The Might of Ultimate Sharpness! Did You Ask My Permission Before Probing Me?

Li Zhexian followed the maid who had delivered the invitation into Ye Mansion.

They passed through covered corridors and waterside pavilions, skirted artificial hills and streams, and were finally led into a tranquil garden.

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

"Mm."

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

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

Layers upon layers of pink and white blossoms weighed down the branches. Flowing clouds reflected in the pond, while koi disturbed the light of the sky.

The rugged Taihu Stones had been weathered into honeycomb-like holes, with scattered petals adorning their crevices.

Just as Li Zhexian was admiring the scenery.

Heavy yet swift footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.

He whirled around.

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

Without saying a word, the two instantly erupted with Soul Power.

In an instant, flowers and leaves whirled wildly, pond water surged, and a murderous chill swept across the entire lovely garden.

The sudden turn of events.

Made Li Zhexian slightly startled, and he drifted backward.

He had not expected that after coming here at their invitation, despite having no grievance against them, they would attack him immediately.

"These two are at least Soul Ancestors above rank forty!"

The thought had barely flashed through his mind.

When the two burly men roared.

Black-purple vines covered in spikes began growing and spreading wildly before them.

At the same time.

Two purple Spirit Rings rose beneath their feet.

"Fourth Soul Skill—Ghost Vine Net!" ×2

Ferocious vines as thick as an adult's waist intertwined madly.

In the blink of an eye, they wove into a massive black net that blotted out the sky, descending upon Li Zhexian with a suffocating Sense of Oppression.

Whoosh—!

The vine cage instantly swallowed Li Zhexian's figure.

At the sight.

The two burly men curled their lips and shook their heads with mocking laughter.

"That's it?"

"What Jian Jiu? Nothing special!"

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

"He can't even take one move from us..."

Before their words could finish.

A clear sword light burst forth without warning.

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

Then they saw their vine cage silently split in two, revealing the White-robed Youth within.

"H-How is that possible?!"

Disbelief filled both their faces.

Li Zhexian held the Azure Lotus Sword, as warm and lustrous as Jade Marrow, and sharply twisted his wrist.

—Clang!

A clear sword cry rang through the garden.

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

A chilling sword intent spread, and the garden's temperature plummeted!

The two brothers felt an icy death crisis seize their hearts. Their hairs stood on end as they hurriedly shouted:

"Jian Jiu, show mercy!"

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

"Your strength has already been acknowledged. Stop at once!"

"Probe me?"

Li Zhexian sneered.

No one saw how he drew his sword.

A slender azure line, so faint it was almost imperceptible, appeared out of nowhere, as though space itself had been sliced open.

The two brothers were horrified and frantically poured out all their Soul Power.

Black vines tangled wildly like giant pythons, instantly forming a thick barrier of thorns before them.

However.

That seemingly indestructible vine barrier.

The instant it touched the azure line, it was effortlessly cut apart like decayed paper.

Crystalline azure radiance lingered along the severed edges, wisps of sharp energy refusing to disperse as they forcibly prevented the vines from regenerating.

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

It transformed into an invisible fan-shaped edge and swept outward.

Pfft—

Pfft—

Pfft—

Within thirty paces.

Flower branches, grass, trees, a corner of an artificial hill... everything caught in its path was smoothly severed in half.

The begonia petals drifting down from above had not yet touched the ground before the scattered sword qi shattered them into a bleak crimson mist. Mixed with the droplets of blood spraying from the waists and abdomens of the two Soul Ancestors, it formed a savage haze in the air.

On the Green Stone paving.

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

The coldness in Li Zhexian's handsome features was sharper than a sword's edge.

"Probing me?"

"Did you ask my permission?"

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

He had painstakingly cultivated the sword, and now his swordsmanship had entered the Ultimate Domain. He was not someone others could test for nothing.

Li Zhexian did not even glance at the two men, whose breaths were steadily weakening.

He removed the Clear Spring Wine Gourd from his waist and tipped his head back, taking several mouthfuls of wine.

Buzz—!

Buzz—!

Substantial cold light flickered along the Azure Lotus Sword.

Visible ripples spread through the space around its blade, as if it could not bear such Ultimate Sharpness.

Li Zhexian swept his gaze over the ruined, blood-soaked garden, which no longer retained a trace of its former beauty, and said coldly:

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

Just then.

A light, steady set of footsteps came from the secluded path leading into the garden.

Li Zhexian narrowed his eyes and looked over.

Two slender figures approached slowly, their steps nearly synchronized.

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

Her hands were folded over her lower abdomen. Her bearing was dignified, and her face was beautiful, yet entirely expressionless. Her eyes were calm as still water, as if the bloody sight before her was no more than dust.

Half a step behind her was a Blue-haired Girl.

When he saw the girl's bearing, Li Zhexian's gaze tightened slightly. She was Ye Lingling, the current inheritor of the Nine Heart Begonia whom he had met once at the Great Soul Arena.

She was not veiled at the moment, revealing a gentle but overly pale face that lent an additional fragility to her coldness.

She wore a plain white dress, cinched at the waist only by a purple ribbon, making her slender waist seem barely wide enough to grasp.

The girl possessed both ethereal grace and distant aloofness, making one's heart tremble at the sight of her.

If he had to describe her...

A thought suddenly surfaced in Li Zhexian's mind:

The girl was like a withered begonia flower.

After several breaths.

The Ye Family mother and daughter stepped into the garden, where the stench of blood had yet to fade.

To Li Zhexian's surprise—

Ye Mother moved with graceful steps across the cracked Green Stone slabs.

Wherever her skirt brushed past, tiny green shoots emerged from the cracks.

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

Pink petals fell like rain. Verdant waves of life surged from the severed stems of flowers and plants cut by sword qi, while countless plump flower buds burst from withered branches at a visible rate.

In mere moments, the garden's murderous, bloody atmosphere was restored to its former beauty, even gaining several degrees of vibrant life.

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

Ye Mother raised her delicate hand.

Drops of crystalline dew carrying a strange fragrance fell from the heart of the begonia flower.

Amid the sticky sounds of flesh writhing, their broken spines reconnected like spring bamboo shoots pushing upward.

Only a dozen or so seconds passed.

The two brothers, who had been on the verge of death, were kneeling on one knee before Ye Mother with excited expressions.

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

Ye Mother's pale purple eyes remained fixed on Li Zhexian.

Her voice was like a clear stream flowing from a Snow Mountain, cold but not harsh, gentle but not cloying:

"Withdraw."

"Yes."

The two brothers bowed and retreated.

Before leaving, they cast fearful glances at Li Zhexian.

Within the garden.

Only Li Zhexian and the Ye Family mother and daughter remained.

Before Li Zhexian could speak, Ye Mother softly said:

"My subordinates acted rashly in probing you and disturbed Young Master Zhexian. Please forgive us."

Li Zhexian was slightly surprised.

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

The anger in his heart subsided somewhat, though his displeasure at being tested for no reason remained.

Li Zhexian had no intention of exchanging pleasantries. He clasped his hands and went straight to the point:

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

"If you have something to say, please speak plainly."

Ye Mother fell silent for a moment. Those pale purple eyes, seemingly capable of seeing through the human heart, stared at Li Zhexian as her thin lips parted slightly:

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

"Then may I ask, in your heart, compared with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda... which is stronger, and which is weaker?"

Li Zhexian frowned but said nothing.

Ye Mother's gaze was profound, her voice as calm and unruffled as ever, yet it seemed to carry the weight of fate:

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

"The Battle of the Heavenly Healing Sacred Towers?"