Spirit Tea

The Liuhe Duzun Sword Art manifested six streams of Sword Qi, forming what seemed like a sword formation of their own.

It allowed advance or retreat, attack or defense.

And the Nine Heavens Embracing the Moon movement technique was indisputably one of the Pure Yang Sword Sect's finest lightness arts.

Combining the two, Lin Yuyan easily pulled away when Qin Lian's Blood-Burning Sword Art came crashing down in the Nine Heavens Sword Forms.

She even used the six streams of Sword Qi to block him, forcibly checking Qin Lian's momentum.

By the time Qin Lian overcame finesse with strength and forcibly shattered the six streams of Sword Qi, she had already had ample time to prepare her next assault.

Boom!

The Sword Qi dispersed.

Sword in hand, Qin Lian charged, bursting out of the Liuhe Duzun Sword Art's Sword Qi in an instant.

Lin Yuyan's body swayed, and by the time Qin Lian's sword aura struck, she had already darted away again.

It actually felt somewhat like Qin Lian's fight against Wu Meng, Ning Chuan, and the others on Canglang Mountain several months earlier.

Clearly, it was precisely this knowledge of herself and her opponent that gave her the confidence to believe she could defeat Qin Lian.

But...

Qin Lian was not the Wu Meng or Ning Chuan of that day.

Nor was Lin Yuyan strong enough to rival Qin Lian as he had been then.

"So this is what gives you courage?"

He swept the treasured sword in his hand, clearing away the surrounding Sword Qi.

"If this is all you have, I have only one assessment..."

The [Swiftness] trait activated!

Qin Lian's sword momentum abruptly changed.

True Qi erupted beneath his feet as he charged. Bolstered by two traits, he blasted forward like a cannonball.

"Too clever for your own good."

Boom!

His sword thrust straight ahead.

Under the thunderous eruption of sword aura, the six streams of Sword Qi Lin Yuyan directed to intercept him shattered like six blades of refined steel, exploding and scattering in every direction.

Sensing the terrifying pressure on Qin Lian's blade, Lin Yuyan pulled away and retreated violently once more.

With the Nine Heavens Embracing the Moon movement technique, she had already escaped the range of Qin Lian's sword aura before the exploding Sword Qi reached her.

Yet almost as soon as she flew backward, Qin Lian pursued at a speed no slower than hers. The Nine Heavens Sword Forms blazed as they bore down like a meteor falling from the heavens, so fast that she found herself unable to evade them in time.

This is bad!

Lin Yuyan changed her sword move with utmost speed.

With a flick of her blade, she directly unleashed Six Harmonies Returning to One, which represented the highest realm of the Liuhe Duzun Sword Art.

The six streams of Sword Qi seemed to merge into one, then released their power explosively upon contact with Qin Lian's Nine Heavens Sword Forms.

Rumble!

The fierce collision of aura against aura stirred a thunderous roar through the courtyard.

Scattered Sword Qi spread unchecked, instantly tearing sword marks into the ground in front of the courtyard. Some stone stools and lamp tiles were also shredded on the spot by the exploding Sword Qi, sending dust flying.

Amid the flying dust, Lin Yuyan hurtled backward.

The Nine Heavens Embracing the Moon movement technique made her movements exceptionally light, truly giving her the ethereal grace of an immortal maiden soaring toward the moon.

Yet almost as soon as she retreated out of the dust-filled area, a flash of sword light burst brilliantly before her eyes and rapidly closed in. The searing True Astral Qi contained in the blade, in particular, made her pupils contract sharply.

"How can he be so fast?!"

Lin Yuyan hastily shook her sword and held it crosswise.

Clang!

Sparks flew.

As the blades shook, she felt her sword arm jolt violently, almost losing her grip on the hilt and letting the weapon fly from her hand.

The blade held across her body was driven backward by the incoming sword aura and slammed hard into her chest, churning her blood and Qi.

At that moment, all she could do was forcibly muster her True Qi and retreat violently again.

"You've practiced Liuhe Duzun well, but... it's not enough!"

Behind the sword aura, Qin Lian followed close behind.

He stamped down, and his blade seemed to cleave through the resistance ahead as it thrust out again with speed beyond all reason.

Forcibly mustering her True Qi to open up some distance, Lin Yuyan turned deathly pale as she watched the Azure Sky treasured sword come at her once more.

She activated her True Qi and could only raise her sword across her body to block again...

Bang!

Sparks flew once more.

The sword aura on the Azure Firmament Sword poured all its penetrating force into the blade Lin Yuyan held before her. Unable to bear the burden, the sword shattered on the spot.

"No!"

Seeing that the sword aura was about to pierce through her heart meridians without losing any momentum, Lin Yuyan could not help crying out in despair.

Almost simultaneously, a startled cry came from several dozen meters away.

"Grandmaster Qin, please show mercy."

Qin Lian glanced out of the corner of his eye and ultimately dispersed the True Qi contained in his blade.

Boom!

The dispersed True Qi exploded like a grenade.

Though it no longer possessed the sharpness it had when condensed into aura, the force of the explosion still battered Lin Yuyan, who was within arm's reach.

The violent impact hurled her body away, sending him flying nearly ten meters before she finally landed.

Even after landing, she could not steady herself. After stumbling back several steps, she could no longer hold back the blood pent up in her chest and spat it out.

Just then, several people hurried over and arrived outside the courtyard.

Upon seeing that Lin Yuyan was merely injured and her life was not in danger, a middle-aged man among them finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hurriedly saluted Qin Lian. "Thank you for showing mercy, Grandmaster Qin."

He immediately added, "This disciple of mine is unruly and committed such an outrageous act behind my back. I will certainly discipline her strictly when I take her back. Once her injuries have eased somewhat, I will bring her here to apologize to you, Grandmaster Qin."

Qin Lian glanced at him and did have some recollection of him.

Yan Nangui, an elder of Purple Cloud Peak.

As for the people accompanying her...

They were all from Purple Cloud Peak. The highest-ranking among them was its peak master, Xie Caixia, who had tempered her Divine Intent six years earlier.

She was also one of the Pure Yang Sword Sect's seven Heaven Ranking Grandmasters.

"Peak Master Xie, what do you say?"

Qin Lian spoke directly.

Xie Caixia was the one who could make the decision.

The Purple Cloud Peak master's expression shifted slightly.

She knew that those who made it onto the Grandmaster Heaven Ranking were basically the best among the third grade, with little room for inflated reputations. But before this, Qin Lian had, after all, been only fourth grade, even if he possessed a perfected Blood-Burning Sword Art...

With the intricacies of Lin Yuyan's Nine Heavens Embracing the Moon and Liuhe Duzun, even if she could not win, she should still have been able to withdraw unscathed.

There had been a hundred benefits and not a single drawback.

A Heaven Ranking Grandmaster could easily bring in a million taels in revenue each year...

That was why she had tacitly permitted Yan Nangui and Lin Yuyan's actions.

She had never expected Qin Lian's strength to be so much greater than she had anticipated.

In her eyes, Lin Yuyan was not much inferior even to a Heaven Ranking Grandmaster, yet she had been defeated so easily and ended up bringing humiliation upon herself.

"My failure to discipline my disciples has allowed a disciple of my peak to make such a laughingstock of herself before you, Grandmaster Qin..."

Xie Caixia adopted the proper attitude.

"You call this making a laughingstock of herself?"

Qin Lian looked at her.

"Er..."

Xie Caixia faltered.

Still...

Although she had not orchestrated this matter behind the scenes, as peak master, choosing to tacitly permit it was itself a form of indulgence.

The peak master immediately cupped her hands. "Lin Yuyan privately provoked you, Grandmaster Qin, committing a grave offense. By rights, her cultivation should be crippled and she should be expelled from the sect. But given the current circumstances of her lineage, if her cultivation is crippled and she is expelled, only death awaits her..."

She continued quickly, "Heaven cherishes all living things, and reaching the third grade at her young age was extremely difficult. Please give her a chance to turn over a new leaf, Grandmaster Qin..."

Beside her, Yan Nangui hurriedly said, "As her teacher, I failed to set an example. I should bear responsibility as well."

He took out a box. "This is Enlightenment Tea, a specialty of our Purple Cloud Peak. Drinking it clears the mind and brightens the spirit, allowing one to achieve twice the results with half the effort in cultivation. There is also a chance of entering a state of sudden enlightenment. Grandmaster Qin, please accept this on account of our belonging to the same sect, and give me an opportunity to apologize."

"The same sect?"

Qin Lian frowned slightly.

The struggles over interests among the Chunyang Six Peaks were far from insignificant. One could glimpse this simply from the differing numbers of true disciples each peak could support.

But such disputes were constrained by unwritten rules.

First, they must not cause death or injury.

Second, once one side yielded and offered sufficient sincerity in apology, the other side could not keep pursuing the matter.

Even blood brothers had disputes, let alone fellow disciples.

But such disputes really did not escalate to the point of life and death.

After some thought, Qin Lian spoke. "One portion isn't enough. I want ten."

"Ten?"

Yan Nangui's expression changed.

If sold outside, a single portion of Enlightenment Tea could fetch a full three to four hundred thousand taels.

"What, is the title of Heaven Ranking Grandmaster not worth ten portions of Enlightenment Tea?"

Qin Lian said.

"Of course it is."

Before Yan Nangui could speak, Peak Master Xie Caixia interjected.

Smiling, she cupped her hands. "I hear that you have been cultivating diligently in seclusion lately, Grandmaster Qin, intending to comprehend the mysteries of Divine Intent. This is a blessing for our Chunyang. I will present you with ten portions of Enlightenment Tea to help you take that crucial step and attain the second grade as soon as possible."

"That settles it. Take her away."

Qin Lian waved his hand.

"Then we won't disturb you any further, Grandmaster Qin."

Xie Caixia cupped her hands again. "The ten portions of Enlightenment Tea will be delivered shortly. Once Lin Yuyan has recovered, I will also bring her here again to apologize to you, Grandmaster Qin."