Chapter 88: Spare Him, and I Will Marry You!

Yue Buqun stared at Yun Zhonghe in utter disbelief. He had actually absorbed Zuo Lengchan’s inner strength and made it his own.

In this world, very few arts could seize another’s power and turn it to one’s own use. One of them was Ren Woxing’s famed Power-Swallowing Art.

“You’re one of the Sun and Moon Sect!” Yue Buqun cried.

The moment those words fell, the entire hall was thrown into an uproar.

Xie Xun, who had kept his eyes tightly shut until then, suddenly opened them. It seemed Yun Zhonghe had been prepared all along; he had worried needlessly.

He relaxed, but the others only grew more uneasy.

Yun Zhonghe’s martial arts were already exceedingly formidable, and now he had also absorbed decades of Zuo Lengchan’s power. Who among those present could still stand against him?

Despair settled over the crowd.

Yun Zhonghe took in every expression below the platform and inwardly muttered that matters were turning bad. If everyone believed Yue Buqun and accepted that he belonged to the Sun and Moon Sect, then there was no way he would become the alliance leader of the seven sects.

Wouldn’t that mean the mission had failed?

No. Absolutely not.

Yun Zhonghe immediately shot back, “Yue Buqun, if you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll sue you for defamation!”

Yue Buqun took it as nothing more than Yun Zhonghe lashing out in panic. He said coldly, “If it were not the Devil Sect’s Power-Absorbing Art, how else could you have drained Zuo Lengchan’s true energy dry?”

“Who says only Ren Woxing’s Power-Swallowing Art can absorb another’s strength?”

“Whether it is or not, this kind of art damages one’s virtue and is no righteous school’s proper method!”

At those words, a faint smile of triumph appeared at the corner of Yun Zhonghe’s mouth.

That was exactly the line he had been waiting for.

Yet Yue Buqun had not the slightest idea that he had stepped into Yun Zhonghe’s trap. As long as Yun Zhonghe could not answer, he could summon the heroes and have them attack together.

No matter how high Yun Zhonghe’s martial arts were, a sea of men could exhaust him to death.

Unfortunately for Yue Buqun, though his scheme was excellent, Yun Zhonghe had no intention of playing along.

“The internal art I practice is called the Northern Mystic Divine Skill, and it comes from the Free and Unfettered School,” Yun Zhonghe said.

At this, the people below the platform suddenly remembered.

Some time ago, Yun Zhonghe had solved the impossible Puzzle Chess Formation and inherited the legacy of the Free and Unfettered School.

For him to know the Northern Mystic Divine Skill was only natural.

Only no one had ever seen him display it, so they had overlooked the matter.

Yue Buqun’s face alternated between pale and livid, and for a moment he did not know what to do.

If Yun Zhonghe were merely a powerful fighter, that would be one thing. The key was that he also had the colossal Free and Unfettered School behind him.

Though the Free and Unfettered School was not especially famous in the martial world, no one dared look down on a sect that had endured for centuries and possessed such deep foundations.

No wonder Yun Zhonghe’s martial arts had advanced so swiftly; it must have something to do with this.

The crowd’s expressions shifted repeatedly.

The Free and Unfettered School was extremely selective in taking disciples; if Yun Zhonghe were truly some great villain, he would long since have been expelled like Ding Chunqiu.

He could never have become the sect leader of the Free and Unfettered School.

Once this thought settled in their minds, the tension in everyone’s hearts eased, at least for the moment.

At the very least, Yun Zhonghe would not kill them.

Even if he truly chose to strike, everyone combined still would not be his match.

Yun Zhonghe fixed his gaze on Yue Buqun and pressed on relentlessly. “What now, Master Yue? Are you claiming the Free and Unfettered School is also a den of evil?”

Hearing this, Yue Buqun’s temper flared, and the injuries he had barely suppressed showed signs of returning.

He had never felt so stifled in his life. He could not beat Yun Zhonghe, and when he tried to crush him through other means, the man dissolved his efforts with a few casual words.

After holding it in for a long time, Yue Buqun finally forced back the urge to cough up blood.

His mind raced, and then he looked at Yun Zhonghe. “Since you are not of the Devil Sect, and since you have fought the seven great sects, I, Yue, am willing to acknowledge you as the alliance leader of the seven sects!”

As he spoke, he dropped to one knee before Yun Zhonghe and said respectfully, “This subordinate pays homage to the alliance leader!”

Yue Buqun’s action caused a tremendous uproar below the platform.

None of them had expected him to change his stance so astonishingly fast.

Put nicely, it was called a man knowing when to bend and when to stand firm.

Put harshly, it was indecisiveness and opportunism, swaying with the wind.

Looking at Yue Buqun kneeling before him, Yun Zhonghe’s expression could not have been more splendid.

Since ancient times it had always been the son-in-law kneeling to the father-in-law. Now, however, it was the father-in-law kneeling to the son-in-law.

Whatever the case, Yun Zhonghe was extremely pleased.

The moment Yue Buqun knelt, the system’s voice rang in his mind.

Congratulations, host. Mission complete. Reward: the Six-Fingered Divine Sword has been issued. Please check and receive it.

So this mission was successful as long as even one person acknowledged me as the alliance leader of the seven sects!

Thinking thus, Yun Zhonghe immediately pressed the receive button.

In an instant, a vast body of sword knowledge and the techniques of the Six-Fingered Divine Sword flooded into his mind.

Yun Zhonghe closed his eyes and accepted it.

A moment later, he opened them again, and his bearing changed completely. His eyes now held a sharp, overbearing light, surveying the world with lofty disdain.

Yue Buqun keenly sensed the change in Yun Zhonghe. His eyes could scarcely be described as merely shocked.

He perceived an immensely powerful sword intent radiating from Yun Zhonghe.

He had only ever felt such a fluctuation from the sword faction of Mount Hua.

To find the very same aura in Yun Zhonghe meant his swordsmanship had already reached the summit of perfection.

The more Yue Buqun realized this, the more dangerous Yun Zhonghe seemed.

He was only in his twenties; how could he possess such terrifying swordsmanship and sword intent?

There was only one answer...

Yue Buqun’s gaze moved to Lin Pingzhi, and in his mind, Yun Zhonghe must have obtained the Evil-Resisting Sword Manual and successfully cultivated it.

That would also explain why even the combined efforts of several sect masters could not defeat him.

Yue Buqun silently thought that if he could obtain the Evil-Resisting Sword Manual and combine it with the Purple Mist Divine Skill, then even Yun Zhonghe might not be his match.

And just then, Yun Zhonghe’s icy voice rang out, sending him plunging into a freezing abyss.

“Yue Buqun, what you did when you tried to ambush me just now will not be so easily forgiven.”

The instant those words landed, Yue Buqun knew something was wrong. The moment his body moved, a sword strangely appeared at his neck.

Feeling the bone-deep chill emanating from the blade, Yue Buqun’s hair stood on end, his blood seeming to freeze as he stiffened in place.

Any further movement, and the sword would slit his throat, spilling blood on the spot.

While the two men stood at an impasse, Yue Lingshan hurried onto the stage and placed herself in front of her father, Yue Buqun.

“Yun Zhonghe, you are not allowed to hurt my father!” She drew her sword and pointed it at him.

Seeing Yue Lingshan shield Yue Buqun behind her, Yun Zhonghe’s expression eased somewhat. “Your father tried to kill me just now. If your husband here had not been so skilled, you would already be a widow. Shouldn’t he pay some price?”

Yue Lingshan looked at Yun Zhonghe, and deep within her eyes there surfaced a helplessness.

She bit down hard on her red lip until fine threads of blood seeped out, making her look pitiful and delicate.

After a fierce struggle within herself, she finally made up her mind.

“If you will spare my father, then I will marry you, and serve you as an ox and a horse for the rest of my life.”