Did I let you go

Lin Qingliu would probably never figure out, not in her entire life, how she had ended up in such a state.

As a sect master with a cultivation at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm, she was already among the tiny handful of people standing at the absolute pinnacle within the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Coupled with the fact that her five-hundred-year lifespan was nearing its end, even the Holy Lands were unwilling to provoke her lightly.

That was exactly why today's scene had played out the way it did.

And in her eyes.

Trading an insignificant outer sect disciple for an opportunity to build good relations with a Holy Land was a bargain no matter how one looked at it.

As for that disciple's indignation and anger?

Who cared?

The world bustled for profit, and the world scrambled for gain.

For so many years, this was how many sects had survived.

It was even how she herself had survived back in the day.

The weak were bullied by more powerful factions.

Aside from harboring a heart full of hot blood and resentment, what else could they do?

Who would care about your petty indignation anyway?

But before these thoughts could even fully form in her mind.

The look of sheer astonishment on Lin Qingliu's face froze.

She lowered her head, looking at the sword mark on her chest.

Inch by inch, her body was turning into the finest ash, silently drifting away.

Along with her proud sixth-grade Golden Core, her divine soul, and everything else that made her who she was—all of it was being thoroughly and cleanly erased by this flash of sword light.

Nothing was left behind.

Rumble—!

Only then did the destructive energy, suppressed to its absolute limit, finally erupt in full force.

In an instant, the sect's grand hall, along with the very foundation it sat upon, was violently overturned from the inside out by an invisible force!

The earth caved in.

A howling gale swept through.

The thunderous boom of the explosion only just reached their ears.

The envoy from the Puppet Heaven Holy Land, who had been sitting calmly through it all, finally managed to summon his protective artifact at the very last second of the upheaval.

He poured every ounce of his spiritual power into it, forming a thick, sturdy barrier of spiritual energy.

Yet, the devastating shockwave slammed into him with absolute, unreasoning force.

"Pfft—!"

Feeling as though all his internal organs had been violently displaced, he spewed out a mouthful of blood. Like a kite with a broken string, he was viciously sent flying backward.

His cloud-patterned brocade robe was shredded to pieces in the storm, and his hairband snapped, leaving his hair wildly disheveled. He looked as pathetic as a stray dog.

Faintly, spinning precision gears could even be seen exposed within his wounds...

On the other side, Su Jiu wasn't faring much better.

Almost the exact moment Su Ji drew his sword, she sensed a terrifying aura that made her very soul tremble.

Without hesitation, she pushed the power of her Heavenly Palace Golden Core to its absolute limit. Two fox tails materialized behind her, wrapping around her to form a solid shield.

But even so, when the shockwave swept past, she still felt her qi and blood churning violently within her.

If she hadn't been standing right behind Su Ji, where the impact was the weakest, she feared her fate wouldn't have been much better than the middle-aged man's.

The storm came fast, and it left just as quickly.

When the dust finally settled.

The once-majestic grand hall of the sect had completely vanished.

In its place was nothing but a bottomless, massive crater.

And Su Ji was standing quietly at the very center of that enormous crater.

The Windchant Sword in his hand was still glowing with a faint azure light.

It was as if that apocalyptic strike had been nothing more than a casual stretch for the blade.

The middle-aged man struggled to his feet from the ruins. As he looked at the scene before him, the terror in his eyes was so thick it was palpable.

Dead.

The sect master of the Acacia Sect, Lin Qingliu, was at the very least a powerhouse at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm.

And she was just... instantly obliterated by a single sword strike?

Without even a speck of dust left behind?

"Cough... cough, cough..."

He clutched his chest, coughing violently as a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Meanwhile, Su Ji was cursing up a storm in his head.

Showing off felt amazing, truly amazing.

The thrill of showing off in front of others was even more intoxicating than blending spiritual power with Su Jiu.

But the aftereffects...

He could feel that the majestic, borrowed power within his body was draining away at an alarming rate.

And his recently repaired Glazed Dao Foundation was once again groaning under the immense strain.

Even his liquefied spiritual energy had been sucked completely dry.

Sucked even drier than when Su Jiu drained him.

Right now, he was nothing but an empty shell—tough on the outside, completely hollow on the inside.

On the surface, he looked as calm as a gentle breeze and as steady as a rock.

In reality, a stiff breeze could probably knock him over.

Su Ji slowly shifted his gaze from the Windchant Sword in his hand, letting it fall upon the envoy from the Puppet Heaven Holy Land, who had been scared completely witless.

A playful smirk tugged at the corners of Su Ji's lips.

"So, why did you have to disturb my peaceful life?"

"Why did you have to force my hand?"

Su Ji's voice was soft, yet it rang out with crystal clarity in the middle-aged man's ears.

"Now, do you still want the fortuitous encounters I possess?"

"This sword is right here in my hand."

"Come! Take it!"

The middle-aged man shuddered from head to toe. Like a startled bird, he instinctively tried to back away.

Cold sweat rolled down his forehead, and he didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.

He stared at Su Ji, his lips trembling, but he couldn't force a single word out.

Su Ji took a step forward, then another, slowly walking toward him.

Every footfall made the man feel a suffocating pressure.

"Tell me, how should we wrap this up?"

Su Ji stopped in front of him, flashing a completely harmless smile.

"The disciple from your Holy Land is dead."

"The sect master of the Acacia Sect is dead too."

"Now, you're the only one left."

Looking at Su Ji's smiling face, the middle-aged man felt that he was more terrifying than a malicious ghost from the depths of the Nine Nethers.

"What... what do you want?"

He managed to squeeze out the words with great difficulty, his voice horribly distorted.

"I don't want anything."

"I was trying to reason with you from the very beginning."

"When reasoning doesn't work, I also know a bit about physics."

Although the envoy from the Puppet Heaven Holy Land had no idea what "physics" was.

It didn't stop him from understanding the meaning behind it.

"S-Senior... no, My Lord... My Lord, you must be joking..."

"As for today's matters, it... it was my fault for having eyes but failing to recognize Mount Tai. I have offended you, My Lord..."

"I... I'll get lost right now! I swear, absolutely no one else will ever know about what happened here today!"

"Please, continue your leisurely stroll through the mortal realm... just treat me like a fart and let me go."

As the middle-aged man spoke, he turned around, ready to transform into a streak of light and flee.

Su Ji scoffed in disdain. "My farts don't stink as much as you do."

The middle-aged man from the Puppet Heaven Holy Land immediately began to flatter him. "Yes, yes, yes! Senior's farts are immortal farts, naturally possessing an endless, lingering fragrance."

But even as he spouted this nonsense, he was stealthily inching backward.

With his own extensive experience in running away, how could Su Ji fail to see right through his intentions?

"Did I say you could leave?"

The middle-aged man's body went completely rigid.

With a look of utter despair, he stopped his retreat.

The smile on Su Ji's face was as bright as ever.

"Since you're already here, shouldn't you leave a little something behind?"