Ji Hongye wore an ordinary iron sword at her waist.
The moment the blade was drawn, the wind ceased to flow, and time, space, and all things between heaven and earth seemed to stand still.
With Ji Hongye’s sigh, the iron sword in her hand shattered with a roar, turning to powder and scattering in the air.
The next second, the weapons of everyone on the flying ships in the air were all destroyed!
“Ah!! My precious sword!!”
“My Earth-rank treasure! An Earth-rank treasure!!”
For most cultivators, high-grade weapons and treasures were their lifeline. Having them destroyed was no different from crippling half their life.
The feather fan An Ru had been waving was now nothing but a bare handle.
Watching the countless feathers float before him, each one sliced into dozens of pieces before turning to powder, his entire expression froze.
That single sword strike from Ji Hongye had taken no lives, caused no earth-shattering tremors, and hadn’t even stirred a single ripple of wind.
Yet, with pinpoint accuracy, she had cut the weapons and treasures of everyone on the flying ships hundreds and thousands of times over.
Such Sword Intent was at its peak, yet incredibly gentle.
If Ji Hongye had harbored even a trace of killing intent, the people before her would not be standing there unharmed like now. Ji Hongye didn’t want to kill them; she merely destroyed their weapons as a warning.
“Ji… Ji Hongye! Have you gone mad? Do you really want to kill your fellow practitioners!?” An Ru asked loudly, still shaken. “Do you really want to personally bury the eternal glory of the Sword Pavilion?”
Ji Hongye, who had always been steady and gentle, furrowed her brow in anger upon hearing this, but ultimately chose to remain Zen-like.
She sighed helplessly and said calmly, “What does the life and death of the Sword Pavilion have to do with you?”
With this one sentence, all of An Ru’s plans came to an end. An Ru had been pressuring Ji Hongye using the reputation and glory of the Sword Pavilion.
However, what he hadn’t expected was that from beginning to end, Ji Hongye didn’t care about any of it.
Thus, An Ru lost his only means of threatening Ji Hongye.
“Since we stand in this world, we must use the sharp sword in our hands to act as chivalrous heroes. Regardless of scale or severity, as long as what we do is right, we have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Ji Hongye spoke each word as if reciting a supreme oath: “It was with this declaration that the Sword Pavilion was founded. The First Sword Pavilion Master wielded only an ordinary longsword.”
“The Sword Pavilion has never been a force that pursues fame and fortune. People love the Sword Pavilion, respect the Sword Pavilion, and bestow honor upon it because it has always upheld that original declaration. Everything I have done is right, so I have a clear conscience.”
Ji Hongye stepped forward, striding step by step.
“Is colluding with the Demoness what you call the right thing? Ji Hongye, you’re really lying through your teeth!!” The army of flying ships in the air slowly retreated.
“From the moment she was labeled the ‘Demoness,’ the ones in the wrong have been you. Although I cannot do much for her, driving away some impolite fools who can’t tell right from wrong is no problem.”
Her steps were firm, with no intention of backing down.
“Heh… Then you will regret your actions! The world will see your true face, and the Sword Pavilion will forever be labeled as the Evil Sect!!”
“It would be me who would regret it if I did something wrong just to preserve that so-called reputation.”
Ji Hongye walked directly beneath the army of flying ships, slowly raised her head to look at them, and asked with a gentle tone yet irresistible authority: “So, may I ask you to leave?”
Hearing this, An Ru finally couldn’t hold it together. He swallowed deeply, his entire neck drenched in sweat, even his Adam’s apple trembling.
He had thought he had succeeded in overpowering his superior, pushing that great Sword Emperor into a corner.
But in the end, Ji Hongye not only completely disregarded his threats, but also deliberately spared his life, as if giving a clueless little brat like him a chance to reform.
“Go… Go!!” An Ru shouted through gritted teeth.
The people around him were startled, exchanging glances at a loss.
“What are you all standing around like idiots for! Hurry up and leave!!” An Ru shouted furiously, already broken.
However, just as the army of flying ships was about to leave, an angry voice rang out: “This is Among the Colorful Clouds. This is not a place where you can come and go as you please.”
Everyone looked toward the direction of the voice.
A black-haired girl walked straight past Ji Hongye. She wore a blade at her waist, and as she slowly drew it from its sheath, her jet-black hair gradually dyed into a fiery red.
“That’s right, that’s right. Although Lord Sword Emperor spared your lives, you tried to break into Among the Colorful Clouds and covet our treasures. We can’t just turn a blind eye to that, can we?”
Another little girl with a fluffy golden hairstyle quickly approached the flying ships like lightning.
Chi Ming and Huang Doudou, who had remained in Among the Colorful Clouds, had witnessed the scene of Ji Hongye protecting Yu Yi and confronting the many Right Path cultivators. Now, it was their turn to step in.
“Heh… The Demoness’s disciples have finally shown themselves, haven’t they?” An Ru wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked with a sneer: “Ji Hongye didn’t kill us. Do you two at the King level of martial cultivation think you can stop—”
Before An Ru could finish, he was interrupted by Chi Ming’s roar.
“Hypocrites are not worthy of calling themselves the Right Path!”
The Heart-Listening Blade absorbed Chi Ming’s fury, keeping her in the most calm and clear-headed state at all times.
She admitted she wasn’t smart enough and loathed the version of herself that had been easily deceived by the Right Path into misunderstanding her master.
So, when she once again saw the hypocritical face of the so-called Right Path, she felt disgust toward both them and herself.
A double flame of anger surged uncontrollably in her heart.
“Those who offend Among the Colorful Clouds, I will surely slay them!!”
Now that Yu Yi, Blue Ling’er, and the others were not in Among the Colorful Clouds, the responsibility of bearing the banner naturally fell on Chi Ming.
She wanted these rude intruders to witness the power of Among the Colorful Clouds’ only two ‘monsters.’
Chi Ming gritted her teeth and used the Heart-Listening Blade to cut a deep gash in her own arm. Her blood turned into a nectar, nourishing and awakening a certain noble Ancient God within her.
An Ru initially didn’t understand why Chi Ming had inexplicably cut herself, but when he saw what happened next, his eyes widened instantly.
“This… This is…”
The flame-haired girl on the ground suddenly had a giant Fire Phoenix Dharmic Body appear behind her.
With a resounding cry that echoed across the sky, the Fire Phoenix danced with flames and shot into the air, appearing above the army of flying ships within seconds!
Blotting out the sun, the sky, descending Heavenly Punishment!
Scorching heat burned everything. The enraged Fire Phoenix spread its wings…