Hua Yan was not a reckless person, otherwise, Emperor Yu would not have sent him to undertake such an important task.

Seeing how arrogant Zong Jue was and the expression on his face, Hua Yan’s heart tightened, "Could it be that this Zong Jue has some treasured artifact that he has yet to use?"

Hua Yan thought rapidly, "In terms of personal strength, I am on par with this Zong Jue. What I rely on are only a top-grade immortal sword, top-grade combat clothes, and various immortal pills and seals. If Zong Jue truly has some incredibly powerful artifact, then the outcome of the battle is uncertain."

At this moment, Hua Yan’s momentum faltered.

To establish authority, one must win.

If, in trying to establish authority, he were to be defeated by Zong Jue, then Hua Yan would lose face completely.

"The arrogant must have something to rely on, especially those of high status. He has seen some of my secrets, yet he dares to be so arrogant. Without a treasured artifact, that’s impossible," Hua Yan was certain in his heart, and the target of establishing authority began to shift in his mind.

Hua Yan’s guess was not wrong.

Zong Jue indeed had a treasured artifact that he had not used, a gift from Senior Lan. This was also why Zong Jue was so good to Qin Yu and so respectful to Senior Lan.

Although Zong Jue did not want to resort to his last trump card, if he were pushed too hard, he would naturally use it.

Therefore, Zong Jue dared to be arrogant.

If one were arrogant without the strength to back it up and then defeated, it would be even more humiliating.

Therefore...

Fang Tian was not arrogant, because the only thing he could rely on was the ’Inheritance Dragon Ball’, which belonged to the entire Dragon Clan and was not solely his. Moreover, whether he could defeat Hua Yan by using it was not something Fang Tian had enough confidence in.

Hence, the target of Hua Yan’s authority switched to ’Fang Tian’.

"Haha..." Sword Immortal Hua Yan suddenly burst into loud laughter, which grew louder and louder, causing those with weaker abilities to feel dizzy. Suddenly, Hua Yan contained his laughter and looked coldly at Fang Tian and Zong Jue, "Establish authority, huh. Do I, a dignified envoy of the Immortal Realm, still need to establish my authority?"

A dignified envoy of the Immortal Realm, still needs to establish authority?

Those words of arrogance actually made the Independent Immortals present have even greater admiration for Hua Yan.

"I’m not here to establish authority, but to ask why you destroyed the Ten Variations Illusion Array of Qingxu Temple. The cultivators of Tenglong Continent belong to our Immortal Path, and as an envoy of the Immortal Realm, it is my duty to protect the interests of our Cultivator Sects. I, Hua Yan, hereby declare that anyone who dares to stand against the Cultivator Sects is opposing me, Hua Yan, and opposing the sword in my hand!"

Hua Yan’s voice rang out clearly, and everyone on Qingxu Mountain heard him loud and clear.

Immediately, all the Independent Immortals had looks of joy on their faces, and tens of thousands of them cheered in unison.

"And Fang Tian and Zong Jue, the two of you, relying on your strong power, have destroyed the Ten Variations Illusion Array of Qingxu Temple. Isn’t it right for me, Hua Yan, to seek an explanation from you?" Hua Yan said righteously and loudly.

Fang Tian and Zong Jue, however, had cold expressions on their faces.

Behind Zong Jue, Qin Yu and his two brothers were sighing.

"Big Brother, this Hua Yan really has a way with words, turning black into white. Clearly, he’s trying to establish authority, yet he speaks as if he’s high and mighty," Hou Fei communicated through spiritual communication discontentedly.

Qin Yu conveyed through spiritual communication, "Don’t worry, Zong Jue and Fang Tian, being two invincible beings in the Mortal World, will not be stumped by this difficulty."

Indeed—

Fang Tian spoke up.

"Hua Yan," Fang Tian’s face was stern, "whether in the Mortal World or the Upper Realm, I think the strong are revered everywhere. It’s exactly because the strong are honored that your backer—Emperor Yu—has become the head of one of the major forces in the Immortal Realm."

"To the strong go the spoils; in the eyes of Brother Zong Jue and myself, Qingxu Temple is but a minor sect, one we could crush whenever we wished. Now that we have crushed it, what’s the matter? You’re not happy about it? Hua Yan, you’re a Golden Immortal, not a hot-blooded youth fresh into Cultivation. You wouldn’t be foolish enough to spout nonsense about righteousness, would you? That’s the stuff you tell children," Fang Tian scoffed, "If you want to establish dominance, just say so outright, and don’t talk in circles with all that pompous nonsense. It gives me goosebumps and makes me respect you even less."

Immediately, the experts of the Dragon Clan echoed his sentiment.

"The Clan Leader is right. If you want to fight, then just get on with it. All that sanctimonious talk, huh, what nonsense?" Black Dragon Ao Xu sneered.

The Dragon Clan was prideful, arrogantly so.

When faced with the Dragon Clan’s sarcasm, Hua Yan simply smiled faintly, not the least bit angry.

"I did not speak of righteousness. I merely stated... as an envoy of the Immortal Realm, and as they are people of the Cultivator Sect, they support me, and naturally, I must protect them. Whoever dares to lay a hand on them, I shall cut off that hand," Hua Yan said, his voice growing colder, "Do you understand, Dragon Clan Patriarch?"

Fang Tian smiled slightly, "If you’re going to make a move, then get on with it."

With a dazzling smile, Hua Yan replied, "Since you are so eager, I would like to see on what grounds you dare to humiliate our Immortal family’s sect."

Suddenly—

Like a blooming lotus, Hua Yan’s entire body was surrounded by streams of Sword Qi. He seemed like a towering sword, and his right hand slowly gripped the hilt on his back, gradually drawing the sword. In the process, the Sword Qi climber terrifyingly fast.

Fang Tian raised his head, and a dragon’s roar sounded from his mouth.

Simultaneously, Fang Tian disappeared, and in place above Qingxu Mountain, a colossal Golden Dragon over a kilometer long appeared, its majestic aura naturally spreading with the Golden Dragon’s breath, overwhelming almost everyone present with its fearsome presence.

"Seven Stars Sword Technique, Starting Move!"

As the low chant sounded, the hand that had been slowly drawing the sword vanished instantly. At the same moment, a brilliant and piercing radiance shot forth, slicing directly towards the Golden Dragon.

"Pfft."

The Five-clawed Golden Dragon flicked its claw and effortlessly shattered the Starting Move.

"Hua Yan, to think you’d try to take me on with just the Starting Move, aren’t you a bit too arrogant?," Fang Tian’s voice emanated from the Five-clawed Golden Dragon’s mouth.

"Fine, since you wish to taste my true power, I won’t hold back any longer," Hua Yan said with a faint smile.

Standing ramrod straight, Hua Yan’s entire being resembled a sharp sword, his Immortal Sword instantly conjuring myriad sword shadows.

"Seven Stars Sword Skill, Radiance—Shadow!"

Like a dream, countless sword shadows instantly filled the entire sky, densely packed and seemingly infinite. All the Independent Immortals below felt a tremor in their hearts, as they could sense that any single Sword Qi could easily take their lives.

The Five-clawed Golden Dragon, Fang Tian, also sensed that Hua Yan’s move was formidable and was just a prelude to something greater. With this in mind, the Five-clawed Golden Dragon’s body glinted with brilliant golden light, condensing intensively as if turning into the sun itself.

"Seven Stars Sword Technique, Tianshu—Profound!"

Hua Yan declared softly.

Hua Yan’s Immortal Sword suddenly tore through space, and the countless sword shadows in the sky started to spin, swiftly forming a giant ring that expanded twice as vast before reaching its maximum expansion. Then, it contracted to its utmost limit in an instant, fully converging into the Immortal Sword.

The Immortal Sword’s brilliance was contained, but the terrifying aura felt incredibly profound.

"Fang Tian is about to use his ultimate move," Zong Jue thought to himself from below.

As the Five-clawed Golden Dragon faced this attack, its brilliance climbed once again, eclipsing the sunlight in the sky, and simultaneously—the body of the Five-clawed Golden Dragon shrunk in an instant, from over a kilometer long to just over ten meters.

Zong Jue’s eyes lit up from below: "The Fifth Claw of the Five-clawed Golden Dragon!"

At this moment, the ten-meter-long Golden Little Dragon actually had five claws, and the fifth claw emerged at the belly. It swiftly grew larger and longer, becoming dazzlingly brilliant.

Sword Immortal Hua Yan’s Immortal Sword and the fifth claw of the Five-clawed Golden Dragon.

Collided head-on.

Both were completely confident in their strongest moves, but the outcome was...

The Immortal Sword trembled, while the Five-clawed Golden Dragon was sent flying backward, its light flickering. In an instant, the ten-meter-long little dragon reverted back to its kilometer-long giant Golden Dragon form.

"With the might of your Top-Grade Immortal Sword, this is all you can do," Fang Tian’s indifferent voice rang out from the mouth of the giant Golden Dragon.

Hua Yan was also shocked at the moment.

A Super Divine Beast truly lived up to its name. Being only at the Twelfth Tribulation, it dared to clash head-on with a Top-Grade Immortal Artifact using its own claw. Although it was ultimately defeated, it still managed to block his Top-Grade Immortal Sword. The sheer resilience of a Super Divine Beast’s body was indeed terrifying.

"Although I can hold an advantage, defeating him will still take some time," Hua Yan thought to himself, "I am trying to establish my reputation; I must win quickly. Otherwise, if this drags on too long, the effect of proving my might will be lost."

Hua Yan steeled his heart.

All of a sudden, Hua Yan flipped his hand, and a purple seal appeared in his grasp.

"Fang Tian, do you think you’re invincible just because you’re a Five-clawed Golden Dragon? Taste the power of the Shattering Thunder Seal." Energy poured from Hua Yan’s hand into the purple seal, and immediately it emitted rays of thunderous light, soaring toward Fang Tian.

Fang Tian merely glanced at it and his expression drastically changed.

"Shattering Thunder Seal."

A Restriction sealed within a seal, its power was much weaker than if used by a master himself. This Shattering Thunder Seal was personally created by Emperor Yu. If Emperor Yu were to use it, even a casual Shattering Thunder Seal could kill a Ninth-level Golden Immortal.

But Hua Yan was too weak. The Shattering Thunder Seal he activated could at most kill an ordinary Third or Fourth Level Golden Immortal.

An ordinary Third or Fourth Level Golden Immortal was equivalent to a First Level Sword Immortal. To deal with Fang Tian, it ought to be sufficient.

Facing this life-or-death situation, Fang Tian swallowed the Inheritance Dragon Ball and, with a dragon chant, the kilometer-long Golden Dragon transformed into a ten-meter-long little dragon. Although smaller in size, Fang Tian’s defense had increased by an unknown factor.

"Boom!"

The Shattering Thunder Seal shattered, and thunder viciously struck Fang Tian. Regardless of how he tried to dodge, each bolt of lightning seemed sentient as they relentlessly struck Fang Tian. In the blink of an eye, a hundred bolts had struck.

"Hundred Dust Thunder."

Dragon scales fragmented and blood flowed. Fang Tian instantly transformed into his human form, as the Inheritance Dragon Ball within him emitted vast energy, rapidly repairing the damage to his body.

"Lucky it was only the Hundred Dust Thunder, had it been the Thousand Shredded Thunder, I probably would’ve been done for," Fang Tian sighed with relief internally.

This Shattering Thunder Technique is an extremely formidable offensive magic formula in the Immortal Realm.

It is divided into four levels: Shattering Thunder, Ten Shattered Thunder, Hundred Dust Thunder, and Thousand Shredded Thunder. The power of Thousand Shredded Thunder is too great, so much so that even Emperor Yu would only use ’Thousand Shredded Thunder’ seldomly and during battles against peers of equal strength.

Actually, Hundred Dust Thunder is already very formidable. If a master were to directly unleash an attack with Hundred Dust Thunder, they could face an ordinary third or fourth level Profound Immortal.

However, when Hundred Dust Thunder is integrated into a seal, its power is reduced to only one-tenth.

Even this one-tenth could deal with eighth or ninth level Golden Immortals. Yet, a Hundred Dust Thunder Seal also requires someone to trigger it, and the higher the strength of the person triggering it, the greater the energy released. Hua Yan is just a first level Golden Immortal, who managed to trigger merely one-tenth of this one-tenth.

That’s why Fang Tian was only seriously injured.

"Hua Yan."

A cold shout rang out, and Zong Jue arrived beside Fang Tian, looking at Hua Yan with a cold gaze.

"Hua Yan, you too are an envoy of the Immortal Realm, yet now you can only rely on a Hundred Dust Thunder Seal to injure people, it’s truly laughable," Zong Jue stepped forward at this moment because Fang Tian had already been seriously injured.

Although Fang Tian was seriously injured, he still didn’t bow his head and looked coldly at Hua Yan: "Hua Yan, this Hundred Dust Thunder Seal is an extremely formidable seal. If deployed by an expert, it can certainly defeat an eighth or ninth level Golden Immortal. But your strength is too weak, you’re unable to fully trigger its attack, you can only injure me, but not kill me."

"Really?" Hua Yan said with a slight smile.

Fang Tian and Zong Jue suddenly changed their expressions.

Because... at that moment, five or six Hundred Dust Thunder Seals appeared in the palm of Hua Yan’s hand.

One had already seriously injured Fang Tian, five or six... Fang Tian and Zong Jue would definitely be unable to resist them.

"As an envoy of the Immortal Realm, how could I have only one Hundred Dust Thunder Seal? Although the Hundred Dust Thunder Seal is quite precious, it means nothing to me. If you two really want to continue fighting, I don’t mind. Isn’t it just using a few more Hundred Dust Thunder Seals? I don’t care. I have plenty of them," Hua Yan said indifferently.

Fang Tian and Zong Jue looked at each other and gave a wry smile.

Rich and imposing, indeed.

The Hundred Dust Thunder Seal, this kind of seal is also extremely precious in the Immortal Realm; ordinary Profound Immortals might not have many, but Hua Yan was backed by Emperor Yu, who was ranked among the top few in the Immortal Realm. To Emperor Yu, producing Hundred Dust Thunder Seals was indeed effortless. Perhaps only the Thousand Thunder Seal would make Emperor Yu feel distressed. As for the Hundred Dust Thunder Seals, Emperor Yu wouldn’t care about them.

"What an opportunity."

At this moment, Qin Yu, who was behind Zong Jue, brightened his eyes, "If the information left by Uncle Lan about the Sword Immortal Puppet isn’t wrong, then... this would be the best chance to establish prestige. Moreover, seeing Sword Immortal Hua Yan being so wealthy, there definitely won’t be a shortage of Top-grade Elemental Spirit Stones."

...

While the Independent Immortals had faces full of joy, looking at Sword Immortal Hua Yan with admiration, and those from the Chaotic Star Sea and Dragon Clan felt powerless, a voice sounded—

"Oh, Sword Immortal Hua Yan? Haha... Friend Hua Yan, I am Lan Feng."

As the hearty laughter echoed, a cool man carrying an immortal sword on his back appeared out of nowhere on Qingxu Mountain. It was Sword Immortal Lan Feng.

(Rich and imposing, huh, hehe... Every envoy from the Upper Realm represents the leaders of the great powers from the Upper Realm, and each brings treasures that are certainly frightening in number. Do you guys have any support tickets? Fang Qie will only strive to make the story more exciting. If you have support tickets, just enter the ’Recommend Support Ticket for the Author’ tag at the bottom of this page and click to vote. Fang Qie thanks you.)

(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM for more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)