The five powerhouses from Hongchen Pavilion felt a chill from Ye Ling's smile.
They couldn't understand why Ye Ling, being alone, was so arrogant.
"Are you Ye Ling?"
An eighth-grade异士 stepped forward and asked. With a wave of his hand, red light flickered around him, condensing into a Han sword.
"I don't know what grievances you have with my Hongchen Pavilion, but is it too much for you to come and trouble us time and again?"
*Chih!*
As the words fell, flames ignited around the eighth-grade 异士, and the Han sword in his hand turned blood-red, spewing flames.
"It seems you intend to face me one by one?"
Seeing only one eighth-grade 异士 step forward, Ye Ling squinted and smiled, showing no sign of panic.
"I heard you single-handedly destroyed our Hongchen Pavilion's East Sea branch and have set your sights on Hongchen Immortal."
"I am Yue San, the Red Lotus Blade Demon. I wish to spar with you and test your depth."
Yue San held the sword with one hand, and the flames swirling around him coalesced into a demonic face behind him, roaring at Ye Ling.
The other four retreated to the rear as if they had pre-arranged it, making space for Yue San.
None of them believed that Ye Ling alone could sink the East Sea branch.
When the East Sea branch was annihilated, no news was transmitted. No one knew if it was due to natural disaster or human intervention.
In their opinion, it must have been another hidden force sending a large number of experts.
Ye Ling was merely bluffing by exploiting the asymmetry of information.
Therefore, to test Ye Ling's true strength, they decided to let Yue San fight Ye Ling first!
Yue San was a renowned Blade Demon in East China during the early years of the nation's founding. He had once single-handedly annihilated over ten sects and killed thousands of people with his sword, his fame resonating throughout the 异士 community.
At that time, it was the early days of the Dragon Department's establishment. To build its reputation, the Dragon Department dispatched nearly a hundred 异士 to围剿 Yue San.
However, that encirclement battle at Moon Pond ended with the Dragon Department returning in disarray.
Yue San had killed more than half of the hundred 异士 and ultimately managed to escape!
After Yue San's escape, the Dragon Department's reputation plummeted, and it suffered a severe blow. For a considerable period afterward, the Dragon Department became a laughingstock in the 异士 community.
Since then, Yue San had vanished from the circles, and the deeds of the Red Lotus Blade Demon became a legend.
No one expected that the Blade Demon who once shook the 异士 community was now a high-ranking cadre of Hongchen Pavilion!
After announcing his name, Yue San expected Ye Ling to be greatly shocked. To his surprise, Ye Ling showed no emotional fluctuation whatsoever!
Seeing Ye Ling's unchanged expression, Yue San felt immensely insulted. Veins bulged on his forehead, "Such a presumptuous junior, daring to ignore me!"
"Ignore you?"
Seeing Yue San suddenly enraged, Ye Ling was taken aback, feeling somewhat bewildered.
Where was the ignoring?
In fact, he couldn't be entirely blamed for this.
Although the Red Lotus Blade Demon had made a great name for himself in China's 异士 community, with few unaware of his moniker, Ye Ling had only recently returned to Earth.
Let alone the Red Lotus Blade Demon, Ye Ling hadn't even figured out which major forces existed in China.
However, Yue San did not think this way. He perceived Ye Ling's current attitude as the greatest insult, his eyes turning bloodshot as he drew his sword and slashed at Ye Ling!
In an instant, Yue San was before Ye Ling, his Han sword slashing down!
"Red Lotus - Drawing Sword!"
Yue San roared, the Han sword in his hand spewing flames, cutting through the air and tracing a perfect arc.
The fiery ghost face behind him roared fiercely!
The time it took Yue San from drawing his sword to slashing at Ye Ling's neck was less than 0.1 seconds.
Normally, when Yue San used this move against an opponent, before he even sheathed his sword, the enemy's head would have already been severed!
The moment he swung his sword was the peak of Yue San's confidence.
The corner of his mouth curved into a subtle arc, but before he could even laugh, he felt his sword strike something as hard as refined iron.
*Clang!!!*
Yue San's Han sword struck Ye Ling's neck and was directly shattered by it!
The fierce flames surrounding him were scattered by Ye Ling's aura.
"Is that all you've got?"
Ye Ling chuckled lightly, and Yue San's pupils contracted sharply.
Not good!
Yue San realized the vast gap in strength between himself and Ye Ling. He didn't even bother with his shattered treasured sword, quickly retracting his force, attempting to distance himself from Ye Ling.
Unfortunately, his speed was only a burst of momentum.
Now, Yue San could only watch helplessly as Ye Ling's hand reached out, his thoughts racing.
Fear quickly spread across Yue San's face.
*Crack!*
Ye Ling grabbed Yue San's head and squeezed his fingers slightly, crushing his skull.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Yue San's piercing screams echoed through the night sky, assaulting the eardrums of everyone present.
"Yue San!!!"
Seeing Yue San defeated in a single move by Ye Ling, the other four 异士 were utterly terrified and retreated without hesitation, putting distance between themselves and Ye Ling!
Yue San's crushing defeat made them realize that the legends about Ye Ling were not false...
With the strength Ye Ling displayed, crushing the Hongchen Pavilion's branch was not an issue!
"Don't panic, everyone! Use ranged attacks and don't let him get close!"
Another eighth-grade 异士 calmed down first and quickly instructed the three seventh-grade 异士. Meanwhile, he took out a flying wheel artifact and threw it at Ye Ling!
Seeing this, Ye Ling chuckled and simply tossed the unconscious Yue San towards the flying wheel.
"You wish!"
The eighth-grade 异士, seeing Ye Ling unhesitatingly use Yue San as a shield, let out a low cry and manipulated the flying wheel's trajectory with his spiritual energy, making it bypass Yue San.
But as soon as he redirected the flying wheel, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, for some unknown reason, the artifact he had thrown at Ye Ling suddenly returned and directly bisected Yue San in mid-air!
Blood splattered, staining the rooftop.
The eighth-grade 异士 stared at Yue San's corpse lying in a pool of blood, completely stunned.
He never imagined that the Red Lotus Blade Demon, Yue San...
Would die by his own hand!
Ye Ling, with a faint smile, stepped over Yue San's blood and grabbed the eighth-grade 异士's flying wheel with one hand, "Is this all you've got?"
"Monster!"
The eighth-grade 异士 muttered the word and exchanged glances with the other three. Without further ado, they all fled into the distance!
The gap in strength between them and Ye Ling was too vast; they saw no hope of victory!
Seeing the other four flee, Ye Ling sneered, and demonic energy surged around him, transforming into sharp swords that pierced towards the four.
In an instant, the four 异士 had their hearts pierced by Ye Ling's demonic energy in mid-air.
They died thoroughly!
The other Hongchen Pavilion 异士 in Daocheng University, witnessing Ye Ling dispatch all their branch's high-ranking cadres in mere moments, were all terrified to the point of their hair standing on end, their faces filled with dread!
Those were two eighth-grade and three seventh-grade experts, not just any random individuals!
With the strength of those five 异士, they could have stirred up turmoil across the entire China and shaken its foundations!
But they were dead just like that?
How were the remaining people supposed to fight?
In an instant, the morale of Hongchen Pavilion wavered!