The azure-robed elder stood calmly before the candidates.
His sword remained pointed toward the ground.
Yet the moment it left its sheath...
The atmosphere of the entire forest changed.
The Shadow Thunder Tiger stopped advancing.
The Blood Moon assassins no longer dared move carelessly.
Even the surrounding spiritual qi became strangely orderly, as though obeying the elder's presence.
Lin Yuan's breathing slowed.
He had witnessed powerful cultivators before.
Gu Chen.
The Blood Moon leader.
Even Elder Mo.
But this elder was different.
He stood there without releasing any obvious pressure.
Yet everyone instinctively knew...
He was the strongest person present.
Golden Core Realm
Most cultivators spent decades trying to advance beyond the Spirit Core Realm.
Those who succeeded condensed all of their spiritual qi into a radiant Golden Core.
A Golden Core was far more stable and powerful than a Spirit Core.
Cultivators at this realm could:
Fly freely using spiritual qi.Command spiritual weapons over long distances. Fight for days without exhausting their spiritual qi.Easily overwhelm cultivators below the Golden Core Realm.
Within Azure Cloud Sect, only elders and the Sect Master possessed such cultivation.
To ordinary disciples...
A Golden Core cultivator was a legendary existence.
The elder's calm gaze swept across the five Blood Moon assassins.
"I am..."
"Elder Xu Jian."
"An Elder of Azure Cloud Sect."
His voice wasn't loud.
Yet every word echoed clearly through the forest.
"You entered our examination grounds."
"You attacked our candidates."
"You violated the agreement between righteous and demonic sects."
He slowly lifted his sword.
"For that..."
"You will remain here."
Forever."
The moment the Blood Moon leader head the name his eyes became needle like immediately.Because he knew who this elder was, he had fought against 3 other golden core elders from the blood Moon sect.
And he not only survived but gravely injured two of the elders from the sect and got away with only light injuries.
He knew he had little chance of winning in a battle against him,and could only think of a way to avoid the fight completely.
The blood Moon leader forced out a smile.
"So the famous Sword Elder has arrived."
"I've heard your name."
Xu Jian showed no reaction.
"And I've buried many who knew it."
The Blood Moon leader's smile stiffened.
Without warning
Xu Jian flicked his finger.
His sword disappeared.
No.
It moved so quickly that Lin Yuan couldn't follow it.
A silver flash crossed the clearing.
One of the masked assassins suddenly froze.
His eyes widened beneath the mask.
A thin red line appeared across his neck.
Then
His head slowly slid from his shoulders.
His body collapsed.
Dead.
The sword had already returned to Xu Jian's hand.
Silence.
The remaining assassins felt chills run down their spines.
One strike.
One death.
No wasted movement.
No flashy technique.
Just absolute mastery.
Li Tian stared blankly.
"So..."
"That..."
"...is an Elder."
The pride he had carried because of his Seventh-Grade Spirit Vein completely disappeared.
He finally realized.
No matter how talented one was...
Without time to grow.Talent meant nothing.
The Blood Moon leader roared.
"Together!"
The four remaining assassins attacked simultaneously.Crimson spiritual qi exploded outward.
Their blades formed a deadly web surrounding Xu Jian from every direction.
The elder remained motionless.
Only when the attacks were about to reach him.
Did he move.
His sword drew a single circle.
A simple movement.
Nothing more.
Yet dozens of sword shadows bloomed into existence.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every crimson blade was deflected.
The force of the collision sent all four assassins flying backward.
Before they landed—
Xu Jian pointed his sword.
Three streaks of azure light shot through the air.
Two assassins didn't even have time to scream.
Their chests were pierced instantly.
The third barely avoided a fatal wound.
Even so...
His left arm was severed at the shoulder.
Blood sprayed across the clearing.
The Shadow Thunder Tiger watched silently.
Its instincts told it something important.
This newcomer.
Was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Instead of attacking recklessly, the beast lowered its body.
Its muscles tightened.
It was preparing for a decisive strike.
Far above the battlefield...
Hidden beyond the clouds...
Gu Chen smiled faintly.
"Still as sharp as ever..."
"So you became an elder after all."
His eyes carried a trace of nostalgia.
Years ago...
He and Xu Jian had once walked the same cultivation road.
Now...
One remained within a great sect.
The other wandered the world as a forgotten physician.
Back below...
Xu Jian suddenly looked toward the forest.
Not at the assassins.
Not at the Shadow Thunder Tiger.
Toward Gu Chen's hiding place.
For the briefest moment.
The two old men exchanged glances across hundreds of meters.
Neither spoke.
Yet both understood.
Gu Chen had intentionally remained hidden.
Xu Jian returned his attention to the battlefield without exposing his old friend.
The Blood Moon leader's breathing became heavier. Blood slowly dripping from his arms ,his hand holding the blade still trembling from blocking the earlier attack.
He looked around
Three companions had fallen.
Another had lost an arm.
Against Xu Jian...
Victory was impossible.
He clenched his fists.
The mission had failed.
But failure...
Was not something the Blood Moon Sect tolerated.
His gaze slowly shifted toward Lin Yuan.
If he could not return with the inheritance...
Then he would at least eliminate its bearer.
The leader suddenly crushed a blood-red talisman hidden within his sleeve.
It burst into crimson flames.
Xu Jian's expression finally changed.
"Blood Escape Talisman?"
The leader smiled beneath his silver mask.
"No."
"A Blood Sacrifice Talisman."
The blood of the fallen assassins began flowing unnaturally across the ground.
It gathered beneath the leader's feet.
An enormous crimson formation slowly emerged.
The air filled with a sinister aura.
Lin Yuan felt the First Chain tremble violently.
For the first time...
It wasn't reacting with curiosity.
It was reacting with...
Disgust.
Xu Jian's eyes narrowed.
"So you've gone this far."
The Blood Moon leader laughed.
"If I cannot complete my mission..."
"I'll summon something that can."
The crimson formation pulsed once.
Twice.
Everyone suddenly became silent, the air becoming still even the birds suddenly became silent.
Then suddenly the earth beneath the forest began to shake violently.
The formation unleashed a Crimson light.
A hand suddenly emerged from the formation .
The shadow Tiger began to roar and tremble all over as if sensing something the others could not .