Chapter 99: Dragon Versus Dragon — Who Is the True Dragon?

The people Lingxiao hated most were the ungrateful, thankless dogs. Kill them on sight. Therefore he showed not an ounce of softness to the Zhao clan.

Mingcheng had followed Lingxiao for years; no words were needed. He understood at once and moved forward with a brutal kick.

“Ah—! Stop! It hurts—stop!”

The Zhao men screamed, flailing and trying to run, but how could they escape Mingcheng’s grip?

Lingxiao watched with a calm, effortless expression, not the slightest mercy, as though he were watching a play.

Zhao Qing bit down on his lip and persisted stubbornly:
“If you’ve got the nerve, then kill me! I don’t believe you dare to kill us all.”

Lingxiao gave a faint smile.
“Do as told.”
“Yes, Master.”
He stepped down, and at once crushed one man of the Zhao family beneath his foot.

Seeing this, Zhao Qing’s face darkened.
“You... you really killed him? You don’t fear I’ll report you and get you arrested?”

“So many words. This morning my young master killed that worthless brute Ma Changlong, and he didn’t waste breath like you.”

Zhao Qing shuddered, fear suddenly showing on his face.
“You... were it you who killed Master Ma? You’re Lingxiao?”

“At least you have a little wit.”

When Lingxiao admitted it, Zhao Qing collapsed inwardly. Every ounce of strength seemed to leave him.
By now, even a fool could no longer fail to know who he had faced.
Even the Northwest Ma would not be Lingxiao’s equal—what hope had Zhao had?

With a deep sigh, he said:
“I... I surrender. The house—I’ll return it to the Cai family.”
“Knowing this from the start, why did it all begin at all? Get out!”

The Zhao household retreated in disorder, and Cai Xiaoya was left in a swirl of feeling.
Grandfather had not been wrong. Lingxiao was truly a figure beyond reach.
To erase Ma, reclaim the Cai family estate, even to stand against the whole Northwest—these were all for him as easy as a mere movement of his fingers.
A man so feral and formidable—if only he might one day be her husband, what a stroke of fortune that would be.
But alas... how could Lingxiao ever have noticed her?

Taking a deep breath and setting aside her racing thoughts, Cai Xiaoya bowed and said,
“Master Ling, thank you for your help. From this day onward, the Cai family will look to you alone.”

Lingxiao nodded with perfect calm, no emotion visible on his face.
“From today, stay in the Northwest. In one month, you will be the Northwest King.”

Cai Xiaoya trembled, and at once knelt down and struck her forehead to the ground.
“Thank you, Master Ling!”

Northwest King.
Three words that stirred the hearts of countless men.
Cai Xiaoya had never dared to imagine that one day she would ever touch them.
Never had she dreamed that this day would come—yet today she had been granted the Northwest King’s seat she never dared to think possible.

“Get up. I return to Jiangzhou tonight. Prepare a meal. I want to taste the cooking from your Cai household.”
“Yes!”

Cai Xiaoya steadied her excitement and withdrew respectfully.

Mingcheng could not help but frown.
“Master, you made Cai Xiaoya the Northwest King. Can she hold the place?”
“If she cannot hold it, then kill. One disobeys—I kill two. Two disobey—I kill ten. Kill one to warning a hundred; obedience will come in time. Still, her hand may not be steady enough. Once we return, bring the Black Rose from Jiangzhou to support her.”
“And Shen Qingshan? You promised him you would raise him as Northwest King.”

Lingxiao narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Why play at truth when this is all a staged scene?”

After lunch, the afternoon changed. A light drizzle began to fall.
Lingxiao stepped out through the gate, hands crossed behind him, standing still in the rain, watching the sky crowded with dark clouds. A faint smile played about his eyes.
“Ye Gucheng, do not make me disappointed.”

From inside the main hall, Cai Xiaoya watched him standing in the rain, utterly baffled.
“Master Ming, why is the young master standing outside?”
“Waiting.”
“Is it necessary to wait in the rain?”
“Heh... The young master is waiting to kill. Soon enough he’ll have to step into it anyway; better to let him get drenched now.”
“The master is going to kill again? Who will it be?”
“Kongtong Young Master. Ye Gucheng.”

“Ah!”
Cai Xiaoya drew in a sharp breath and widened her eyes.
Growing up in the Northwest, she understood better than anyone what the title Kongtong Young Master meant.
In the Northwest, he stood almost as high as a prince.
She had never imagined Lingxiao would move to kill him.

“Will Ye Gucheng come?”
Mingcheng narrowed his eyes, a feral gleam in them.
“Of course he will. Shen Qingshan went to Jiangzhou to summon him—it was all a trap laid by Ye. He had once been one of the Four Young Masters of the Wulin. After my young master rose, he lost that title to him. So Ye’s hatred toward the young master runs deep; he wants to kill him with his own hands. He does not yet understand how dreadful Lingxiao truly is.”
“...”
Even though she had been stunned before by Lingxiao, even now Cai Xiaoya could not stop herself from being struck by wonder once more.
Each time she thought she had fully seen Lingxiao’s strength, she found an even deeper, more terrible power hidden beneath it.

“Lingxiao, just how strong are you?”

Before she had finished, a crack of thunder burst overhead. In the rain, Lingxiao slowly lifted his eyes.
At that instant, the raindrops seemed to slow, and a killing intent spread out, pressing down all around.
Silently, several figures had appeared about him.
Inside, Mingcheng let out a low chuckle.

“Twelve Martial Saints of the Third Divine Realm, four Martial Saints of the Ninth Divine Realm, and Kongtong Young Master Ye Gucheng himself. This Kongtong Sect truly is willing to gamble with blood for this.”
Cai Xiaoya could not stop herself from trembling.
The entire group outside—were they all masters of the Martial Saint level?
A Martial Saint is, in legend, a true master beyond the dust of the world. And so many at once had arrived! Truly no wonder it was the Kongtong Sect!

Yet why was Lingxiao not afraid? Why was Mingcheng not afraid either?
Could all these superlative masters fail to intimidate Lingxiao?
Good heavens—what kind of battle was this going to become?

Outside, Lingxiao half-closed his eyes and let the corner of his mouth rise.
“Ye Gucheng?”

A young man stood across from him, equally handsome, clad in an indigo-blue coat, cold and handsome to the core.
At that moment, the same excitement sat on his face as on Lingxiao’s.
It was the thrill of two warriors recognizing each other at last; only true fighters feel such joy.

“Lingxiao, you entered my Kongtong territory and killed my men with crooked intent. It is your death sentence!”
Lingxiao smiled faintly.
“You invited me here. Why this pretence? Strike, then let me see what kind of power the former Four Young Masters of the Wulin truly possessed!”
He put unusual weight on the word “former.”