Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable-Chapter 69: Want to Beg for Mercy Now?

Ye Tianling was well-versed in Astronomy and Geography and the Five Elements Bagua, so he wasn’t particularly intimidated by the forbidden aspects of a Trapping Array like this one.

Nor was Ye Tianling overly concerned about the murderous intent of the Blood Evil Sword Intent.

Judging by how he’d previously broken free from the assault of the Lonely Sword Intent, his own foundation was stronger than that of the Lonely Sword Intent emanating from this Sword Enlightenment Platform.

Ye Tianling was considering how to break this trap and kill Xiao Zhengnan. This was an opportunity—Xiao Zhengnan’s Sword Spirit was grievously wounded and could not unleash even a tenth of its power.

If he didn’t press his advantage now, he feared he wouldn’t get another chance to kill him anytime soon.

After all, his opponent was on the verge of manifesting a Sword Soul.

The difference between having a Sword Soul and not was absolutely immense.

Once his opponent possessed a Sword Soul, even with his Dragon Soul Sword Spirit, Ye Tianling would be no match for him without having fully integrated the Sword Soul with his physical body.

Ye Tianling had personally experienced the power of a Sword Soul twice. He knew all too well that such a Realm represented a terrifying, overwhelming threat to him.

Ye Tianling’s gaze swept across the crowd. Among the many disciples, he spotted Ye Shuiyan.

Ye Shuiyan remained silent, but a flicker of relief was visible in her eyes.

Clearly, in her eyes, Ye Tianling deserved to die.

Ye Tianling shot her an icy glare. She didn’t look away, her own gaze just as cold and indifferent.

There was no trace of schadenfreude, but not a shred of emotion either. It was the detached indifference one would show a complete stranger.

’So everyone really wants me to die!’

After observing the Sword Enlightenment Platform for a moment, Ye Tianling’s heart gradually settled.

At the same time, he gathered a bit of Force Qi from his *Lion’s Roar* technique and spoke with a cold sneer.

"A Demon like you should be slain by all!"

Just then, Wang Yufei and Qin Tianzhao arrived, riding their swords.

Upon their arrival, the surrounding disciples bowed deeply, their attitudes reverent.

Wang Yufei landed beside Ye Shuiyan. After a quick glance at her injuries, she spoke, her voice frigid.

"’Demon?’ ’Slain by all?’ You’re all cut from the same cloth—a bunch of sanctimonious trash. You put yourselves on a moral high ground, ignoring others’ dignity, trampling and insulting them as you please! Those who humiliate others will always be humiliated in turn!"

Ye Tianling retorted with cold sarcasm.

He stood before the stele. Behind him, the Ancient Stone Stele continued to grow, becoming taller and more bizarre. Its aura grew sinister and violent.

The waves of Blood Evil aura grew exceptionally thick and terrifying.

"Ye Tianling, death is staring you in the face, and you still dare to talk tough? Still dare to be so arrogant? You truly have no idea how terrifying the forbidden power of this Sword Enlightenment Platform is once activated! A mere cultivator at the Sword Essence Third Heaven Realm with a shattered Soul—you have no right to be arrogant, and no grounds for it! This time, you can savor the taste of death!"

Wang Yufei said coldly.

"Ye Tianling, repent for your sins before you die. As for your next life... what a pity. You won’t have one. Once you are killed by the Blood Evil Power of the Sword Enlightenment Platform, your Soul will be obliterated. There will be no chance for another life."

Ye Shuiyan said lightly.

Qin Tianzhao chuckled sinisterly. "For humiliating and killing Ningqing, even death is too good for you! Dying like this is letting you off easy! Still, I can’t wait to see the ugly sight of you struggling in agony, howling like a dog!"

But Ye Tianling just burst out laughing. "I had no intention of reasoning with hypocrites like you, but there are some things that just have to be said!"

As he spoke, Ye Tianling continued to mock them. "I came to the Nine Swords Sect on the orders of Wan Jianyun and Die Xiyue, as a True Disciple of the Myriad Swords Sect! Here in the Nine Swords Sect, that status is comparable to an Elder! Sect Master Chen Fengyan of the Nine Swords Sect personally gave me a Sword Enlightenment Order. Now, let me ask you self-proclaimed, upright, selfless geniuses: was I, Ye Tianling, in the wrong? Is an Elder’s status now lower than a Disciple’s? Do I not have priority? What’s more, I didn’t even ask for the Sword Enlightenment Order—Chen Fengyan gave it to me! So, Xiao Ningqing openly defies Sect Master Chen Fengyan’s decision and orchestrates my assassination, and somehow *I’m* the one at fault?"

Ye Tianling’s cold interrogation silenced the disciples present.

Only then did they recall the actual truth of the matter.

In fact, they had known the truth all along. They were aware of Chen Fengyan’s sect-wide announcement and knew that what he said was true.

After he finished, even the two young women, Ye Shuiyan and Wang Yufei, fell silent.

"After I, Ye Tianling, arrived at the Sword Enlightenment Platform, Zhao Mu, Zhao Sikong, and Guan Xiaoyan were incited by Xiao Ningqing. They came to humiliate me and even tried to kill me. In their eyes, I was nothing more than a minor figure at Sword Essence Third Heaven, a piece of trash whose Soul had been crushed by Ye Cangqian.

"I was just an easy target for them to bully, wasn’t I?

"So what should I have done? Was I supposed to just stand there and not fight back? Let them curse and insult me? Listen to them and cut off my own hands, then kneel and present the Sword Enlightenment Order to Xiao Ningqing?"

Ye Tianling’s questions once again plunged the crowd into dead silence.

One disciple sneered, "This is a World where the strong are revered. Your Realm is low, you can’t even manifest a Sword Soul. The wise move would have been to obediently hand over the Sword Enlightenment Order to a talented disciple who actually needs it."

Ye Tianling sneered. "The strong are revered? Right. That’s what I think, too. So when they tried to insult me, I told them to get lost and warned them not to provoke me, lest I kill them without mercy. Unfortunately, they didn’t listen. They flew into a rage and came at me with lethal intent. So, naturally, I killed them first.

"The strong are revered. In my eyes, I am the strong one, and those three were ants! Therefore, abiding by the law of the jungle, I killed them!"

Ye Tianling’s declaration made the atmosphere strangely tense.

Ye Tianling took a deep breath, suppressing his injuries, and continued, "After killing those three, I learned from them about Xiao Ningqing’s plot to have me assassinated, so I went to confront her. Heh. And what happened? Relying on her higher Cultivation and Realm, and some inexplicable sense of superiority, she demanded I kneel, kowtow, and hand over the Sword Enlightenment Order.

"You all know what happened next.

"I killed the juniors, and a senior came. Now that I’ve killed the senior, is a whole group of elders next?

"Ye Shuiyan, Wang Yufei, don’t you two fancy yourselves champions of justice? Come on, lecture me about karma. Preach reason to me. Let me bask in the glory of your ’fairness’ and ’impartial righteousness’!"

Ye Tianling spoke with utter contempt.

The expressions on the faces of Ye Shuiyan and Wang Yufei turned grim.

Even the normally sharp-tongued Wang Yufei was at a loss for words.

"Even so, you shouldn’t have humiliated and killed Sister Ningqing! We are of the same sect! Conflicts can be negotiated. Did you really have to kill her?"

Wang Yufei pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"That’s right, we’re of the same sect, conflicts can be negotiated, so there’s no need to kill, right? So, I’m negotiating with you now. Will you agree to let me go?!"

Ye Tianling continued his mockery.

Ye Shuiyan fell silent.

A flicker of emotion crossed Wang Yufei’s eyes, but she didn’t answer.

Hearing this, Qin Tianzhao laughed malevolently. "Let you go? Dream on!" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Xiao Zhengnan’s voice was sharp and cold. "So that’s your goal, is it? Trying to beg for mercy now? It’s too late!"

Ye Tianling suddenly burst out laughing again. "Right, you aren’t willing, are you? Well, neither am I! In fact, by talking, I was already giving you a chance—the same chance I gave those dead men. It’s a shame. Just like you, they didn’t treasure that opportunity!

"And you really thought I was pleading for mercy? Begging for a way out?

"A mere Sword Enlightenment Platform thinks it can trap me, Ye Tianling? What a joke!"

With that, Ye Tianling stopped looking at Ye Shuiyan, Qin Tianzhao, and the others. He turned around, his gaze falling silently upon the massive Ancient Stone Stele.