The moment the young man locked eyes with Jiang Wuhen, he saw the double pupils in those eyes with perfect clarity.
In an instant, the world seemed to turn ashen. Sun and moon lost their light.
The firmament on all sides faded to darkness, and only those double pupils remained, opened within the endless void.
A crushing pressure descended like Mount Tai, stealing his breath.
Jiang Wuhen stepped forward, wind swirling at his feet. Faintly, the phantom of a qilin emerged.
Waves of profound meaning radiated outward in its wake.
The next moment, Jiang Wuhen hovered in the air and took a single step.
Space twisted around the young man. An enormous pressure crashed down.
Before the eyes of the assembled crowd—
CRUNCH!
A muffled thud. The young man in white robes detonated into a mist of blood.
Blood and shredded flesh rained across the ground.
When the distorted space settled, all that remained was an ancient sword, stained with blood and covered in cracks.
The entire scene left everyone speechless.
Ruthless. Domineering. Decisive and lethal. Unparalleled methods!
This was the imperial son of the Heavenly One Immortal Sect!
“What the imperial son just used… was that the legendary, long-lost primordial ten fierce treasure art, Qilin Step?”
“A single step, and the successor of the Sword Saint Liuyun was crushed to death. The imperial son truly deserves the title of Youth Supreme.”
“What do we do now? Make way for the Heavenly One Immortal Sect?”
“So many people haven’t moved. Let’s watch and see. After all, for all his strength, the imperial son is still a junior. And it seems there are no nirvana realm experts at his side. With this many nirvana realm powerhouses here, the Heavenly One Immortal Sect’s name alone won’t scare them off.”
“Unless Jiang Wuhen can do something that shakes the entire battlefield and terrifies all these nirvana realm experts…”
As the crowd murmured, Jiang Wuhen’s expression remained cold and imperious, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.
Suddenly, his eyes locked onto one person.
“Sword Saint Liuyun. Jiang Liuyun!”
“That loudmouthed brat just now. He was your successor?”
Jiang Wuhen said in a low voice.
At these words, everyone beside Jiang Liuyun retreated in unison.
In the vast open space, only Jiang Liuyun remained.
“Yes!”
“He merely spoke a few careless words in the heat of the moment. Yet the imperial son struck with such brutality, crushing him to death.”
“How is that any different from a mad killer!”
“Bullying the weak is what cowards do! If you truly have ability, do you dare face me in battle?”
Jiang Liuyun’s tone was hostile, his voice cold.
Jiang Wuhen scoffed.
“You think you can fight? What good is fighting!”
“Out here in the world, what matters is backing and connections.”
“Who do you work for?”
Jiang Liuyun’s gaze darkened.
“I am nothing but a rogue cultivator of the Desolate Ancient Continent. By the grace of my fellow Daoists, I’m called Sword Saint Liuyun.”
“You may call me ‘Sword Saint,’ young one. I can bear the title!”
Jiang Wuhen sneered.
“So you’re just a petty nobody!”
With that, he waved his hand. Dragon Peng Venerable at his side understood instantly.
“A mere rogue cultivator dares boast so shamelessly? Seeking death!”
Dragon Peng Venerable roared, stomped his foot, and turned into a golden afterimage, lunging at Jiang Liuyun.
He was a pure-blooded ancient dragon peng with a formidable bloodline. Even within the nirvana realm, he rarely found a match.
But Jiang Liuyun, a rogue cultivator with no backing and no connections, had climbed to the nirvana realm on his own and earned the title ‘Sword Saint Liuyun.’ He was no empty shell.
The moment Dragon Peng Venerable closed in, Jiang Liuyun flicked his wrist, and sword fingers pointed skyward.
Shing!
An ancient sword with a faint white glow drew from its sheath.
The blade looked unremarkable, but in Jiang Liuyun’s hands, it seemed to come alive.
Every complex, intricate sword technique flowed like water, executed in one seamless motion.
The two nirvana realm experts traded blows, neither gaining the upper hand.
As the battle reached its fever pitch, Dragon Peng Venerable transformed, revealing the true body of the ancient dragon peng.
His innate divine ability erupted, and the spectacle grew even grander.
The onlookers scattered to avoid the collateral.
“That’s… a pure-blooded ancient dragon peng? I heard there’s only one nirvana realm ancient dragon peng left in the Desolate Ancient Continent, in the Great Desolation Domain.”
“These primordial remnant species are all creatures of extraordinary pride. For the Heavenly One Immortal Sect to tame an ancient dragon peng and have it willingly guard the imperial son… truly worthy of being the hegemon of the Eastern Divine Immortal Domain!”
“It’s a pity. As strong as this ancient dragon peng is, the Sword Saint Liuyun is no pushover. At this rate, who will win is anyone’s guess…”
“This ancient dragon peng represents the Heavenly One Immortal Sect. If it loses, what face does the sect have left?”
The crowd debated.
Not far away, Jiang Wuhen watched the scene, his gaze turning cold.
“You… make your move.”
At these words, the light between heaven and earth dimmed.
The battlefield where Dragon Peng Venerable and Jiang Liuyun clashed was swallowed by darkness in an instant.
A figure in black, like a lord of darkness itself, raised their hand, and vast swaths of darkness contracted rapidly.
Though no one could see what happened within the darkness, screams echoed from within.
They were Jiang Liuyun’s screams!
When the darkness receded, all that remained in the battle zone was Dragon Peng Venerable, back in human form, staring down at an ancient bloodstained sword with lingering fear.
That sword was Jiang Liuyun’s.
But within the battle zone, not a trace of Jiang Liuyun remained.
Jiang Wuhen nodded in satisfaction, leaped into the air, and returned to the Jade Emperor Carriage.
At the same time, the nine jade flood dragons raised their voices to the heavens and pulled the carriage toward the Yaoguang Sacred Ground.
The three ancestors of Tianxuan, Tianji, and the Qin Clan looked on in horror.
“FALL BACK!”
They roared, vanishing thousands of zhang in an instant to avoid the Jade Emperor Carriage’s edge.
The forces of the three great powers scrambled backward, not daring to obstruct the Heavenly One Immortal Sect’s carriage in the slightest.
They remembered Jiang Wuhen’s words clearly: within a hundred zhang… death.
But the jade flood dragons were fast. Many couldn’t dodge in time. The moment they fell within a hundred zhang of the Jade Emperor Carriage, darkness engulfed them.
After a single scream… nothing remained.
Meanwhile, inside the Jade Emperor Carriage.
[Ding! Host is arrogant and domineering, throwing his weight around. Conforms to villain conduct. Reward: 5,000 villain points!]
[Host is decisive and ruthless, slaying a nirvana realm expert to make an example. Conforms to villain conduct. Reward: 30,000 villain points!]
Feeling the villain points land, the corners of Jiang Wuhen’s mouth turned upward.
As Confucius said, “A gentleman without gravity has no authority.”
Which is to say, a gentleman needs to land heavy blows, or he’ll never establish authority.
Nearby, Lin Ziyan studied Jiang Wuhen, her expression complex.
Moments ago, Jiang Wuhen had casually struck down a sword cultivator at the ninth layer of the divine martial realm.
That scene replayed endlessly in Lin Ziyan’s mind.
“Jiang… Imperial Son. I want to know… what exactly is your current strength?”
Lin Ziyan gathered her courage and asked.
Jiang Wuhen glanced at her and smiled lightly.
“Strength is an elusive thing, hard to put into words. But if I had to say…”
“‘At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the mandate of heaven. At sixty, my ears were attuned. At seventy, I followed my heart’s desire without overstepping the bounds.'”
Lin Ziyan’s delicate brows furrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Jiang Wuhen smiled.
“It means: below the life and death realm, among those of similar cultivation, it takes thirty of them before I bother to stand up and fight. Forty, and I charge in without a shred of hesitation. Fifty, and they’ll be beaten so badly they think they’ve met their own destiny. It takes sixty people flattering me at my ears to calm me down. And if seventy surround me, I can slaughter at will, following my heart’s desire without overstepping a thing.”
The others listened, quietly stunned, and muttered ‘monster.’
Jiang Wuhen smiled faintly.
“Compared to me, though, the real monster is right here beside me.”
Jiang Wuhen turned to look at the Shadow Venerable at his side.
Moments ago, it was the Shadow Venerable who had struck with a single move and slain Sword Saint Liuyun.
“I’m very curious. What is your… cultivation? And what of your strength?”
Jiang Wuhen asked.
The Shadow Venerable lowered their head slightly, voice hoarse.
“I am at the nirvana realm. As for strength…”
“Beneath a great emperor, I am invincible. Against a great emperor… I trade one for one.”
