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Chapter 625: Chapter 631: Interested
Li Zhirui stood in the courtyard for a long time, muttering to himself only after Jiang Fengwu came to find him, bringing him back from his deep thoughts, "I hope your fortunes flourish and you can recover your broken body."
"Zhiyue left?"
"She left a few days ago."
Jiang Fengwu paused, then said, "There is a chance for life only by venturing out; staying on Wanxian Island means waiting for death. Perhaps Zhiyue has encountered a stroke of fortune."
"You’re right, let’s go back."
Jiang Fengwu could understand Li Zhirui’s current mood; he didn’t speak, simply keeping him company in silence.
In the days that followed, Li Zhirui locked himself in the Alchemy Room, sorting out his emotions.
He originally thought that after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, he had enough strength to protect his family and clansmen. However, multiple lessons taught him that this was just wishful thinking—the Nascent Soul was not as omnipotent as he believed.
He needed stronger powers to confidently protect his family and clanspeople!
In truth, Li Zhirui also knew that Li Zhiyue’s plight was not really his fault. Still, the occurrence of this event made him realize his powerlessness.
Perhaps breaking through a small mental barrier, his long-stagnant state unexpectedly showed signs of loosening. Although still insufficient to break through the minor bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage, it wouldn’t trap him for too long.
Creak—
"Zhirui, are you alright?" Jiang Fengwu, hearing the door open and not waiting for Li Zhirui to come out, asked impatiently.
"I’m fine; I’ve figured it out."
Jiang Fengwu was still somewhat worried, but after observing for several days and finding Li Zhirui back to his usual routine, he believed his words.
——
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
In the Central Region, Li Zhixuan, having showcased her powerful strength, was challenged by only a few Sword Cultivators on stage, but she easily defeated them one by one.
Since then, no Sword Cultivators came to challenge her again.
After all, this was not the final contest. The stronger Sword Cultivators did not want to waste time on her, because even if they won, it would only earn them one point. With that time, they would rather challenge other champions.
Li Zhixuan was pleased with this situation. While others fought fiercely, she stood on the stage, watching the battles of others, gathering intelligence.
The last day of this round of competition arrived quickly.
Li Zhixuan originally thought it would be like before, with no one coming to challenge her, but to her surprise, several familiar faces arrived in succession.
"Taoist Hongyan?"
"I must apologize, Taoist Jiang!"
As soon as the judge declared the start of the contest, Hongyan launched a fierce offensive, her moves agile. Her Sword Qi crisscrossed with a scorching heat, keeping Li Zhixuan at bay.
Li Zhixuan frowned slightly. Hongyan’s attack seemed fierce, but it was very draining on mana. Li Zhixuan simply jumped out of her attack range, composed her breath, and slashed a few times.
What appeared to be casual strikes broke through Hongyan’s offensive rhythm at just the right moments, forcing her to stop.
"You are truly formidable, Taoist friend! There’s no need to hold back your strength."
Hongyan knew she was no match for Li Zhixuan, but she had her own pride and hoped the other would use all her strength so they could have a proper battle. Even if defeated, she wanted to be convinced by skill.
Li Zhixuan glanced down at the disciples from the Sword Sect. She hadn’t expected the Sword Sect to resort to such despicable and shameless tactics, trying to wear her down with a war of attrition!
If she carelessly lost a match, the points accumulated by the cultivators who had challenged her in the previous days would surely be insufficient for the finals!
Did they really believe Li Zhixuan was foolish, unable to see through their schemes?
Her previous choice to not recover her mana and to continue fighting battles was to display her strength and intimidate the crowd, not because she was mindless.
Moreover, Li Zhixuan, as the arena master, not only could she actively choose her challengers, but she could also control the timing. Such scheming simply couldn’t be realized.
Instead, it made a laughingstock out of those watching. It made one wonder what the Nascent Soul leaders from the Sword Sect were thinking, to actually resort to such despicable means.
"Good." Li Zhixuan, her face which had been smiling, became indifferent in an instant as she summoned her Magic Sword and, with a misstep, turned into a dark shadow charging straight at Hongyan.
The sword’s brilliance was incomparably sharp, carrying boundless intent to kill as it struck at Hongyan.
In that moment, Hongyan felt as if she had already seen her own death!
Her Spiritual Soul became immersed under the onslaught of killing intent, and by the time she came to her senses, it was already too late. She could only utter the words "I admit defeat" with great speed.
The judge immediately activated the Formation and teleported Hongyan out.
Fortunately, this was a formal match, or else she would have been nothing more than a cold corpse by now!
Hongyan’s gaze at Li Zhixuan was complex. If there were any affection between the two before, it had completely dissipated after she stepped onto the stage.
She did not wish to offend Li Zhixuan, whose prospects were so bright, but what choice did she have? Ordered by the elders of her Sect to enter the stage, she had no right to object.
Li Zhixuan didn’t look at Hongyan, but instead randomly picked another disciple from the Sword Sect below the stage.
This time, she struck with all her might aimed to kill!
In just a breath’s time, she forced the person off the stage.
"Come up!"
Li Zhixuan, with her sword pointed at a cultivator, made no attempt to hide her disdain as she said, "Let me witness the strength of a Sword Sect disciple from the Eastern Domain!"
The judge’s eyes carried pity and mockery. Others might not realize how terrifying Li Zhixuan was, as the Formation blocked them, but he, who operated the Formation, knew all too clearly.
That intense killing aura, so thick it almost materialized, could be felt even at the Array Eye as if standing amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, shivering in terror. And that was merely him; what about the person directly facing that killing intent?
He was certain that the number of beings who had died by this Female Sword Cultivator’s hand was no less than a hundred thousand!
In terms of the number of killings, she might even surpass an average Golden Core Demon Cultivator.
The second, the third, the fourth...
One after another, Sword Sect disciples took the stage, but none could withstand even a single blow from Li Zhixuan!
Moreover, she didn’t rest for a moment between matches; as soon as one was eliminated, she called up the next.
Such fearsome battle results attracted the gaze of all cultivators.
"I heard this girl is from a Loose Cultivator background?" spoke an Elder of Divine Transformation suddenly from above the clouds.
The Nascent Soul True Lords waiting respectfully at his side were slightly shocked but also felt a hint of envy. She actually caught the eye of Master Wu Xin! What immense fortune!
It was known that among the Elders of Divine Transformation of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, Wu Xin had the highest realm, strongest strength, and was the most likely to attain Ascension!
"To answer Master Uncle, this girl is named Jiang Ye. The registry lists her as a Loose Cultivator," replied a Nascent Soul in charge of the registry swiftly.
"Hmm, after the match is over, bring her to me for an assessment," said the Elder.
"Yes!"
The few Nascent Soul cultivators looked at the formidable Li Zhixuan, feeling moved by her luck.
"Damn it! She dares to humiliate our Sword Sect like this!"
An Elder of the Sword Sect in the spectator’s seat, furious, smashed the chair beside him to pieces.
"Heh, Taoist Qi, try not to get angry. After all, one of these chairs costs ten thousand Spirit Stones, not a small sum," said a Ten Thousand Swords Sect Nascent Soul Elder with a chuckle.
