Chapter 64: I Am Your Father

The woman in the red dress was utterly baffled. This was something that simply could not happen, yet it had happened right before her eyes! Strange, uncanny! This young man was truly peculiar!

Clang!

A clear ring sounded, and a surge of sword intent rushed up to the woman. Startled, she raised her sword to block, but the wild, dominant sword force sent her flying backwards. Stabilizing herself, she bit her lip gently, her eyes filled with boundless fury.

"Kill, kill!"

The woman summoned her sword intent with all her might. The eight phantasms attacked Xia Jiuxuan from cunning angles.

Xia Jiuxuan, meanwhile, controlled the black sword shadow, clashing with the eight phantasms.

The same sword technique, but on a different level!

Within just a few breaths, the phantasms were forced to retreat again and again.

"Mere tricks."

Xia Jiuxuan snorted coldly, his figure transforming into a streak of black light as he launched forward.

Swish, swish, swish!

Wherever he went, the trajectory of the sword was flawless. With a single stroke for each, he cut down all eight phantasms.

"Ugh!"

Behind him, the woman in red spat a mouthful of blood.

Clutching her aching chest, her eyes brimmed with disbelief and terror.

"No, how could I lose... how could this be?"

She seemed entranced, spiritless and lost.

She possessed the heavy-vein sword body, had mastered the lost-to-the-world Leaving Fire Sword Technique, and wielded battle experience beyond comprehension—yet all this was defeated by a mere commoner, a boy of the same realm!

She could not accept it, her mind shaken to its core.

"Hahaha." The woman suddenly laughed, but the sound was full of sorrow. "So this life will be just as hard, after all?"

Whoosh!

Xia Jiuxuan’s figure shot forward, sweeping his sword across.

He did not kill; he merely placed the blade against her throat.

The woman in red showed no reaction whatsoever, not even the slightest attempt to dodge.

"Tell me, how did you come by the Leaving Fire Sword Technique?" Her tone was utterly emotionless.

"You taught me, and now you ask?" Xia Jiuxuan replied indifferently.

"Impossible! Are you claiming you learned the Leaving Fire Sword Technique while fighting me? Who are you trying to fool? The Leaving Fire Sword Technique is unfathomably profound—not only could an ordinary person never steal it by observation, even a saintly swordsman couldn’t hope to do so! And more than that—your mastery of the technique is more perfect than mine, without a single flaw!"

She absolutely refused to believe him; in truth, she dared not believe.

The mere suggestion was absurd.

"I have no need for you to believe. You’re already a dead woman."

Xia Jiuxuan had no patience for further conversation.

Kill!

What difference does it make if it’s a woman? Even a beautiful woman? If she harbors murderous intent, she must be struck down!

Xia Jiuxuan pushed his palm forward, drawing the black broken sword across the girl's throat.

"How laughable—do you truly think you can kill me?"

Her gaze suddenly turned icy.

"Sword Prison!"

With a soft utterance, a surging sword force erupted from within her.

Xia Jiuxuan was taken aback, never expecting such a move!

He quickly summoned his own sword intent for defense.

Clang!

The immense sword force crashed against his defensive sword shadow, sending him flying and shattering several of his ribs!

Even so, the overwhelming sword intent did not relent. Countless sword shadows condensed above and rained down from the heavens.

The sword shadows embedded themselves in the earth, blocking Xia Jiuxuan’s escape routes, sealing him in entirely.

Xia Jiuxuan’s heart sank.

This woman had unleashed such a high-level sword technique!

"You are a reincarnated cultivator!"

A moment’s thought and Xia Jiuxuan deduced the truth.

This girl in red was far more than she appeared! She must have been a powerful sword cultivator reborn, retaining memories of advanced sword arts.

And what was her advantage?

She possessed the heavy-vein sword body!

The strength of the heavy-vein sword body far surpassed Xia Jiuxuan’s current equivalent, the Desolate Body. Thus, her endurance for advanced sword techniques was vastly superior to his.

Even by employing a technique like Sword Prison, she suffered no backlash.

"You’re not simple yourself—so you know about reincarnation?" The woman paced forward, gazing coldly at Xia Jiuxuan.

"Heh." Xia Jiuxuan’s stare seemed almost to pierce her. "Of course I’m not simple. As for you, let me think... you are the daughter of the Sword Lord of Cangwu, and your name is... Duanmu Wanxue!"

!!!

Upon hearing Xia Jiuxuan’s words, the woman was struck as if by lightning. Her body stiffened, immobilized.

How did he know?

She had said nothing—how could he know?

"Who... who are you? Could you be a subordinate of my father, reincarnated?" Duanmu Wanxue looked at Xia Jiuxuan, utterly stunned.

Yes! There could be no other explanation!

Otherwise, how would he know the Leaving Fire Sword Technique? How could he instantly see through her previous life?

"Which uncle are you?" Duanmu Wanxue’s tone shifted, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears.

"I am your father."

Xia Jiuxuan replied offhandedly.

Duanmu Wanxue was dumbfounded.

"No, it can’t be..."

Her voice and demeanor changed completely, now resembling a pitiable, gentle girl next door.

Xia Jiuxuan was momentarily frozen.

She actually believed him?

A mischievous impulse rose in Xia Jiuxuan’s heart.

He continued, "Your mother has a blood phoenix mark on her left chest, and so you inherited her mark as well, isn’t that so?"

As long as he identified the person, Xia Jiuxuan would know these details perfectly. As one who once ruled the world, if something existed in his realm—even a grain of sand—he could reproduce its exact shape. How much more so a person? Every hair on her parents’ bodies was etched in Xia Jiuxuan’s memory.

Such mastery was beyond ordinary imagination.

"This... could it be... Father, is it really you?"

Duanmu Wanxue’s tears streamed down, her red lips trembling as she murmured to herself.

"Sniveling little girl, hurry up and open the Sword Prison for your father."

Xia Jiuxuan, now in a playful mood, revealed another detail.

The nickname "sniveling little girl" was known only to her parents, and only her father dared use it.

"Father! Waaa, waaa..."

Hearing this, Duanmu Wanxue broke into loud sobs.

The Sword Prison confining Xia Jiuxuan collapsed, and Duanmu Wanxue rushed forward, embracing him tightly, burying her head deep in his chest.

...

Xia Jiuxuan rolled his eyes.

Good heavens, she looked unremarkable, but she was even more well-endowed than Li Luoyan.

Not that Xia Jiuxuan wished to take advantage—she simply refused to let go, holding him ever tighter.

"Father, your daughter thought she’d never see you again. Who would have believed Heaven would show mercy and let you be reborn to reunite with me..."

Duanmu Wanxue sobbed and whispered. In this moment, the girl who once hated heaven and earth uttered words of gratitude for the first time.

"Ahem."

Xia Jiuxuan was meant to be cold and unfeeling.

Yet now, he could sense Duanmu Wanxue’s fragility within.

It softened him, just a little.

Otherwise, he could have killed her with a single blow.

Xia Jiuxuan cared little for worldly emotions—except for kinship.

Very well, he would not kill her.

He clearly remembered Duanmu Wanxue’s previous life: as a child, she was her father’s treasure, just as Xia Ran was to Xia Jiuxuan—no one could touch her, let alone bully her!

"Father, your daughter swears to rise no matter the cost in this life, to slay the vile Demon Emperor!"

"Demon Emperor? What Demon Emperor?"

Xia Jiuxuan, recalling the black-armored beasts from before, blurted out the question.

As soon as he spoke, he realized his mistake.

When the Sword Lord of Cangwu was alive, Xia Jiuxuan had already expelled the world from his body—he knew nothing of the Sword Lord’s death.

Hadn’t he just exposed himself?

Sure enough, Duanmu Wanxue froze.

Her soft, warm body quickly withdrew from Xia Jiuxuan’s chest.