Ji Wuchen, you are strong

On the bluestone plaza outside the palace, the duel between the eldest brother and the fourth brother had just come to an end.

The fourth brother, Qin Kuangge, had his robes slightly disheveled, having fought to a draw against the prodigy of the Yan Clan.

Qin Wudao stood with his hands behind his back, his white robes billowing like a celestial being descended to the mortal realm.

Before him, the prodigies of the three clans all bowed their heads—some knelt on one knee with their blades shattered; others stumbled backward with blood spilling from the corners of their mouths; still others had fainted outright and were being hurriedly carried away by their own elders.

Yet he, having faced three opponents at once, had not even ruffled a corner of his robe.

His aura was maxed out.

Several people looked up at the firmament simultaneously—the clouds churned like boiling water, and the entire sky was twisting and deforming.

A terrifying Imperial Might poured down like a tidal wave, snapping the ancient trees surrounding the plaza one after another.

"Imperial Might... the true body of an Emperor is about to descend." A rare trace of gravity flashed in the eyes of the usually carefree Qin Kuangge. "It seems the person Ninth Brother detained is more important than we imagined."

Having said this, he looked toward Qin Wudao in the distance: "Eldest Brother! Can you handle it?"

Qin Wudao withdrew his gaze from the sky and spat out two words indifferently:

"Foolish question."

Before the words had even faded—

"BOOM!"

A brilliant pillar of light erupted from Qin Wangchuan, instantly drawing everyone's attention!

The spiritual energy within his body surged like a bursting dam, no longer able to be suppressed.

His spiritual sea suddenly boiled, whipping up ten-thousand-foot-high waves.

As his Supreme Dao Heart pulsed, it triggered a resonance with heaven and earth. Spiritual energy from a hundred miles around gathered frantically, forming a vortex of spiritual energy above his head that connected the heavens and the earth.

"Hum—"

Brilliant immortal light erupted from every pore on Qin Wangchuan's body, each strand of light containing the true essence of the Great Dao.

Deep within his spiritual platform, the once-vast spiritual sea had now transformed into a seething star field, each wave causing the barriers of his cultivation realm to tremble violently.

"BOOM!"

When the ninth wave of stars crashed against the shore, a roar like the creation of the world echoed within his body.

In an instant, with him at the center, the space within a ten-foot radius suddenly twisted—this was the "Domain" unique to the Sixth Realm, the Spirit Domain Realm!

Within this small space: the air stagnated like amber, dust particles froze into galaxies; the flow of time slowed drastically, and falling leaves hung suspended in mid-air; even the rampaging Imperial Might, upon entering this domain, had its sharpness forcibly shaved away by thirty percent!

The Sixth Realm, achieved!

Qin Wangchuan slowly opened his eyes, his pupils reflecting the look of shock on Ji Wuchen's face.

He took a step forward, his slender fingers gripping the hilt of the Guluan Sword—

"Clang!"

As a clear, resonant sword hum echoed through the heavens, the blade carved a perfect arc through the air, its tip pointing directly at Ji Wuchen.

"Time is short."

"This sword comes from the Heavenly Sword Li Clan, and I have now stepped into the Sixth Realm. At this moment, I can call myself the strongest." The youth's voice was terrifyingly calm. "Use your strongest move."

He paused, emphasizing:

"I mean your absolute strongest."

It was thanks to Ji Wuchen that Qin Wangchuan was able to sense the enemies hidden above the firmament.

In the simulation, after defeating him, he had looked up at the sky. This peculiar action had been etched into Qin Wangchuan's mind.

Since it was an assassination, it was impossible for there to be only a few people.

The reason for looking up at the sky was simple: there were enemies above!

As it turned out, he had guessed correctly.

To return the favor.

There would be no holding back.

Qin Wangchuan would use his strongest technique to resolve the youth's inner conflict.

Ji Wuchen's pupils constricted sharply.

His greatest trump card was the Taixu Halberd, personally bestowed upon him by his ancestor, yet he had never revealed it to anyone before.

However, the way Qin Wangchuan's gaze pierced through everything made him realize—

The opponent already knew everything.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from Ji Wuchen's palms.

If he had still stood a chance before Qin Wangchuan's breakthrough, he now clearly recognized that he would undoubtedly be defeated.

I'm going to lose...

Should I... just give up now?

"Slap!"

A crisp, resounding smack echoed across the plaza.

Five red finger marks instantly bloomed on Ji Wuchen's left cheek, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

You bastard!

Have you forgotten why you came here today?!

He jerked his head up, his eyes bloodshot. "Qin Wangchuan..."

"BOOM—!!!"

The heavens suddenly changed color!

A pitch-black halberd manifested from the void, its shaft wreathed in blood-colored lightning.

Wherever the tip of the halberd pointed, space collapsed inch by inch, revealing the endless chaotic void hidden behind it.

"Come, fight!"

Ji Wuchen roared as he gripped the shaft. "Severing the Star River!"

The moment the Taixu Halberd swung, the entire world seemed to turn upside down.

Before Ji Wuchen's "Severing the Star River" could be fully unleashed, Qin Wangchuan's sword momentum had already taken form.

Watching Qin Wangchuan's opening stance, both Qin Fuhai and Qin Wenhe, who were observing from the sidelines, widened their eyes.

"That is...?!"

As masters of swordsmanship, just as the Li Clan possessed the Seven Kill Sword Seal, the Qin Clan naturally held their own secret, un傳 techniques.

"Yuan Xi Ming."

Qin Wangchuan suddenly tossed the Guluan Sword high into the air, and the longsword transformed into a streak of light that pierced through the clouds.

"Before the Primordial Chaos was divided—Containing the Origin Qi."

He gripped the air with his right hand, and the entire firmament suddenly darkened. A force tore a hundred-mile-long rift through the clouds, and the tip of a colossal sword made of spiritual energy slowly emerged, its blade wreathed in solidified chaotic energy.

"Clear and murky, the two poles divide from the Great Beginning, ten thousand calamities take form..."

"Heavenly Sword: Ten Thousand Calamities!"

The four words were spoken softly, yet they carried the weight of a decree from the Heavenly Dao.

Every person at the banquet turned pale—

"Th... this is the Heavenly Sword of the Qin Clan!"

The ancient "Jie" character inscription on the blade lit up with a blinding blood-red glow, bathing everything within a hundred miles in a crimson hue.

"With one sword raised, ten thousand laws become the sword."

"Beneath this sword—the galaxy can be severed, the will of Heaven can be defied, and all calamities can be transcended!"

"Slash!"

The giant sword that blotted out the sun plummeted with a roar, shattering the void.

Before the blade even arrived, the ground of the entire plaza had already collapsed by three feet.

Ji Wuchen's Taixu Halberd radiance looked like a lone boat in a raging sea before this massive blade.

His "Severing the Star River" had barely met the attack before it was completely swallowed by the vast, ocean-like Sword Intent.

Just as the giant sword was about to descend—

"BOOM!!"

A crimson-gold barrier suddenly stretched across the heavens and earth, forcibly intercepting the world-destroying strike!

"Crack—"

The giant sword shattered, but the barrier remained as pristine as before.

A terrifying shockwave swept outward, shaking the entire plaza violently.

"This sword... its power is actually this great?!" A flash of shock crossed the eyes of the Quasi-Emperor guard from the Ji Clan who had intervened.

Although it hadn't moved him in the slightest, the power of this sword was truly terrifying.

One had to remember that the Ninth Young Master was only at the Sixth Realm!

Just as the aftershocks of the world-destroying strike dissipated, Ji Wuchen staggered to his feet from the dust and smoke.

The Taixu Halberd was stuck at an angle in the ground, its shaft dim and lusterless, while the fighting spirit in his eyes had long since been shattered.

"Why..." Ji Wuchen's voice was hoarse as he clutched his head in pain, asking the question he had been unable to utter in the simulation:

"Why are you so strong?"

"If this path to immortality... is destined to be a stage for you alone..."

His face was twisted in a miserable smile, his voice as low as dust:

"Then what is the point of us... cultivating the Dao? What is the point of fighting for our fate?"

The onlookers fell silent. There was no contempt in their eyes, only a trace of indescribable sorrow.

"Being of the same generation as a monster like Young Master Qin is a tribulation in itself!"

"What a pity. Ji Wuchen was a rare talent that appears only once in a century... born at the wrong time!"

Many in the crowd shook their heads.

Cultivation is the cultivation of the heart; the path of practice is, in essence, the tempering of the mind.

"I fear the path of the Ji Clan boy ends here."

Qin Wangchuan sheathed his sword and stood still. He looked calmly at the youth who had long been entangled by his inner demons and spoke slowly:

"Why are you keeping your head down? Look up."

"Be proud."

"Ji Wuchen, you are strong."

These few simple words caused Ji Wuchen to shudder.

"What...?"