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Beneath the night sky.
All that remained of Zhou Fengzhi was his soul. He shrieked in panic and terror, “This is impossible! Impossible! You’re only in the Origin Palace Realm. How could you possibly
.”
Before he could finish, Su Yi’s calm, indifferent voice interrupted him.
“The third strike.”
It was like a voice from hell, the sound of impending doom.
Zhou Fengzhi’s soul trembled, and he immediately turned to flee. He dared not hesitate in the slightest.
Poof!
With a flash of sword light, Zhou Fengzhi’s soul was cleaved in two. It quickly dissipated into nothingness.
He didn’t even have time to shriek before he died.
In three strikes, Su Yi had granted Zhou Fengzhi death!
Su Yi had unquestionably achieved just what he'd said he would.
Everyone fell deathly silent.
The night was increasingly dark and heavy, and the rain showed no sign of letting up.
The bone-piercing autumn chill was nothing compared to the chill the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect disciples now felt in their hearts.
It was as if they’d been plunged into an icy abyss!
The battle was over in an instant. Su Yi had only attacked three times.
Yet these three attacks each came crashing down like a hammer, leaving the onlookers’ hearts trembling. Their minds went blank, and they almost dared not believe their eyes.
Who would have thought that an Origin Palace Realm young man could, in just one attack, damage the early-stage Spiritual Manifestation Realm Zhou Fengzhi?
Who would have thought that Su Yi’s second attack would destroy Zhou Fengzhi’s body? It would have destroyed his soul too if it hadn’t fled just in time!
And this third strike just seemed like going through the motions. Su Yi knew his victory was certain, so he sent his enemy on his way!
Plip plop plop!
The stench of blood permeated the pouring autumn rain.
Jiang Li paled, and her mind went blank. Her slender, delicate frame quivered, and her beautiful phoenix eyes were full of bewilderment.
Qiu Hengkong’s heart shook, and all he could think was, So, Fellow Daoist Su’s swordsmanship
 was already this strong!?
Tao Yunchi, Gu Tengying, and the other disciples were so scared that their faces had turned ashen. It was as if they were attending their parents’ funerals.
They weren’t completely ignorant of Su Yi’s strength. When they first encountered him in Locust Tree Kingdom, Tao Yunchi and Gu Tengying experienced Su Yi’s terrifying combat prowess firsthand.
Despite this, even if you hit them over the head, they would never have guessed that a Young Origin Palace cultivator like Su Yi could kill Zhou Fengzhi!
Fighting across cultivation boundaries came in three levels
The first was just to hold your own against an opponent of a superior cultivation.
The second was to cross cultivation boundaries to kill or defeat your opponent. This was extremely rare, but not unheard of.
Here, on this very lake, the young Zeng Pu recently defeated the Tang Family ancestor, Tang Xiaoshan. He didn’t kill him, but there was no doubt that he could have.
The third level went beyond just defeating opponents of greater cultivations; it meant having enough power to suppress opponents completely!
Throughout the world and throughout history, such instances were extremely rare. Hundreds or thousands of years might pass without anyone achieving such a feat; it practically only existed in legend.
After all, anyone capable of fighting opponents of superior cultivations was a rare genius.
If they could one-sidedly suppress their opponents on top of just being able to fight them, that was enough to overturn people’s perception and surpass the bounds of the imagination. Such geniuses were worthy of the title “heaven-defying monsters”!
And now, Su Yi had just displayed the third and rarest level. He didn’t just defeat Zhou Fengzhi; he slaughtered him as he might a chicken or monkey!
He crushed him in just three attacks, instantly obliterating him!
“No, this isn’t possible
 it isn’t possible!” Zhou Zhiqian cried out as if he’d gone mad. It was obvious that this shock was too great for him to bear; he’d lost control of his emotions, and he was showing signs of an imminent mental breakdown.
Earlier, he’d been incomparably eager and excited. He thought that his chance at revenge had come and that he could finally vent his hatred.
Who’d have thought that even Zhou Fengzhi, the man he saw as his backer, would get killed?
Splurt!
Another flash of sword light sent Zhou Zhiqian’s head flying through the air.
When he killed someone like this, Su Yi felt nothing at all; it was like swatting a fly. He couldn’t even be bothered to waste words talking to him.
Now, both Zhou Fengzhi and Zhou Zhiqian were dead!
“Su Yi, you
” Tao Yunchi cried out, seemingly in response to Zhou Zhiqian’s death.
But when Su Yi glanced at him, Tao Yunchi abruptly fell silent, as if he were a duck someone had grabbed by the neck. He trembled from head to toe and looked down, not daring to meet Su Yi’s gaze.
It wasn’t just Tao Yunchi; Su Yi’s ruthlessness and power had scared the other Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect disciples too. All of them shrank back and quivered.
Su Yi naturally wouldn’t pay the likes of them any heed.
His right hand held his umbrella aloft, while his left was behind his back. He glanced at Yu Wenshu, who was still standing over Goldenscale Lake, and said, “Tell me, do you still have the guts to duel me?”
His voice was calm, but it went off in Yu Wenshu’s heart like a thunderclap.
The look on his chiseled face shifted erratically, and the hands hidden in his sleeves clenched. His chest heaved, and he sank into silence.
Only now did Yu Wenshu understand why Su Yi said he was unworthy to be his opponent.
He also understood why Su Yi dared come to Goldenscale Lake, and why he first pointed his spear at Zhou Fengzhi.
He wasn’t reckless or arrogant. It wasn’t that he knew he was going to die and that he’d rather die at Zhou Fengzhi’s hands. He wasn’t fearless, either.
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Yu Wenshu really wasn’t fit to be Su Yi’s opponent!
Wasn’t this
 an expression of enormous contempt for the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect’s younger generation sword chief?
“Didn’t you want to defend your sect’s honor? I just killed Zhou Fengzhi and Zhou Zhiqian. Why didn’t I see you step up to protect them?” Su Yi asked again, his tone full of unconcealed mockery.
“Enough!” roared Yu Wenshu, his face ashen. “Su Yi, I admit that I underestimated you earlier, but don’t think killing Elder Zhou means you can slander and humiliate me as you please!”
Clang!
As he spoke, he suddenly drew a spiritual sword that glittered as if it had been forged out of gold. His sword intent swept outward like waters at high tide, surging into the heavens.
The ancient sword, Floating Gold!
“I, Yu Wenshu
 Naturally shall not shrink back in fear!” Yu Wenshu said emphatically, his eyes shining with sharp, imposing luster.
Jiang Li and the others’ hearts shook. A unique mixture of emotions rose within their hearts. They admired Yu Wenshu’s courage, but at the same time, he seemed indescribably tragic.
He was like a moth to the flame. He knew he was doomed, yet he was duty-bound. He wouldn’t surrender.
Su Yi shook his head and said flatly, “If I fought you, it would be no different from humiliating and trampling you. If you’re not convinced, I’ll apologize to you personally so long as you can defeat Yue Shichan at the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly.”
Yue Shichan was briefly stunned, but she quickly understood. Brother Su is preparing a whetstone for me

When she heard this, Jiang Li immediately stepped in. “Senior Apprentice Brother, it really wouldn’t be proper to keep fighting.”
Yu Wenshu fell silent, and his expression shifted erratically.
Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to wait for an answer. He’d already accomplished his goal, and he had no more time to waste here.
Su Yi turned to face Yue Shichan. “Let’s go.”
“Mm.” The two of them left, still carrying their oil paper umbrellas. They walked into the rain and over to the carriage still waiting for them. Before long, it disappeared into the darkness of the night.
From beginning to end, none dared stand in their way.
Over on Goldenscale Lake, Yu Wenshu suddenly let out a long sigh. He sheathed Floating Gold and silently returned to shore.
Anyone could see that the sword chief of the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect’s younger generation, this world-famous genius of the modern era, had suffered an enormous mental blow tonight!
“Senior Apprentice Brother Yu, are you okay?” Jiang Li furrowed her brow; she was a bit worried about him.
Yu Wenshu nodded. “Sword cultivators only grow more courageous in the face of setbacks. A single loss isn’t enough to break me.”
As he said this, Yu Wenshu glanced in the direction Su Yi had disappeared in. “Junior Apprentice Sister, I finally know who the ‘Blue-Robed Swordsman’ who killed Huo Tiandu over Cloudcomb Lake is.”
His expression was incomparably complex. He looked shaken, bewildered, and confused.
“The Blue-Robed Swordsman!?” Jiang Li couldn’t help but blurt. “This
”
Qiu Hengkong, Tao Yunchi, and the others were completely startled out of their wits. Su Yi
 Su Yi was the Blue-Robed Swordsman, the mysterious expert who killed Huo Tiandu?
“It’s not impossible,” said Yu Wenshu. “Rumors of the Blue-Robed Swordsman’s mysterious and terrifying power are on every corner of Nine Tripod. It's precisely because of his emergence that blue robes are suddenly in vogue; people are imitating him. We’re not immune either; weren’t all of you curious to know who the Blue-Robed Swordsman was too?”
Jiang Li’s stunningly beautiful face was instantly conflicted. She sighed, “It’s true
 When we discussed the Blue-Robed Swordsman, we assumed he was some mighty senior. Who’d have thought that in reality, he
 was a young man of the Origin Palace Realm?”
Su Yi had defeated Zhou Fengzhi, a Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivator, with ease in just three strikes.
Furthermore, he habitually wore blue. When she combined these facts with what she knew of the battle on Cloudcomb Lake, Jiang Li was increasingly certain that Su Yi was indeed the “Blue-Robed Swordsman” famous throughout Nine Tripod City!
“Tonight, I was really an ant trying to shake a tree. I overestimated myself.” Yu Wenshu took a deep breath, his expression becoming calm and grave once more. “But after experiencing this, I’m increasingly aware that the gap between the Origin and Spirit Daos isn’t insurmountable. Zeng Pu, a monster of the ancient era, could do it. So could Su Yi. Sooner or later, I’ll be able to do it too!”
As he said that last part, his eyes shone with determination.
Tao Yunchi couldn’t help but say, “Senior Apprentice Brother Yu, Su Yi killed Elder Zhou. Are we
 Are we really going to just let this end here?”
Yu Wenshu said gravely, “This isn’t something I can resolve on my own. We ought to report to the sect and have it decide how to respond.”
Jiang Li nodded. That’s the most rational decision he could have made.
“Then
 what should we do with the traitor, Qiu Hengkong?” Tao Yunchi looked at Qiu Hengkong with undisguised disdain and aversion.
“Traitor?” Jiang Li’s painted eyebrows knit together. “When did Junior Apprentice Brother Qiu betray the sect?”
“Just now
.”
Tao Yunchi was just about to explain when Jiang Li coldly cut him off. “Elder Zhou was avenging a personal grudge; he didn’t represent the sect. Junior Apprentice Brother Qiu and Su Yi are old friends. It’s only right and proper that he’d warn his friend. What did he do wrong?”
Tao Yunchi fell silent. His expression was stifled and unsightly.