She knew. Of course, she knew everything.
Back at the Auction, it had been their Xuang Guang Sect covertly instructing their subordinate forces to maliciously drive up the prices, ruthlessly trapping that Black Dragon and profiting heavily.
Although the Da Zongzhu didn’t know who had come, she understood the visitors were not from a top-tier sect. She had assumed they were just scattered cultivators.
She thought their scheme was well hidden, but she hadn’t expected the other party to trace the source so quickly.
And today, they had come personally to demand justice.
A crushing wave of fear and regret seized her, suffocating her.
Li Qingyi, though unaware of the full situation, sensed the sudden shift in atmosphere and her master’s panic.
Gritting her silver teeth, she suppressed the turbulent spiritual power within and prepared to step back into the fray to restore the sect’s honor: “Disciple is willing to—”
“No need.”
A calm voice cut her off.
Under countless eyes, Jiang Huai’s gaze calmly swept across every Core Disciple of Xuang Guang Sect, all arrayed and with cultivation at least in the mid Golden Core stage.
He said plainly:
“No need to trouble yourselves coming one by one. Your sect’s Core Disciples can come all at once.”
His tone remained even.
“I’m pressed for time.”
At that moment, the mountain wind seemed to freeze.
From the Da Zongzhu down to the disciples, every person in Xuang Guang Sect wore shock, anger, and disbelief on their faces.
One man, challenging every Core Disciple in their entire sect?
What utter contempt, what reckless arrogance.
Yet, faced with that calm, unruffled gaze of the man in azure,
and the Black Dragon Palace Master in the audience, lips curled with killing intent and tail gently swaying,
not a single person dared immediately to shout out in reproach.
Qin Qingyue leaned against her hand, smiling faintly:
“Does your sect not even dare accept a wager like this?”
The Xuang Guang Sect Da Zongzhu’s face shifted from pale to green, then from green to purple,
and finally settled into an iron blue.
The overwhelming fear was briefly suppressed by the fury of public humiliation.
She suddenly lifted her head, a ruthless gleam flashing in her eyes:
“Very well! ‘Pressed for time,’ you say!”
“If the Dragon Lord is so confident, then if Xuang Guang Sect refuses to accept, it would only show cowardice!”
She refused to believe the entire sect couldn’t overcome Jiang Huai alone.
Nor could she believe a late Foundation Establishment cultivator could defeat dozens of Golden Core practitioners.
“Fine, then let’s see,” Qin Qingyue said with a smile, brimming with confidence for her husband.
The Da Zongzhu’s expression hardened as she waved her hand: “All Golden Core disciples, enter! Lin Jingshu, lead the disciples in formation!”
She was no fool; a chaotic melee with dozens was far less favorable than a formation.
In an instant, thirty-six of Xuang Guang Sect’s most outstanding disciples, including Lin Jingshu, soared into the arena, their figures weaving as they took position in accordance with profound directional principles.
Their Immortal Swords hummed simultaneously, pure Xuang Radiance sword qi surging upward and intertwining into an immense, dazzling net of light that covered the entire arena.
The sword formation was complete, and the immense sword pressure felt almost tangible, making it nearly impossible for the onlooking disciples to breathe; they stepped back en masse.
“I didn’t realize it was the Dragon Lord who came,” the Da Zongzhu mused, “Once the formation is complete, if this young master is harmed, it won’t look good.”
“Regarding the prior damage to the Dragon Lord, I can offer compensation.” She considered how to salvage some face for both sides.
Who could have predicted Qin Qingyue would show up at the Auction?
“I don’t think that’s necessary. I know my husband well enough,” Qin Qingyue said calmly.
At the center of the sword formation, the pressure was terrifying, the air seeming to freeze. Ordinary Golden Core cultivators would likely struggle to even stand here.
In the eye of the storm stood Jiang Huai, who lightly dusted off the specks on his sleeve.
He looked up at the rotating, suppressing sword formation—a vast network laced with endless killing intent—and his gaze remained steady.
“Wenxuan Sword,” he said simply.
There was no earth-shattering initial move, only a single, straightforward step forward.
But the moment his foot landed, his aura suddenly shifted.
A magnificent force, chaotic and primordial, where Yin and Yang intertwined, erupted like a slumbering ancient dragon awakening.
The blazing Yang and profound Yin powers intertwined and twisted, two energy streams spiraling around each other.
The energy converged at the tip of his sword as Jiang Huai stepped forward, unleashing the full Wenxuan Sword Technique against the sword formation.
The suffocating sword pressure capable of crushing Nascent Souls dissolved silently and utterly like ice struck by thunder, unable to approach within three meters of him.
“What?!” The Xuang Guang Sect Da Zongzhu’s face drained of color, nearly exclaiming in shock.
This was Foundation Establishment Sword Intent?
And this sword intent—wasn’t it Wu Zhaohua’s Wenxuan Sword Technique? What did she have to do with this?
Wu Zhaohua and Qin Qingyue were sworn enemies, weren’t they?
“Attack!” Lin Jingshu, leader of the sword formation, was shaken but kept her composure.
She gave a sharp shout, invoking sword seals.
Thirty-six sharp, unparalleled Xuang Radiance sword qì surged like a guided torrent, tearing through the air with piercing howls, converging from all directions to crush Jiang Huai.
Facing this cataclysmic assault, Jiang Huai finally raised his hand and thrust forward.
“Wenxuan Sword Technique Fifth Layer, Two Principles Sever Yin and Yang,” he said lightly.
There was no spectacular explosion, only a faint, teeth-grinding “shh” sound.
In a single breath, that seemingly invincible sword formation’s combined strike was forcibly torn apart and severed by the seemingly casual “Two Principles Sever Yin and Yang.”
“Pfft!”
The sword formation ruptured violently, and under the backlash, Lin Jingshu, the formation leader, was hit first.
Her delicate body trembled violently as she spat a mouthful of blood, her face instantly paling.
The other thirty-five disciples also felt their energies surge chaotically, and the formation’s operation abruptly halted.
“How is this possible?! He actually broke through the Xuang Radiance Immeasurable Formation with a single sword?!” The Da Zongzhu lost all composure and shouted in shock, eyes wide with disbelief.
This was not just a gap in power but an absolute crushing of layers.
A late Foundation Establishment cultivator?
“Reform the formation! Quickly reform!” she yelled desperately.
Yet Jiang Huai would give them no more chances.
Just as the formation stalled and their energies roared chaotically, Jiang Huai moved.
No longer calm and serene, he became a ghostly blue shadow, flashing with piercing sword light like a death-bringing swordsman.
Wenxuan Sword Technique itself emphasized heavy sword intent and footwork, pursuing lethal, decisive strikes.
Now, combined with the overwhelming Yin-Yang Spiritual Power coursing within him, Jiang Huai pushed this ferocity to its extreme.
With one step, he appeared as if teleporting before a disciple who had just suppressed his surging blood and was trying to reform sword seals.
The disciple’s vision blurred as Jiang Huai knocked the sword from his hand, blood staining his arm, then kicked him flying.
Without looking back, Jiang Huai’s body moved relentlessly, parrying three Immortal Swords thrusting from the side.
Clang!
The clash of metal rang harshly.
The three disciples felt an irresistible force travel down their sword blades; their tiger mouths cracked, swords slipped from their grip, and they were sent flying, falling to the ground in miserable defeat.
His figure flickered among the chaos, each appearance marked by another Xuang Guang Sect Core Disciple falling.
Some were struck on acupoints by the sword’s spine, others had sword intent invade their meridians, some were directly knocked away, weapons flying and rendered unconscious.
Yin-Yang Spiritual Power surged endlessly inside him, granting speed and strength far beyond his cultivation level.
The blazing Yang and profound Yin powers alternated, sometimes fierce and overwhelming, other times subtle and cunning, breaking through all defenses.
Screams, grunts, and the clang of weapons dropping filled the air in succession.
Those once proud, hailed as the sect’s future Core Disciples, now fell like straw dolls, dropping in waves.
The thirty-six Core Disciples who had once formed a confident formation were all sprawled on the ground.
Only Jiang Huai stood alone in the center.
His azure robes remained pristine, not a speck of dust.
Only on the tip of his sword were a few crimson drops, slowly sliding down.
He lightly flicked the sword, and the drops fell to the ground, blossoming into tiny crimson plum flowers.
The mountain wind blew again but could not carry away the deathly silence and shock permeating the arena.
The Xuang Guang Sect Da Zongzhu’s face was ghastly pale, her body trembling violently.
Had it not been for an elder supporting her, she would have nearly collapsed.
She stared at the godlike man in azure standing in the arena, her eyes filled with boundless fear.
One man, one sword, destroyed the elite of an entire sect.
What sort of threat was he as he grew? And he was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Qin Qingyue’s smile grew ever more dazzling, the Dragon Tail tapping the ground in delight, emitting faint sounds.
She looked toward the ashen-faced Xuang Guang Sect Da Zongzhu, her voice clear as ice crystals dropping onto jade:
“Seems the victory is mine.”
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