The banquet of the Azure Thunder Sword Sect was torn apart by a single sword strike.
Tables shattered. Wine splashed. The ground split with deep sword scars.
Lin Ye never bothered negotiating.
There was no need.
The moment you walked in and talked terms first, your enemy would think you were weak.
You killed something important first—
then they learned how to cooperate.
"Sect Master!"
"They ambushed the Sect Master—kill them!"
Instantly, five Heavenly Phenomenon Realm experts erupted with power.
The entire weather above Azure Thunder Mountain shifted violently, thunder clouds rolling as heaven-vein energy surged.
Five of them.
But the strongest among them was only at the fifth stage.
Lin Ye released his aura.
Half-step Star River Realm.
A storm of pressure swept across Azure Thunder Mountain like a tidal wave.
The five experts' faces turned ugly immediately.
They were completely outclassed.
"Take one step forward if you want to die," Lin Ye said calmly."I only kill the one who makes decisions here."
His cultivation method grew stronger through slaughter, yes—
but he didn't waste effort killing ants.
His real enemy was Shen Jiuliang.
Shen Jun was already dead.
There could be no reconciliation.
And unless Shen Jiuliang died publicly—
these people would never truly submit.
The five elders hesitated.
They served the sect, but they did not intend to die meaninglessly.
If they rushed in, they would simply be cut down.
So they stayed still.
Then—
BOOM!
A figure erupted from beneath the ruins.
Shen Jiuliang.
He had taken Lin Ye's sword strike head-on… yet suffered no visible injury.
But the death of his son had driven him insane.
He no longer cared about anything else.
"I will bury your entire Fenglei Mystic Sect with you!"
His aura exploded outward—
Heavenly Phenomenon Realm, ninth stage.
The sect members below were stunned.
So this was Shen Jiuliang's true strength.
No wonder he had formed the Azure Thunder Sword Alliance.
Once a cultivator stepped into the Star River Realm, the required resources became astronomical. Without a vast tribute system, progression became nearly impossible.
That was why Shen Jiuliang wanted the alliance—
and why he was so confident.
Lin Ye did not blink.
He charged forward.
A spiritual bridge formed behind him, drawing down heaven-vein power.
Second Layer of the Nine-Revolution Shura Art.
A horrific blood-evil aura surged out of Lin Ye like a rising sea of slaughter.
Shen Jiuliang roared and countered.
"Azure Gang Wild Thunder Force!"
His sword drew down lightning.
The power was tens of times stronger than Shen Jun's.
The blade crashed toward Lin Ye.
"Shura Blood Armor!"
Lin Ye's blood armor appeared, blocking the thunder strike—
yet a numbing pain spread through his body.
Lightning had penetrated the armor.
Lin Ye's expression sharpened.
So there were forces capable of bypassing even his defense.
He must not become careless.
Shen Jiuliang's voice rose like a blade.
"Azure Thunder Sword Art…"
"Seventh Layer!"
"Green Mountain Crosses Calamity!"
This was his strongest technique.
Fifty years of sword intent condensed into one strike.
Could Lin Ye endure it?
Lin Ye moved.
Dragon-Soaring Heavenly Strategy Steps.
His body flashed through the dense sword net, slipping between gaps that should not exist.
He appeared behind Shen Jiuliang.
"Blood Slaughter: Nine Annihilations!"
Nine blood-evil sword arcs erupted like a storm.
"Thunder Myst Armor!"
Shen Jiuliang's eyes widened. Instinctively, he unleashed his mystic armor.
The nine sword arcs slammed into him like meteor impacts, throwing him across the sky—
straight into a neighboring mountain.
He smashed into it, carving a massive crater.
The Thunder Myst Armor shattered completely.
Then—
a force exploded inside Shen Jiuliang's body.
"Hidden force?!"
His eyes filled with terror.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The distant mountainside erupted in a chain of explosions, dust and debris blasting into the heavens.
Everyone stared blankly.
Lin Ye hovered in the air, calm and unhurried.
His secret shock force had detonated—
it should have turned Shen Jiuliang into minced flesh.
But Lin Ye did not relax.
Until he confirmed a corpse—
he would not assume victory.
Even the Azure Thunder Sword Sect disciples were frozen.
Both were at the ninth stage of the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm.
Yet their Sect Master had been thrown around like a dead dog.
Was he… defeated?
Leng Ruo and the others exchanged a look of shock and joy.
The shock was Lin Ye's overwhelming strength.
The joy was simple:
the Azure Thunder Sword Sect was about to fall.
The five city lords also exchanged glances.
If Shen Jiuliang died…
then none of their tribute agreements mattered anymore.
Hong Ying was completely stunned.
When she first arrived, she'd seen lanterns and celebration—
she thought they had come to drink.
Instead, Lin Ye had come to slaughter a sect.
He was so young… yet so terrifying.
Just one sentence made five Heavenly Phenomenon Realm elders freeze.
And now he had nearly killed their Sect Master in minutes.
Then—
Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.
Something was wrong.
Shen Jiuliang's aura… still existed.
He wasn't dead.
BOOM!
A figure burst out of the dust storm and slammed into Lin Ye.
If Lin Ye had been careless, he might have been struck.
But Lin Ye had already sensed him.
He did not dodge.
Instead—
he summoned Shura Blood Armor again.
He wanted to see what exactly this thing was.
CLANG!
The impact rippled across the blood armor.
Lin Ye was pushed back more than ten zhang.
His pupils tightened slightly.
"Corpse-refining?"
Shen Jiuliang's appearance had changed.
His pupils were pale blue-white.
Corpse aura coiled around his body like smoke.
His wounds were sealing and healing as if iron was pouring over them.
A formation seal was carved into his chest.
He had refined himself into something monstrous.
Shen Jiuliang's voice was cold, hoarse, and rotten.
"To force me to use this means you have skill."
"When you die… I will refine you into my first puppet."
Lin Ye's expression remained calm.
"You won't get the chance."
His fingers formed seals.
"Secret Art—Mad Blood Curse!"
The moment the final seal completed, Lin Ye's aura erupted like a volcano.
BOOM!
His Star-Bridge surged into the heavens.
He drew down starlight power.
Star River Realm.
Leng Ruo and the others' eyes blazed.
There it was.
This was Lin Ye's true power.
The five Heavenly Phenomenon Realm elders on the opposite side stumbled backward instinctively.
"What kind of joke is this…?"
Star River Realm.
So young…