A blade of light tore across the sky, illuminating the world for thousands of miles.
The void shattered.
The stench of death washed over them.
The Beast God and Celestial Destiny turned pale with fright, instantly using their Body Techniques to dodge aside.
"This is bad!"
"That Qin Yang is insane!"
A streak of white light flashed past them.
Nothing in its path could stop it. A diagonal gash appeared on nearby buildings before they toppled with a deafening roar. In the distance, the Da Li Mountain Range collapsed, leaving behind a perfectly clean, mirror-smooth cut.
One Sword Breaks the Peak!
But even after dodging the brunt of the attack, the Beast God and Celestial Destiny couldn’t escape the fallout.
Countless strands of invisible Sword Qi coiled around their arms.
SHINK SHINK—
It frantically sliced through their flesh, shredding more than half of their Dharma Bodies.
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, Celestial Destiny cursed. He immediately activated a Divine Technique, channeling the Power of Stars to condense a brand-new arm.
As for the Beast God, his face contorted in pain from the blow, and his mind reeled in shock.
’Such terrifying Sword Intent,’ he thought. ’It has already reached a realm where nothing is beyond its cut.’
’That last sword strike contained the Law of Devouring.’
’My Blood Sea Domain...’
’The energy I just expended can’t be replenished quickly, and now my Realm has fallen to the very threshold of a Celestial Venerable.’
’Absolutely terrifying!’
’If that sword had hit me squarely... the consequences would have been unthinkable!’
The sight of two powerhouses from the Upper Realm being so heavily wounded drew a wave of cheers from the watching Martial Artists.
A tsunami of cheers echoed through Jianghai City!
"What a blow!"
"Such ferocious Swordsmanship!"
"The Jianghai Sword God finally has a successor. If only the old master were still alive to see this."
"A sword that can cleave the heavens... The True Dragon Martial God’s Sword Intent is simply divine! It’s the absolute pinnacle of the Sword Dao!"
"You’re incredible, Young Master!"
"..."
"Senior Brother, you’re so powerful..."
In the crowd, Li Zixuan’s beautiful eyes shimmered with emotion as she watched the clash of titans unfold with that single sword strike.
’It’s been years,’ she thought, ’and Senior Brother’s swordsmanship has become even more refined.’
’He can even slay experts of the Divine Venerable Realm now!’
...
"Beast God! Didn’t you say he only recently broke through to the Divine Venerable Realm?"
Up in the sky, Celestial Destiny glared furiously at the Beast God. "How did he get so much stronger? This is nothing like you said it would be!"
"I... well... My Lord, he really did break through just recently..."
The Beast God’s face flushed red. For a moment, he was speechless, not daring to argue back.
The problem was, he himself had never imagined that after so many years, Jianghai City would reach its current level!
Grandmasters are a dime a dozen, and Venerables are everywhere you look!
Forget about calling this the Lower Realm.
With such a terrifying depth of talent, they would be considered a top-tier power even in the Upper Realm.
And when the strength of all these citizens was stacked and channeled into Qin Yang via the Star Array, his power reached an even greater height!
He could no longer be judged by normal standards.
"I have failed in my duties, Lord of Destiny."
The Beast God’s expression shifted several times before he finally said with resignation, "They must have been preparing for the Heaven-Opening Gate for a very long time..."
"Enough! Let’s get out of here first!"
Celestial Destiny roared, cutting him off. He began casting a Spell with his arm of condensed Star Force. "I’ll deal with you when we get back."
A vicious glint flashed in his eyes. "An ant from the Lower Realm can’t possibly maintain a Secret Technique like this for long. We’ll retreat for now and wait for our chance."
But just then, a cold, indifferent voice boomed in their ears.
"Did I say you could leave?"
Qin Yang’s eyes were devoid of emotion. He simply flicked a finger, pointing toward them.
He casually unleashed a Great Divine Technique.
With a gentle press of his finger, he seized control of the very sky around them, forming a sealed Domain.
CRACK!
Mirror-like cracks spread through the air around the Beast God.
In an instant, the wind fell silent.
A Domain enveloped all three of them.
Everything within the Domain appeared normal, except that the words on the nearby signboards were reversed.
"The Mirror Domain. It wouldn’t do to damage the flora and fauna outside. It’s much more convenient to fight in here."
Qin Yang lifted his gaze to the Beast God, and a murderous light finally erupted from the depths of his placid eyes. "I seem to recall you declaring that you were going to kill every member of the Heaven-Blasting Gang?"
"Then let’s start with you!"
He unleashed a blade of light.
The rippling blade of light tore through the void!
It shot straight for the Beast God’s head!
"No! Lord of Destiny, save me!"
His body still mangled, the Beast God reached out, pleading for help. "I’ve fallen to the Celestial Venerable Realm! I can’t block this attack!"
"You troublesome piece of trash."
Celestial Destiny frowned. He hesitated for a moment but ultimately intervened, unleashing his Star Sea Domain at full power.
The next moment.
HUMMM!
Day turned to night, and the sky filled with dazzling stars.
Countless stars rained down from the sky, scattering the sword light’s momentum and forcibly nullifying the attack.
"Oh? You blocked it?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Qin Yang’s eyes, though he wasn’t truly taken aback.
’Experts from the Upper Realm who’ve reached the Divine Venerable Realm are bound to have a few life-saving tricks up their sleeves.’
But it hardly mattered.
"If one sword isn’t enough..."
"...then ten thousand will have to do!"
Qin Yang shouted, flipping the Ziwei in his hand.
The next moment.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The ringing of swords echoed endlessly throughout Jianghai City.
It was as if an invisible ripple, centered on Qin Yang, expanded outward in a millisecond, commanding every sheathed sword in the world to fly from its scabbard.
SWISH! SWISH!
Ten thousand swords soared through the air, converging into a great river of steel. It tore through the sea of clouds and the void, arriving in the Mirror Image Space in the blink of an eye.
"For the city you massacred and your indiscriminate slaughter, today you will be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts!"
Qin Yang directed the myriad swords straight toward the point between the Beast God’s eyebrows.
"You dare!"
Celestial Destiny’s eyes were splitting with rage.
He immediately unleashed the sea of stars behind him, reaching for the Beast God to pull him to safety.
But he was too slow.
The countless Flying Swords crossed the sea of clouds, transforming into streaks of golden light as they arrived.
"AHHHH!!!"
The Beast God shrieked in agony, suffering the fate of Ten Thousand Swords Piercing the Heart.
A storm of lightning and fire erupted, completely incinerating his Blood Sea Domain.
A Divine Venerable slaying a Celestial Venerable.
An instant kill!
「A moment later.」
The battlefield fell silent as thousands of long swords scattered and circled in the air.
Only Qin Yang and Celestial Destiny remained.
"Good, good. It’s for the best that the dead weight is gone."
Celestial Destiny suppressed his fury, staring daggers at Qin Yang. He bit out each word with venom, "Now, it’s just you and me. With no one else to interfere, we can finally have a proper fight."
"Hm? Who told you I was alone?"
Qin Yang raised an eyebrow, giving Ziwei a little flourish. A smirk played on his lips as he said, "The seniors of my Heaven-Blasting Gang haven’t even arrived yet!"
As his voice fell, a dozen or so Clones flew in from all directions.
They entered the Mirror Image Space.
"Seniors?"
Celestial Destiny’s expression turned grim as he watched the figures arrive.
Without exception...
Every single one of them was a Half-step Divine Venerable!
’If a fight broke out,’ he thought, ’in my current weakened and isolated state, I couldn’t guarantee I’d escape with my life, even if I played all my trump cards.’
At this thought, Celestial Destiny forced a smile. "Qin Yang, I’ve thought about it. Perhaps we don’t need to be so absolute."
"Scared now, are you?"
Qin Yang smiled faintly, as if recalling something. "By the way, you don’t seem to have witnessed the tradition of my Heaven-Blasting Gang, have you?"
"What tradition?"
Celestial Destiny looked bewildered.
However, in the next instant.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
He watched as all the Half-step Divine Venerables charged forward without a single word, their auras becoming chaotic and unstable as an explosive, fiery light shot toward the heavens.
They were self-destructing!