With a deafening roar, the golden footprint in the sky of the Lingteng Sect's protective formation was completely stomped through. Immediately after, a martial artist's figure descended from the heavens, hands clasped behind his back, exuding the majestic aura of the Rebirth Realm. It was Long Dongjun himself, accompanied by eleven and ten realm martial artists from Iron Floating Mountain like a vast cloud.
"Sect Master Long..."
Li Yuchen gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and cupped his fists. "I wonder what offense my Lingteng Sect has committed against you, Sect Master Long, to warrant a senior like you personally challenging us!"
"Senior? I dare not accept such a title."
Long Dongjun's lips curled upwards, his robes fluttering elegantly. "I, Long Dongjun, am only a little over two hundred years old, unlike you, Li Yuchen, who has lived for over eight hundred years. I wouldn't dare to presume seniority before you."
Li Yuchen frowned. "If that is the case, why then do you challenge the Lingteng Sect, Sect Master Long?"
"Hmph."
Long Dongjun snorted lightly and chuckled. "Because you, Li Yuchen, have lived for eight hundred years and yet lived like a dog. One ancestor from the Five Mountains turned your entire Lingteng Sect into his pack of hounds."
"You!"
A deputy sect master of the Lingteng Sect at the Tide-Stepping Realm scowled. "Long Dongjun, do not speak such insults. Is this amusing? Although my Lingteng Sect is weaker than Iron Floating Mountain, a scholar can be killed but not disgraced!"
"Oh?"
Long Dongjun raised an eyebrow lightly. "When the ancestor of the Five Mountains came to the Lingteng Sect, he subjugated you without a single drop of blood shed. Where was this 'scholar can be killed but not disgraced' then?"
He let out an "oh," his expression one of realization, and laughed. "Is it because the ancestor of the Five Mountains is not a human cultivator? Your Lingteng Sect's knees only bend to other races, not to your own kind, is that it?"
The deputy sect master was rendered speechless by his words.
Li Yuchen frowned. "Sect Master Long, what exactly do you want?"
"Annihilate the Lingteng Sect."
Long Dongjun's gaze turned icy. "If the Lingteng Sect had merely followed the ancestor of the Five Mountains, I would have nothing to say. Might makes right. Perhaps if it were I, Long Dongjun, I too would endure humiliation. But your Lingteng Sect dared to attack the Grand Five Realms cultivators at the Summit Villa on Changming Mountain. Hmph, then you cannot be allowed to exist."
Li Yuchen gritted his teeth, his fist intent surging, and angrily retorted, "Long Dongjun, do you truly think our Lingteng Sect is a soft persimmon to be easily squeezed?"
The next moment, Li Yuchen ascended into the air, launching a preemptive punch towards Long Dongjun. Simultaneously, two magical artifacts refined by martial artists in his spiritual void split into two paths, striking towards Long Dongjun's face. Since the disparity in realms was too great, he had to strike first; otherwise, there would be no chance at all.
Unexpectedly, Long Dongjun's body surged with a torrent of Nirvana-level fist intent. A burst of fist intent exploded in the air, directly blasting away Li Yuchen's two attacking magical artifacts. With a single strike, he repelled Li Yuchen's fist, and then a heavy punch landed on Li Yuchen's crown.
"Bang!"
With a thunderous impact, Li Yuchen plummeted to the ground like a kite with a broken string, his skull completely shattered. He couldn't even withstand a single punch from Long Dongjun and was instantly decapitated. As his body landed, it convulsed a few times before he drew his last breath.
"Long Dongjun, how dare you!"
A Lingteng Sect deputy sect master roared in fury.
Long Dongjun did not speak. His body sank, unleashing his full Array Horse Galloping Wind style fist intent. His figure became like a bolt of lightning, appearing before the opponent. He also delivered a punch, and instantly, the deputy sect master dissolved into a shower of blood, his breath extinguished before he even hit the ground.
"All disciples of the Lingteng Sect!"
Long Dongjun raised an eyebrow lightly and calmly stated, "Kneel down if you wish to live!"
In an instant, in the open space between the mountain gates, Lingteng Sect disciples knelt in a vast expanse.
Long Dongjun let out a silent sigh. It seemed this sect truly had no backbone.
After exchanging a few words with a subordinate deputy alliance leader through telepathy, he turned to face the group of Lingteng Sect disciples. "Leave all your belongings and descend the mountain immediately. You may return to your hometowns to plant mulberries and raise silkworms, travel the martial world, or go north to the Yunzhou region to guard the border. You each have your own destinations, but you are strictly forbidden from returning to the Lingteng Sect."
"Yes... yes..."
A group of Lingteng Sect disciples nodded one after another, then took out their storage bags from their embrace and placed them down. Afterward, they all descended the mountain.
"No congregating!"
Long Dongjun turned, his voice like thunder. "Henceforth, no two Lingteng Sect disciples are allowed to gather. If I discover two or more Lingteng Sect disciples traveling the martial world together or engaging in any joint activities, they will be killed on the spot. From this day forward, I shall ensure there is no Lingteng Sect in the human martial world!"
Immediately, a group of disciples who had planned to follow their senior brother to roam the martial world lowered their heads and dispersed.
As for the senior disciple, he could only let out a sigh of regret, blaming his master for not recognizing true talent. If they had chosen the right side back on Changming Mountain, like Liu Chenqing of the Qingtian Sect, perhaps the Lingteng Sect would now be a renowned orthodox sect on the Southern Wasteland Mountains.
"Master."
A group of Long Dongjun's inner disciples approached. The chief disciple respectfully held over a dozen storage bags, which felt heavy. He said in a deep voice, "The Lingteng Sect's treasury has been thoroughly plundered. Most of it consists of weapons and magical artifacts. We also found over four thousand gold coins."
"So much?"
Long Dongjun took the storage bags and weighed them. One bag was specifically for gold coins, indeed containing over 4000. Coupled with the treasures in the storage bags of Li Yuchen and the deputy sect master, the total reached over 6000 gold coins. For a sect like the Lingteng Sect, this represented their entire fortune.
"Haha~~~"
An eleventh-realm martial artist chuckled. "Senior Brother, Lin Zhao ordered us to flatten the Lingteng Sect, but we didn't expect such a profitable venture. This way, our Iron Floating Mountain's reserves will be significantly replenished."
"Don't rush."
Long Dongjun frowned, his gaze fixed on the north. He pointed into the distance. "Over there, the Sect Master of the Lingyan Sword Sect, Xie Yiying, a Sword Immortal and fellow sect of Furong Prefecture, perished in the realm. She detonated her sword heart, ending her life in the most tragic way for a sword cultivator."
He sighed. "This sum of money does not solely belong to Iron Floating Mountain. After we return to Furong Prefecture, take 3000 gold coins from this amount and send it to the Lingyan Sword Sect. They are in dire need of funds right now. Consider it compensation from the Furong Prefecture sects."
"Yes!"
A chorus of disciples nodded in unison, their gazes towards Long Dongjun filled with even greater respect.
...
Early morning.
A fog had risen outside Jade Gate Pass, blanketing the mountains and forests.
After a night of fierce fighting, Chen Xi's delicate face was slightly pale, her sword stained with blood. The numerous generals of the Cangnan Iron Cavalry following her were all exhausted.
In the distance, the battlefield was strewn with corpses. Outside Jade Gate Pass, the human army had achieved a great victory. The Southern Wasteland barbarians, following the Barbarian King Meng Rong, had marched north with their cavalry, numbering a formidable 400,000, their momentum immense!
However, after this battle, more than half of these 400,000 cavalry were annihilated. The remainder had disintegrated into scattered units, fleeing south in the chaotic melee. Just as Chen Xi had anticipated, the Southern Wasteland barbarians would likely be embroiled in internal conflicts over territory for some time, unable to look north.
Jade Gate Pass would have a long period of respite.
"Return to camp!"
Chen Xi raised her battle sword and led the troops back to Jade Gate Pass.
She frowned, glancing back. The Cangnan Iron Cavalry following Chen Xi was no longer large. Out of the hundred thousand cavalry that had left the pass, only about thirty to forty thousand remained, many of whom were wounded.
At this moment, Chen Xi's heart was complex and filled with pain. It was incredibly difficult to cultivate a true Cangnan Iron Cavalry; it required five to ten years of rigorous training, honed through intense battles. Every single Cangnan Iron Cavalry soldier was extremely precious in the eyes of this Grand Marshal.
Now, 60,000 to 70,000 of the 200,000 Cangnan Iron Cavalry had been lost in a single battle. This was already a heavy blow for Chen Xi, and it was uncertain how long it would take for the Cangnan Iron Cavalry to truly recover its strength.
"Grand Marshal Chen Xi."
Lu Fengxian flew over, flying alongside Chen Xi, and frowned. "Look over there."
"Oh?"
Chen Xi turned to look. In a distant mountain valley, cavalry formations bearing the battle flags of the Great Shang Dynasty were emerging from the wooded valley. It was the 500,000 strong army of Furong Prefecture led by Wen Hao.
"Hmph..."
Chen Xi let out a scoff. Arriving now, what was the point?
She glanced at Lu Fengxian. "Let's return to camp and rest first. After we wake up, will you and I, along with Grand Marshal Beiming, jointly submit a memorial?"
"Alright."
Lu Fengxian nodded. "I have the same intention. Such a scoundrel should no longer be allowed to command the southern forces."
Chen Xi gazed at the approaching army from afar. The person riding the white horse at the forefront was Wen Hao. Originally, he should have been part of Lin Zhao's faction, sharing the same breath as Chen Xi, Lu Fengxian, Beiming Hai, and others. Who would have thought it would turn out this way?
At this moment, Chen Xi let out a cold laugh. Wen Hao, he deserves to ride a white horse?
What a humiliation!
...
Changming Mountain.
Su Qingjiu remained to handle many important matters within the sect. Many disciples of Changming Mountain, including Senior Disciple Sister Su Xiao, had perished in battle. First, their funeral rites needed to be performed, followed by addressing personnel vacancies and promotions within the various peaks. As the Sect Master, Little Jiu'er bore this responsibility.
Lin Zhao, Gu Lingyu, Xue Zhi, and Tang Guangjun were about to return to the mountain.
"Master."
Lin Zhao walked up to the woman in white and respectfully said, "Master, it's rare for you to descend to the mortal realm. Don't rush off so soon. Why not return to the Summit Villa with me? You can see where Lin Zhao lives, and where my senior brother once drew his sword to vanquish the Demon Ancestor and the Demon Emperor."
The woman in white smiled and nodded. "More importantly, you can see where Little Zhao first drew the Dragon Slaying Sword."
Lin Zhao scratched his head and chuckled. "Those are all ancient tales. Xue Zhi, Tang Guangjun, summon your swords. We're going home."
"Yes!"
Two streams of sword light shot up into the sky. Lin Zhao invited his master to ride these sword lights, then clasped his fists towards Su Qingjiu, Liang Xi, and others from Changming Mountain on the peak. With the sword lights soaring upwards, they returned to the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool.