Xiao Ruoching was neither surprised nor afraid; it seemed she had anticipated the attack. Her body moved with her sword, narrowly dodging the assault.

However, her cheek still sustained a fine cut.

The very next moment, her sword swept horizontally, aiming for Song Ying.

This was a horizontal cut, and also a sweep.

Sword Two: As If Seen for the First Time.

Song Ying's pupils shrank. Faced with Xiao Ruoching's sword strike, she felt an incredible sense of crisis. That girl is clearly only at the Late Stage Golden Core, so how can she possess such terrifying strength? I'm just one step away from reaching the threshold of the Nascent Soul Realm!

She wielded her fan to forcefully interrupt Xiao Ruoching's attack, her eyes filled with caution.

At that moment, a cry of surprise erupted from the crowd. The next second, a woman dressed in purple descended from the sky. Her waist was cinched by a soft, flowing skirt, and she wore an outer robe of cicada-wing gauze that trailed on the ground.

Her waist was as slender as a willow, her shoulders as if sculpted.

But what drew the most attention was a distinctive, bobbing tuft of hair on her head.

"Stop!"

As the woman landed, the weapons in both combatants' hands instantly scattered to the ground. They stumbled back dozens of steps.

Dan Wuque watched the scene unfold with a complex expression. She walked over to Xiao Ruoching, gently wiped the blood from the cut on her cheek, then retrieved a Qi Blood Pill from her storage ring and put it into Mo Li's mouth.

My Senior Brother's disciple was injured under my watch! Although it's just a minor injury, it fills my heart with guilt.

Dan Wuque's gaze, rarely so cold, swept over the several Disciples of Wuhua Palace before her.

"Is this the quality of Disciples of Wuhua Palace?"

"Is this how your elders in Wuhua Palace educate you?"

"You're asking for a beating!"

As she spoke, her imposing aura pressed down on Song Ying, who was at the head of the group.

The might of the Refining Void Realm, even a mere sliver of it leaking out, instantly caused Song Ying's face to turn crimson, and she violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

Her chest felt as if it had been struck by a great hammer, and she instantly fell to one knee.

Dan Wuque's strike was precisely controlled; she hadn't injured Song Ying's foundation.

But indeed, fury burned in her heart. Many from the Sword Sect were present, at least five or six of them, yet only Xiao Ruoching and Mo Li had stepped forward. The others had merely watched from behind. Even the female disciple Mo Li had helped remained silent, her gaze fixed on her toes.

Just then, a dismissive voice drifted over, "When did the people of my Wuhua Palace need to be disciplined by someone from the Sword Sect?"

"Dan Wuque, you dare to intervene in a squabble between juniors? Aren't you overstepping your bounds?"

...

As the voice faded, a middle-aged man dressed in Yin Yang Hua Clothes appeared in the sky above.

His calm face looked down from on high at the Sword Sect Disciples.

Then, he helped Song Ying up, a mocking smile playing on his lips as he looked at Dan Wuque. "Heh, your Sword Sect is much stronger this time around."

The moment the middle-aged man appeared, all the onlookers gasped in shock.

"It's... It's Elder Ling Zhan from Wuhua Palace!"

"A mighty figure at the Dao Integration Realm! Heavens!"

...

Dan Wuque felt the terrifying pressure and immediately shielded all the Sword Sect Disciples behind her.

Her expression was complex as she looked at the man before her.

The Dao Integration Realm is incredibly strong. Terrifyingly so. But right now, my younger sister isn't here, nor is my Senior Brother. I'm the only one who can protect the Sword Sect Disciples. I cannot retreat.

With this resolve, Dan Wuque gritted her teeth, forcefully suppressing the fear in her heart, and took a step forward.

"Even if Elder Ling is here, it changes nothing!"

"Wuhua Palace was discourteous first!"