Yun Jin looked at Ruan Jun, who had suddenly gone quiet, and recalled what Third Senior Brother had once told her.
Ruan Jun still had one last card up his sleeve. A real trump card he hadn't used yet. Right now, he was just waiting for the right moment to unleash it. Unfortunately, that moment would never come.
Yun Jin smirked coldly. It just so happened that she was done playing.
In the next instant, her aura surged to its peak.
"Azure Lotus Sword Art."
At the same time, she imbued the Tai'a Sword with a metal-element divine ability: Sharpness.
The sword, already gleaming with cold light, now radiated with a blinding brilliance.
Yun Jin struck with her full strength. Her sword descended with thunderous speed.
"Wait!" Ruan Jun's pupils shrank. He was on the brink of panic.
Where was the opening? Where was the chance? He hadn't even used his trump card yet!
He barely managed to dodge, but her strike still cleaved off one of his arms. Agonizing pain washed over him. Ruan Jun lost all composure and, abandoning all thought of strategy, unleashed his final weapon: a needle-like artifact.
But it was useless.
Yun Jin's spiritual power enveloped her body. Though the artifact was designed for stealth, it could not escape the perception of someone at the Divine Transformation stage. She waved her sword lightly. The incoming needles shattered midair.
Under the sword's Sharpness attribute, every single one was sliced cleanly in half.
Destroyed. Just like that?
Ruan Jun stared in shock, blood draining from his face. His eyes filled with dread.
Up on the platform, Zhao Wuji could no longer sit still.
He suddenly rose to his feet.
Unlike Gu Jinghong or the Zhou brothers, Ruan Jun was his most promising disciple. He was the one Zhao Wuji had pinned his hopes on. Once he entered Qingxiao Pavilion, Ruan Jun was to inherit his mantle and help oversee Tianxing Sect.
If Ruan Jun died here, Zhao Wuji would lose his mind with grief.
"Martial Uncle Li," Zhao Wuji turned to Li Heng instinctively.
Bound by the sect contract, Zhao Wuji could not intervene.
He could only place his hopes on Li Heng.
Li Heng hesitated, then said quietly, "Martial Nephew, this is a Heavenly Dao contract. If I interfere, I will suffer backlash and karmic consequences."
In other words, no.
Zhao Wuji clenched his teeth. Despair flickered in his eyes. Was there really no way?
On the arena stage, the Tai'a Sword dripped blood.
Yun Jin approached Ruan Jun one step at a time.
Gone was his former composure. In its place was unrelenting terror.
Collapsed on the ground, Ruan Jun pleaded in despair.
"Junior Sister Yun, think about it. Do we really have such a deep grudge? Wasn't this all because of Ye Danxia? She's been imprisoned now. There is no bad blood between us anymore."
"Please, just this once. Let me go..."
He begged pathetically.
Yun Jin stopped in front of him, her voice calm.
"This is a contract duel. No retreat, no mercy. Senior Brother Ruan, it's too late for regrets."
She raised her sword.
Her killing intent locked onto him completely. Ruan Jun couldn't even move.
A flicker of despair passed through his eyes.
Was he going to die?
He was the chief disciple of the sect master. He had a bright future ahead of him. Yet now, it was all ending.
All of this, all because of Ye Danxia's little tantrum.
"Wait!" Zhao Wuji finally shouted.
Yun Jin glanced at him.
Zhao Wuji ground his teeth, speaking slowly.
"Spare Ruan Jun, and I will guarantee the lives of the others from Tianjian Peak."
The meaning was clear.
If she did not spare Ruan Jun, everyone else from Tianjian Peak would be buried with him.
A blatant threat. Everyone present heard it.
Zhao Wuji didn't care anymore. He would threaten if it meant saving Ruan Jun.
A battle to the death, yet he wanted her to let Ruan Jun live. That meant Yun Jin would have to die.
Yun Jin dies, Tianjian Peak survives.
Yun Jin lives, Tianjian Peak dies.
Zhao Wuji had thrown away all pretense.
Yun Jin narrowed her eyes slightly.
Ruan Jun lit up with hope, as if grasping a lifeline.
"That's right! You can't kill me! You care too much about the others from Tianjian Peak. You won't let them die!"
So what if Yun Jin was powerful?
For the sake of those she cared about, she would have to surrender.
Zhao Wuji looked at Lin Ya.
"Lin Ya, you know I never make empty threats. Let Ruan Jun live, and your disciples live. Otherwise, all of you die. You know whose life matters more here."
His tone was resolute. He was confident Lin Ya would make the logical choice.
Lin Ya sneered and turned to Yun Jin.
"Xiao Jin, enough playing."
Yun Jin gave a small smile and replied, "Understood."
Then—
A flash of cold light.
The Tai'a Sword fell without hesitation.
In an instant, Ruan Jun's head rolled to the ground.
His eyes were still wide open, fixed on Yun Jin.
He couldn't believe it.
She had actually done it. She had killed him.
"Xiao Jun!" Zhao Wuji roared in anguish.
But he would not dare take on the contract backlash himself. All he could do was shout in powerless rage.
Ruan Jun stared hatefully at Yun Jin.
"Master will avenge me! Yun Jin, you will join me soon enough!"
Yun Jin's lips curled in a cold smile.
"Then you'd best wait patiently."
As her words fell—
A streak of sword light pierced the air.
Ruan Jun's fleeing Nascent Soul was skewered through the brow.
In an instant, he was utterly destroyed.
Even the eyes on his severed head finally closed in despair.
A beam of heavenly light shimmered.
[.Contract fulfilled.]
[.Victor: Yun Jin.]
[.Duel concluded. Barrier dissipating.]
The bloodied sword wept in silence. Yun Jin stood alone at the center of the stage.
The crowd fell into stunned silence.
Zhao Wuji stared at Ruan Jun's corpse, jaw clenched so tightly that a grinding sound escaped his teeth.
His most promising disciple was dead.
Slain by a disciple who had only entered the sect three months ago.
The atmosphere froze.
Zhou Li and Zhou Dai didn't dare speak. They quietly stepped away.
The sect master's beloved disciple had died horribly. If he needed to vent, they didn't want to be nearby. Even Han Xiaoyu, usually favored, didn't dare approach. He looked at Yun Jin with a flicker of shock in his eyes.
That was the chief disciple. Killed just like that.
"Yun Jin," Zhao Wuji finally spoke, voice trembling with fury, "You are very good. Exceptionally good."
"Thank you for the praise, Sect Master," Yun Jin replied calmly.
Zhao Wuji glared at her.
Fine. Very well.
His prized disciple was gone. And she acted like it didn't matter.
Since she didn't care—
He would show her what true hell looked like.
Lin Ya?
Must die.
Yue Zhao?
Must die.
Si Wanning, Yu Songnian?
All of them. Dead.
He would slaughter them one by one before her eyes, and force her to listen to their dying cries.
Then, he would send her to meet Ruan Jun.