Thirty-six Swords Emerge

Life and death decided, karma settled!

The moment Li Honggang spoke, all the cultivators around Haixia City's southern gate grew excited.

The immortal cultivation world was crueler than the mortal realm. Though there was a distinction between righteous and demonic paths, cultivators put their own interests first. They had embarked upon cultivation not for peace under heaven, but in pursuit of immortality. That choice itself was a struggle against the heavens.

"So domineering—worthy of a Li Family cultivator."

"A powerful dynasty a thousand years ago, now a first-rate Aristocratic Clan in the immortal cultivation world. For the Li Family to endure until today, they truly have their backbone."

"White Clad Startling Swan looks so calm. Who exactly is he?"

"He probably isn't Lu Yuanjun. Lu Yuanjun no longer needs to wear a mask. It seems Taiyuan Sect has cultivated another extraordinary genius."

"I think he might be a peak master or elder from one of Taiyuan Sect's branches!"

Gu Li stood atop the city wall, listening to the discussions around her. Her lips curled beneath her veil as she thought smugly, He's no elder. He's a genius even greater than Lu Yuanjun!

Before she had entered Taiyuan Sect, her father had repeatedly mentioned Lu Yuanjun, sighing that Lu Yuanjun would become a pillar of Great Qi's immortal cultivation world in the future. She had always been unconvinced. She had never thought herself inferior, so why had her father never praised her?

Although she had not encountered Lu Yuanjun now, she felt from the bottom of her heart that any genius seemed ordinary and unworthy of mention before Fang Wang.

Listening to the surrounding discussions, Gu Li's worries vanished, replaced by anticipation.

Fang Wang would definitely win!

Tang Chengfeng stared fixedly at Fang Wang without speaking. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking from his expression alone.

The white-clad woman beside him muttered, "His build looks fine. I just wonder whether the face beneath that mask is handsome."

Visible flames of aura spilled from Li Honggang's body as he actually rose into the air. No artifact lay beneath his feet. The long blade planted in the mud trembled several times before suddenly shooting upward, its hilt landing smoothly in his right hand.

Gripping the long blade, Li Honggang fixed his gaze on Fang Wang. His Cloak fluttered, his long hair dancing with it, making him seem like a mad demon.

Fang Wang's eyes showed through his mask. Within his pupils, Li Honggang's figure burned with flames, gradually merging with the blazing sun overhead.

Li Honggang continued rising until he could look down upon Fang Wang.

At that moment, he was like the Bright Sun in the sky. The aura around him reached its peak and even extended along the blade, forming a terrifying blade qi three zhang long. Under the Bright Sun's radiance, that blade qi gradually caught fire.

Fang Wang raised his sword, its tip pointing skyward and its blade held across before him. Sword-shaped phantoms condensed one after another around his body.

One sword!

Three swords!

Nine swords!

Twelve swords!

This sight further stirred the watching cultivators. To cultivators, swords held greater appeal, and the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art was quite renowned in the immortal cultivation world. Back then, Yang Yuanzi had relied on this Sword Formula to charge alone into Green Cicada Valley and emerge unscathed. That battle still thrilled countless cultivators to this day.

That was also why Yang Yuanzi had been able to inherit Taiyuan Sect's supreme art, the Nine Heavens Azure Thunder Sword Formation!

When the number of sword phantoms around Fang Wang surpassed twenty-four, some sword cultivators atop the city wall even began counting them.

"Thirty-two swords! It really is the Thirty-two Startling Swan Swords!"

Someone shouted fervently, his hand gripping his sword sheath trembling.

Thirty-two swords circled Fang Wang, all pointing at Li Honggang. The combined might of the thirty-two swords made Fang Wang's momentum surge like a rainbow, not losing to Li Honggang in the slightest.

"No wonder my son died by your hand. White Clad Startling Swan, let this old man see just how powerful the Thirty-two Startling Swan Swords truly are!"

Li Honggang raised his blade and pointed it diagonally toward Fang Wang, his gaze arrogant and disdainful.

The Thirty-two Startling Swan Swords were indeed imposing, but as Li Honggang sensed Fang Wang's aura, a bold thought arose in his heart.

His opponent might not have reached the Spirit Pill Realm!

That guess startled him. He found it inconceivable, and an unprecedented fear even arose from the depths of his heart.

To possess such momentum without reaching the Spirit Pill Realm—this was absolutely a genius even more terrifying than Li Hongshuang. He could not imagine what heights Li Hongshuang would reach, much less predict just how high White Clad Startling Swan's future limit would be.

If such a terrifying existence bore resentment toward the Li Family, it would be an utter disaster for them!

He had to be killed!

Terrifying killing intent burst from Li Honggang's eyes. His aura suddenly rose, and the flames on the long blade in his hand surged.

"Thirty-two swords?"

Fang Wang's voice suddenly rang out, carrying a trace of disdain.

Fang Wang rotated his right wrist, bringing the blade before his brow. His gaze was incomparably sharp!

Fang Wang's aura suddenly soared. Four more swords appeared out of thin air around him. Thirty-six swords hovered in the air, forming a great circle around his body.

The advancement of each layer of the Startling Swan Divine Sword Art did not merely increase the number of swords. Its sword intent and sword momentum also grew accordingly. The further one progressed, the more vastly different the might became with every additional sword!

The moment the thirty-six swords emerged, Fang Wang's sword momentum shot into the clouds. Even the cultivators around the distant southern gate were alarmed, and the swords in many cultivators' hands trembled.

Even the sword case on Gu Li's back was shaking. At that moment, she suddenly recalled the day when all the Life-Bound Treasure Spirits in Taiyuan Sect had lost control. Her own Life-Bound Treasure Spirit had displayed a similar reaction then.

Could that strange phenomenon back then have been because of him too...

Gu Li recalled how Fang Wang had hurried back that day. Could it be...

Her gaze at Fang Wang became even more fervent, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"Thirty-six Startling Swan Swords!"

Tang Chengfeng enunciated those six words one by one, his expression turning grave.

All the cultivators around the southern gate were moved. While suppressing their own swords, they looked excitedly toward Fang Wang.

Li Honggang was likewise frightened, panic showing in his eyes.

Thirty-six swords!

How could that be possible!

Li Honggang's emotions churned, his blood and qi roiling. At that moment, intense fear rushed into his heart. He roared and swung his blade down.

Flaming blade qi nearly five zhang long swept across the air. With one slash, it carved out a terrifying sea of fire that condensed into a giant fireball like a Bright Sun and hurtled toward Fang Wang at tremendous speed!

Fang Wang's gaze sharpened as he fiercely swung his sword forward. The thirty-six swords surged forth like a rain of swords, moving like thunder and crashing forward like a mountain flood.

In that instant, it was as though Fang Wang had unleashed not merely thirty-six swords, but three hundred and sixty!

Boom—

The sword rain charged forward without impediment, sweeping across the sky. With incomparably tyrannical force, it scattered the Bright Sun's flames. Li Honggang's eyes widened as his robes were shredded by Sword Qi. He had no time to react at all.

Before the eyes of every cultivator, Fang Wang swung his sword, and the Thirty-six Startling Swan Swords multiplied in size. With a number of swords dazzling enough to blur their vision, they forcibly dispersed Li Honggang's Scorching Sun Killing Blade. Before they could even see Li Honggang's movements clearly, he was swallowed by the sword rain.

The vast sword rain swept over Haixia City, stretching for several li before finally dissipating, leaving behind a spectacular current of air in the sky.

Once the sword rain passed, Li Honggang was nowhere to be seen in the air. Only his long blade remained, along with a Spirit Pill the size of an egg. The Spirit Pill was entirely red, its surface still burning with flames.

The long blade slowly fell, continuously dissipating as it descended and turning into clouds of smoke.

The dispersal of a Life-Bound Treasure Spirit meant that its master had died!

When Li Honggang's Spirit Pill struck the ground, Fang Wang turned and transformed into a white rainbow as he departed, swiftly vanishing beyond the horizon.

Haixia City fell into dead silence.

"White Clad Startling Swan won!"

A man shouted excitedly, breaking the silence and setting off earth-shaking cheers throughout the city.

The purple-clothed youth, Li Honggang's son, and the other Li Family disciples stood before the city gate, staring blankly at the scene. With a thud, the purple-clothed youth dropped to his knees, utterly despondent.

"My heavens! Thirty-six swords!"

"The Startling Swan Divine Sword Art really has thirty-six swords? What a powerful Sword Formula!"

"I thought it would be a fierce battle. I never expected Li Honggang to be unable to withstand even one move..."

"Who exactly is White Clad Startling Swan? To slay a third-layer Spirit Pill Realm cultivator with one sword strike is far too unbelievable, isn't it?"

"Taiyuan Sect has given birth to another peerless talent!"

As all the cultivators cried out in amazement, Gu Li looked toward the direction Fang Wang had departed. Beneath her veil, the corners of her lips rose slightly.

Having witnessed Fang Wang kill Li Honggang in a single sword strike, she felt no shock. Instead, she thought it only natural.

"Father, you said that once a true heavenly prodigy appears, everyone else will pale into insignificance. I truly have encountered one."

Gu Li thought silently before turning to leave.

Fang Wang's strength had not crushed her fighting spirit. Instead, it made her impatient to return to the sect and cultivate.

Tang Chengfeng gazed toward the horizon and sighed. "Zhi Xin, go to Taiyuan Sect. With the Thirty-six Startling Swan Swords revealed, the winds and clouds beneath heaven will change dramatically. Taiyuan, this hidden dragon, is truly about to soar into the sky."

The white-clad woman beside him was still lost in shock, her gaze vacant as she could not regain her senses.

The Bright Sun shone high above, while the currents of air over Haixia City lingered for a long time, like the sword intent of White Clad Startling Swan, deeply etched into the hearts of every spectator, impossible to erase.