Gu Qingfeng stared at his severed arm in a daze.
He simply could not believe that he had been defeated in a single move.
Worse still, he had lost his right arm.
Although he was only at the peak of the Mystic Qi Realm, he was an inner disciple capable of fighting opponents above his level.
He had even defeated cultivators in the Monarch Realm who possessed domains.
Therefore, he had not been surprised by Elder Jiao's defeat.
For inner disciples like them, defeating Elder Jiao was not difficult.
Yet never in his wildest dreams had he expected that he was even inferior to Elder Jiao, ending up heavily wounded in a single blow.
"Quick, fetch the Ink-Jade Reconnection Pill, and help Junior Brother Qingfeng go tend to his injuries."
The man who had just told Gu Qingfeng to be careful now appeared before Xiayu.
"Taking advantage of a superior weapon to injure an inner disciple of Shengwu Academy—I will give you two choices. First, seal your cultivation yourself and await punishment from Shengwu Academy."
"Second, I will strike you down, drag you into Shengwu Academy, and subject you to punishment."
The man wore an arrogant expression, looking down from on high.
Xiayu gazed at him coldly. After a moment of silence, he slowly asked, "If I defeat you, will this matter be settled?"
"Or, once I defeat you, will you lot just send out another old codger? Is this what Shengwu Academy is all about?"
The man froze, then burst into roaring laughter.
"Ha ha... Defeat me? You're dreaming."
At that moment, an inner disciple of Shengwu Academy behind him shouted, "Brat, this is Senior Brother Wang Yilun, ranked tenth among the inner disciples of Shengwu Academy, a cultivator of the Monarch Realm! If you don't want to be beaten to death, surrender immediately!"
Xiayu curled his lip and said indifferently, "Only ranked tenth? What gives you the courage to step forward?"
"You're courting death!" Wang Yilun's expression darkened.
"Are you going to tell me whether defeating you settles this matter?"
"You injured my inner disciple and slapped the face of Shengwu Academy. You're not going anywhere."
Xiayu smiled and said, "I get it. You can't make the decisions here. I don't have time to waste babbling with a piece of trash!"
Without waiting for a reply, Xiayu abruptly looked toward Shengwu Mountain.
"Because of my grievances with Shengwu Academy, I, Xiayu, challenge the younger generation of Shengwu Academy! A single battle shall decide the victor, and determine life or death!"
"Will someone who can actually make decisions please step out!"
A commotion erupted...
As soon as these words fell, the entire entrance of Shengwu Academy boiled over.
Someone was openly challenging the younger generation. One had to know that Shengwu Academy's inner disciples already possessed formidable strength.
Not to mention, Shengwu Academy also had true legacy disciples.
Though these true legacy disciples were also of the younger generation, their strength was terrifying.
It was rumored that the most powerful among them, while still in the Monarch Realm, had slain a rogue cultivator of the Emperor Realm.
"Impudent!"
Wang Yilun was furious.
To be called a piece of trash right to his face—
And to be told he couldn't make decisions—it was simply too much.
If he didn't kill this person, would he ever have the face to show himself outside again?
"Taste my sword!"
Wang Yilun drew his blade.
In an instant, the sword radiance flashed with a blinding brilliance.
Streaks of sword light formed a circle, resembling a sun woven from sword rays, enveloping Xiayu from all directions.
Monarch-grade sword technique: Blazing Sun Swordsmanship!
Elder Jiao's face revealed a look of rapturous fascination. He had yearged for this sword technique for a long time, but unfortunately, he couldn't afford it.
"Senior Brother Wang's Blazing Sun Swordsmanship is like the blazing sun in the sky the moment it's drawn! Truly formidable—this brat probably won't even withstand a single move!"
"When will I ever reach the level of Senior Brother Wang?"
An outer disciple of Shengwu Academy wore a proud expression, his eyes filled with immense self-satisfaction.
"None of us can match Senior Brother Wang's strike today. I must go into seclusion to contemplate it properly afterward."
Several other inner disciples also wore looks of deep admiration.
As for Xiayu, they didn't even bother looking at him.
In their minds, against Wang Yilun's strike, Xiayu would either die or be heavily wounded—that was only natural.
"I don't have time to waste! Scram!"
Xiayu let out a sharp cry, his figure blurring as the Dragon Spear in his hand struck out fiercely.
Divine Dragon's Walk!
Three Forms of Heaven-Splitting: Breaking the Sky!
The physical strength of three micro-worlds, along with the Yuan Power of three micro-worlds, surged directly into Xiayu's Dragon Spear.
Bang!
The dazzling blazing sun shattered into pieces in an instant.
Xiayu's spear pierced right through the miniature sun formed by the sword radiance, the tip coming to rest against Wang Yilun's throat.
"Trash! If you dare pester me again, I will kill you!"
Xiayu's expression was icy as he whipped the Dragon Spear around in a backhanded sweep.
"Bang!"
Wang Yilun flew backward, blood spraying everywhere.
Half of his face swelled up instantly.
Xiayu hadn't used the blade of the spear; otherwise, he would have killed him on the spot.
Wang Yilun crashed to the ground and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Mixed in with the blood were several large teeth.
At that moment, Wang Yilun's gaze was blank and his eyes out of focus.
Even when a junior inner disciple came over and helped him up, he didn't react at all, utterly unable to accept this reality.
When Xiayu had called him trash, he had been furious.
Yet, he hadn't even been able to withstand a single move from Xiayu. If he wasn't trash, what was he?
At that moment, he finally understood Gu Qingfeng's feelings.
This crushing sense of defeat was simply too much to bear.
The cultivation and swordsmanship he had once taken such pride in were completely worthless before this person.
If Xiayu had been some ancient Great Expert, he could have accepted it.
Yet Xiayu was clearly younger than him.
Judging by his attire and appearance, he obviously wasn't from any major background either.
To be defeated in a single move by such a person was simply... too humiliating to face others.
"Junior Brother Wang, victory and defeat are common matters in life. The spear in his hand is at least a supreme Emperor-grade artifact—you didn't lose unjustly!"
"A person can suffer defeat, but they must never lose their self-confidence."
A deep, resonant voice rang in Wang Yilun's ear.
"Eldest Senior Brother!"
Wang Yilun started, falling silent for a moment before a spark of light gradually returned to his eyes.
"Eldest Senior Brother's instruction is correct. Yilun has learned much!"
"Good. For you to snap out of it so quickly is commendable. Reflect on this well afterward, and you should be able to take another step forward." Eldest Senior Brother smiled and said gently.
"Many thanks, Eldest Senior Brother." Wang Yilun suddenly felt his mood lighten considerably.
"If you two want to nurture your bond, please go do it back home. If no one is going to step up and make decisions, then I'm leaving." Xiayu said impatiently.
He glanced back and saw that Xia Yao's condition had grown even more severe.
Suddenly, Xiayu's eyes widened, and he bolted toward Xia Yao like lightning.
He spotted two figures—one old, one young—walking up to Xia Yao's side.
That young man was none other than the fellow who had tried to sell him information earlier!
People from Shengwu Academy!
"You dare play dirty tricks?"
Xiayu let out a low roar, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he thrust forward with his Dragon Spear.
A single point of chilling light moved with ultimate speed.
Xia Yao was his reverse scale; whoever dared to touch the sister who had depended on him for survival would have to die!
"Crack!"
A pair of hands suddenly came together, clamping onto the tip of the Dragon Spear.
The young man wore a smiling face and hastily shouted, "Brother, don't misunderstand! Don't be impulsive! Let my master check your sister's condition first."
Xiayu froze!
He looked down and saw that the old man was indeed taking his sister's pulse.
A misunderstanding!
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Xiayu quickly plastered on a smile and said, "Big Brother, my apologies! I was just too anxious."
"No harm done! No harm done! The moment I laid eyes on you, Brother, I felt we were kindred spirits. Once my master heals your sister, we brothers will share a drink together. By the way, my name is Shen Yuxuan. And you?"
The man threw an arm around Xiayu's shoulder as if they were old friends.
This overly affectionate gesture made Xiayu's body stiffen.
Why did this talk of being "kindred spirits" sound so wrong?
"Hello, Big Brother Shen, my name is Xiayu."
Shen Yuxuan smiled and said, "Xiayu (Falling Rain)? What an interesting name. Let's see if we can find someone named Sunny Sky later—you two would make a perfect match."
Xiayu blinked, but before he could speak, Shen Yuxuan turned him around with an arm still around his shoulders.
"Brother, those fellows over there are coming. Let's go beat the crap out of them—I find those guys thoroughly repulsive."
Xiayu was taken aback and couldn't help asking, "Aren't they your fellow disciples?"
"Fellow disciples? How could I possibly share discipleship with a bunch of trash like them?"
Shen Yuxuan looked utterly astonished.
"Weren't you just selling information about your academy?"
Xiayu was utterly bewildered—what was going on here?
"You mean this? Hahaha..." Shen Yuxuan laughed. "I'm not from Shengwu Academy. Selling information is naturally just for making money."
"Brother, you have to understand—not making money when it's there to be made makes you a bastard! Besides, making money off your opponents? How fun is that? What a sense of achievement!"
Xiayu: "..."
So after all that fuss, you're actually an adversary of Shengwu Academy.
Suddenly, a question popped into Xiayu's head, and he couldn't help asking, "Then how did you get them to agree to let you sell information?"
Shen Yuxuan smiled. "That's simple. If they didn't agree, I beat them until they did."
"They're no match for me!"
Xiayu was speechless. You could do that?
"Shen Yuxuan, do you have any shame at all? Shengwu Academy can't beat you? Hmph, in a hundred years, when has your Inquiry Academy ever won?"
An inner disciple standing beside Eldest Senior Brother spoke with a proud expression.
"You sell information right outside Shengwu Academy's gates—it's not that we can't deal with you, it's just that Eldest Senior Brother and the others can't be bothered to waste time on you! You have no shame, but our Eldest Senior Brother still cares about his dignity."
Shen Yuxuan smiled, completely unfazed.
He waved a hand and chuckled, "Go play somewhere else. Is there any place for you to speak here? Can't you see your Eldest Senior Brother is quietly keeping his mouth shut?"
"And another thing, Xu Weilin, the lacklings under you are getting more and more unruly. You haven't even spoken, yet this guy dares to chime in. How do you even manage as Eldest Senior Brother?"
Xu Weilin stared quietly at Shen Yuxuan and said coldly, "Are you going to fight or not?"
"Not fighting. Why would I fight you when I can't even beat you? Besides, given the temperament of your Shengwu Academy, just like my little brother here said, whenever you can't win, you just call out the old fogeys—it's completely pointless."
Shen Yuxuan waved his hand in disgust.
Not only that, but he turned to Xiayu and said, "Brother, let me tell you—you just mentioned a life-or-death battle, but there's only one possible outcome: you die!"
"If it were their disciples who might die, all those old immortals from their clan would come running out, yapping and yapping on without end, until finally..."
"Even if you can't beat them, you won't even be able to run away. They'll always find an excuse to come kill you!"
Xu Weilin let out a soft hurl and said, "Shen Yuxuan, are you going to take up this kid's fight?"
"Not taking it. Why would I take it? I'm just here to watch how shameless your Shengwu Academy can be."
Shen Yuxuan sneered.
Xiayu was utterly speechless—if you're not going to help, why are you sticking your nose into this?
Still, thinking of the fact that the man's master was currently treating his sister, he decided to bear with this chatterbox for now.
Xu Weilin glared coldly at Shen Yuxuan without saying anything more.
However, the inner disciples behind Xu Weilin were instantly displeased.
"Shen Yuxuan, Eldest Senior Brother is simply too lazy to bother with you. Since you're not stepping in, get out of our way." The inner disciple said coldly.
Inquiry Academy and Shengwu Academy shared a rule established years ago under the witness of the imperial family.
Private fights between the two academies were forbidden; if they wanted to fight, they had to step onto the Battle Stage and sign a contract.
Alternatively, one could go to an academy to challenge their dojo, but if the other side refused the challenge, violence could not be used casually.
Years ago, a brawl between Inquiry Academy and Shengwu Academy had nearly torn the capital apart, resulting in the deaths of numerous experts from both sides.
In the end, the imperial family had stepped in forcefully to stabilize the situation.
Precisely because of this, since Shen Yuxuan refused the challenge, the people of Shengwu Academy could do nothing to him.
Hearing the inner disciple's words, Shen Yuxuan chuckled. "I was just talking about you, and out you pop again. Can't you have a bit of upbringing?"
"Besides, why should I move out of the way? I'm standing right here. If you're not convinced, come hit me! Go on, hit me!"
Shen Yuxuan's expression suddenly darkened, his smiling face vanishing instantly. A freezing aura emanated from his entire body, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet.
Even Xiayu was stunned!
That facial expression change was way too fast.
Shen Yuxuan pointed at that inner disciple and said coldly, "If you have the guts, try making the first move! Killing you takes no more than a single blow. If I use a second move, I'll kill myself on the spot! Do you dare?"
Facing the murderous Shen Yuxuan, the inner disciple wore an awkward expression and dared not reply.
The disciples of Shengwu Academy knew very well that among the younger generation, aside from Eldest Senior Brother and the true legacy disciples, no one could defeat Shen Yuxuan.
"Ha ha, brother, see that? These fellows from Shengwu Academy are all cowards. A little scare from me and they don't even dare let out a fart!"
"Brother, did you learn that?"
Shen Yuxuan instantly switched back to a smiling face and patted Xiayu on the shoulder.
Xiayu: "..."
"I'll go hold off Shen Yuxuan. You guys take down Xiayu—and remember, attack together!"
Xu Weilin's expression was icy as he continued, "If anyone dares hold back and fails to capture him, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Understood, Eldest Senior Brother!" The four inner disciples answered solemnly.
They knew Eldest Senior Brother was truly angry.
"Ooh, the inner circle's Eldest Senior Brother is angry. Brother, I can't beat this cold-faced fellow, so I can't help you anymore! You're on your own!"
Shen Yuxuan patted Xiayu's shoulder, stepping forward instead of back.
He walked right up to Xu Weilin, crossed his arms, and smiled. "That's more like it! You're such a grown-up, don't bully a little kid. Let your people go at him however they want—group beatings are fine too. As long as you don't move, I absolutely won't move either!"
Xu Weilin glanced at Shen Yuxuan, let out a soft hurl, and said, "Your Inquiry Academy can't protect him."
"That's my master's business. I'm not the dean, so if you have issues, go ask my master."
Shen Yuxuan shrugged his shoulders, completely unconcerned.
"Fine." Xu Weilin said coldly, "Kill Xiayu for me!"
Before Xu Weilin even finished speaking, a figure shot forward instantly.
No one else—it was Xiayu.
Divine Dragon's Walk!
Breaking the Sky!
"Watch out!" Xu Weilin shouted in a low voice.
However, before the words left his mouth, a chilling flash of light had already cut through the air.
That inner disciple's eyes widened in horror as he stared incredulously at Xiayu.
Yet Xiayu didn't even glance at him. With a flicker of his body, the Dragon Spear swept horizontally with blinding speed.
Heaven-Splitting!
A chilling streak of light slashed past!
That flash of cold light was incomparably dazzling.
The onlookers felt as though a bolt of lightning had flashed before their eyes before vanishing into thin air.
The inner disciple targeted by Xiayu watched the flashing blade of light and hurriedly raised his sword to block.
At the same time, he couldn't help blinking his eyes.
And then, there was no "and then."
He stood frozen in place!
"Kill!"
The other two inner disciples finally reacted, shouting in unison as they charged forward.
Two sword beams slashed through the air.
Half-moon-shaped sword radiance, like fatal thunder, instantly surrounded Xiayu from both left and right.
Not only that, but beneath the feet of both men, two Monarch domains measuring twenty feet across erupted into existence.
Bolstered by their domains, the might of their sword momentum increased exponentially.
One flashed with a chilling lunar glow, while the other's sword blazed with raging flames.
Xiayu charged head-on, swinging the Dragon Spear in his hand to meet them in a direct clash.
Clang!
A crisp sound echoed out.
The two sword beams were sent flying, and the two inner disciples staggered backward in a frenzy.
All of this happened at lightning speed, ending in the blink of an eye.
Only then did the first inner disciple attacked by Xiayu manage to slowly raise his hand to clutch his throat, gasping, "You... you launched a sneak attack... despicable..."
"Moron, it's either you die or I live! Four of you against one of me, and you're talking to me about being despicable? Bah!"
Xiayu let out a disdainful, cold snort.
At that moment, the upper half of the second inner disciple's body suddenly slid off from his torso, blood and internal organs spewing forth wildly.
"Kill!"
A roar echoed.
The two inner disciples who had just been driven back by Xiayu now had bloodshot eyes as they charged forward once more.
The four of them had planned to attack together, yet in the span of a breath, two of their fellow disciples were dead—a reality they found hard to accept.
One of them leaped into the air, flicking his sword as countless rays of sword light erupted.
Each beam of sword light resembled a sharp arrow, striking down from above in mid-air.
Utilizing the Monarch Realm's ability to briefly levitate, he closed in on Xiayu.
In the blink of an eye, Xiayu's vision was filled with nothing but boundless sword radiance.
The sword light was fierce, carrying roaring flames that made the air itself violently turbulent.
The other inner disciple stepped into the luminous circle of his Monarch domain and spun violently.
In an instant, it was as though countless swords had materialized around him, spinning rapidly as their blade light formed overlapping full moons that radiated freezing chills.
Two sword cultivators at the First Heavenly Layer of Monarch Realm had instantly engulfed Xiayu.
Yet Xiayu seemed frozen in fear, standing there completely motionless.
The outer elders and numerous disciples of Shengwu Academy breathed collective sighs of relief.
This fellow was finally about to be put down.
Still, they felt it was only natural—to dare provoke Shengwu Academy was to invite this very fate.
An indescribable surge of pride swelled within their hearts.
"Watch out!"
Suddenly, Xu Weilin roared, his gaze sharp as he swept his eyes across the surroundings.
At the same time, the attacks of the two inner disciples landed squarely on Xiayu.
Yet, the next moment, the expressions of both men altered drastically.
They instantly understood why Xu Weilin had yelled a warning.
Because their attacks hadn't hit a solid body at all—what was standing there was merely an afterimage of Xiayu!
The two hurriedly tried to retract their attacks, but how could something like that be so easily undone in the heat of the moment?
Having poured their full strength into those moves, forcibly pulling them back was like winding up a punch meant for a solid rock, only to strike a puff of cotton instead.
The suffocating frustration made them want to retch.
Just as their vital energy knotted in their chests, two points of chilling light bloomed before their eyes like thunderbolts.
Xiayu's previously dissipated afterimage solidified in a single instant!
Thud! Thud!
Two sounds blending into one—the throats of the two inner disciples were pierced straight through.
"You dare!"
Xu Weilin flew into a rage!
With four inner disciples slain right before his eyes, how could he possibly continue to endure?