Chapter 78: The Sect Leader Appears!

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Sect Leader Appears!

SHIIING~~

In the dead of a night filled only with the sound of rain, the sudden ring of a saber being drawn was piercing and dreadful to Song Yu and the two juniors behind him.

The middle-aged swordsman gripped the handle of the saber on the ground with one hand. With a slight lift, a flash of silvery-bright light reflected the campfire, illuminating the entire ruined temple!

The Lone Star Saber!

There are countless treasure sabers in the world, but it is rare for a swordsman to find one that perfectly suits them.

The middle-aged swordsman named Weii Wuji was a fortunate one. After obtaining this Lone Star Saber, not only did his Saber Technique advance, but he even created a Grandmaster Level Superior Martial Art, the Chaotic Star Saber.

And in that instant he drew his saber.

The very air in the ruined temple seemed to stagnate and slow.

Song Yu felt an overwhelming killing intent roar from the middle-aged swordsman before him, as if a primordial beast was about to pounce!

"You two, run!"

Song Yu shouted himself hoarse. He was confident in his various Martial Arts; with Dao Yi Mountain’s profound heritage, he could fight an ordinary Grandmaster. But the man before him now was a Grandmaster of a different league entirely!

Even with his profound background, there were no examples in the Martial Arts world of someone winning a fight across two entire Realms.

Therefore, after yelling for the two juniors behind him to run...

Song Yu, resigned to death, struck first!

He knew that if he let a Grandmaster-Level expert strike first, he wouldn’t even have a chance to stall. Only by attacking first could he create a sliver of hope for the two disciples behind him to escape.

CLANG!

Song Yu twitched his right shoulder. The sword bag on his back jostled, and an ancient Treasure Sword slid smoothly into his palm. He drew it from its sheath...

He thrust his sword out. Like the great Canglang River at the foot of Dao Yi Mountain, his strike seemed to pull the very raindrops from the air across the twenty-foot gap between them, forming a faint, formless line of Sword Qi that whistled toward the middle-aged swordsman.

This was none other than one of Dao Yi Mountain’s Superior Martial Arts, Canglang Seven Strikes, second only to the Great Yellow Court. It could be used with any weapon—saber, spear, sword, or halberd—and was created by a past Ancestral Master of Dao Yi Mountain who had observed the flow of the Canglang River.

The Canglang River at Dao Yi Mountain’s gate is a tributary of the Ancient Han River. Near the mountain, it twists and turns seven times, with each bend flowing differently. Thus, this Sword Technique contains seven distinct variations of strikes.

Seven strikes in a single thrust, each one faster than the last.

Song Yu had completely mastered this Superior Martial Art. With one breath, he thrust out his sword, containing all seven variations within it, as if recreating the vast, rolling might of the Canglang River right there in the temple.

Unexpectedly, the swordsman Weii Wuji didn’t even raise an eyelid. He simply stood his ground and swung his saber horizontally.

"Dao Yi Mountain’s Martial Arts are certainly not bad, but the people who use them are more than just a little lacking. With your meager Cultivation, you’re wasting this technique..."

His words fell in unison with the flash of his saber.

WHOOSH!

It seemed as if the wind and rain in front of the ruined temple were sliced to a halt by the middle-aged swordsman’s single strike.

For a full breath, everything stopped before the rain began to fall again.

WHOOSH!!

As Song Yu’s attack reached the middle-aged swordsman, he felt his longsword instantly meet an unstoppable wave of Sword Qi.

CRACK~~

The Kun Steel Treasure Sword in his hand, a blade that ranked among the best in Dao Yi Mountain’s Weapon Storage Pavilion, let out a dreadful groan. Then, with a sharp CRACK, it shattered in two.

SWISH! SWISH!

The flying shards of the blade shot out in a dozen directions like deadly hidden weapons.

One piece grazed perilously close to Song Yu’s face. If not for his sudden change of expression and timely reaction, it would have pierced his skull on the spot.

One sword, one saber.

Each had used only a single move.

The terrifying might of the Grandmaster Level was beyond description. With a single, light slash, he had broken through all the variations of Dao Yi Mountain’s Superior Martial Arts and even shattered Song Yu’s Treasure Sword!

But...

Song Yu’s eyes were resolute. To protect Lin Qingqing—the one who was sure to revitalize Dao Yi Mountain in the future—he would give his life right here to shield that girl.

Though his sword was now short, Song Yu’s assault did not cease. He held the broken sword in one hand while the palm of his other hand turned a deep purple. This was another of Dao Yi Mountain’s Superior Martial Arts, the Great Purple Sun Palm Power.

Normally, this Martial Art required one to reach the Grandmaster Level and cultivate Purple Sun True Qi to unleash its true power. A single palm strike could effortlessly incinerate wood and melt snow.

As a Grandmaster, Weii Wuji could tell with a single glance that Song Yu’s mastery of this technique was merely at the Outer Sect Fire level. Without True Qi to support it, it didn’t even possess twenty percent of its full power. A mocking glint flashed in his eyes.

"Come on, then. Let me see just how many Superior Martial Arts from Dao Yi Mountain you have to show me."

Seeing Song Yu’s palm strike coming, devoid of any True Qi, he held his saber across his chest and kicked out sideways with a sneer.

For a swordsman to not use his saber against an opponent was the greatest insult of all.

But unexpectedly, the next instant, Song Yu’s palm met his foot.

RRRIP~

Weii Wuji’s boot instantly tore apart. A terrifying Finger Power, capable of piercing the heart and shattering bone, surged from Song Yu’s five fingers.

"External Finger Power?" His expression changed slightly. "Interesting. I never thought a disciple from a Sect like Dao Yi Mountain, which proclaims itself a major sect of the Righteous Path, would cultivate such a sinister, bone-shattering Martial Art."

Weii Wuji appeared to have fallen for the trick, but with his Grandmaster’s power, he could channel his qi throughout his body, protecting every inch of himself with True Qi.

Even though Song Yu had hidden the Power of the Nine Yin Divine Claw and Heart Shattering Palm behind his Great Purple Sun Palm Power, he had only managed to pierce Weii Wuji’s boot, failing to harm his body.

In the next instant, killing intent flashed in Weii Wuji’s eyes. "I have no more patience to play with you. Die!"

He immediately kicked Song Yu back ten feet.

Raising the Lone Star Treasure Saber high above his head with both hands, a terrifying wave of a Grandmaster’s Sword Qi surged upwards from his body, stopping the pouring rain from even touching him.

His aura was a blazing inferno, untouchable by the rain!

BANG!

Kicked back into the dilapidated Earth God Temple, Song Yu violently spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked up in horror, finally understanding just how vast the gap was between himself and a Grandmaster.

Even with all his Superior Martial Arts, his Realm was too low. His attacks were useless against such an opponent.

Suddenly, he turned his head in fear, unable to believe that Lin Qingqing and the other disciple hadn’t fled. "You two... you actually..."

Facing Weii Wuji’s impending slash, Lin Qingqing saw Song Yu’s frantic and desperate expression. She said nothing, only shaking her head before turning to face Weii Wuji with a resolute gaze.

Song Yu understood in an instant.

’I’ve long been aware of this bright girl’s intelligence. She must have seen through the difference in power between me and their attacker long ago, knowing that even with me holding the line, they wouldn’t be able to get far.’

So, why bother running?

If they were to die, they would die together.

Lin Qingqing’s eyes were fixed on Weii Wuji as he prepared his strike, her gaze holding no fear.

When she was little, even the smallest injury would make her cry out in pain. Not much had changed now that she was older.

She was afraid of pain, but not of death!

This man had come to kill people from Dao Yi Mountain. Though she was only a Named Disciple of Chen Sha, she had the courage to face death alongside Song Yu!

WHOOSH~~

Weii Wuji’s slash was already cutting through the air from twenty feet away. The angle of his strike was extremely precise. It looked as if it was aimed at all three of them, but it would only kill two, without touching a single hair on Lin Qingqing’s head.

Facing certain death, Song Yu felt a bitter pang in his heart. He never imagined that after all his efforts to protect them, he would fail to save anyone.

’I’m sorry, Junior Brother...’

In the instant that thought arose, Song Yu suddenly remembered something.

"Keep this with you at all times. In times of danger, strike it several times. Unless you face a First-Grade Great Innate, no one will be able to harm you."

Song Yu’s vision was already swallowed by the light of Weii Wuji’s saber. In the final moment of his life, he recalled those words. He squeezed his eyes shut and took out the Cosmic Light Stone.

He didn’t know what the stone did, but he was grasping at straws.

DONNNG!!!

A deafening, deep clang, like a saber striking a ten-thousand-year-old bronze bell, spread for miles through the rainy night.

HUMMMMMM~~~

For a moment, the world fell silent, with only the reverberating sound of metal on metal echoing between heaven and earth.

A figure in a wide Daoist Robe materialized out of thin air beside the campfire.

His hands were clasped behind his back, but one sleeve was raised. A hand, as fair as jade, reached out and firmly caught the Sword Qi from Weii Wuji’s slash, stopping it just two feet in front of Song Yu and the others.

The slash that had parted the rain, leaving an area dozens of feet wide as dry as if it were baked by a scorching sun, was now in the hand of the young Daoist in the wide robe. With just a slight squeeze of his fingers...

CRACK~~

The Sword Qi, like a crystal of ice, instantly shattered into countless fragments and dissolved into the endless rain.

"Who are you?!"

Weii Wuji’s face changed drastically.

From his perspective, this handsome young Daoist in the wide robe seemed to have materialized from thin air.

Weii Wuji was at the Grandmaster Realm. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

What kind of expert in this world could appear before him so silently, as if teleporting, and catch his strike with such nonchalant ease?

’An expert of the same Realm would absolutely not possess such strength...’

A bad feeling began to grow in Weii Wuji’s heart.

"Master!"

"Sect Leader Junior Brother!"

Immediately after, two cries of shock came from Lin Qingqing and Song Yu.

Qii Zhengyi, who was behind them, also stared wide-eyed, looking in disbelief at the familiar figure with his back to them.

’Isn’t that his teacher...?’

Chen Sha!

All of them stared in disbelief. The Sect Leader, who was clearly forbidden from leaving Dao Yi Mountain, had suddenly appeared right beside them.