Translator: CinderTL
"Kill them!"
"Hahaha, I was just worrying about not having enough merit to exchange for the Hao Ran Sword Codex, and here you come delivering yourselves to me!"
"All believers of the Evil God must die!"
Amidst the clamor of shouts and roars, over sixty core disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect surged forward, colliding with the "fleeing" believers.
At first glance…
It looked like a routed army being ambushed and intercepted by the enemy.
In reality, the believers of the Evil God had a similar idea.
"Only by killing them can we survive!"
"Glory belongs to the great True God of Purification!"
"Why, why won't you convert to our Lord!? We're doing this for your own good! Only by converting to our Lord can you find your true self! Why do you persist in your delusions!? Those who persist in their delusions are just wasting food by living in this world! Die, all of you!"
Filled with resentment, anger, and fanaticism, these believers of the Evil God also bravely clashed head-on with the sixty-plus core disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect who stood in their way.
As the two sides collided and engaged in battle, one figure stared with an incredulous gaze at Li Chunjun, who was charging almost at the forefront!
At this moment, he was practically shouting in his heart!
The Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy!
It was actually the future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy of the Taixu Sword Sect!
He was Fang Xiu, a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator from the Chiyang Sword Sect who had recently joined these believers of the Evil God.
A peak Qi Refining cultivator who had once attempted to break through to the Core Formation Realm but failed, yet managed to retain a trace of Core Formation power.
Having made preparations in advance, he wore some Divine Race accessories, and due to the urgency of the situation, the believers of the Evil God didn't have time to verify whether he was a true believer or an impostor, allowing him to blend in.
However, his target was not this future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy, but another prodigy of the Taixu Sword Sect—Pan Ruo.
This genius cultivator, who had reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining before the age of twenty-five and had applied multiple times to become the Celestial Origin Sword Prodigy, was also highly regarded in the Chiyang Sword Sect.
Just a day ago, after the hidden pawn of his sect learned that he had taken on an ordinary training mission, he was sent here to see if he could eliminate this minor threat.
At the very least, he had to cripple this genius cultivator to prevent the Taixu Sword Sect from gaining another Nascent Soul True Lord in a few decades or centuries.
But to his surprise, apart from Pan Ruo, he also discovered Li Chunjun, the future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy!?
The Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy, whose bounty in the Chiyang Sword Sect was no less than the entire wealth of a Nascent Soul True Lord!?
How could Fang Xiu not be ecstatic!?
However, he was very patient!
A future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy on a mission would surely carry many life-saving items.
Protective talismans, spirit artifacts, and Minor Teleportation Talismans!
These were absolutely standard.
Although he possessed a killing move comparable to Core Formation due to special circumstances, if he couldn't kill Li Chunjun in one strike, it would surely alert him.
If Li Chunjun were arrogant, that would be one thing, but if he were cautious and immediately activated a Minor Teleportation Talisman to escape, the bounty equivalent to the entire wealth of a Nascent Soul True Lord would slip through his fingers, and he would regret it immensely.
Especially for a genius of the Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy's caliber, there would undoubtedly be a Dao Protector nearby.
If he made his move, the odds of survival were slim.
Although he had prepared to sacrifice himself when he took on the mission to assassinate Pan Ruo, and all the rewards for completing the mission would be left to his descendants, if he died without completing the mission, it would truly be a total loss.
Therefore…
He had to wait patiently!
Guide more believers to attack Li Chunjun, deplete his trump cards, and put him in real danger before he could deliver the fatal blow!
As Fang Xiu was thinking about how to guide these believers to surround and kill Li Chunjun, a group of over twenty believers suddenly converged from the side.
As soon as they appeared, the leader of the group pointed at Li Chunjun and shouted, "Kill him! I heard their discussions! He is the future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy of the Taixu Sword Sect! Killing him will surely win the favor of our Lord, and even earn His rewards! Even if we die, we will enter His divine realm and become immortal saints!"
The leader's shout made the remaining believers roar in unison.
They had been hunted and driven by the Taixu Sword Sect for so long, and they harbored deep hatred for them.
Now, they could kill their genius and make the Taixu Sword Sect suffer…
All the believers became ferociously insane.
Apart from those who were restraining the other disciples, nearly a third of them rushed towards Li Chunjun.
"Good!"
Li Chunjun was fearless and undaunted.
The Scarlet Gold Sword in his hand transformed into a golden light, whistling through the air.
Wherever the golden light went, the divine arts prepared by the believers were all shattered without exception, not a single one reaching him.
This was not only due to the advantage of his Divine Sense but also his incredibly fast reflexes.
Relying on this reaction speed and combat instinct, he channeled his sword qi and took the initiative, charging into the crowd of believers.
Wherever the Profound Phoenix Sword Qi went, no one could withstand it.
Believers below the seventh level or above the seventh level were almost instantly killed or injured by the sharp, scorching, and destructive power of the Profound Phoenix Sword Qi.
With each sweep of the Profound Phoenix Sword Wheel, these believers fell in droves.
And each Profound Phoenix Sword Wheel accurately landed on the line with the most believers.
Every aspect was a slight advantage.
Every aspect was not outstanding.
But when all these advantages and abilities came together, they formed an astonishing amplification effect, and combined with the Profound Phoenix Sword Qi, which had already been cultivated to the peak of Qi Refining, it allowed him to display a level of killing efficiency far beyond the norm for Qi Refining.
This was the true strength of the Flaming Phoenix Sword Cultivator—the future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy.
This scene, when seen by Pan Ruo, filled him with resentment.
"You're not the only one with this kind of ability!"
He shouted, unleashing the Celestial Origin Sword Qi.
As a cultivator of the Celestial Origin Sword Scripture, he possessed far more powerful energy than ordinary Qi Refining cultivators. When he unleashed it, techniques that ordinary sword cultivators used as killing moves were treated as normal attacks by him.
Sword Light Division!
One split into two, two into four, four into eight!
Under his control, the eight sword qi were like the combined strength of eight ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators, crisscrossing and slaughtering freely.
His efficiency was almost on par with Li Chunjun.
Not just Pan Ruo, but Xuan Wu and some other sword cultivators with powerful killing moves also displayed their mystical powers.
In their full output, each of them had the combat power to face two, or even three, ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators at the same time.
However, compared to Pan Ruo and Li Chunjun, these techniques still fell short.
Relying on the significant advantage in the quality of their cultivators, even though the Taixu Sword Sect only had sixty-plus cultivators, they still held the upper hand against the three to four hundred believers of the Evil God.
The battle was just extremely intense.
...
"Kill the Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy first!"
Seeing that the battle was not going well, the leader of the believers gave the order.
They couldn't win!
Since they couldn't win, only by killing the Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy could they deal the heaviest blow to the Taixu Sword Sect.
The other believers also understood this, and many of them almost abandoned their respective opponents, attacking recklessly and fearlessly, charging towards Li Chunjun.
"Stop them!"
A core disciple shouted.
Without needing his order, the many core disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect had already intensified their attacks.
As someone had said earlier, if the believers of the Sun Worshipping Sect killed their future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy on their turf, they would all be laughed at by the disciples of the other eight sects.
Whether for the future of their sect or their current honor, they couldn't let Li Chunjun fight alone.
However…
The number of core disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect was ultimately no match for these believers.
When these believers stopped engaging with them and focused solely on dragging the future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy down with them, it became difficult to intercept all of them.
Nearly a hundred believers surged forward, quickly surrounding Li Chunjun.
It was as if they were determined to exhaust him to death if they couldn't kill him outright.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The Scarlet Gold Sword transformed into a dazzling golden light, darting through the void!
Every divine art that came at him was either dodged or blocked by Li Chunjun.
And he himself, relying on his incredibly sharp combat instincts, accurately seized every opportunity and flaw, actually managing to hold his ground against nearly a hundred believers.
He even managed to strike out proactively time and time again, killing one believer after another who got too close.
This level of strength…
It invigorated all the disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect, boosting their morale and fighting spirit.
"He's so strong! Fighting one against a hundred! Including dozens of top-tier Qi Refining believers! Truly worthy of being the future Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy of our Taixu Sword Sect!"
"At the same Qi Refining level… Sword Prodigy Li is actually this strong! The key is, it's said that he's been in the cultivation world for less than half a year! To have such strength in just half a year!? If he's not a sword prodigy, who is?"
"Hahaha! Today, let me and Sword Prodigy Li join forces and slaughter all four hundred believers in the Heaven's Rift Mountain!"
The disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect laughed heartily.
Watching Li Chunjun display his might while surrounded by nearly a hundred believers of the Evil God, their faces were flushed with excitement.
With such a prodigy in the Taixu Sword Sect, how could they not dominate Blue Star in the future, turning it into their sole domain!?
Sword light flashed!
Sword qi crisscrossed!
Amidst the laughter, their movements were not slow, and one believer after another fell to their swords.
While the disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect were reveling in their victory, Fang Xiu, who was hiding among the many believers, was growing increasingly anxious.
"Trash! All of you are trash! So many of you charging at once, with the weakest being at the fourth level of Qi Refining, yet you can't even handle one cultivator at the same Qi Refining level!?"
He was furious.
But more than that, he was shocked!
How long has it been!?
In just a few months, Li Chunjun, who had only recently become a Flaming Phoenix Sword Cultivator, had already grown this strong!?
If he were allowed to grow for a few more years, what would become of him!?
Seeing that these believers couldn't force Li Chunjun to reveal his true trump cards, and that the number of believers around him was dwindling, he moved closer, a talisman appearing silently in his hand.
"I refuse to believe I can't force out your trump cards! I'll find the opportunity to kill you!"
In the next moment, what appeared to be a third-grade, low-tier Celestial Sword Talisman was activated, releasing a sharp sword qi that shot into the sky, shaking the void!
The direction of the sword qi…
Was straight towards Pan Ruo!
(End of the Chapter)
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