Da Xuan Martial Saint

Several days later.

Seven Profound Sect.

Behind the main peak summit great hall, within the courtyard.

Acting Sect Master Qi Zhiyuan was listening to a report from a protector, his expression showing deep contemplation.

"Iron Hand Gang, Cuiyan Mountain Villa, Hong Family Fortress..."

There are various methods of transmitting information in this world. Apart from some very special information-class spirit weapons, there were dedicated scouts in the inspectorate to deliver intelligence, as well as specially trained demonic birds that could carry messages. The speed of these channels varied, and the choice of channel often depended on the importance of the matter.

As early as the day after the Iron Hand Gang and Cuiyan Mountain Villa were attacked, Qi Zhiyuan, who was at the Seven Profound Sect gate, had already received the intelligence. After all, the news of a suspected Thunder Path grandmaster appearing within the borders of Yu State was extremely important information, and it was delivered immediately.

"I thought he was just passing through, but this person has consecutively targeted the powers within Yu State. What exactly is his intention?"

Qi Zhiyuan was somewhat puzzled for a moment.

He initially thought the Thunder Path grandmaster had merely passed by the Iron Hand Gang and Cuiyan Mountain Villa casually and that his motive was to head to Ice State. But afterwards, that person followed the Wu River basin north to Cuiyan Mountain Villa and then turned around to wipe out the Hong Family Fortress near the border of Yu State Government Office and then went to Sha Prefecture to eliminate the Heng River School.

This person's movements were random, appearing here and there, targeting various powers in Yu State, the only commonality being that the storerooms of these powers were all plundered by him... but to Qi Zhiyuan, this could not possibly be his ultimate purpose.

The reason was simple. An ordinary grandmaster of the Thunder Path would be one thing, but a grandmaster of the Thunder Path who could kill a Seventh Rank Venerable of the Sky Demon Sect with one strike was among the strongest even among grandmasters. His true identity must be that of a person with a formidable reputation. The storerooms of the likes of Iron Hand Gang and Cuiyan Mountain Villa were not worthy of such a powerful Thunder Path grandmaster's attention.

After all.@@novelbin@@

What kind of treasures could the storerooms of powers like Iron Hand Gang and Cuiyan Mountain Villa possess that would merit a second glance from a grandmaster? The heaven and earth spiritual items grandmasters sought were not things that could be traded with ordinary resources, but rather through barter. Thus, gold and silver were almost useless to a grandmaster, who would hardly lack such mundane resources.

Even in Qi Zhiyuan's view, for a grandmaster to stoop to raiding a place like the Iron Hand Gang would be beneath his dignity. In the Eleven States of the Cold North Path, he knew of every grandmaster capable of killing a Seventh Rank Venerable with Thunder Path techniques with one blow, yet after much deliberation, he couldn't match this person's identity with anyone he knew.

"Is he intentionally stirring up trouble in Yu State, choosing such a time..."

Qi Zhiyuan pondered in his heart.

No matter who this mysterious grandmaster of the Thunder Path was, his actions within the borders of Yu State without notifying the Seven Profound Sect were crossing the line and were a provocation against the Seven Profound Sect, which could not be ignored.

After a brief moment of thought, Qi Zhiyuan sent word to Feng Hongsheng, asking him to investigate thoroughly.

And just as Qi Zhiyuan made his decisions, another protector came to the courtyard, respectfully greeted Qi Zhiyuan and said, "Reporting to the Elder, someone from Ice Extreme Palace has arrived."

"They've come."

Qi Zhiyuan gathered his thoughts, his eyes became serious as he walked out of the courtyard, saying, "Have the guest brought to the side hall."

Since the great turmoil in Ice State, Ice Extreme Palace had never stopped communicating with the Seven Profound Sect, and they had been negotiating continuously. This matter involved the entire situation of Ice State and even Yu State and was far more critical than a mysterious grandmaster of the Thunder Path appearing in Yu State.

After all, what the grandmaster of the Thunder Path had done so far was merely 'minor troubles', and he had even unwittingly dealt with the problem of Cuiyan Mountain Villa being infiltrated by the Sky Demon Sect for the Seven Profound Sect, so there was no need to make a big fuss about it for the time being.

...

Yu State Government Office.

Chen Family.

In a very spacious courtyard, two figures were sparring against each other.

One of them was dressed in light-colored attire, with a pure and clean face, holding a jade-colored soft sword. She kept swinging the sword through the air at her opponent, sending ripples of sword qi taking form with each stroke, which flew whistling through the air, weaving into bunches of sword light.

These strands of sword light were not just illusions, but carried the substantial form of invisible qi force, based on Yuan Gang True Essence and infused with the power of Kan Water Artistic Conception, unleashing a series of sword techniques.

However.

The man standing opposite her remained still, his expression serene, with no blade in hand. He raised only his right hand, continuously making empty finger gestures. Each time his finger moved, the approaching bunches of sword qi would collapse at his fingertips.

"The first step to the second in understanding the Artistic Conception is the process from peeking to touching. At this point, the moves themselves are no longer important; what matters is the use and exhibition of The Power of Heaven and Earth. Hongyu, remember the essence of Kan Water: it can gather and disperse, with the transition between the two being unpredictable."

The man tapping with his fingertips was Chen Mu, and the woman opposite him, naturally, was Xu Hongyu.

The fact that she could wield the sword light containing Yuan Gang True Essence, without a doubt, showed that Xu Hongyu's cultivation level had formally entered the heights of the Five Viscera Realm, moving away from the basic Martial Arts that rely solely on brute strength.

Her talent was not bad to begin with, being the strongest amongst the young ladies in the Yu Family. With Chen Mu's various pointers and the cultivation nourished by their Dual Cultivation, she had finally stepped past the bottleneck of the Five Viscera. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Chen Mu continued tapping with his fingertips to shatter the sword light Xu Hongyu sent his way, guiding her on how to use the Kan Water Artistic Conception. Then, almost suddenly, he moved his fingers in a sword-drawing gesture and, using his fingers as a sword, he swung several strokes towards Xu Hongyu.