The ley lines of sovereignty of the Imperial Mausoleum.

The waterfall at the Grass-pecking Cliff.

Nalan Rongruo stood at the edge of the waterfall, feeling her rage burn in the pit of her stomach. She was so furious that she nearly died of anger.

She hadn’t believed her Senior Brothers when they told her how shameless those from the Chamber of the Rainy Duel could be. Now, she was witnessing it with her own eyes. “Shameless” was too kind a word to describe them.

Nangong Jie, dressed in a snow-white attire, stood 10 meters away from her with a three-feet-long sword in hand. He looked distinguished and proper yet his behavior was beyond disgusting.

He was the great Young Chamber Lord of the Chamber of the Rainy Duel. Having entered the Starburst Realm at the age of 18, he was known as the future genius of the Chamber.

It was shocking for him to do something as outrageous as stealing someone’s prey, ambushing another, and blatantly lying. Even if both sides didn’t like each other because of the feud between their sects, a battle would have been the right way to settle their problem. Wasn’t he ashamed to do something so disgusting?!

However, the two Senior Brothers in the Starburst realm who led their group of Qingqiu Sword Sect disciples were now dead. The remaining six were all in the Physic Realm. They were no match for Nangong Jie.

Undoubtedly, they would be helpless against him in a fight.

All they could do was glare at him.

“Hurry up and hand over that Three-eyed Spirit Deer before I change my mind. You all can leave after.” Nangong Jie wore the smile of a victor. He extended his finger and pointed to the spiritual deer behind Nalan Rongruo.

None of the six Qingqiu Sword Sect disciples said a word. Their grip on their sword tightened.

Qi Shenghua and Yue Shu, who stood in front of Nalan Rongruo, had already begun to adjust their breathing. They raised their wrist so that their sword hilt was pointed inward while the blade was pointed outward. Determination flicked in their bright eyes.

Both were the remaining male disciples in this group of disciples. Naturally, they were the ones to make a move at this moment.

No one had ever heard of Qingqiu Sword Sect disciples being too cowardly to fight despite knowing they had no chance of winning.

Nangong Jie noticed their gaze as well as their wrist movement. His eyebrows instantly knitted and impatience flitted across his pupils when he saw that they were disregarding his words. “Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. The spiritual deer is the only thing I want. If you don’t appreciate my kindness, then I’ll have all of your lives instead. Judging from your appearance, it must be your first time coming out to experience the world. Do you really want to die together in this Imperial Mausoleum and leave not even a skeleton behind?!”

He shot Nalan Rongruo a glance. “Female disciples as beautiful as flower like you will change beyond recognition after getting gnawed on by vicious beasts. I wonder if you all will dare to reincarnate after reaching the Underworld.”

“If all of us die here, naturally there will be Senior Brothers avenging us,” Nalan Rongruo replied solemnly.

She had a baby face and two adorable dimples on her cheeks. Though she was glaring at him, he couldn’t bring himself to feel hatred. Rather, he somewhat pitied her.

“Idiotic!”

“Naive!”

“Is your brain screwed on right?”

“With all of you dead, who would know that I murdered you?!”

“Even if they know, who would dare seek revenge? I’m the Young Chamber Lord of the Chamber of the Rainy Duel! Do your Senior Brothers have the guts to come to Southern Yue? Even if they do come, do you think they’ll live to return?”

Nangong Jie laughed wantonly while pointing at Nalan Rongruo. This female disciple who was exploring the world for the first time was so adorably foolish. He was beginning to feel hesitant to kill her.

“You’re the idiotic one!”

“Your entire family is idiotic!”

“Go to hell!”

Nalan Rongruo narrowed her eyes and frowned after hearing Nangong Jie mock her. Following a snort, she unexpectedly unsheathed the sword hanging at her waist. In an instant, she courageously closed the 10 meters of distance between them and aimed for Nangong Jie.

She used the Wind-slicing style, one of the styles from the nine entry-level sword skills of the Qingqiu Sword Sect.

“No more than fancy tricks!”

As if he had predicted her actions, Nangong Jie tapped the tip of his foot on the ground and flew backward by several meters. With a gentle wave of his finger, the sword in his hand flew at Nalan Rongruo’s Wind-slicing sword style while glowing with blue light.

The blue light transformed into foggy rain in midair. There was obviously one sword yet there seemed to be an endless rain of swords in everyone’s eyes.

After failing to hit her target with the Wind-slicing sword style, Nalan Rongruo twisted her waist and unleashed the remaining eight sword styles one by one.

Thorny Rain, Crystalized Frost, Scattered Mist, Sudden Thunderclap, Mountain-crushing, Water-ceasing, Cloud-reaching, Burning Sun.

One sword followed after another.

She cried each time the swords flew out as if she was practicing her swordsmanship.

Qingqiu Sword Sect disciples were most familiar with the nine entry-level sword skills. Those were also the easiest for them to perform. After using the Wind-slicing Sword, she was essentially unleashing the remaining eight sword skills out of instinct. She didn’t even have to think.

After unleashing her nine sword skills, she swiftly wielded her sword in a defensive stance. Her chest was heaving and her small face was red. Even though she was gasping for breath, her eyes were filled with excitement. This was her first time leaving the sect for experience as well as her first time fighting a life-and-death battle. Moreover, her opponent was a genius whose cultivation was one realm higher than hers. She didn’t expect to unleash the entirety of the entry-level nine-sword swordsmanship and surprised herself by performing it so smoothly. Could it be that she had a gift for battling?

“Be careful!”

She first heard her Junior Brother Qi Shenghua’s alarmed cry coming from behind her. Then, she saw a sword mysteriously and inexplicably emerge out of the foggy rain that she had sliced earlier. It stabbed her chest at an exceptionally tricky angle.

Feeling a wave of Sword Qi hit her face and seeing the mysterious shadow of the sword charging at her, her reaction evidently slowed. After all, she was an inexperienced rookie battling for the first time. What did she know about techniques used in life-and-death battles? She had thrown all of her power behind her previous attack and left nothing for her defense. Right now, her energy was completely exhausted.

“Swordsmanship from the Qingqiu Sword Sect.”

“Overrated!”

“Using swords to manipulate Qi?”

“That’s the biggest joke I’ve ever heard!”

Nangong Jie scoffed. “Today, I’ll show you what true sword skills look like and what it truly means to be a sword hegemon!”

His voice had barely faded when his sword reached Nalan Rongruo’s face!

…

The two male disciples had been watching the battle attentively. At this crucial moment, one wielded his sword defensively to block Nangong Jie’s mysterious attack. The other reached out to drag Nalan Rongruo and brandished his sword with his other hand.

However, the difference in power between realms wasn’t something that headcount could make up for. To make things worse, Nangong Jie was using Qi to manipulate his sword. He was apt at long-range attacks and had better cultivation, too. It made him more powerful than any of them.

The sword with a mythical body brushed past Qi Shenghua’s wrist before skewering Yue Shu’s shoulder. Finally, it pointed at Nalan Rongruo’s midbrows.

The remaining three female disciples who had yet to make a move couldn’t react quick enough to save them. They cried out in alarm but their cries sounded a little off. It was as if they were shocked, but not terribly sorrowful.

A terrible scene was about to unfold before their eyes.

However, right then, a voice rang next to their ears.

“Stop!”

The simple command seemed to carry extraordinary power. Unexpectedly, the sword charging at Nalan Rongruo stopped a centimeter away from her midbrows.

The sword had no choice but to stop.

The sword didn’t dare to not stop.

The moment the voice resounded, Nangong Jie sensed a dangerous vibe coming from behind him. Simultaneously, he also felt an intense stab of pain.

He was shocked to discover a sword clinging to the back of his head!

Nangong Jie, a Starburst Realm cultivator, had completely failed to detect the sword! What kind of crafty swordsmanship was this?!

Gradually, a figure emerged from the stone steps that led to the Grass-pecking Cliff. He appeared far away upon first glance and yet he was standing behind Nangong Jie in the next glance. “Who’s the one spouting conceited nonsense earlier, calling the sword skills of Qingqiu Sword Sect overrated and using swords to manipulate Qi laughable?”