Which Outer Sect Steward is a Peerless Prodigy?

This Senior Brother Sandao was absolutely not just in the Nascent Soul Realm!

Even for a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Late Stage, it was impossible to block that Sword Qi so effortlessly.

For a moment, he even suspected that Senior Brother Sandao had also been infected by that "steady-style" cultivation trend currently popular in the Supreme Dao Sect.

But that didn't seem right either; looking at his current demeanor, he didn't seem to have any intention of deliberately hiding his cultivation level.

"Senior Brother, are you... really just in the Nascent Soul Realm?" he couldn't help but ask.

But the moment the words left his mouth, he felt a twinge of regret.

Should he really have asked that?

"Why, do you think a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator is incapable of such a feat?" Xu Xing lowered his hand. "You are from the Sword Sect, after all; you should broaden your horizons."

"...Senior Brother is right."

That was true enough; there were indeed peerless prodigies who could slay Foundation Establishment cultivators while still in the Qi Refining stage, fight Golden Core cultivators to a draw while in the Foundation Establishment stage, and even trade blows with Nascent Soul cultivators once they reached the Golden Core stage.

Thinking about it that way, a Nascent Soul cultivator easily blocking a Nascent Soul-level Sword Qi seemed perfectly reasonable...

Reasonable my foot!

Senior Brother Sandao, aren't you just an Outer Sect Deacon?

They said those were prodigies—since when could the word "prodigy" be associated with an Outer Sect Deacon?!

If the Sword Sect's Outer Sect Deacons were all this overpowered, the Sword Sect would have conquered the entire Great Profound Realm long ago!

However, he didn't ask again. Senior Brother Sandao had already given an explanation, and pressing further would be overstepping his bounds.

"Let's continue."

The three of them continued to collect samples, but they didn't dare touch the Sword Peak again.

Soon, the samples within the secret realm were mostly collected, and they even extracted a few wisps of spiritual energy from the air.

It was enough for the mission requirements.

As for the Sword Peak itself, it was better to let the elders investigate it themselves.

"Since the mission is complete, let's leave this secret realm quickly. I have a feeling that something is wrong with this place," Li Fengping said directly.

Aside from that Sword Qi, the mission had gone quite smoothly, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched by something.

Coupled with his recent streak of bad luck over the past two days, he felt a lingering sense of unease.

Contribution points were important, but safety was more important.

"Mm." Jiang Jing actually felt the same way. "What does Senior Brother Sandao think?"

"I am fine with whatever." Xu Xing maintained his casual attitude.

One of his purposes for this trip was to observe the adaptability of the new generation of disciples, and from what he had seen so far, there were no major issues.

Seeing that both agreed, Li Fengping quickly took out a talisman, identical to the one used to enter.

After injecting his mana and igniting it, the oval vortex churning with gray mist appeared once more, but this time, there was no eerie red light.

Neither Jiang Jing nor Li Fengping wanted to linger, and they quickly stepped into the passage once it opened.

Xu Xing walked to the entrance of the passage and suddenly looked back at the red moon in the sky.

Whoosh~

A gentle breeze blew, and ripples visible to the naked eye began to oscillate around the red moon hanging high in the firmament.

"Do not stir; it is not yet time."

With a soft whisper, the red moon returned to calm. Xu Xing turned around, took a single step, and his figure vanished into the churning gray mist.

Upon arriving outside the secret realm, he saw Li Fengping holding his phone, presumably sending the photos taken inside to the elder.

Jiang Jing was leaning against a large tree nearby, and she nodded slightly when she saw Xu Xing emerge.

Two minutes later, Li Fengping put his phone away. "Alright, I've sent the photos from the secret realm to the elder, and I will mail these samples back to the Sword Sect. Keep an eye on your accounts over the next two days; the contribution points will be deposited directly."

"Since the mission is complete, Senior Brother Sandao, Junior Brother Li, I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave. I hope we have the chance to work together again."

This mission had been quite relaxed, and this Junior Brother Li was an honest person, well worth cooperating with.

With that, Jiang Jing cupped her hands, merged with her sword light, and flew off into the distance.

"I'm off as well."

Another streak of light shot out from the forest and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, only Li Fengping remained. He was used to it, though; sword cultivators were mostly like this—free-spirited and unconstrained.

It was a pity; he had wanted to add Senior Brother Sandao as a contact, but he had left too quickly. He would just have to wait for next time.

As he thought this, Li Fengping ascended into the high sky on his sword. After confirming his bearings, he quickly turned into a tiny speck on the horizon.

Mission accomplished; he had to go see Senior Brother Lin and the others, return the family jade token to him, and discuss the next steps of their plan.

The day wasn't even over yet, and Senior Brother Lin and the others were still locked up for ten days!

Rustle~ rustle~

Not long after the three of them departed, a giant python slithered to the exact spot where they had just been standing.

Suddenly, the space distorted, and a faint red light bled through, just as it had when Li Fengping opened the passage earlier.

Splat!

Blood sprayed everywhere as the upper half of the giant python vanished into thin air; blood splattered onto the protruding rock, while the remaining half of its body writhed incessantly.

But as its vitality ebbed away, the mangled remains lost the strength to thrash, rolling all the way down until they snagged on two trees.

Several beasts caught the scent of blood and arrived one after another. After a brief struggle, a brown bear emerged victorious, driving away the other beasts to sit and feast alone on the lifeless half of the snake's body.

"Sigh~ life has been getting harder and harder lately. Who would have thought that a tiny place like Mystic Sword City would suddenly descend into chaos?"

"Who could have predicted that a Great Cultivator would emerge from seclusion in this vicinity?"

They were two men, one tall and one short, dressed in black robes embroidered with demonic patterns. Their auras were sinister, practically screaming "I am a villain" to anyone who looked at them.

The brown bear, currently gnawing on the snake carcass, sensed danger. It whipped its head around to glare at the pair, emitting a low growl in an attempt to scare them off.

"What about the Zhang Siblings? If someone else gets to them first, won't all our efforts over these past few years go to waste?"

They had spent so much time tracking the Zhang Siblings, even risking their lives to kill so many people along the way.

They hadn't even had the chance to do anything before they were forced to flee in such a pathetic state.

"There's no choice; we have to lay low for a while. Even a Void Return Great Cultivator has fallen; our fragile frames simply can't withstand that kind of power."

The two men didn't even glance at the brown bear. The bear watched them walk past, a flicker of confusion in its beady eyes.

The next second.

Bang!

The bear's entire head exploded, its massive body collapsing instantly and tumbling down the mountain with a thunderous rumble, snapping small trees along the way.

To these two, a bear with no awakened intelligence was no different from an ant to be crushed.

Soon, the pair arrived at the location where the secret realm passage had previously opened.

"Brother, are we really going to ignore the Young Master?"

The tall one licked the blood off the back of his hand, wearing an expression of pure enjoyment that, combined with his sinister temperament and features, looked incredibly perverted.

Seeing this, the shorter one sighed inwardly.

He was well aware that their appearance and temperament were problematic, and his younger brother had some truly twisted habits—he had tortured and killed quite a few people while tracking the Zhang Siblings.

That was why he had abandoned everything to leave Mystic Sword City, hoping to avoid being discovered and "purged for the sake of righteousness."

In this day and age, it was rare to find demonic cultivators like the two of them who looked like "villains" from the inside out.

"I've already warned the Young Master. If he refuses to leave, there's nothing we can do. We can't just throw our lives away for him."

The Young Master had connections and might be able to survive this, but they certainly couldn't.

Come to think of it, who was this Great Cultivator who emerged from seclusion? Why choose Mystic Sword City? Couldn't you have gone somewhere else?

Damn it, I curse you to be...

Before he could finish his curse, a flash of red light streaked before his eyes, followed by an irresistible pulling force.

In the blink of an eye, the world had changed completely. A red moon hung high in the sky, and everything in sight was a deep, bloody crimson—it clearly wasn't a pleasant place.

"..."

No way, I was only cursing in my heart, and I hadn't even finished saying it! Was such swift retribution really necessary?

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