mijobooks Chapter 416: Five Moves!
Chapter 416: Five Moves!
After two more strikes, only Shen Ziyue remained standing before him.
"Thunderflame Gale Sword Art, Tempest Collapse!"
Facing Shen Ziyue, Li Yun did not hold back. He immediately unleashed one of his strongest attacks. Sixty percent Lightning Intent erupted together with seventy percent Sword Intent, and a vast wave of Sword Qi swept outward like a storm collapsing from the heavens. The terrifying sword force spread across the sky and rushed toward Shen Ziyue with overwhelming momentum.
"Violet Cloud Spirit Bell Suppression!"
Shen Ziyue’s face changed drastically as he hurriedly summoned his defensive technique. Purple Essence Qi surged out of his body and condensed into a massive violet bell before him, but in front of Li Yun’s sword storm, his resistance was completely futile.
The violet spirit bell lasted for only three breaths before countless cracks spread across its surface.
Bang!
The bell shattered apart, and the remaining Sword Qi crashed into Shen Ziyue, sending him flying backward as well.
Five strikes.
In only five strikes, all five geniuses from Azure Ridge Prefecture, including Shen Ziyue, had been defeated by Li Yun.
One sword for each person.
"Impossible. This is impossible."
The five defeated geniuses, including Shen Ziyue, all had pale faces. Their eyes trembled, and none of them could accept the reality before them.
Being defeated by Su Fengyan had already been humiliating, but at the very least, Su Fengyan was also a Mortal Core Realm cultivator, so losing to him was not completely unbearable. However, being defeated by Li Yun, a cultivator at only the 1st level of the Essence Qi Realm, was an entirely different matter.
What made it even harder to accept was that Li Yun had not barely defeated them after a bitter struggle. He had used only five sword strikes to crush all five of them.
This was not a battle between equals.
This was absolute suppression.
"A sneak attack. That was a sneak attack. It does not count."
One of the Azure Ridge Prefecture geniuses suddenly roared in anger, clearly unwilling to accept his defeat.
"Shut up."
Zhao Tianxun’s face was dark as he barked at him without mercy. "You are a Mortal Core Realm cultivator, yet you were instantly defeated by a 1st level Essence Qi Realm martial artist, and you still have the face to call it a sneak attack? Useless trash."
Those words made the young man’s face flush red with shame. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue, but in the end, he could not say a single word.
Zhao Tianxun then turned his gaze toward Jian Wuchen. His expression was still gloomy, but a cold smile appeared on his face as he said, "Junior Brother Jian, it seems your luck is rather good this time. You actually managed to pick up a few decent seedlings."
He paused for a moment, and the mockery in his eyes deepened.
"As your senior brother, I should congratulate you. However, you should remember one thing. The tallest tree in the forest is always the first to be struck by the storm. These geniuses you selected may be promising, but you had better watch over them carefully."
After saying this, Zhao Tianxun controlled his Crimson Hawk-Lion with a dark expression and left with Shen Ziyue, Yao Lingshu, and the others.
"Hmph. The tallest tree in the forest is always the first to be struck by the storm?"
Jian Wuchen watched Zhao Tianxun leave and sneered coldly. "I think he is simply unwilling to admit defeat and is choking on his own jealousy."
Afterward, Jian Wuchen turned toward Li Yun, and his expression immediately became much warmer. He laughed heartily and patted Li Yun on the shoulder.
"Li Yun, well done. You truly performed exceptionally this time."
His mood was clearly excellent. "Zhao Tianxun and I belong to different factions, and our relationship has never been good. This time, you really slapped his face for me. I have to admit, watching that felt extremely satisfying."
Then, Jian Wuchen lowered his voice slightly and continued, "Also, you defeated several Mortal Core Realm geniuses while only being at the 1st level of the Essence Qi Realm. With a performance like that, you have definitely attracted the attention of the sect’s higher-ups. Hehe, perhaps from this moment onward, the sect has already started to regard you as someone worth focusing on."
Hearing Jian Wuchen’s words, the others from the Southern Martial Domain could not help looking at Li Yun with envy.
Su Fengyan’s expression was especially complicated.
After breaking through to the 1st level of the Mortal Core Realm and comprehending Wind-Fire Formless, he had thought that his strength had finally surpassed Li Yun’s. Yet now, after witnessing Li Yun’s overwhelming display, he realized that the gap between them had not narrowed at all. Instead, it seemed to have grown even wider.
That feeling of desperately chasing after someone, only to see that person move farther away with every step, was truly difficult to bear.
Although Su Fengyan’s talent could not compare to Li Yun’s, his mindset was still firm and steady. After experiencing a brief moment of disappointment, he quickly adjusted his emotions and calmed the turmoil in his heart.
Since he was destined to be unable to catch up to Li Yun for the time being, he would simply treat Li Yun as a goal to pursue. Having such an unreachable figure standing ahead of him would not make him collapse. Instead, it would sharpen his will, stimulate his potential, and push him to walk further on the path of martial cultivation.
"Let us go."
Jian Wuchen nodded slightly. What he admired most about Su Fengyan was precisely this kind of mentality. On the path of a martial artist, talent was important, but if one could not maintain a stable heart, then even the most brilliant talent would eventually become fragile.
Afterward, the group continued riding the Crimson Hawk-Lion and finally landed on a nearby hilltop.
Calling it a small hilltop was actually an understatement, because this place was far larger than the entire Sword Mist Mountain. At the foot of the mountain, crowds of people moved back and forth in a lively manner. At a single glance, there seemed to be several hundred people gathered there.
"Brother Jian."
Jian Wuchen seemed to have a fairly good reputation among the disciples. As soon as he landed, many people came forward and greeted him, while their gazes naturally shifted toward Li Yun, Su Fengyan, Huang Chen, Li Hao, and the others behind him.
Without exception, the moment those people saw Li Yun, they all revealed stunned and strange expressions.
However, most of them merely glanced at him briefly. They did not mock him or say anything unnecessary because of it.
"Hiss."
After observing the surroundings for a while, Su Fengyan could not help drawing in a cold breath.
Most of the young cultivators walking around were around twenty years old, yet among them, not a single one had a cultivation level lower than the 1st level of the Mortal Core Realm.
In the Southern Martial Domain, any one of these people would already be considered a top level genius, but here, they were gathered in large numbers like ordinary participants.