Can We Reconcile?

This news, like a bolt from the blue, left everyone from Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City utterly stunned.

"Supreme Great Grandmaster?"

An Nian murmured under his breath, withdrawing his gaze from the surroundings of the Training Ground and fixing it on the Youth dozens of zhang away.

He had always believed that Lin Heng had only just entered the Great Grandmaster Realm. After a year of cultivation, he could at most have reached the Great Grandmaster Second Heaven—nothing worth paying much attention to.

But now, he discovered that the Youth's aura was as unfathomable as a deep sea, restrained and yet ready to erupt.

Even with his Great Grandmaster Fourth Heaven cultivation, he felt that Lin Heng was impossible to fathom. His Spiritual Sense warned him that making an enemy of him would be exceedingly dangerous.

"No wonder."

An Nian felt that everything now made sense.

If Cloud Sword Palace had long since seen through their scheme, then they could naturally determine through secret observation which forces they had recruited.

Under such circumstances, all the Neutral Forces that Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City had failed to recruit became targets Cloud Sword Palace could win over.

Moreover, Cloud Sword Palace had recruited them under the banner of Lin Heng, a Supreme Great Grandmaster. That made them unstoppable wherever they went.

Not only had they gathered so many experts in such a short time, they had also leaked not the slightest trace of information. Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City had walked straight into the net without even realizing it, placing themselves in an exceedingly perilous situation.

If it were merely these Martial Artists who had come to lend their strength, then even with Cloud Sword Palace's own Great Grandmasters added in, they would not pose a threat to the combined forces of their two Martial Arts Holy Lands.

If Cloud Sword Palace did not wish to suffer excessive losses, then they could only pretend that nothing had happened tonight and let them leave.

If it were only Lin Heng alone, An Nian would not have feared him either. Though a Supreme Great Grandmaster was powerful, with their two Martial Arts Holy Lands joining forces and so many experts forming an array, even if they could not defeat Lin Heng, protecting themselves would not be a problem.

But now, Lin Heng, this Supreme Great Grandmaster, had many experts supporting him. That changed everything completely.

Now, whether in numbers or the quality of their experts, Cloud Sword Palace held the advantage. The balance of Combat Power was no longer equal. Even if Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City joined forces, there was a high chance that they would all die here today.

"Can we reconcile?"

At this moment, An Nian spoke with a smile uglier than a cry on his face.

"At this point, are you still joking?"

Lin Heng answered calmly.

"So there is no room for negotiation?"

The smile vanished from An Nian's face, replaced by a cold and severe expression. Like a beast driven into a dead end, he was preparing to fight for his life.

He raised his arm and shouted, "Everyone, shoulder to shoulder! Even if Lin Heng is a Supreme Great Grandmaster with profound inner strength, he may not be able to kill us all before it runs out. Fight him!"

With that, he took the lead and lunged at Lin Heng.

Although the people of Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City had remained silent all this while, they understood that only a fight to the death remained.

Killing intent boiled in each of them as they charged at Lin Heng with all their strength.

At this moment, it was as though the scene at Kill Heng Society had returned—thousands of Martial Artists besieging Lin Heng.

The only difference was that this time, the Martial Artists were stronger, and the formation they had assembled was more powerful.

But that did not move Lin Heng in the slightest.

"Ignorant and fearless."

As his words fell, the Sword Domain unfolded.

At this moment, Lin Heng had completely entered a state of Combat. His Essence, Qi, and Spirit had Condensed to their Peak.

A deep-blue aura spread outward from Lin Heng, shrouding the entire Training Ground.

Under the impact of that overwhelming Artistic Conception, the Martial Artists charging toward Lin Heng faltered. It felt as though a heavenly sword had cleaved into their minds, splitting their heads with unbearable pain.

Lin Heng swung his sword. An Nian, the Heavenly Star Valley Sect Master who had charged first, had his limbs instantly severed by the Clear Cloud Sword, turning him into a human stick.

"Is this all the strength you have? And you dared plot to kill me?"

Lin Heng sneered.

Aaaah! Aaaah! Aaaah!

The smell of blood spread through the air. The few Great Grandmasters of Heavenly Star Valley who had just come back to their senses saw this and instantly screamed madly.

That was their sect master, yet he had been treated like this.

The people of Ice Frost City also felt the sorrow of the rabbit when the fox died. They knew that if they did not fight in earnest now, they might suffer the same fate.

The auras of all the Great Grandmasters turned violent as they employed a secret art that burned their blood and Consume Origin to enhance their strength.

A total of twenty-one Great Grandmasters attacked Lin Heng like madmen.

Fists, palms, fingers, legs; sabers, spears, swords, halberds—every kind of martial art and weapon descended upon Lin Heng.

He did not evade. He met attack with attack, speed with speed.

The essence of the Hundred Schools Martial Arts he had once learned unfolded in Lin Heng's hands. Sword light blazed as brilliantly as an inverted Milky Way, blocking and breaking apart the sword techniques of the many Great Grandmasters one by one.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The ringing of steel echoed without end, like a violent storm beating upon banana leaves.

In an instant, the two sides clashed an unknown number of times.

Sword qi crisscrossed, force surged, and the entire Training Ground crumbled beneath the aftershocks of Combat.

Yet even while facing the siege of twenty-one Great Grandmasters, Lin Heng still did not fall into a disadvantage.

On the contrary, his aura continued to ascend, growing stronger in the midst of Combat.

He was like a divine sword that had never left its sheath, now becoming ever more resplendent and ever sharper beneath the tempering of pressure!

"Too weak. Too weak. Too weak."

In the midst of Combat, Lin Heng gradually adapted to the siege of the twenty-one.

He slashed out with his sword, and his Artistic Conception trembled. Shui Wenzhao, the Ice Frost City Sect Master, lost focus for an instant, and Lin Heng's sword severed the right arm holding her sword.

The other Great Grandmasters seized the opportunity and charged toward the seemingly defenseless Lin Heng.

Yet they had not expected an even more powerful and terrifying force to surge from Lin Heng's body. This was the force Lin Heng had neutralized and accumulated during the previous battle using the Body Protection Divine Art, Ethereal Aura. Having built up to its limit, it now erupted.

All the Great Grandmasters besieging Lin Heng were instantly blasted away.

Taking advantage of the eased pressure, Lin Heng absorbed Heaven and Earth Origin Energy to recover his strength while charging toward the Grandmasters around him, who had formed an array to bolster the main Great Grandmasters in battle.

His longsword swept out, and in the blink of an eye, sharp sword light cut dozens of people in half at the waist. Then he turned to meet the many Great Grandmasters pursuing him.

"Are we really not going to help?"

Law Enforcement Elder Li Yan looked at Lin Heng, who was being besieged by the array formed by the crowd, worry showing on his face.

Although a Supreme Great Grandmaster was powerful, he was not a Heaven-Human Realm expert who could treat Great Grandmasters as nothing. Li Yan feared that if this continued, one mistake from Lin Heng could result in irreversible grave injuries.

Even if he was not seriously injured, continuing to fight like this might deplete Lin Heng's Essence and shorten his Lifespan.

Lin Heng's Lifespan was extremely important to the future of Cloud Sword Palace. It represented how long Cloud Sword Palace could dominate the world, and how much time they had to search for outstanding successors. The longer Lin Heng lived, the better.

"It is fine. Heng'er requested this himself."

"Though he has mastered the Hundred Schools Martial Arts in his cultivation thus far, he has never experienced a Bloody Battle. This battle is exactly what he needs to make up for that."

"In the future, when the Jianghu is at peace and Cloud Sword Palace has no more rivals, there will be no more opportunities like this to temper himself. We only need to be prepared to support him at any time."

Xiao Rang watched the battle in the arena intently and spoke casually.

They had discussed this beforehand.

Lin Heng intended to use Heavenly Star Valley and Ice Frost City as whetstones for his sword, displaying to heaven, earth, and all living beings the sharp edge he had accumulated over ten years of sword sharpening.