Chương 90: Chapter 91: Battle of the Sects, Reversing Heaven and Earth Alone (9)

"You..." Qingxiaozi's face underwent a drastic transformation upon hearing those words. His expression curdled into a mask of pure, unadulterated gloom, yet he found himself utterly bereft of a retort. The weight of the humiliation pressed upon him, leaving him speechless in the face of such blatant mockery.

"Sect Leader, do not despair! This arrogant brat has already boasted that if any disciple of our Xuanxiao Sect can best him, the previous agreement remains in effect!" Within the ranks of the Xuanxiao Sect, a young man in his early twenties stepped forward, his face a portrait of righteous indignation. His eyes burned with a furious fire as he spoke.

"I may lack talent, but I will never allow Senior Sister Ji to be forced into his clutches. I will fight him to the death!" With a sudden flash of his escape light, the youth soared through the air and landed firmly upon the Ascension Terrace.

"Boy, watch how I teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" The disciple roared, striking his forehead with a palm to summon his strength. In a burst of spiritual radiance, a Mid-grade Spirit Tool manifested before him. With a sharp gesture of his finger, the artifact streaked through the air, hurtling toward Ming Diao Zhanchen with lethal intent.

"Courage without strength is merely a death wish!" Ming Diao Zhanchen let out a sharp, derisive snort, his lips curling into a cold, predatory smirk.

"Even if my True Essence is somewhat depleted, do you truly believe a pathetic character like you is a match for me?" Amidst his chilling laughter, he casually swatted his hand through the air. In an instant, a massive, azure-black spectral hand condensed from the surrounding energy. Like a man swatting a bothersome fly, he sent the giant hand crashing down. The Mid-grade Spirit Tool was pulverized instantly, and the Xuanxiao Sect disciple was slammed into the stone floor of the terrace with bone-shattering force.

"Begone!" With a low, guttural growl, Ming Diao Zhanchen delivered a brutal kick, sending the blood-vomiting disciple flying off the Ascension Terrace. He snapped his sleeves with a sharp flourish, his voice ringing out like a crack of thunder as he addressed the gathered Xuanxiao Sect disciples.

"I am standing right here! If any of you are dissatisfied, come and face me! I alone am more than enough to handle this entire flock of useless trash!" His words were the height of arrogance, a direct slap to the face of every cultivator present. Yet, the thousands of cultivators surrounding the Ascension Terrace remained eerily silent. They had witnessed his prowess firsthand; his cultivation was likely only a hair's breadth away from the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Such power was sufficient to sweep through the entire younger generation of the Xuanxiao Sect like a scythe through wheat. The cultivators of the Xuanxiao Sect—from the Sect Leader Qingxiaozi and the Alchemist Ancestor Dan Chenzi down to the lowliest Outer Sect disciples—all wore expressions of dark resentment. In their hearts, they wished they could tear Ming Diao Zhanchen limb from limb and devour him whole.

"Ming Diao Zhanchen, do not think you can trample over the Xuanxiao Sect as if we have no men of worth! I admit my strength is inferior, but I will still have your head!" Another disciple, this one at the 7th level of Qi Condensation, let out a roar of fury. His body transformed into a streak of light as he charged onto the stage.

"Strike!" The disciple barked a command, tossing a jade hairpin into the air. The artifact expanded to a foot in length, glowing with a sharp, crystalline light as it descended rapidly.

"Waste!" Ming Diao Zhanchen sneered. Again, he made a casual swatting motion. A spectral palm manifested out of thin air, striking the jade hairpin. The artifact let out a mournful wail before snapping cleanly in two. The disciple followed suit, spraying a mist of blood as he was sent tumbling off the platform.

"Ming Diao Zhanchen, taste my Profound Yin Hand!" Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Brat of the Qingyan Sect, behold my treasure!"

"Vile Vitals Strike! Even if I can't beat you, I'll take your manhood with me!" Boom! Boom! Boom! In the span of a few short moments, no fewer than a dozen Xuanxiao Sect disciples rushed the stage in a desperate frenzy. However, the gap in their power was simply too vast. With nothing more than casual waves of his hand, Ming Diao Zhanchen sent every single one of them retreating in a state of bloody defeat.

"Trash! A pack of absolute trash! Has the Xuanxiao Sect spent all these years cultivating nothing but garbage? Not a single one of you can last a single exchange against me!" Ming Diao Zhanchen threw his head back and laughed maniacally, his pupils shimmering with a cold, divine light. He looked down at the Xuanxiao Sect crowd, making no effort to hide the sheer contempt in his gaze.

"Sect Leader Qingxiaozi, if your sect truly cannot produce a single disciple worth looking at, why not just surrender now? Why continue this pathetic display of self-inflicted humiliation?" Qingxiaozi's face was as rigid as stone. His eyes swept over his remaining disciples, a sense of profound helplessness gnawing at his heart. Those dozen or so who had just been defeated were the cream of the crop from the four branches of the sect.

If even they were swatted aside like insects, what use were the thousands that remained?

'Is it truly over? Is this how we fall?' he thought bitterly. He had believed that with his Junior Brother's successful Golden Core formation, the era of the Xuanxiao Sect's resurgence had finally arrived. He never imagined they would merely become a stepping stone for another's glory.

'The Heavenly Dao is unjust! I refuse to accept this! I cannot accept this!' Qingxiaozi's gaze turned frigid, filled with an unyielding will. He spoke in a voice that vibrated with suppressed emotion: "Is there anyone else willing to take the stage? Regardless of status, whoever emerges victorious shall immediately be promoted to a Core Disciple, granted an Earth-grade cultivation manual, and bestowed the rank of Sect Elder!"

Despite the staggering rewards, the disciples of the Xuanxiao Sect merely looked at one another in silence. No one spoke. The rewards were indeed legendary, but one needed the life to enjoy them. Ming Diao Zhanchen's overwhelming arrogance and brutal efficiency had thoroughly chilled their blood. Seeing that even such a heavy bounty elicited no response, the light in Qingxiaozi's eyes dimmed instantly. He seemed to age several years in a single breath.

However, as his wandering gaze fell upon a figure dressed in a simple green robe standing below, a strange, inexplicable feeling surged in his heart. Almost instinctively, he opened his mouth and called out.

"Reyn, are you willing to take the field?" Reyn, are you willing to take the field? The question was not shouted, yet in the heavy silence of the Ascension Terrace, it reached the ears of every person present with startling clarity.

"What? Has Qingxiaozi lost his mind from rage? He actually intends to send that boy out?"

"That kid might be a master of alchemy, but his cultivation is only at the 2nd level of Qi Condensation! Sending him up there is no different from offering him up to be flattened into a meat patty!"

"I think Senior Qingxiaozi has truly been driven mad by anger. That disciple of his is clearly a genius in the path of pills. If he's sent up now, even if the opponent doesn't kill him, a few strikes could easily shatter his mind. The Xuanxiao Sect would be losing a future grandmaster for nothing."

"Exactly. If they're that desperate, they should just surrender. Is losing face one by one really better than admitting defeat? To send an alchemist to a martial duel... if they don't want him, our Fengshui Gate would be more than happy to welcome him with open arms." Qingxiaozi realized his blunder the moment the words left his lips. Hearing the mocking whispers from the surrounding crowd, a flush of embarrassment rose in his chest.

However, the words were already out; he could not retract them without looking even more foolish. He could only feign deafness and wait for Reyn's response. In that moment, every eye turned toward Reyn. Up on the Ascension Terrace, Ji Yueli's face was deathly pale. A complex swirl of emotions flickered in her eyes as she looked down at him, waiting with bated breath to hear how he would answer.

When Ming Diao Zhanchen saw her gaze linger on Reyn, a flash of cold cruelty crossed his face, and his killing intent spiked to a boiling point. Below the terrace, standing at the center of everyone's attention, Reyn's brow furrowed slightly. After a brief pause, he began to speak.

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, this disciple..." Before he could finish, he was cut off by a burst of derisive laughter. Ming Diao Zhanchen pointed a finger directly at Reyn, his voice dripping with scorn.

"I don't care what kind of relationship you had with Junior Sister Yueli in the past, or if there were any lingering feelings between you. I am telling you now: from this day forward, she is my woman! If you are dissatisfied, then crawl onto this stage and face me. But if you choose to be a shrinking turtle, then get as far away as possible and never show your face before Yueli again. If I ever see you near her, I will show you no mercy!"