A dazzling purple light instantly bathed the entire cavern in violet. There stood a lone figure, wielding a single sword, slicing directly forward!

The tall, broad-shouldered man’s mockery intensified. Does this Lord of Dry Heaven City truly think himself insane? Does he truly believe he can stand against the combined might of our seven Xuanwu Grandmasters with just his own strength?

As this thought crossed his mind, a loud, resonant dragon roar suddenly erupted from the front! Wherever the sword shadow cut, all surrounding Heaven and Earth spiritual energy was violently swept aside. Behind Zong Shou, nine illusory dragon shadows successively emerged, baring claws and fangs with savage, fierce visages.

Two Xuanwu Grandmasters attacked in tandem. Yet, as soon as their weapons clashed, the blades in their hands were cleanly severed by the fierce sword light. The residual sword qi pursued them, forcing the two to retreat madly. Still, they could not escape entirely; blood immediately sprayed from their chests.

It was only because the weapons of the other four struck Zong Shou immediately afterward that the force of his sword strike momentarily hesitated, saving them from being cleaved in two.

However, in the next instant, several sharp ‘ding’ sounds echoed through the cavern, painful to the eardrums.

Zong Shou’s purple longsword retracted and swung out again, seemingly with effortless casualness. Then, four more broken fragments of blades were sent flying. As if wielding a divine weapon, he shattered all four Fifth-Rank spirit artifacts with a single sword cut!

His figure did not pause for a fraction of a second, charging forward. The nine giant dragons behind him also roared, their killing intent surging as if influenced by Zong Shou’s will. Their dragon eyes blazed with savage fighting spirit.

“Damn it, could this be the Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword?”

Only now, at this point, did the broad-shouldered man finally recognize the origin of Zong Shou’s swordsmanship and was utterly terrified.

Watching as the four were about to perish beneath Zong Shou’s blade, he let out a curse and abruptly swung the two-zhang-long heavy sword in his hand, cleaving straight forward!

Partly to save his comrades, and partly to intercept Zong Shou’s swift-as-the-wind figure.

The purple sword shadow in Zong Shou’s hand indeed retracted momentarily. But in less than a tenth of an instant, he unleashed another sword strike forward!

‘Klang!’

The third sound of clashing weaponry resonated once more. But this time, it was followed by a lingering ‘ying’ sound.

The Thunderwing Sword fiercely drove into the heavy sword, then began slicing through the half-zhang-wide blade inch by inch, finally forcing it apart and shattering it completely!

The broad-shouldered man felt a sudden lightness in his grasp and was stunned. That was a Quasi-Seventh Rank spirit weapon, a full half-rank higher than the Thunderwing Sword Zong Shou held!

The vastness of his own true qi was far superior to the opponent’s! How could his weapon be cut so easily by Zong Shou?

Seeing the nine dragon shadows appearing and fading, could it truly be the legendary Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword?

His mind faltered, but his body instinctively took three steps back. He prepared to use the broken hilt in his hand to sweep across again.

Zong Shou suddenly roared out, “Get lost!”

The five silver-white fox tails behind him whipped out simultaneously, carrying immense spiritual energy, slamming forward violently.

The broad-shouldered man had only just regained his senses when Zong Shou’s shout struck his mind again, causing momentary confusion.

In the next moment, he was struck by the fox tails. He immediately spat a mouthful of blood, his chest caved in, and he was sent flying backward—truly having ‘rolled’ away.

Before Zong Shou now stood only Yan Feibai and Ge Hanyun. The latter was slack-jawed, showing no intention to fight, only light flashing strangely in her eyes.

Yan Feibai was also startled by the rapid turn of events, yet he ultimately maintained a degree of composure. His face was icy cold; ever since ‘Senior Brother Lie’ was sent flying by Zong Shou, he had drawn his sword. Suppressing the numerous distracting thoughts in his mind, his sword light stabbed out, scattering forward like clouds and mist, speckle by speckle. A beam of cloud-light sword intent pierced directly toward the white figure opposite.

Zong Shou saw this with utter indifference, smiling with a hint of bloody cruelty. He countered with a sword thrust of his own, but this time it was not the sharp ferocity of the Platinum Dragon Sword from the Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword technique. Instead, it mirrored Yan Feibai’s style: ethereal yet complex, impossible to pin down. One sword manifested ten, ten manifested a hundred. Within the cloud-light sword shadows, hidden killing intent was unmatched in its sharpness!

The surrounding onlookers were slow to react at first. Not until Jin Buhui let out an astonished cry, shouting, “Stunning Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword!” did they truly grasp the situation.

The sword style Zong Shou was using—wasn't it the foundational secret technique of the Lingyun Sect? The ancient Cloud Wilderness era’s Seventh-Rank Legendary Jingyun Shenmie Jian?

However, though Zong Shou and Yan Feibai were employing the same sword art, the difference in skill between them was immediately apparent!

With a continuous series of light ding sounds, Yan Feibai retreated several steps with almost every sword strike. His gaze was muddled; he didn't know how to defend at all, nor could he accurately judge where Zong Shou’s true sword body lay!

A vast expanse of clouds and mist enveloped the two. Faintly, the sound of countless streams of ice-sand could be heard from within. After every clash, his sword bore countless pits, its spiritual light dimmed, and its power significantly diminished.

On the final strike, he could no longer hold his grip. He could only watch as his Sixth-Rank spirit weapon was flicked away by Zong Shou’s sword.

Then, a small, delicate hand shot out from the cloud and grasped his neck. The immense momentum carried his figure hurtling backward, finally slamming with a ‘boom’ against the stone wall at the corner behind him.

Yan Feibai felt as if his internal organs were churning violently. His limbs felt weak and limp, and he spewed a mouthful of blood.

The sheer force of the impact had nearly driven his entire body into the stone wall, and his neck, bearing the brunt of the blow, felt on the verge of snapping!

In the next instant, he felt an icy coldness in his chest, and his heart sank to the deepest part of the abyss!

Zong Shou’s fingers were pressing against his artery; with only a slight exertion, he could cut off his life or simply twist his neck until it broke!

A wave of bewilderment washed over him: Is this Zong Shou? The same Zong Shou whom he had long presumed that even if he managed to break free from the dual-vein restraint, he would only ever be able to chase after, struggling far behind?

He had been defeated so miserably. He, who prided his martial talent as unmatched among his peers in East Lin Yun Continent, was so utterly powerless, so inept, before this person!

Then realization dawned, and Yan Feibai’s face suddenly flushed crimson: “You dare humiliate me!”

Zong Shou had abandoned the more powerful Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword technique, capable of defeating him in one blow, and instead chose to use the Stunning Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword. The intention was obvious.

It was likely to tell Yan Feibai that even the Lingyun Sect’s secret inherited sword art was utterly inferior to him!

At this moment, the Lingyun Sect spiritual masters had prepared their protective spiritual arts but were hesitant to act, forced to watch with grim expressions.

Zong Shou had broken several weapons and then captured Yan Feibai with a speed that utterly overwhelmed their ability to react. Furthermore, the five silver fox tails aggressively siphoned off the majority of the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy in the area, interfering with their concentration. By the time they could deploy their spiritual arts, it was already too late.

They dared not stand too close, subtly retreating further into the distance.

Meanwhile, the six Xuanwu Grandmasters, including the tall and broad-shouldered ‘Senior Brother Lie,’ had managed to steady themselves and draw their backup weapons.

However, their gaze upon Zong Shou was filled with shock and apprehension; not a single one dared to attack the fox-clan youth before them.

While one reason was hesitation, the greater factor was the fear of the sword in Zong Shou’s hand!

The swordsmanship that resembled the Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword was too terrifying. No one present was confident they could withstand a single strike from Zong Shou unscathed!

‘Senior Brother Lie’ touched his own neck with lingering fear. If Zong Shou’s target had not been Yan Feibai all along, he would surely have been severed in two by now, his soul departed to the netherworld!

“I do wish to humiliate you, so what of it? Did you not wish to challenge me? I use the Stunning Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword, so I am not using the Tenth-Rank Saint Spirit Sword Art to bully you—”

Zong Shou spoke in a cold, measured tone, each word delivered with apparent difficulty. The light in his wine-red eyes flickered, killing intent surging. His left hand continuously tightened its grip, causing Yan Feibai to gasp for air.

“You dare to covet what is mine? You have tremendous nerve—”

Today, none of these people would leave alive! The Thunderwing Sword in his hand was thirsting, eager to drink human blood!

But just then, Jin Buhui’s voice urgently sounded from behind: “Hey, hey! Zong Shou, you don’t actually mean to kill him, do you? This fellow is annoying, but killing him would cause quite a lot of trouble. If you wanted to kill, why didn’t you just wait a moment and let them attack first? Then, even the Lingyun Sect could not fault you, I could vouch for you!”

Senior Brother Lie and the others broke out in a cold sweat. Is this advice meant to persuade?

They were secretly grateful that Zong Shou had lost his patience earlier. If they had truly waited until they attempted to seize the object, this entire group would likely have died under Zong Shou’s sword point for nothing.

In this current moment, however, a sliver of possibility for retreat remained.

Zhao Yanran had originally intended to use covert means to stir up trouble for the Lingyun Sect members, but she never imagined that in the span of a few blinks, Zong Shou would single-handedly defeat seven Xuanwu Grandmasters with one sword and seize control of the situation.

At this point, she hadn't even figured out how to subtly assist!

She could only quietly tuck away the spiritual talisman she held in her sleeve, then touch the long hair beside her cheek, and laugh wickedly, clearly hoping for more chaos: “In my opinion, this person should just be killed. Given your status, Zong Shou, aside from those sparse hundred-plus individuals, killing anyone else is insignificant. At worst, you abandon Dry Heaven City. Can the petty Lingyun Sect really seek revenge against you?”

Xuan Yunlan gave Zhao Yanran a helpless, harsh glare: “Junior Sister Zhao, why do you speak like that?”

Then, her voice softened gently, “Your Highness, please reconsider. If you deem the matters of Dry Heaven City unimportant, then striking him is indeed permissible. However, Heaven values life. I believe this person’s life may not necessarily have to be forfeit—”