Meng Tangtang leaped onto the stage.
The crowd below erupted into discussion.
"Who is that? I don't think I've seen this senior sister in the inner sect before. She's a complete stranger!"
"Third Grade Realm? Are you serious?"
"Holy crap, look! She seems to be wearing the uniform of an outer-sect disciple!"
"An outer-sect disciple in the Third Grade Realm? Not bad, but right now..."
Everyone could only smile bitterly. Even the inner-sect senior brother in the Fifth Grade Realm had just been defeated. What was an outer-sect disciple in the Third Grade Realm doing up there?
She wasn't even enough to whet their appetite!
"Hahahaha!"
The Blood God Child suddenly doubled over with laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes, he pointed at Meng Tangtang and mocked loudly, "Is the Jingyun Sect out of people? You dare send someone like her onto the stage? What a bunch of clowns!"
The Blood-Oath Sect's elder cackled along.
"Heh heh, could it be that the dignified Jingyun Sect has resorted to such a despicable trick as using a beauty? Your ancestors would be ashamed of you! Still, this girl is rather pretty. She'd make a decent concubine for our God Child."
"In that case, we won't stand on ceremony!"
The Blood-Oath Sect members played off each other, leaving the Jingyun Sect disciples red-faced with anger.
"Young girl, I know you're eager to fight for the sect, but this isn't something you can handle. Get down at once!" Seeing this, Elder Hao hurriedly sent her a secret transmission. He had just learned that she was an outer-sect disciple who had only been recruited this year.
In just a few short months, she'd advanced to the Third Grade Realm!
Such a promising talent, properly nurtured, would become another pillar of the sect!
The Blood-Oath Sect was ruthless. If she were to fall here, wouldn't that be a tremendous loss?
On the stage,
facing the doubtful looks around her and the Blood-Oath Sect's mockery, Meng Tangtang's expression darkened, but her gaze grew ever more resolute.
Compared to the pain and torment she'd suffered throughout her life, what was a little mockery?
"Don't worry, Elder. I know what I'm doing. I won't let the sect down!"
Meng Tangtang called out loudly as she drew the mid-grade spirit weapon sword Lin Cheng had given her.
"Hiss! A mid-grade spirit weapon! How terrifying!"
"No wonder she had the nerve to step onto the stage. That's a divine weapon even the elders covet. The boost it gives your combat strength isn't as simple as one plus one!" Someone in the crowd gasped in shock, drawing looks of envy and jealousy from everyone around.
"Ah, never mind."
Elder Hao sighed, yet his admiration for Meng Tangtang only grew. "This girl has outstanding talent and an unwavering spirit. More importantly, she knows to put the sect first. Win or lose, we have to protect her!"
His admiration for Meng Tangtang was such that
Elder Hao had even overlooked the value of the sword in her hand.
Holding the spirit weapon sword, Meng Tangtang faced the Blood God Child as the powers of ice and fire surged within her.
"Hmph, you don't know what's good for you!"
"Since you insist, I'll teach you a lesson and show you what it means to respect the strong. Make your move, or you won't get the chance!" The Blood God Child still looked as arrogant as ever, not even bothering to look Meng Tangtang in the eye.
A weakling like her didn't deserve his attention.
"I won't disappoint Master!"
Meng Tangtang took a deep breath and summoned all the power within her. In an instant, the powers of ice and fire spread from her body. The surrounding forces of heaven and earth trembled faintly and were drawn to her as well. Her aura surged in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, she rose from the Third Grade Realm to the Sixth Grade Realm!
The sight stunned Elder Hao so badly that he crushed his beloved teacup in his hand.
The other elder was just as astonished!
And the two Blood-Oath Sect elders across from them, along with the many ordinary disciples below, were even more shocked!
"She's drawing upon the forces of heaven and earth!"
"How is that possible?!"
One of the Blood-Oath Sect elders cried out in shock. In his agitation, the powerful inner force he unleashed shattered his chair!
"To draw upon the forces of heaven and earth, even just the tiniest amount, one has to be at least in the Ninth Grade Realm..."
"It's an innate constitution!"
Elder Hao and the other Jingyun Sect elder were overjoyed!
Heavens!
Their Jingyun Sect had produced a peerless genius with an innate constitution. She was practically guaranteed to reach the Innate Realm!
The Jingyun Sect was going to rise!
"No!"
The Blood God Child stared in horror at the sword that had pierced through his chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood in despair and slowly fell.
"We won!"
"We won!! Hahaha!"
The disciples below erupted into cheers!
What a turn of events! They'd never imagined the Jingyun Sect had such a hidden genius. She'd dealt the Blood God Child a devastating blow in a single strike. Seeing the elder across from them with a face so dark it seemed ready to drip, they felt incredibly vindicated!
"This is bad!" Elder Hao cried.
Just as he was about to act, one of the Blood-Oath Sect elders held him off, fighting two opponents alone and staking his life on it!
Whoosh!
On the other side, a blurred Blood Shadow flashed past!
"Die!"
"Not a single genius who could threaten my Blood-Oath Sect will be allowed to appear in the Southern Region!" Another Blood-Oath Sect elder's eyes blazed with madness. In full view of everyone, he personally attacked Meng Tangtang, who was only in the Third Grade Realm!
"Old bastard! Is your Blood-Oath Sect trying to start a war with our Jingyun Sect?!" Seeing this, Elder Hao's eyes nearly split with fury. He roared without a thought for his own safety.
Faced with Elder Hao's roar,
the Blood-Oath Sect elder ignored him. The terrifying aura of the Eighth Grade Realm burst forth, leaving countless people present unable to breathe, and he brought his palm down on the exhausted Meng Tangtang!
It was over!
Elder Hao's face filled with despair.
The hope of the Jingyun Sect's rise was ruined!
The elder had put everything into that strike. With no chance to defend herself, even someone in the Eighth Grade Realm would surely die!
There could be no exception!
"Am I going to die?" Meng Tangtang spotted the Blood-Oath Sect elder sneaking up on her, but she was powerless to escape. That sword strike had already drained all her strength. She could only watch as that deathly palm drew closer and closer.
"Master, I'm sorry. I haven't had the chance to repay your kindness. If there's a next life, I'll serve you like an ox or a horse to repay you..." Meng Tangtang murmured in despair.
Yet just as everyone was certain that Meng Tangtang was doomed,
the mid-grade spirit weapon sword that everyone had overlooked suddenly trembled.
In an instant,
an invisible ripple swept past.
The Blood-Oath Sect elder's savage grin froze on his face. A trace of terror surfaced in the depths of his eyes, and before it could spread, an indescribable beam of sword light descended from the sky. Before the sword even reached him, his body had already vanished inch by inch.
His eyes widened in terror as he died.
"Innate..."
In the blink of an eye, he was reduced to ashes, his soul scattered.
Even to his dying breath, the Blood-Oath Sect elder couldn't understand. Hadn't they said that the Jingyun Sect's Innate Realm expert was nearing the end of his life and couldn't act often?
Why had he run into him?
He was unwilling to accept it!
Rumble!
Only after the elder had died did the sword light crash down onto the empty ground of the plaza. Wherever it passed, the air split apart and the earth cracked layer after layer. Buildings along its path collapsed one after another. The slash continued for over a thousand meters before gradually coming to a halt.
After the earth stopped shaking and the dust slowly cleared, sharp-eyed onlookers saw a terrifyingly deep Abyss left behind.
"Hiss!"
Everyone, including the several elders in the Eighth Grade Realm, drew in sharp breaths, their bodies trembling!
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