The terrifying Sword Gang swept across, and more than twenty King Realm cultivators fell-!
Everyone who witnessed the scene was shaken.
Those were... twenty King Realm cultivators!
"Clan leader, I..."
Nearby, among the Yan Clan, the second elder spoke bitterly. Only now did he understand that the clan leader had been saving him by stopping him.
Yan Song shook his head, no less shaken than anyone else.
He knew Lin Xuan was strong. After all, he had witnessed it firsthand at the Dusk Moon Auction House, but he had never imagined Lin Xuan would be this strong...
After leaving the oasis, Lin Xuan began wandering aimlessly through the desert while recovering from his injuries.
The wounds inflicted by the heavenly tribulation could not heal in a short time. Returning to his peak condition would take at least a day, if not several.
But every bit he recovered would give him that much more ability to protect himself in the mystic realm.
Having broken through to the King Realm and secured the spirit spring, Lin Xuan was no longer in a hurry.
Even if he gained nothing else, his gains from this trip into the mystic realm had already far exceeded his expectations.
Lin Xuan's earlier good fortune did not continue. Several hours passed without another fortuitous opportunity, though he did encounter a few... cultivators who tried to rob him...
"Boy, hand over everything you have!" Several Earth Profound Realm cultivators blocked every route of escape Lin Xuan had.
His injuries had yet to heal, and Lin Xuan's presence was extremely weak, not even matching the Earth Profound Realm. That was why they had targeted him.
"And if I don't?" Lin Xuan smiled.
A few Earth Profound Realm cultivators were far too weak-so weak he could not even be bothered to attack.
"Then die-!"
Their leader snorted coldly and attacked!
"Slash-!"
But just then, a streak of Sword Qi came flying from afar! In an instant, it blasted away the Earth Profound Realm cultivator who was about to attack Lin Xuan!
"You dare rob a disciple of our Azure Yang Sword Sect?"
Looking toward the voice, he saw several figures speeding over from nearby, both men and women. They wore the same clothing as Lin Xuan, clearly all members of the Azure Yang Sword Sect!
Lin Xuan slowly lowered the hand he had just raised.
An Azure Yang Sword Sect disciple? Did they mean him?
But after thinking it over, Lin Xuan understood.
Although he was the Peak Master of Starfall Peak, he had rarely appeared in the sect since the incident involving Nangong Yaoyue a few years earlier. As a result, most new disciples who had joined during those years knew of the Starfall Peak Master but had never seen his face.
"Scram!"
Among the Azure Yang Sword Sect disciples, a slightly older, gentle-looking woman gave a sharp rebuke, glaring at the man she had just blasted away with her sword.
"Rotten luck. Let's go-!"
Knowing they were no match, they fled in disarray.
Before leaving, they did not forget to glare fiercely at Lin Xuan, as though saying he had gotten lucky.
But had Lin Xuan really been the lucky one?
"Junior brother, are you all right?"
The gentle-looking woman seemed to lead the Azure Yang Sword Sect disciples. After watching the others flee, she turned and asked Lin Xuan with concern.
Lin Xuan shook his head, feeling rather strange.
Junior brother?
Then again, since breaking through to the King Realm, his lifespan had greatly increased, and he did indeed look somewhat younger than her.
"Junior brother, which peak are you from?"
"Starfall Peak."
"So you're a junior brother from Starfall Peak..."
They were all somewhat surprised to learn that Lin Xuan came from Starfall Peak. They knew of it, one of the lowest-ranked peaks in the entire sect. Supposedly, it had only a handful of disciples altogether. Encountering one in the mystic realm was truly rather rare.
The woman named Ye Han showed no particular reaction, but deep in the others' eyes, a barely perceptible trace of disdain flashed when they learned Lin Xuan came from Starfall Peak.
The Azure Yang Sword Sect had a clear hierarchy. It was perfectly normal for disciples from higher-ranked peaks to look down on those from lower-ranked ones, especially when Lin Xuan's Starfall Peak was among the lowest-ranked peaks in the sect...
"So you're a junior brother from Starfall Peak. My name is Ye Han, and I'm a disciple of Profound Water Peak. This is Junior Sister He Jing, a disciple from Jing Moon Peak..." After a brief flicker of surprise, Ye Han warmly introduced everyone to Lin Xuan. She did not look down on him because he came from Starfall Peak.
In her eyes, competing within the sect was one thing, but outside, they were all Azure Yang Sword Sect disciples, no matter which peak they belonged to.
"Junior brother, why don't you join us? We can look out for one another," Ye Han offered. But the moment she finished speaking, He Jing and the others behind her frowned deeply, apparently not particularly welcoming of Lin Xuan joining them.
Besides being from Starfall Peak, Lin Xuan's presence did not even reach the Earth Profound Realm. To put it bluntly, he would only be dead weight if he followed them. Looking out for one another was merely a polite remark from Senior Sister Ye Han.
Naturally, they were unwilling to explore this extremely dangerous mystic realm with such a burden.
But since the one making the offer was Ye Han, who came from the fifth peak and was the strongest among them, they could hardly say much. Still, anyone could see the dissatisfaction in their eyes.
"My name is Lin Xuan. As for joining you, I'll pass. I'm used to traveling alone." Lin Xuan shook his head. He was unwilling to drag a few burdens around himself.
With that, Lin Xuan turned and left without waiting for a reply.
His refusal surprised Ye Han and the others. They truly had not expected him to refuse. Shouldn't Lin Xuan have been beside himself with joy and accepted without the slightest hesitation?
Watching Lin Xuan leave, Ye Han was a little stunned. She was not angry, merely somewhat worried.
"Senior Sister Ye Han, stop worrying about him. He's so rude. You saved him earlier, but he didn't offer a single word of thanks. Now he's rejected your invitation too. As far as I'm concerned, we should leave someone like that to fend for himself."
Lin Xuan's actions provoked extreme dissatisfaction in the others. In their eyes, had they not arrived in time, he would not only have been robbed of everything, but whether he could even keep his life would have been uncertain.
And afterward, not a single word of thanks. He really had treated their kindness like a donkey's liver and lungs.
Senior Sister Ye Han was very strong, but her flaw was that she was too nice, kind to excess. That could not quite be called wrong, but such a disposition might very well harm her in the future.
After parting with Ye Han's group, Lin Xuan continued exploring the mystic realm. Before long, however, he sensed the sect token inside his storage ring beginning to react strongly...
This was... the Azure Yang Sword Sect's distress signal!
An Azure Yang Sword Sect member nearby had encountered danger.
After a moment's thought, Lin Xuan sped straight toward the source of the signal.
As the Peak Master of Starfall Peak, he naturally could not stand by and do nothing.
In a stretch of desert stood a great tree over a hundred feet tall, its lush greenery looking particularly out of place amid the endless yellow sands.
Crystal-clear fruits hung from its branches, enough to make one's mouth water. At a glance, there were at least several hundred.
Beneath the tree, two groups faced off, neither giving an inch.
Each side had a King Realm expert. Had Lin Xuan been there, he would certainly have recognized the woman among those two King Realm cultivators as the Qingwei Peak Master, who had previously brought him and his two disciples to the entrance of the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm.
Behind her stood several Sword Sect disciples, also familiar faces: Ye Han, He Jing, and the others who had parted with Lin Xuan not long ago.
Shortly after leaving Lin Xuan, they had encountered the Qingwei Peak Master here, fighting a King Realm cultivator, and quickly joined the fray.
Each now held several fruits, which they had picked from the tree during the chaotic battle.
The Qingwei Peak Master frowned deeply, staring gravely at the other group nearby-or, more precisely, at the blue-robed middle-aged man leading them.
Like her, he was at the King Realm First Layer. During their earlier battle, the Qingwei Peak Master had gained no advantage over him.
These people came from the Divine Firmament Hall of the Holy Sun Empire. The blue-robed middle-aged man leading them was one of its King Realm elders.
The Qingwei Peak Master had heard of the Divine Firmament Hall. Though it was not among the Holy Sun Empire's ten great powers, it ranked around fifteenth or sixteenth.
It did not enjoy the standing the Azure Yang Sword Sect held as one of the Tangqing Empire's ten great powers. However, the Holy Sun Empire ranked second among the seven empires, behind only the foremost Dawn Empire, and its overall strength far exceeded the Tangqing Empire's.
Thus, although the Divine Firmament Hall did not rank in the Holy Sun Empire's top ten, its strength was not much inferior to the Azure Yang Sword Sect's.
After a fierce battle, neither the Qingwei Peak Master nor the blue-robed King Realm middle-aged man could overcome the other. They could only send out distress signals and wait for help.
At first, the Qingwei Peak Master had proposed splitting the tree's spirit fruits equally, but the other party refused, willing to give her only one tenth!
How could the Qingwei Peak Master accept that?
Now, both sides were waiting.
The Qingwei Peak Master and the blue-robed King Realm middle-aged man had each sent distress signals. If experts from their sects were nearby, they would certainly hurry over. Now it depended on whose luck was better and which side's reinforcements would arrive.
"Take my advice. Take the spirit fruits you already have and leave at once. Otherwise, when our Divine Firmament Hall's deputy hall master arrives, I'm afraid you won't be taking away even a single fruit."
While waiting for reinforcements, the Divine Firmament Hall's blue-robed King Realm middle-aged man chuckled.
The Qingwei Peak Master snorted coldly. "None of us are fools. Spare us such clumsy tricks. I could say our Sword Sect's sect master is on the way. Would you believe me?"
The blue-robed middle-aged man shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"Whoosh-!"
Just then, the appearance of a figure made both sides hold their breath. At this moment, whichever side's reinforcements arrived first would spell disaster for the other.
Looking out, they saw a young man's figure slowly emerging over the yellow sands. When she saw who it was, the Qingwei Peak Master froze.
"Peak Master Lin?"
Indeed, the newcomer was none other than Lin Xuan, who had rushed here immediately upon receiving the distress signal.
"It's him?"
Not only the Qingwei Peak Master, but Ye Han, He Jing, and the other Azure Yang Sword Sect disciples also saw that the newcomer was the "junior brother" they had encountered earlier. The hope in their eyes instantly vanished, like deflating balls.
A look of deep disappointment was impossible to conceal on the Qingwei Peak Master's face.
How she had hoped the newcomer would be a Peak Master from one of the top ten peaks, because only those Peak Masters were at the King Realm and could influence the battle.
The good news was that the newcomer was indeed on the Azure Yang Sword Sect's side.
The bad news was that he... was merely at the Tribulation Realm Seventh Layer.
The Tribulation Realm Seventh Layer was not weak, but it could not affect the present battle.
Across from them, the blue-robed middle-aged man, who had been somewhat worried, also relaxed slightly upon seeing Lin Xuan.
Although the newcomer belonged to the other side, his presence was extremely weak, not even at the Earth Profound Realm. It had been a false alarm.
"Junior brother, come over here!"
Ye Han waved to Lin Xuan.
"Junior brother?" The Qingwei Peak Master paused.
"Peak Master, we met this junior brother not long ago. We even invited him to travel with us, but he refused," Ye Han explained with a wry smile.
The Qingwei Peak Master's gaze turned somewhat strange. She glanced at Lin Xuan, who was approaching slowly, then at Ye Han and the others. "You seem to have misunderstood something. He isn't your junior brother. He is Peak Master Lin of Starfall Peak."
At the Qingwei Peak Master's words, Ye Han and the others froze.
What?
A Peak Master?
The Peak Master of Starfall Peak?
Huh?
They had been treating Lin Xuan as some "junior brother" from Starfall Peak all this time...
Now, the Qingwei Peak Master was actually telling them that he was not their junior brother at all, but Starfall Peak's... Peak Master?
A Peak Master had to be at least a high-level Tribulation Realm expert, right?
Wait...
Then hadn't her earlier attempt to save him been... entirely unnecessary?
Ye Han's fair face visibly flushed crimson. She wished she could find a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
He Jing and the others were likewise dumbfounded.
Their "junior brother" had transformed into the Peak Master of Starfall Peak?
And they had actually looked down on Lin Xuan earlier. What did that make this???
No wonder he had not even thanked Ye Han after she saved him. It was not that he lacked manners, but that... he had never needed their help...
A few Earth Profound Realm cultivators saving a Tribulation Realm expert?
Utterly laughable.
"Whoosh-!"
Lin Xuan had barely arrived when a powerful presence followed close behind!
The newcomer was an elderly man with snow-white hair.
His presence was as deep as an abyss. Merely standing there, he exerted tremendous, invisible pressure on the Qingwei Peak Master and the others.
This man is no weaker than the sect master! The Qingwei Peak Master's heart tightened.
The Azure Yang Sword Sect's sect master was a King Realm Fourth Layer expert! The pressure this old man gave her was no less than the sect master's, which meant the old man before her... was definitely at the King Realm Fourth Layer or above!
"Deputy hall master!"
Already extremely wary upon the old man's arrival, the Qingwei Peak Master and the others felt their hearts plunge to rock bottom when the blue-robed elder called out "deputy hall master."
"Deputy hall master!?"
It's over, the Qingwei Peak Master thought.
This old man was actually the Divine Firmament Hall's deputy hall master!
The Qingwei Peak Master cried inwardly, bitterness written all over her face. Not a single King Realm cultivator from the Azure Yang Sword Sect had arrived. Instead, the other side had received the Divine Firmament Hall's deputy hall master!
The King Realm Fourth Layer! Even if the sect master were present, he might not be a match for this old man.
The Qingwei Peak Master suddenly felt regret.
Had she known this would happen, she should have agreed to the blue-robed middle-aged man's terms earlier and left with the spirit fruits they had picked...
Despair, unwillingness...
The Qingwei Peak Master and the others all understood what the arrival of a King Realm Fourth Layer cultivator meant.
Yet what stunned the Qingwei Peak Master and the others was...
The first words spoken by the Divine Firmament Hall's deputy hall master were not meant to make trouble for them, but instead...
"Let's go. We're leaving."