Chapter 125: Battle of the Northern Cold Dragon Cliff

"Who asked you to care?!"

Long Xinlan's eyes narrowed sharply. In a flash, she appeared before Xiao Beihan, her hand raised to strike him across the face.

Bang!

Her fair, delicate wrist was caught by a massive palm. Frowning, she looked up to find it was her brother, Long Ya.

"Xinlan, you may fight, but you must not humiliate others!"

Long Ya looked at his sister with doting eyes, then turned his gaze to Xiao Beihan, saying in a low, stern voice, "Kid, watch your tongue, or I won't mind teaching you a lesson!"

"Teach me a lesson?" Xiao Beihan retorted, raising an eyebrow. "Are you capable of that?"

"Oh?" Long Ya heard this, gently released his sister's hand, and flexed his knuckles. "Shall we put that to the test?"

"I was born into a small family and lack your cultivation resources. If we were at the same realm, I could beat ten of you. Do you believe me?"

Xiao Beihan was not one to back down. In truth, he felt a sense of guilt toward Long Ya for occupying the resources that should have belonged to him. However, seeing that Long Ya was doing well under his future father-in-law, Long Tiexin, and had reached the peak of the early Pulse-Opening Realm, he felt a bit more at ease.

Still, he desperately wanted to spar with Long Ya. He believed that with such a provocation, Long Ya would be unable to resist, regardless of whether he recognized him or not.

His biological father had once bestowed great favor upon two men—not only teaching them martial arts and swordsmanship but also passing on the secret arts of the Xiao family. One was his adoptive father, Xiao Jianhao, and the other was Xiao Jianhao's sworn brother, Long Tiexin.

When his father was titled the Sword King, he was already a peak master of the Stream Realm, while Xiao Jianhao and Long Tiexin were mere youths in their twenties, their cultivation only at the Qi-Pulse Realm.

During a life-or-death trial, the two had been hunted by a pair of Tier 4 fierce beasts. They were on the brink of death when his father saved them. He had guided their martial arts and shared his own cultivation techniques, valuing their loyalty and righteousness.

When Long Tiexin encountered danger from a Tier 4 beast, Xiao Jianhao risked his life to save him, suffering severe wounds in the process. While being hunted by the two beasts, if Long Tiexin had abandoned his friend to lure the monsters away, he could have escaped. But he did not.

Under the duress of life and death, true character is revealed. Even when faced with death, Long Tiexin never wavered, dragging the wounded Xiao Jianhao with him as they fled. It was because of this deep bond that the Sword King Xiao He stepped in to help and guide them.

Even twenty years ago, a peak master of the Stream Realm was a figure who could make any county tremble with a single stomp. Since Xiao He held the title of Sword King, his mastery of the blade was exceptionally formidable—few in the entire Ice and Snow Kingdom could compare. With the Xiao family being one of the most powerful clans in the Imperial City, their cultivation techniques were far superior to those found in a small place like Qingxue County.

Under Xiao He's careful guidance, the two men saw their cultivation and martial arts leap forward, eventually becoming powerful figures in their own right.

After Xiao He passed away, the two remained deeply loyal. Xiao Jianhao raised Xiao Beihan as his own son. When Long Tiexin learned that Xiao Jianhao had sent his son to him—also out of respect for the late Sword King—he didn't hesitate to arrange a betrothal, promising his daughter to Xiao Beihan. Since then, Long Tiexin had become a teacher at the Heavenly Book Academy and was no longer a wandering spirit.

Meeting Long Ya now, Xiao Beihan naturally wanted to spar. But since Long Tiexin became a teacher at the academy, Long Ya had received so many resources that, despite being the same age, his cultivation far outstripped Xiao Beihan's. He had to use words to goad him; otherwise, he knew that with Long Ya’s current strength, he would be beaten into a pulp. After all, he wasn't arrogant enough to challenge a peak-stage Pulse-Opening master while he had only just broken through to the Qi-Pulse Realm.

"Fine, same realm it is!" Long Ya grinned, his aura suddenly dropping. "I see you are at the first stage of the Qi-Pulse Realm, so I shall lower my cultivation to match. Let's see if I don't knock your teeth out!"

Long Ya cracked his knuckles and beckoned to Xiao Beihan. "Come on, weakling!"

"Big brother, this is the trial space! We should be snatching points or eliminating them, not dueling. Why are you bothering with this?" Long Xinlan shouted, clearly unhappy. In her mind, she would have just punched them, taken the points, and been done with it.

"You don't understand!" A flash of anger crossed Long Ya's eyes. If others didn't recognize this as Xiao Beihan, he certainly did. That was why he hadn't let Xinlan slap him.

It wouldn't look good for a future wife to beat her future husband, especially since this future husband carried the name of the Xiao family. If he were slapped and humiliated by his fiancée in the trial space without the ability to fight back, he would become the laughingstock of the younger generation and bring shame to the Xiao family.

But what angered him more was that this guy, who had replaced him, had the audacity to call his Xiao family a "small family"—as if he were complaining about a lack of resources.

Long Ya felt a deep sense of grievance. He had left the family at five and hadn't returned in eleven years, meeting his father only every few years. Why? To protect the very Xiao Beihan standing before him, fearing the secrets of the past would be exposed.

For Xiao Beihan to say such things touched a raw nerve. If not for his foster father’s luck in becoming a teacher at the Heavenly Book Academy—providing him with even more resources than he would have had at the Xiao family—he might not even have reached the Qi-Pulse Realm. Since Xiao Beihan was acting this way, he was more than happy to lower his cultivation and teach him a lesson.

"Then come on!" Xiao Beihan narrowed his eyes. As he expected, Long Ya had lowered his cultivation, and he caught the flash of anger in his eyes. *It seems he has recognized me!*

Boom!

Qi surged around Xiao Beihan. A black sword appeared in his hand, and he slashed toward Long Ya. Sword qi erupted, and a sword aura dozens of meters long pierced through the air.

"Well struck!" Long Ya roared. His fists collided, creating an explosive sound, and he pushed his hands out to form a transparent, resilient barrier, from which one could sense an astonishing defensive power.

Crack!

The sword aura collided with the barrier. The aura shattered, but the barrier remained unscathed.

"If this is your strength, you disappoint me!" Long Ya sneered, waving his hand, and the massive barrier surged toward Xiao Beihan.

"If this is your combat power, you disappoint me even more!" Xiao Beihan countered, swinging his blade countless times. Wave after wave of sword aura struck the barrier like a mad storm.

Boom, boom, boom!

Countless sword auras exploded. As the barrier reached Xiao Beihan, his final strike shattered, and the barrier finally crumbled. Like a giant sheet of glass breaking, it dissolved into countless transparent fragments that scattered into the air.

"It took you countless strikes to break one barrier. You’re finished!" Long Ya laughed, stepping forward instantly to stand before Xiao Beihan. He clenched his fist, violent energy churning, and punched toward Xiao Beihan.

"That remains to be seen!" A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Beihan’s eyes. He sneered, "Ten Thousand Foot Mountain!"

At that moment, Long Ya felt his scalp tingle. An endless, crushing pressure descended from above—a mix of violent, sharp, heavy, and majestic energies. Looking up, he saw a mountain of sword qi, dozens of meters high, manifesting above him like a falling peak.

*So, that's what those fragmented sword auras were for!* Long Ya realized instantly. This was the real killing blow; the previous strikes were merely cover, or rather, pieces of this mountain. But what did that matter? Long Ya had absolute confidence in himself!

Without hesitation, he continued to punch toward Xiao Beihan with his right hand, refusing to retreat or dodge. With his left hand, he reached up, palm open, and layers of barriers manifested instantly.

Bang!

Long Ya’s punch was blocked by Xiao Beihan’s sword. Xiao Beihan used the recoil to retreat, while at the same time, the massive sword mountain slammed into the barrier!

Boom!

A deafening roar erupted. Long Ya’s barriers shattered layer by layer—seven or eight layers vanished in the blink of an eye. The mountain’s downward momentum remained undiminished, while Long Ya continued to conjure more barriers with his left hand.

Crack!

When the thirteenth layer shattered, the mountain’s momentum finally halted, held up by Long Ya’s left hand.

"Return it to you!" Long Ya’s eyes widened. Keeping the mountain held high with his left hand, he slammed his right fist into it. With a resonant hum, the entire mountain exploded, transforming into countless shards of sword qi that shot toward Xiao Beihan.

Xiao Beihan sneered. How could his own sword qi hurt him? He extended his black sword, and the countless shards swirled like birds returning to their nests, merging back into the blade. He twisted his body and swung the sword upward from below.

Boom!

A sword aura, over thirty meters long, surged from the ground toward Long Ya. Long Ya roared, refusing to dodge, and met the aura with a fierce punch.

"Retreat!" Long Xinlan and the other two Pulse-Opening masters shouted, dragging the dozen Qi-Pulse peak-stage cultivators back. Lin Fan extended his hand, creating a protective shield in front of them.

At that moment, Xiao Beihan’s earth-shattering sword aura collided with Long Ya’s violent fist. A deafening crash echoed out.

Rumble!

Countless shards of violent sword qi scattered, piercing through rocks and trees, leaving holes everywhere. The powerful shockwave, carrying a gale, pushed outward, raising clouds of dust. The area where they fought was swallowed by a thick fog.

As the fog cleared and the dust settled, the two figures emerged standing in a crater dozens of meters wide. Long Ya’s clothes were shredded by the sword qi, and blood trickled slowly down his body. Xiao Beihan fared no better; blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and the webbing between his thumb and forefinger was torn open.