Indeed, it was a pair of jade-like hands that suddenly emerged from the carriage, sweeping with startling swiftness before Qin Yunxiao, and with even greater suddenness, flicked out a single finger. This seemingly simple gesture directly met the razor edge of the blade… Such delicate fingers, beneath the terrifyingly dark steel, appeared utterly fragile, as if only one outcome was possible: to be sliced clean in two… Yet, when the Heavenly Sovereign Blade struck those jade fingertips, it yielded only a crisp, metallic clang… The jade finger showed no mark of injury; even the sharp blade aura vanished completely.

Instead, a massive recoil shock vibrated through Ye Jingyu’s hands, leaving them numb and nearly letting go of his grip… His body, already airborne, lost all balance and began to plummet downwards… The guards below finally snapped back to their senses, raising their swords and sabers to hack down at the falling Ye Jingyu… Ye Jingyu was completely off-balance, and the recoil had severely injured his internal organs. He was in no condition to defend himself, left only to watch the weapons pierce toward his body… However, his physique was of an astonishing resilience.

None of the guards had even reached the Innate Realm, and their weapons were merely common steel. The sounds that followed were mere clangs and pings, yet they failed to inflict even the slightest scratch on Ye Jingyu… It was this bizarre, impenetrable sound that jolted the crowd back to awareness: this man was simply impervious to blades and spears… But before they could truly react, Ye Jingyu gripped his blade handle once more.

With a subtle flick of the Heavenly Sovereign Blade in his hand, a streak of light shot out, instantly carving a bloody gash across the necks of at least four men. Their bodies swayed involuntarily backward, their lives extinguished in that moment… The remaining guards, who had narrowly avoided disaster, scrambled backward several paces.

By this point, they finally understood: this was a battle far beyond their capacity to intervene in… Ye Jingyu managed to regain his footing, then looked up toward the carriage. The carriage's curtain had been drawn back, and a woman, perhaps in her early thirties, stepped out… She wore a low-cut, off-the-shoulder gauze dress, draped with an almost transparent shawl.

Her long, raven hair was coiled elegantly at the nape of her neck. Her beauty was striking, though the faintest lines of age whispered around her eyes—lines that could not, however, conceal her peerless, breathtaking grace… Her right hand trembled slightly, clearly a result of parrying Ye Jingyu’s full-force strike moments before… Seeing this woman nullify his strongest attack with a single finger, Ye Jingyu’s eyes widened in horror.

He knew well that she did not possess his physically mutated body; her ability to block his strike stemmed entirely from an immense surge of True Essence power… To control and condense True Essence with such flawless precision in that fleeting instant revealed the terrifying depth of her actual strength… A Grandmaster. A genuine, bona fide Grandmaster… The realization that three Grandmasters now stood beside Qin Yunxiao filled Ye Jingyu with the feeling that Grandmasters were treated like mere underlings.

He now understood completely that his opponents had anticipated his attack, and furthermore, that he would arrive accompanied by Xue Hengzhi… This confirmed that Jin Xiaolong had indeed betrayed him. Yet, what perplexed Ye Jingyu was how Qin Yan had amassed such a contingent of Grandmasters?

Previously, a mere expert at the Master Realm, Miao, had nearly cost Ye Jingyu his life. Now, so many Grandmasters had appeared?

On what grounds could he command such power? The shock in Ye Jingyu's eyes was impossible to mask; even the hand gripping his saber trembled slightly, proof that the preceding impact had been far from benign… “Aunt Liu, are you alright?” At that moment, Qin Yunxiao, standing beside the carriage, respectfully helped the peerlessly graceful beauty, speaking with deep concern… “Heh heh, this little fellow has decent strength, but if he thinks he can harm me, he still has a long way to go…” The woman addressed as Aunt Liu chuckled lightly.

She looked at Ye Jingyu with burgeoning curiosity—curiosity about how he managed to possess such formidable… “Heh heh, Aunt Liu’s divine skills are fully realized; how could a mere scurrilous rat like him hope to provoke you…” Qin Yunxiao replied deferentially, not sparing Ye Jingyu a single glance… “Alright, stop flattering Aunt Liu. Your father deploying such formidable strength clearly shows how much he values this boy.

Now it seems his vigilance was justified. You stay put in the carriage; let Aunt Liu have a little fun playing with this little fellow…” Aunt Liu smiled, and her graceful form floated down from the carriage… Seeing the woman’s elegant silhouette descend, Ye Jingyu’s heart tightened.

He was severely injured, and his Soul Power had been shaken by Qin Lie’s Shattering the Heavens strike. At this moment, not only was using Spirit Arts difficult, but even summoning the Earth-Shaking Seal felt precarious… Without the power of Spirit Arts, even with his strength at the Fifth Tier, he stood no chance against a Grandmaster.

What was he to do? At this juncture, the duel between Xue Hengzhi and Yuan Xiang had concluded.

Although Xue Hengzhi’s final Heavenly Sword Art had gravely wounded Yuan Xiang, his own injuries were arguably no better. His entire body resembled a sieve, weeping blood from countless wounds.

He lay sprawled on the ground, his fate unknown… As for Yuan Xiang, he too was critically damaged, his body lying motionless, his life force uncertain… “Little fellow, will you strike yourself? Or shall I oblige?” The woman looked at Ye Jingyu’s shifting expression, a faint smile playing on her lips… From the intelligence received from the Golden Dragon Gang, she knew Ye Jingyu had a Grandmaster protecting him.

Deploying two Grandmasters should have been more than enough to eliminate him this time. However, Qin Yan insisted she come along as a precaution.

She had never expected Ye Jingyu to be guarded by two Grandmasters… And Ye Jingyu himself possessed the strength to clash directly with a Grandmaster. Still, it was a silver lining: though Qin Lie was severely wounded, he should be able to keep the man in black occupied for the time being.

Yuan Xiang and his junior brother seemed to have settled their own fight, and with Ye Jingyu’s Soul Power heavily damaged, he likely couldn't summon that terrifying Soul Artifact anymore. Killing him now should be simple… With this thought, the smile on her face grew ever brighter… “Strike?

Must I strike your clothes off? My apologies, though this young master enjoys the fairer sex, I have no interest in a withered flower like you…” Ye Jingyu sneered… “What did you say?” The woman, named Liu Qiuxue, had once been the most exceptional disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect, placing her seniority above Yao Rao.

However, she had been expelled for violating sect rules. Despite this, she remained a beauty of the highest caliber, her mature charm still potent.

Never had anyone dared address her in such a manner, and fury immediately swelled within her breast…