The moment Bu Xiuwen was injured, four cultists swarmed him with sinister grins. In just a few moments, he fell, covered in wounds.

"Mr. Zhao... Xiuwen..."

"Ji Kai, you goddamn son of a bitch! Fuck you...!"

Ji Kai’s betrayal filled everyone with a particular fury.

"Hahaha..."

Ji Kai clutched the blood-soaked dagger, about to deliver a triumphant speech. When the people from Yuqing arrived, he had once been terrified that his betrayal—selling information for money—would be exposed. But then he learned the Illuminati had a Grandmaster on their side, so he decided to join them outright. They had promised to prioritize his baptism and raise his realm after their mission was complete.

"Stop laughing. The job isn’t finished yet."

Ji Kai was about to mock his former colleagues when he saw Miss Lanhua glaring at him, her expression grim.

Liu Yu was dead. Although they had achieved their goal, a shadow still hung over their hearts.

With Zhao Zeyang and Bu Xiuwen falling one after the other, the Martial Arts Administration Bureau’s forces were at a complete disadvantage.

Before long, they were all struck down by the Illuminati. Three members were killed on the spot, while the rest lost their ability to fight and were tied up.

"Ji Kai, you’re in charge of guarding these people. They’ll be used as materials for the blood sacrifice later. Everyone else, follow me and let’s kill our way in. Ignore the regular students; prioritize capturing the martial arts students. Remember, don’t kill them before the blood sacrifice. If you affect its outcome, you can explain yourself to the Lord Sacrifice."

Miss Lanhua’s cold voice rang out, and the cultists fell silent.

"Move out..."

At No. 2 High, Principal Cao Le’an, the old teacher Liu Ming, and others were organizing the student evacuation. But there was too little time. Less than five minutes had passed between receiving Han Qiubai’s message and Bu Xiuwen’s group being defeated.

In such a short time, and with the torrential rain, Liu Ming had only just led a group of students to the back gate when they were blocked by a mob of cultists.

While the students stood there, unsure of what to do, Liu Ming was seized by two cultists. Although he had once cultivated to the Second Realm of martial arts, he was simply too old and had no strength to resist.

"Now, now, little darlings, return to your classrooms immediately... or else..."

As he spoke, one of the cultists swung his blade and sliced off Liu Ming’s head...

"Ah... He killed someone..."

"SOB... Mr. Liu..."

Panic spread. No. 2 High had no way to resist. Everyone, including the teachers, was forced back into their classrooms.

...

"Mr. Tang, I respect you, but please release your domain now. Since I’m here, I can’t just ignore these rats wreaking havoc. People have already died. Can’t you see that?"

Kong Sheng kicked the chessboard over, his right hand resting on his sword as he stared at Mr. Tang with a stern and displeased expression.

He couldn’t understand why this old man was just standing by and watching when he clearly had the power to prevent this tragedy.

Mr. Tang waved a hand, and the chessboard returned to its original position.

"Ah, Kong Sheng, calm down. You’re a renowned Grandmaster yourself. How can you be so impatient?"

Kong Sheng laughed in anger. "Heh... I’m impatient? Do you have any idea that for every second I waste here, someone could be dying? I respect you. My path wouldn’t have been so smooth without you. But my sword will not allow me to stand by and do nothing at a time like this!"

His words were resolute. He gripped his sword hilt tightly. If Mr. Tang still refused, he would draw his sword and willingly accept any punishment afterward.

Mr. Tang sighed deeply. He knew that if he didn’t show Kong Sheng something substantial, the man would definitely make a move.

It was a common trait among Sword Cultivators: they were reliable, but also extremely self-willed. Once they set their minds on something, they wouldn’t turn back even if it meant smashing their heads against a wall.

Mr. Tang extended a finger, and a cyan radiance bloomed from his hand. It was densely covered with motes of light in various colors, immediately capturing Kong Sheng’s attention.

Mr. Tang performed a Finger Skill, and the light motes on the mirror-like cyan radiance were suddenly reduced to just five. One of them, a blood-red mote, was flickering nonstop, seemingly extremely unstable.

"This is..."

Kong Sheng released his sword and stepped forward in astonishment to get a better look.

"Is this your famous signature technique? The Profound Secret Mirror?"

Mr. Tang waved him over.

"On this Profound Secret Mirror, the largest white dot is me. The small purple dot next to it is you. The flashing red dot is that iron-headed kid—he could break through at any moment. As for that death-marked black dot, that’s Dust Sacrifice.

"These are all the known powers at the Grandmaster level or above in this tiny place. But, Kong, who do you think this green dot is?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Kong Sheng’s heart skipped a beat. "This...?"

"Can’t figure it out, can you? I can’t either. Judging by its aura, it’s at the Eighth Realm. What in this godforsaken place is worth an Eighth-Realm Grandmaster hiding and spying in the shadows for..."

Mr. Tang stared at Kong Sheng without speaking, and cold sweat immediately beaded on the decisive Sword Dao Grandmaster’s forehead.

"Ah, Kong, I’m just a researcher. I’m old, my strength is failing, and I don’t have much combat power. If you act now, you could indeed resolve the crisis. But how would you deal with this unknown Eighth-Realm Grandmaster?"

Kong Sheng was speechless. Sword Cultivators were indeed powerful, but if one wanted to defeat a stronger opponent, timing was crucial. If an Eighth-Realm Grandmaster targeted him from the shadows, he wouldn’t even know how he died.

Mr. Tang performed another Finger Skill, and the cyan radiance vanished.

"Kong, as long as you stay within my Chaotic Heaven Realm, I can guarantee that not even an ordinary Martial Saint could find you. If this lurking fellow makes a move, with the power of your Soul-Breaking Sword, you might just be able to seriously injure them with a single sneak attack. For now, it all depends on the fortune of these little ones..."

"For the sake of ultimate victory, you must remain hidden. Do you understand?"

Kong Sheng tightened his grip on his sword and said, unwilling to accept it, "Then what about that old dog, Dust Sacrifice? And the students of No. 2 High? Are we just going to watch?"

Mr. Tang shook his head. The cyan radiance bloomed in his hand again, revealing two images.

"The iron-headed kid’s injuries are about to heal completely. He might be able to handle Dust Sacrifice... As for the crisis at No. 2 High, it’s all up to this little one..."

The scene in the Profound Secret Mirror shifted. Yan Sea’s body was surrounded by an abyss of Qi Blood. The concealment technique Su Yue had left behind was on the verge of collapsing. Yu Fei was sprinting toward No. 2 High, sword in hand, his eyes filled with Evil Qi and surging killing intent.

Kong Sheng hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. "Mr. Tang... Yan Sea might not be able to defeat Dust Sacrifice, but he should at least be able to hold him at a stalemate. But... this boy, facing so many Third-Realm practitioners alone... Isn’t that a bit of a joke?"

"Let’s just watch. I’m very curious to see what effect a Formless Tribulation Sword combined with a superior Sword Intent will have. You and I both know how watered-down these Third-Realm practitioners from the Illuminati are. They raised their realms by devouring blood sacrifices; their martial skill is even worse than a bunch of students."

Kong Sheng lowered his sword and said after a moment of thought, "A Formless Tribulation Sword with superior Sword Intent does have a chance to kill these phonies. But the martial pressure of a Third-Realm practitioner against a First-Realm is hard to overcome. We both know the Martial Dao is a path of life evolution. The higher the realm, the higher one is on the natural food chain. It’s difficult to control one’s life instincts."

Mr. Tang stroked his beard and said calmly, "This little one instantly defeated a Third-Realm practitioner during the Bone Gate trial. He should have a way. Let’s just watch..."

-----------------

After leaving the school hospital, Yu Fei had planned to support Han Qiubai, but he saw a message in a group chat on his phone: No. 2 High’s defenses had fallen. Mr. Liu had been murdered...

The teacher who had dedicated his entire life to No. 2 High had been murdered in public.

He felt a wave of inexplicable sorrow rise in his heart, which was then consumed by rage and killing intent.

Yu Fei had lived at No. 2 High for so long. His classmates and teachers were there. Right now, the school had no way to fight back. What would happen when a group of perverted, bloodthirsty cultists stormed onto the campus?

He didn’t dare to imagine it!

Through the curtain of rain, the young man ran with his sword, his Qi Blood boiling.

Influenced by his state of mind, the blood in Yu Fei’s body circulated faster and faster until it finally reached a limit. His body trembled, CRACKLING AND POPPING.

His skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and blood were tempered into a complete cycle. His qi-flow became one, and the transformation of his Blood Gate was complete.

In that instant, Yu Fei sensed a change in the Fate-Defying Pearl within his spiritual space. He sent a sliver of his attention to investigate and discovered that two new talent slots had suddenly appeared on it, containing a red and an orange talent.

Yu Fei had created three talents himself through copying and fusion.

The Blue-quality talent from Lihua, [Super Speed Reaction], which could increase his neural reaction speed by seven times. It was an extremely powerful ability in both cultivation and combat.

The Purple-quality talent copied during last year’s martial arts tournament, [Profound Perception], which could sense good and ill will and detect an opponent’s attack intentions during a fight. It was a very special support talent.

The Red-quality talent formed from the fusion of multiple talents, [Void Martial Body]. This was the foundation of his heaven-blessed strength and his fundamental cultivation talent.

In addition, he had once briefly entered a special state, achieving self-enlightenment and awakening the inherent Red-quality talent of a Reincarnator, [Spirit Intellect]. This talent, which enhanced his Spiritual Power and soul quality, was the fundamental reason he was able to cultivate the Tribulation Sword.

And now, having forged the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation, he discovered that he had inexplicably gained two more high-quality talents.

[Primordial Qi (Innate)]

Quality: Red

...

[Formless Sword Lord]

Quality: Orange

...