Chapter 398: This Venerable One Gives You One Breath

“Wang Shouyi! Did you just insult me?!”

Li Buyi was so furious his nose twisted out of shape. Sure, he didn’t have parents, but that didn’t mean he’d take someone cursing him to his face like that.

Looking over at Chen Huaian and the others, his expression darkened even more. He bellowed, “Wang Shouyi, I’m your senior brother!”

“Don’t give me that senior brother c**p. You only entered the sect a minute or two before I did. What are you pretending for?”

Wang Shouyi sneered openly and cut straight to the point. “Hand over those two little tiger demons now. They were a gift from me to a senior! You didn’t say a word and just snatched them—how is that any different from robbery?!”

“Oh, so you guys came all this way, barged into Qingfeng Sect’s territory, just for a couple of tiger demons?”

Hearing Wang Shouyi say that, Li Buyi actually breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought he’d accidentally dug up Wang Shouyi’s ancestral grave or something—that’s how pissed off he seemed.

Turns out it was just over a couple of demons?

Was that really such a big deal?

He waved his hand dismissively and said casually, “Those two tiger demons have already been skinned and gutted. Since they were conveniently ‘picked up’ from you, I’ll be generous and give you some tiger meat and tiger pelts. But I need the tiger hearts—they're for brewing spirit wine as a tribute at the Honored One’s birthday banquet in three days.”

“If you want tiger hearts for wine, go catch your own damn tigers. Taking what was meant for a senior is absolutely unacceptable!”

Wang Shouyi took two steps forward and pointed at Li Buyi.

“Cut the c**p—where did you send the tiger demons?”

Li Buyi frowned at Wang Shouyi’s relentless tone. “Wang Shouyi, what’s with you? Who’s more important here—the Honored One or your so-called senior? I’m not keeping the tiger hearts for myself, they’re for the Honored One’s birthday gift!”

He thought mentioning the Honored One would settle things.

And to some extent, it did make Wang Shouyi hesitate.

But Chen Huaian’s fury only deepened. The Black Scales Sword was already out of its sheath, aimed at Li Buyi. His voice was cold as the winter wind.

“This Venerable One gives you three breaths to hand them over. Otherwise… don’t blame me for drawing my sword!”

Li Buyi sneered when he heard that, just about to mock Chen Huaian for overestimating himself.

But then, he suddenly sensed that Chen Huaian’s cultivation was no longer what it used to be—and his heart skipped a beat.

“What the… you’ve already reached Golden Core?!”

The last time they met, Chen Huaian had only just reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. Now not only had he broken through to early Golden Core, but his aura was stable and full—his cultivation had clearly solidified.

What kind of insane cultivation speed was this?

Had the Exorcist Division’s Governor also used the Ascension Pillar?

But what really unnerved him was the terrifying sharpness emanating from Chen Huaian—like a drawn sword.

Even as a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, Li Buyi instinctively wanted to retreat.

Chen Huaian, seeing Li Buyi still stalling, grew even more anxious.

He didn’t want to kill Li Buyi unless absolutely necessary.

If he did, the trouble that followed would be endless.

But even sweeping the area with his spiritual sense, he couldn’t find the tiger demons anywhere.

If only he could use Heaven’s Calculation here in the real world...

He’d instantly pinpoint their location.

Just as the thought crossed his mind—

A string of footsteps echoed up the stone steps beneath the arena.

“Immortal Li, everything’s been taken care of!”

Two elders from Qingfeng Sect came walking slowly, each carrying a tray covered with red cloth. A group of Ascenders followed behind, also carrying trays. Even from a distance, the metallic scent of blood was already in the air.

Seeing this scene, Chen Huaian’s expression sank. A bad feeling rose in his chest.

“Who are you people?”

The Qingfeng Sect elder looked at Chen Huaian and Li Qingran, slightly stunned.

Then he saw Wang Shouyi and quickly plastered on a smile. “Oh hey, isn’t this Immortal Wang? Long time no see~”

Wang Shouyi didn’t even glance at him. His eyes went to Chen Huaian, whose face was now dark as a storm. Wang’s own heart sank.

This had turned into a real mess.

He was extremely sensitive to demonic auras and could already tell—what was on those trays were parts of the tiger demons.

But even now, he didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

To him, demons were basically just animals. The senior had wanted the tiger demons as guard beasts—now they were dead, so the equivalent of two guard dogs had been butchered. The way forward seemed clear: either beat Li Buyi to vent the senior’s anger or offer compensation.

What he didn’t know was that these tiger demons had a very special meaning to Chen Huaian.

The Qingfeng Sect elder awkwardly tried to cozy up to Wang Shouyi and got nowhere, but thankfully, Li Buyi was still there.

He beamed as he walked up to Li Buyi with the tray and bowed deeply, then uncovered it to reveal two steaming hot tiger hearts.

“Immortal Li, look at these! We were extra careful slicing them out—not even a scratch on the surface! If you’re satisfied, I’ll soak them in spiritual liquid and preserve them for you?”

“No problem. Go ahead.”

Li Buyi nodded, clearly satisfied with the pristine condition of the hearts.

He motioned for the others to bring the rest. One by one, he inspected the bones, pelts, and other materials, then pulled out his storage pouch.

But just as he was about to store them—

A cold glint flashed first. His storage pouch was instantly sliced open by a sharp arc of sword light, sending pills and jade slips scattering across the ground.

“You dare?!” Li Buyi looked up in shock—only to lock eyes with Chen Huaian’s bloodshot glare.

That glare, brimming with rage, sent an icy chill racing down Li Buyi’s spine.

And that chill turned into burning humiliation.

Fury erupted within him. “That storage pouch was a gift from the Honored One! I’ll kill you!”

Before he even finished yelling, he and his sword were sent flying, tumbling across the ground until he slammed into a pine tree.

When he scrambled to his feet, he looked down to see his sword broken in half.

“My sword!!!” Li Buyi cried out in heartbreak.

The Honored One had given him two swords total. One was broken by Li Qingran.

Now his backup had been shattered by Chen Huaian.

Five paces away, Chen Huaian held the Black Scales Sword in one hand. His face was a mask of suppressed rage and murderous intent.

His sneakers stepped forward on the stone floor, one after another. Three steps in, he floated over to Li Buyi, the shoes bursting open to reveal feet taut with bulging veins.

Li Buyi’s expression turned grim. He pulled out another spare sword with trembling hands.

He was a late-stage Golden Core. Chen Huaian was early-stage.

Two entire sub-realms between them. That was a huge gap—so why the hell was he scared?

He had no reason to fear!

Clang—!

Two streaks of silver light flashed across the arena like moonlight out of nowhere.

Chen Huaian’s figure blurred—and the next moment, he was already standing behind Li Buyi.

On the stone tiles, lines of sword marks crisscrossed tightly in his wake.

Li Buyi stared blankly ahead, as if he hadn’t even realized what had happened.

Until his body collapsed to the ground. The agonizing pain in his arms and legs hit only afterward.

His miserable screams shattered the silence.

Everyone finally snapped out of it—Immortal Li, that high-and-mighty cultivator, had just been hacked like a pig on the chopping block.

“Bring out the entire corpse of the tiger demons.”

Chen Huaian didn’t even look at the mutilated Li Buyi. He turned toward the Qingfeng Sect elder and rested his hand once again on his sword hilt.

“This Venerable One gives you one breath.”

…