Jiang Ruyue shot him a frosty glare. "Did you come here to settle an old score with me?"

Li Muzhan smiled broadly. "Precisely!"

"Seeing me like this must be quite satisfying for you?" Jiang Ruyue sneered.

Li Muzhan nodded with a knowing smile. "It is a little... Tell me, what mischief have you been up to now to offend someone?"

"The Huaqing Sect!" Jiang Ruyue huffed. "Do you dare to meddle again?"

Li Muzhan's eyebrow twitched slightly. He turned his gaze toward the four elders, who were observing him with unhurried composure, their expressions perfectly relaxed.

Li Muzhan laughed. "Is your Great Jiang Sect truly aiming to dominate everyone? First the Mingjing Sect, and now the Huaqing Sect!"

"Hmph, it wasn't me offending them; they came looking for trouble!" Jiang Ruyue retorted coldly. "They have a guilty conscience!"

Li Muzhan sighed. "Forget it, I’m not dealing with this mess. Are you coming or not?"

"Hmph, coward!" Jiang Ruyue’s eyes flickered with a captivating charm as she slanted a disdainful glance at him. "The moment you hear Huaqing Sect, you flee in terror!"

Li Muzhan inwardly sighed about the trouble she was. Even her anger held a captivating allure. He chuckled lightly. "Of course, I'm afraid of the Huaqing Sect."

Jiang Ruyue pouted her red lips. "You’ve already provoked them. Given their high-handed nature, do you think they’ll let you off easily?"

Li Muzhan sighed and shook his head. She had hit the nail on the head; the Huaqing Sect was not known for its generosity.

Jiang Ruyue snorted and glared at him. The four elders drifted closer again, their gazes sweeping over Li Muzhan.

"Who are you?" one tall, thin elder grumbled. "Young man, you should be cautious about playing the hero saving the damsel; don't bring disaster upon yourself and your family!"

Jiang Ruyue twisted her waist, pulling free from Li Muzhan’s grasp. She was worried he might discern her cultivation method. Li Muzhan instantly felt a sense of loss, missing her faint fragrance and softness.

She pointed a delicate jade finger at Li Muzhan. "This is Li Wuji of the Mingjing Sect. Your tricks to scare children won't work on us!"

"Mingjing Sect?!" The four elders' eyes flashed with sharp light, their imposing aura like unsheathed swords, their piercing gazes fixed on Li Muzhan.

"Heavenly Mechanism Swordplay?" the tall, thin elder grunted gravely.

Li Muzhan smiled. "Are you truly the seniors of the Huaqing Sect?"

"Hmph, we are indeed from the Huaqing Sect. Li Wuji, you have some nerve!" The tall, thin elder let out a cold, humorless laugh and waved his hand.

The four lunged forward like phantoms. An invisible chill washed over Li Muzhan. He gave a slight shake, locking his pores to block the killing intent condensed into the icy air.

Jiang Ruyue stood aside, watching with a cool smile. Those four old men were indeed despicable; their attack resembled a sneak assault. However, trying this trick on Li Wuji was useless—he was just a conniving scoundrel!

A shadow enveloped Li Muzhan, making him look as though he were covered in a layer of frosted glass. He was indistinct, but Jiang Ruyue could clearly see him draw his sword. He swung it slowly and casually, like a child randomly gesturing, his movements disjointed and utterly lacking any apparent finesse.

Yet, this clumsy, laughable swordsmanship managed to fend off the frantic assault of the four elders. Their palm strikes merged into one cohesive unit, pouring down on Li Muzhan like a violent storm.

Li Muzhan made a clumsy, almost ridiculous swing left, then right. The fierce palm energy approaching him immediately softened upon contact, becoming as gentle as a spring breeze; his azure robe didn't even stir.

Jiang Ruyue frowned deeply. When did Li Wuji become this formidable? She had personally experienced the power of these four old men. While their movements seemed ordinary, they were masters of combined assault techniques. Their palm forces interconnected seamlessly, balancing Yin and Yang, an unbreakable formation. The only recourse was a direct clash, but the sheer force of their strikes was astonishingly potent, far exceeding the sum of their individual powers—a strength that bred despair. If not for her exquisite footwork and needle techniques, she would have been finished long ago.

Li Wuji seemed to handle the situation with ease, as if merely toying with the four.

It seemed Li Wuji must have encountered some profound fortune. She was so angered she wanted to curse the heavens—such a despicable wretch receiving such a great opportunity! Heaven truly had no eyes!

Li Muzhan chuckled, and the blade of his sword suddenly darkened, as if coated in soot. The four felt an immense, overwhelming power descending from above, like a mountain pressing down.

They instinctively sensed danger and swiftly retreated, but it was too late.

"Bang!" The four were flung outward in four directions, scattering like blossoming flower petals.

Li Muzhan slid his sword back into its sheath, shook his head with a smile, and remarked, "Huaqing Sect? Nothing more than this!"

The four elders rolled on the ground a few times before stopping. When they tried to rise, they found their limbs weak. A strange energy was surging within their bodies, disrupting the flow of their inner force; utilizing their qi was futile.

They glared fixedly at Li Muzhan, their ferocious intent undiminished.

Li Muzhan smiled and shook his head, looking toward Jiang Ruyue. "Sect Leader Jiang, disappointed?"

"Hmph, what kind of luck did you stumble upon?" Jiang Ruyue pouted and sneered. "With your previous skills, you should have been fleeing with your head tucked between your legs!"

Li Muzhan chuckled. "You could call it a stroke of luck. My Heavenly Mechanism Swordplay has seen minor progress."

"You mastered the Heavenly Mechanism Swordplay?!" Jiang Ruyue frowned.

Li Muzhan nodded. "I wouldn't say mastered, just grasped a tiny thread of the gateway. Aren't you surprised?"

"What's so surprising about that!" Jiang Ruyue scoffed dismissively. "Everyone in the Mingjing Sect looks down on others. You can't even master the martial arts of your predecessors, yet you dare to strut around! You only managed a breakthrough in the Heavenly Mechanism Swordplay; you didn't invent it yourself. What is there to be proud of?!"

Li Muzhan paused, then couldn't help but laugh. This Jiang Ruyue certainly had a unique disposition.

He chuckled. "Indeed, indeed, nothing to be proud of! ... Is Jing Zhongtang dead yet?"

For some inexplicable reason, seeing the icy and aloof Jiang Ruyue brought him a strange sense of kinship, making him inexplicably want to provoke her temper, finding satisfaction in it.

Jiang Ruyue sneered. "You are quite vile!"

Li Muzhan smiled. "Sect Leader Jiang, you are mistaken. I merely returned the favor. Have you forgotten how you used the Ice Soul Divine Art against me?"

Jiang Ruyue turned away and huffed. "Zhongtang was so far beneath you; you still felt the need to strike!"

Li Muzhan shook his head and smiled. "His martial arts may have been lacking, but his malice was not. If I didn't make him suffer, he’d be scheming again when he recovered! ... It’s good he isn't dead!"

Jiang Ruyue said, "Then undo it for him!"

Li Muzhan's eyebrow twitched slightly, and he smiled. "Interesting!"

Jiang Ruyue said coldly, "A life for a life!"

Li Muzhan laughed. "Whose life?"

"Your life and his life!" Jiang Ruyue stated frigidly. "If you undo it, I won't kill you!"

Li Muzhan threw his head back and roared with laughter, his booming sound echoing across the sky.

Jiang Ruyue remained silent, gazing at him coldly.

After a long while, Li Muzhan curbed his laughter and shook his head.

Jiang Ruyue sneered. "Do you think that just because you've grasped the Heavenly Mechanism Swordplay, I can't defeat you?"

Li Muzhan smiled wryly. "What do you think?"

"Hmph, the Heavenly Mechanism Swordplay isn't an invincible martial art!" Jiang Ruyue said with a chilling laugh. "Believe me, killing you would be as easy as turning my palm!"

Li Muzhan laughed again.

Jiang Ruyue sneered. "You won't believe it until you see the coffin. Take this palm!"

She suddenly raised her hand, and Li Muzhan instantly felt a sense of dread. The feeling of danger flared in his mind, threatening to vanish in a flash, but sharp pain erupted from his back.

He flew out three zhang with a "bang," smashing through a pine tree as thick as a bowl before crashing heavily to the ground.

Li Muzhan rolled over and stared at Jiang Ruyue, utterly bewildered. Jiang Ruyue looked back at him with a cold smile, slowly shaking her head, her expression scornful.

Li Muzhan frowned. He found it strange; what kind of palm technique was this that it could evade his intuition and strike with such incredible speed?