Chapter 142 Then Let Us Fight

Liu Ping dared to attack the young master of the Hui family, an act that completely tore away the last shred of pretense and instantly triggered an uproar. Everyone stared at him with burning anger, shouting and roaring as they prepared to strike. Yet, naturally, the fastest among them was the Demon Commander.

Unlike the water-controlling emissaries of the Dragon Clan, the cultivation realm of this Demon Commander was genuine and solid without the slightest discount. Moreover, within the Demon Realm, competition was ubiquitous, and his combat techniques far surpassed those of ordinary dragons. The moment he saw Liu Ping make a move, the commander abruptly flipped his hand, slashing down with a massive black saber.

With a soft rip, a divine-demonic body manifested with only a single arm lacked sufficient strength and was cleaved apart instantly. The young master of the Hui family tumbled to the ground, gasping for breath with lingering fear, his eyes filled with terror.

"How audacious! You dare to attack my son. No matter your background, you won't be leaving this place today," Hui Chen said with a ferocious snarl. Liu Ping's actions had touched his absolute bottom line. Though he had previously felt a sliver of apprehension, fury now clouded his mind, sweeping away all hesitation. Regardless of who this youth was, he would kill him first and ask questions later!

Liu Ping sneered and said indifferently, "If I wish to leave, no one can stop me."

"What a joke!" A Demon General lunged forward. His human head instantly morphed into a gigantic rat's head, two round eyes locked onto Liu Ping with boiling hatred. His mouth snapped wide open, revealing rows of peerlessly sharp teeth gleaming with a chilling light, as if they could crush anything into pieces.

"A mere human immortal of the second transformation!"

He roared and cursed as he charged in. Hui Chen did not stop him, clearly intending to use him to test Liu Ping's true combat prowess. Even though it had only lasted for a fleeting moment and involved only a fraction of the divine-demonic body, the display earlier had commanded his caution. The arrogant, unruly youth who had acted as though no one else existed was evidently not making empty boasts; he clearly held some hidden trump cards.

The charging rat-spirit was none other than the old man who had previously shown such deep deference to Liu Ping. Possessing the peak cultivation of a Demon General, he was formidable and served as a key lieutenant under the Demon Commander Hui Chen. It was he who had planned and executed the takeover of the Wu residence, proving himself to be both brave and resourceful. Yet, ultimately, he still underestimated the strength of the youth before him.

He had been confident that even if he were defeated by Liu Ping, the rewards for displaying his loyalty would be immense. Afterward, with the Demon Commander maintaining order, it would be a miracle if a mere human immortal could escape. He did not know whether he could defeat the enemy before him, but he was certain that Hui Chen would prevail, and that was enough. Whether he defeated Liu Ping or was defeated by him, substantial benefits awaited him.

Furthermore, strictly speaking, this Liu Ping was someone he had invited; without some performance on his part, their master would inevitably be deeply displeased.

For a moment, he rejoiced at his own cleverness. The surrounding Demon Generals naturally perceived this as well, but they were ultimately a step too slow. Envy flickered in their eyes as they watched the general charge toward Liu Ping. Yet, the very next second, that envy transformed into profound relief.

The Demon General had calculated numerous possibilities, but the one he failed to foresee was that Liu Ping could slay him with a single stroke. This was hardly his fault; under normal circumstances, for a lower-realm practitioner to defeat a higher-realm one was already unexpected—how could anyone sever him cleanly with a single sword strike?

Unfortunately, the opponent he charged at was precisely such a terrifying individual.

Seeing the rat-spirit approach, Liu Ping narrowed his eyes, and his right hand, resting on his waist, moved instantly.

There lay the Qingsu Sword.

He drew the sword. Sword Qi surged and vast, righteous sword energy sprayed outward. The unyielding, unbending aura—stiff to the extreme—caused the expressions of all present to shift. The charging rat-general naturally sensed this as well, but alas, it was already too late.

A single sword stroke levels the heavens!

Drawing the sword meant executing the strike. Such swings had already been practiced tens of thousands of times, ingrained deeply in his muscle memory, and he unleashed the blow almost without hesitation.

Sword Qi rippled. In the span of a single breath, the head of the rat-general flew from his neck. Before he could even manage a final struggle, his pupils dilated with resentment, his life force completely vanished, and even his soul failed to escape.

From the neck of the headless body, blood erupted toward the ceiling like a geyser, splashing against the exquisite paneled ceiling and ruining its intricate design.

Simultaneously, the strange fragrance lingering in the air was once again tainted by another scent—the stench of blood. It morphed into an eerie odor that seemed capable of inciting excitement.

Having so cleanly and decisively slain a peak Demon General, a chilling draft swept through the hearts of the many demons who had been growing restless within the room. Not a single drop of blood stained the tip of Liu Ping's sword—what terrifying control and mastery of the sword dao! Catching the youth's sweeping gaze and feeling the oppressive weight of his presence, they involuntarily took a step back.

"A ruthless sword!" Hui Chen sneered. "However, relying on such a sword to act so arrogant—you are still far from qualified!"

Ignoring him entirely, Liu Ping took two or three strides over to the bride, reached out, and flipped open the red bridal veil to reveal Ying Ning's face contorted in pain, silently gazing back at him.

Seeing that long-missed face twisted in such agony, Liu Ping knew his conjecture had been correct.

She had been controlled.

An uncontrollable surge of fury erupted within him, making his scalp tingle as if it might split open. He cast a freezing glare toward Hui Chen.

Annoyed to find himself completely ignored by Liu Ping, Hui Chen's left hand suddenly conjured a snake-headed cane. He raised it high, then brought it crashing down with a resounding thud directly into the floor.

Boom! The snake-headed cane drove deep into the ground. As if triggering some hidden mechanism, intricate patterns began to spread across the floorboards of the entire room, interlocking in a deeply mystical fashion.

"An array?" Liu Ping murmured lightly, showing not a hint of intimidation as a sneer broke across his face. "A Demon Commander dealing with a human immortal of the second transformation, yet you are cautious enough to activate the array within this room? I originally thought I'd find a matched opponent and enjoy a hearty fight, but it turns out you're nothing more than trash."

"Provocation is useless." Hui Chen, cunning and weathered like an old fox, remained completely unperturbed. He didn't fall for the bait, simply gazing indifferently at Liu Ping as though looking at a dead man.

Though Liu Ping maintained a calm facade, his heart had actually sunk to rock bottom. From that split-second contact earlier, he had already realized that Hui Chen's cultivation was profound, likely having advanced far along the path of a Demon Commander. His combat prowess was extraordinary—far surpassing the dragons he had fought in the Ancient Divine Realm. Now, with the activation of the array within the Wu residence, his opponent held every advantage of home-ground supremacy.

Daring not to harbor the slightest bit of contempt any longer, he let out a cold snort and unleashed his divine-demonic body. An invisible, grandiose force instantly erupted. A pale blue figure gradually materialized, its oppressive might crushing downward. Every demon in the room struggled to breathe, shaken to their cores. Just what kind of sacred being was this youth? To possess such formidable combat strength—the technique he had unleashed was terrifyingly potent, akin to the descent of a Demon Commander himself.

Hui Chen seemed to have anticipated this, showing no surprise as he chuckled heinously, "Is this your trump card? Still not enough!"

"Who is this trashy old geezer acting so arrogant? He really needs a beating!" Ling'er's dissatisfied voice rang out within his sea of consciousness. Making a long-awaited appearance, her tone remained as insufferably arrogant as ever.

"He certainly needs a beating," Liu Ping agreed wholeheartedly.

"However, my little master, your situation seems rather grim. The array in this room should be the Blood Shadow Blade Light Formation. Although it appears somewhat incomplete, it still retains a shred of its essence and won't be easy to handle. That old geezer puts on a good act of posturing, but he's no weakling—at least, not to someone like you." Ling'er let out a cold chuckle.

"Indeed."

"Oh wow!"

"What is it?"

"Little master, how is it that you're always starting massive brawls over women? Last time it was the Dragon Clan, and now it's a half-human, half-fox female. Tsk tsk, both of them quite attractive, it seems. Not to nag, little master, but you really need to learn some restraint, or sooner or later you're going to die in a woman's lap!"

Liu Ping was left with black lines crisscrossing his forehead, though he had to admit she was right. At its core, he was indeed picking a massive fight over a woman. But faced with such circumstances, how could he endure and *not* pick a massive fight?

"Cut the nonsense. Are there any flaws in this Blood Shadow Blade Light Formation?"

"None at all."

"None?" Liu Ping was surprised.

"Of course none," Ling'er replied matter-of-factly. "When I said this array was incomplete, I meant its completeness in scale. In reality, it forms an organic whole—obviously a streamlined version, entirely different from the heavily modified grand ascending dragon array of the Dragon Clan. An array designed purely for killing wouldn't leave flaws for others to exploit, would it?"

"Is that so?" Liu Ping frowned slightly. "Then..."

"However..."

Ling'er paused deliberately at this crucial moment, keeping him in suspense and leaving Liu Ping grinding his teeth in helpless frustration.

"However what?"

"Although there are no flaws," Ling'er said through the eyes of the divine-demonic body, gazing down over the entire room while speaking leisurely in his sea of consciousness, "the little master can just blast it into smithereens. Who cares if there are flaws or not!"

Liu Ping froze for a moment before bursting into loud laughter. "Hahaha!! What you said is truly... complete nonsense!"

Seeing Liu Ping recover his sharp edge, the corners of Ling'er's mouth curved upward. She offered no rebuttal upon hearing that remark; whether it was nonsense aside, as long as the little master's fighting spirit was reignited, that was enough. Though the two had only cooperated a few times, an exceptional tacit understanding had already formed between them. Some words did not need to be spoken aloud for the other to comprehend.

She had known full well what lay behind Liu Ping's hesitation, his unspoken requests, and his intentional delegation of command over the divine-demonic body to break the current deadlock. Yet playing like that could only ever be an occasional indulgence; if he grew dependent on it, the divine-demonic body would be utterly ruined. That was why she had given him that answer.

And Liu Ping had evidently grasped her meaning instantly, which was why he gave that reply.

This little master of hers—though unsatisfactory in many aspects—possessed truly outstanding comprehension.

"Then let us do battle!" Liu Ping casually swept Ying Ning into the protection of the divine-demonic body, flipped his hands, and materialized a long sword. The tip of the blade pointed directly at the Demon Commander Hui Chen.