I Came to Take Your Lives

The Mystic Heaven Sword Sect received visitors that day.

They were all outstanding talents from Kun Province's various sects, including leading disciples of Great Orthodox Lineages and direct descendants of Ancient Immortal Lineages.

Guests they might have been, but they had not come with good intentions.

Their shouting drew over many of the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect's inner and outer disciples.

When they learned what had happened, every one of them was stunned.

"Li Yang? Who's Li Yang? He's that fierce?! I was in seclusion for a few months. When did our Mystic Heaven Sword Sect produce such a ruthless character?"

"Crane-Cry Peak's ninth disciple! But I heard he's been in the sect for over ten years and still hasn't reached Foundation Establishment."

"A direct disciple that useless? Are you sure he did it?!"

"Absolutely! After those opponents Li Yang defeated went back and investigated, they discovered he wasn't some unrivaled prodigy from a supreme Sword Cultivator lineage. That's why they dared come here for revenge."

"That's not the whole story. Mainly, after they got Li Yang's contact details, they sent him curses and threats. That ruthless bastard gave them all the same reply: 'Come fight me in our Mystic Heaven Sword Sect's Life-and-Death Arena.' And that's how we ended up with what you're seeing now."

"Then where is he?"

"Li Yang! You had the guts to kill my junior brother. Do you have the guts to face me?!"

There were two arenas on Duel Sword Peak.

One was for ordinary sparring, the other for deciding life and death.

In the Life-and-Death Arena stood a spirited male cultivator, handsome and strong-featured.

"I am a direct disciple of a supreme elder of the Five Elements Dharma Palace. Today, I came to demand justice for the junior brother you killed! If you had the guts to kill him, why don't you dare come kill me?!

"I received your invitation to a fight to the death, yet you don't dare show yourself. Could everyone in this Mystic Heaven Sword Sect be a prancing clown like you, capable of nothing but mouthing off!"

Those words grated on the ears of the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect elders present.

But the Five Elements Dharma Palace was an orthodox power in Kun Province with a Mahayana ancestor. They truly had the backing to act so arrogantly.

Their own Mystic Heaven Sword Sect's ancestor was only in the Body Integration Realm. How could they dare teach this insolent, well-connected young cultivator a lesson?

It was only because the Dao Alliance was now powerful, and personal grudges between disciples could not implicate their sects, that Li Yang's slaughter of a group of outstanding talents had not already plunged the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect into eternal ruin.

The elders were furious but dared not speak. Among the disciples, however, there were proud, hot-blooded youths.

"Stop barking in our Mystic Heaven Sword Sect! If Li Yang doesn't dare come, so be it. But if you think our sect has no one to stand against you, come test whether my sword is sharp!"

A young man brimming with righteous indignation leaped into the neighboring sparring arena.

His Purple Mansion opened, and a streak of fiery light flew out, hovering three inches above his head.

His sword intent was scorching and violent, stirring the earthfire and heavenly lightning here. Its formidable power was plain to see.

The male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace glanced at him and snorted.

"If Li Yang wants to hide like a turtle, I'll vent my anger on you!"

He immediately sprang up, vanished from where he stood, and shot straight into the neighboring sparring arena.

Their cultivation was equal: both were in the early Golden Core stage.

"Wang Liexiao of the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect! Please instruct me!"

But the male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace said:

"You aren't worthy of knowing my name. Get on with it!"

Such utter contempt set Wang Liexiao's anger ablaze.

The fire-element Sword Pellet above his head burned even more fiercely, splitting into hundreds of flaming sword lights in an instant. Each was powerful enough to burn through a whole swath of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Senior Brother Wang is one of our inner sect's elite! That Lihuo Sword Pellet holds the power to burn the heavens!"

"We Sword Cultivators have always been powerful in single combat. Even if this man comes from an orthodox power like the Five Elements Dharma Palace, he isn't necessarily unbeatable!"

"What?! A water-element divine ability?!"

Facing the hundreds of flaming sword lights, the male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace formed hand seals, drawing nearly half of Duel Sword Peak into a world of water.

"I told you, you're unworthy! Inside my Water Marsh Domain, your Sword Pellet can't unleash even a fifth of its power."

"Stop being so full of yourself! How could I lose to you?!" Though alarmed inwardly, Wang Liexiao still gritted his teeth and drove his Sword Pellet with all his strength.

But it took only a few breaths.

Wang Liexiao, who had resembled a sword god burning the heavens, was soaked into the bloated likeness of a drowned corpse, his nine orifices and belly full of water.

He crashed miserably to the ground, the protective Spirit Artifact on his body ruined.

The male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace descended and planted a foot on Wang Liexiao's face.

He looked down from above.

"You should thank your sect's Li Yang. If not for him, you wouldn't even qualify to fight me."

His foot ground viciously against the helpless Wang Liexiao as his gaze swept over the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect disciples glaring at him with hostility and fury.

Suddenly, he smiled.

"Though your Mystic Heaven Sword Sect is a branch of Kun Province's Xuanyuan Sword Sect, all I see here is trash. You Sword Cultivators claim to be the strongest in single combat, unrivaled in offense. But it's all boasting, empty words meant to frighten people."

As he spoke, he lowered his head to look at Wang Liexiao struggling feebly beneath his foot.

"If you'd chosen to become a spell cultivator instead of a Sword Cultivator, your affinity for fire would never have left you with such paltry accomplishments."

"Shut up!" Wang Liexiao's voice was weak, his eyes burning with anger.

His entire body trembled as he struggled fiercely, but the foot held him firmly down.

"Heh." The man shook his head with a cold laugh. "You live inside dreams of your own weaving, imagining you can roam the cultivation world with a sword, wander the vast void blade in hand, and shout about vanquishing demons and defending the Dao every day. But you're still only doing it for greater profit.

"The truth is-

"That Li Yang coveted my junior brother's treasures. Relying on some trick, he cruelly murdered him. All he wanted was to kill him and steal his possessions.

"If he dares appear before me, I'll make him understand what a gap in strength means!"

Those words enraged every Sword Cultivator present.

"Insolent brat!" an elder rebuked coldly.

"You've gone too far!" a disciple said, tightening his grip on his sword hilt.

"I'll be your opponent!" An inner disciple in the middle Golden Core stage stepped into the arena with an icy expression.

The male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace kicked Wang Liexiao out of the arena.

"Watch carefully. Watch how I trample the sword path you're so proud of beneath my feet.

"A sword is just a sword, nothing more than a magical treasure. It holds no special meaning."

Wang Liexiao pushed away the disciples who came to help him up and raised his arm, shouting to the middle Golden Core Sword Cultivator in the arena.

"Senior Brother Zhou, vindicate us Sword Cultivators!"

That Senior Brother Zhou was a prominent figure in the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect.

Though he was not a direct disciple, that was because his goal was to enter the main Xuanyuan Sword Sect in Qian Province. He did not want too many ties binding him to the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect.

"Do you want me to suppress my cultivation?" Senior Brother Zhou held a third-grade sword bearing seven artifact patterns, his voice cold.

"No need. You're weak, too." The male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace stood calmly with his hands behind his back.

Clang!

Senior Brother Zhou drew his sword.

Senior Brother Zhou was unstoppable.

Senior Brother Zhou weathered the pressure.

Senior Brother Zhou fell into a disadvantage.

Senior Brother Zhou was blasted away by a powerful attack.

Senior Brother Zhou was also trampled underfoot.

"I told you, you Sword Cultivators always like to label your actions 'righteous' and 'chivalrous.' But that does nothing to improve your strength. It's merely something you cling to for spiritual satisfaction."

The male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace looked at Wang Liexiao, who was glaring at him.

"I can give you a chance-a chance to join our Five Elements Dharma Palace."

Of course, he did not value Wang Liexiao's talent. He simply wanted to humiliate the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect.

Wang Liexiao lowered his head.

He was not hesitating. Rather, his opponent's strength had made him question the sword path he cultivated.

His opponent's spells were extraordinary. That sense of control, as though he had become nature itself, and that destructive power of a walking natural disaster were beyond anything a Sword Cultivator could match.

"Enough. I'm bored." The male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace kicked Senior Brother Zhou out of the arena.

He darted into the Life-and-Death Arena.

"I didn't come here to accept endless challenges from trash like you. I have only one purpose on this trip-to kill Li Yang!

"He doesn't dare come out, and as his fellow disciples, you're guilty too!

"So anyone who challenges me next had better come prepared to die!"

His gaze was chilling as he swept a piercing look around.

Wherever his eyes passed, inner disciples, outer disciples, and even direct disciples all lowered their eyes, not daring to meet his gaze.

"I'll fight!"

A clear female shout rang out.

A female cultivator arrived riding a sword.

"It's Sect Master Peak's fifth disciple. She successfully formed her core."

"Li Yang is our Mystic Heaven Sword Sect's strongest Qi Refining cultivator, and Su Miao is our strongest Foundation Establishment cultivator. A shame she's an Outer Sword Cultivator."

"Exactly. Even Senior Brother Zhou lost. Whoever goes up there will die!"

"Su Miao, come down at once! This has nothing to do with you!" an elder hurriedly urged.

Yet when the male cultivator from the Five Elements Dharma Palace saw her, his gaze lingered on one of her bracelets, and he frowned.

"You're from the Female Cultivators Alliance. If I kill you, I'll have trouble too.

"Besides, I have no interest in bullying female cultivators. Get down. I won't kill you."

Then he called loudly:

"Does your enormous Mystic Heaven Sword Sect not have even one male cultivator with a spine?!

"If that's the case, forget it.

"A whole sect of turtles hiding in their shells. Today has certainly opened my eyes!

"Farewell!"

The outstanding talents from the other factions who had come to Duel Sword Peak to trouble Li Yang also began sneering.

"I thought a sect that produced a Sword Maniac like that would surely have something remarkable about it. Instead, it's disappointing. That Li Yang must have used some underhanded trick back then."

"Let's go. This Mystic Heaven Sword Sect has no one left. Only a female cultivator dares stand up."

"A treacherous little rat and a sect of turtles hiding in their shells. What a perfect match!"

Despite such humiliating mockery, not a single person dared step forward.

Yet just as he was about to leave the Life-and-Death Arena-

A figure in the Foundation Establishment realm landed in the arena.

"Qin Feng of the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect. I came specifically to take all your lives."