The confrontation hung heavy in the air, the dust of the shattered spiritual bell settling on the courtyard. Elder Mu, his face an ugly mask of rage, stood over the still kneeling Teng Chi, the weight of his newly achieved Early Nascent Soul aura crushing the young man.
"You wish to kill Lin Ming? Where is the harmony in that?!"
Teng Chi, though shaking from the overwhelming spiritual pressure, was too proud to fully surrender. He slowly lifted his head, bowing deeply from his kneeling position.
"Elder," Teng Chi's voice was respectful, yet laced with fury. "This Junior recognizes the Elder's power and respects the Elder's realm. However, this man is a disease. He is a rootless cripple who blasphemed the purity of our Sect's Fairy, Su Yueru, through deception and likely demonic arts. I was simply purging the blight before it could corrupt the entire Sect's foundation. This Junior dares to ask, does a Nascent Soul Elder truly protect a mortal who has shamed the Jade Harmony Sect?"
Elder Mu let out a burst of laughter. "Shame? The only shame here is a Core Disciple trying to murder someone over a woman. Rise, Teng Chi. You presume too much of the debt the Sect Master has paid, and you know too little of the Dao."
Teng Chi finally rose, his eyes burning with a cold fanaticism. He knew attacking a Nascent Soul elder was an act of suicide, but the shame of Lin Ming's smirk and the disciples' whispers drove him.
"If the Elder insists on protecting him, then this Junior will humbly request guidance on the Path of the Sword before I leave these grounds in defeat!"
With that, Teng Chi reached into his bag of holding. A streak of sapphire light emerged, forming into his terrifying weapon, the Epic-ranked Pure Pavilion Blade. The sword hummed, vibrating with the compressed energy of his Golden Core. Teng Chi gripped the hilt, pouring every ounce of his cultivation base into the blade.
"Elder, forgive this Junior's impudence!"
He did not hesitate. He slashed forward, with a torrent of focused Sword energy. The attack manifested as three razor-thin rays of blinding energy, each aimed not to kill the Elder, but to test his defenses. This was a classic high level probe, a display of skill designed to impress the master before retreating.
The Sword Energy screamed through the air, carving perfect lines in the space between them. Lin Ming, watching from the courtyard floor, felt the chilling power of the attack, which was dozens of times stronger than Teng Chi's earlier bell attack.
Elder Mu didn't move an inch. He didn't summon a defensive shield, nor did he draw a weapon. He simply extended two fingers, like a scholar idly plucking a lute string.
A wave of pure, invisible Divine Sense, the crystallized essence of his Nascent Soul—rippled out.
The moment the three rays of Sword Energy touched that invisible barrier, they ceased to exist. They did not explode, nor did they deflect. They simply vanished, as if they were never formed. The energy of an entire Golden Core strike was effortlessly dissolved by the sheer quality of the Nascent Soul's spiritual essence.
Teng Chi's eyes widened in horror, as he immediately changed tactics, executing the Nine Heaven Sword Flow technique, creating thousands of phantom swords that surrounded Elder Mu, intending to obscure his movements.
Elder Mu chuckled, "Impressive footwork, Junior. A commendable use of illusionary Sword Energy. Alas, a Nascent Soul cultivator does not perceive the world with his eyes."
With a casual flick of his wrist, Elder Mu sent a weak pulse of energy straight into Teng Chi's Dantian. The force was minimal, barely enough to move a pebble, but it was perfectly aimed.
Teng Chi instantly felt his Qi circulation shatter. He staggered backward, clutching his lower abdomen as the world swam before him. The thousands of phantom swords instantly dissolved. His formidable Pure Pavilion Blade clattered onto the courtyard floor, abandoned. He fell onto one knee, coughing blood violently. He hadn't been physically struck, but his entire energy structure had been destabilized. He was defeated, utterly and instantly, without the Elder even breaking a sweat.
Lin Ming watched the exchange, his mind reeling as his Comprehension aided with his realization of the might of the Nascent Soul. The key wasn't hitting the opponent, but disrupting their very foundation.
Before Elder Mu could deliver his final, condemning words, the entire Jade Harmony Sect shuddered.
A cataclysmic spiritual pressure descended from the Spirit Vein Peak. It was a raw, ancient aura of terrifying magnitude—like the power of a long-dormant beast suddenly stirring. The pressure was so immense it instantly dwarfed Elder Mu's own aura, making his newly acquired Nascent Soul power feel like a candle flame against an ocean.
All the disciples in the courtyard collapsed flat against the ground, their bodies unable to bear the weight. Elder Mu's ugly face paled in shock; he instinctively used his full Nascent Soul strength to shield himself, but even he was forced back several steps.
High atop the Pagoda at the zenith of the Spirit Vein Peak, a brilliant white beam of light shot into the sky. It was a beam of pure Sword Intent, ancient and sharp.
In the Sect Master's chamber, far away, Su Yunhai had been stabilizing his mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation. His body violently twitched, his eyes snapping open as the incomprehensible aura enveloped the entire sect. He knew that aura. It belonged to the sect's last remaining ancestor, who had been cultivating their breakthrough to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm.
"The Great Sword Ancestor's... Nascent Soul?" Su Yunhai whispered, his voice ragged with disbelief and fear. "Why has it awakened?"
*****
[A/N:] Thanks for reading this far, any suggestion or complaint can be commented, I will read them all