On the square in front of Guanlan Pavilion, the grand spectacle of ten thousand fluttering banners and the roaring crowd had already vanished.
The massive entrance ceremony area was now so empty it was nearly desolate. Only a few Mohist Sect deacons remained behind the registration desk, listlessly flipping through thick ledgers and files.
Amidst this bleakness, two figures rushed from the end of the main street in a rather undignified manner.
The one in front was Gu Chengming of the Wenjian Sect. His clothes were tidy, but thin beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, and his pace clearly exceeded the bounds of a normal hurry.
The one behind him was wrapped in a grey hooded cloak so oversized it was almost comical. The brim was pulled low, completely concealing her face and her overly conspicuous white hair, leaving only a glimpse of her chin.
With the hem of the cloak fluttering wildly as she ran, she looked exactly like a mushroom swept along by the wind.
This was the most talked-about third realm cultivator in the dynasty and his body-tempering technique that had materialized less than two hours ago.
"Emperor Gu, are we late?" Emperor Bai's energetic voice drifted out from beneath the cloak.
"Emperor Bai, don't call me that name for now."
"Oh." Emperor Bai was obedient for half a breath. "Then Gu Chengming, are we late?"
The two skidded to a halt in front of the registration desk.
The Mohist Sect deacon behind the desk looked up, expressionlessly scanning the panting Gu Chengming before glancing at Emperor Bai behind him.
"Wenjian Sect?"
"Yes," Gu Chengming cupped his hands. "Gu Chengming, a disciple of the Huiyuan Gate, leading the team. Due to an urgent matter, we missed the entrance ceremony and have come to register late."
The deacon flipped through the register, ticked a box next to Gu Chengming's name, and then jerked his chin toward Emperor Bai. "And this is?"
Gu Chengming was well-prepared. "An accompanying disciple of the Wenjian Sect. She wasn't included in the official list earlier due to certain reasons. Please add her to the record."
He handed over a pre-prepared identity jade token. This was a spare slot he had hurriedly obtained from Elder Han Zhe before leaving. The Wenjian Sect hadn't used their full quota for the competition, so slipping one person in wasn't difficult.
The deacon took the jade token and performed a routine check of the spiritual energy imprint. After confirming it was correct, he nodded.
"You two just need to inject your spiritual energy into these tokens. The entrance to the secret realm is in the teleportation array behind me." He paused and added, "The disciples of the various sects entered in batches half an hour ago. Once you enter, you will be randomly dropped into an area corresponding to your realm. Just find your fellow disciples then."
Gu Chengming took two brand-new jade tokens and handed one to Emperor Bai.
Emperor Bai reached out from under the cloak to take it, turned it over a few times, and then leaned close to Gu Chengming's ear to whisper, "What is this thing for?"
"You'll know once you're in the secret realm."
The deacon cleared his throat nearby, seemingly feeling it necessary to fulfill his final duty.
"Wait a moment, you two. Let me briefly summarize the rules of this secret realm grand competition once more."
Gu Chengming wanted to say it wasn't necessary because they were in a hurry, but the deacon had already started speaking. His speed was quite fast, clearly reciting a standard script he had repeated countless times.
"Inside the secret realm, the true bodies of all cultivators will be protected by the realm's source array. Those who enter are merely projections of the soul and image. Even if you suffer heavy injuries or 'die,' you will only be expelled from the secret realm without harming your life in the physical world." The deacon flipped a page in his notes and continued reading.
"Therefore, there are no forbidden moves in the secret realm. You may all use your full strength without worry."
Gu Chengming nodded. This rule was similar to the logic of the Floating Heaven Profound God Mirror; it was essentially a safe sandbox where one could fight without restraint. However, the next part began to make his brow furrow.
"The secret realm space is vast and strictly divided into areas based on cultivation realms. Third realm cultivators are dropped into third realm areas, fourth realm elders into fourth realm high-risk areas, and so on. No crossing boundaries is permitted."
"A large number of 'historical projections' are scattered throughout the periphery and the various folded spaces. These are all famous great cultivators and peerless geniuses of past generations, replicated from the memories of the secret realm's spiritual veins. They each wield their famous ultimate techniques and evolve within the world."
"Participants can observe the moves and sword intent of these projections at the periphery to aid their cultivation, however—"
He glanced at Gu Chengming.
"If you are confident in your strength, you may also directly challenge a historical projection. The winner can absorb the essence of the dao laws they condense and obtain a generous amount of points."
"Points are the sole metric for this grand competition. Everyone will have their current points displayed above their heads. Defeating other participants allows you to directly plunder most of their points."
Gu Chengming's expression began to turn subtle.
"Furthermore, there are evacuation array nodes randomly scattered throughout the secret realm, which allow you to safely take out your points and insights after materializing them. If you are too greedy and wander the wilderness with a massive amount of points, you will lose everything if you are intercepted and killed by a master."
The deacon closed his notebook and added a final, business-like sentence: "Those are all the rules. I wish you both good fortune in battle."
...Why is it 'loot, fight, and extract' again?
The Tianque Secret Realm used this model, and now the sect grand competition secret realm used it too. Did the designers of this game's secret realms only know this one trick?
Gu Chengming glanced at Emperor Bai beside him. The girl under the cloak was playing with the jade token, her eyes peering curiously through the gap in the hood, completely unaware of what kind of place she was about to be thrown into. He opened his mouth, wanting to tell her to stay close to him once they were inside, but on second thought, given Emperor Bai's personality, saying such a thing probably wouldn't make a difference.
Complaining aside, the rules were set. He injected spiritual energy into the jade token, and Emperor Bai followed suit.
Both jade tokens lit up with a faint blue light, and the teleportation array beneath their feet activated.
The light suddenly intensified, swallowing their vision.
At the last moment, Emperor Bai gripped Gu Chengming's sleeve tightly, her strength so great she nearly tore his outer robe off.
...
The teleportation process was short. Emperor Bai's landing was a bit more clumsy than his; she stumbled for two steps before steadying herself. The hood slipped to the back of her head during the impact, revealing her striking white hair that was particularly eye-catching in the sunlight.
No, there was no sunlight.
Gu Chengming realized the problem the moment he opened his eyes.
The sky above was a heavy, dark red. There was no sun, no moon, and no clouds. Only a layer of spiritual pressure, so thick it felt nearly solid, hung low like a leaden curtain, shrouding the entire land in a stifling gloom.
The ground beneath them was grey-black, its surface covered in a crisscrossing network of gorges.
Those gorges weren't caused by natural weathering. The cut of every crack was too neat, and the edges still held the lingering resonance of sword intent that had yet to dissipate.
Gu Chengming instinctively looked down at the gorge nearest to him. Standing behind him, Emperor Bai also noticed the anomaly.
He looked up, past the gorges at his feet, and scanned the terrain ahead.
The wasteland stretched endlessly, covered in ruins. Several carcasses of beasts so massive they made one's skin crawl were scattered within sight. Each one maintained its final posture—some arched as if to pounce, others with heads raised in a roar—but without exception, they had all been decapitated. The cuts were as smooth as mirrors, without a hint of hesitation. It was the clean efficiency of a single-strike kill.
And beyond these beast remains, a half-collapsed stone tablet stood lonely at the end of the wasteland.
The ancient seal script characters on the tablet flickered with a faint luminescence under the dark red sky. Gu Chengming narrowed his eyes and identified the characters one by one.
—Fallen Immortal Abyss.
Wait, wasn't the plan for third realm disciples to just rat around the periphery?
How did he get sent to the core area?!
【《Red Dust Phantom Step》 said solemnly: This is not an area third realm cultivators should set foot in. I fear something went wrong with the teleportation array.】
Gu Chengming had the same thought. Whether it was a malfunction of the array itself or the man in the moon-white brocade robe had tampered with the secret realm, the most urgent matter was to leave this fourth realm area.
He could indeed walk tall in a third realm area, but the spiritual pressure of a fourth realm area, the level of historical projections, and even the fourth realm cultivators he might encounter were all things he couldn't face head-on right now.
He quickly looked around, trying to find any passage that might lead to a lower-tier area. Every direction of the wasteland showed the same grey-black surface and crisscrossing gorges; there were no traces of teleportation nodes.
A scarlet gale, mixed with choking dust, whistled in from the distance. Visibility was very low. Never mind finding a path; even identifying directions was difficult. Gu Chengming frowned, planning to summon a flying sword to search from the sky, when his peripheral vision suddenly caught something strange.
Looking into the distance, about a hundred feet away at the end of the wasteland, the void began to distort without warning.
The grey-black sand flying through the air suddenly froze at the edge of the distortion, and the scarlet gale stopped whistling at the same moment.
Then, a figure emerged from the distorted void.
It was a phantom figure with its back to them.
It wore a tattered, extremely ancient sword robe. The star chart once embroidered on the fabric had mostly faded, leaving only a few barely identifiable points of light, like the last dying stars in the night sky.
Around the phantom, hundreds of flying swords circled.
No, they couldn't be called flying swords.
Those things were more like the remains of flying swords; every single one was broken or twisted. But even so, the sword intent emitted by those hundreds of broken swords as they slowly rotated in the air merged into a terrifying pressure that made Gu Chengming's skin crawl.
—A historical projection.
Gu Chengming rapidly calculated the possibility of escape. The opponent's back was toward them, and it seemed they hadn't yet—
Just as he thought this, the phantom's head moved, like a piece of withered wood swaying inadvertently in the wind.
Immediately after, the rotation trajectories of the hundreds of broken swords around the phantom all changed at once. Killing intent was revealed.
Every path of retreat was sealed tight the moment the killing intent erupted.
A hundred feet ahead, a hundred feet behind, and a hundred feet to each side.
A death trap centered on the sword immortal phantom, with him and Emperor Bai as the targets, closed silently in less than a breath.
Only one thought remained in Gu Chengming's mind.
—Seriously, how did I get cornered at the spawn point by a BOSS again?
The white-haired girl stood half a step behind Gu Chengming. Her hood had long since fallen away. She cracked her knuckles, the joints making a crisp sound.
"The first battle of This Emperor's materialization should be against an opponent of this level."
"Emperor Gu, feel free to leave your back to me!"
Looking at her side profile, which was almost too serious, Gu Chengming couldn't tell if what he felt was touched or a headache.
The sword immortal phantom had completely turned around. A pair of ghostly blue sword flames burned within its hollow eyes. Hundreds of broken swords vibrated simultaneously, letting out a low hum.
The moment the sword immortal phantom raised its hand, Gu Chengming moved.
Ten flying swords erupted from his body, weaving into a seamless Tenfold Sword Array in the air within a split second.
At the same time, the Hehuan Sect Sword Domain unfolded without reservation.
The unique laws belonging to the Red Dust sword path spread forward like an invisible curtain of water, attempting to delay the enemy's fighting spirit, hoping to slow the fourth realm phantom's killing intent by even half a beat.
But then, a vast and deathly aura erupted from within the phantom. A greyish light diffused from its body, suddenly condensing into a sword domain in mid-air that looked like withered bones and felt like rotting wood.
The spiritual energy of any living being that stepped into it would become viscous and stagnant, as if thrown into a swamp of decay. More terrifyingly, the invisible laws in Gu Chengming's Hehuan Sect Sword Domain that influenced emotions were being corroded and stripped away at a visible rate under the erosion of this deathly aura.
This fourth realm phantom had also awakened a sword domain!
Under the clash of sword domains, the ten flying swords trembled violently at the intersection. The array patterns flickered unsteadily as they barely maintained their operation. Gu Chengming secretly groaned. Although he knew he could kill across realms into the fourth realm, he had never actually tested just how far he could go.
Even among true fourth realm cultivators, this phantom would be top-tier. While his Tenfold Sword Array was exquisite, it was still a bit insufficient before this opponent.
Gu Chengming controlled the sword array to struggle in the fight, trying to find a single opening in that seemingly flawless offensive.
Then he saw Emperor Bai. The white-haired girl's eyes were locked onto the phantom ahead, ready to strike.
Then, as if sharing a telepathic connection, Emperor Bai took over the moment Gu Chengming's offensive slowed.
Bang!
Fist met sword qi, and an airwave exploded. Emperor Bai was shaken back two steps, but she immediately met it with another punch.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several consecutive punches followed. Every punch was a head-on collision, her fighting style savage to the extreme, with more openings than one could count.
Gu Chengming frowned as he watched from behind. In a normal duel, any third realm peak sword cultivator could have seized at least thirty of those openings to kill her.
The problem was that these openings weren't openings for Emperor Bai at all—because she could take the hits.
The phantom's sword qi occasionally sliced across her forearms, shoulders, or waist, but instead of the sound of flesh tearing, there was only a crisp ding.
Gu Chengming noticed this detail, but there was no time to delve into it. Emperor Bai's frantic frontal assault was truly sharing a massive amount of the pressure. The phantom was forced to divert part of its offensive to deal with this rampaging white-haired madwoman, and the counter-shock on the Tenfold Sword Array was visibly reduced by twenty percent.
During the collision and crushing of the two sword domains, a brief stagnation occurred every few breaths. At the moment the corrosive power of the Withered Bone domain and the soothing laws of the Hehuan Sect domain neutralized each other, a gap of less than half a breath appeared in the phantom's defense.
"Emperor Bai!" Gu Chengming shouted. "Next move—I defend, you attack!"
Emperor Bai heard the call, and her eyes lit up in that instant.
Gu Chengming retreated violently. At the same time, he poured all his divine sense into the Tenfold Sword Array without reservation.
The ten flying swords rapidly changed formation in mid-air. The sword array, which had been spread out as a plane, connected end-to-end within a breath, transforming into a three-dimensional cage flowing with yin and yang array patterns. With a clack, it forcibly locked the sword immortal phantom and its Withered Bone domain inside.
The phantom was enraged. Hundreds of broken swords shot out simultaneously, striking the walls of the cage.
The array patterns cracked, and the spiritual light flickered.
It wouldn't hold for long—at most one breath—but that was enough.
The bluestone slabs beneath Emperor Bai's feet shattered, and cracks spread several yards around her.
In the next instant, she vanished from her spot, turning into a white afterimage that crashed straight into the crumbling flying sword cage.
Then, punches fell like rain.
The void let out a dull boom—not the sound of a spiritual energy explosion, but the resonance of space itself under the impact of that terrifying force. A gold blood qi so dense it was nearly solid surged on Emperor Bai's fists. Wherever her punch passed, even the surrounding air was compressed into a visible shockwave.
Gu Chengming was all too familiar with that power.
—"Emperor Bai, Help Me."
The supreme punch that required him to exhaust all his strength to execute. The active effect of the CG that belonged to his trump card level was currently being used by Emperor Bai as a basic attack.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang!
The power of every punch was exactly the same as the first. No charging, no intervals, and no signs of decay. Accompanying every punch was the blood qi phantom of an ancient emperor. Punch shadows layered upon each other like a torrential downpour. The terrifying blood qi fluctuations even sent the mostly shattered flying sword cage flying in all directions.
Watching from behind, Gu Chengming's skin crawled.
Holy crap, so the Endless War God was actually a buff?!
Was I the one holding Emperor Bai back all this time?!
—Emperor Bai, are you really a Heavenly Emperor?
The phantom didn't fail to counterattack. On the contrary, after that one breath of being trapped in the cage, the phantom had broken free. Those hundreds of broken swords were frantically retaliating while Emperor Bai was delivering her close-range output. One sharp sword qi after another from the fourth realm sword immortal slashed at Emperor Bai.
Any other third realm cultivator would have been instantly shredded by just one of them.
But when those sword qi landed on Emperor Bai, the sounds they made were ding, ding, ding-ding.
In the midst of his shock, a flash of inspiration hit Gu Chengming's brain, and all the clues connected at once.
Emperor Bai's status panel was locked by the system because she had moved beyond the technique form and become a living person. But the system locked his access to the technique, not the attributes of the technique itself.
Her body was the complete materialization of the Hundred Bones Resonating body-tempering technique.
In other words, Emperor Bai's current state was being permanently under the passive enhancement of the second stage of the 《Primal Emperor Art》 CG—the "Emperor State."
And "Emperor Bai, Help Me" wasn't a powerful move she needed to charge up; it was a power she already possessed.
Basic attacks are ultimates. Normal state is the peak.
Gu Chengming sucked in a breath of cold air.
—No wonder the system locked the panel.
If it didn't, wouldn't he essentially have a humanoid nuclear bomb and a maxed-out technique at the same time?
Designer: This won't do. This is way too unbalanced.
Given Gu Chengming's stellar performance last season, in order to nerf him, we have temporarily revoked his access to Hundred Bones Resonating and instead separated her as an independent entity.
—Wait, why are there so many bugs after separating her?
Who the hell gave Emperor Bai such high stats?
If there really was a designer, Gu Chengming likely shared the same thought.
After all, judging from the current battle, the phantom probably had no chance to escape.
Every punch carried wind, every punch boomed. Every strike was a full-power hit of equal strength, solidly smashing into the phantom's torso.
The phantom's starry sword robe shattered and drifted away in the wind from the punches. Those hundreds of broken swords surrounding its body were sent flying and shattered one by one in the shockwaves.
More and more cracks began to appear on the phantom. Spiritual light leaked from the fissures, like a piece of porcelain that had finally reached its limit after being repeatedly hammered.
Emperor Bai twisted her waist and hips in the air, gathering all her strength into her right fist. A heavy punch, carrying a sonic boom and emperor qi, smashed ruthlessly into the phantom's chest.
Then—
The sword immortal phantom exploded amidst the storm of Emperor's fist shadows, turning into a sky full of pure points of light.
The points of light were like a sudden meteor shower, drifting in all directions from the center of the phantom's collapse.
The essence of the dao laws and insights belonging to this ancient sword immortal contained within those points of light fluttered down. Part of them merged into Emperor Bai's jade token, and part of them flew into Gu Chengming's jade token from dozens of yards away.
Both jade tokens emitted a bright light simultaneously.
Gu Chengming glanced down at the point total jumping on his jade token and raised an eyebrow.
—The point yield from killing a fourth realm historical projection was indeed incomparable to the third realm area.
The violent gale gradually calmed down.
Deathly silence returned to the dark red wasteland, except for the countless craters and shattered stones on the ground, as well as the remains of those broken swords scattered about that had completely lost their sword intent.
The points of light in the sky hadn't completely vanished. Fine light fragments slowly drifted down in the windless air, like a silent golden snow.
Gu Chengming stood in place, looking at the white figure ahead.
Emperor Bai stood in the center of the wasteland, her bare feet stepping on the stone slabs she had shattered herself. She slowly withdrew her right fist, her fingers opening one by one. The lingering resonance of the gold blood qi on her fist hadn't completely dissipated, flickering against the backdrop of the light fragments.
The hood had completely fallen off at some point.
Her snow-white hair drifted gently in the windless wasteland. The ends of her hair were stained with a few wisps of dust kicked up during the fight. The sleeves of her training uniform were still rolled up to her elbows, and there were a few faint bruises on her forearms—the only traces left by the fourth realm sword qi.
The girl's back looked quite heroic, but she soon turned her head. Her eyes crossed the falling light fragments and looked straight at Gu Chengming. Facing that golden rain, she revealed a brilliant smile.
"Emperor Gu!"
She called out, her voice carrying a cheerfulness she probably didn't even realize herself:
"Did you see that!"
Gu Chengming looked at the white-haired girl smiling defenselessly in the golden rain and sighed inwardly.
—This is bad. Why does it feel like it's Emperor Bai's turn to unlock my CGs?
...
At the same time.
Deep within the Mohist Sect's main hall in the center of Floating Islet City, the four walls were embedded with dense array patterns on copper plates. Spiritual light flowed continuously through the lines, making the entire space flicker.
In the center floated a water mirror about two people wide. The mirror surface was divided into dozens of images of various sizes. Each frame corresponded to a key spiritual vein node within the secret realm. The images showed lush forests, deep canyons, fire regions with surging flames, and snowfields frozen for ten thousand miles. These were the various areas divided by realm in this sect grand competition's secret realm.
Five Mohist Sect elders sat around the water mirror, each attending to their duties.
The head Grand Elder was named Liu Chongji. He was the highest person in charge of the Mohist Sect's presence in Floating Islet City. His cultivation was in the middle of the fifth realm. His combat strength wasn't particularly outstanding, but his attainments in arrays and creation were extremely deep. Thirty percent of the core array of the Floating Heaven Profound God Mirror came from his hand.
At this moment, Liu Chongji was holding a cup of tea that had already gone cold, his gaze slowly scanning the various frames of the water mirror.
The secret realm had only been open for half an hour, and everything was operating normally.
The disciples of the various sects had finished being deployed in batches. In the third realm area, a few flashes of spiritual light from skirmishes could be seen, but the scale was small. Most of them were young people who had just landed and were tentatively testing each other. The fourth realm area was much quieter; those elders obviously wouldn't expose their strength right away.
Liu Chongji set down his teacup. As the chief engineer of the secret realm array for this competition, seeing his work running smoothly brought him some satisfaction.
But that satisfaction didn't last long.
Hum—!
A frame in the bottom right corner of the water mirror suddenly erupted with an extremely piercing deep red spiritual light. Its brightness was so intense it nearly dyed the entire water mirror the color of blood.
At the same time, the ancient seal script characters marking the area name below the frame were also flashing violently.
—"Fallen Immortal Abyss."
Liu Chongji's hand stopped in mid-air. This warning in the secret realm usually meant someone or something had caused a massive disturbance in that area.
"What's going on?"
Liu Chongji's voice wasn't loud, but the solemnity in his tone made everyone present shudder.
"Reporting to Grand Elder, a historical projection in the Fallen Immortal Abyss has been shattered!"
Liu Chongji's brow furrowed. "Shattered? Which one?"
"The Bone-Withered Sword Immortal."
Deacon Zhao swallowed, as if confirming he hadn't misread the numbers. "Number Grade A-037, the fourth realm ultimate projection 'Bone-Withered Sword Immortal,' was completely obliterated about a few dozen breaths ago."
The Bone-Withered Sword Immortal was no ordinary figure.
In ancient times, there was an era in the cultivation world known by later generations as the "Era of Great Strife." That era was filled with geniuses, and various forces fought incessantly; it was considered the most brilliant chapter in cultivation history.
And the Bone-Withered Sword Immortal could be considered a genius even in that era.
This person came from the Wenjian Sect and was a natural talent, but he had a paranoid temperament. Ordinary sword cultivators spend their entire lives trying to glimpse the threshold of a sword domain in the fifth realm to be considered a peerless talent.
But this person had already mastered a complete sword domain in the fourth realm.
Mastering a complete sword domain in the fourth realm was a rarity in the entire history of cultivation. Even in that Era of Great Strife where geniuses were as common as clouds, the Bone-Withered Sword Immortal definitely belonged to that small group standing at the very top.
Logically, this should have been a phantom that would only be killed by a coalition of elders from certain sects in the later stages of this grand competition.
Liu Chongji was somewhat puzzled but quickly said, "See what happened."
"Yes!"
The water mirror's image flickered a few times, and then the frame of the Fallen Immortal Abyss, which had gone dark, lit up again. The timestamp was rewound to ten-plus minutes ago.
The five Mohist Sect elders leaned in simultaneously.
In the image, the dark red wasteland was as deathly silent and desolate as ever.
The projection of the Bone-Withered Sword Immortal had its back to the camera, wearing tattered starry sword robes, with hundreds of broken swords slowly rotating around its body. That stifling sword intent could be felt even through the water mirror.
Liu Chongji scanned the area map in the corner of the frame. Two small points of light that had just appeared were marked at the entrance of the Fallen Immortal Abyss.
"Only two people broke in?" a Mohist Sect elder beside him whispered.
In the image, the Bone-Withered Sword Immortal projection seemed to have sensed the presence of intruders. It slowly turned, and the rotation trajectories of the hundreds of broken swords changed direction at the same time, converging into a sharp edge pointing toward the edge of the frame.
The camera panned accordingly, finally bringing the two intruders into view.
A man and a woman.
The man wore the standard ceremonial uniform of the Wenjian Sect. His face looked somewhat familiar; Liu Chongji felt like he had seen him somewhere before.
The girl behind him looked even more out of place.
She wasn't wearing protective dharma robes, not even a decent combat suit. She wore a wrinkled white training uniform, was barefoot, and had flying white hair. She looked as if she had just been plucked from her bed and thrown directly onto the battlefield.
The Bone-Withered Sword Immortal started with a terrifying sword waterfall formed by hundreds of broken swords, pouring down toward the two of them like a blanket covering the sky.
This level of indiscriminate area-of-effect attack would turn even an ordinary fourth realm cultivator into a puddle of meat if they didn't summon their natal dharma treasure for full defense, let alone a third realm cultivator.
Then Gu Chengming summoned ten flying swords and simultaneously deployed a sword domain.
"A sword domain? In the third realm?!" Deacon Zhao blurted out, dumbfounded.
The crowd was dazzled, and then the white-haired girl charged forward.
The sword waterfall struck down, but the expected scene of flesh and blood flying didn't happen. Most of the attacks were blocked by Gu Chengming's sword domain. Occasionally, a few stray sword qi slashed across the girl's fair arms, but the sound they made was a crisp ding-ding, like metal striking stone, without even leaving a white mark.
"What kind of body-tempering technique is this?" Deacon Zhao's fingers began to tremble. "Her physical body is resisting the source sword qi of a fourth realm sword immortal?"
In the water mirror, the girl had already charged in front of the Bone-Withered Sword Immortal.
The Mohist Sect elders widened their eyes, trying to see what ultimate technique she would use next.
Then, the girl punched.
No true essence taking shape, no heaven and earth phenomena. It was just an extremely ordinary straight punch. The wind-up, the power, the delivery—the movements were clean and efficient, carrying a simple directness like a street brawl.
Bang!
This punch landed solidly on the Bone-Withered Sword Immortal's chest. The projection was sent sliding back several yards by the punch, and a clear indentation appeared on the starry sword robe.
The Bone-Withered Sword Immortal phantom vibrated, but the girl didn't give it any chance to channel.
Second punch, third punch, fourth punch...
Liu Chongji felt his worldview collapsing.
According to the common sense of the cultivation world, such a powerful killing move would inevitably require a massive amount of spiritual energy and a long charging time. After execution, there should be a long recovery window.
In the image, the battle had reached its conclusion.
The girl's body suddenly paused in mid-air. Her waist exerted force, driving her entire upper body, as she gathered all the Primal Emperor Qi into her right fist.
On the tip of her fist, the gold light was compressed to the extreme, like a miniature sun about to explode.
A punch was thrown!
Boom—!
The light dissipated.
On the dark red wasteland, the phantom of the Bone-Withered Sword Immortal had vanished without a trace, not even a thread remaining.
In its place was a massive circular crater on the ground, forcibly plowed out by the wind from the girl's final punch.
The entire hall instantly fell into a deathly silence. Everyone, who had been guessing whether it was the Taiyi Sword Sect or the Wanfa Sect, now had only one ridiculous thought in their minds.
Which sect had hidden away this peerless general and specifically released her to flip the entire table at this grand competition?!
Just as they thought this, the girl's lips moved in the image. Because the water mirror didn't transmit sound, no one present knew what she said.
But judging from her lip movements, it was likely—
"Emperor Gu, I won!"
Liu Chongji slowly leaned back into his chair, realizing he had stood up at some point. The edge of the teacup he was clutching had a fine crack pinched into it. Beside him, Deacon Zhao's mouth was open, unable to close for a long time.
What kind of mess was this 'Emperor' title?
Then, she looked toward the direction of the image, as if seeing everyone present through the screen.
"In this life, I will definitely not let tragedy repeat itself."
"If anyone dares to stand in our way again, I will kill my way through their nine heavens and ten earths!"
This originally sounded a bit chuunibyou—one might even wonder if the child had gone mad.
But after the Mohist Sect members had just finished watching that battle, a different feeling rose in their hearts.
For some reason, they all felt chills down their spines.
Rate on N.U.
