The Sword of the Mortal World

Uncle Zhao ripped the jade pendant from his waist, glanced at it, and narrowed his eyes. "With just a jade pendant, you dare to kill? Such a bold move."

Zhou Chi looked around. After slaying four disciples of Yujing Mountain with his two swords, there were only four people left in the dilapidated temple, including Uncle Zhao.
Among these four, apart from Uncle Zhao who was at the Yufu realm, the other three were merely at the Fangcun realm.
In the cultivation path, after the foundational realms of the initial stage and Fangcun realm, one must build their Lingtai, then cultivate the Yufu realm before being able to open the Heavenly Gate.

"Now, it’s no longer just a jade pendant."
Once Zhou Chi spoke the words "The Remnants of Qishan," he realized that Qishan was likely no more.
Uncle Zhao calmly said, "I never expected such a person to come from Dongzhou, a remote place. Qishan, such a small sword sect, yet someone like you exists. If you had been born in Central Continent and were at my Yujing Mountain, you would have had a great future."

"Master, this person is ruthless. He should be killed quickly!"
Chen Yu, one of the young disciples who was still alive, spoke up. He had snapped back to his senses, and now, looking at the plain-dressed youth, there was a trace of fear in his eyes.
"Why hurry? He’s just a mere sword cultivator in the Lingtai realm. Before, he killed a few of your senior brothers with underhanded tactics, but now, I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave this broken temple alive!"

Uncle Zhao waved his large sleeve, and a jade talisman flew out from his sleeve, hovering in the air. The talisman was inscribed with complex symbols written in vermilion ink, radiating an extremely mysterious aura. But just as it hung in mid-air, Zhou Chi moved.
He struck with his sword, slashing at the talisman.
The talisman was effortlessly sliced, but the energy within it surged like a flood, rapidly spreading throughout the entire broken temple.

This was a forbidden talisman, and even if Zhou Chi hadn’t struck it, it would have shattered on its own.
"Indeed, cultivators from such a remote place have such limited vision."
Uncle Zhao sneered as he looked at Zhou Chi. The purpose of the talisman was simply to prevent Zhou Chi from escaping.

But as soon as he said these words, Zhou Chi’s sword came again.
He gripped the sword handle and thrust it toward Uncle Zhao, targeting him first.
This sword was a focused strike, with the sword qi concentrated at the tip, ensuring the least amount of energy waste and the greatest potential for success.

Uncle Zhao scoffed, extending a finger to gather a dark light, meeting the sword with his gesture.
The two forces collided instantly. There was no grand sound like the clash of a great bell, only a barely noticeable dull thud.
Zhou Chi’s body was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut. Although he tried to counter the fall by plunging his sword into the ground, it only slightly changed his falling trajectory. It was clear that he was at a disadvantage.
Uncle Zhao remained expressionless. "A mere firefly dares to compete with the moon?"

But in the next moment, a flash of anger appeared on his face. "How dare you?!"
He moved instantly, leaving a residual shadow behind him as he charged toward Zhou Chi.
Zhou Chi, using Uncle Zhao’s attack to his advantage, had quietly moved to the side of the remaining three Yujing Mountain disciples.

In a swift motion, he swung his sword again, decapitating two more Yujing Mountain disciples.
A single sword, and two heads fell to the ground.
Only Chen Yu remained.

Chen Yu stood frozen, watching in disbelief as Zhou Chi severed the heads of two of his fellow disciples. He was too scared to move.
But Zhou Chi, seemingly by choice, spared him.
"So you are from the Yufu realm. No wonder you’re so bold."

At this point, Uncle Zhao had reached Chen Yu's side and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him out of the way. The next moment, Zhou Chi’s sword came at him again.
The sword was incredibly fast!
Uncle Zhao’s face didn’t change, and he raised a finger again, casting another protective shield of dark light.

But this time, Zhou Chi’s sword easily sliced through the dark light, and the sword’s momentum grew even stronger, as if it were a blazing fire. Uncle Zhao’s pupils widened in shock.
"You... aren’t you at the Yufu realm?!"
Uncle Zhao exclaimed, taken aback. Beyond being shocked by Zhou Chi’s cultivation, he was more horrified by the depth of strategy Zhou Chi had shown.

First, he pretended weakness, then suddenly killed. He had hidden his true cultivation and used the situation to his advantage.
Most importantly, Uncle Zhao hadn’t even summoned his life weapon. If he had known Zhou Chi’s true cultivation from the beginning, he wouldn’t have been so careless.
An iron sword pierced through Uncle Zhao’s blue robe and struck his heart.

Zhou Chi held the sword tightly, staring into Uncle Zhao’s eyes. The latter’s face was filled with disbelief. He opened his mouth to speak, "You are... a..."
But before he could finish, Zhou Chi’s sword withdrew from his body and slashed at his head.
The head rolled off.

"Why talk so much? When I kill, I don’t say much."
With a heavy thud, Uncle Zhao’s decapitated body crashed to the ground.
Afterward, Zhou Chi bent down and picked up the jade pendant from Uncle Zhao’s body. He searched the man’s body for a moment and found a small compass.

Looking at the compass, Zhou Chi fell silent for a while.
He then turned to the stunned Chen Yu, who was still frozen in fear.
In less than fifteen minutes, his master and all his fellow disciples had been slaughtered by a plain-dressed young man?

"You better start thinking about how to survive, unless you’ve truly been scared out of your wits."
Zhou Chi approached Chen Yu with his sword in hand. As soon as he saw the jade pendant, Zhou Chi had already planned everything out—who to kill first, who to kill next, and who would be left alive.
As for why he chose Chen Yu, it was simple. Zhou Chi had observed the disciples during Uncle Zhao’s evaluation. Chen Yu had shown his thoughts clearly.

He had the answer right away but kept quiet, only speaking up when all the other disciples gave wrong answers.
Such a mindset showed he knew how to assess the situation.
Chen Yu came to his senses, realizing the situation. "We come from Central Continent’s Yujing Mountain. That person is an outer sect instructor named Zhao Hu."

Zhou Chi didn’t respond. He only shook the jade pendant in his hand.
Zhou Chi clearly remembered this jade pendant. It was the seal of the leader of Qishan. If it weren’t for that, he would never have recognized it so quickly.
Chen Yu hesitated but eventually spoke.

"We’re from the Yujing Mountain. The sect leader’s wife loves rare spiritual birds, so we built a bird sanctuary. Next month is her six-hundredth birthday, and every peak leader has sent people down to find rare birds for her birthday. Zihufeng found out there was a Xuanfeng bird in Dongzhou..."
Chen Yu recounted everything without holding back.
"Why destroy Qishan just for a bird?" Zhou Chi asked. He recalled that several years ago, during the birthday of Qishan's sect leader’s youngest daughter, she was given a Xuanfeng bird as a gift. The bird was beautiful and rare, but beyond that, it was useless.

"This... I don’t know..." Chen Yu said with an uncomfortable expression. "I’m just an outer disciple. When we went up the mountain, Qishan had already been destroyed. I saw Master Zhao find a jade pendant on a corpse and then ordered us to set the mountain on fire."
As they descended, the fire was still burning behind them.
"You don’t know, that’s normal."

Zhou Chi nodded slightly, seeming to accept that explanation.
"Then I..."
Chen Yu was about to say something, but before he could finish his sentence, a blood line suddenly appeared on his neck, and blood poured out.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he fell backward.
Zhou Chi stared at his body, feeling somewhat perplexed.
"I never said you would survive just by telling me what you knew. What’s with the expression?"

At Sishui Prefecture, Qishan.
Three people stood under a tree, looking at the burning ruins of Qishan, the fire gradually dying down.
The man in the front, dressed in a green robe, was slim with sharp eyes that occasionally glimmered with insight.

"We’ve been guarding for three days, and no one has come back. The person you spoke of must have received word and gone into hiding?"
The man in the green robe stared at the still-smoking ruins of Qishan and spoke calmly.
Behind him, a short, middle-aged man, dressed in a gray robe, wore a bitter smile. "Zhang Dao, we’ve checked carefully. We’re indeed missing Xuan Zhao’s body. When we went up the mountain, he was certainly not there. This boy is Dongzhou’s famous swordsmanship genius. Among the younger generation, no one can match his swordsmanship. If he’s hidden, we could have some serious trouble with Baoci Sect."

"Enough of the talk about a so-called genius. Can a young man really scare us?"
The man in green shook his head and scoffed, "If that’s the case, I wouldn’t be surprised at the methods you’ve used."
"But one man alone, we are not afraid. But Zhang Dao, if he’s really a remnant, then things could be troublesome if word gets out. Please, let’s wait a bit longer. Let’s catch him and eliminate the threat once and for all."

The short man from Baoci Sect spoke cautiously, watching Zhang Dao’s expression closely.
"This..."
Before Zhang Dao could speak, someone behind him interrupted, "Senior Brother, not good."

The man held a small compass in his hand, which had several glowing dots on it. However, those dots were now extinguished.
"Zhao Hu and the others... they’ve met with a terrible fate!"
His expression turned grim, mixed with confusion.

"What?"
Zhang Dao’s face darkened, a terrifying shadow crossing his features. "In Dongzhou, someone dares to harm my Zihufeng disciples?!"
"From the location, it seems to be from Jingzhou. After leaving Qishan, Zhao Hu took a group of outer disciples and didn’t return to Central Continent immediately."

The man frowned. "I don’t know what happened."
Zhang Dao squinted, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
"Let’s go. Whoever is responsible for this will pay the price."

Without waiting for a response,
Zhang Dao shot off like a streak of light toward Jingzhou.
The other two quickly followed.

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