Fire from Nowhere

The Demon Tamer died peacefully.

The others did not know what technique Liang Yue had used, but Wen Yifan knew all too well.

That flash forward had clearly been the Sword Domain Swimming Dragon Movement Technique!

When she had given him the cultivation art before, she had said that if he mastered it within three months, she could recommend him for apprenticeship. Yet deep down, she had never truly believed Liang Yue could comprehend this technique in such a short time.

After all, he had only recently reached the Contemplation Realm. Even if his comprehension was sufficient, his Divine Sense could not possibly support such a large-scale visualization.

Even if he could barely complete one visualization, a cultivation art like this would require at least eighty or a hundred visualizations before it could be understood—this was roughly the average standard within the mystical sects, and why the three-month deadline existed.

But even in a sect full of geniuses, the lowliest disciple was beyond comparison with ordinary people. She had never thought Liang Yue possessed such talent.

Yet who could have imagined that after merely a few days, he had already mastered it?

Either his comprehension was heaven-defying, or his Divine Sense was heaven-defying. He had to possess at least one of the two.

What was even more astonishing was that he had unleashed distant blade qi to subdue an enemy. Though he had used a blade, Wen Yifan could recognize it at once—it was clearly the Sword Control Branch's external release of Sword Qi.

There was only one way Liang Yue could have learned their branch's Sword Qi: from the boundless sword domain that formed the background of the movement technique's visualization diagram.

That answered her earlier doubts. His comprehension was absolutely heaven-defying.

He had reached the point where he could not let anything slip past him, able to derive and comprehend even the slightest remnant of Dao resonance he picked up along the way.

Even a Heaven's Chosen such as herself could not help but marvel at this level of comprehension...

So strong.

She had previously thought he was merely a guard with some intelligence. Who would have imagined that his talent was so astonishing?

With such aptitude, let alone becoming a Nominal Disciple, he would be more than qualified to become that martial uncle's personal disciple... It was almost a pity.

If the Sword Control Branch had not truly lacked a second martial artist, she would certainly have introduced Liang Yue to one of the other elders.

While she was still mildly astonished, Shang Yunhai had also finished his battle.

The massive wolf, having lost the Demon Tamer's direct control, was no match for Shang Yunhai at all. Amid its mournful howls, he leapt into the air and smashed down with a fierce punch, pounding the wolf's head straight into the earth.

Whether it lived or died was unknown.

Only then did Shang Yunhai withdraw his divine ability and return to human form, his face resuming its gentle and modest expression.

He landed beside the Demon Tamer, seized him by the back of his collar, and lifted him up. The man was still breathing, but the slash had left him too weak to flee.

Wen Yifan arrived soon afterward. She urged Sword Qi through two fingers and jabbed straight into the center of the Demon Tamer's head.

"Ah—" The Demon Tamer threw back his head with a scream, then his head lolled weakly to one side as he completely lost consciousness.

Naturally, they intended to take him alive. Her finger strike had merely pierced his spirit palace, making it impossible for him to cause trouble again anytime soon.

"A Fourth Realm Demon Tamer was already this formidable. If he had possessed Fifth Realm cultivation, we likely could not have dealt with him today," Shang Yunhai said, still somewhat shaken.

Wen Yifan nodded in agreement, then looked toward Liang Yue. "Thanks to you."

"Even if I had not acted, Miss Wen would have taken him down as easily as turning over her hand," Liang Yue said with a smile.

That was not merely humility.

The Demon Tamer inheritance was indeed formidable. Back then, Miss Wen had needed only one sword strike to kill a Fourth Realm martial artist, yet dealing with this Fourth Realm Demon Tamer had taken considerable effort.

But anyone with eyes could see that not a single demonic beast could withstand one of Miss Wen's sword strikes.

He had wanted to stall for time before fleeing.

But could he truly get away?

Liang Yue had his doubts.

That blood mist had barely delayed them at all. If it let him fly ahead for a few moments, did that mean they could not catch him?

Miss Wen had not even broken a sweat.

As for the group of black-clad men here.

At first, Ling Yuanbao had drawn their attention, and they had followed the Demon Tamer in pursuit. After she escaped, they hurriedly turned back. Having just arrived, they saw their leader taken down at lightning speed.

To be honest.

They were a little stunned.

Life's turning points had come a little too fast.

A group of black-clad men surrounded Liang Yue and the other two with blades in hand. Though they were the ones encircling their foes, they were the more timid side, shrinking back and not daring to advance.

After a long while, one black-clad man finally gathered his courage and said, "Release Mister Liu!"

Wen Yifan glanced at him and said flatly, "Those who discard their blades within three breaths will not be killed."

"That bitch sure has a big mouth! Brothers, go at them together—" Another black-clad man seemed unable to stomach her contemptuous tone. He raised his blade and charged forward.

Ssh.

Without even moving her gaze, Wen Yifan sent Ancient Sword Qingqiu flashing through the air, piercing straight through the man.

Thud.

The man crashed heavily to the ground.

When they had a leader at the front, these people could still be of some use by following along. Now that the one standing at the front was gone, what martial artist among them could withstand a single sword strike?

Moreover, Qi Refiners did not possess flaws as glaring as those of Mystic Art Masters. Even if their opponents relied on numbers to close in, Qi Refiners still had divine abilities to escape.

Seeing that outcome, the black-clad men present immediately realized that this was no time to talk about backbone.

The clanging of blades rang out in a continuous chorus as they threw down their weapons to save their lives.

Some did not wish to fight, nor did they wish to surrender, and turned to flee.

With only a glance from Wen Yifan, flying swords tore through the air. After she struck down three men in succession, everyone abandoned any further thoughts of resistance.

Though this woman was breathtakingly beautiful, she killed like a living King Yama!

When her flying sword pointed at someone, how was that any different from King Yama calling roll?

This was how the Sword Control Branch fought. There were no overly intricate divine abilities—only absolute speed, absolute strength, and absolute sharpness.

If your cultivation was weaker than mine, one sword strike would pierce you through.

If your cultivation was stronger than mine, then I would give you a few more sword strikes.

Before long, all the black-clad men around them had become prisoners. Liang Yue and the other two had won a complete victory within this cloth shop.

A thunderous sound of a door being smashed open came from not far away.

"Liang Yue, I'm here—"

Ling Yuanbao came sprinting over with the Red Tassel Spear in hand, followed by a large force from the Ministry of Justice.

Liang Yue was somewhat surprised. Why had she returned so quickly?

It had not been long since she escaped. Even racing like wind and lightning, a round trip to the Ministry of Justice would still have taken quite some time.

How had she done it?

Looking more closely, he saw that the Ministry of Justice personnel all had yellow talismans affixed to their legs. Vermilion script glowed faintly upon them, and they moved at astonishing speed.

These must have been the legendary Swift Travel Talismans.

Only by relying on such things could they have arrived so quickly.

Just as the situation had been completely brought under control and they were waiting for the Ministry of Justice to clean up the aftermath, Wen Yifan's expression suddenly changed, as though she had sensed some danger.

"Watch out," she warned.

Shang Yunhai was carrying the unconscious Demon Tamer. At the warning, he immediately focused and went on guard, but he still could not stop it.

A sudden change erupted!

A tiny, inconspicuous purple-gold spark flew in from nowhere and landed precisely upon the Demon Tamer.

Boom—

A living man of such size was instantly engulfed by purple-gold flames!

Shang Yunhai immediately activated his true qi, trying to suppress the flames, only to discover that they could not be extinguished. On the contrary, the slightest entanglement would cause them to spread onto him.

In his urgency, he could only throw away the Demon Tamer, who had become a human torch.

For one brief instant, the Demon Tamer must have awakened amid the divine fire's burning. But he only had time to widen his eyes. Before he could release even a single miserable howl, his mouth, nose, eyes, and every other facial feature, along with all his flesh and skin, were burned away.

It was impossible even to tell whether his final emotion had been terror or regret.

The moment he hit the ground, he was already a charred corpse.

Ancient Sword Qingqiu shot forth in a flash from Wen Yifan's side, pursuing the direction from which the spark had come like a meteor tearing through the sky for several miles! Ssh—

Yet it ultimately found nothing.

There was no trace at all of the attacker.

In the blink of an eye, the Demon Tamer who had only moments ago strutted about in arrogance had been burned into a charred skeleton. The purple-gold flames vanished with him, as if they possessed a spirit and had come solely to burn him.

The change had happened far too suddenly.

The one who had come with Ling Yuanbao to provide support was Yang He, the head officer of the Ministry of Justice's Blade Lifting Division, a burly and hard-featured man. Those following him were likewise all men of the Blade Lifting Division.

These people were the Ministry of Justice's toughest elite. They did not usually handle investigations, but had been formed specifically to deal with troublesome bandits, cultivators, evil spirits, and the like. Every one of them was an upright martial powerhouse with iron bones and unyielding resolve.

Yet even they felt a chill run down their spines when faced with what had suddenly unfolded before their eyes.

Had that spark landed on any one of them, there was no chance they would have survived.

It had come without warning, without shadow or form. Thinking that such a person lurked in the darkness, everyone became vigilant.

Yang He leaned closer to inspect the Demon Tamer's remains, deeply furrowing his brow. "What terrifying divine fire!"