“Indeed!”
The other elders and Peak Masters all sighed with emotion.
Zhong Qing was still so young—barely eighteen or nineteen. When he killed Duan Feng before, they had speculated that Zhong Qing was at most at the peak of the Celestial Profound Realm, and even that was already considered an optimistic guess.
After all, reaching the Star Profound Realm at eighteen or nineteen? They didn’t even dare to imagine it. Even in the Holy Lands of the Eastern Region, that would make him an extraordinary genius—unless the ancestors of the Azure Jade Sect were blessed by heaven.
But now, with news that Zhong Qing had crushed a peak Celestial Profound Realm cultivator like Xue Kuang with a single finger, it could only mean one thing—Zhong Qing was already in the Star Profound Realm.
And not just an ordinary Star Profound Realm cultivator.
This wasn’t just a matter of ancestral blessings.
Even Xuanyuan Hong, as the Sect Master, was only at the mid-stage of the Star Profound Realm. Among the elders and Peak Masters of the Azure Jade Sect, only the Grand Elder was in the Star Profound Realm. The rest were mostly still in the Celestial Profound Realm.
“What shame!”
Everyone present felt utterly embarrassed.
They had all thought Zhong Qing was a good-for-nothing who couldn’t cultivate—yet he had surpassed all of them in strength, rivaling even the Sect Master.
“Still, he did kill Xue Kuang…”
“And Xue Kuang had Hongmao Laogui backing him. What if he comes for revenge?” an elder said gravely.
And fate, as always, had a cruel sense of timing.
Just as that elder finished speaking, a fierce burst of battle aura erupted at the sect’s gates.
A red-haired man, carrying a long blade, slaughtered countless disciples guarding the entrance and charged toward the Azure Jade Main Peak with unstoppable momentum.
“Azure Jade Sect—get the hell out here!”
With a thunderous roar, the man slashed down with his blade, severing half the mountaintop of the Azure Jade Main Peak.
Boulders crashed down, the earth trembled as if an earthquake had struck. The chaos claimed countless lives and caused massive injuries.
Xuanyuan Hong’s gaze darkened as he stared at the red-haired man.
He hadn’t expected Hongmao Laogui to arrive before they had even finished discussing a plan.
That’s right.
The red-haired man before them was none other than Hongmao Laogui himself.
Beneath his tangled hair was a grotesquely decayed face. One eye had already rotted out, and the other oozed with disgusting pus.
“Hongmao Laogui, what do you think you’re doing, barging into the Azure Jade Sect?” Xuanyuan Hong shouted coldly.
“Cut the crap and hand over Zhong Qing,” Hongmao Laogui growled. His killing intent surged, his already twisted face now contorted even more.
“What has our Command Hall Peak Master done to you?” Xuanyuan Hong narrowed his eyes, stalling for time while secretly sending a voice transmission to the elder behind him: “Contact Zhong Qing immediately. Have him leave the Azure Jade Sect for now and avoid the confrontation. Hongmao Laogui is in the Moon Profound Realm—he’s not someone we can handle!”
The elder behind him nodded silently and sent out the message without a sound.
“Xuanyuan Hong, stop pretending!” Hongmao Laogui roared. “That little bastard knew full well that Xue Kuang was my disciple, yet he still dared to kill him! Today I’m going to turn that brat into a human stick!”
“Oh, so that’s what this is about.” Xuanyuan Hong’s eyes flashed coldly as he replied sharply, “From what I know, it was Xue Kuang who attacked first.”
“What, your disciple can attack as he pleases, but our Azure Jade Sect disciples aren’t allowed to fight back?”
“Hmph, my disciple had his reasons for attacking. That little trash of yours, a mere Peak Master, should’ve either waited to die or begged for mercy! Who gave him the right to fight back against my disciple?”
Rage surged from Hongmao Laogui as black mist poured from his body.
“My disciple inherited my legacy. At just twenty years old, he reached the peak of the Celestial Profound Realm. In time, even the so-called geniuses of the Holy Lands would be beneath his feet. And your sect’s trash dares to compare with my disciple?”
“And now, such a genius has been killed by your little Peak Master… I’m furious! Furious beyond words!”
As he spoke, his fury intensified, black mist erupting around him. The air around him turned into a vacuum from the pressure, and sonic booms cracked the ground beneath his feet.
“Bah! You filthy dog!” roared Lei Ning, the bald and brawny Peak Master of Divine Tiger Peak. Known for his straightforward temper, he cursed directly, “If your disciple was so damn powerful, why’d he get crushed by our Command Hall Peak Master’s single finger? What’s the point of boasting?”
“Exactly! Your disciple’s life matters, but the lives of our Azure Jade Sect disciples don’t?” another Peak Master stepped forward, his aura flaring as he spoke without backing down.
“And you and your disciple are nothing but demonic cultivators who’ve killed countless innocent people. Our Command Hall Peak Master merely acted to rid the world of evil.”
“If I had seen him first, I would’ve slapped him dead too!”
For a moment, all the Peak Masters and elders of the Azure Jade Sect spoke out.
Normally, they might have schemed against one another for resources or disciples, but in the face of an external threat, they always stood united.
“You all court death!”
Hongmao Laogui squeezed the words out between gritted teeth.
“Has Zhong Qing received the message?” Xuanyuan Hong asked via voice transmission.
“Reporting to Sect Master—it’s been sent,” the elder replied.
“Good.” Xuanyuan Hong nodded. Then, raising his head, he stared up at Hongmao Laogui and shouted in a deep, resonant voice:
“Hongmao Laogui, let me make this clear today. Your disciple Xue Kuang struck first. He died because he lacked the skill to survive a counterattack from our Command Hall Peak Master.”
“Our Peak Master acted in self-defense—it was justified and reasonable.”
“That means, if you think you can come into our sect and take him away, you’re dreaming!”
Xuanyuan Hong’s aura surged, his voice thundered, “If you want to lay a single finger on Zhong Qing, then come on! Let’s see who’s afraid of who!”
As soon as he finished speaking—
The elders and Peak Masters behind him simultaneously unleashed their auras and stepped forward, standing firmly at his back like a tightly bound rope.
“Good, good, good! Since you all want to die, then I’ll grant your wish!”
Hongmao Laogui exploded with black mist, his terrifying cultivation erupting in fury. A massive blade slashed down from the heavens.
“Everyone—he’s already brought the fight to our doorstep. Stand with me and face him!” Xuanyuan Hong shouted fearlessly at the front.
“I, Xuanyuan Hong, Sect Master of the Azure Jade Sect, will not retreat today! Even if we lose, Zhong Qing will rise in the future and avenge us!”