CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52 DISPLAY OF POWER_1

"Who?"

Upon hearing the voice, everyone was startled and quickly looked towards its source.

Two figures hovered on the eaves, coldly surveying the numerous guests in the hall below.

These figures were one male and one female.

One was a hunchbacked, bald old man wielding a Panlong Stick.

The other was a voluptuous young woman with fine features, dressed in revealing attire.

"It’s people from the Blood Robe Sect!"

Recognizing the two, Shen Zhou’s heart leaped in alarm.

These two were Xue Ren, the Bloody Fiend Hall Master, and Gu Zhao, the Ghost Spring Hall Master, both serving under the Bright King, Sect Leader of the Blood Robe Sect.

"The Bright King ordered your Shen Family to wash your necks and await your deaths at home."

"But you, old fool, instead of complying, you were actually thinking of issuing challenge letters? Truly courting death."

Hall Master Xue’s Panlong Stick struck the ground heavily as he spoke in a hoarse, sinister chuckle.

"Such audacity! You leftover evils of the Demonic Cult, how dare you invade the Shen Family!"

"You’re walking right into a trap!"

Seeing the two Hall Masters from the Blood Robe Sect arrive to cause trouble, the assembled heroes were instantly incensed.

"The Blood Robe Sect massacres the innocent! They are fiends of the Demonic Cult, and everyone in the Jianghu has a duty to eliminate them!"

"We don’t need to speak of martial ethics with them! Since these two dare to barge into our Heroes’ Banquet alone to flaunt their power, let’s attack together! We’ll capture them and make an example of them!"

The first to leap to his feet was the Young Master of Sword Hidden Villa. His entire family had been slaughtered, a blood feud that burned deep within him. He could no longer restrain himself.

"CLANG!"

With a flash of light, the Cangfeng Sword was unsheathed, slashing towards the face of Bloody Fiend Hall Master Xue Ren.

"Hmph! An ant trying to shake a tree!" Xue Ren’s eyes filled with disdain. After a cold snort, he abruptly raised the Panlong Stick in his hand.

"BANG!"

The sword’s edge was shattered by the stick’s shadow, forcing the Young Master of Sword Hidden Villa to stumble back several steps before regaining his footing.

Clearly, he was no match for Xue Ren.

Although Liu Jing hailed from an aristocratic family of martial arts and had trained since childhood, after many years, he had become a first-rate master.

Yet, against a Hall Master of the Demonic Cult, he was still outmatched.

"Amitabha. Allow this old monk to meet you, benefactor."

Though Liu Jing was defeated, there were indeed true experts among the heroes present.

As a Buddhist chant resonated, a figure slowly stepped out from the crowd.

The newcomer, clad in a Kasaya and holding a nine-ringed golden staff, possessed an air of solemn dignity.

"Master Fazheng!"

Seeing this eminent monk step forward, the crowd couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

This was Master Fazheng, the renowned abbot of the Suspended Temple in Tianyou City.

His cultivation was profound. Though he seldom engaged in combat, he was a leading figure of the righteous path, highly esteemed in Tianyou City.

Years ago, his cultivation had already reached the Half-Step to Nature Realm, making him nearly as formidable as Shen Zhou, the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch.

"WHOOSH!"

Under the watchful eyes of the assembly, Master Fazheng raised his palm and unleashed a Vajra Seal.

"’A mere Vajra Seal, how can it stop me!’" Xue Ren remained unfazed. Even facing this paramount master, his expression held a trace of disdain and arrogance. With a deafening roar, he raised the Panlong Stick in his hand and smashed it down fiercely.

An astonishing scene unfolded before everyone’s eyes!

"PUFF!"

The Buddhist Vajra Seal, though imposing, could not withstand Xue Ren’s Panlong Stick.

It shattered in an instant. The Panlong Stick, its momentum unchecked, slammed violently into Master Fazheng’s chest.

The latter coughed up a mouthful of blood, his aura instantly diminishing.

He was gravely injured by a single blow.

"This... How is this possible?"

This scene stunned the entire hall into silence, followed by gasps of disbelief and horror.

"Master Fazheng couldn’t even withstand a single blow from this villain! He’s not a Half-Step to Nature Master... he is... a true Nature Master!"

A Nature Master represents the pinnacle of martial arts, a level rarely seen even once in a century.

Currently, Shen Zhou, the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch of Tianyou City; Master Fazheng of the Suspended Temple; and Daoist Cangshan of White Cloud Monastery had all been stuck for many years, with only one foot in the Nature Master Realm, yet to truly achieve it.

They had never imagined that a Hall Master of the Blood Robe Sect had actually reached this stage!

"Now do you all realize how foolish you’ve been?"

"The might of my Blood Robe Sect is far beyond what you so-called righteous factions of the Jianghu could ever hope to challenge!"

Xue Ren, his face alight with arrogance, slowly retracted his Panlong Stick and spoke coldly.

A chill instantly enveloped the entire Shen Family.

They had indeed gravely underestimated this resurgent Blood Robe Sect.

"Though a Nature Master is a supreme martial artist, they are, after all, still mortal, not invincible!"

"There are hundreds of experts here! We need not fear him! Even if it’s a battle of attrition, we can wear him down and kill him!"

At this moment, a robust middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd, shouting words of encouragement to rally everyone.

This was Sect Leader He of the Green City Sect, a top-tier expert and a prominent figure among the righteous path of the Jianghu.

But before he could say more, someone made a move from a distance.

It was the other Blood Robe Sect Hall Master, Gu Zhao!

The longsword in her hand flashed from its sheath, its cold light glinting.

"PUFF!"

As her longsword returned to its sheath, a line of blood appeared on Sect Leader He’s forehead. He collapsed, dead on the spot.

"Sect Leader!"

The few disciples from the Green City Sect who had accompanied him rushed to his side, crying out in grief.

"Sect Leader He of the Green City Sect was a peak expert! For this woman to kill him with a single sword strike... could it be... she’s also a genuine Nature Master?"

All eyes stared in stunned disbelief at Gu Zhao.

A cold sneer touched Gu Zhao’s lips. "All four Hall Masters of our Blood Robe Sect are Nature Masters. And our Sect Leader, the Bright King, has reached the legendary Myth Realm of martial arts."

"Such power, do you ants truly believe you can contend with it?"

All four Hall Masters were Nature Masters?

The Bright King had reached the legendary Myth Realm?

These words struck everyone with shock and utter dread.

Many heroes of the Jianghu lamented silently in their hearts. We should never have gotten involved in this mess!

Had they known how formidable the Blood Robe Sect truly was, they would never have dared attend this Heroes’ Banquet to offer their aid.

"Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch Shen, an urgent matter has come up at home. I must take my leave!"

The Master of the Dragon Tiger Martial Art Hall hastily made an excuse, clasping his fists at Shen Zhou before trying to lead his disciples away.

But they were stopped.

"Since you’ve come, there’s no need to leave!"

Gu Zhao said with a chilling smile, "Back then, the Shen Family led the heroes of Tianyou City to destroy our Blood Robe Sect’s headquarters, and they did so after issuing a formal declaration of war. So rest assured, until the agreed-upon time, the Blood Robe Sect will not lay a hand on you."

"We will abide by the same rules you followed. However, anyone who attended this Heroes’ Banquet today—don’t even think about leaving alive!"

"You will all await your doom in the Shen Family residence for the next few days. If anyone dares to take a single step out of the Shen Family grounds, it means instant death!"

"Don’t blame our Blood Robe Sect. If you must blame someone, blame the Shen Family for implicating all of you!"

The alliance of righteous heroes, once united by a common enemy, completely fractured after this shocking turn of events.

Fear spread rapidly through the crowd.

The Blood Robe Sect members reveled in the terror and despair of these self-proclaimed heroes of the righteous path, toying with them like cats with mice.

"Wait patiently for your deaths. We will return in three days to kill you all!"

Having thoroughly intimidated everyone and successfully disrupted the Heroes’ Banquet, the two Blood Robe Sect Hall Masters, Gu Zhao and Xue Ren, prepared to depart.

However, just as the two of them leaped into the air, a pair of hands appeared from nowhere, pressing down firmly on their shoulders.