Chapter 1540: Take It Easy

Just as Xu Que had foreseen in his vision with the help of the "calamity-foreseeing art", the middle-aged man's gaze landed on Xu Que the moment he touched the ground.

With his back against a tree, Xu Que sat in a leisurely fashion, his eyes glazing over. With a trace of melancholy, he took a nonchalant drag of the cigarette, while his other hand gently swirled the can of Sprite before raising it to his mouth to take in the scent of the drink. He then took a sip from it, holding it in his mouth to let his tongue experience the full impact of the carbon dioxide until a subtle sweetness filled his mouth even after he had swallowed the liquid.

Upon seeing this, the middle-aged man frowned and began to hesitate.

This man in black robes before him was utterly beautiful, but the crucial thing was that he was so young. Judging from his bone age, he certainly couldn't have been more than 100 years old.

A young Golden Celestial of the Great All-Embracing Heaven had had the audacity to come to the Heaven Palace Sect unaccompanied. Even in a place like this, he'd still managed to maintain such a gracious disposition in tasting a liquid of some kind.

A person with such qualities must have been cultivated by someone of great influence. Anyone could tell at a glance that this was no ordinary person but a wealthy or respectable person of some kind.

Thus, there was a possibility that laying a finger on such a person in broad daylight could be a source of trouble in the future...

"Fellow cultivator, are you here to attend the Heaven Palace Sect's recruiting conference?" Xu Que had asked enthusiastically with a bright and innocent smile before the middle-aged man could even finish processing his thoughts.

Looking at his innocent face, the middle-aged man was stunned for a moment. Memories from a long time ago began to resurface in his mind uncontrollably.

Once upon a time, when he was still a child starting on his cultivation journey, wasn't he this kind and innocent too?

But alas, those innate qualities of authenticity, kindness, and goodness had long disappeared after the numerous perils and temptations he had experienced throughout so many years.

Those simple yet fine things had constituted his lost youth.

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man sighed inwardly but, at the same time, he had also become resolute about a certain idea.

Sorry, young man, while it isn't a crime to be innocent, you deserve what I'm going to give you for having the audacity to mess around out here despite your innocence. Don't blame me for being brutal.

"Indeed. Are you here to take part in the recruiting conference as well?" replied the middle-aged man in an indifferent tone. Yet, his eyes flashed intimidatingly. His impulse to kill was waking up.

As long as Xu Que nodded, he would be able to confirm that Xu Que had a recruiting pass on him and effectively steal that pass by killing him instantly.

SWOOSH!

Yet, the middle-aged man did not receive an affirmation or a denial from Xu Que.

Instead, he only saw Xu Que transform into a shadow, before hurtling toward him.

Xu Que's remarkable speed broke the sound barrier and gave rise to deafening explosive noises.

"Wh...what?" The middle-aged man could hardly react in time. What on earth was happening?

BOOM!

The next moment, a loud roar sounded.

Just then, the middle-aged man's facial expression changed. He had finally regained his senses.

Xu Que had already appeared before him, with a sinister expression on his face and his Tough-Acting King's Purple-Gold Rod in his hands. The rod was resplendent, and it burned with black-and-white flames. At the same time, a few crashes of lightning strikes flashed and crackled, as though a horrifying Heavenly Tribulation was about to descend.

This was a terrifying deadly move. This was a rod filled with divine condemnation. In the face of such a deadly rod, even a Celestial King cultivator would tremble with fear in the deepest part of his soul.

"F*ck!" The middle-aged man swore at once.

What innocence, what kindness, what simple-minded youth, what graceful disposition! To h*ll with your so-called innocence!

At the end of the day, he had been the naive one.

He frantically summoned the Celestial Core Power from every part of his body, put it beneath his feet, and even activated the secret technique of a blood sacrifice to retreat at the fastest speed possible so as to avoid the rod.

After all, he was still a cultivator of the mighty Celestial King stage. Even with his slowest reaction, he'd still managed to dodge Xu Que's attack successfully after displaying his full prowess.

In spite of this, he didn't manage to change his direction in time. He had retreated in a straight line, so while Xu Que's attack didn't crash into his body solidly, the sheer strength of the rod had torn the air and struck his head directly.

With a terrifying sound, the rod drove a hole into the head of the middle-aged man, sending blood everywhere.

"Despicable!" The middle-aged man roared angrily. On the inside, though, he was panic-stricken.

The might of this rod had far exceeded his imagination. Even though the injury didn't count for much and was just a superficial wound, the mere strength of the rod had injured his physical body.

If the sheer strength of the rod could cause damage to his head, wouldn't his head have exploded on the spot had he been impaled by the rod?

"Scoundrel. You dare to commit assault in broad daylight, right outside the Heaven Palace Sect?" The middle-aged man exclaimed vehemently while taking further steps backward. He didn't wish to continue going up against Xu Que.

Xu Que's capabilities had surpassed his expectations and, what's more, he had also lost the chance to strike first. He'd been prepared to create a ruckus to attract the attention of the Heaven Palace Sect. Then, he was going to make up a story that Xu Que had stolen his recruiting pass.

"Ha, ha, ha, why are you shouting so loudly? Are you trying to get people from the Heaven Palace Sect to come to your aid? It's useless. No matter how loud you shout, and even if you shout till your throat dies, no one will pay any heed to you." Xu Que laughed coldly. A golden light flashed beneath his feet, and,with a shake of his body, he closed in on the middle-aged man.

At the same time, he kept the Tough-Acting King's Purple-Gold Rod handy. With a pressing motion from his hands, the empty space before him instantly caved in to form a big depression.

BOOM!

An incredibly huge shadow covered the entire vault of the heaven. It was a huge black palm print that radiated a monstrous Lifeless Qi and Yin chills that began to roll toward the middle-aged man.

"What...what Demonic skill is this?" The middle-aged man shrieked instantly. He was scared out of his wits.

In the face of this palm print, he detected an acute sense of danger. He could not help but shudder inwardly. This palm print was much stronger than that rod had been just now.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just learned this, the Great Palm Print of the Netherworld, while waiting for you. It's just a minor celestial art, relax!" Xu Que replied cheerily. That smile of his was as despicable as one could possibly imagine. He spoke as if he was just talking about a trivial matter.

The middle-aged man was so mad that he nearly vomited blood.

A minor celestial art? Relax?

"D*mn it, would you be able to remain calm if you were in my shoes?"

At the same time, he was utterly horrified inside.

"This punk had just said that he'd been waiting for him here? Could it be that he had long known about his arrival and thus had lain here in an ambush to kill him?"

No, that couldn't be it. He hadn't revealed the news to anyone ever since he had acquired the recruiting pass and his trip to the Heaven Palace Sect had been a rushed journey on the down low. So how could this punk have known about his each and every move?

"Could it be...Xiaoli?"

That must be it, it couldn't be anyone else besides Xiaoli.

Xiaoli, oh Xiaoli, your godfather has always treated you with nothing but a genuine heart. I can't believe you are this shallow, falling in love with a young man who has nothing to show for himself but his good looks, and having no qualms about betraying your godfather to him.

AAHHH!

The more the middle-aged man thought about it, the angrier he grew. He clenched his fists tightly, turned towards the sky, and let out a roar.

BOOM!

At such a time of crisis, his body radiated a boundless Qi that rose toward the sky.

The extreme rage he felt had unleashed his never-before-seen potential and from his diaphragm came strong Celestial Core powers one after another. Before him, these powers instantly gathered to form a huge, light-blue sword.

"I summon the Destroy All Life Sword!" the middle-aged man snarled as he pointed two fingers.

The huge, light-blue sword flew toward the big black palm print in the sky, bringing with it a strong destructive energy.

.....