Near a tributary of the Yunsong River.
Deep within the forest, in a narrow cave.
Jiang Jingnian's eyes were tightly shut when his handsome face suddenly turned gleaming gold, like gold paper. "Urgh..."
He spat out a mouthful of golden blood.
It fell to the ground and turned into wisps of fine golden Sword Qi, gouging numerous pits into the earth.
Jiang Jingnian opened his eyes and hurriedly swallowed several pieces of Treasure Medicine.
Only after a while did his aura gradually stabilize.
He sighed. "As expected of a Grandmaster who nearly reached the end of the road-and one who wielded a divine ability devoted purely to slaughter, at that. Just exchanging a single palm strike left me badly injured, with a Sword Qi brand to boot."
Fortunately, Xu Xuanchong was completely gone now.
The Sword Qi contamination within his body was like rootless duckweed, and he had eradicated it entirely.
He looked at the golden fissures steadily healing across his palm, a complicated look in his eyes. Even among Grandmasters, there are differences.
Setting aside sneak attacks and surprise kills, my strength in a head-on fight is only comparable to a Grandmaster in the Second Heaven whose divine ability isn't geared toward slaughter. In a straight fight, I'm still far beneath someone in the Third Heaven like Xu Xuanchong.
But once I become a Grandmaster, that gap will surely shrink dramatically again. Even against a Road-End Grandmaster, I won't be reduced to such a sorry state.
Then Jiang Jingnian turned his gaze to the broken golden sword before him.
As far as his gains this time were concerned-
This Gou Wu Treasure Sword was naturally his greatest spoil.
Nothing else came close.
``` [Heavenstar Gou Wu: Fate Sky (downgraded) (broken): The Origin Stele cracked, and heaven and earth first