Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian silently watched the center of the sword array.

If his earlier theory wasn’t just the wild imagination of a madman...

Then ”its” sensitive reaction to being observed, combined with this recent spree of spreading sword intent...

”It” wasn’t just hiding—it was growing!

Fu Qian began to understand why he had been tasked with containing this thing.

But if that was truly the case, the situation was worse than he could have ever imagined.

The requirement to complete the mission was to ”destroy the Legacy of the Sword Heart.”

And against a conceptual entity with no physical form, even slaughtering everyone present who had comprehended sword intent might not necessarily ”destroy” it!

...

”Professor Fu.”Within the sword array, Li Weixuan gestured for someone to help Ji Liushuang to the side.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he spoke directly toward Fu Qian’s spot in the shadows.

”I hear you have many opinions on the cultivation philosophy of the Sword Comprehension Institute. Why not take a seat at the front? I would love to hear your critique of the insights I just shared.”

So it was this guy!

The moment Li Weixuan said this, the crowd turned as one to stare into the shadows at Fu Qian.

Many of them had already heard the name Fu Qian.

The earlier spectacle, combined with Li Weixuan’s words just now, quickly allowed them to match the face to the name.

You were so arrogant earlier. Now a demigod has come knocking—what are you going to do?

The onlookers’ appetite for gossip surged. Everyone was dying to see how Fu Qian would respond.

”I’ve benefited immensely. I couldn’t possibly find the words to critique it.”

Facing Li Weixuan’s invitation, Fu Qian delivered this contradictory response without batting an eye, remaining as steady as Mount Tai in his seat.

”There’s no need to go over. I can hear perfectly well from right here.”

...

He was even more arrogant than the rumors said! He couldn’t even be bothered to humor a demigod.

Amid the crowd’s shock, Li Weixuan’s face darkened for the first time, and a wave of angry murmurs rippled through the Sword Comprehension Institute students around him.

Seeing this, even Lanaya shot him a look of helpless exasperation. She couldn’t understand why Fu Qian was so dead set against the Sword Comprehension Institute that he wouldn’t even walk over to exchange a few words.

Even if Li Weixuan was annoyed with you, it wasn’t as if he could attack you in front of a live audience, right?

That actually wasn’t a guarantee at all!

Reading Lanaya’s eyes, Fu Qian knew exactly what she was thinking.

He remained completely unmoved, however, narrowing his eyes as he studied the reactions of every single person within the sword array.

On the surface, this scene seemed perfectly normal. Li Weixuan had heard about the earlier incident and simply wanted to demand an explanation on behalf of the Sword Comprehension Institute.

But looking at it from ”its” perspective, this could just as easily be interpreted as ”its” growing anxiety in response to his constant observation.

After failing to plant a tail by his side, ”it” was now trying to lure him over directly with malicious intent.

If he actually walked over there, he might instantly find himself trapped inside an Immortal Execution Great Array!

Raising a hand to silence the crowd, Li Weixuan clearly had no intention of letting a proper teaching session devolve into a farce.

Forcing down his displeasure, he was about to return to the Sword Pavilion to resume his lecture when someone among the students stood up.

Yuan Xin, who had just comprehended sword intent, glared at Fu Qian with a continuous sneer.

”Professor Fu, I have no idea where this inexplicable sense of superiority of yours comes from!”

”Do you know what I think of the Apocalypse Branch?”

”To me, you people who just directly awaken your abilities will never understand the true essence of power.”

”Compared to you, every bit of progress made by every single person in the Sword Comprehension Institute is the hard-won result of their own cultivation and comprehension.”

”We experience the essence of power, constantly engaging in trial and error, constantly improving, and carving out our own paths to godhood.”

”As far as I’m concerned, that is the true path. In comparison, all of you are nothing but gamblers who won the lottery...”

Inviting the gentleman into the urn didn’t work, so now it’s switching to goading?

Looking at the impassioned Yuan Xin, Fu Qian didn’t doubt the authenticity of his rage for a second.

Yet that was exactly what made ”it” so terrifying.

Whether it was Li Weixuan, Yuan Xin, or even Ji Liushuang, everyone involved was completely oblivious to their own abnormalities. They were all just doing what they ”wanted” to do.

”First of all, what you just said offended at least half the Academy.”

Fu Qian replied methodically.

”Secondly, it seems you, a distinguished disciple of the true path, still can’t beat a lottery ticket like me?”

...

Actually, there was one more point.

Looking at the speechless Yuan Xin, Fu Qian silently appended a thought.

I can’t speak for the others, but there’s a high probability your sword intent wasn’t comprehended by your ”self” at all.

Combined with his earlier theories, Fu Qian had every reason to suspect that in order to grow, ”it” was hosting a massive sword intent giveaway.

That was the only way to explain why the number of people comprehending sword intent had spiked so noticeably over the past two years, and why its power was so absurdly immense, easily allowing them to unleash lethality far above their tier.

...

Fu Qian’s response made Yuan Xin’s blood boil.

He shot a look at Ji Liushuang through gritted teeth, his expression twisting into extreme disdain.

”Do you see this? This scoundrel is the man you wanted to take as a teacher.”

Up until now, whether out of wariness of her family background or a faint trace of admiration, he had always treated Ji Liushuang with the utmost politeness.

Having mocked her just now, he was surprised at his own rudeness, yet he also felt a faint sense of thrill.

Unfortunately for him, Ji Liushuang’s eyes were utterly vacant. She acted as if she hadn’t heard him at all.

Lanaya furrowed her brow. She pitied Ji Liushuang’s current state and felt that Yuan Xin had taken things a step too far.

Still, young people were impulsive by nature, and Fu Qian’s ability to mock people was truly top-tier. It was understandable.

But why wasn’t Li Weixuan doing anything to stop this?

Lanaya deliberately turned her head to check, only to find Li Weixuan’s face as grim as still water. His gaze was darting back and forth between her and Fu Qian.

”Professor Lanaya.”

A moment later, Li Weixuan spoke up, acting as though he had just remembered something.

”What is it?”

Hearing him call her name, Lanaya assumed he had something to say and subconsciously leaned closer.

But in that exact split second, an intuition of extreme danger surged in her heart.

A terrifying, unparalleled mass of sword qi blasted toward her, carrying the devastating momentum of shattering mountains and rivers.

Lanaya was completely caught off guard. She never imagined that Li Weixuan would actually attack her.

However, she was a veteran Mid-Tier Transcendent with years of profound accumulation.

Ambushed so suddenly, multicolored lights flashed across Lanaya’s body. Her defensive items activated passively, continuously neutralizing several bursts of sword qi.

Seizing this brief sliver of survival, she threw everything she had into dodging backward, attempting to escape the sword qi’s area of effect.

But a moment later, a cold, sinister aura suddenly materialized, blocking her path of retreat.

This strand of sword qi wasn’t particularly strong. Normally, it wouldn’t pose a threat to her at all. But at this precise moment, it caused her movements to stagnate.

Stalled for just that instant, Lanaya was once again swept up in Li Weixuan’s sword qi.

Beneath that unstoppable sword qi, her body was ripped apart inch by inch.

Why?

Consumed by massive bewilderment, Lanaya’s blood-filled eyes stared fixedly at Li Weixuan as her body slowly collapsed to the ground.

Under an ambush at the Demigod Level, the life of the head of the Disciplinary Department was completely extinguished.