“One won’t do? Then how about this?” Shen Yuexi looked at him expressionlessly, her gaze as calm as still water.
The grade of the spirit beasts she could summon was related to her own cultivation realm. At the Spirit Adept realm, she truly could only summon low-grade spirit beasts.
But she had never said she could summon only one.
As soon as she finished speaking, an even more bizarre scene appeared.
Shrill eagle cries and deep bear roars rang out one after another.
It was not just a Sabertooth Tiger that came leaping over. A Golden-Winged Roc, a brown bear, a Phoenix-Tailed Snake, and other spirit beasts appeared in succession. Their grades ranged from first-grade to third-grade, and there were dozens of them in total!
By the time Song Chengning recovered from his shock, the mountain-protecting array was already surrounded by vicious beasts and ferocious birds. Their powerful spiritual power and aggressive aura filled him with terror.
As though they had received an order, the spirit beasts swarmed toward the mountain-protecting array and attacked it without the slightest restraint.
Song Chengning gritted his teeth and held on with the sect disciples. Unexpectedly, the mountain-protecting array, which had exhausted everyone’s spiritual power, was as flimsy as paper beneath the spirit beasts’ assault. It was instantly torn apart!
“This is… the Beast-Taming Art. How could you possibly be a beast tamer when you’re only a ninth-tier Spirit Adept? Impossible, impossible…” Song Chengning stared at Shen Yuexi in disbelief. Though he was unwilling to believe it, the viciousness in his eyes had already been entirely replaced by regret.
Shen Yuexi had once possessed a five-element spiritual root rarely seen in a century, yet she had been an utter cripple who could not cultivate.
But now, she could control spirit beasts despite being only a ninth-tier Spirit Adept!
With spiritual roots and talent like that, if he had been able to continue deceiving her, she might have had an even greater chance than Qiqi of earning recognition in the Sect Grand Selection. Perhaps she could even have led the entire Jiuyang Sect to ever greater strength!
Shen Yuexi’s expression remained as still and emotionless as an ancient well. With cold, ruthless resolve, she said, “Shen Yuexi brings the one hundred and three souls of the Shen Family’s dead to see you off!”
“How dare you? Shen Yuexi, I’m telling you, Qiqi has already caught the eye of an elder from the Lingyun Sect. Once she passes the Sect Grand Selection, she’ll become a disciple of the Lingyun Sect. If you dare kill me, Qiqi won’t let you off—and neither will the Lingyun Sect!”
Song Chengning looked at the spirit-beast horde before him, trembling with fear and regret. But as he stammered, his eyes suddenly filled with blood and widened. A Sabertooth Tiger had already pierced through his chest with one claw!
The disciples watched Song Chengning’s gruesome death. Remembering that they had all, to one extent or another, made things difficult for Shen Yuexi, they immediately collapsed to the ground in terror.
What had they just witnessed?
A ninth-tier Spirit Adept had crossed two major realms and killed a third-tier Spirit Master!
One person hurriedly dropped to his knees and kowtowed to her in repentance. “Junior Sister Yuexi, I was wrong! I truly was wrong! I shouldn’t have called you a cripple. I’m the cripple—I’m the useless one! Please, I beg you, spare me!”
With someone taking the lead, the rest of them quickly dropped to their knees and begged for mercy as well.
“Did you see that? They all paid the price.” Shen Yuexi’s features were cold and striking as she asked expressionlessly, “Where is Song Qiqi?”
The man who had led the group in begging for mercy only dared to stop when he heard her question. In the past, he had followed Song Qiqi in bullying Shen Yuexi because she was the Sect Master’s daughter while Shen Yuexi was merely a cripple.
Now that Shen Yuexi had displayed such formidable methods and Song Chengning was dead, he decisively betrayed Song Qiqi.
“Last night, after Song Qiqi fused with your five-element spiritual root, she hurried overnight to take part in the Sect Grand Selection.”
Having obtained the information she wanted, Shen Yuexi turned and left the Jiuyang Sect. She walked slowly down the mountain, each step firmer than the last.
With her five-element spiritual root, Song Qiqi wouldn’t have an easy time entering the Lingyun Sect!
The Lingtong Continent was divided by the Chasing Sun Mountains into five nations: East Metal, South Wood, West Water, North Fire, and Central Earth. The continent revered martial strength, so imperial authority held little status. Sects, guilds, and other organizations all stood above the nations. Sects were divided, from highest to lowest, into high-level sects, mid-level sects, and minor sects.
The Jiuyang Sect was located in the East Metal Nation. With strength and resources as weak as those of the Jiuyang Sect, it could not even be considered a minor sect. The Lingyun Sect, however, was entirely different. It was the foremost of the East Metal Nation’s Four High-Level Sects. Its disciples were powerful, it possessed abundant resources such as pills and spirit artifacts, and its elders and Sect Master were all Spirit King-level experts!
The Lingyun Sect’s standards for accepting disciples were extremely high. With Song Qiqi’s original talent, she probably would not even have been qualified to register. That was why Song Chengning had set his sights on Shen Yuexi’s five-element spiritual root.
This Sect Grand Selection brought together seven or eight minor sects. Only the strongest victor would earn the qualification to travel to the Lingyun Sect and undergo its examination.
The Lingyun Sect’s Sect Grand Selection was held in Wuyang City, an extremely long distance from the Jiuyang Sect.
By the time Shen Yuexi arrived in Wuyang City, ten days had passed. To avoid unnecessary trouble along the way, she had veiled her face.
As soon as she entered the city, she was drawn to the discussions coming from nearby.
“This girl is so young, yet she has already reached the first-tier Spirit Warrior realm. Her talent is truly extraordinary!”
“She has a five-element spiritual root with all five attributes, and even her natal contracted beast is third-grade. I’d say today’s outcome is already decided.”
When she walked closer, she saw Song Qiqi standing on the platform with her chin raised, like a victorious rooster.
A luxuriously dressed man then stepped onto the platform and announced loudly, “If no one challenges her, then in this Sect Grand Selection, Song Qiqi…”
Enjoying the townspeople’s praise, Song Qiqi stood proudly on the arena, the greed and arrogance in her eyes growing even stronger.
That cripple’s five-element spiritual root was indeed useful. In just ten days after fusing with the spiritual root, she had broken through to the first-tier Spirit Warrior realm. The victor today could be none other than her!
“Wait!”
At that moment, a clear, cold voice interrupted him. Shen Yuexi slowly stepped onto the platform, her face veiled. “Please enlighten me.”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the veiled girl who had suddenly appeared.
The girl wore a red dress bright as fire. Her three thousand strands of black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Though only her brows and eyes were visible, it was still clear that her skin was fair as snow, while her brows were naturally dark and shaped like distant mountains. The outer corners of her phoenix eyes tilted slightly upward, lending her a hint of bewitching beauty and aggression. People could not help but yearn to see the face hidden behind her veil.
The man studied her and, noticing that she showed no fluctuations of spiritual power, asked with a frown, “Who are you?”
Shen Yuexi’s voice was crisp and pleasing to the ear. “Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that Song Qiqi is certain to lose.”
The statement left Zhou Ming’an speechless. On the Lingtong Continent, the strong preyed on the weak. Before absolute strength, identity was nothing but a disguise.
When Song Qiqi saw the girl, she vaguely felt that the girl’s figure and voice seemed familiar, but she did not think much of it. She merely assumed that this was some wandering cultivator who had come from an unknown backwater.
Though she sneered repeatedly inwardly, Song Qiqi appeared understanding on the surface. “Brother An, I’m willing to accept this young lady’s challenge.”
On the arena, Shen Yuexi and Song Qiqi faced each other.
Suddenly, spiritual power surged around Shen Yuexi, and she leaped forward with an overwhelming force capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas.
Song Qiqi was shocked to discover that she could not see through Shen Yuexi’s cultivation realm!
Before she could even circulate her spiritual power, she realized, strangely, that she could no longer move!
Shocked and frightened, she wondered how the woman before her could possess such terrifying pressure. It actually held her completely immobile!
The spiritual power in Shen Yuexi’s hand transformed into a force blade, stabbing straight toward Song Qiqi’s face.
Seeing the blade reach her, Song Qiqi, terrified, summoned her natal contracted beast from her contract space—
a third-grade Blazing Snake.
The moment it appeared, it forcibly blocked Shen Yuexi’s attack.
Its thick, bowl-sized body coiled across the entire arena. Wrapped around Song Qiqi, it gave her a chance to catch her breath.
“Who are you?!”