Chapter 360

Chapter 360: No Holding Back in Battle

Lou Yun mentally counted the number of opponents. When he saw the clothes each wore and the cloth sack carried on their backs, he instantly understood that these nine were definitely from the Nine Families, with one from each family!

On Spirit Weapon Star, apart from Lou Yun, only the Nine Families could truly practice both magical and ordinary skills. It wasn’t hard to imagine that those sacks contained their common weapons!

Indeed, it was so. To completely destroy the Lou Family, the Nine Families each sent dozens of people. Groups of nine were formed, scattered as dozens of teams ambushed in the waters near Divine Weapon Island, waiting for a chance to strike.

Gazing at the Nine Families who had clearly targeted them, Lou Yun sneered loudly: "The feud between our Lou Family and your Nine Families has spanned millennia! Yet only today have I finally seen all of you—it’s truly not been easy!"

Among the Nine Families, Lou Yun had actually only encountered seven: the Jiang family, the Han family, the Xiao Family, the Helian family, the Huangfu Family, the Liu family, and the Yu Family. For the Yu Family, he’d witnessed their sea beast control ability but hadn’t seen their clansmen.

Aside from these seven, the other two were the Meng Family and the Ding Family!

Hearing Lou Yun’s words, the nine people exchanged glances. A burly man at the front said with a glint of pleasure in his eyes: "Are you from the Lou Family?"

Lou Yun scanned each face of the nine slowly. Then he nodded and stated firmly: "I am Lou Yun, the current clan head of the Lou Family!"

"Lou Yun!"

Cries of surprise rang out from the nine. They’d thought he was just a member, not the clan head himself. Lou Yun’s status and worth far exceeded ordinary Lou Family members, and the order was to capture him alive. Grabbing him would be an immense merit!

So, after the surprise, grins of delight spread across their faces. Clearly, they saw Lou Yun as already trapped like a turtle in a jar, ready for capture.

They had such confidence because their strength was indeed formidable!

After all, the Lou Family was no longer the powerless, unbacked county clan of the past. Since Lou Yun’s rise, powerful allies had joined: first Ancient Weapon Academy, then Beichen Ming, followed by Tie Sha and Wen Hou, and even Leng Cangqiong!

With these supporters behind Lou Yun and the Lou Family, the Nine Families dared not be careless. This time, they’d dispatched elites from each family.

The highest cultivation realm among them reached emperor rank, while the lowest wasn’t below mystery rank!

Thus, though the nine knew Lou Yun was clan head and had unfathomable power, they believed that united, they could capture him alive!

A very pale young man chuckled darkly among them: "Lou Yun, we’ve waited long for you. To think you’d come to us today—haha, this is excellent, excellent!"

From each person’s clothing, Lou Yun had identified six of the families he’d seen before. Unable to place the young man and the other two, he smiled faintly: "Forgive my dim sight, may I ask which family you’re from?"

Shaping up proudly, the young man declared: "Yu Zili of the Yu Family!"

"Oh!" Lou Yun nodded. The other two naturally belonged to the Meng Family and the Ding Family.

"Enough talk! Lou Yun, united as Nine Families, your Lou Family can’t possibly stand against us. Surrender tamely, and we won’t harm you overmuch. But resist, and don’t blame our weapons for blindness in battle!" As if leading them, Yu Zili kept handling the dialogue.

Lou Yun suddenly laughed aloud: "Haha, Yu Zili, I’ve heard such words countless times before! Yet here I stand, perfectly fine. Hmph, none of you nine will leave today—all will stay right here!"

Immediately after speaking, Lou Yun’s figure flashed like a stream of light, vanishing in front of everyone!

Lou Yun wasn’t foolish. He knew his strength had leaped upwards since unlocking his soul and controlling universal energy, but facing nine foes head-on was fatal. So he chose preemptive assault: eliminate as many as he could before they readied defenses.

The clansmen of the Nine Families held innate restrictions masking their exact magical weapon realm, but comprehending the way of nature had heightened Lou Yun’s innate senses sharply. He assessed each opponent by their energy fluctuation intensity.

Lou Yun first charged at a short man, the weakest in energy among them!

Plainly, the nine hadn’t expected an abrupt attack mid-speech. Even Yu Zili, still conversing, failed to notice. The others stumbled into a daze. By the time they sensed trouble and prepared to counter, it was too late!

Lou Yun ambushed deliberately. His clear aim: kill one enemy. In that charge, he unleashed all his might unreservedly.

His movement hit extreme speed right over those five to six meters away. To the rest, his phantom image lingered on the bow, but a partner’s shrill scream hit their ears!

As one, all eyes snapped toward the sound. Lou Yun had ghosted beside that short man and thrust a brutal fist at his dantian. The crushing power shattered his inner magical weapon instantly!

Then, his image on the bow faded!

That speed defied their imaginings. Though all Nine Families members practiced both magical and ordinary skills from youth while building bodily strength and speed, they lagged far behind Lou Yun’s movement, honed by his mastery of universal energy.

Yet such peak speed was fleeting, for Lou Yun couldn’t sustain it endlessly; he hadn’t fully tamed the universe’s energy. Otherwise, he’d dispatch them all smoothly—each dying without glimpsing his face!

In seconds, Lou Yun had dealt with one. Though he didn’t know the man’s magical weapon realm, the eight others recognized he’d been their weakest, though an earth-level magical weapons master—not much weaker than themselves.

Instantly, the remaining eight’s soaring confidence faltered brutally, and trickles of fear crept in.

After the kill, Lou Yun showed no expression. He disliked slaughter, but felt pushed to this by the Nine Families. Plus, Huangfu Hao had made it plain: no leniency for Divine Weapon Island ambushers since they blindly upheld family doctrines!

Thus, Lou Yun would grant no mercy or ponder kinship ties.

Freed of such chains, his killing intent swelled slowly. Today, he was finally ready to fight unhindered!

With a cold laugh, Lou Yun lunged at the farthest foe. Though prepped, the man hadn’t foreseen an attack bypassing nearer targets. He scrambled clumsily.

Still, with a loud "clang," his sword parried Lou Yun’s arm!

Only the Helian family wielded blades among the Nine Families; naturally, this was a Helian. Lou Yun recalled Helian Kuang’s superb sword skills—such peerless mastery was rare in the clan, and this man before him certainly wasn’t in that league!

When that common weapon sword blocked him hastily, a contemptuous smirk danced on Lou Yun’s face!

At that smile, Helian’s clansman felt chills of dread ripple through him. Danger spiked instantly. Before he guessed Lou Yun’s next move, Dream Emperor Sword flashed into Lou Yun’s other hand and stabbed ruthlessly into his belly!

Pulling out the sword, Lou Yun suddenly roared skyward—a piercing, stirring yell that blasted forth his unleashed dominance!

Killing two earth-level magical weapons masters in two clashes, and withstanding a common weapon barehanded—such power paled the other seven!

"What to do?"

That question struck all seven minds at once. They looked to each other instinctively. Then Yu Zili shot his hand aloft, clenching a fist tightly. The six nodded an understanding.

When Lou Yun’s roar fell silent, he slowly lifted Dream Emperor Sword, its tip leveling at the seven: "Who’s next?"