Chapter 245 - 244: The Sect Finally Appears, Overwhelming the Scene

The figures in the sky were impossibly high, standing above the clouds. From their supreme vantage point, they observed the activity below with cold indifference.

Moonlight silhouetted them, making them resemble the merciless Celestial Dao itself.

From high in the firmament, several spectral figures looked down.

It was the same way he himself had been observing Li Zixuan moments before.

"So you’re the one who injured a member of my Sect?"

"’A member of the Sect?’"

Upon hearing this, Liu Wushuang froze in his tracks.

Qi Qingshan forcibly halted his killing move. They exchanged a glance, both seeing the utter disbelief in the other’s eyes.

These Venerable Realm experts in the sky...

’They’re all from the Sword God’s Sect?’

Liu Wushuang’s heart pounded with terror.

He glanced around again.

He didn’t know when it had happened, but the space around him had been completely locked down.

His opponents had struck with a Sixth Level Array, sealing off his avenues of escape!

A mountainous Star Pressure, seemingly without end, bore down on him. These experts sent by the Sword God’s Sect were all in the Venerable Realm.

’And I didn’t notice a thing?’

’How is that possible?’

Liu Wushuang’s pupils contracted, his body tensing instinctively.

He hadn’t even sensed their approach. How long had they been watching? The sect behind the Jianghai Sword God... was it really this terrifying?!

’This is bad.’

Beside him, Qi Qingshan’s brow was furrowed, the sword in his hand trembling slightly. ’There are too many Venerables. The Jianghai Sword God’s sect has this many people?!’

According to their calculations, they had expected one or two elders at most to show up. But now, these masters stood in the sky with their hands clasped behind their backs, surrounding them completely.

Every direction was sealed. They were trapped with no way out!

In an instant, the tables had turned!

In the blink of an eye, he had gone from the ambusher to the ambushed!

The vast Celestial Curtain served as the Array Map. He could vaguely see someone among the group in the night sky pulling at the array’s lines, bringing the entire apartment building under their control with a mere flick of the wrist.

’They’re just too strong!’

Liu Wushuang raised his head, trembling, and silently counted the figures above the clouds. The fear in his heart intensified.

One, two, three, four... seven.

A total of seven Venerables had come this time!

You had to understand!

Even for the Venerable Alliance, deploying a Venerable for a mission required strict registration and was subject to numerous restrictions.

For his own trip to Jianghai, he had been personally assigned by the Alliance Leader, but he had brought only one other in the Venerable Realm at most.

But now, look at this.

The other side had shown up with seven right off the bat?!

Unbelievable!

’This many?’

Liu Wushuang stared at the spectral figures in the sky, roughly probing their auras.

Their robes fluttered, and their faces were obscured, but they looked like gods descended to the mortal realm, perched high above the clouds, looking down on him and the others as if they were ants.

The situation was now obvious.

From the moment they arrived, they hadn’t regarded him as a threat in the slightest.

...

"Holy cow! The Sect really sent people!"

"So cool! So cool!!"

Next to the apartment, Li Qinghe clutched the Array Map and gazed at the black-robed figures in the sky, her heart blooming with joy.

She howled with excitement!

"See, Zixuan! What did I tell you? I knew the Sect would send someone! They wouldn’t just abandon us!"

Li Qinghe was so emotional she was practically beside herself with glee!

She pointed at the leading black-robed figure. "Later, I’m going to find our martial uncles and ask them some..."

"Don’t! Be careful, Sister Qinghe,"

Seeing this, Li Zixuan quickly pushed Li Qinghe’s hand down and reminded her in a hushed voice, "Don’t point at your elders. If they notice, it’ll make a bad impression."

"Oh, oh, oh... I forgot."

Startled, Li Qinghe quickly retracted her finger and clasped her hands behind her back, feeling a little sheepish.

’I’ve finally waited for this day, to see the Sect mobilize on such a grand scale for the first time. Details determine success. Our martial uncles are all-powerful.’

’I can’t ruin their impression of me!’

"I knew it! Before, that guy surnamed Qin... bah, I mean, Master, didn’t have time to tell me, but our Sect..."

"...is definitely a super-mega-Sect!!"

...

...

"Are those your martial uncles, Qin Yang?"

The apartment was a mess. The Commander stood by the window, watching the black-robed figures in the sky. Even from inside, he could feel the pressure emanating from them.

Divine Power Like a Prison. Seven Venerables had descended upon Jianghai City.

Such an unprecedented spectacle had never once occurred in the city’s several-hundred-year history. Today was truly a day for witnessing history!

And!

All this... just to save one junior?

The Commander looked back at Qin Yang, his expression a complex mix of emotions, tinged with a hint of jealousy.

’He gets to be the center of such an incredible spectacle.’

’But this kid seems completely used to it, as if it’s nothing at all.’

"Yeah. I’ll leave the rest to them."

Qin Yang yawned and replied lazily. He went to the fridge, took out two bottles of soda, and tossed one to the Commander.

"Thanks for sticking up for me earlier. You okay? Having that Sword Intent invade your body can’t have felt good."

"You’re being too polite,"

The Commander caught the drink but didn’t open it. He placed it on the table and looked at Qin Yang with concern. "On the contrary, are *you* feeling any better? Are you hurt?"

He had promised Elder Li he would ensure Qin Yang’s safety.

He had just been tormented by Sword Intent; the Commander didn’t know how he was faring.

"I’m fine."

Qin Yang rubbed his arm and glanced at the Commander’s condition. The Sword Intent that had invaded his body earlier must have been extremely painful and had likely left some psychological trauma.

If he were to say he was completely fine...

...that would be twisting the knife. It was too cruel. So he amended his statement:

"My martial uncles taught me how to resist it. It hurts, but I can bear it."

"Oh? Your martial uncles are outside. Aren’t you going to go out and see them?"

The Commander asked again, "It’s rare to see them come out of seclusion. The Sword God Sect is truly full of extraordinary talents."

"It’s fine. No need to go out and get in their way,"

Qin Yang waved his hand dismissively, plopped down on the torn sofa, and stretched lazily. "My martial uncles are incredible. A couple of Little Venerable Realm nobodies like Liu Wushuang and his friend are nothing to them."

"..."

The Commander didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Your temperament is really something else. No wonder you earned the Sword God’s favor...

...To be so calm and collected in the face of such a storm, and not even making a sound through all that pain earlier. It’s truly remarkable."

Just as he was showering him with praise, the Commander’s phone rang.

It was Elder Li.

"Sorry..."

The moment the Commander answered the call, he heard Elder Li’s voice—

"Commander, what’s the situation over there!?"

"Is it really the Sword God’s Sect? Have they truly appeared?"

On the phone, Elder Li got straight to the point, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. His old fanboy mode was activated once again. "Don’t you dare lie to an old man like me!"

"It’s absolutely true, Elder Li."

"Excellent! Keep an eye out! This old man will be there soon!!"

Elder Li’s last sentence was practically a roar of pure ecstasy, his voice cracking. "The Sword God’s sect! The heavens have not let this old man down!!"

BEEP—

The line went dead.

The room fell silent.

"Don’t mind him too much."

After hanging up, the Commander turned back to Qin Yang apologetically. "Elder Li has always been like this. He’s completely obsessed with your master, the Sword God. It’s reached the point of madness."

As his voice fell.

"?"

"Elder Li... is a fanboy of the Sword God?"

A question mark practically materialized over Qin Yang’s forehead. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, decided against it.

He silently drank his soda.

Not making a sound.

...

「Meanwhile, on the streets of Jianghai.」

News was spreading like wildfire through the streets of the small coastal city.

The scene outside the apartment was like a miracle.

The sky was filled with brilliant starlight, far surpassing any previously recorded observation.

People spread the news by word of mouth.

Combined with the rapid spread on the internet, the news soon reached every nook and cranny of the city.

The internet was in a frenzy, and the city’s residents were even more so. They had descended into a complete craze, and everyone was rushing toward the apartment building.

Now, with the arrival of the Sword God’s Sect, the sea of clouds in the night sky above the apartment was veiled in a faint golden radiance, drawing even more of Jianghai’s citizens to flock in that direction.

People were naturally driven by a herd mentality, and in the hearts of all Jianghai People, the Sword God held an exceptionally revered status.

On the streets, the sound of car horns blared.

This was destined to be a sleepless night!

"The person who just flew by was Elder Li, right?! I’m sure of it!"

"Could it really be the Sword God’s sect?"

"Didn’t you hear that voice from before? It sounded like they were looking for the Sword God’s first disciple!"

"Wait... the great Sword God has a sect?"

"..."

People focused on different things, but massive crowds mobilized upon hearing the news, surging toward the apartment building like a rising tide.

In the early hours of the morning, Jianghai Avenue, which should have been deserted and quiet, was now completely gridlocked. Long lines of cars stretched out, their horns blaring in a cacophonous symphony. The suburbs were experiencing an unprecedented level of liveliness, even bordering on chaos.

The Star Martial Police Bureau was dispatched overnight to maintain order at the scene.

Adding to the chaos were the crowds that had been marching to "demand the release of the Sword God’s first disciple."

The scene was teetering on the brink of losing control!

"Hey, come on, guys... Don’t block me in here!"

On the overpass, Xia He started to get anxious, leaning on his steering wheel. He frantically honked his horn. His red supercar was sandwiched between vans, the distance between his bumper and the car in front only a few centimeters.

Half an hour had already passed since he got on the road.

And yet, even though he had left so early, he couldn’t compete with the almost crazed fans of the Sword God. The roads were now packed with vehicles, all trying to get a glimpse of the situation.

’Looks like I’ll have to abandon the car and go on foot.’

Xia He looked at the sky-patrol police outside his window, his heart burning with impatience.

The traffic on the overpass was a long, snaking dragon, and the other feeder roads were also filled to capacity. There wasn’t an inch of free space in sight!

If he tried to drive out now, forget the apartment.

By the time he got there, it would probably be noon the next day, and Old Qin would be long gone!

"Dammit, I’m not driving anymore... I’ll go on foot!"

With that thought, Xia He angrily got out of his car, glanced at the night sky, slammed the door shut, and shot over the crowd, heading toward the anomaly.

’No matter what, my status is special!’

’I, Xia He, am the Sword God’s great outer disciple... even if I’m not officially registered yet. I have to at least meet my martial grand-uncles!’

...

「In front of the apartment building,」

the standoff continued.

"We’re in trouble, Wushuang. I think we’ve really stepped in it this time."

Under the terrifying pressure, Qi Qingshan gripped his sword hilt. His green robes billowed in the wind, rustling loudly. He suddenly realized—was his sword hilt trembling?

’Is the sword humming?’

Qi Qingshan frowned and pressed down on it.

’No...’

’It’s not the sword that’s shaking...’

’It’s my goddamn hand that’s shaking!!’

No matter how hard he pressed down! It wouldn’t stop!

This was a fear born from pure, instinctual terror.