"General Miao, I am merely passing through, stopping for a bite to eat. As for you, General Miao, why have you brought so many men?" Ye Longyi stated coldly...

"Heh, what for? Our Marshal Qin has returned to the capital after rendering great service, and His Highness the Crown Prince is holding a welcoming banquet for him here. Naturally, we have booked the entire floor. General Ye, if you are free, you should join us for a few drinks tonight..." Miao Tie said with a sinister grin...

"Booked the entire floor? Such arrogance..." Ye Jingyu scoffed, stepping out from behind Ye Longyi...

"Who is this uncouth brat... Does he have any right to speak here?" Miao Tie, seeing Ye Jingyu dressed plainly, assumed he was some relative or subordinate of Ye Longyi and immediately launched into insults...

Ye Longyi was about to flare up, but Ye Jingyu restrained him with a gesture, instead walking step by step towards Miao Tie...

"The Marshal you speak of, is it Qin Yunxiao?" Upon stopping three meters in front of Miao Tie, Ye Jingyu finally halted...

"Insolent! Is the name of our Great Marshal one you can utter so casually? Guards, seize this little thief!" In the past six months, Qin Yunxiao's army had become overwhelmingly dominant, constantly harassing the Iron Army. Seeing this youth alongside Ye Longyi and hearing him call their Marshal by name, Miao Tie certainly would not let this opportunity pass; at the very least, he could impeach Ye Longyi for improper discipline...

Upon hearing their general's command, two soldiers immediately lunged at Ye Jingyu...

Seeing the two soldiers rush him, a cold smile touched the corner of Ye Jingyu's lips, a silver glint flashed in his eyes, and an invisible wave of spiritual energy blasted directly into the heads of the two soldiers. Instantly, the soldiers saw myriad illusions before them, as if Ye Jingyu before them was no longer a man, but a giant demon opening its massive maw to swallow them...

They emitted a sharp scream and actually turned to flee downward...

"A Soul Master?" Miao Tie, being a master of the Grandmaster realm, could naturally discern the technique Ye Jingyu employed and a slight look of surprise crossed his face...

"General Ye has considerable ability, to have secured the services of a Soul Master. No wonder you dare to be so arrogant. However, you are merely a Soul Transformation realm Soul Master, daring to speak the Great Marshal's name so freely—you are still courting death..." Miao Tie snorted, then swiftly drew the Miao Dao from his waist and lunged at Ye Jingyu...

Currently, the Flame Army led by Qin Yunxiao was one of the most decorated legions in the Southern Cloud Empire. Its soldiers had long developed overbearing personalities, especially when dealing with the Iron Army, against whom they tirelessly sought to suppress...

In his view, teaching a lesson to someone with no military rank was no great matter; even if he accidentally killed him, given his status, it wouldn't pose much of a problem...

Therefore, Miao Tie put seven-tenths of his strength into this strike, a force so potent that even Ye Longyi, standing nearby, could not possibly stop it...

A brilliant, white blade-light sliced through the void, carrying the sound of endless wind as it cleaved toward Ye Jingyu, seeming as if the very air would be torn asunder...

But what perplexed Miao Tie was that Ye Longyi, standing nearby, showed no intention of intervening, not even moving his body. Did he not know that a Soul Master facing a Grandmaster at close range was extremely perilous, even for someone of the Spirit Manifestation realm?

Or perhaps this person had no connection to Ye Longyi, and he simply didn't care to meddle?

Regardless, Miao Tie was confident in his strike and accelerated his attack further, knowing that even if Ye Longyi wished to intervene, it would absolutely be too late...

The razor-sharp blade-light reached Ye Jingyu's forehead, moments from cleaving him in two, when Ye Jingyu suddenly extended two fingers...

Yes, two slender, pale, and smooth fingers, looking so delicate and fair that they seemed finer than those of a young maiden. Such fingers should be used for playing the zither or writing calligraphy, certainly not for meeting the edge of a terrifying Miao Dao...

Everyone watched Ye Jingyu with the look reserved for an idiot. Had this fellow gone mad? Even if he sought death, must he do it in such a way...

But in mere moments, the expressions on their faces shifted rapidly, because a golden radiance ignited upon those two fingers, as if a golden longsword had appeared at his fingertips, meeting Miao Tie's dazzling blade-light head-on...

Lingxi Sword Finger...

With a crisp clank, the brilliant blade-light shattered instantly into nothingness, and the golden sword-light continued to strike the Miao Dao, emitting that light sound...

A massive recoil force struck Miao Tie, forcing him to stagger backward repeatedly, his hands tingling fiercely. Upon closer inspection, there was actually a nick on his Miao Dao...

He looked back at Ye Jingyu's fingers—still so slender and smooth, without the slightest abrasion or even broken skin...

How was this possible? Shock etched itself onto everyone’s face. How could a person’s finger withstand the attack of a blade, especially the full-power strike of a Grandmaster expert?

The astonishment in Miao Tie's eyes was far more profound than anyone else's. Only he understood what his Miao Dao was forged from—it was made from thousand-year-old profound ice, making it infinitely sturdier than ordinary battle sabers. Yet now, a single touch from a finger had chipped it. How could this be? He was a Soul Master; how could he possess such immense True Essence power...

"Miao Dao Blade Technique? It amounts to nothing much..." Ye Jingyu coldly sneered, his eyes briefly sweeping over the Miao Dao, recognizing it was no ordinary weapon, but that was all. With his current strength, eliminating a Grandmaster was as easy as breathing...

Of course, teaching a lesson was just as simple...

"What did you say..." Hearing his Miao Dao technique dismissed so lightly, Miao Tie instantly erupted in fury...

"I said the Miao Dao technique is nothing special," Ye Jingyu coldly repeated...

"You..." Miao Tie's chest heaved with suppressed anger. He clearly understood that Ye Jingyu was not someone easily dealt with, but insulting the Miao Dao technique was an insult to every member of the Miao family—this was absolutely unforgivable...

"Since you also play with blades, today I shall show you what true swordsmanship is," Ye Jingyu sneered, then swiftly snatched the saber from a nearby soldier's waist with one hand...

Immediately, his figure vanished from sight, reappearing moments later right in front of Miao Tie, raising the blade to cleave down upon him...

Miao Tie gasped in alarm but instinctively raised his own blade to block...