An inferno raged in the ruins of one side of the Sect Hall, where glittering ashes swirled in the dying screams of burning cultivators, who despite their might fell to an incomparably oppressive sword domain. Their Nascent Souls and Gold Cores could not save them from the decree of one who obtained a glimpse of the Sword Law. Maybe they could have lived if they were prepared for it, or did not take it so lightly.

  But of what use was surviving the salvation edict when they all felt more lives vanish as even those who evaded the first death only crossed the road of another?

  On the other side, Galaxy Sword disciples watched in disbelief as their enemies perished, not only because they were shocked by the results, but because most of them recognized Zhu Xuelian. But they thought Zhu Xuelian was only a Qi Condensation cultivator…

  “Why do you practice the arts of the royal family…? Who are you?” the middle-aged man asked, and it didn’t seem like he was ready to make a move yet.

  “The royal family and this junior have no relation, senior,” Zhu Xuelian said coldly, but politely. “My apologies if my arts confused you.”

  The middle-aged man lifted an eyebrow and then nodded. “So it would seem. Very well,” he said and then drew the large saber from the sheath in his left hand. The saber was as large as a man, and Zhu Xuelian heard, once or twice, that this kind of saber was not used for chopping people, but horses. It certainly looked like it earned its reputation.

  “This Yi Zhengxi will then play with you a bit. Don’t think I will let you off easily after you killed my subordinates,” the man said, and a bright, golden circle appeared behind him, exerting a tangible, suppressive force.

  Half a dozen craters appeared in the space between Zhu Xuelian and Yi Zhengxi, as glittering stars appeared and disappeared in quick succession, and Zhu Xuelian’s body was little more than a blur.

  Zhu Xuelian’s sword descended like a guillotine, leaving a bright trail of fire in the wake of her slash, painting a setting sun over the local laws of nature, but her sword struck the saber and produced a loud ring. The recoil, evident by the volume of the sound, was so severe that Zhu Xuelian remained weightless in the air for a few moments longer, completely exposed to counterattack.

  The impact caused flames to explode, scorching the wall behind the man and the hallway where Zhu Xuelian stood moments earlier, but none of them harmed the man.

  “Good sword. Good fire. You are not bad,” the middle-aged man said. “Even in our True Sun Kingdom, you would be considered a decent tale—“

  A white line appeared across the man, horizontally, and then a calamitous sword force erupted from it, and Wu Yulan’s form appeared, slashing her sword through the line. The man lowered his saber and met Wu Yulan’s slash with incredible speed and skill, but the impact still pushed him back.

  As the man took a tiny step back, Zhu Xuelian spun in the air, and her foot descended from above, painting another fiery crescent with her heel, and just barely missed her opponent's head, as he dodged out of the way.

  Wu Yulan smiled. “In the Sky Continent, we call this counting one’s chicken before they hatch.”

  Yi Zhengxi chuckled. “Good. Good. Two on one? Maybe this senior will beat you to an inch of your life and make you his subordinates. You are not bad.” He urged them onward. “Come.”

  Wu Yulan dashed forward, her body close to the ground as she swung her sword around, carving an icy path of winter and death across the man’s abdomen.

  “Calamity Winter,” she uttered.

  Zhu Xuelian fell from above, drawing a wide circle with her blade as she slashed down with all her might, painting a red sun in the trails of her fiery blade.

  “Purification Wheel,” she hummed.

  The Sun Continent senior met each slash in quick succession, and everyone could recognize his defensive posture. Even he had to be careful against these two geniuses.

  Seeing this, those Galaxy Sword elders and disciples regretted it all now.

  “Blazing Sword Art,” Zhu Xuelian whispered. “Three Summers.”

  “Frozen Sword Art,” Wu Yulan whispered. “Three Winters.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Wu Yulan’s sword skipped off the solidifying air as the cold froze it. A spire of ice followed in the wake of her sword, and when she slashed across the saber, the spire bloomed, and countless thorns pierced through the area, behind and around the man.

  Zhu Xuelian’s sword descended with the wrath and heat of three summers’ suns, incinerating — and obliterating — all in its path. With the deadly ice limiting his mobility, Yi Zhengxi had no choice but to meet the strike head-on with his saber. White hot, the slash she carved into the man’s saber left a glowing trail of molten metal against the horse-chopper, forcing Yi Zhengxi back.

  Caught in the extreme heat and the extreme cold of martial arts he both overestimated and then underestimated, Yi Zhengxi stumbled backward, as he avoided the numerous thorns that came to consume his life and the flames that yearned to burn his soul to ashes.

  But most of all, he underestimated the martial prowess of these two. He had an inkling, because of the refinement of their sword energy and killing intent, but he could not have known the full gravity of that implication.

  These two were battle cultivators through and through. They must’ve fought a thousand battles — but his mind rejected this. They were too young for that kind of hellish experience.

  Wu Yulan’s palm strike — full of extreme and deadly ice energy — struck the left side of his chest and briefly crippled his left arm. Yi Zhengxi’s saber posture slackened, and the defensive wall of the horse chopper lowered by just a small amount, but it was more than enough for Zhu Xuelian to strike with brutal precision.

  Zhu Xuelian's sword slipped through unimpeded and then pierced through the bottom of Yi Zhengxi’s jaw, followed by the top of his skull.

  Even with his head completely impaled, Yi Zhengxi pummeled Zhu Xuelian’s body with a kick and sent her flying into the far wall of the Sect Hall, and then he slashed at Wu Yulan, who blocked the strike with her sword, but was also sent flying and skipping across the hall.

  Zhu Xuelian coughed, then groaned, as she slowly crawled out of the rubble. The aurora of her gold core appeared behind her, circulating Salvation Ashes to recover her vitality and qi.

  Wu Yulan slid across half the chamber, in Zhu Xuelian's direction, her sword carving through the stone floor, slowing her down until she came to a complete stop.

  “You can’t kill him like this! He is a semi immortal!” Elder Hao shouted.

  Zhu Xuelian frowned. She knew semi immortals were difficult to kill, but she didn’t anticipate it would be this difficult. She stabbed him through the head. What kind of monster can live through that?

  Wu Yulan helped Zhu Xuelian stand and smiled. “I have to agree. My Frozen Sword Art can’t kill him. What about yours?”

  Zhu Xuelian shook her head. “Not a chance. My Blazing Sword Art is not enough.”

  Wu Yulan pursed her lips.

  “Wait, if you knew your Frozen Sword Art can’t kill him, why did you even bother?” Zhu Xuelian asked.

  “Oh, I just wanted to see your swordsmanship, sister,” Wu Yulan said, with a smile. "It is very pretty."

  Zhu Xuelian chuckled. “… You…!”

  “What do you want to do?” Wu Yulan asked.

  “I’d like to wake up in bed and think this is all a dream. You?”

  “About the same,” Wu Yulan said, sheathing her sword.

  At this, Yi Zhengxi chuckled. He was calmly observing the two, perhaps waiting for them to surrender and become his subordinates. No one could really tell, as Yi Zhengxi was a difficult man to read.

  “If you are done regretting your choices, this Yi Zhengxi will let you kowtow to him and beg for mercy,” he said. “Not only am I a semi-immortal, but I have the bloodline of the Phoenix. You cannot kill me, even if there were ten of you.”

  At this, Zhu Xuelian, who had been thinking about reverting to her Salvation Ashes to kill Yi Zhengxi, narrowed her eyes.

  Wu Yulan, who had been thinking of using the Frozen World Apocalypse to kill Yi Zhengxi, scowled darkly.

  “Did you say… Phoenix?” Zhu Xuelian asked.

  “You heard correctly, junior. Are you ready to worship a divine beast?” Yi Zhengxi asked.

  Wu Yulan frowned. “Worship? We hate phoenixes.”

  Wu Yulan drew her sword again and coldly uttered: “Sword Dao Domain — Apocalypse Mandate.”

  Yi Zhengxi’s body flattened against the floor as a glacier of merged sword and ice energy collapsed on him, formed out of swords and resembling a single word:

  EXECUTION

  These countless ice swords pierced into his back, crushed him into the floor with their weight, and suppressed his cultivation. But even so, at most, they could accomplish to keep him still.

  Wu Yulan coughed out a mouthful of blood, and fell to her knees, as the toll of the Sword Domain immediately left its mark on the genius sword cultivator.

  Zhu Xuelian stomped forward, and even the veil on her face could not conceal the contempt she held for Yi Zhengxi and his phoenix bloodline. Here, Zhu Xuelian raised her sword and chopped at Yi Zhengxi’s neck with all her might, and after a loud bang, her sword bounced off Yi Zhengxi’s tremendous imperial qi.

  Yi Zhengxi laughed. “You can’t kill me even if you try a hundred times! When that girl runs out of true qi, I will kill the both of you. Forget about becoming my subordinates!”

  Zhu Xuelian lowered her sword and smiled darkly. “You still don’t get it, do you?”

  Yi Zhengxi’s laugh faded. He glared at Zhu Xuelian with a confused expression.

  “Even if it takes days or weeks, I will chop your head off. Had you not mentioned your Phoenix bloodline, we would’ve sent you to the nether quickly and with peace in your heart,” Zhu Xuelian said. "Don't haunt me when you become a ghost."

  Yi Zhengxi’s glare shot to Wu Yulan, and he instantly recognized her determination to die, if necessary, to keep Yi Zhengxi pinned like this. Yi Zhengxi also remembered those cultivators, who died standing. Suddenly, fear gripped his heart.

  “Wait! Wait, junior! We can still come to an agreement!” Yi Zhengxi pleaded.

  “There are four kingdoms on this Sky Continent. It is too late to regret invading the wrong one,” Zhu Xuelian said coldly, and her sword crashed down again, hacking away at Yi Zhengxi’s protective qi layer.

  Yi Zhengxi screamed in terror, while the Sect Hall rang as if a great blacksmith was forging celestial metal.