40: Chapter 40 The young man drew his sword, its sharpness gleaming, instantly killing a Spirit Sea Realm expert.

Deep within the dense forest, the sound of energy colliding grew clearer.

Zhao Ruoan pushed aside the bushes in front of him.

Ahead was a forest clearing that had been violently cleared out; broken trees were scattered haphazardly, and the ground was covered in ravines of varying depths.

At the center of the battle, a woman dressed in white was being besieged by four figures in black robes.

The woman had a tall figure and held a crimson longsword. Flames lingered around the blade, and her Moves were fierce, clearly making her an expert in fire-type Cultivation Techniques.

However, her situation was not optimistic.

Her white dress was already stained with several glaring patches of blood, her breathing was hurried, and every swing of her sword seemed somewhat powerless.

The four black-robed men besieging her each had a robust aura, and as they struck, black Qi billowed, carrying a chilly and tyrannical nature.

Spirit Sea Realm.

All four of them were Spirit Sea Realm Cultivators.

As for the woman in white, her cultivation base was merely at the Pulse Condensation Realm Perfection.

Fighting four against one, and even challenging opponents of a higher realm, it was already a miracle that she could hold on until now.

"Just who on earth are you people!"

Lin Bingyao used a sword strike to force back the enemy in front of her, seizing the opportunity to catch her breath. Her cold voice carried a hint of trembling.

"I am Lin Bingyao, a Personal Disciple of the Chiyan Sect! If you dare to touch me, aren't you afraid of my Sect's retaliation!"

She brought up the name of her Sect in an attempt to deter the other party.

"Chiyan Sect?"

The leader of the black-robed men let out a hoarse sneer.

"So what?"

"Once we slaughter you and scatter your ashes, who will know that we did it?"

"Little beauty, stop struggling and obediently accept your death, and we can still leave you with an intact corpse."

Another black-robed man chimed in with a weird laugh, his offense becoming increasingly ruthless.

Lin Bingyao's heart sank bit by bit.

These people were desperate outlaws who didn't care about the Sect's deterrence at all.

The spiritual power within her was nearing exhaustion, and the wounds on her body were constantly draining her strength.

If this continued, she would surely die in less than ten Moves.

Could it be that she was truly going to perish in this desolate wilderness?

Just as despair grew in her heart, an untimely sound of footsteps came from the forest not far away.

The movements of the five people in the battle circle paused in unison.

Everyone's gazes were cast in the direction where the sound came from.

A youth dressed in cyan Disciple robes walked out from under the shade of the trees.

The youth looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, with a refined face and a clean disposition.

When Lin Bingyao saw the newcomer, the hope that had just ignited instantly extinguished.

What is this kid here for? To throw away his life?

The four black-robed men were also momentarily stunned, then burst into unbridled mockery.

"Hahaha, another one coming to throw away his life!"

"And he's still a baby, tender-skinned. We'll just slaughter him together."

The leader of the black-robed men sized up Zhao Ruoan, his tone filled with disdain.

"Brat, there's a road to heaven that you refuse to take, but you barged into Hell where there's no door."

"Will you end yourself, or shall this lord send you on your way?"

Zhao Ruoan ignored their clamor.

His attention fell upon the woman in white.

Chiyan Sect?

Another top Sect of the Daxia Imperial Dynasty, sharing the same renown as the Qingxuan Sect, except one primarily cultivated fire-type Cultivation Techniques and the other primarily cultivated the Sword Dao.

Why would a Personal Disciple of the Chiyan Sect run alone into the depths of the Tianyao Mountain Range and get besieged by such low-tier evil Cultivators?

The matter reeked of strangeness.

However, now was not the time to probe for the root cause.

That lass was about to not be able to hold on much longer.

"Hey, brat, I'm talking to you!"

Seeing Zhao Ruoan ignore them, one of the black-robed men felt insulted. He gave a ferocious smile and actively broke away from the battle circle.

"Since you won't choose, then I'll help you choose!"

His figure flickered, transforming into a black afterimage as he lunged straight toward Zhao Ruoan.

The coercion of the Spirit Sea Realm pressed down overwhelmingly, making the air thick.

"Careful!"

Lin Bingyao subconsciously let out a cry of alarm, but she herself was entangled by the other three, completely powerless to provide rescue.

She could almost foresee the scene of the refined youth being slapped into a mist of blood by a single palm strike.

Facing this thunderous strike, Zhao Ruoan simply stood calmly in place.

Until that large hand entwined with black Qi was less than three chi away from his face.

Only then did he slowly raise his hand and grip the hilt of the sword behind his back.

"Clang."

A soft hum sounded.

The longsword left its sheath.

An intangible, formless, yet acutely sharp aura burst forth with Zhao Ruoan at the center.

Sword Intent!

The ferocious smile on the face of the pouncing black-robed man froze.

He felt as though he had actively crashed into a wall composed of hundreds of millions of divine Sharp Weapons.

That sharp aura pierced him so that even his Divine Soul trembled.

His charging body abruptly stalled mid-air, every hair on his body standing on end, and a fear originating from the depths of his Soul left him unable to Move.

What is going on?

How could a baby comprehend Sword Intent?!

This is unscientific!

Not just him, but the remaining three black-robed men, including Lin Bingyao who was struggling bitterly to hold on, were all completely dumbfounded.

The entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence due to the appearance of this Sword Intent.

Zhao Ruoan did not give them too much time to be shocked.

With a flick of his wrist, he casually swung his sword toward the black-robed man frozen mid-air.

A dazzling golden sword radiance shot out from the blade.

The sword radiance was initially only about a foot long, but the moment it flew out, it swelled violently against the wind, carrying the sharpness to sever everything and tearing through the air.

The black-robed man's Soul nearly left his body. Forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart, he poured all his spiritual power into his arms, and a phantom of a black shield rapidly condensed in front of him.

"Black Fiend Ghost Shield!"

This was his strongest defensive Spell.

However, it was useless.

The instant the golden sword radiance collided with the black shield.

"Puff!"

The black shield played no blocking role whatsoever and was split in two.

The sword radiance did not diminish in momentum and accurately slashed onto the black-robed man's body.

The black-robed man let out a miserable, shrill scream as his body flew backward. A wound deep enough to see the bone appeared on his chest, and fresh blood sprayed wildly.

Yet before he even hit the ground,

an abstruse ink-black sword shadow silently separated from the golden sword radiance, arriving first despite starting later.

It silently swept across the black-robed man's neck.

"Ugh..."

The black-robed man's scream abruptly ceased.

His body was still mid-air, but his head had already soared into the sky, his face still lingering with terror and incomprehension.

Thud.

The headless corpse and the head slammed onto the ground one after the other.

One Move.

Merely one Move.

A Spirit Sea Realm Early Stage Cultivator was instantly killed by a youth.

The entire world grew quiet.

The remaining three black-robed men stood dazed in place, the expressions on their faces extremely colorful.

Shocked, appalled, and incredulous.

Lin Bingyao also stopped the movements in her hands, and the longsword burning with flames hung down powerlessly.

She stared blankly at the youth standing with sword in hand, her mind completely blank.

What just happened?

Was it an illusion?

This completely subverted her cultivation cognition of over a decade.