Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Power Not Beneath Mine

"How utterly arrogant!"

Within Linglong City, countless cultivators boiled with indignation.

"City Lord, do you believe the senior can survive this calamity?" Zhao Cheng inquired, his voice filled with anxiety.

The City Lord of Linglong glared at him. "Since Heaven’s Secret Pavilion appeared, when has that senior ever failed us? Though this person’s cultivation is high, in the senior’s eyes, he’s just an ant."

"My view? Today marks his death."

Boom!

The Sword Servant took a step forward. His terrifying aura shattered the void, causing countless buildings to collapse as clouds of dust billowed.

"Come out and die!"

He swung his chain sword, radiating bloodlust. The sword’s momentum blazed with domineering power, darkening the skies until black clouds pressed upon the city.

Boom!

As the chain sword slashed downward, the heavens and earth seemed split in two.

Hum!

The fearsome sword energy struck Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. The pavilion twisted slightly, dissolving the Sword Servant’s force into nothingness. All turbulence vanished into tranquility.

The Sword Servant’s eyes narrowed. He had intended to cleave Heaven’s Secret Pavilion with one strike, yet this sword could not even shatter an ordinary building?

He was a powerhouse at the mid-stage great sage level!

"Master, something seems amiss in Linglong City."

At that moment, Qi Ruyu and her four companions rushed over from the Red Dust Demon Sect. Mid-journey, they spotted a thousand-zhang giant towering like a primordial beast, its murderous aura blanketing ten thousand li.

"The Sword Servant of the True Martial God Sect?" Qi Ruyu’s brow furrowed.

Having traveled extensively through the Yuan Realm, she possessed broad knowledge. Seven hundred years prior, she witnessed the Sword Servant exterminate a sect guarded by a Saint King with a single sword. That sect had crumbled to ruins overnight, all life extinguished.

Within the cultivation world, the Sword Servant’s reputation was unspeakably vile.

Savage by nature, he annihilated sects and snuffed out lives at the slightest disagreement, his lifetime kill-count beyond reckoning.

"He seems to be targeting Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

A faint smirk curved Nangong Zhandao’s lips, his interest piqued. "This ought to be a fine spectacle."

A top powerhouse of the Yuan Realm vs. Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

"Likely spurred by the Saint King’s death on Xuan Gui Island and the incident with Saint Ziyang," Qi Ruyu surmised internally.

After a moment’s thought, she suggested, "Master, perhaps you should intervene and suppress this person."

Lin Qianmo glanced at her, understanding the intent: subduing the Sword Servant would represent a favor from the Red Dust Demon Sect to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

Yet Lin Qianmo dismissed the proposal.

She shook her head gently. "The people of the Yuan Realm praise the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion to the skies. Today, I’ve come to see what true capabilities he possesses."

"This person shall be our test stone."

"Sister, we had the same thought," Lan Youruo smiled and said.

"Let’s watch the show peacefully."

Seeing that Lin Qianmo and Lan Youruo had no intention to act, Qi Ruyu and Ye Hongchen both frowned tightly.

"Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, you’re hiding and not coming out; seems like you’re truly a coward," Sword Servant frowned slightly and continuously mocked.

Heaven’s Secret Pavilion was extremely mystical; his magic power couldn’t penetrate it, not even affect it, so he naturally didn’t dare to barge in recklessly.

"Yang Xuanzhan," Ye Xu called from within.

"At your service," Yang Xuanzhan bowed and stepped forward.

"Take this sword talisman, cut off the head of the one clamoring, and hang it in Linglong City as a warning."

Ye Xu gave a thought, and a talisman fell into Yang Xuanzhan’s palm.

The talisman was shaped like a three-inch ancient sword, densely covered with divine patterns, so numerous that they were dazzling.

"Yes," Yang Xuanzhan’s blood boiled; Sword Servant was supremely arrogant outside Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, and now the master was finally going to act, it was immensely satisfying.

He respectfully held the sword talisman and walked out of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.

"Yang Xuanzhan has come out," a sage narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at Yang Xuanzhan.

"I suppose it’s the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion’s command."

"Master, Yang Xuanzhan has a talisman in his hand," Qi Ruyu said with sharp eyes, staring intently at the talisman in Yang Xuanzhan’s hand; that talisman looked ordinary, shaped like a miniature ancient sword, with no frightening aura.

Lin Qianmo and Lan Youruo’s eyes glowed with divine light as they gazed at the sword talisman.

Swoosh!

In an instant, it seemed as if endless sword lights burst out from the talisman, nearly blinding them.

"What powerful sword intent," Lan Youruo said with awe.

Lin Qianmo said leisurely, "This talisman holds a world-shocking sword intent; I believe it’s the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion’s means to deal with that great sage."

"What is that thing?" Ye Hongchen asked in confusion.

Lin Qianmo said, "Top experts can seal powers like laws, divine abilities, sword intent, blade intent, etc., within a talisman; once it erupts, it’s earth-shattering."

"The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion is likely similar."

"However, how strong it is exactly, we must still wait and see."

Just by looking with their eyes, they couldn’t discern the power hidden within the sword talisman.

"Who are you?" Sword Servant’s gaze landed on Yang Xuanzhan, like two sword lights, making Yang Xuanzhan’s whole body sting painfully and feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I’m here on my master’s order to take your head," Yang Xuanzhan said.

"Is your master the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

Sword Servant sneered contemptuously. "Do you think you can take my life with just one Talisman?"

"My master said that doing it himself would dirty his hands," Yang Xuanzhan smiled lightly, brimming with confidence. "Please go to your death."

"Hahaha…" Sword Servant roared with wild laughter. "Then let me see what kind of ability the so-called master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion truly has."

Clang!

Yang Xuanzhan channeled a wisp of magic power into the sword talisman.

Instantly, endless swathes of sword light burst forth from the sword talisman.

The sword light shone dazzlingly, like a great sun, rendering countless cultivators unable to look directly at it. Tears streamed down their faces.

At the same time, a majestic aura manifested.

Dimly, everyone seemed to see a man in a green robe standing proudly between heaven and earth, wielding a three-foot Qingfeng.

"True Martial Seven Cuts Sword Scripture!"

The majestic sword intent suppressed everything, completely overpowering Sword Servant’s aura. The sword light illuminated his body like the sun scorching it, and inch by inch, his skin dissolved. The pain was excruciating.

Without hesitation, he swung his chain sword, activating the peerless martial art of the True Martial God Sect.

True Martial Seven Cuts Sword!

This technique had been passed down from the founding patriarch of the True Martial God Sect. It was rumored to have evolved from the legacy of the True Martial Great Emperor in the primordial era, containing profound mysteries.

Boom!

Sword Servant poured all his power into the chain sword. A divine sword thousands of zhang tall spanned across the heavens, like a celestial god brandishing a world-destroying sword, and he slashed toward the illusory figure.

Swish!

The sword descended, cutting into the majestic sword light, and Sword Servant’s magic power dissolved in an instant.

A wisp of golden sword light shot out from the fingertip of the illusory figure in the green robe.

Hum!

The void trembled with a ringing sound, and an enormous head thundered down from the sky—it was Sword Servant’s head.

A one-strike kill!

"So this is the depth of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion’s power? One great sage killed in the blink of an eye?"

A saint exclaimed, "Such power won’t be inferior to any major faction in the Yuan Realm!"

"This is a wonder-worker who can deduce the past and future, see through heaven’s secrets. Comparing Heaven’s Secret Pavilion to Yuan Realm factions shows utter disrespect for its master," someone else rebutted.

Crash!

Sword Servant’s primordial spirit and vital essence were slain with that one sword. His head hit the ground, and mere breaths later, his thousand-zhang-tall body collapsed toward the east.

During the fall, his physical form transformed into wisps of green smoke, dissolving into the void.

"Master, what do you think of the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion’s strength now?" Qi Ruyu asked eagerly.

Actually, regarding the strength of the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, people had been secretly guessing ever since its descent into the world.

Yet no one dared to draw a definite conclusion.

"If we judge solely by this attack, this person’s strength is no less than mine," Lin Qianmo said. "But it won’t surpass my limits."

Her power was unfathomable, poised to attain the Dao.

Killing Sword Servant in one blow was as easy as flipping her hand.

"He’s stronger than me," Lan Youruo uttered solemnly.

She was a Moon God Clan expert, a divine clan bloodline, but asked herself: even against that majestic sword intent, the slightest oversight would leave her badly injured.

Qi Ruyu and Ye Hongchen looked shocked.

Peak quasi-emperor!

"This is only a small display of his power; we can’t conclude he’s just a quasi-emperor," Lin Qianmo continued. "No quasi-emperor would dare inscribe that couplet."

At these words, Lan Youruo also felt shocked.

If Lin Qianmo’s speculation held truth, the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion might be a Great Emperor, even an Emperor Venerable.

Or even…

A fairy walking among mortals!

"It seems the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion is truly a wonder-worker," Nangong Zhandao said with a smile.

"Now, with sincere hearts, we can properly meet this senior."