Xuan Ji was furious inside, but he kept a calm expression.
“That won’t be necessary, Head of the Dongfang family. It was agreed before entering the secret realm that injuries during the training would be one’s own responsibility.”
“Besides, this is the Xuan Clan’s secret realm. If healing pills are truly needed, it should be the Xuan Clan that provides them. There’s no need to trouble the Dongfang Family Head.”
“Oh, Senior Xuan Ji, what are you saying?”
Dongfang Shou showed even more panic, looking insistent.
“As one of the four great families, we should look out for each other. And this time, there are so many injured… Senior, you know, those boys of mine, they’re young and hotheaded, and they didn’t hold back. They caused such a big commotion. As their family head, I have to make some gesture.”
Dongfang Shou deliberately emphasized the words “young and hotheaded.”
His tone seemed humble, but he couldn’t hide his smugness, which was infuriating.
Xuan Ji’s face darkened even more, his fingers gripping the armrest of his chair.
He knew Dongfang Shou was doing this on purpose, and deliberately saying it in front of everyone.
He was using this method to show off the Dongfang family’s strength, and at the same time, it was like slapping the Xuan Clan’s face.
Yan Dangmo couldn’t help but snort coldly.
“Instead of making gestures, Lord Dongfang, why not teach your disciples what it means to be kind to others?”
Dongfang Shou’s smile froze slightly, but then returned to normal.
He laughed it off.
“Senior Yan Dangmo is joking. I mainly hope that we don’t let such small matters harm our harmony.”
Just as he spoke, the light gate at the entrance of the secret realm suddenly rippled violently.
Someone was about to be teleported out.
For a moment, everyone’s attention was drawn over.
A young man’s figure appeared in the arena.
The newcomer was completely unharmed, not even a speck of blood or dust on his clothes.
He stood there with an expression of disbelief.
And that was Dongfang Ge, one of the three Nascent Soul realm disciples of the Dongfang family.
At this moment, Dongfang Ge looked around, as if he hadn’t yet reacted.
Seeing him, Dongfang Shou, who had been smugly showing off, suddenly changed expression.
Yan Dangmo and Xuan Ji, who had been frowning, slightly relaxed their brows, a flicker of surprise and pleasure in their eyes.
Dongfang Ge took a while to snap out of it.
His face turned pale and then red, and he roared in frustration.
“That damn brat tricked me! That bastard actually tricked me!”
Dongfang Shou quickly stepped forward with a serious expression and asked in a low voice.
“Ge’er, what happened? Who eliminated you?”
Dongfang Shou went closer and carefully examined Dongfang Ge, noticing that he indeed had no injuries, which made him even more surprised.
This meant Dongfang Ge wasn’t defeated in a fair fight, but encountered someone who could instantly defeat or even kill him.
But Dongfang Ge was a solid Nascent Soul first level.
Even if he was slightly inferior compared to his two brothers, among the participants in this secret realm training, he was definitely a top talent.
Who could instantly kill him in this training?
Unless…
Dongfang Shou thought of a possibility.
Unless it was a trap, formation, or some powerful fiend beast in the secret realm.
Thinking this, Dongfang Shou couldn’t help but silently pray, hoping to hear such an answer.
If so, even though one of his Nascent Soul disciples lost, at least it wasn’t at the hands of another family or sect, so it could be barely acceptable.
Dongfang Ge took a deep breath, suppressing his anger and frustration, biting his lip.
But in his mind, he kept replaying that fierce sword strike.
That sharp sword intent that seemed capable of cutting through everything in the world still made his heart tremble.
That sword.
Very strong, very fierce.
Even if he had gone all out and prepared thoroughly, he… ugh…
Dongfang Ge darkened his expression and spoke slowly.
“I was tricked… there’s a very young sword cultivator… he pretended to be severely injured and unable to resist, and when I approached, he suddenly erupted and gave me a sword…”
He paused, a hint of fear in his eyes.
“That kid is only at the Golden Core realm, but his strength is ridiculously high, especially his sword intent… extremely condensed, maybe even reached the Sword Intent Mastery level!”
“Golden Core realm? Sword Intent Mastery?”
Hearing this, Dongfang Shou’s pupils contracted sharply, unable to hide his shock.
His previous speculation was completely overturned.
The one who defeated Dongfang Ge was actually a Golden Core realm sword cultivator.
Was that possible?
But Dongfang Ge had always been proud, and had no reason to lie about something like this, especially now, in front of so many people.
Sword Intent Mastery… Well, considering just that, Dongfang Ge actually didn’t lose unjustly this time.
“Who is he?”
Dongfang Shou pressed on, quite curious about the other’s identity.
He didn’t recall any disciple of any family or sect having reached the level of Sword Intent Mastery.
Dongfang Ge shook his head, and mentioning this made him even more embarrassed.
“I, I don’t know him… He’s not from the four great families or the Seven Great Sects.”
Hearing this, Dongfang Shou frowned deeply.
Doesn’t know him… And not from the four families or seven sects.
Could he be from a small sect or a rogue cultivator?
Although the possibility was small, occasionally one or two extraordinary talents would appear among them.
If so, he could pay more attention; maybe there was a chance to recruit that person into the Dongfang family, which would be quite a gain.
He slowly nodded, waved his hand, and said to Dongfang Ge.
“Alright, since that’s the case, Ge’er, go rest first.”
Dongfang Ge felt countless eyes on him, his face burning with shame.
Upon hearing this, he cupped his fists and quickly left.
Dongfang Shou then turned and walked back to the sidelines, his expression somewhat dark.
“Oh my, this is really strange.”
At that moment, Yan Dangmo dragged out his tone, feigning surprise as he looked at Xuan Ji and asked.
“Isn’t that one of the top young disciples of the Dongfang family? How was he eliminated without a single battle scar?”
Xuan Ji stroked his gray beard, also putting on a thoughtful look, and said slowly.
“Maybe… he’s trying to save his family some spirit stones? Healing pills aren’t cheap after all.”
“Haha! Fellow Daoist Xuan Ji is right.”
Yan Dangmo laughed heartily upon hearing this.
The cheerful laughter echoed through the venue, and some sect forces that disliked the Dongfang family joined in laughing.
Hearing this, Dongfang Shou’s fist clenched secretly in his sleeve, but he forced a calm expression and said loudly.
“Ge’er was just careless and was ambushed. Moreover, the opponent is also a prodigy with Sword Intent Mastery. It’s normal for such talents to have mutual victories and losses.”
The implication was that although Dongfang Ge lost, it wasn’t because he was weak, but because he was caught off guard and didn’t go all out.
At the same time, the opponent was also strong, so the loss was understandable and not shameful.
But Dongfang Shou seemed to think that wasn’t enough to save face, so he continued with a proud posture.
“However, even if Ge’er lost due to carelessness, our Dongfang family still has Dongfang Yun and Dongfang Bai, both Nascent Soul cultivators. With proper caution, who can defeat them?”
Yan Dangmo narrowed his eyes.
Though dissatisfied, what Dongfang Shou said was indeed true.
Not many young disciples from other sects or forces could compare with them.
Luobo was strong and could match them, but the Dongfang side had more numbers.
If they encountered them, they still couldn’t win.
However, compared to Dongfang Shou’s smugness, Yan Dangmo was more curious about the sword cultivator with “Sword Intent Mastery.”
Sword Intent Mastery… even if it was a sneak attack, being able to one-shot a Nascent Soul first level in one sword strike.
Such strength, even among the younger generation of the entire Eastern Domain, was absolutely rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Who could such a person be?
Could it be him?
Probably not.
Surely, there’s no one who, at the age of fifteen, has achieved a fourth-grade alchemist, at least a seventh-grade array master, and also reached Sword Intent Mastery.
Is that even human?
Just then, ripples appeared at the secret realm entrance again.
Dongfang Shou’s eyes lit up, and he snorted.
“Hmph, was that guy who ambushed Ge’er eliminated?”
The next moment, a dull thud was heard, as if a heavy metal object landed.
Then, in front of everyone appeared a silver-white battle puppet three meters tall.
The puppet crashed ungracefully onto the ground, creating a large crater.
This battle puppet, though majestic in appearance, had a quality of fifth rank.
But now, many of the formation runes on it were dim, the surface covered with countless damages and fist-shaped dents, and the puppet’s head was caved in, severely damaged.
Seeing that battle puppet, Dongfang Shou, who had been holding his head high, suddenly widened his eyes, and his face instantly turned extremely ugly.
He certainly recognized this battle puppet!
It was Dongfang Yun’s battle puppet!
This battle puppet had consumed countless rare materials, forged by several sixth-rank blacksmiths of the family over months of work.
Its defensive capabilities were unquestionable, and its power was immense.
It was a treasure specially bestowed by the family to Dongfang Yun.
This was also the trump card intended for Dongfang Yun to use in the future Heavenly Talents Ranking Battle.
But now this battle puppet was damaged like this.
Wait, what about Yun’er!
Dongfang Shou’s heart jumped to his throat, his eyes locked on the battle puppet.
The puppet could be reforged, but if Yun’er was in trouble…
Fortunately, the next moment, a mechanism on the back of the puppet opened.
Then, Dongfang Yun, covered in blood and pale-faced, crawled out with difficulty.
“Yun’er!”
Dongfang Shou’s pupils contracted.
He rushed forward in a single stride, catching Dongfang Yun who nearly fell, and asked in shock and anger.
“What happened? Who severely injured you like this?”
At this moment, Dongfang Shou’s heart was churning.
He knew too well that although Dongfang Yun hadn’t been controlling this battle puppet for long, it was enough to unleash the power of a Nascent Soul sixth level!
Among the younger generation, this level of power was completely dominant.
Even if Bai’er used every trick, he could only stall but not defeat Yun’er in this state.
Now, he had lost?
And lost so miserably!
What a joke!
Among those participating in this secret realm training, who had such great ability to beat him and his puppet into this state?