When Wang Qi arrived, he happened to see Mi clutching her head and crying bitterly.

Song Zhongqiao saw him and sneered, crushing the bracelet and the Heart Demon Great Curse Memory in his hand, loudly questioning, "Xia Li, you bastard, you actually dare to openly use such filthy magic artifacts in the sect, and what's more, it's a heterodox item. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Wang Qi ignored this guy and instead squatted down, pretending to check Mi's injuries. In reality, he was watching Mi pretend to cry and act pitiful with a rather amused mindset.

However, when he stood up, everyone felt that the sky had changed. The people present suddenly felt the light dim, even though the dome, which provided illumination, always maintained a constant brightness, yet they just felt a darkness in front of their eyes.

"Xia Li" stood up, staring intently at Song Zhongqiao. Song Zhongqiao felt that this Golden Core Stage disciple's expression was somewhat strange, but the powerful killing sword intent stimulated his soul, giving rise to a great sense of crisis in his heart.

"Song Zhongqiao, if you had come directly at me, I might have looked at you a bit more highly…" Wang Qi deliberately lowered his voice, speaking in an emotionless tone: "Scum."

"Hehehe… hahaha…" Song Zhongqiao laughed: "Rebellious disciple! You think you're something, huh? I'm not afraid to tell you, I've been targeting you. Look at what situation your deceased master left our Sword Palace in… and how many brothers in this sect you've injured since you came here? What face do you have to call yourself a disciple of the Sword Palace? What face do you have to stay here?"

Wang Qi said nothing, continuing to strengthen the Pseudo Sword Intent on him. Those disciples who were somewhat weaker kept retreating. But Song Zhongqiao, under this immense pressure, laughed wildly: "You fool, don't think that just because you've comprehended the Martial Arts True Intent, you can do whatever you want. I'm not afraid to tell you that while the three Grand Elders were setting up the array, I've also comprehended sword intent!"

As long as he comprehended sword intent, he would be on the same level as this hateful brat. By then, even if his sword intent was weak and far inferior to him, at least he wouldn't be overpowered like before…

Thinking this, Song Zhongqiao slowly enhanced his sword intent, mysterious and ethereal, not conspicuous at first glance, but gradually rising.

This was his understanding of sword intent, this was his understanding of life.

Endlessly moving forward, a gentleman should strive continuously!

This sword intent was one that grew stronger against stronger foes!

Like climbing a mountain, he was slowly inching closer to that "Xia Li's" sword intent.

Little by little… getting closer… getting closer…

Suddenly, Song Zhongqiao widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

Xia Li's sword intent was actually rising too!

This wasn't "climbing a mountain," it was clearly akin to a small bird comparing ascent with an eagle.

—forever unreachable.

"Don't think for a second that you're the only one who can make progress." Wang Qi slowly drew his longsword, walking towards Song Zhongqiao: "I always think you're quite stupid. My talent is ten times yours, my effort ten times yours, what exactly gives you the illusion you can surpass me?"

"Speak, how do you want to die?"

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Elder Ru Tianqi took a sip of tea, his perpetually bitter and melancholic face slowly relaxing.

"The Tai Chu Sword God Array is indeed a remarkable law gate." Elder Zhao Xiangshen did not hold back his praise now, complimenting the Great Elder: "I originally thought it was just a sect protective array, nothing different from other arrays. Unexpectedly, there are such benefits within the array set up!"

Only then did the third elder put down his teacup, adopting a serious expression: "Indeed, we must thank you, Great Elder. Just the aspect of gathering a multitude of sword intents to form the myriad living-beings sword intent has been tremendously beneficial to me!"

The first half of Elder Ru Tianqi's life was extraordinarily tumultuous and nearly devoid of joy. Yet he never had the thought of "giving up" throughout his life. His sword intent is "Life is suffering, find life in death."

Observing the sword intents of the disciples of Sword Palace made him feel that the "Life is suffering" sword intent was about to reach completion, nearing his ideal realm of cutting through the Sea of Suffering with a single sword.

Mei Sicheng nodded, though his expression showed no joy. He sighed, "Yet, I am unsure if we can achieve our original goal…"

As long as Luochen Sword Palace remains under the other party's surveillance for even a day, we will not attain true safety.

But this is something they absolutely dared not attempt.

Elder Zhao Xiangshen hesitated for a moment, then said: "Now that the array is set, I think I will journey to the Life and Death Cliff. This time, after empathizing with you and the various sword intents of the disciples of Sword Palace, I have realized many things and plan to retreat for fifty years to fully digest this harvest, enhance my cultivation further, and perhaps even restore my former state."

Ru Tianqi frowned: "Life and Death Cliff? Seclusion unto death?"

"To attain longevity, one must first attain tranquility. I will seek a long period of reflection there." Zhao Xiangshen nodded.

Ru Tianqi thought for a moment: "Very well. With this Sword Array, Luochen Sword Palace can hold on for a little longer. Once I've organized my recent breakthroughs and insights to hand over to my disciple, I'll head to the Life and Death Cliff with you."

Just then, a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator hurried in and whispered a few words in Ru Tianqi's ear. It seemed that the Nascent Soul Cultivator used a secret technique like Sound Transmission, so Zhao Xiangshen and Mei Sicheng, out of respect, didn't intentionally listen in, and thus, didn't know the details of what was said.

However, the gap between a Nascent Soul and Divine Separation cultivation is so immense, they still caught snippets.

After speaking, the Nascent Soul Cultivator dared not linger and quickly left. Only Ru Tianqi was left, his face ashen.

Zhao Xiangshen asked, "Is it… is there something wrong with Nephew Changgu?"

"My disciple has caused some trouble again, I'll handle it first…" Ru Tianqi seemed unwilling to linger longer, merely apologizing to the two Elders before hastily leaving.

————————————————————————————————————————————

A moment later, Ru Tianqi was looking at Xiao Changgu, who lay in a sickbed with a hand and foot severed, a deep and solemn expression on his face.

He glanced at the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator who was administering treatment, his voice low, tinged with killing intent: "What happened with Xiao Changgu?"

The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator trembled, "It was Xia Li… that little beast Xia Li… Earlier today, a disciple named Song Zhongqiao went to… provoked his sister, then… then that little beast… ruthlessly crippled Song Zhongqiao. Some Luochen Sword Palace disciples couldn't stand by and tried to mediate, but who knew that little beast was so formidable and ended up injuring a dozen or so. Then… Xiao Changgu tried to subdue that little beast. But, who would've thought… who would've thought…"

"Truly a beast…" Ru Tianqi muttered softly.

"Wha… what…" The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator's consciousness hadn't caught up.

"A beast is always a beast, can't be domesticated," Ru Tianqi said coldly, "Even if you feed him well, he'll still bite you. Lian Yichen was like that, and so is his disciple."

The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator bowed his head, not daring to respond.

Ru Tianqi began to ask, "Where is that little beast now… forget it…"

He originally wanted to ask where Xia Li was. But he quickly realized that the Sword Array of Luochen Sword Palace was different now. Though he couldn't control the Sword Array, he could still use it to monitor the entire Sword Palace.

In the next moment, the Nascent Soul Cultivator only saw flickering shadows, and the Third Elder had vanished.

At the same time, Ru Tianqi appeared in the center of the Sword Palace courtyard.

At this moment, the once pristine garden of the Sword Palace lay in ruins. "Injured a dozen people" might be just five words in the mouths of others, but those five words carried the weight of "more than a dozen Golden Core Cultivators involved and suffering calamity."

The once exquisite scenery had been torn asunder by the residual waves of Sword Qi. Though the Sword Palace had a Sword Array to dissipate Sword Qi, within that refinement existed an order, yet even it couldn't withstand the Sword Qi of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator capable of splitting mountains. Blood spilled across this garden, turning the once beautiful landscape into a Shura Killing Field.

Xia Li stood amidst the stains of blood. His body bore numerous wounds, with blood flowing unceasingly, staining his clothes entirely red before dripping to the ground.

On the other side, a few Nascent Soul Cultivators from Luochen Sword Palace watched him silently.

These Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators initially didn't want to interfere in the brawl between Golden Core Stage disciples. Even though Wang Qi crippled a few Golden Core Stage disciples, it didn't concern them, and they didn't find it worth gaining a reputation for bullying the weak. However, Xia Li nearly crippled Xiao Changgu, changing the situation entirely.

Xiao Changgu was regarded as the most talented and promising disciple of Luochen Sword Palace in the last millennium. His disposition was perfectly suited to Luochen Sword Palace's cultivation methods, and transferring him elsewhere might not have achieved such harmony of will. This made the obstacles he faced using Luochen Sword Palace's cultivation methods "Divine Separation Sense Transformation" and "Unity of My Method" much smaller.

Such individuals seemed born for the cultivation methods of Luochen Sword Palace.

These Nascent Soul Cultivators couldn't help but save Xiao Changgu and suppress Xia Li.

But Xia Li's counterattack exceeded their expectations as well.

He was a genius too. Though he wasn't particularly suited to Luochen Sword Palace's cultivation methods, he excelled at combat, truly possessing the ability to surpass levels. Clearly just at the Golden Core Early Stage, yet even standard Golden Core Perfection couldn't withstand him.

But the chasm between Golden Core Perfection and Nascent Soul Stage, how vast is that difference?

Now, the Nascent Soul Cultivators regarded Xia Li with eyes full of regret.

No one could save him now.

Even a peerless genius has those they are close to and those who are not. Xiao Changgu was the future Luochen Sword Palace worked tirelessly to nurture, while Xia Li was just a traitor's son who had harmed many of the sect's Cultivators. Such untamed talent, the more robustly it manifested, the more likely it was to perish young.

A sect isn't ultimately a Kaishan Hall.