Pei Zheng hopped and waved excitedly at Jiang Ke’er beneath the gate’s name plaque.
“Shifu, Shifu! What do you think of the surprise I prepared?”
“I practiced writing these characters all night yesterday!”
“Surprised? Unexpected?”
[Whoosh～ Received～ 100,000 Villain Points from oneself.]
That was Jiang Ke’er’s auditory hallucination.
Jiang Ke’er glared at the plaque, trembling as she grabbed her tail, grinding her teeth, nearly twisting her tail into a pretzel.
“Fine! Shifu, you can beat me a hundred times, but I only need to beat you once!”
She seemed to hear Pei’s sinister laughter in the void—oh, her composure was shattered.
What use do I have for this apprentice?!
Burning with rage, Jiang Ke’er strode toward the courtyard.
“Shifu, what do you think of the characters I practiced?”
Pei, however, didn’t sense the danger and still presented the plaque like a treasured gift. “I practiced all night!”
The furious Jiang Ke’er grabbed Pei by the collar.
But before she could mete out any punishment, piercing, mocking laughter rang out from nearby.
An Inner Sect Disciple of the Lingshang Sword Sect pointed at the plaque and burst out laughing. “Return Sword Sect… hahaha, I’m dying laughing!”
“These days, any random stray dog or wild chicken dares to call itself a Sect. That country bumpkin Master Wu Dao actually dares to claim the name of a sword sect? What Yelang overestimating oneself!”
“Swords are something you lot can wield?”
A disciple of the Tianyun Sword Sect refused to stay silent either. “Do you even know the six rites of the sword or the ten oaths of the sword? A bunch of shameless Mud-Legged Parvenus, and you dare proclaim yourselves a sword sect?”
These sword sect disciples had been holding in their frustration for a while, and seeing that Jiang Ke’er had returned the water, they no longer held back and began venting freely.
They were clever too, knowing full well that Jiang Ke’er wouldn’t want to fight them over this. They were only running their mouths, after all—it wasn’t worth Jiang Ke’er’s side resorting to violence.
So they turned hostile without a care, since a mutual destruction wouldn’t benefit anyone… and they were just trash-talking anyway.
Jiang Ke’er’s expression instantly darkened. She released Pei and turned to face these disciples.
These sword sect disciples, however, showed no fear. In their view, since the other party no longer held anything over them, they could run their mouths however they pleased.
“What are you looking at? I’m not the only one who thinks this way. I’m sure every sword sect in the world would share the same opinion if they saw this place!”
The confidence… because what they said was the truth.
Those words made Pei hang his head lower, completely devoid of any confidence to refute them.
He had been feeling lost lately.
He didn’t know what he was doing. His strength had indeed improved, but what he gained didn’t seem to be what he truly wanted.
What he aspired to was the Sword Dao—a spirit of righteousness and courage, a noble and graceful sharp dance. But the sword techniques he learned were primarily bizarre and cunning.
This clearly wasn’t the Sword Dao recognized by the world.
Jiang Ke’er glanced at him. Given his young mind, coupled with his persistence over the years, feeling lost at this moment was perfectly normal. She could understand.
But that wouldn’t do.
Indeed, swords had always been weapons monopolized by the nobility—ceremonial instruments where form outweighed function. They all probably had distinguished origins.
Jiang Ke’er nodded, agreeing with what these people said.
But then she shifted her tone. “However, that won’t stop me from razing the Lingshang Sword Sect and the Tianyun Sword Sect to the ground.”
“Snap~”
She snapped her fingers.
Under the horrified gazes of the sword sect disciples, Jiang Ke’er waved her hand and snapped her fingers.
Dense runes suddenly leaped into the air from all corners of the village, carving a terrifying Formation Arts array spanning several miles across the sky!
Within the array, a massive ball of crimson energy rapidly condensed into form, like a cannon shell loaded and ready!
Amidst the blood-curdling screams of the entire Tianyun Sword Sect membership, the conical, rune-tipped cannon barrel instantly aimed in their direction.
“You now have thirty minutes… that is, four fifths of an hour, to return to your sect, pack up, and evacuate your disciples.”
Jiang Ke’er smiled, as if doing something utterly trivial, and began the countdown.
“When the timer ends, you can say goodbye to your beloved mountain, and take a free commemorative photo with the brand-new crater.”
“Damn it!”
Every sword sect disciple and Sect Leader present was dumbfounded.
They thought this Calamity had finally been weathered. After suffering such a huge loss just now, running their mouths a little shouldn’t be a big deal…
Who could have guessed they’d run into someone who could fire off an annihilation cannon formation with a wave of her hand? How were they supposed to play this?!
“Wait! Please calm down, Water Shifu!”
The Tianyun Sword Sect Sect Leader was on the verge of tears. “If things go too far, it’s bad for all of us. It’s just a few junior disciples bickering—there’s no need for this, right? Whoever offended you, I’ll punish them however you see fit!”
“Oh?”
Jiang Ke’er seemed to find that quite reasonable, then said, “29 minutes left.”
“Right~”
Jiang Ke’er smiled in sudden realization. “Arguments are just arguments. At worst, I can kill these few troublemaking disciples to vent your anger. Another—”
“??! No, please!”
The Tianyun Sword Sect Sect Leader was genuinely about to cry. “Don’t joke around with my mountain!”
“I don’t like killing. They were just trash-talking anyway, no need to cost lives… so I’ll just blow up the mountain.”
Jiang Ke’er said with a smile, “28 minutes left. Lingshang Sword Sect, you can head back and prepare in advance too. Once the Tianyun Sword Sect is done, it’ll be your turn.”
Damn, this lunatic!
She’s actually serious about blowing it up!
She completely doesn’t care about escalating things…
“27 minutes. Don’t say I didn’t give you time to prepare.”
After speaking, Jiang Ke’er deliberately made “tick~ tock~” sounds with her mouth, mimicking a countdown.
“Shifu, maybe we should just drop it. It’s just a plaque. We don’t have to keep it up…”
Pei nervously tugged at Jiang Ke’er’s sleeve.
“This plaque is excellent. I love it!”
Jiang Ke’er let out a cold laugh. “From today on, it’s nailed here for good! No one’s taking it down! Let me see who dares to mess with it!”
The Tianyun Sword Sect Sect Leader’s face was twisted with conflict.
Suddenly, he steeled his resolve!
Damn it, this is too much!
His Tianyun Sword Sect was, after all, a first-rate Sect in Shenzhou. Swallowing one loss was one thing—he wasn’t the only one who suffered, after all… But if he bowed his head to Jiang Ke’er again, how could he hold his head up in the future?
Besides, most Tianyun Sword Sect disciples came from prominent backgrounds with very powerful backing. He refused to believe Jiang Ke’er actually dared to fire!
“Fine! If you’ve got the guts, blow it up!”
The Tianyun Sword Sect Sect Leader decided to throw caution to the wind, staring at Jiang Ke’er with a mocking smile.
“Blow it up! After you do, I’d love to see how much longer your little crummy village survives! If you’ve got the nerve, then fire!”
“My disciples only spoke the truth. So what? You wild village bumpkins don’t deserve to call yourselves a sword sect, and you don’t deserve to wield swords! You think swords are for just anyone? They’re a symbol of status and standing!”
“25 minutes. I gave you your chance.”