"Stop!"
"Who dares commit murder inside the Spirit Sword Sect? Are you courting death?"
A furious roar rang out like a thunderclap on a clear day, its sound shaking the land for a hundred miles.
A figure rushed across the ground at blinding speed and punched straight into Lin Bai's sword, sending him flying heavily backward.
Crack, crack!
When that punch landed, several bones in Lin Bai's chest were shattered.
"What terrifying strength!"
"True Martial Realm!"
After taking that punch, Lin Bai immediately sensed that this person possessed True Martial Realm strength.
Looking up, he saw an extraordinary young man in purple standing before Xu Shangjie. He had Xu Shangjie protected behind him, and his cold eyes were fixed on Lin Bai.
When Xu Shangjie saw the young man arrive, he cried out in wild delight, "Senior Brother Xiang Tianyi, hurry and punish this villain! He had just joined the Spirit Sword Sect, yet he ignored the sect rules and went on a killing spree inside the sect!"
"If he isn't severely punished, how can the Spirit Sword Sect command the respect of others?"
Xu Shangjie shamelessly turned the accusation around.
"He's Xiang Tianyi!" Qi Shaolong exclaimed.
Lin Bai glared at Xiang Tianyi with resentment but said nothing.
"Who is Xiang Tianyi?" Lin Bai asked Qi Shaolong.
"Xiang Tianyi is one of the outer sect's Ten Great Genius Disciples. His cultivation has already reached the ninth level of the True Martial Realm, and he's about to enter the Profound Martial Realm."
"At the same time, he's also a martial artist whom the Divine Alliance is pouring its resources into cultivating!"
Qi Shaolong briefly introduced him to Lin Bai.
"So he's at the ninth level of the True Martial Realm. No wonder he's so powerful." Lin Bai coughed lightly, then coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Qi Shaolong helped Lin Bai to his feet.
"Young Master Xu, don't be afraid. With me here today, this man won't survive." Xiang Tianyi smiled at Xu Shangjie.
Upon hearing this, Qi Shaolong and Lin Bai's hearts sank to the bottom.
The two of them actually knew each other.
"Heh, no wonder that punch just now seemed intent on killing me." Lin Bai's heart turned cold.
"You two, cripple your own cultivation and kneel before Young Master Xu. I can leave your corpses intact!" Xiang Tianyi ordered Lin Bai and Qi Shaolong.
"Senior Brother Xiang Tianyi, you haven't even understood the situation. Why are you ordering us to cripple our cultivation? They were the ones who came to provoke us and tried to kill us. We only fought back in self-defense!"
Qi Shaolong stared at Xiang Tianyi.
"I don't care about that. In any case, I want you to cripple your cultivation and kneel to apologize. Otherwise, once I strike, you won't have even the slightest power to fight back!"
Xiang Tianyi spoke with an arrogant expression.
"Are all the Divine Alliance's martial artists this unreasonable?" Qi Shaolong shouted furiously.
"You got that right. Among the Divine Alliance's martial artists, our words are reason, and our words are the rules!"
"Kneel!"
Xiang Tianyi roared. A massive force pressed down on Lin Bai and Qi Shaolong's shoulders, forcibly trying to make them kneel.
"Courting death!"
"Divine Dragon Arm!"
Xiang Tianyi was being utterly unreasonable, forcing himself on them and trying to kill Lin Bai and Qi Shaolong.
Enraged, Lin Bai raised both arms as golden light surged over them, then punched out.
"Such a trifling trick, and you dare show off before me?"
"Hmph."
Xiang Tianyi snorted coldly and casually threw out a punch, annihilating Lin Bai's attack.
Then another punch crashed heavily into Lin Bai's chest, nearly killing him on the spot.
"Still alive?" Xiang Tianyi was rather surprised to see that Lin Bai still had a breath left.
"Then take another punch!"
Xiang Tianyi sent another punch hurtling toward him.
"Lin Bai!" Qi Shaolong cried out.
"Big Brother Lin Bai!" Tiedan cried out as well.
They knew that once this punch landed, Lin Bai would be certain to die!
"Am I going to die?"
For the first time, Lin Bai felt the terror of death.
"No, I refuse to accept this!"
Lin Bai's heart brimmed with unwillingness.
"Xiang Tianyi, you've gone too far."
At that moment, a dignified voice descended from above, and a powerful force sent Xiang Tianyi flying backward.
"Who dares stop me?" Xiang Tianyi roared furiously at his surroundings.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in black suddenly appeared before Lin Bai.
"Elder Ji Bei!"
Xiang Tianyi exclaimed when he saw the middle-aged man who had appeared before him.
"Elder Ji Bei, this is the Divine Alliance's affair. Please don't interfere. Otherwise, if the Young Sect Master finds out, he'll be displeased."
Xiang Tianyi knew that Ji Bei's martial cultivation was profound and that he was no match for him, so he directly invoked the Young Sect Master's name.
"Xiang Tianyi, that's enough. Stop making trouble." Ji Bei spoke calmly.
"Elder Ji Bei, are you really going to protect this brat?"
"Elder Ji Bei, think carefully. Is it worth offending the Divine Alliance for the sake of a martial artist who doesn't even count as an outer sect disciple?"
Xiang Tianyi's voice turned cold.
"If this were a duel between people of the same realm, I naturally wouldn't interfere with life or death."
"But you're relying on your ninth-level True Martial Realm cultivation to kill a newcomer at the ninth level of the Martial Dao. If word of this got out, it would damage the Spirit Sword Sect's reputation."
"That leaves me no choice but to interfere."
Ji Bei's voice was cold.
"If Lin Bai possessed ninth-level True Martial Realm cultivation right now, I wouldn't care who lived or died between you two." Ji Bei's voice remained cold.
Xiang Tianyi threw his head back and laughed. "By the time this good-for-nothing reaches the ninth level of the True Martial Realm, who knows what year it'll be?"
"He won't reach my level even in ten years!"
"Three months is enough."
Hearing Xiang Tianyi say this, Lin Bai spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
Xiang Tianyi roared, "What did you say?"
Lin Bai's voice remained icy. "Three months from now, I will definitely kill you!"
"Three months? Hahaha! Are you saying you'll break through from the ninth level of the Martial Dao to the ninth level of the True Martial Realm within three months, then come kill me, one of the outer sect's Ten Great Genius Disciples and a peerless figure?"
Xiang Tianyi acted as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world and burst into wild laughter.
"Yes!" Lin Bai replied with ringing force.
"An idiot's fantasy!"
Xiang Tianyi laughed wildly.
"Whether it's an idiot's fantasy or not, you'll know for yourself in three months." Lin Bai's voice was cold.
"Fine. I'll give you three months to find yourself a grave." Xiang Tianyi gritted his teeth and said, "Three months from now, we'll decide life and death on the sect's Life and Death Arena. Do you dare come?"
Xiang Tianyi stared at Lin Bai and asked with a mocking smile.
"What is there to fear? I'll definitely find a grave within these three months—but it'll be for you!" Lin Bai stared at Xiang Tianyi and spoke coldly.
"Three months from now, on the sect's Life and Death Arena, I'll use my own hands to crush your frail little body into pieces!"
Xiang Tianyi bared his teeth in a vicious grin at Lin Bai.
"Let's go!"
Xiang Tianyi threw his head back in laughter and led his group away.
Ji Bei turned back to look at Lin Bai and said, "Endure."
That single word, "endure," was Ji Bei's advice to Lin Bai.
"Elder, I cultivate the Martial Dao to roam freely and live forever. If someone can step on my head and shit and piss on it while I remain unmoved, then what kind of Martial Dao am I cultivating, and what kind of dog's path am I walking?"
Lin Bai's face was blazing with fury.
Ji Bei secretly sighed at Lin Bai's impulsiveness, tossed down a medicine bottle, and left. "This bottle contains excellent healing pills. Take them properly, and don't let them delay you from the trial in seven days."
"Thank you, Elder." Lin Bai expressed his gratitude.