The black-robed man's expression darkened.
Chu Yunfei made no attempt to conceal the killing intent in his eyes.
An ant in the Qi Condensation Realm dared harbor murderous intent toward him?
"It seems you still haven't understood your situation."
The black-robed man looked down at Chu Yunfei, his voice turning a few degrees colder.
"A mere Qi Condensation Realm cultivator dares show me killing intent."
"Courting death."
As his words fell, he raised his right hand again.
This time, he no longer struck casually.
Dense spiritual power flowed from every limb and bone into his palm. The surrounding air warped, and a pressure far greater than before descended abruptly.
Chu Yunfei's chest grew heavy, and the already shattered bluestone beneath his feet sank farther.
Situ Shuang'er's expression shifted slightly.
"Senior brother..."
The black-robed man ignored her.
The spiritual power gathered in his palm erupted, forming a nearly solid torrent that blasted toward Chu Yunfei.
A muffled boom burst through the air.
The ground began cracking beneath the black-robed man's feet. A trench several feet wide extended rapidly forward, and the rubble along its path was ground to powder by the raging spiritual power the instant it was swept up.
The breath of death bore down on him.
Every hair on Chu Yunfei's body stood on end.
Reason told him that this strike was absolutely beyond his current ability to withstand.
But would he retreat?
He drove the Boundless Creation Scripture to its limit, and spiritual power surged madly from his dantian into his meridians.
The Abyss-Devouring Sword let out a low hum.
Even if it meant rupturing his meridians, he would unleash another sword strike!
"Stop!"
Situ Shuang'er's expression finally changed.
She hadn't expected the black-robed man to actually strike to kill.
Yet she had only just shouted those words when the torrent of spiritual power reached Chu Yunfei.
Just then, a clear sword cry rang out from midair.
A gleaming white sword light descended from the sky.
Rather than meeting the torrent of spiritual power head-on, the sword light sliced into it at an angle, precisely striking the weakest point where the spiritual power connected.
The two forces collided violently.
The white sword light trembled fiercely, forcibly splitting the torrent of spiritual power down the middle.
The uncontrolled force roared past either side of Chu Yunfei's body, blasting into the left and right sides of the courtyard.
Two deep craters, each several yards across, appeared simultaneously.
Earth and shattered stone shot skyward, and the entire courtyard shook violently.
Amid the billowing dust, a figure floated down from midair.
Her pale purple dress fluttered in the wind, and her dark hair fell to her waist.
Lin Wanyin landed before Chu Yunfei, her sword hand tightening slightly.
That sword strike had looked effortless, but she had actually used more than half her strength.
Had she not seized the initiative and happened to intercept the torrent at its weak point, she might not have been able to divert the attack.
Without looking back, Lin Wanyin stared at the black-robed man, anger restrained within her cool voice.
"Holy Son, this is the Azure Mystic Sect."
"It is not for someone from the Heavenly Sword Sect to kill our disciples here."
Holy Son?
Chu Yunfei's gaze sharpened slightly.
No wonder this man possessed cultivation no weaker than a sect elder's despite his youth.
The Heavenly Sword Sect ranked among the Eastern Continent's seven great sects. Neither its foundations nor its strength were remotely comparable to the Azure Mystic Sect's.
Anyone who could become the Heavenly Sword Sect's Holy Son was the undisputed foremost disciple of his generation.
Wen Jiao had previously invited him to join the Heavenly Sword Sect.
He hadn't expected to meet the Heavenly Sword Sect's Holy Son this way today.
The black-robed man looked at Lin Wanyin, a flicker of something unusual passing through his narrow eyes.
Lin Wanyin's beauty and bearing were outstanding even across the entire Eastern Continent.
However, he quickly returned to normal.
"Mother, why are you here?"
Situ Shuang'er hurried forward, her face still somewhat pale.
After sensing an eruption of Heavenly Origin Realm spiritual power here, Lin Wanyin had immediately followed the disturbance.
Had she arrived even half a step later, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
She glanced at Situ Shuang'er.
"If I hadn't come, how far were you planning to take this?"
Situ Shuang'er's lips moved, but she couldn't say anything.
She had brought the Holy Son today only to make Chu Yunfei recognize the gap between them.
She had never intended to take Chu Yunfei's life.
That last attack had clearly exceeded her expectations.
The black-robed man remained calm. Though he was the very person who had nearly killed Chu Yunfei just now, he gave Lin Wanyin a slight cupped-fist salute.
"So it is Elder Lin."
"I momentarily lost control while sparring just now, causing you to misunderstand, Elder Lin."
"Lost control?"
Lin Wanyin's eyes grew colder.
"If you cannot control your own strength, Holy Son, I can ask the sect master to come spar with you personally."
The black-robed man narrowed his eyes.
Lin Wanyin's cultivation was below his, and the Azure Mystic Sect was far from comparable to the Heavenly Sword Sect.
But she was, after all, Situ Shuang'er's mother.
Before Situ Shuang'er formally joined the Heavenly Sword Sect, he was unwilling to strain their relationship too far.
"You overstate the matter, Elder Lin."
With that, he reined in his presence and did not attack again.
Lin Wanyin turned to Situ Shuang'er.
"The Holy Son has come from afar. Take him elsewhere to look around."
Situ Shuang'er fell silent for a moment, then nodded lightly.
"Yes, Mother."
The black-robed man did not leave immediately, however.
His gaze passed over Lin Wanyin and settled on Chu Yunfei.
Chu Yunfei's clothes were torn, blood stained the corner of his mouth, and his right hand still trembled slightly around his sword.
The black-robed man's gaze had returned to indifference.
"For Elder Lin's sake, I won't pursue this matter with you today."
"But you'd best remember one thing."
"The gap between us cannot be bridged simply by risking your life."
"Stay away from Shuang'er, and stop harboring unrealistic notions."
Chu Yunfei raised his eyes.
"Finished?"
The black-robed man frowned slightly.
Chu Yunfei wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned.
"Then get lost."
The courtyard instantly fell silent.
Coldness surged in the depths of the black-robed man's eyes.
Lin Wanyin stepped half a pace forward, and her sword hummed softly again.
After a brief standoff, the black-robed man ultimately did not strike again.
"Very good."
He gave Chu Yunfei a long look.
"I hope you can still be this defiant the next time we meet."
With that, he turned and walked out of the courtyard.
Situ Shuang'er did not immediately follow. Looking at the blood-covered Chu Yunfei, her gaze grew somewhat complicated.
"I didn't intend for him to kill you."
Chu Yunfei did not respond.
Situ Shuang'er waited a moment, then finally pressed her lips together, turned, and left.
The courtyard fell quiet once more.
The broken old pine lay across the ruins, its remaining branches stirring in the wind and occasionally scraping against one another.
Chu Yunfei stared in the direction the black-robed man had left, engraving that face firmly in his memory.
"The Heavenly Sword Sect's Holy Son."
"I'll remember this debt."
Lin Wanyin sheathed her sword and turned to him. Her gaze traveled from Chu Yunfei's torn clothes to the web of his hand, which was still seeping blood, and her expression grew increasingly grim.
"I knew nothing about today's events beforehand."
"Nor was it my idea for Shuang'er to bring him to see you."
Chu Yunfei withdrew his gaze.
"I know."
Lin Wanyin walked up to him and raised a hand to press his shoulder.
A strand of spiritual power probed his body, and her brows immediately knitted tightly.
Although Chu Yunfei's breastbone hadn't broken, his internal organs had suffered a shock.
In particular, the hidden force left by the Bone-Shattering Palm still lurked within his meridians and the gaps between his bones.
If it wasn't dispelled promptly, it would certainly affect the competition three days later.
"You're injured this badly, yet you still insist on putting on a brave front."
Lin Wanyin rebuked him coldly.
"If I hadn't arrived in time just now, you would already be dead."
Chu Yunfei did not argue.
It was the truth.
At his current realm, he indeed could not withstand that strike from a Heavenly Origin Realm expert.
But being unable to withstand it was one thing; being willing to bow his head was another.
"Aunt Lin, I'm badly injured."
Chu Yunfei looked down at her.
"You have to give me a hand."
Lin Wanyin froze for an instant.
A bad premonition rose in her heart.
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about that!"
"The true disciple competition is in three days. What you should be doing now is healing."
Chu Yunfei smiled faintly. "Dual cultivation can heal injuries too."
"Besides, I'm not asking."
"Come inside."
With that, he turned and walked toward the cave abode.
Lin Wanyin fell silent.
After their last dual cultivation session, she too had touched the barrier to the fourth level of the Heavenly Origin Realm.
She knew better than anyone how extraordinary Chu Yunfei's cultivation technique was.
For Chu Yunfei, dual cultivating again could heal his injuries and allow him to break through.
For her, it was likewise an opportunity to break through.
But knowing was one thing.
Being willing was another.
Lin Wanyin glanced at the ruined courtyard, then recalled the Holy Son's lofty, superior demeanor as he left.
A moment later, she drew a deep breath and followed with a cold expression.
The stone door slowly closed.
Twelve hours later.
The stone door opened again.
Lin Wanyin emerged from the cave abode with a hand braced against the doorway, her steps slightly unsteady.
A lingering flush still colored her face. A few sweat-dampened strands of hair clung to her temples, and her eyes held embarrassed anger.
After a few steps, she turned back and glared at the tightly shut stone door.
"That bastard is an absolute animal!"
With that, she straightened her disheveled robes, circulated her spiritual power, and flew away.
Inside the cave abode, Chu Yunfei sat cross-legged on the stone bed.
The hidden force the Bone-Shattering Palm had left in his body had been completely neutralized, and his damaged internal organs had largely recovered.
At that moment, the spiritual power in his dantian was spinning wildly.
His sea of Qi, which had already approached saturation, expanded again. His dense spiritual power battered the barrier to the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation over and over.
A faint cracking sound came from within his body.
Chu Yunfei immediately focused his mind and gathered the spiritual power scattered throughout his meridians.
The next instant, the torrent of spiritual power slammed into the barrier.
The final obstruction shattered on impact!
Spiritual power surged into the depths of his dantian. His sea of Qi expanded with it, its rotation abruptly accelerating.
Chu Yunfei's presence grew stronger and stronger.
Several breaths later, everything settled again.
The Ninth Level of Qi Condensation.
Chu Yunfei slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.
At that moment, he could clearly feel the changes in himself.
His spiritual power was several times more abundant than before his breakthrough, and his meridians could withstand greater bursts of power.
If he unleashed the Heaven-Severing Slash again, its might would surely rise another notch.
Of course, this improvement was still far from enough to challenge the Heavenly Sword Sect's Holy Son.
The gulf between the Qi Condensation Realm and the Heavenly Origin Realm could not be bridged with a single breakthrough.
Chu Yunfei was not discouraged.
That man could look down on him today only because he had begun cultivating earlier and had the Heavenly Sword Sect sparing no effort to nurture him.
Given enough time, Chu Yunfei would erase that distance sooner or later.
Chu Yunfei lowered his head and looked at his palm.
The split webbing between his thumb and forefinger had already scabbed over-a wound left by his clash with the Holy Son just now.
He curled his fingers, enclosing the bloody scab in his palm.
He would remember today's humiliation.
But the Heavenly Sword Sect's Holy Son was not his most pressing concern right now.
From Lin Wanyin, he had already learned why the other man had come to the Azure Mystic Sect.
After taking the Vermilion Bird Pill, Situ Shuang'er had unexpectedly awakened a special physique.
Upon receiving the news, the Heavenly Sword Sect had already decided to accept her as a disciple.
Next month, Situ Shuang'er would leave the Azure Mystic Sect to cultivate at the Heavenly Sword Sect.
Lin Wanyin had also received an invitation and could go with her.
As for what physique Situ Shuang'er had awakened, Lin Wanyin had not elaborated.
But the fact that the Heavenly Sword Sect's Holy Son had come in person to escort her was enough to prove how rare that special physique was.
No wonder Situ Shuang'er was even more arrogant than when she had broken off their engagement.
In her eyes, after awakening a special physique and joining the Heavenly Sword Sect, an unbridgeable chasm already lay between them.
But Chu Yunfei did not care about any of that.
Whether Situ Shuang'er went to the Heavenly Sword Sect had nothing to do with him.
All that truly mattered now was the true disciple competition in three days.
That Giant Que Sword was the last thing his father had left him.
No matter who stood in his way, he would reclaim the sword with his own hands.