Supreme Sword Exalt

The moment Gu Han made his move, a flicker of surprise appeared on Chu Kuang’s originally confident and composed face. “Senior Brother, this person is extraordinary!”

Yuan Gang nodded. “He is quite good indeed! Junior Brother Yang mentioned this man seems to have cultivated to the Supreme Stage. No wonder he’s so arrogant! How wonderful it’d be if he became ours! I just wonder how big his spirit pool is...”

Hearing the two heaping praises on Gu Han, a Qingyun Pavilion disciple behind them grew skeptical. “Senior Brother Yuan, in my opinion, his spirit pool is at most thirty or forty zhang!”

For ordinary cultivators lacking the Supreme Stage and special fortune, even the largest spirit pool would span only a dozen or so zhang. Anything above thirty zhang could already be called genius.

Chu Kuang burst out laughing. “Thirty? No, this guy’s spirit pool is at least fifty zhang!”

“What?! That’s impossible!”

“Fifty zhang can already be called monstrous talent. Him?”

Several faces showed disbelief. Able to enter the Qingyun Pavilion, they were the cream of the crop among the Yuqing Sect’s younger generation. Although they hadn’t cultivated to the Supreme Stage, their meridians were expanded and strengthened by some secret techniques, allowing them to condense larger spirit pools than ordinary cultivators. However, they were nowhere near fifty zhang.

Yuan Gang sighed. “In that case, subduing this person will be even more difficult.”

He deeply believed Chu Kuang’s words. Moreover, he didn’t find it all that surprising, as Chu Kuang’s spirit pool was seventy zhang.

Confidence and composure returned to Chu Kuang’s face. “It’s fine. Geniuses always have some arrogance. But don’t worry, the more talented they are, the more interesting it is to subdue them!”

***

In the arena, the two sides had long since become a tangled mess of combat.

A profound, strange green aura enveloped Yang Lin. Still, in the face of Murong Yan’s almost irresistible brute strength, he could only avoid her temporarily, not daring to press too far forward.

On the other hand, silver light continuously flowed from Meng Xing’s eyes, engulfing him in a flash. Shen Xuan compensated for his inferior combat strength with speed so fast it was nearly imperceptible. Apart from afterimages, everyone could hardly catch a trace of his real figure. Though increasingly anxious, Meng Xing still couldn’t shake off Shen Xuan’s entanglement.

Naturally extremely fast, Gu Han instantly appeared before Meng Qian. The only one who could stop him was Elder Wang, who was at the Soaring Realm.

However, said elder had retreated to a corner of the arena, his face livid. He kept muttering incessantly, having absolutely no intention of making a move, “All of you, what audacity! This is the qualification battle! What kind of spectacle is this! Do you have any sense of rules at all! I will definitely report this to the supreme elder...”

With Murong Yan there, he wouldn’t seek trouble and provoke her anger. Moreover, he was disgusted by the Yang and Meng families’ blatant cheating. Asking him to help the two families was completely unthinkable.

The crowd wasn’t blind to his intention. Apart from the three families, everyone else wore expressions of satisfaction. Serves them right!

Meng Qian’s face was pale, experiencing a sense of deja vu. Mustering nearly all her strength, she tried to scream again, “I-I surre—”

Gu Han was ice-cold, once again cutting off her words, “You’re too cocky! What makes you think I’m not your match?!” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Even though she was a girl, Meng Qian now really wanted to curse.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Han’s large hand, covered in spirit qi, descended.

Yang Lin and Meng Xing were furious, no longer caring about Murong Yan and Shen Xuan’s attacks, desperately charging toward Gu Han.

“How dare you!”

“I’ll kill you!”

Smack!

An unmistakably loud sound rang out. Without even a cry, Meng Qian instantly soared high into the air.

Crack!

Crack!

A series of clear bone-cracking sounds reached everyone’s ears. While still in mid-air, her aura continuously plummeted from the Essence Gathering realm, to the Acupoint Unsealing realm, until finally, not a trace remained. One slap, and she was crippled.

Meng Xing’s eyes nearly burst from his sockets. He could care about nothing else now, his figure flashing out swiftly to catch Meng Qian. “Little Sister!”

However, no matter how many times he called, no matter how many precious pills he forced down her throat, Meng Qian remained motionless. He could see that Meng Qian was crippled thoroughly this time. She was beyond saving.

The crowd’s mouths hung open. What... He’s so ruthless! He’s so strong, so domineering!

Even Elder Wang was rendered speechless. He had originally thought Gu Han only wanted to teach Meng Qian a lesson, but who would’ve thought Gu Han would be so ruthless as to cripple her?!

Yang Ying suddenly bowed deeply to Gu Han.

Jiang Feng was both grateful and worried. “Brother Gu, you really didn’t have to—”

Gu Han laughed coldly. “There’s no need for that. This matter doesn’t have much to do with you. Do they think I’ve forgotten that they placed a twenty-million-essence-crystal bounty on me?”

Murong Yan was excited. “Good! That’s my Brother Gu! Repaying kindness and settling grudges! I like it!”

Suddenly, Meng Xing’s low roar came from below the arena. “I’ll kill you!!!”

As Meng Xing’s words fell, an immensely powerful aura erupted from him. Those standing slightly too close were almost sent flying. A flash of silver light, and his figure landed before Gu Han.

Everyone drew a sharp breath. “This is the Meng family’s young master?”

“It is, why?”

“How did he become like this?”

Meng Xing was tightly covered by a silver light. Apart from the overwhelming killing intent, everyone couldn’t even see his face.

Someone whispered an explanation, “You don’t know? When the Meng family young master was young, he accidentally swallowed an unknown immortal metal. Surprisingly, he didn’t die from the ordeal, and instead fused it into his bloodline, achieving an indestructible treasure physique!”

“That’s so amazing!”

That person sighed. “Yeah! As for the Fengwu Court’s chief disciple, as satisfying as it was, it’s a pity that he’s about to be in trouble.”

Meng Xing looked at Meng Qian, his heart aching terribly. “Do you know, my little sister has been doted on since childhood, no one ever dared to lay a finger on her, yet you actually—”

Abruptly, he raised his head, training his eyes on Gu Han. “I will definitely kill you today!”

Gu Han sneered, brandishing his sword. “No wonder she didn’t grow up right!”

Meng Xing could restrain himself no longer. His figure flashed, charging at Gu Han. “Go to hell!”

Murong Yan flew into rage. “How dare you! I will hammer you to death first, you metal block head!”

Yang Lin’s eyes were also filled with killing intent. “Murong Yan, no one can save him today!”

Shen Xuan’s figure swayed, instantly landing before him. “Is that so? I’d like to see who dares touch him!”

Another round was about to erupt again.

Suddenly, someone angrily screamed, “Enough!”

An overwhelming aura descended, forcing everyone’s figures apart. Upon seeing the newcomer’s appearance, all the Yuqing Sect disciples hurriedly bowed.

“Greetings, Supreme Elder!”

The newcomer was none other than Murong Yuan.

Murong Yuan exuded a chilling, winter-like coldness. “Nonsense! Today is the qualification battle, not a place for you to settle personal grudges!”

Murong Yan shouted, “Ancestor, you saw it, these bastards ganged up to bully Brother Gu!”

Murong Yuan was enraged. “Silence! Another word, and none of you are going to the secret realm!”

Murong Yan was about to glare at Murong Yuan, but Shen Xuan tightly pulled her. “What...”

Meng Xing gnashed his teeth. “Senior, you saw it, my sister was—! He did this! I must have my revenge today!”

Murong Yuan glanced at him indifferently. “Like I said, this is a qualification battle—an arena, not a place to settle personal grudges. Since Meng Qian dared to step onto the arena, she had to be prepared to be challenged. This is a rule jointly established by the families. What, you don’t like it?”

Meng Xing’s face turned livid with anger. Murong Yuan’s words were almost identical to his own from earlier.

The crowd felt much better. Right! You just said cheating is the rule. Then your sister being crippled is also the rule!

Yang Lin was gloomy. “Even so, he used such a heavy hand, also—”

Murong Yuan cut him off. “She couldn’t win. She could’ve surrendered, wouldn’t that be fine?”

“What?”

Murong Yuan’s face was expressionless. “Elder Wang, earlier, did she surrender?”

Elder Wang’s expression instantly lit up. “She did not.”

He silently added in his heart, She wanted to but couldn’t.

Murong Yan stirred up trouble. “Ancestor, you have discerning eyes. Not only did she not surrender, she even thought Brother Gu was no match for her. She simply looked down on people too much!”

Murong Yuan glared fiercely at her, and took a deep breath. “In that case, everything this kid did was very much in line with the arena’s rules, wasn’t it?”

Elder Wang’s face turned solemn. “Correct! It was reasonable and justified! Not a single fault to be found!”

He could see that Murong Yuan wasn’t just covertly protecting anymore, but openly siding with Gu Han! The crowd was holding back with great effort. If not for Murong Yuan’s authority being deeply ingrained in their hearts, they would’ve laughed out loud.

Murong Yuan waved his hand grandly. “Good. The match continues!”

Meng Xing suddenly looked up. “Senior, are you shielding him?”

Even though Murong Yuan seemed to have witnessed the whole affair, he only stepped in after Meng Qian was crippled by Gu Han.

Murong Yuan frowned deeply. “Boy, are you questioning me?”

Meng Xing stared fixedly at him. “I’m not happy about this.”

Yang Lin also stepped forward. “Me too!”

A powerful aura instantly descended, blasting the two off the arena.

“You young pups aren’t happy? So blatant cheating is fine according to you, but him making a move in the arena isn’t?” Murong Yuan’s face was grim, a trace of killing intent gradually entered his tone. “You dare question me? Then let Yang Tong and Meng Qing come! You two little things aren’t qualified. Another word, and don’t blame me for bullying the young and crippling you!”

His words radiated a domineering aura. For a moment, both Yang Lin and Meng Xing fell silent, only the hatred in their eyes almost solidifying into substance.

Murong Yan was in high spirits. “Ancestor, you are wise!”

Murong Yuan glared at her. “Continue the match!”

Elder Wang hurriedly bowed, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below. “Yes! Does anyone else wish to come up?”

What a joke! Everyone looked at each other and all shook their heads. One slap had crippled a fifth stage Essence Gathering realm cultivator. Although this cultivator was somewhat weak, he had proven his strength enough. Even if they went up, they couldn’t withstand more than a few slaps.

Upon seeing the Yuqing Sect disciples so cowardly, Murong Yan was extremely dissatisfied. “What are you afraid of! Brother Gu doesn’t eat people. Even if you can’t win, just surrender, wouldn’t that be fine?”

Gu Han nodded, his face serious. “Correct! I will allow you to surrender!”

That made it worse. Everyone’s hearts trembled in unison. Surrender? Are you sure? You’re trying to fool ghosts!

Elder Wang shook his head. “Enough. Since no one else comes up, then this second qualification belongs to Fengwu Court’s Gu Han.”

Giving a slight shake of his head, Gu Han leaped off the arena in one step.

Yang Lan’s face was full of gratitude. “Brother Gu, thank you! I—”

Gu Han waved his hand. “What are you thanking me for?! She just happened to run into my hand again, that’s all. Doesn’t have much to do with you.”

Glancing at Yang Ying, Murong Yan frowned deeply. “Yang guy, your sister was bullied like this, how can you still—”

Gu Han suddenly interrupted her. “Sister Murong, it’s not Brother Yang’s fault. He has his own battles!”

Although they had only known each other for a month, his understanding of Yang Ying was deeper than anyone else’s. After all, Yang Ying’s experiences were too similar to his.

Yang Ying clenched his fists tightly, his face expressionless, only the blood seeping from between his fingers revealing his true state of mind.

Yang Lan’s heart ached seeing this. “Brother...”

Murong Yan sighed heavily, no longer picking at his wounds.

Right at this moment, Murong Yuan walked over, glancing at Gu Han. “Kid, you truly have the courage.”

Catching onto the hidden implication in his words, Gu Han broke into a smile. “Senior, I not only have great courage, but also a thick skin, and a black heart!”

Murong Yuan’s face darkened and he glared fiercely at Murong Yan again.

Murong Yan naturally didn’t buy this. “What! Ancestor, you have the guts to say it, but are afraid of people hearing it?”

Right then, in the arena, Elder Wang’s voice rang out again. “There is still one last spot left. Who wants to come up?”

Immediately after, a voice lacking confidence, somewhat timid, sounded. “I-I-I’d like to try... Is that okay...?”