Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Xiao Chen stared at Cao Yan in silence. For the first time, the man in front of him felt like a stranger.

From the day they’d met, Cao Yan had always been a quiet listener, smiling gently no matter what anyone said. Whenever the group talked things over and Li Guanqi asked for his opinion, Cao Yan would just scratch his nose like a child and say he’d go along with whatever Li Guanqi decided.

Xiao Chen didn’t know what Li Guanqi and Ye Feng meant to Cao Yan, or what the three of them had been through together.

But the Cao Yan before him now, raging like a lion king, exuded a raw authority Xiao Chen had never felt from him before. Xiao Chen could tell that even if he insisted on going back to save the others, Cao Yan would turn and leave without hesitation. But the cost of that choice might be a rift between them that would only widen with time.

Xiao Chen fell silent. In the end, he yielded. “I’ll do as you say, Third Brother.”

Cao Yan nodded and set off at once. Xiao Chen followed close behind.

The Divine Treasure Territory was far from the Daxia Territory. Since they didn’t have time to wait for Meng Jiangchu and the others, the two left behind the spatial coordinates and departed.

Li Changqing and Ye Feng were in dire straits, while Cao Yan and Xiao Chen were desperately racing back to the Daxia Sword Sect. When Meng Jiangchu learned what had happened, he flew into a rage. Flames rose around him, his expression darkening. In a single step, he vanished into the void.

“Lu clan… You have some nerve!”

Buzz!In the Northern Territory of the Azure Cloud Continent, countless cultivators soared through the sky, all eager to witness the Six Territories’ first arena battle, a wager where each side had staked ten thousand years of foundation and heritage. The sky was packed with cultivators, and to maintain order, the Daxia Sword Sect had prepared dozens of massive floating viewing platforms.

The Lu clan, of course, welcomed the spectacle. They wanted to crush the Daxia Sword Sect in front of every powerful cultivator in the Six Territories.

Without quite realizing it, the cultivators in the sky split into two opposing camps. One group gathered to the left of the Daxia Sword Sect, while dozens of massive cloud boats from the Lu clan loomed to the right.

The Azure Cloud Territory Lord, Zhao Xianglu, and the Soaring Heavens Continent Lord, Min Jiuzhou, had arrived as well. Min Jiuzhou was a powerful cultivator who had long since entered the Combined Body Realm; he rarely appeared in the outside world, devoting himself instead to cultivation. Compared to Zhao Xianglu’s worldly shrewdness, he cut a different figure, with a resolute face and an air of calm detachment.

Zhao Xianglu, dressed in green robes, approached Min Jiuzhou with a smile. “Fellow Daoist Min, it’s been many years since we last met.”

Min Jiuzhou, clad in dark cyan robes, merely glanced at him. Folding his sleeves, he sneered. “Zhao Xianglu, it’s been five hundred years, and yet your cultivation is still this low? No wonder even a mere Northern Heavenly King dares to rebel. You’d do well to waste less breath on pleasantries.”

Zhao Xianglu took the sarcasm in stride. Every man had his own ambitions; if Min Jiuzhou saw things differently, there was nothing more to say.

“Brother Min, which side do you favor?”

Min Jiuzhou looked toward the heavily sealed Daxia Sword Sect and sighed softly. “This is the first arena battle, after all. Whatever the reason behind it, I hope the Daxia Sword Sect wins, even if they were the ones who made the Hell Rivers vanish.”

Zhao Xianglu’s pupils dilated slightly. Naturally, he knew about the Hell Rivers. He clasped one hand behind his back and glanced toward the Daxia Sword Sect. “Indeed… all eyes are on this battle. Win or lose, the consequences will be enormous. A victory would do wonders for morale, but if they lose, I fear their five participants will bear the disgrace for the rest of their lives… Well, let’s wait and see. It’s about to begin. The arena is already set.”

The two each conjured a throne and slowly took their seats, saying nothing more.

The Daxia Sword Sect’s leadership had gathered inside the main hall, every face grim. The hall was so silent that one could have heard a pin drop, and the air was suffocatingly heavy.

Suddenly, the jade slip in Li Guanqi’s hand trembled. He stood up abruptly, glaring into the distance. “Bastards! They’re playing dirty!”

Lu Kangnian quickly stood up. “Guanqi, what happened?”

Li Guanqi briefly explained Cao Yan’s message, and the others frowned. Only Cao Yan and Xiao Chen were coming back, which left two of the five battle slots empty.

After a long silence, a man with a saber at his waist rose to his feet. His aura was as deep as an abyss. He cupped his fists and said in a low voice, “If there are no other candidates, then I, Dong Songqing, will fight for the sect.”

With him taking the lead, several others in the hall rose one after another.

“I, Wu Bing, will fight for the sect!”

Even though Wu Bing had only just entered the Illusory Refinement Realm and his cultivation had yet to stabilize, he stepped forward without hesitation. Li Guanqi looked at him. Their gazes met, and Li Guanqi’s eyes shone with admiration. Perhaps only Li Guanqi understood how much Wu Bing had sacrificed for the sect over the years. Yet despite everything, Wu Bing had only just forced his way into the Illusory Refinement Realm. Lu Tao alone could crush him, let alone the others.

For this arena battle, Li Guanqi’s criteria were clear. Anyone below the late Illusory Refinement Realm would not even qualify as a backup option.

Li Guanqi grabbed his jade slip and spoke into it, his voice low. “Third Brother, Fourth Brother, hurry back. Second Brother doesn’t need your help.”

Then he took out the heavenly intelligence jade pendant and said solemnly, “Elder Gu, find Ye Feng for me. Lend him a hand.”

—I’m already on my way. I’ll meet Meng Jiangchu soon.

Li Guanqi exhaled in relief, then turned toward the hall’s entrance, his voice low. “Everyone, head out for now. As for the rest… leave to me.”

At the Six Gates Holy Sect, an old man’s furious roar rang out. “Zhou Shiyu! Listen carefully to me! Now that Ye Feng and the others from the Daxia Sword Sect have gone missing, you’re fighting whether you like it or not! I don’t care if you refuse, you’re going!”

A moment later, the chaotic sounds of a struggle broke out.

“Sect Master, Sect Master, calm down! Don’t be angry!”

“That’s right, Sect Master, please put the sword down!”

Several white-robed elders scrambled to restrain the sword-wielding Gu Huai, pleading with him to calm down. Gu Huai leveled his blade at Zhou Shiyu in the distance. “You little brat! If you don’t go today, I’ll disown you as my disciple! Do you hear me? Answer me! Did you hear what I said?”

Zhou Shiyu, seated with his eyes closed as though cultivating, frowned. He hadn’t expected something so serious to happen. At most, a single stick of incense remained before the arena battle began. The Lu clan’s branch members were already arriving, yet Ye Feng and the others still hadn’t shown up.

Just as everyone was in chaos, a disciple rushed in anxiously and reported in a rapid voice, “Reporting to the Sect Master, the latest news is Cao Yan and Xiao Chen have already returned to the Daxia Sword Sect!”

Zhou Shiyu, eyes still closed, finally exhaled in relief.