Who dares let my disciple, Li Baiyi's disciple, be treated as lowly?

Silence lingered in the room for a while.

Lin Tian's voice rang out again.

"I won't be able to hunt for meat these next few days. Stay safe."

Ling Qiuzi's beautiful eyes flickered with surprise.

Since Lin Tian had moved here, this was the first time he had shown concern for her.

"Thank you, young master."

Her bright eyes shone as her red lips parted.

A trace of tender charm surfaced on her lovely face.

Inside the room.

The thunder around Lin Tian gradually subsided.

The skin covering his body had been completely renewed.

Black hair draped over his shoulders, his handsome, sword-like brows slanting upward above narrow black eyes that held a keen edge.

He was cold, proud, and aloof, yet overbearing.

The transformation wrought by the Kui Bull's essence soul had made his features even more refined.

Within his body.

Ancient power surged ceaselessly, reverberating through every inch and fraction of his flesh.

Lin Tian's blood was also transforming as the Kui Bull's thunder power fused with the thunder he had taken from the Thunder Bull.

The power of thunder seeped deep into his marrow.

It gradually became Lin Tian's innate talent.

Boom!

A savage aura surged outward in an instant.

A layer of shackles abruptly vanished.

The transformation of his physique had allowed him to break directly through the first level of the Sword Heart Body Refining Art.

Sword Grinding!

Your physique has grown stronger. Your sword's attack damage increases by ten percent.

The familiar voice rang out again.

The Heavenly Sword's damage had increased by ten percent.

Lin Tian had not received this effect for a long time.

Naturally, he was delighted now.

One night passed, yet Lin Tian had absorbed less than a tenth of the Kui Bull essence soul's power.

To absorb all of it.

Lin Tian estimated that it would take at least a dozen days.

This would be a prolonged process.

Fortunately, the pain he had experienced at the beginning was now gone.

Lin Tian had begun to adapt to the fusion of the Kui Bull's blood essence.

Three days later.

Beyond the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom.

In a small world.

Clouds rose from the peaks, reflecting the rosy light, while a silver waterfall hung high at the edge of the sky and plunged into a long river.

Several immortal cranes passed through the colorful mist, soaring freely through the cloudy heavens.

At a glance, there was no end in sight.

Nine steep, extraordinary peaks stood between heaven and earth.

Like nine swords thrust toward the heavens, they stretched across the landscape, not to be trifled with.

On one of them.

Figures were scarce amid clear waters and verdant slopes.

Li Shangjue rode his sword down to the foot of the mountain, not daring to fly it among the slopes.

Caught between two great Kui Bulls that day, Li Shangjue had nearly died in the Sword Capital.

Fortunately, Zhantai Ling, fifth on the Azure Sword Ranking, had arrived on her Sword Intent and helped him fend off the enemies.

Otherwise, he truly would have perished there.

"Little Jue, you could have just come. Why bring gifts?"

An aged voice came from all directions, suddenly ringing out.

Li Shangjue's expression tightened, and he understood at once.

He hurriedly took roast chickens wrapped in lotus leaves and fine wine from his spatial ring.

Everyone in the Sword Sect knew that the junior martial uncle of the Seventh Peak loved roast chicken.

"Good, good."

The aged voice rang out again, and the roast chickens and wine vanished from Li Shangjue's hands.

When he looked again, an old man dressed in white was sitting on a stone chair nearby, unwrapping the lotus leaves around a roast chicken.

The old man had a head of white hair and a delighted expression as he concentrated on removing the lotus leaves.

There was not the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power around him.

He did not look particularly slovenly, but he was exceedingly ordinary.

Li Shangjue parted his lips slightly, then cupped his hands and said:

"Martial Uncle, the Azure Sword Stele shattered."

The old man in white took a bite of chicken, smacked his lips, and paused briefly.

"So it shattered. That thing wasn't much good anyway. Back then, I wanted to hide my abilities and play the pig to eat the tiger. But the moment I left the mountain, the entire Great Qin Immortal Kingdom knew I was the foremost sword prodigy."

"Tell me, if I couldn't play the pig to eat the tiger, what fun was there in leaving the mountain and roaming the world? If nobody offended me, how could I shock the world?"

Completely unconcerned, the old man stripped the meat off a drumstick in one bite, grease coating his mouth as he paid no heed to appearances.

Li Shangjue raised his brows slightly and said:

"We sword cultivators cut down whoever we wish. Why hide our abilities?"

"Forcing yourself to show off is too deliberate. How could that compare to cutting someone down with a single strike after they provoke you? Hic!"

Li Baiyi choked and hurriedly poured a mouthful of wine down his throat.

"It was all that Azure Sword Stele's fault. I wanted to slash it apart years ago."

"This wine is no good. It'll have to do."

Li Shangjue's mouth twisted.

"Martial Uncle, walking the path of invincibility feels wonderful too."

Li Baiyi shot Li Shangjue a disdainful glance.

"In swordsmanship alone, you're only fourth on the Azure Sword Ranking, and you're telling me you want to walk the path of invincibility? How embarrassing. You're such an embarrassment to our Sword Sect. Ah."

Li Shangjue froze, a trace of desolation spreading over his face.

At that moment, he wanted to leave outright.

After thinking for a long while, he still spoke to Li Baiyi, who was eating and drinking heartily:

"Martial Uncle, before the Azure Sword Stele shattered, I saw that a new prodigy had emerged."

"What? You have more roast chicken? Then hurry and take it out," Li Baiyi said indistinctly through a mouthful of food.

A trace of anger rose in Li Shangjue's heart.

"His name is Lin Tian."

"If you've got it, hurry and take it out. Get your martial uncle some more wine too. Learn from me and be generous. Don't buy cheap stuff next time."

Li Shangjue took a deep breath and raised his voice a little.

"He has an innate sword heart."

Clack!

The wine bottle fell to the ground. Li Baiyi froze, his eyes widening and his breathing quickening.

Li Shangjue sneered inwardly, but remained composed as he said:

"Martial Uncle, I'll go buy you some wine. I'll be right back."

With that, he made to leave.

"Li Shangjue!"

A peculiar power suddenly welled up, and the entire Seventh Peak seemed to tremble.

A rift suddenly opened in the layers of cloud, and brilliant sunlight streamed through it.

The sunlight filtered through the overlapping leaves like threads of golden sand.

Li Shangjue stopped and looked back with a faint smile at the anxious-looking old man.

"Martial Uncle, I'm going to buy you wine."

Li Baiyi's brows lifted. He hurriedly stood up and laughed.

"Little Jue, let's talk about that Lin Tian."

Li Shangjue's smile faded, and this time he spoke directly:

"Martial Uncle, I saw it with my own eyes. There can be no mistake. The Azure Sword Stele bore the words 'innate sword heart'!"

Hearing those words again, Li Baiyi was dumbstruck, as though someone had struck him over the head with a club.

"Where is he? Little Jue, tell me!"

Li Shangjue nodded and said:

"The circumstances were somewhat unusual, so I didn't verify it personally. At the time, I only found out that Lin Tian was a lowly young master of the Lin Lineage in Heavenly Sword City."

"Lowly?"

Li Baiyi's eyes abruptly narrowed.

"Who dares let my disciple, Li Baiyi's disciple, be treated as lowly?"

"What audacity!"

Boom!

A terrifying sword light suddenly shot into the heavens, and the entire expanse of heaven and earth shook.

Within the Sword Capital, all the disciples abruptly froze.

Buzzz!

The swords in their hands suddenly rang out as though beyond their control.

Boom!

Ten thousand streaks of sword light burst from the Seventh Peak and soared into the clouds.

It was as though the sovereign of swords had set out.

A white-robed figure flashed past.

"Ancestor Li has left the mountain!"

"Junior Martial Uncle has finally come out! What caught his attention?"

"Such powerful swordsmanship. When will we ever be like Junior Martial Uncle?"

"Hahaha, you've certainly got ambition!"

In a flash, ten days had passed.

Blood Town.

Inside a courtyard.

Casually dressed, Hongyu lay languidly on a rocking chair.

Her long skirt trailed along the ground, seemingly not covering her body completely.

Her mature, exquisitely curved figure was exposed beyond her clothing from time to time.

Beside her, two handsome men attended her respectfully.

Her crimson lips parted slightly around a grape as she sucked it delicately.

Hongyu spoke:

"Lin Tian hasn't gone out today either?"

"No."

Young Master Bai answered respectfully. Lin Tian had once stabbed him in the waist.

He had recovered over the past few days, but for some reason, the strength in his waist had diminished considerably.

Once Hongyu's favorite, he could now only perform attendant duties.

That was tolerable enough.

Ever since Lin Tian rejected her, Hongyu had remained abstinent.

Over a dozen days, the flush on her face had deepened, and her expression had grown sickly.

Whenever Lin Tian came up each day, a red gleam even lurked within Hongyu's lovely, limpid eyes.

Lin Tian had become her taboo.

The more this was so.

The more Hongyu anticipated the moment when Lin Tian's pill poison erupted and he knelt before her, begging.

At first, the male favorites in the courtyard had even felt somewhat grateful.

But later, they could not help feeling a little jealous of Lin Tian.

Young Master Bai was naturally among them.

He was only in the Body Opening Realm and could not intervene in the struggle over the Sub-Pill at all.

He could only rely on Hongyu for everything.

But although Hongyu was very strong.

But she could not seize too much, either.

So all of Hongyu's male favorites risked being discarded.

In the past, Young Master Bai had been Hongyu's darling.

He would certainly have received a Sub-Pill.

But now his prowess in bed had declined.

And with Lin Tian added to the mix,

he felt his predicament growing increasingly dire.

Just then,

a male servant rushed over in a panic and knelt at Hongyu's feet.

"My lady, Chen Lian is dead. A few of us went hunting today and found his body."

Hongyu froze briefly, then instantly looked ready to weep.

"Chen Lang is dead?"

As she spoke, a trail of clear tears ran down her face.

"Chen Lang was so extraordinarily handsome, like a jade tree standing in the wind, yet now he has left me."

Hongyu's voice was soft and sweet. Even in her present grief, she still gave off a seductive charm.

"My lady, this place is extremely dangerous. Deaths and injuries are commonplace. Please restrain your grief, Lady Hongyu."

Young Master Bai consoled her with a sorrowful expression.

Inwardly, however, he sneered.

Chen Lian had been his formidable rival.

Naturally, he had single-handedly orchestrated his death.

Hongyu never went out at all in her daily life.

She was crying now as though she mourned all creation, but in a little while, she would not even bother looking at Chen Lian's corpse.

So Young Master Bai was not worried at all.

Sure enough, after crying for a while,

Hongyu stopped and used spiritual power to disperse the tear tracks on her face.

She said lightly,

"Bury him."

The servant acknowledged her order and hurried away.

Young Master Bai chuckled inwardly, the last trace of nervousness instantly dissipating.

But just then, Hongyu turned her gaze toward him.

"Bai Lang, did you kill Chen Lang because you were worried I wouldn't grant you a Sub-Pill in the future?"

Young Master Bai froze, then his eyes widened.

His body shuddered with fright, his legs went weak, and he dropped straight to his knees.

"My lady, I... deserve to die. I was jealous... of Chen Lian. Please spare my life!"

His voice was hoarse. He could not believe Hongyu had exposed him just like that.

Hongyu was an extremely conceited person.

Once she decided something, she would stand by it even if she was wrong.

So arguing would only be courting death.

Hongyu glanced at him.

"At least you're quick about it."

As she spoke, she gazed languidly toward the horizon.

"Things are growing more and more tedious. Only Lin Tian can interest me a little."

Young Master Bai pressed his head deep against the ground.

He trembled all over, his heart filled with terror and horror.

"I originally thought I could wait a month for Lin Tian, but..."

As Hongyu spoke, her eyes filled with bashfulness.

"Go fetch Lin Tian. As long as he's willing to come, I'll spare your life."

"Thank you, my lady."

Young Master Bai's voice trembled. Hongyu's words exploded like a bomb in his mind.

In an instant, Young Master Bai found a way to stay alive.

Then he shakily rose to his feet and left the courtyard.

Hongyu watched his retreating figure, the light in her eyes growing increasingly strange.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

Inside the courtyard,

Ling Qiuzi brought the roasted meat to the stone table.

With Lin Tian absent these past few days, she and Qingcheng needed much less food.

The food from a single hunt could last her and Qingcheng several days.

Although entering the forest was indeed somewhat dangerous,

Ling Qiuzi had discovered the corpse of a Demon Pig killed by a sword in the forest.

Judging by its wounds, it had probably been killed yesterday.

Delighted, Ling Qiuzi had brought the Demon Pig back to the courtyard.

This way, they would not need to enter the forest to hunt again for a dozen or so days.

"Wow, that smells so good."

Qingcheng ran to the stone table, drooling.

"I found several kinds of herbs in the forest today, so it smells a little better."

Ling Qiuzi spoke with a smile.

Her beautiful eyes involuntarily turned toward Lin Tian's tightly shut door.

Ten days had passed, and the sounds from the room were growing fainter and fainter.

Yet Ling Qiuzi could clearly sense that the presence coming from inside was growing more and more terrifying.

She remembered that Lin Tian should have been in the Body Opening Realm, just like her.

But that terrifying, suffocating presence could not possibly have come from someone in the Body Opening Realm.

Young Master Lin may have advanced.

As Ling Qiuzi thought this, a smile rippled across her lovely, delicate face.

Just then, a sudden clamor arose outside the courtyard gate.

Ling Qiuzi's heart tightened, and she hurriedly stood up.

Five or six people stood outside the courtyard gate.

One of them was Young Master Bai.

"Brothers, you must capture Lin Tian unharmed. Once you succeed, I'll certainly put in a few good words for you before my lady."

Young Master Bai spoke with a smile.

These were the helpers he had found over the course of the afternoon.

Two were in the Mystic Pill Realm, while the remaining three were in the Body Opening Realm.

He certainly did not have that much clout himself.

But once he mentioned Hongyu's illustrious name, things had become much simpler.