The Cunning Treasure Hunter

"Step back, Benefactor," commanded Master Nathaniel, his sleeves billowing as his internal energy surged.

His hands radiated golden light, channeling the Transcendent Wisdom Sutra into one of the Iron Fist Sect Temple's supreme techniques—the Buddha's Divine Palm.

As if to embrace all living beings within the boundless world, he extended his palm.

Even the Monkey King, could not escape the palm of the Buddha.

The incoming carriage halted the moment it touched Master Nathaniel's hand, as though time itself had stopped.

Simultaneously, an overwhelming gust of wind erupted behind him, diffused and redirected by his internal energy.

It was a masterful display of the Buddha's Divine Palm, imbued with the profound principles of emptiness.

As the carriage came to a stop, Master Nathaniel glared fiercely at the middle-aged man who had launched it.

His gaze burned with fury, but the man remained unperturbed, showing no sign of exertion or even drawing upon his internal energy.

"What sort of person are you, Benefactor, to test us in such a manner?" Master Nathaniel asked sharply.

"Test you?" the man replied with a smirk.

"You brandish threats without even drawing your sword. What is it that you seek?"

Master Nathaniel's voice carried an edge of steel, his anger genuine.

Though Iron Fist Sect Temple may bend and break, it would never kneel.

"Testing people isn't my style," the man said nonchalantly, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.

At that moment, an immense aura emanated from him.

Even though he drew the sword slowly, deliberately, neither Vera nor Master Nathaniel could move under the crushing pressure.

'This… this is the Kingdom of Harmony,' Vera thought, her pupils quivering.

Though she knew the man could not rival the Sword Sovereign, a master said to have surpassed the Kingdom of Harmony and reached the Profound Realm, the sheer weight of his presence was undeniable.

It felt as if the entire sky was pressing down on her.

'…The sky?'

This overwhelming aura felt eerily familiar.

Smaller and far less potent, yet reminiscent of what she had sensed from Theron during his execution of the first form of the Boundless Sky Sword Technique—Sky Crushing Descent.

"You… you're from the Akrest Clan, aren't you?"

The man chuckled, his eyes gleaming.

"You're sharp, little miss. Too sharp. People like that tend to die young."

The suffocating aura pouring from him caused even the nearby Infernal Guard Monks to rush forward, instinctively shielding Master Nathaniel and Vera.

"Stand back!" Master Nathaniel roared, his commanding voice breaking their frozen state.

They quickly obeyed, forming ranks behind him. Eighteen monks stood ready, their formation resembling the Eighteen Enlightened Array.

While not as powerful as the One Hundred and Eight Enlightened Formation, it was a testament to their skill, especially given their smaller numbers.

"Who are you?" Vera asked, her hand trembling on the hilt of her Falling Blossom Sword.

The man aimed his sword at her, the tip emanating a piercing killing intent that made her instinctively shrink back.

"Touch my clothes, and I'll tell you," he said with a faint smile.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked cautiously.

"Because it's amusing. And now… I'm curious," he replied, his gaze glinting with intrigue.

He was Jordan, the Burning Tiger of Heaven, and a disciple of the Reverse Heaven Unity.

He saw something in Vera that intrigued him, something Aria Everstone had mentioned in his letter.

Vera was chosen by Aiden, renowned for his meticulous and demanding standards.

For someone like Aiden to recognize her talent meant she was no ordinary prodigy.

"…Would one exchange suffice?" Vera asked.

"One exchange will do. Come at me," he replied.

Vera stepped forward, leaving Master Nathaniel behind.

"Be careful, Benefactor!" Master Nathaniel warned, but she simply nodded.

The light of the Falling Blossom Sword began to shimmer, illuminating the twenty-eight constellations embedded in its form.

Radiant sword energy emanated from the blade, its movements leaving dazzling trails in the air.

Each step Vera took was precise, her footwork infused with internal energy, amplified far beyond her usual limits.

Her path forward was resolute, like a flower blooming amidst the tempest.

A Clash of Swords

With a light push from her toes, Vera shot forward, the landscape blurring around her.

In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of the man.

CLANG!

The clash of blades sparked violently as their swords met.

Ordinarily, the force would have shattered both blades, but these were no ordinary weapons.

Both were infused with powerful energy, and neither edge so much as chipped. Instead, the swords radiated deadly energy, locked in a fierce battle of wills.

"With that light frame of yours, a headlong charge is foolish—" the man began, but before he could finish, Vera shifted her center of gravity mid-air.

She adjusted her grip on the hilt, changing the point of force.

Just as their blades began to slide past each other, Vera unleashed the fourth form of the Nine Heavens Cherry Blossom Sword.

Nine Heavens Cherry Blossom Sword, Fourth Form: Wild Petal Tempest.

A vortex of wind, scattering countless black Cherry blossoms, erupted from her blade.

Each petal was a manifestation of her internal energy, swirling chaotically as deadly fragments aimed to graze her opponent.

It was an optimal technique for close-quarters combat.

But her opponent was no ordinary man—he was a Kingdom of Harmony master, a realm often referred to as the pinnacle of godlike skill.

Without using the Boundless Sky Sword Technique, he responded with a simple move.

Three Talents Sword, First Form: Crushing Weight of Great Mountain.

A downward slash, embodying the massive weight of Great Mountain, struck with vertical precision.

The Three Talents Sword was often dismissed as a marketplace martial art, but under the mastery of a Kingdom of Harmony expert, even the simplest technique became overwhelming.

The manifestation of Sword energy, a hallmark of the Kingdom of Harmony, briefly appeared before dispersing.

Yet it didn't vanish entirely.

The scattered Sword energy formed a vast, web-like net that pressed down on the surrounding space, crushing everything beneath it.

"…Ah."

Vera raised her blade above her head, attempting to block the overwhelming pressure.

But how could a narrow blade shield her entire body from the torrential force?

Similarly, Jordan, the Burning Tiger of Heaven, couldn't entirely neutralize her swirling Cherry blossoms.

Both fighters were left bearing the brunt of each other's techniques. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Her shoulders, head, and body trembled under the oppressive weight.

She bit her lip, enduring as the pressure grew stronger and stronger.

But in Jordan's eyes, a glimmer of intrigue appeared.

By all rights, she should have been crushed flat by now.

Yet she endured.

More astonishingly, the energy flowing through her sword…

'It's dispersing my energy,' he thought, his gaze sharpening.

Just like Theron, he felt the peculiar phenomenon of her power countering his own.

It was a matter of compatibility—Vera's energy seemed to naturally nullify his.

Though his vast internal energy far exceeded hers, her blade managed to carve through it, piece by piece.

For now, he suppressed her with sheer overwhelming power.

But he knew.

If given time to grow, her power would one day extinguish the flames of even the most powerful energy, flowing cold and unstoppable like water.

"...Interesting."

With a smirk, Jordan withdrew his sword.

The moment he did, Vera collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Neither Master Nathaniel nor the Infernal Guard Monks dared to move.

"Hah… Haaah…" Vera gasped, her body trembling as cold sweat poured down her face.

"You there, Iron Fist Sect Monk. You can take her," said Jordan nonchalantly.

Master Nathaniel quickly approached, helping the frail girl to her feet and wiping her forehead with his sleeve.

"Are you alright, Benefactor Vera?"

"I'm… fine…" she replied weakly.

"You didn't touch my clothes, so I won't tell you my name," Jordan said with a teasing grin.

"But I'll leave you a clue."

With a light leap, he landed on the thick branch of a nearby tree, looking down at them.

"I knew your master, and I knew your father."

"…What?" Vera whispered, her voice filled with confusion.

"That's all. Someday, 'we' will come for you."

And with that, Jordan vanished into the forest.

All that remained was the blood-soaked two-story safe house, littered with corpses.

Inside the prison carriage lay Sev's unconscious younger sister.

Bright Peace Province, Bloodshadow Pavilion Safe House

"Do you know who we are?! Do you even understand who you're dealing with?!"

The manager of the Bloodshadow Pavilion Safe House stumbled, blood dripping from his mangled arm.

Even as a member of the Bloodshadow Pavilion, he was no match for the Seven-Knot Elder of the Nomads' Sect, Elder Darren.

His arm, struck by the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, was reduced to pulp.

Muscles, tendons, and bones had been utterly destroyed, leaving it useless.

"Do I know who you are? Of course I do," Elder Darren sneered.

"But I'll pretend I don't."

"...What?"

"You're just Bloodshadow Pavilion scum dying in the dirt. That's all."

His laughter echoed as terrifying energy gathered in his hands.

Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, First Form: One Palm to Stop the Dragon.

With a single palm strike, the manager's chest caved in, his ribs shattering like brittle wood.

Instant death.