The moment tens of thousands of mystic-energy swords formed overhead, Lin Ye struck first.
Was he supposed to wait for their formation to stabilize and hand them the advantage?
Calamity Ghost Sword—
A faint tremor.
A ghostly howl.
The sound alone shattered the incoming sword qi like glass.
Ten Moon Wheel experts staggered back at once, blood spraying from their mouths.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Only three people managed to withstand the impact.
Zhu Jianxu—Moon Wheel Seventh Layer.
And two others—Moon Wheel Fifth Layer.
Everyone else was shaken, their minds ringing as the ghostly wail echoed inside their skulls.
Some collapsed entirely, clutching their heads and rolling on the ground in agony.
Zhu Jianxu's expression darkened.
"What kind of monster are you?"
"That demonic sword… you two are clearly evil cultivators!"
"Die!"
He stepped forward, aura roaring.
A green longsword flashed out, slashing a sword qi over thirty meters long.
Boom!
The wave surged toward Lin Ye.
"Break."
Lin Ye answered with a single slash.
The massive sword qi was torn apart cleanly—like cloth cut by a razor.
His blade was too sharp.
Too absolute.
Lin Ye closed in, forcing Zhu Jianxu into range.
The other two Moon Wheel Fifth Layer elders attacked together, turning it into a three-man siege.
Sword qi tangled in the air.
The battlefield became a storm.
Wu Yao retreated instantly, pulling the remaining disciples back as well.
They didn't need direct hits—just the stray shockwaves could kill them.
They had almost died to Nalan Jing earlier.
Now they might die to their own elders' sword qi by accident.
Wu Yao wanted to help.
But she couldn't.
Even worse—she now owed Lin Ye a life.
If the elders killed him, she should've felt relief.
Instead, she felt a knot in her chest.
But Lin Ye didn't look pressured at all.
Even facing three…
He looked relaxed.
Luo Gui silently drew his Black Python Spear and circled behind the battlefield.
He wasn't looking for glory.
He was looking for harvest.
Whoosh!
The spear shot out, piercing one elder's skull clean through.
That man was still trembling from the ghost howl, completely broken—no will to fight left.
Bang!
Luo Gui pierced another immediately.
"So damn good."
He finally understood the "joy" Lin Ye experienced.
When the enemy couldn't even resist—
Killing became harvesting.
Not because they didn't want to resist.
But because Lin Ye was too strong.
Their resistance barely counted.
Meanwhile, Lin Ye twisted his wrist—
Clang!
The Calamity Ghost Sword snapped one opponent's blade in half.
A sword qi followed, carving into the man's body.
The Moon Wheel Fifth Layer elder hastily formed mystic armor.
Bang!
The armor split, and the leftover sword qi tore a wound across his flesh.
His face twitched.
The wound didn't behave like normal sword damage.
That remaining sword qi felt like a swarm of furious ghosts clawing inside the cut—tearing it wider and wider.
He had to drop to the ground and force the residual sword qi out with cultivation.
Zhu Jianxu roared, "Don't get cut! Avoid his blade!"
He unleashed a continuous sword art—rain-like strikes falling from tricky angles, smothering Lin Ye's space.
Lin Ye blocked them all with ease.
The remaining Moon Wheel Fifth Layer elder's face turned ugly.
He didn't want to get cut either.
But Lin Ye's mystic energy alone already rivaled all three of them combined.
Now that one of them had been forced out of the fight—
The pressure became lethal.
Zhu Jianxu saw an opening and immediately struck.
"Earth-Grade Sword Art: Split Stars into Moons!"
A killing slash aimed for Lin Ye's vital point.
Bang!
A blood-colored armor blocked it.
Fourth-Grade Asura Blood Armor.
Zhu Jianxu's strongest strike couldn't break through.
Lin Ye didn't even look at him.
Instead, he lunged at the injured Moon Wheel Fifth Layer elder.
"Ruin-Calamity Claw!"
A palm strike descended.
The elder's eyes widened in terror—
And in the next second, his body exploded into minced flesh.
Boom!
Killing a Four Symbols Hall veteran in front of Zhu Jianxu—
A Moon Wheel Fifth Layer powerhouse—
That was humiliation.
That was provocation.
Zhu Jianxu's eyes went bloodshot.
"I'll kill you!"
He erupted and slashed again.
Boom!
His sword qi blasted the rocks behind Lin Ye into rubble—
But Lin Ye's blood armor held firm.
Lin Ye's gaze shifted to the last Moon Wheel Fifth Layer elder.
Cold.
Calm.
He stepped forward.
The elder panicked and rushed toward Zhu Jianxu's side, raising his armor.
Too late.
Nine blood-asura sword qi arcs flooded down like a storm.
Rumble!
Explosions stacked one after another.
The elder tried to hold with a shield and armor.
Boom! Boom!
The earth collapsed, forming a deep crater.
When the smoke cleared—
There was only shredded flesh and shattered shield fragments.
Zhu Jianxu's face turned ashen.
Luo Gui wasn't having an easy time anymore.
The remaining seven elders snapped out of the mental shock and joined forces, trapping him in a sword formation.
Zhu Jianxu saw it and sneered.
"Better hurry."
"If you don't, your friend dies."
He said it deliberately—trying to force Lin Ye into panic and expose flaws.
Lin Ye glanced at Luo Gui.
His emotions didn't move.
But Luo Gui had stood by him.
Luo Gui had been loyal.
Lin Ye wouldn't let that loyalty turn into death.
"Then I'll solve you first."
Lin Ye raised his hand, seals flashing.
Secret Art—
Mad Blood Curse.
A surge exploded from his core.
Zhu Jianxu's pupils shrank.
"A secret art!"
He immediately used his own.
But at his level, the boost was limited.
"Breaking-Realm Secret Art!"
His aura only rose slightly—entering mid-stage Moon Wheel Seventh Layer.
Half a layer.
Lin Ye's Mad Blood Curse—
Raised him by two full layers.
Moon Wheel Third Layer…
Straight to Moon Wheel Fifth Layer.
Boom!
The star-forged Moon Wheel in his qi sea released deeper power.
The Fourth Layer of the Nine Revolutions Asura Art accelerated everything—energy circulation, sword force, killing speed.
Zhu Jianxu slashed rapidly, turning mystic energy into roaring flames like chains.
"Sea of Flames Burns the Sky!"
The fire chains surged toward Lin Ye.
Lin Ye answered with both palms.
"Blood Luo Skyfall Palm."
River-like force surged from his strikes—countless torrents colliding head-on.
Boom!
The clash didn't become balanced.
Zhu Jianxu's flames collapsed instantly.
Zhu Jianxu looked down—
A sword had already pierced his chest.
Lin Ye had thrown the Calamity Ghost Sword like a hidden blade, slipping it inside the waves.
It pierced Zhu Jianxu's heart.
All mystic energy vanished, instantly losing its source.
And then—
The palm force arrived.
Boom!
Zhu Jianxu was blasted into fragments.
"Father…!"
Zhu Xiao stood frozen, mind blank.
His father…
Dead?
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
A bolt.
A Wind-Breaking Crossbow.
It punched straight through Zhu Xiao's skull.
Thud.
The body collapsed.
Eradicate the roots.