The tension in the valley snapped taut as Xiao Li and Huang Shan exchanged a glance, forging an unspoken pact. Two elders from the War Dragon and Dharma Institutes moved to pin down the Heavenly Martial Institute's elders, while the rest surged forward to strike at Liu Wuxie.
In the next breath, a crushing Primal Origin Realm aura swept out, locking Liu Wuxie within its oppressive grip.
Ding Yi stepped forward and raised his palm to meet the strike head-on. The collision erupted with a deafening rumble, shockwaves tearing through the air like tidal waves.
"Ding Yi, you can't stop us," Xiao Li sneered, lunging straight toward Liu Wuxie.
The other elders intercepted the remaining Heavenly Martial Institute elders, locking them in combat. Against such overwhelming might, Liu Wuxie, a mere Transcendent Realm cultivator, should have stood no chance.
Liu Wuxie did not know who had mobilized Primal Origin Realm elders to kill him. Yet instead of fear, a faint blade intent began to surge from his body. He had already primed the Heaven-Severing Strike.
Farther off, the disciples trembled as dread crept into their eyes.
"What blade technique is that? Why is it so powerful?" someone whispered, voice shaking.
Even before Liu Wuxie unleashed his strike, the sheer aura of his blade intent suffocated the battlefield. Above him, vortices churned like thunderclouds descending from the heavens. If Xiao Li dared to draw closer, he would not hesitate to cut him down.
Sensing that dreadful aura, Xiao Li's hatred only deepened. He conjured a massive palm of energy and brought it crashing down upon Liu Wuxie.
But just as the Heretic Blade was about to fall, a violent spatial fluctuation tore outward. The blast hurled Xiao Li backward, staggering Liu Wuxie and the other elders; their techniques shattered under the overwhelming force. Even the Heaven-Severing Strike crumbled before that oppressive might.
The spatial quake was so immense that even Primal Origin Realm elders could not resist it. Disciples watching from afar felt the scorching wave of heat sweep across them, their faces blanching.
A burly figure stepped into view, leaving the new disciples dumbfounded. Who dared intrude upon Avatar Star, the territory of the Heavenly Dragon Sect?
The twelve elders knew. Their faces drained of color as they nearly fell to their knees.
"E-Elder Long... w-why have you come?" Xu Guang stammered. Though he stood at the Primal Origin Realm, even he spoke with reverence.
"I am here looking for someone," Elder Long said flatly. His presence alone weighed upon the world, pressing down on every soul present. Read full story at nοvelfire.net
The battlefield froze. Xiao Li and Huang Shan exchanged looks of frustration. Just when they were about to strike Liu Wuxie down, Elder Long had arrived and ruined their plans.
"Elder Long, may I ask whom you seek?" Ding Yi asked carefully. He had his suspicions but dared not assume.
"Who is Liu Wuxie?" Elder Long demanded. He had rushed here upon learning that the wielder of the Heavenly Dragon Seal bore that name.
Liu Wuxie frowned, baffled. He didn't know this elder and wondered if he, too, had come to kill him.
The surrounding disciples gasped in disbelief. Liu Wuxie had joined the sect for barely a month, yet he had stirred storms so vast that Primal Origin Realm elders sought his death, and now, even a Void Realm elder had appeared.
"I am Liu Wuxie," he replied calmly. "May I ask why you seek me?"
He felt no murderous intent from Elder Long, and denial would be pointless—the others would expose his identity anyway. It was better to face fortune or calamity upright.
"You're the one who forged the Heavenly Dragon Seal?" Elder Long asked bluntly.
"Uh..." Liu Wuxie's puzzlement deepened. How did this elder know about the seal?
"Elder, what is it you wish to say?" he asked, not summoning the Heavenly Dragon Seal yet.
Elder Long's gaze sharpened as he studied Liu Wuxie. The longer he looked, the more his eyelids twitched.
"The True Dragon Physique... and another body-refining art. You tempered your body with dragon bones, cleansed your meridians with dragon blood, and even refined your primordial spirit with a dragon pearl. You..." Elder Long's voice shook with fury. Dragons were his ancestors, and this youth had absorbed their essence.
The surrounding elders blanched at his words. Refining dragon bones, blood, and even a dragon pearl—Liu Wuxie's methods were beyond heaven-defying.
Others might not discern it, but Elder Long was a true descendant of the dragon clan. His bloodline was far purer than Liu Wuxie's, and in one glance, he had pierced through all of Liu Wuxie's secrets, even the Divine Thunder Physique he cultivated.
Liu Wuxie's heart pounded. The aura radiating from Elder Long brimmed with the unmistakable might of the dragon clan.
Elder Long studied him for a long while before finally retracting his gaze.
"I do not sense the dragon clan's ferocity from you. It seems the dragons willingly let you refine their bones and blood," his tone eased. Had Liu Wuxie hunted a dragon and stolen its essence, Elder Long would have slain him on the spot. But since the blood and bones carried no resistance, it meant they had chosen to let you refine them after death.
Such a thing was rare. Only descendants of the dragon clan, like Gu Yu, could typically achieve it. For anyone else, the dragon clan's will alone would crush them, as Liu Wuxie himself had once endured beneath the underground palace. That he had survived meant he had earned the dragons' recognition.
"Liu Wuxie, allow me to introduce you," Elder Ding quickly interjected. "This is Elder Long."
"Junior Liu Wuxie greets Elder Long," Liu Wuxie said respectfully, cupping his fists.
"All of you, back away. I wish to speak with him alone," Elder Long commanded. His tone brooked no argument.
"Elder Long, don't let him deceive you! He is a spy from another force!" Xiao Li blurted, desperate to seize control of the situation.
Elder Long's eyes narrowed. Only now did he notice the heavy atmosphere, the traces of a near battle hanging in the air.
"What happened here?" he demanded coldly, his gaze sweeping the elders.
"It's ..." Elder Ding stepped forward and recounted the events in detail.
As Elder Long listened, shock flickered across his face. A mere Transcendent Realm disciple had killed so many disciples, tamed beasts, and gathered more than a hundred Wisdom Stones? The feat was staggering.
"Do you have proof he cheated?" Elder Long turned sharply to Xiao Li and the others. His tone was utterly impartial. If they could prove Liu Wuxie was a spy, he would kill him without hesitation.
"We have no evidence yet... but we need time to investigate," Xiao Li stammered, unwilling to lie in Elder Long's presence.
"I can vouch for him," Elder Ding declared firmly, striking his chest. "He is no spy."
"You attacked him without evidence?" Elder Long's fury erupted. "As elders, can you not discern right from wrong?"
Xiao Li and the others bowed their heads, cowed into silence.
"You're right... We were too hasty," Xiao Li muttered through clenched teeth. Humiliation burned his face. After Elder Long chastised him before so many disciples, how could he maintain his prestige in the outer sect? Yet before Elder Long, he dared not raise his voice. Inside, he seethed—why had Elder Long appeared at this critical moment to ruin their plan?
Elder Long saw through their bitterness and snorted in response. A shockwave burst from him, hurling all twelve elders back.
The space between him and Liu Wuxie cleared, creating a vacuum that ensured privacy.
"Elder Long, thank you for speaking on my behalf," Liu Wuxie said.
"I only follow the rules," Elder Long replied. "If you were truly a spy, I would kill you myself." Rank and status meant nothing, the same rules bound disciples and elders alike.
"Elder Long, have you come only to see the Heavenly Dragon Seal?" Liu Wuxie asked. He could not help but notice similarities between Elder Long, Elder Tian Xing, and Elder Yi Xuan.
"That is correct," Elder Long nodded. He had crossed the realms for this purpose alone.
Liu Wuxie understood that refusal would be meaningless. Elder Long could seize the seal by force if he wished. With a thought, he summoned the Heavenly Dragon Seal. It hovered in the air before the elder, palm-sized, radiating with the laws of the dragon clan.
Elder Long raised his hand, and the seal flew into his palm. Liu Wuxie's heart lurched—he realized he had lost control, as though Elder Long were its rightful master.