Next Round

Silence fell. The many Nascent Soul cultivators present were so shaken by Ink Bamboo Mountain's ruthless resolve that not one of them stepped forward to fight.

Even the three rogue cultivators who'd come to watch the excitement could probably tell what was going on, despite not knowing the whole story.

They weren't trying to stall for time. They were throwing their lives away, trading one life for one of yours.

Profound Heaven Sword Intent says: Xiao Yao just took one of them out, and everyone was shocked. He could've used the opportunity to escape, but instead he stayed and charged right at them. What a blockhead!

If it were me, I'd cut my way out, shouting, "Touch one hair on my head and I'll wipe out your whole clan!" Let's see if they dare make a move.

Host, don't you go copying him. Killing people is one thing, but don't be so stubborn... Speaking of which, you're a little too reckless in that regard. You even thought of using golden shower...

Profound Heaven Sword Intent had been prattling on for a while before Li Fan came to his senses. He, too, was so shocked that his mouth had gone dry.

It had turned brutal right from the start. He'd underestimated them, too. Zheng Hua's lightning-fast sword strike, backed by thunder magic, was probably something even he couldn't have stopped! That strongman had been blown to pieces. Even having a Golden Core inside him hadn't helped!

And it was true: from Yao Xuanzhou's methods, it was clear that taking someone's life with a flying sword was as easy as reaching into a bag. If he hadn't been concerned about the disciples aboard the ship, he could've carved a path through and escaped.

Still, he could understand Master Yao's choice. Yao Xuanzhou could flee, but Master Yao couldn't. After all, he was the monastery's superintendent, and would one day become its abbot or mountain master. He was the one who'd take over. If he fled, how could he ever lead the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain again?

Even if he sent every last disciple below him to their deaths, even if they all perished, as long as he didn't abandon them and run, he wouldn't have failed in his duty.

That was probably why, at his command, those disciples had leaped forward without hesitation to meet their deaths.

And to be fair, looking at it this way, the fellow cultivators Lu Xing had invited and the friends Lu Qi had made really were quite different.

But with Ink Bamboo Mountain's imposing resolve pressing down on them, the Nascent Soul cultivators surrounding them hesitated. Losing disciples was one thing, but if they struck back only to leave themselves open to a counterattack, wouldn't that be a laughingstock?

Zhou Sheng seemed not to have expected that these Foundation Establishment disciples from Bamboo Mountain had a means of greatly increasing their cultivation and breaking through to Golden Core. His brow furrowed. His plans had gone awry, and he'd lost face, leaving him looking displeased.

At that awkward lull, the woman from the Nangong Family raised the Fire-Tipped Spear in her hand and leaped forward, shouting, "You demonic cultists of Bamboo Mountain! You dare harm people right in front of me? Yao Xuanzhou! Come out and fight me!"

Yao Xuanzhou raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

Three divine flames surged behind the female general, and the hot wind sent the two red pheasant feathers on her crown whipping wildly. "Listen well! I am the ninety-ninth princess of Immortal King Nangong—the one and only Nangong Wushuang! Today, I'll take your life! Stop hiding behind a crowd of Foundation Establishment cultivators and come fight me!"

Li Fan gave her a sidelong glance. Was that really all it took to introduce herself? He'd thought she'd recite some kind of entrance poem or something...

"Wushuang?" Yao Xuanzhou frowned. "Are you trying to fool me? The Crown Prince of the Nangong Family, Wushuang, already broke through to Divine Transformation, didn't he? And isn't he a man?"

Fair enough. Her chest was pretty noticeable, too. The armor bulged out in an exaggerated curve. Did she really need that much room? It wasn't that they didn't believe her. They just wanted to see for themselves...

Nangong Wushuang was furious. "Didn't I say I'm Princess Wushuang, the ninety-ninth princess? The Wushuang with the 'frost' in snow and frost, not the Crown Prince Wushuang... Enough talk! Fight me!"

Yao Xuanzhou nodded. "Oh."

The whole scene fell silent.

Nangong Wushuang was nearly fuming. "Why aren't you attacking?!"

Profound Heaven Sword Intent says: This is a deadly sword duel. Is this woman's brain a little addled or something...

Even Zhou Sheng glanced her way. He coughed twice. "Princess Wushuang, the heretics of Bamboo Mountain have already sent a disciple to the dueling platform. According to the rules of the sword duel, we must wait for the disciples below to determine the victor before we can act. Otherwise, we'll incur the entanglement of a deadly calamity and suffer a great loss of fortune. Besides..."

He'd probably swallowed the rest of his sentence: If Yao Xuanzhou makes a move, you'll lose your head.

But Nangong Wushuang's interruption made the ordinary-looking woman beside her smile. She turned to the strikingly beautiful, soft-featured young man accompanying her and said, "Lian'er, you've reached Foundation Establishment Perfection. Since you've come out for a rare excursion, why not use this chance to gain some experience? It'll also give our fellow cultivators a chance to admire the methods of the immortals of Flame Continent.

"By the way, that demonic sect below seems to know some Five Thunders Magic. This Nine-Layered, Seventeen-Treasure Purple Tenuity Star-Discerning Canopy is my master's treasured protective artifact. I'll lend it to you for your protection."

The ordinary-looking woman smiled and lifted a hand, summoning a large, round parasol. It resembled an emperor's canopy, and was impossibly conspicuous and eye-catching. Nine layers of colorful silk and ribbons overlapped its canopy, while assorted agates, jade, pearls, coral, and bright jades dangled beneath it. Seventeen treasures sparkled across the canopy. As it turned, five-colored qi and seven-hued smoke rose from it, along with clouds of nine colors that billowed and spread. The seventeen treasures atop the canopy glittered with golden light, like stars in the heavens.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this treasure." The finely dressed young man with the pointed face smiled faintly and bowed with elegant grace. He flicked his sleeve, summoning a whirlwind from within his robe. It rolled to a stop beside him, and to everyone's surprise, a little leopard with snow-white fur appeared. Riding the leopard with the canopy above him for protection, he drifted down onto a slab of crimson jade.

He didn't dismount or bow. Instead, he narrowed his phoenix eyes and chuckled softly. "Lü Daolian of Flame Continent."

Wang Tanzhi, the second disciple of Bamboo Mountain to fight, looked solemnly at the dazzling canopy, so ostentatious and radiant that it sheltered Lü Daolian completely. He cupped his hands, held his sword, formed a hand seal, and stood at the ready.

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, his heart sinking. It was over. A pay-to-win player. That canopy was clearly no ordinary treasure. Even if Senior Brother Wang took pills to reach the Golden Core Stage, his wooden sword might not be enough to break through it.

But that was exactly the awkward part. The Foundation Establishment cultivators who'd come to attack Tiantai Mountain hadn't come unprepared, and they had magical treasures of their own. But they'd just fought a major battle not long ago. The scattered shards of magical treasures all over Tiantai Mountain showed that even a hard-won victory came at a cost. And Tiantai Mountain itself wasn't a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land. They'd only had time to recover a little true qi by resting beside the pill furnace. What made them think they could fight another opponent head-on?

That strongman had shattered after only a few moves. It was hard to tell whether he hadn't shown his full ability or whether he was simply skilled in the bedroom arts. Either way, he'd been casually dealt with as trash.

But now this delicate-looking young man was relying on a pile of protective treasures. And his true qi was genuinely impressive. He could even activate such a flashy protective treasure at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Profound Heaven Sword Intent says: Hmph, a gaudy pile of junk... But it looks like it incorporates the Zhou Tian Star Array, probably meant to absorb attacks like Five Thunders Magic, escape techniques, and even more worthless magical artifacts. If you have a ranked magical treasure, there's no need to fear it. If you don't... then send out the next one. No, give up on the next three as well. They're dead.

The pointed-faced Lü Daolian clearly thought the same way. He didn't dodge or move, merely watching the Bamboo Mountain disciple before him, who stood with a wooden sword and looked painfully poor, as though he were there for a joke. With a half-smile, he said, "If you're not convinced, go ahead and give it a try."

Since his opponent had invited him to, Wang Tanzhi didn't hold back. "Friend, witness my spell! Command thunder and lightning, subdue demons and banish evil, avert locusts and dispel pestilence, refine and deliver the netherworld spirits..."

He tucked the wooden sword into his sleeve, freed both hands to form a seal, and began chanting. His words came in a rapid, low murmur. No one knew what kind of Daoist art he was preparing, but Daoist qi surged around him. He seemed to be gathering energy, winding up for some formidable technique.

Profound Heaven Sword Intent says: I told you that won't break through. Why keep hammering it with Five Thunders Magic... Wait, that's a proper orthodox technique? How does Ink Bamboo Mountain even have a collection of Shenxiao Sect's Five Thunders Magic? Was the Shenxiao Sect wiped out too, and its Cultivation Methods scattered? Huh!

What was with the "huh"?

"Lian'er, watch out!"

"Ha!"

"You dare, you wretch!"

"Ahhh—!"

"Aaah—!"

Profound Heaven Sword Intent's interruption had thrown Li Fan off, and chaos had erupted around him. By the time he came to his senses, the fight was already over.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye.

Lü Daolian had been distracted by Wang Tanzhi, who stood there chanting right in front of him. He'd been waiting for Wang Tanzhi to finish casting his thunder technique, intending to use his magical treasure to block it and show off his sect's divine abilities.

But he hadn't expected a blood-red sword to suddenly shoot out from the pool of blood beneath his leopard, stabbing straight at his chin!

It had almost pierced his skull! But a jade pendant on Lü Daolian's chest flashed and deflected the blood sword. It swept across his face, cutting a deep gash from beneath his left jaw. The wound went down to the bone and nearly sliced through his eye!

Wang Tanzhi still lost. His concealed sword, disguised by the thunder spell, had missed. The ordinary-looking woman who'd been watching Lü Daolian cautiously saw her beloved disciple's face disfigured. In a fit of rage, she hurled an embroidered ball at Wang Tanzhi and smashed him into a pulp.

Yao Xuanzhou naturally drew his sword, slicing through the woman's flesh and bone and cutting off both her delicate hands. He'd meant to slice through her upper body as well, shredding her with Sword Light.

But in the end, he didn't kill her on the spot. Zhou Hao had been watching from the sidelines. With a furious roar, he released a soaring qi sword that blasted toward the treasure ship.

Yao Xuanzhou's Ink Feather Sword had already reached the woman's throat before he pulled it back, sweeping away the sword qi that was hurtling toward the disciples aboard the ship.

Only after the exchange was over did Nangong Wushuang react. Her friend beside her had screamed and collapsed, flinging both arms and splashing hot blood across Nangong Wushuang's face. She finally understood what had happened and let out a trembling, furious cry. "You dare, you wretch!"

She made it sound as though she'd done something heroic... She even took a step back to put some distance between herself and her friend...

Lü Daolian seemed to have been roused by his master's screams. Only then did he realize he'd nearly had his skull split open by a concealed sword. The wound on his face began to throb fiercely with pain. Shocked, terrified, and hurting, master and disciple let out a chorus of shrill, agonized screams.

But he wasn't even given time to scream, and the Nascent Soul cultivators around them weren't given a chance to be shocked again.

"Yu Danian, disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain, requests a match!"

The third disciple from Bamboo Mountain drew his sword and rose to meet them, his face expressionless. His feet landed firmly on the slab of jade, now spattered with the flesh and blood of his fellow disciples.

Yao Xuanzhou wiped the flesh and blood from his Ink Feather Sword, his face devoid of a smile. "Continue. Next round."