The Might of Utmost Sharpness! Testing Me Without My Consent?

Li Zhixian followed the maid who had delivered the invitation earlier into Ye Manor.

They passed through covered corridors and waterside pavilions, circled past rockeries and streams, and were finally led into a tranquil, secluded garden.

"Please wait a moment, Young Master Zhixian. The Family Head will be here shortly."

"Mm."

Li Zhixian stood with his hands behind his back, surveying his surroundings with interest.

The garden was elegant and refined, with begonia flowers as its unquestioned centerpiece.

Layers of pale pink and white blossoms bent the branches beneath their weight. Drifting clouds reflected in the pond, while koi shattered the sky's reflection.

The craggy Taihu stones had been weathered into honeycomb-like holes, their crevices scattered with fallen petals.

Just as Li Zhixian was admiring the scenery,

heavy yet swift footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.

He whirled around.

Two burly men with nearly identical faces charged straight at him, carrying a fierce, savage aura.

Without uttering a word, both men erupted with Soul Power.

In an instant, flowers and leaves whirled wildly, pond water surged, and a chilling murderous presence swept through the beautiful garden.

The sudden turn of events

made Li Zhixian's heart jolt slightly as he drifted backward.

He had not expected that, after arriving at their invitation without any grudge between them, they would attack him right away.

These two are at least Soul Ancestors above level forty!

The thought had barely crossed his mind

when the two burly men roared.

Blackish-purple vines covered in spikes burst forth and spread madly before them.

At the same time,

two purple spirit rings rose beneath their feet.

"Fourth Spirit Skill—Ghost Vine Net!" x2

Sinister vines as thick as an adult's waist intertwined frantically.

In the blink of an eye, they formed a massive black net that blotted out the sky, descending upon Li Zhixian with suffocating pressure.

Whoosh—!

The vine cage instantly swallowed Li Zhixian's figure.

At the sight,

the two burly men curled their lips and shook their heads mockingly.

"That's it?"

"So this is Sword Wine? Nothing special!"

"Why did they send us brothers to test him?"

"He can't even withstand one move from us—"

Before they could finish,

a clear, icy sword light burst forth without warning.

It flashed so brightly that the two burly men instinctively narrowed their eyes.

Then they saw their vine prison silently split in two, revealing the white-robed youth within.

"H-How is that possible?!"

Disbelief flooded their faces.

Li Zhixian gripped the Azure Lotus Sword, smooth and warm as jade marrow, and sharply twisted his wrist.

—Clang!

A crisp sword cry rang through the garden.

Twelve azure lotuses abruptly bloomed along the sword's spine!

A chilling sword intent spread outward, and the temperature in the garden plummeted!

The two brothers felt a piercing deathly danger seize their hearts. Their hair stood on end as they hurriedly shouted:

"Mercy, Sword Wine!"

"We are retainers of the Ye family, ordered by the Family Head to test your strength!"

"Your strength has been recognized! Stop at once!"

"Testing me?"

Li Zhixian sneered.

No one saw how he raised his sword.

A faint azure line, almost too fine to notice, appeared out of nowhere, as though space itself had been sliced open.

The two brothers were horrified, their Soul Power surging frantically.

Black vines writhed and coiled like enormous serpents, instantly forming a thick wall of thorns before them.

However,

that seemingly impregnable vine barrier

was effortlessly severed like rotten paper the instant it touched the azure line.

Crystalline azure radiance lingered along the cut, wisps of Aura of Sharpness refusing to disperse as they forcibly prevented the vines from regenerating.

After slicing through the vine barrier, the dim azure sword light did not slow.

It transformed into an invisible fan-shaped blade and swept out horizontally.

Pfft—

Pfft—

Pfft—

Within thirty paces,

flower branches, grass, trees, a corner of a rockery... everything caught in its path was cleanly cleaved in two.

The begonia petals drifting through the air had not yet reached the ground before the leaking sword aura shattered them into a mournful crimson mist. Mixed with the blood spraying from the waists and abdomens of the two Soul Ancestors, it formed a bleak haze in the air.

Upon the bluestone paving,

the two brothers lay severed at the waist in pools of blood, letting out miserable wails.

The coldness in Li Zhixian's handsome features was sharper than his blade.

"Testing me?"

"Did you get my consent?"

"If you dared test me, you should have been prepared to die."

He had devoted himself to the sword path, and now his sword had entered the realm of utmost sharpness. He was not someone to be tested for nothing.

Li Zhixian did not even look at the two men whose breaths were steadily weakening.

With one hand, he removed the Clear Spring Wine Gourd from his waist and tipped his head back, taking several swallows of wine.

Buzz—!

Buzz—!

A tangible cold gleam flickered along the Azure Lotus Sword.

Visible ripples spread through the space around its blade, as though it could not bear such utmost sharpness.

Li Zhixian swept his gaze across the garden, now a bloody wreck with none of its former beauty left, and said coldly:

"Is this how the Ye family treats its guests?"

Just then,

a soft, steady rhythm of footsteps came from the secluded path leading into the garden.

Li Zhixian narrowed his eyes and looked over.

Two slender figures approached slowly, their steps almost perfectly synchronized.

The woman in front wore a dark purple gown that draped to her ankles.

Her hands were folded over her lower abdomen. Her bearing was graceful and dignified, her face beautiful yet completely expressionless, her eyes as still as water—as though the bloody scene before her was nothing more than dust.

Half a step behind her was a blue-haired girl.

When Li Zhixian saw the girl, his gaze tightened slightly. She was the current inheritor of the Nine Heart Begonia whom he had encountered once at the Great Soul Arena—Ye Lingling.

She wore no veil now, revealing a gentle but excessively pale face that added a fragile vulnerability to her cold demeanor.

Her plain white dress was cinched only by a purple ribbon at the waist, making her slender figure seem as though it could be held in one hand.

She possessed both an ethereal aura and an air of aloofness, making one's heart tremble at the sight of her.

If he had to describe her...

a thought suddenly surfaced in Li Zhixian's mind:

She was like a withered begonia flower.

After several breaths,

the Ye mother and daughter entered the garden, where the stench of blood had yet to fade.

Before Li Zhixian's astonished eyes—

Mother Ye took light, graceful steps over the cracked bluestone slabs.

Wherever the hem of her dress brushed past, tender green shoots emerged from the cracks.

A gigantic, illusory Nine Heart Begonia bloomed brilliantly behind her.

Pink petals drifted down like rain. Emerald waves of vitality surged from the severed flowers and plants cut by sword aura, while countless plump buds burst forth from withered branches at a visible rate.

In mere moments, the garden's blood-soaked killing air was gone, and it had returned to its former beauty, now even more vibrant than before.

Only the two brothers lying in pools of blood seemed somewhat out of place.

Mother Ye raised her delicate hand.

Drops of crystalline dew carrying an exotic fragrance fell from the heart of the begonia blossom.

Amid the sticky sounds of flesh writhing, their severed spines reconnected like spring bamboo shoots thrusting from the earth.

Only a dozen or so seconds passed

before the brothers, who had been on the verge of death, knelt on one knee before Mother Ye with excited expressions.

"Thank you, Ye Family Head, for saving our lives."

Mother Ye's light purple eyes remained fixed on Li Zhixian.

Her voice was like a clear stream flowing from melting snow mountains—cool without being harsh, gentle without being cloying.

"Withdraw."

"Yes."

The two brothers bowed and left.

Before departing, they cast fearful glances at Li Zhixian.

Within the garden,

only Li Zhixian and the Ye mother and daughter remained.

Before Li Zhixian could speak, Mother Ye said softly:

"My subordinates acted rashly in testing you and disturbed Young Master Zhixian. Please forgive us."

Li Zhixian was slightly surprised.

This Ye Family Head, who appeared so lofty, cold, and distant, was actually this polite?

The anger in his heart eased somewhat, though his displeasure at having been tested for no reason remained.

Li Zhixian had no interest in exchanging pleasantries. He cupped his hands and went straight to the point:

"Family Head Ye invited me here. I assume it was not simply to let me witness the miraculous healing powers of the Nine Heart Begonia."

"Whatever it is, please say it plainly."

Mother Ye fell silent for a moment. Her light purple eyes, as though capable of seeing into one's heart, watched Li Zhixian as her thin lips parted.

"Young Master Zhixian says the Nine Heart Begonia is miraculous."

"Then in your opinion, compared to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda... which is stronger, and which is weaker?"

Li Zhixian frowned but said nothing.

Mother Ye's gaze deepened. Her voice remained calm and level, yet seemed to carry the weight of fate.

"Has Young Master Zhixian ever heard of..."

"the Battle of the Sacred Healing Towers?"