"Li Ao!"

  Watching Qin Tianyi kill the newly promoted sword master Li Ao with a powerful blow, Zhang Huan's mouth let out an angry roar: "Qin Tianyi, I want you to bury him!"

  In the midst of the thunderous roar, his swift sword, like a flash of lightning, had already violently slashed onto Qin Tianyi's body, inevitably cutting it in two with one stroke.

  Bang!

  Radiance scattered everywhere, true energy roaring!

  Zhang Huan Yuan's powerful sword strike landed on Qin Tian Yi's body, causing his figure to shake violently, his internal organs trembling, and his blood boiling as if a mouthful of fresh blood was about to spurt out.

  But...

  That's all there is to it.

  Zhang Hengyuan's swift sword, like a flash of lightning, did not actually kill Qin Tianyi's true body, but rather the defensive spirit artifact that suddenly emerged from his body surface - the Eight Directions Mirror.

  What he endured was just the counter-shock force from the Eight Trigrams Mirror.

  "What!? Spirit artifact, defensive spirit artifact!?"

  Zhang Huan's eyes widened in anger, staring at what his sword had cut through, his eyes filled with a shocked expression.

  "One defensive spiritual artifact, and a spiritual sword that is not inferior to top-grade lower-tier artifacts..."

  Looking at this almost-not-even-a-true-spirit-sword in his hand, Zhang Huan's eyes were filled with jealousy.

  However, in the midst of being stunned by the sudden appearance of the Eight Trigrams Mirror, Qin Tianyi relied on his powerful spirit of 2.7 to suddenly suppress the surging blood and energy within his body, turned around abruptly, and with a sweep of his Thousand Ancient Sword, brought forth a ferocious and ruthless aura that could intimidate thousands of troops, and fiercely struck Zhang Huan Yuan's Accurate Spirit Sword.

  Bang!

  Flames shooting in all directions.

  Although Qin Tianyi didn't infuse the Thousand Year Sword with true energy in his haste, the pure power provided by the X-01 biological armor after startup made the sword's might not at all inferior to that of a true energy-infused one. Even though Zhang Hengyuan reacted in time and grasped his sword, the massive shockwave still shook his palm bloody, almost causing him to drop the sword.

  "Bastard!"

  Zhang Huan Yuan let out a loud roar and was about to counterattack.

  At this moment, Qin Tianyi, who had the ability to predict his enemy's moves, launched a swift attack. With his left hand clenched into a fist, a powerful force burst forth from this punch, as if transformed into thunder and lightning, spreading in all directions with a deafening roar.

  This is the sound formed by bursting air in an instant.

  Perceiving the power contained in this punch, Zhang Huan Yuan immediately turned from offense to defense. As Qin Tianyi's fist struck, he held his sword horizontally across his chest.

  "Boom!"

  Iron filings scattered everywhere.

  The spiritual artifact that had been blocking his chest, which had previously been struck by the mid-grade top-tier sword spirit of Qian Gujian and had already developed numerous cracks, could no longer withstand the terrifying force of Qin Tianyi's punch and suddenly shattered.

  "This... is impossible..."

  Zhang Huan Yuan stared at the shattered remains of the Ling Sword, finding it hard to believe.

  "Boom!"

  The sheer force of the blow shattered Zhang Hengyuan's sword, and the remaining momentum struck his body with undiminished ferocity. Despite his rich combat experience, Zhang Hengyuan was able to react in time to unleash a protective aura around himself. However, the power contained within the fist still wildly shook his internal organs, sending him flying with a single punch. His feet, which had been firmly planted on the ground, scraped out a trench as he flew backward.

  "Kill!"

  Those who have gained power will show no mercy to others.

  These two people, for the sake of a so-called spiritual instrument, actually put themselves in the midst of Gu Wushuang and Sima Wuhen's encirclement, which is already a life-and-death feud.

  Facing such an enemy, there is no room for sentiment.

  Either you die or I perish.

  Underfoot, a burst of force exploded, and the soil and rocks where Qin Tianyi stood splashed in all directions. The next moment, he was like an arrow off the string, rushing out fiercely. The sharp aura contained on the Thousand-Year Sword pierced through the surroundings, breaking through Zhang Huan Yuan's protective halo, which even a strong sword master couldn't achieve in half a second.

  "This is absolutely not an inferior spirit sword..."

  Zhang Huan's mouth let out a desperate howl, his eyes wide open as he stared at the Thousand Year Sword carrying a terrifying sharp aura, ruthlessly piercing into his brow. The massive force sent his body flying, crashing into a large tree five or six meters away, causing it to violently shake from the impact.

  "This... isn't... the Lower Spirit Sword..."

  Fresh blood flowed down from the center of his eyebrows, Zhang Hengyuan stared at the ancient sword in Qin Tianyi's hand, wailing in agony.

  "Low-grade Spirit Sword... impossible... one strike shatters a top-quality treasured sword, this is... mid-grade Spirit Sword!"

  "See? Too late."

  "The Crime of Not Being at War..."

  Upon hearing Qin Tianyi's words, which seemed like an acknowledgment, Zhang Huan Yuan's eyes widened suddenly, and she opened her mouth. Her tone was filled with a deep sense of unwillingness and a protest against the unfairness of heaven.

  It seems like he is lamenting why he wasn't born into royalty and can't obtain the sacred sword bestowed by the royal family...

  If...

  If what he was holding in his hand was also a mid-grade spiritual sword, then perhaps the final outcome of this battle would be rewritten.

  "Whoosh!"

  A loud crash, instantly gone into the distance.

  Qin Tianji turned his head and took a look, it was another great swordsman who came with Zhang Huan Yuan and Li Ao.

  That great swordsman, probably also a strong player on the Divine Communication List, otherwise he wouldn't be able to travel with Zhang Huan Yuan and Li Ao. However, after witnessing Qin Tian Yi killing two great swordsmen with ease, he instantly lost his courage to draw his sword and fled in an instant.

  After all...

  They are just cooperative partners and it is impossible for them to risk their own lives to avenge each other.

  "Ah!"

  Qin Tianji took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the surging blood in his body.

  Spiritual tools have the ability to protect oneself, but it does not mean that having a spiritual tool for protection can make one feel completely at ease.

  The counterforce transmitted through the Lingzhi will also harm people.

  "Two swordsmen, although one of them is obviously relying on elixirs to forcibly raise their cultivation realm, a swordsman is still a swordsman. I can defeat one of them alone with all my might, but being surrounded by two at the same time would be absolutely impossible to resist."

  This is why Qin Tianyi would rather risk sacrificing his spiritual instrument to block Zhang Hengyuan's full-strength sword strike and kill the Sword Master Li Ao.

  He has a very clear understanding of his current strength.

  "Simawuhen, Guwushuang. Originally, I was going to focus on finding heavenly treasures and solidifying my Sword Master realm before anything else. But you people just won't leave me be, wanting to kill me off early. Fine, let's see who'll be the last winner in the end. You're all together now, so naturally I can't do anything about it, but I don't believe there isn't a single moment when one of you will fall behind."

  Taking a glance at the two corpses on the ground, Qin Tianyi took another imperceptible look towards a patch of woods, then his figure flashed and he directly plunged into another patch of woods, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

  The desolate land where the two swordsmen fought has gradually returned to calm...

  Several minutes later, a voice finally came from the dense forest that Qin Tianyi had glanced at earlier.

  "It seems we underestimated him. If he really relied on the elixir to advance to the Sword Master realm, his true yuan should be very unstable now. After such an intense battle, his true yuan would have fluctuated wildly and might even show signs of going berserk, but instead, I saw a grasp of his own true energy that was precise and under control."

  The owner of this voice was none other than Xia Bingyu, the genius swordsman ranked sixth on the Divine Talent Ranking.

  "Those who can enter the Divine Void Academy are not ordinary people, we were indeed blinded by him, without enough grasp to eliminate the aftereffects of relying on Dan medicine to impact the sword master realm in a short period of time. How could he choose to take Dan medicine to advance this path? Even if it's because of Gu Wu Shuang, it can't be justified."

  Standing beside Xia Bingyu was Lisi, the genius student who had previously invited Qin Tianyi to join this small team.

  "From the moment Qin Tianyi took the elixir and advanced to the Sword Master realm, I had already eliminated him from my list of competitors for the Divine Void Sect assessment quota. But now, it seems that I will have to put him back on the list again...and not just that..."

  Xia Bingyu glanced at Zhang Hengyuan's broken quasi-spirit artifact, his expression somewhat solemn: "Ranking, I'm afraid it will be second only to Yan Tianqi and Gu Wushuang."

  He nodded in agreement: "I really don't know, where did Qin Tianyi get so many treasures from? Not to mention the materials for refining high-grade spiritual equipment, but now he has also taken out a mid-grade spiritual sword. Moreover, the small mirror that blocked Zhang Huan Yuan's attack earlier is clearly a protective spiritual equipment, and it's a spiritual contract with a degree of at least 50%... For a swordsman to achieve a contract degree of over 50% with a spiritual equipment, even if they cultivate the corresponding technique, it would take two or three years... Two or three years ago, Qin Tianyi was in Wanxia County, in Yunlei Sword Sect, still looking depressed... It seems that all those were just appearances, his depression was just accumulating power for the moment of true rise."

  "It's a pity that the extraordinary encounter on Qin Tianyi's body, which could have greatly increased his cultivation in a short period of time, is apparently not something we need to consider. Judging from the protective spirit artifact, he obtained that opportunity at least two or three years ago. Two or three years, enough for someone to grow from a mid-level swordsman to a great swordsman. This encounter may be astonishing, but it's still not enough to make people willing to do anything to get it... Especially now, Qin Tianyi has already taken on the title of Institute Master's son..."

  Xia Bingyu said with a somewhat regretful expression.

  Before this, to say that she had no thoughts about Qin Tianyi's strange encounter and the endless heavenly treasures and spiritual materials would be impossible. However, her identity as a Shengxu Academy student made her have to be cautious and make thorough preparations, otherwise, once discovered, she would face the wrath of the entire Shengxu Academy, or even the Shengxu Sect.

  At present...

  Qin Tianyi's various manifestations and his identity background have proven that he is qualified to own these treasures.

  "Can be considered as competitors, but cannot be treated as enemies."

  This is Xia Bingru's final summary.

  Lichi nodded slightly and after a moment, he seemed to have thought of something: "Princess, when Qin Tianyi left earlier, he glanced in our direction. Did he discover us?"

  "If he hadn't discovered us, at most he would have been a powerful swordsman, and in my mind, his ranking wouldn't be second only to Gu Wushuang and Yan Tianqi."