, what about Xuan Tianzhan?”

Yang Xiao stared at Yang Tian.

Yang Tian smiled, a mysterious glint in his eyes. ”There will certainly be a battle between you and Xuan Tianzhan, but it has two possible endings.”

”Two endings?”

”That’s right. The first: you kill him. The second: he kills you.”

Yang Tian remained completely deadpan.

But these words made the other three people present stare blankly for a moment. Once they processed it, they felt an urge to curse.

Damn it!

What kind of prophecy was that?

”You think I’m messing with you? The future isn’t set in stone; it can be changed. With your current strength, if you run into him within ten days, you can kill him.”

”But if it’s after ten days, he’ll be able to kill you as easily as flipping his hand.”

”In other words, you only have ten days.”

Yang Tian’s words...

...left Yang Xiao stunned.

He opened his mouth, wanting to ask more,

but Yang Tian was already smiling. ”You want to know why? Fine, I’ll tell you. In ten days, Xuan Tianzhan will receive the inheritance of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion. He will obtain a power capable of killing a True God. Do you think you can survive in the face of such power?”

As soon as these words were spoken,

the color drained from Yang Xiao’s face.