Translator: CinderTL
"Chiyang Sword Sect."
Li Chunjun stared at the Nascent Soul True Lord who had appeared below, remaining silent.
Nascent Soul?
How weak.
On the Two Worlds Mountain Battlefield, he had killed at least five hundred, if not a thousand, cultivators of this level.
Yet it was this very group of cultivators who had once ruled the Great Shang Dynasty, leading to its political corruption, rampant bribery, and the unchecked dominance of criminal gangs!
Countless families had been destroyed as a result.
No!
They might have been a factor.
But ultimately, the fundamental law of society was survival of the fittest.
The bitterest hardships only lead to more.
To rise above others, one must consume others.
Consume many.
A person who only endures suffering but dares not prey on others is destined to remain in misery forever.
"Sword Prodigy Li, the entire Chiyang Sword Sect has committed crimes against humanity and are traitors to the Human Race. When dealing with such traitors, there's no need for morality or compassion. You may use any means necessary to interrogate them all."
Su Fang smiled faintly and added, "We still have some information to verify. We'll take our leave for now."
Li Chunjun understood that these law enforcement officers were deliberately withdrawing, allowing him to exact his revenge and torture the members of the Chiyang Sword Sect to his heart's content.
But...
"No need," Li Chunjun said.
He was not a cruel or tyrannical person.
Even when dealing with enemies, he never resorted to sadistic torture.
In his eyes, all life deserved respect.
"Just kill them all," he said calmly.
Su Fang was slightly taken aback.
Having arrived on Blue Star long ago, he was well aware of Li Chunjun's history.
He understood the deep-seated grievances between Li Chunjun and the Chiyang Sword Sect.
Hearing this order now...
He sincerely praised, "Sword Prodigy Li is truly merciful."
With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Obey Sword Prodigy Li's orders! Slay every member of the Chiyang Sword Sect!"
At these words, the Chiyang Sword Sect disciples, still reeling from the shock, fear, and disbelief of Li Chunjun's victory in the Star Brilliance First Rank, all paled.
Zhan Chiyang was the first to shout, "The Chiyang Sword Sect is an Immortal Alliance force! Only the Immortal Alliance can judge us! The Multiverse Hegemony War Committee has no authority!"
"The Chiyang Sword Sect is indeed an Immortal Alliance force," Zuo Cheng sneered, interjecting, "but you... are merely a fraudulent organization masquerading under the Chiyang Sword Sect's banner. According to our latest intelligence, the Chiyang Sword Sect has no Branch Sect established in the Blue Star Minor Realm."
The moment these words were spoken, Zhan Chiyang, Zhou Chixin, and even the two Great True Lords of the Late Nascent Soul Stage, Li Ding and Yu Kun, were all struck by a shock that shook their very souls.
In the next instant, the many True Lords of the Chiyang Sword Sect erupted like a boiling cauldron.
"Impossible!"
"The Chiyang Sword Sect is the Immortal Alliance's branch sect established in the Blue Star Minor Realm!"
"You're talking nonsense! I've served the sect! I demand to see Deacon Yang Ming! I demand to see Hall Master Dongfang!"
The Nascent Soul True Lords were in utter chaos, their faces contorted with fear and unease.
"Heh, it seems my words were too subtle for you to understand. Let me put it more bluntly," Zuo Cheng sneered. "Your Hall Master Dongfang in the Chiyang Sword Sect's Main Sect has no intention of offending Sword Prodigy Li, the number one peerless prodigy on the Star Brilliance List, for your sake. He has already expelled you from the Chiyang Sword Sect's system, casting you out entirely. Does that make it clear?"
"Pfft!"
At these words, the elder Great True Lord Yu Kun spat out a mouthful of blood.
"No!"
The other True Lords' eyes were filled with anguish and despair.
Zhan Chiyang, Zhou Chixin, and the others had already suspected this outcome when they learned that Li Chunjun had ascended to the Star Glory First Rank instead of the Solar Radiance First Rank and that they had been charged with crimes against humanity.
They had simply refused to believe it, clinging to a faint hope.
Now that Zuo Cheng had ruthlessly exposed the truth, the two Nascent Soul cultivators' faces drained of all color.
"Why... why did this happen..."
"It's over. It's all over."
At this moment, Zhan Chiyang, the Chiyang Sword Sect Master, was consumed by regret and remorse.
Why!
Why hadn't they risked direct war with the Taixu Sword Sect to kill Li Chunjun when Qin Zhou first brought him back?
Why hadn't the Chiyang Sword Sect's True Inheritors struck decisively to eliminate him when Li Chunjun formed his Core Formation and displayed the potential of a "Sword Prodigy"?
Why, even after he had led an assault into their territory, had their Nascent Soul True Lords been constrained by rules, failing to seize the final opportunity to crush him?
Hesitation!
It was their repeated hesitation, their short-sightedness, that had allowed Li Chunjun to grow stronger, to become the threat he was today, poised to bring utter destruction to the entire Chiyang Sword Sect!
Regret!
Oh, how they regretted their past actions!
Though Zhan Chiyang's Heart-Mind was wracked with the agony of remorse, the resilience of a Nascent Soul True Lord prevented him from surrendering easily.
Even knowing their chances of escape were slim...
"Flee!"
Zhan Chiyang's Divine Sense erupted: "Scatter and escape! Even if it means fleeing into the Cosmos to wither away in solitude, every survivor is a victory!"
Receiving a Divine Sense reminder from their Sect Master, all the Nascent Soul cultivators in the arena instantly realized what was happening.
Not fleeing!?
Certain death!
Fleeing, though a gamble with nine chances of death and one chance of survival, still offered a glimmer of hope!
Immediately, the Nascent Soul cultivators reacted, scattering in all directions.
Each of them unleashed forbidden escape techniques with all their might, desperate to escape this Lesser Thousand World as quickly as possible.
"With so many Primordial Spirits present, if we let these dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators escape, wouldn't we become the laughingstock of the world for the rest of our lives?"
Chang Feng snorted, about to order the attack.
But at that moment, Li Chunjun spoke up: "I'll handle this."
Chang Feng immediately stopped, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "It's truly an honor for these traitors to die at the hands of Sword Prodigy Li."
Traitors...
The word sounded somewhat ironic in this moment.
However, Li Chunjun didn't reply. Instead, he raised his right hand, and the Scarlet Sky Sword materialized.
In the next instant, the sword light of the Scarlet Sky Sword shot straight into the clouds, instantly splitting into sixteen beams. Each beam, carrying sword Qi that tore through the atmosphere, whistled through the air as they charged toward the sixteen fleeing Nascent Soul True Lords.
He didn't use the Great Void Destruction Sword Intent.
He didn't even unleash the full power of his Destruction Sword Intent or Void Sword Intent.
Yet even so, the speed at which the sixteen beams of Sword Qi pierced through the Void still exceeded the reaction limits of nearly all Nascent Soul True Lords of the Chiyang Sword Sect.
Even Li Ding and Yu Kun, two Great True Lords of the Late Nascent Soul Stage, sensed the Sword Qi bearing down on them, but they had no time to react.
"No!"
Amidst a chorus of desperate cries, the Sword Qi pierced the heads of all sixteen Nascent Soul True Lords of the Chiyang Sword Sect.
The residual heat from the Sword Qi, barely a fraction of its full power, effortlessly incinerated their bodies into ashes.
One strike!
Sixteen Nascent Soul True Lords of the Chiyang Sword Sect were reduced to nothingness.
The sight left Huan Ming, Qin Zhou, Jiang Yuxue, and the others who had accompanied Li Chunjun frozen in shock, their breaths suspended.
One sword strike!
That was all it took!
To annihilate two Great True Lords of the Late Nascent Soul Stage, including Sect Master Zhan Chiyang and Elder Zhou Chixin, six Mid Nascent Soul True Lords, and eight Early-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators!
Star Brilliance First Rank!
No matter how powerful or noble the Star Brilliance First Rank was rumored to be, nothing could compare to witnessing Li Chunjun's effortless execution of sixteen Nascent Soul True Lords in a single strike.
Sixteen Nascent Souls!
A full sixteen Nascent Soul True Lords, equivalent to the entire high-end power of the Nine Immortal Sects' branch sects on Blue Star, wiped out in a single blow!
And most astonishingly...
Li Chunjun's casual demeanor suggested that annihilating these sixteen Nascent Soul True Lords had been effortless, requiring barely any effort at all.
Whoosh!
The Sword Qi that had slain the sixteen Nascent Soul True Lords quickly converged, reforming into the Scarlet Sky Sword.
With his great vengeance finally achieved, Li Chunjun thought he should feel relieved. Perhaps even undergo a spiritual transformation, a moment of profound enlightenment.
Yet for some reason, his emotions remained surprisingly calm.
It seemed that from a long time ago, his heart had grown numb to all but Li Wanqing. The lives and deaths of others were as fleeting as sunrise and sunset, as predictable as the ebb and flow of tides.
Or perhaps...
They were like NPCs, not truly alive, their deaths or survival failing to stir any ripple in his heart.
Throughout the entire battle, his only thought had been: "So weak."
The Chiyang Sword Sect Master, along with all the sect's notable elders, were pathetically weak. So weak that with a mere wave of his hand, he could crush them all like ants.
Just as...
In the past, those arrogant cultivators had casually crushed mortals like ants beneath their feet.
For a moment, Li Chunjun lost his desire to continue the slaughter.
But he had promised Zhou Wu Gou to personally destroy the entire Chiyang Sword Sect. Thus, with a sweep of his Divine Sense, he covered the entire sect before his Lifebound Flying Sword, the Scarlet Sky Sword, exploded once more.
This time, instead of splitting into sixteen Sword Qi, it dispersed like celestial maidens scattering flowers, transforming into tens of thousands of Sword Qi.
These Sword Qi formed a dense rain of blades, soaring into the clouds in parabolic arcs before instantly raining down upon every living being within the Chiyang Sword Sect.
However...
His speed was too great.
Before many Qi Refining disciples and Core Formation Elders of the Chiyang Sword Sect could even understand what was happening, the Sword Qi that pierced the heavens and earth had already pierced their skulls and torn through their bodies at speeds beyond their reaction limits.
Many didn't even have time to feel pain, peacefully losing all sensation until they lost all consciousness.
As the Sword Qi swept through, the Chiyang Sword Sect, which had been filled with astonishment and clamor just moments before due to the activation of its defensive Array Formation, fell silent as if a mute button had been pressed.
Qin Zhou, Jiang Yuxue, Zhang Weiqian, and others stood with their mouths agape, unable to utter a sound.
Except for a few Primordial Spirit True Monarchs who had weathered countless storms, everyone else present stared in utter horror at the figure who had re-condensed the myriad Sword Qi into his Lifebound Flying Sword.
With a detached expression, he sheathed the Scarlet Sky Sword into his body and didn't spare another glance at the Chiyang Sword Sect, now devoid of all life.
"Let's go. To the Wu Ji Sect."
(End of the Chapter)
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