Yunxiaozi Shows His Might

"Clang-!"

A clear sword cry suddenly tore across the sky, and cyan Sword Qi shredded every icicle like a coiling dragon.

Yunxiaozi came riding on a sword, his robes billowing as the spiritual power within a hundred miles froze.

"Outsiders have no right to discipline my Carefree Peak disciple."

His voice was cold and clear as jade falling into a wintry spring, yet it shook everyone present to the core.

Zhong Mingxuan's expression changed drastically. This pressure?

The Body Integration Realm?! How could the Peak Master of a branch peak have such cultivation?!

Feng Zhuo gazed up at his master riding toward him on a sword, the corners of his eyes reddening slightly.

Just then, Ling Shuanghua's flippant voice descended from the sky. "Junior Brother, didn't you know to call for help when you couldn't beat him? If Yushang hadn't sent a communication talisman, were you really going to hold out on your own?"

"I thought..."

Feng Zhuo's voice held a rare note of grievance. "There was only Chu Yunfei..."

"Even one is too many!"

Ye Wuhen arrived close behind, his usually gentle face stern.

At that moment, their eldest senior brother displayed the majesty of his Two-Headed Winged Wolf bloodline. "You treated your life like a joke. You deserve to be punished!"

Feng Zhuo lowered his head and looked at the new cracks in his red jade bracelet. "It won't happen again..." he said sheepishly.

Ye Wuhen's brows knitted tightly. "There had better not be a next time!"

"All right, all right!"

Ling Shuanghua hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, shooting Feng Zhuo a look. "Can't you see Junior Brother is still hurt?"

Feng Zhuo caught her meaning and immediately pretended to cough weakly, swaying slightly.

Seeing this, Ye Wuhen's stern expression softened at once. "Sit down and tend to your wounds. Leave the rest to Master."

"Mm."

Feng Zhuo nodded and turned to Cang Wuya, who had remained by his side since arriving. "Senior Brother, we agreed to challenge Chu Yunfei together after reaching Foundation Establishment. I..."

Cang Wuya shook his head, cutting him off, a cold light flickering in his eyes. "Did he hurt you?"

His slender fingers were already resting on his sword hilt. "I'll avenge you another day."

Meanwhile, Yunxiaozi faced the others.

Ever since the incident a thousand years ago, the Supreme One Divine Sect had deliberately kept Yunxiaozi's presence out of sight.

Zhong Mingxuan had not yet joined the sect a thousand years ago, and Carefree Peak had always kept a low profile. Thus, he had no idea such a person or such a peak existed.

Forcing himself to remain calm, he asked, "Might I ask who you are?"

Yunxiaozi lowered his eyes to the peach branch in his hand, now reduced to ash.

It was, after all, just a branch he had casually snapped off; it could not bear his Sword Intent.

"A nobody."

He answered indifferently, the peach-branch ashes drifting from his fingers on the wind.

At that, a trace of arrogance flashed through Zhong Mingxuan's eyes.

As an inner elder of Taisu Peak, he held a status equal to that of a branch Peak Master. No matter how strong the other man was, surely he would not dare do anything to him.

He was about to ask more when Chu Yunfei bowed first. "Martial Uncle Yunxiaozi, my skills fell short today. I hope Junior Brother Feng will forgive me."

Feng Zhuo said nothing.

Seeing this, Zhong Mingxuan swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

The cold light in Yunxiaozi's eyes grew sharper.

Yushang's message had made everything clear.

Chu Yunfei had tried to attack Feng Zhuo based solely on Su Ruanruan's account, and this elder had dared to hurt his disciple right in front of him!

And now this martial nephew of his wanted to turn the tables and blame the victim?!

"As for the matter between you and your junior sister, Senior Brother Lingxiaozi will decide what to do when we return to the sect."

Yunxiaozi gave Chu Yunfei a cold look, then turned to Feng Zhuo. "A-Zhuo, how many moves did this elder use against you?"

"Three."

"Good. Three moves."

Yunxiaozi spoke as lightly as if he were discussing the weather. "Take three moves from me, and we'll call it even today."

Zhong Mingxuan's face instantly went deathly pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Three moves from a Body Integration Realm True Venerable?!

His legs began trembling of their own accord, and his voice changed pitch. "Y-you wouldn't dare! I'm an inner elder of Taisu Peak! You're nothing but the Peak Master of a branch peak. How dare you administer punishment in private?!"

"You dared to punish my disciple in private, so why wouldn't I dare do the same to you?!"

Yunxiaozi raised his sword fingers slightly, and in an instant, all the Spiritual Qi within a hundred zhang froze.

A strand of Sword Intent, clear as a breeze through a mountain stream, quietly emerged. It carried not the slightest trace of killing intent, yet it instantly froze the blood in Zhong Mingxuan's body.

He frantically summoned every life-saving Law Treasure he had.

A mystic ice shield, a heart-protecting mirror, a substitute puppet...

Spiritual light of every color interwove into a net around him.

Yet when the breeze-like Sword Intent brushed past, it pierced through every layer of defense as though it were thin paper.

I'm going to die!

I'm really going to die!!!

Zhong Mingxuan's pupils shrank to pinpricks, and all color drained from his face.

Never had he felt the breath of death so clearly.

That Sword Intent was plainly as gentle as the wind, yet every inch of his skin stung as though cut by a blade.

"Pfft-"

With a soft sound, Zhong Mingxuan's head parted from his body.

One move!

Just one move!

Every disciple present went pale with shock.

Some fell to their knees, their legs gone weak. Others clapped their hands over their mouths, afraid they would scream.

One personal disciple of the Purple Yang Pill Sect even dropped his folding fan with a clatter, yet did not notice at all.

A Body Integration True Venerable!

Only a Body Integration True Venerable could so easily wipe out a Nascent Soul True Lord who had used every trick at his disposal!

"Th-this..."

Yushang's eyes widened, and she forgot even to breathe.

She had been close friends with Ling Shuanghua for years, yet had never known that this white-bearded martial uncle, who smiled all day long, was a Body Integration Realm True Venerable!

Chu Yunfei's face was just as pale as paper.

He stared fixedly at Yunxiaozi's departing back, his fingertips digging into his palms without his noticing, drawing beads of blood.

"How could this be..."

Chu Yunfei's lips trembled as stormy waves surged in his heart.

This martial uncle, whom he had thought relied entirely on his master's protection, was actually a Body Integration Realm True Venerable?!

What frightened him even more was how decisively and ruthlessly this martial uncle had struck!

"How dare he..."

Chu Yunfei's throat bobbed, his back already drenched in cold sweat.

Zhong Mingxuan had reached the Nascent Soul Peak at only three hundred years old. He was an inner elder whom the Taisu Peak Master held in high regard, and an important connection Chu Yunfei had spent years painstakingly cultivating...

And now, just like that...

He was dead?

Chu Yunfei forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart, his gaze flickering.

What worried him most now was whether Yunxiaozi, that madman, would suddenly change his mind and kill him too!

Only when he saw Yunxiaozi take Feng Zhuo and the others aboard the flying boat, with truly no intention of attacking him, did Chu Yunfei breathe a small sigh of relief.

But an instant later, an even stronger surge of venomous hatred welled up in his heart.

"Nothing but the Peak Master of a branch peak..."

He cursed through gritted teeth in his heart. Does he really think he can do whatever he wants just because he has Integrated Body Cultivation?

The Taisu Peak Master might not be Yunxiaozi's match, but the previous Peak Master, who had been in seclusion for many years, was still alive!

That was someone even the sect master had to treat with deference...

He would see how Carefree Peak dealt with that!

A sinister glint flashed in Chu Yunfei's eyes.

He would repay today's humiliation a hundredfold!

Carefree Peak...

Feng Zhuo...

Just you wait!

A green jade incense burner breathed out the cool fragrance of winter plum blossoms, and the starlight flowing across the bronze floor suddenly froze.

The Jade Slips floating in midair trembled in unison, striking one another with a clear, chime-like sound.

"Young Pavilion Master, the Hidden Dragon Ranking... has changed."

The gray-robed disciple kneeling amid the engraved star tracks swallowed, his knuckles blue-white with shock as he held up a scroll.

Three zhang in front of him, a silver-haired young man who had been calculating the movements of the stars slowly turned around, the ends of his hanging hair tracing tiny streaks of light through the darkness.

"Speak."

"Eightieth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking: Feng Zhuo of Carefree Peak, Supreme One Divine Sect, and the Feng Household of the Western Region."

The gray-robed disciple's voice trembled as the scroll unfurled on its own, its gilded characters floating in the starlight:

"Bone age thirteen, Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation. One day ago, before the exit of the Green Wood Illusion Forest, he soundly defeated Chu Yunfei of the Supreme One Divine Sect, one hundredth on the Hidden Dragon Ranking."

The cool fragrance in the incense burner suddenly roiled violently, and starlight flickered at the young man's fingertips.

He gazed at the illusory image appearing on the scroll.

A red-robed youth strode through thunder and fire that covered the ground, a nine-tailed Calamity Beast stretching out behind him. Scarlet spiritual flames reflected in his eyes, which shone brighter than the stars themselves.