The atmosphere in the grand hall was oppressive, thick with murderous intent!
Just as the Mad Blade whirled and slashed toward Pang Bai at blistering speed, a withered, aged hand shot out like an iron claw to intercept it. A sinister smile crept across the elder’s wrinkled face.
"To dare commit murder in the presence of an expert at the Celestial Element Sixth Heaven—you’re courting death!" Hann Shan sneered darkly.
But just as he was reveling in his superiority, he suddenly grasped empty air. With a flick of his right wrist, Lin Huang released the Mad Blade. The weapon traced a perfect arc through the air, landing neatly in his left hand. Without losing momentum, he brought it down in a vicious cleave.
A deathly silence fell over the grand hall.
THUD... THUD... THUMP...
Pang Bai’s severed head tumbled from his shoulders, striking the floor with a series of heavy, echoing thuds.
Hann Shan’s expression twisted in explosive fury. He clenched his withered hand, the joints cracking sharply. A formidable aura erupted from his body, surging outward like a torrential tide.
"You are the first to ever dare kill a disciple of mine. I’ll have every single life in the Divine General’s Mansion buried alongside him!" Hann Shan screeched, his eyes fixed in a venomous glare.
"Those who dare cause trouble in the Divine General’s Mansion must pay the price." Lin Huang’s expression was freezing, completely unfazed by Hann Shan. "Do you truly think you’re the only clever one in the world? Did you think no one knew who started that towering fire? Or which sect those assassins who infiltrated the mansion belonged to?"
"Elder Hann, I strongly advise you to stay your hand!" Lin Beichen rose to his feet, his gaze piercing. "You may be an expert at the Celestial Element Sixth Heaven, but the Divine General’s Mansion is not so easily bullied."
As his words echoed, several powerful auras abruptly manifested from within the depths of the mansion—obscure yet undeniably formidable.
"Hmph! A bunch of whelps who have merely set foot into the Celestial Element Realm think they can challenge me?" Hann Shan sneered. The aura radiating from him intensified, growing so oppressive that Lin Huang struggled to breathe.
"Lin Beichen, I will give you one choice. Hand over the *Thousand Spirits Sword Formation* Array Diagram, and I will only kill Lin Huang. Otherwise, there will no longer be any reason for the Divine General’s Mansion to exist."
With a sweep of his arm, Hann Shan unleashed a massive serpentine shadow, as thick as a barrel, blasting toward the hall’s entrance. The strike instantly incapacitated the reinforcement of Martial Artists rushing to their aid.
A Viper Martial Soul!
Both Lin Beichen and Lin Huang’s expressions shifted drastically. Staring at the massive serpentine phantom coiling behind Hann Shan, they inhaled sharply. It was a Profound Tier Middle Grade Martial Soul!
As the spectral serpent writhed, a freezing aura permeated the grand hall, chilling them to the bone.
"Lin Beichen, you murdered my disciple! This enmity is absolutely irreconcilable! Hand over the Thousand Spirits Sword Formation, and I will only claim Lin Huang’s life. Defy me, and don’t blame me when I wash the Divine General’s Mansion in blood today!" Hann Shan laughed maniacally. The enormous Viper coiled around him fixed its cold, venomous gaze on the two men.
Off to the side, Ling Huangyi maintained a placid expression, but inwardly, he was leaping with joy. He thought, "Now that the Divine General’s Mansion has provoked the Celestial Thunder Sect, they are doomed to perish, regardless of how today ends!"
Lin Huang’s mind raced. He thought, "An expert at the Celestial Element Realm is completely beyond my ability to fight. If Xiao Yishan were here, there’d be nothing to fear. I wonder if Master followed me after my sudden return to the Imperial City?"
"Grand Elder Hann certainly has ruthless methods. To think you’d use your own disciple’s life as bait to set a trap for the Divine General’s Mansion just to obtain the Thousand Spirits Sword Formation," Lin Beichen said coldly.
Could a Martial Artist at the Celestial Element Sixth Heaven truly fail to stop Lin Huang from beheading Pang Bai with a single strike? Even with the element of surprise, it was entirely impossible!
"Since you remain so stubbornly oblivious, don’t blame me for being ruthless," Hann Shan laughed sinisterly, his aged face an icy mask. Before his words even faded, he lunged straight for Lin Huang with lethal intent.
The Viper’s eyes flared with feral malice. Trailing behind Hann Shan, it unhinged its massive, bloodred jaws, ready to swallow Lin Huang whole.
Lin Huang’s expression shifted as a sudden chill gripped his heart. His body was paralyzed by an invisible force, making it impossible to evade. As he watched Hann Shan closing the distance at terrifying speed, his thoughts raced, and an extremely tyrannical aura began to brew within him...
He had his Godslaying One Slash! He could use it to sever the invisible bindings, leaving him with perhaps a one-in-a-hundred chance to severely wound Hann Shan!
However, if he forcefully unleashed the technique now, his meridians would undoubtedly rupture inch by inch.
BANG!
Just as Lin Huang prepared to stake his life on a counterattack, a cold smirk appeared on Lin Beichen’s lips. The spatial ring on his finger flashed, and a pitch-black figure abruptly darted forward. Before anyone could react, it landed a devastating punch squarely on Hann Shan.
The resounding clash of metal echoed throughout the hall.
Struck in the chest by the sudden blow, Hann Shan was sent staggering backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He stared at the pitch-black figure standing before Lin Huang, his expression twisting in dread.
"An Array Puppet!" Hann Shan snarled, his face darkening.
In the grand hall, Lin Beichen glared down at the sinisterly fuming Hann Shan. His aged face hardened, and his hoarse voice rang out with absolute dominance.
"Elder Hann seems to have forgotten that I have a son—his name is Lin Changtian!
"Sixteen years ago, Changtian delivered a stark warning to the Four Great Sects. Your actions today are crossing the line!"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Lin Huang, Hann Shan, and Ling Huangyi all shifted dramatically.
Lin Changtian... Over twenty years ago, he was the man who had turned the East Spirit Realm upside down, prompting the Four Great Sects to join forces just to hunt him down!
Hann Shan’s expression flickered before he sneered. "Lin Changtian hasn’t been seen since he entered Yin Yang Valley sixteen years ago. He likely perished long ago in the East Spirit Realm’s most perilous death zone. Even if he is alive, distant waters cannot quench a nearby fire. Bringing up his name now is simply laughable!"
Beneath his sleeves, Hann Shan secretly channeled power into his withered palms. He had decided—every single living soul in the Divine General’s Mansion had to die today, their corpses thoroughly eradicated to leave no trace.
Lin Huang glanced at Lin Beichen. The name ’Lin Changtian’ was naturally familiar to him, yet at the same time, utterly foreign. Just what kind of person was this man who didn’t even exist in his memories?
"It’s true that distant waters can’t quench a nearby fire, but this Array Puppet should be more than enough to exchange a few blows with Elder Hann!" Lin Beichen chuckled, pointing to the cold, pitch-black figure standing before Lin Huang.
The puppet’s entire body was cast from solid bronze, its interior etched with complex Arrays. It radiated an arcane, esoteric glow, and the violent, frenzied aura spilling from its form completely suppressed Hann Shan’s overwhelming pressure.
Hann Shan’s heart trembled. He thought, "An Array Puppet at the Celestial Element Seventh Heaven Realm!" Only now did he truly sense the construct’s overwhelming strength.
As the name implied, an Array Puppet was a mechanical construct powered by Arrays. They utilized incredibly durable materials for their bodies, Array Spirit Stones as their power source, and internal Array formations to dictate their movements.
Hann Shan never imagined that the Divine General’s Mansion possessed such a terrifying weapon. It was an artifact that even the Four Great Sects fiercely coveted; crafting a single Array Puppet required the expertise of at least a Fifth-Level Array Master.
"Changtian was a Martial King of his generation. Did you really think he wouldn’t leave behind a method to protect the Divine General’s Mansion?" Lin Beichen smiled confidently.
"Mansion Master Lin, you should know that an Array Puppet is merely a dead object, whereas humans are alive and adaptable," Hann Shan said, his expression grim and uncertain. "If I were to put my life on the line, this mere construct wouldn’t be able to stop me.
"However, if you hand over the Thousand Spirits Sword Formation, we can drop this matter right now. From this day forward, the Divine General’s Mansion and the Celestial Thunder Sect will stay out of each other’s way."
"There’s nothing to discuss," Lin Beichen stated decisively, though his palms were slick with sweat. He thought, "The Primordial Spirit Stone inside the Array Puppet was entirely exhausted just now. It’s completely incapable of actually fighting Hann Shan."
"You...!" Hann Shan raged, a venomous glint flashing in his eyes. He had intentionally allowed Lin Huang to kill Pang Bai, using it as leverage to extort the Thousand Spirits Sword Formation from the Divine General’s Mansion. But he hadn’t accounted for that bastard, Lin Changtian, leaving behind an actual Array Puppet!
"It seems the Mansion Master is quite eager to part with this precious Array Puppet. It may take some effort to dismantle, but if this is the Divine General’s Mansion’s final trump card, it is sorely insufficient to stop me!" Hann Shan laughed sinisterly. Though a flicker of apprehension remained in his eyes, an Array Puppet was, at the end of the day, just a puppet.
"It appears Elder Hann’s mind is set on stealing the Thousand Spirits Sword Formation," Lin Beichen chuckled. "Then let us see whose methods are superior. I only hope you don’t regret this! The Array Puppet might not be able to kill you, but it is more than capable of stalling you for a while!"
Lin Beichen waved his hand grandly and continued, "I wonder, can a Celestial Element Realm Martial Artist be overwhelmed and drowned by three thousand soldiers of the Profound Armor Army? If not... what about thirty thousand?
"Years ago, Xuanyuan Tibing relied on a million-strong army to grind the mighty Dongxuan Sect to dust. I’d quite like to emulate his glorious feat before I pass!"
Hann Shan’s expression plummeted, turning remarkably ugly. A Celestial Element Martial Artist was undeniably powerful, but faced with three thousand—let alone thirty thousand—veteran soldiers of the Profound Armor Army, even he didn’t dare act arrogantly!
Just as the stalemate settled, a woman’s voice abruptly echoed from just outside the grand hall.
"Hann, you old thief! Since when was it your turn to run wild in the Divine General’s Mansion?"
Hann Shan’s face changed at the sound of the voice. It was completely unfamiliar, but the sheer penetrating power it carried was exceptional. The newcomer’s cultivation realm was likely no lower than his own.
Lin Beichen looked equally perplexed. The clear, frigid voice struck a familiar chord, but he couldn’t quite place who it belonged to.
A moment later, the heavy doors to the hall swung wide open...