Chapter 60: Killed a Rongdao Cultivator

In the chaos, blood sprayed everywhere.

The other sect disciples watching grinned, seeing the Qiwu Sect disciples continuously falling dead, unable to understand why the arrival of a bottom-tier realm cultivator had turned the tide of battle.

The deadliest were the five hidden swords—they fell to the ground after being thrown, pretending to be the swords of fallen disciples.

But then, at any moment, they would suddenly leap up again, striking straight for the neck, impossible to guard against.

“Huh? Why are all the ones getting stabbed dead from Qiwu Sect?”

“You’re right—it really is!”

“There’s something fishy here—Qiwu Sect must’ve been set up!”

Ding Yao, hearing the murmurs around her, clenched her teeth: “Gongshu Senior Brother, stop holding back—kill that bottom-tier realm cultivator immediately!”

Upon hearing this, the Rongdao cultivator fully unleashed his suppressed spiritual energy, his aura surging violently.

Ji You had been able to overpower this Rongdao cultivator across two realms only because of his superior spiritual energy circulation speed.

He dared to deploy all his spiritual energy because his recovery rate was fast, but the opponent had been suppressing his spiritual energy, only using half-strength, afraid of being drained.

But now, seeing the battle turn dire, holding back would be foolish.

Gongshu Chou raised his sword, stomped the ground, his aura exploding as he poured every last bit of spiritual energy into the blade—the sword roared like a tiger, slashing horizontally.

This strike was like a thunderclap in the night sky; the arrogant sword qi surged upward, overwhelming the entire battlefield.

“Young brother, dodge!”

Ban Yangshu shouted, his eyes filled with terror.

A fully unleashed Rongdao cultivator—even if he could only deliver one full-power strike—would be fatal to a bottom-tier realm cultivator.

The gap between their realms was too vast; no clever sword technique or abundant spiritual energy could bridge it!

As his words ended, Ji You felt boundless pressure—the sword intent was already rushing toward him like thunder.

But unexpectedly, he raised his own sword to meet it, slicing through the opponent’s sword qi and colliding head-on.

In Gongshu Chou’s eyes, his sword would shatter the opponent’s blade, then slash diagonally across the neck, splitting him in two.

“I’ve been waiting for this.”

“Watch out—the little flying spike’s coming.”

Ji You spoke softly, expressionless, while Gongshu Chou’s pupils contracted sharply.

Because the opponent’s sword had left his hand.

It wasn’t held—it was controlled!

Gongshu Chou was horrified to realize that though the sword had appeared held all along, it had secretly switched to spiritual control at some point.

After leaving his hand, the sword continued along its original cutting path.

Meanwhile, the bottom-tier realm cultivator, using his utmost body technique, slipped past it, his left hand surging with spiritual energy, wrapping a black spike that drove straight into Gongshu Chou’s chest.

Boom!

Ji You crushed the spiritual energy in his palm and thrust forward—the sharp black spike pierced straight through Gongshu Chou’s chest and slammed into the stone wall behind him.

Gongshu Chou looked down at his chest, now gushing blood, and collapsed onto the ground.

The battlefield fell utterly silent.

The white-robed swordsman wiped sweat from his brow, expressionless, then stood tall in the center, sword intent surging.

A bottom-tier realm cultivator had killed a Rongdao cultivator.

Even under suppressed spiritual energy, this was unbelievable!

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin both halted their fighting, turning back in stunned silence to look at Ji You, at a loss for words.

Just moments ago, Ji You had seemed certain to die—but now it was the Rongdao cultivator who lay dead.

“Young brother, are you… alright?”

Ban Yangshu’s face was pale, fearing Ji You had used a life-for-life gamble.

Ji You waved his hand: “The sword in my hand wasn’t held—it was controlled by spiritual energy from the moment I struck. I did it to lure his sword, then hid a spike in my left hand and waited.”

Hearing this, everyone froze, then a chill ran up their spines.

He hadn’t feared the opponent unleashing his spiritual energy—he’d been waiting for it, to unleash his full power.

Only then could he be certain the opponent had no spiritual energy left to protect himself, so he secretly switched from holding to controlling, drawing out that full-power slash.

He closed the distance and stabbed straight through the defenseless opponent’s heart.

This move could be considered an ambush—it could only be used once. Once the opponent was alert, it would never work again.

Thus, the previous seven flowing swords and hidden blades had all been setup for this single stab.

Qingyun Realm had been too peaceful for too long; everyone focused solely on cultivation, and even at the Dao Discourse Assembly, they relied on realm superiority.

But Ji You was different.

The moment he decided to cultivate both martial and spiritual paths, he resolved that if he ever left the Heavenly Book Academy, he would walk the path of the outlaw.

Thus, every sword technique he learned was meant for killing.

In a duel, a lower-rank cultivator could never defeat a higher one—but in life-or-death combat, it’s different.

There are many ways to make someone die.

At this moment, Ding Yao stared at the fallen Rongdao cultivator, her face pale.

[His sword was strong.]

She suddenly recalled what Zhuo Wanqiu had told her during the forest search.

As an inner-courtyard disciple of Lingjian Mountain, she had scoffed at those words then.

Especially when the man had stood motionless while they searched him—she’d dismissed him entirely, even thinking killing him on the spot would be a waste of time.

Only now did she realize just how strong he truly was.

It wasn’t just his sword, or his spiritual sense—even his spiritual energy intensity had surpassed that of a Rongdao cultivator.

But she didn’t understand why, when they’d met that day, he hadn’t resisted.

She looked up and saw the bottom-tier realm cultivator had recalled all his swords, suspending them mid-air, his expression cold as he faced the cultivators whose spiritual energy was nearly depleted, alone encircling them all.

“Senior Brother, take the others and leave first.”

“Understood.”

Ban Yangshu sheathed his sword, immediately ordering men to carry Pei Ruyi away, leading the disciples toward the dense forest on the slope.

Wen Zhengxin stayed behind to cover their retreat, planning to leave only after everyone was far enough.

At that moment, they heard Ji You’s voice suddenly ring out in the silent battlefield.

“If you all charge me now, you have a good chance of overwhelming and killing me—I’m not that strong.”

“But why bother?”

“Know this: if Wen Senior Sister and I fight together, even if we die here, we’ll take out several—or even a dozen—of you before we go.”

“It might be you… or you.”

Ji You pointed casually at several cultivators: “You might think it won’t be you—but why not you? You’re all cannon fodder sent by your sects. Why fight so hard? How much are they paying you?”

At his words, disciples from Lingjian Mountain and Qiwu Sect fell silent for a long while.

And so, one bottom-tier realm cultivator, with seven swords faintly humming in the air, truly stood alone, holding off a thousand.

Remember, the two remaining Rongdao cultivators, though wounded, could still kill a bottom-tier realm cultivator easily—and the other disciples weren’t weaklings.

Yet not a single one dared step forward.

Wen Zhengxin had spent years in the inner courtyard and didn’t know Ji You well; now, staring at his outlaw-like profile, her gaze grew deeply complex.

Before entering the mountain, Ban Yangshu had reported to her that he planned to station a bottom-tier realm cultivator outside as backup.

She hadn’t thought much of it—after all, a bottom-tier realm cultivator couldn’t possibly add much strength.

But the sight of those seven swords returning in a storm had utterly shattered her understanding of the bottom-tier realm.

Then, before all eyes, the two of them sheathed their swords and left.

At that moment, everyone suddenly heard a muffled groan of pain, and turned to see Gongshu Chou, still lying on the ground, his right hand trembling as it lifted from the pool of blood.

(End of Chapter)