Lu Chengxuan's pupils shrank.
He watched Lin Ye casually dodge his killing slash like it was nothing—and for a split second, his mind blanked.
"How… is that possible?"
Before he could recover, nine blood-red sword energies erupted in front of Lin Ye like raging dragons.
They fused into a crimson sword-river dozens of meters long, roaring straight toward Lu Chengxuan.
BOOM! BOOM!
The sky exploded.
The killing intent was so dense it felt like the heavens were bleeding.
Luo Gui immediately dodged aside.
Lin Ye's sword momentum didn't just attack—it sealed all escape routes, trapping the target completely, leaving not even a hair-thin gap.
Lu Chengxuan roared in fury.
"Trying to kill me?! You're only Star River Realm, and you dare contend with a Moonwheel expert?!"
"Today, I'll show you what absolute suppression truly means!"
A violent light burst from Lu Chengxuan's body.
The sky above Thousand Spirit City lit up like a second sun, releasing an energy so sharp it made everyone's scalp tingle.
Yet Lin Ye didn't hesitate.
He charged forward.
The nine blood sword energies smashed down—
and instantly shattered Lu Chengxuan's protective qi armor.
Lu Chengxuan's face changed.
He thought he could easily block Lin Ye's attack.
But the moment they made contact—
his defense shattered like paper.
This brat's power…
was beyond his imagination.
Lin Ye's voice dropped.
"Eight Desolations Blood-Slaughter Force."
The moment he spoke—
the force erupted.
Lu Chengxuan didn't even have time to display his full abilities.
Under the storm of blood sword energy…
his body exploded into a mist of blood.
Lu Chengxuan… dead.
No grand duel.
No prolonged clash.
Just—
instant execution.
A Moonwheel Realm deputy sect master…
slaughtered like a bug.
The entire city went silent.
Below, Thousand Spirit City's cultivators were frozen.
That was Lu Chengxuan.
A true Moonwheel Realm powerhouse!
And he was… one-shot?
Fang Yiyi stood rigid, staring upward.
She saw everything clearly.
She originally believed Lin Ye's strength wouldn't be that outrageous—after all, he wasn't from Tianming Sect.
But now…
She watched him in rage, erase a Moonwheel Realm expert in seconds.
Her lips parted unconsciously.
Her pupils trembled.
"H-How…?"
The blood mist still hadn't dispersed.
The entire crowd was dazed.
"Am I seeing things?"
"That blood mist… is that really… the deputy sect master?"
"It… it looks like it…"
From Lu Chengxuan's arrogant declaration to his death…
Less than five minutes.
Luo Gui held his Black Python Spear stiffly, eyes full of shock.
He couldn't even find words.
In the end, he could only choke out:
"Y-You… damn… you're savage."
Lin Ye didn't respond.
His eyes narrowed toward the distant sky.
Luo Gui's heart jolted.
He immediately understood—
Lin Ye wasn't done.
The real trap…
had been waiting all along.
A furious shout echoed from the sky.
"Form the array—Earth Net Sword Formation!"
A man stepped forward in cold determination.
Bai Xinmei.
Earth Sword Hall's hall master.
The moment he saw Lu Chengxuan get erased, he knew—
There was no turning back.
They could only fight.
If they tried to flee now…
Lin Ye would hunt them down one by one.
Only by combining their full strength…
did they have even the slightest chance to kill him.
After all—
Lin Ye must be using a secret technique.
Once it wears off?
Backlash would drag him straight into hell.
Sixteen figures appeared in the sky.
Six Star River Realm experts.
Ten Celestial Phenomenon Realm peak experts.
Sixteen cultivators activated their techniques simultaneously.
The sword formation opened.
And Lin Ye was instantly dragged inside it.
BOOM!
Sword qi gathered like a raging storm.
In the sky above, tens of thousands of flying sword phantoms materialized—dense and endless, blotting out the clouds.
"Earth Net Sword Formation!"
"It can kill Moonwheel Realm experts! That kid is finished!"
"Finished? Lu Chengxuan was Moonwheel, and he died too."
"That's different!"
"If the formation isn't fully completed, maybe he still has a chance. But once it forms…"
"No one escapes."
Someone shook their head with regret.
In his eyes, Lin Ye was a monster who could dominate the next twenty years.
But he lacked one thing—
he didn't know how to keep his head down.
He'd die too young.
Lin Ye sneered.
"A formation?"
He could tell—
this formation had been prepared long ago.
Originally, Lin Ye planned to let them scatter and then slaughter them one by one.
But they weren't idiots.
They chose to gamble everything.
Unfortunately…
even face-to-face battle wouldn't change their fate.
Lin Ye activated the Heaven Strategy Dragon-Soaring Steps.
His body blurred into countless afterimages, cutting through the sky.
"Seal!"
Bai Xinmei roared.
The tens of thousands of sword shadows trembled—then transformed into a massive sword tornado, swallowing Lin Ye and tightening around him.
"Asura Blood Armor!"
Lin Ye's blood armor flared.
Sword qi slammed down repeatedly, carving only the faintest scratches into the crimson plating.
Breaking it…
was not that easy.
But Lin Ye knew—
If he didn't break the array soon, even he would be ground down eventually.
His gaze flashed.
"Crimson Lotus Tribulation Cauldron."
A massive cauldron appeared before him.
Within it slept an uncontrollable flame—
a flame Lin Ye hadn't been able to refine yet.
His current strength wasn't enough.
But in Tongming state…
He could borrow it.
Lin Ye slammed vast amounts of qi into the cauldron.
Then—
a red lotus flame slowly rose.
The moment it appeared…
the world turned red.
It was beautiful.
Demonic.
Elegant.
And filled with a terrifying aura of destruction.
"This… is Crimson Lotus Karma Flame?"
Even Lin Ye was summoning it for the first time.
And the moment it appeared—
the sword tornado around him began to melt.
Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.
"Go."
He could already feel the flame resisting him.
The backlash was coming.
Only in Tongming state could he control it for even a moment.
But a moment…
was enough.
The red lotus exploded outward.
When the lotus flame collided with the sword tornado—
countless firebirds burst from it like divine phoenixes, instantly filling the entire formation.
BOOM!
Earth Sword Hall's disciples panicked.
They felt their power being sucked away like a bottomless abyss.
"Abandon the formation!"
Bai Xinmei roared.
If they didn't disperse now…
they'd be swallowed alive.
They forced the array apart—
But in that instant…
A massive blood claw descended from above.
"Shatter Calamity Claw!"
Bai Xinmei's face twisted in terror.
The six Star River Realm experts' hearts leapt—
Too late.
The claw fell.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Six bodies exploded in midair.
Blood rained across the sky.