Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
Elder Shang, a seasoned Basalt cultivator in the mid-stage of the Celestial Realm, was once a core disciple of the academy in his youth. Even without the vigor of his younger years, his overall combat prowess remained formidable.
If it came down to a life-or-death struggle, his seasoned experience meant he wouldn't be far behind the renowned young prodigies of the Celestial Realm, such as Fang You'an.
Yet today, he had carelessly suffered a setback at the hands of a youngster not even twenty years old—a truly humbling experience.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, how could he save face?
"Very well! Very good!" he said, laughing in fury, his face contorted with embarrassment. "I held back out of consideration for your youth, but you, little one, have failed to appreciate my leniency. So be it. I shall subdue you first, then report to my superiors and your elders!"
With that, he swept his sleeve, and a water-blue longsword, his treasured artifact, materialized in his palm.
The sword, over three feet long and etched with profound patterns, shimmered with flowing light, its edge radiating a terrifying sharpness that struck fear into the hearts of onlookers.
As the sword appeared, its overwhelming presence swept through the area, even stirring the surrounding Yuanshui spiritual energy into a turbulent frenzy.
"This is bad, that's Elder Shang's famed artifact—the Yuanshui Sword," Brother Zhenghua worriedly thought, watching the battle unfold. "That's a mid-grade artifact, and with over a hundred years of Elder Shang's refinement, its power is extraordinary. It's even injured peers of his level. Why did that girl have to provoke Elder Shang?"
"She's too young and proud," Sister Yuyun lamented, her brows furrowed in concern and silent reproach toward Elder Shang.
His actions were excessive for an elder, seemingly finding an excuse to harshly teach Wang Liyao a lesson, bordering on bullying the younger generation.
As they spoke, Elder Shang's eyes hardened, and he gestured a spell.
"Go!"
The water-blue sword vibrated and shot out with a howl.
The sword, king of all weapons, was the epitome of sharpness and dominance.
With the flash of the blade, the fierce sword intent cleaved through the air like a rainbow piercing the sun, heading straight for Wang Liyao!
The slash was like a wave cutting through the sea, its edge reaching for the heavens.
The formidable power of a Celestial Realm expert was fully displayed in this strike, an overwhelming force that no ordinary Lingtai Realm cultivator could match.
As the sword intent howled past, the air itself seemed to roar with the sound of surging waves, instilling a sense of dread and oppression.
And the speed of the sword intent was too fast, even possessing the ability to lock onto its target!
Despite Wang Liyao's use of the Water Shadow Movement Technique and the Feathered Spirit Treasure on her back, she couldn't escape the sword intent's lock.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the sword intent and Wang Liyao rapidly closed.
It seemed she was about to be struck.
"Junior Sister, be careful!"
Lu Xianghui clenched his fists unconsciously, his face turning red with tension.
The Yuanshui Spirit Turtle Ninth Miss was so anxious she scratched at her restraints, trying to help her "master," but to no avail.
While others weren't as visibly nervous, their hearts were certainly suspended in anticipation.
Even Wang Liyao's expression grew solemn.
However, just when everyone thought she would be gravely injured or worse, her dangling left hand rose, tossing out an object.
It was a white spirit shield.
The shield, resembling a pot lid and unassuming in appearance, was thick and sturdy.
As Wang Liyao gestured, the shield "awakened," and radiant spiritual light burst forth, with dense wood elemental energy mingling with the water spirit energy around the shield's core.
In an instant, a massive energy shield, nearly two zhang in diameter, expanded from the shield as its center, protecting Wang Liyao like a giant umbrella in a flash of lightning.
The next moment, the fierce sword intent crashed into the energy shield.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous explosion, the energy shield trembled wildly like a lotus leaf in a storm, shattering in less than three seconds.
Wang Liyao was sent flying backward by the impact, crashing into the shore like a cannonball and creating a huge crater.
The force of the impact caused her to kneel, internal vibrations drawing blood from the corner of her mouth.
Yet, her composure remained unshaken, showing no sign of panic.
It was clear to all that the strike had only caused her minor injuries, far from incapacitating her.
Undoubtedly, the unassuming shield was Wang Shouzhe's treasured high-grade spirit shield—the Heartguard Shield! Knowing his daughter's fiery spirit, he had convinced his wife to fully equip her to avoid any disadvantage in disputes with her peers.
But even Wang Shouzhe couldn't have predicted that before even entering the academy, his daughter would clash with a mid-stage Celestial Realm elder!
"This… this… this…"
The spectators, including Brother Zhenghua, were stunned.
This was a full-force strike from a mid-stage Celestial Realm elder, yet it failed to seriously injure her! Could that white shield be another high-grade spirit artifact?
As everyone knows, high-grade spirit artifacts are extraordinary, comparable to low-grade treasures, and easier to wield, even by Lingtai Realm cultivators—a rare gem among spirit artifacts!
But as useful as they are, the problem is their cost.
They're even pricier than "mid-grade treasures," exorbitantly so, to the point where ordinary families can only dream of them.
This price also means they're not a necessity for families, but rather a luxury they can't afford.
A family might stretch their budget for a big project or even sell everything for a "Marrow Cleansing Pill" to cultivate a prodigy, but they would never stretch for a high-grade spirit artifact.
Only well-established fifth or sixth-grade families might possess such artifacts, and even then, only the direct heirs would be equipped with them.
Wang Liyao, with two high-grade offensive and defensive spirit artifacts, plus an even more expensive Feathered Spirit Treasure, possessed a fortune that even the esteemed Celestial Realm disciples of the Yuanshui lineage couldn't match.
"This…"
Even Elder Shang's face began to waver.
He beckoned, and the Yuanshui Sword returned to his side, lively as a living creature.
A single high-grade spirit artifact or Feathered Spirit Treasure might not conclusively reveal her background. After all, some long-standing but declining families might still possess such treasures.
But the simultaneous appearance of two high-grade spirit artifacts dispelled the last of Elder Shang's wishful thinking. He was almost certain that this girl's origins were no small matter.
***
While Wang Liyao and Elder Shang clashed, the Yuanshui main hall, isolated by defensive formations on the central island of the vast Yuanshui Lake, was still in session with several elders discussing future plans.
Suddenly.
Elder Binglan's eyebrows twitched, and she glanced outside. "What's that noise… Are two of our Celestial Realm cultivators fighting or sparring?"
"It's probably two Celestial Realm core disciples," Elder Xuan Yao casually remarked. "It's been too peaceful lately; they have energy to burn. Didn't we also go through this when we were young? Just send the overly vigorous ones to the outer battlefield for a few rounds, and they'll calm down."
The other elders, sensing the energy fluctuations outside, turned to Elder Yuanshui.
Elder Yuanshui's dignified face showed a hint of embarrassment.
Sparring between Basalt cultivators was common, but with Yu Hang injured and all the elders gathered, such timing was inappropriate and irksome.
"Disciples sparring is quite normal," Lady Huandie of Wandie Valley said with a charming laugh. "Let's not worry about those youngsters. Elder Yuanshui, you're acting on behalf of the Dean, so I want to ask why our Wandie Valley's resource allocation for the next thirty years has been reduced by a tenth, while Xuanbing Hall has received more…"
"My Xuanbing Hall is the main force in battle…"
The elders quickly put aside the "trivial matter" and began to advocate for their respective lineages.
***
"Cough, cough!"
Wang Liyao stood up, wiped the blood from her mouth, and popped a fourth-grade healing pill. The Yuanshui spiritual energy around her also gathered, healing her wounds.
Though injured, her gaze remained resolute, showing no sign of yielding to Elder Shang.
Seeing this, Elder Shang felt a twinge of unease.
He couldn't help but think he might have stirred up trouble, as if he had provoked something fearsome.
His anger surged, and he couldn't help but glare at Shang Lexian, who was hiding to the side with a similarly shocked expression.
What kind of monster had this boy brought upon him?
Judging by the way her Yuanshui spiritual energy automatically gathered to heal her, her Yuanshui bloodline awakening must be extremely advanced, even surpassing his own mid-stage awakening.
The possibility crossed his mind, and Elder Shang's face grew even uglier, his heart filled with trepidation.
"Ha ha ha ha~ It's been a long time since I've had such a satisfying fight~ Thank you for the lesson, Elder Shang."
Wang Liyao had no such distractions.
She looked up at Elder Shang in the sky, her beautiful eyes suddenly ablaze with fire.
In that moment, she felt like the time she burned her teacher's beard. The more someone tried to impose their will on her, the more rebellious she became.
If Elder Shang insisted on distorting the truth, she would fight with all her might to teach him a lesson, even if it meant suffering a loss.
With that thought, Wang Liyao's eyes hardened with determination.
She released the Autumn Water Sword to orbit around her and swiftly formed a complex and profound hand seal.
The next moment, a flash of light appeared on her forehead.
Like a fish surfacing from the water, a square seal emerged from her brow and began to float.
Suddenly, the entire Yuanshui Lake stirred, with countless waves rising, fish leaping, and birds scattering. Even the ground on the shore trembled.
Waves surged as copious amounts of Yuanshui spiritual energy converged around the pure white seal, enveloped in a radiant glow.
Under this light, the mountain and river patterns on the seal seemed to come to life, exuding an aura of profound mystery.
"This is…" Elder Shang's face twitched with disbelief. "Is this the legendary soul-bound spirit artifact?!"
He had heard of spirit artifacts that transcended high-grade ones, capable of being integrated into the Lingtai and soul through refinement. Such artifacts were exceedingly rare in the world.
He had only heard that a senior brother from the academy had once obtained a similar treasure in his youth, which, once activated, possessed boundless power and made overcoming higher levels in battle a trivial matter.
Ignoring Elder Shang's shock, Wang Liyao was also struggling.
As the seal's aura grew stronger, sweat dripped from her cheeks. It was clear that with her current level of spiritual or soul consciousness, controlling a soul-bound spirit artifact was extremely difficult.
This artifact was called the "Mountain and River Seal."
When Wang Liyao reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm and cleared the third level of the instance, there were no suitable high-grade spirit artifacts left for her. Plus, with her triple Yuanshui bloodline, she easily killed the Lingtai Realm demonic puppet, impressing the Spirit Artifact.
The Spirit Artifact then flattered her, suggesting that with her talent, she might reach the higher echelons of the Shenwu Army. It revealed that among its inventory was a flawed "fine weapon" not listed.
This so-called flawed "fine weapon" was the "Mountain and River Seal."
In Daqian, such a rare "soul-bound spirit artifact" was merely a "fine weapon" during the Shenwu Dynasty, indicating the terrifying depth of the dynasty's heritage.
However, the Mountain and River Seal had two major flaws.
First, during its creation, the focus on power resulted in a high threshold for use, requiring at least a fourth-stage bloodline to control. Even a Lingtai Realm prodigy would find it challenging.
Second, the seal needed to be nurtured in the Lingtai for a long time, accumulating energy before use. The stronger the soul consciousness, the shorter the nurturing time, and each use required recharging.
For Wang Liyao, it would take a year to fully charge the Mountain and River Seal with her current soul consciousness.
But today, she had to use this move.
She wanted to show Elder Shang that young people should not be underestimated or bullied. Even if she couldn't win, even if it meant taking a loss, she had to teach him a profound lesson.
"Mountain and River Seal, go!"
Wang Liyao's eyes snapped open, and the seal shot out, reaching the sky in an instant.
"Buzz~!"
A deep buzzing sound echoed between heaven and earth.
Simultaneously, a vast shadow unfolded around the seal, with the world as its canvas, slowly revealing itself.
It was a hazy yet vivid projection, with mountains stretching, rivers flowing, and birds singing. It felt so real as if it truly existed, yet so ethereal as if it could vanish at any moment.
Yet the aura it emitted was so profound that it was terrifying, almost as if it had merged with the surrounding world.
As the Mountain and River Seal descended, the massive landscape projection pressed down.
The terrifying force, like Mount Tai bearing down, was heavy and domineering. Its power was so immense and overbearing that it even surpassed Elder Shang's sword intent!
Even someone as strong as Elder Shang felt a chill at this unstoppable strike. Its power was almost on par with the late Celestial Realm!
Damn it!
What kind of terrifying creature had he provoked?