Chapter 1987: Wood Elder

"No!"

Liu Lujie shook his head. "Our individual challenge just now failed. If we re-enter the Divine Hall this time, we'll only be spectators. We can't fight anymore! Otherwise, what fairness would there be if everyone who gets killed just takes turns coming back?"

One person challenging the entire Inner Sect was already disgraceful with their successive attacks. If a powerful expert like him died, only to return with a new identity, and then died again, only to return with yet another, wouldn't he be utterly ridiculed if others found out?

Even losing should be done with dignity! This was the pride of their Lingyun Sword Pavilion's Inner Sect disciples, and a testament to the persistence of their sword intent.

"Senior Brother is right... I was being reckless..." Wang Jiandong stepped back, feeling embarrassed.

It was a thought born out of his overwhelming desire to kill the opponent, and now, reflecting on it, he realized it was indeed inappropriate. The sword, king of all weapons, requires the mind to be trained before the sword. If one lacked even this bit of pride and persistence, what right did they have to gain recognition for their sword intent and become a true master of the sword, thus gaining renown throughout the world?

"Alright! We came here with Senior Sister this time. Since she's been killed, let's head back quickly, or I'm afraid she'll lose her temper..." Seeing that the other understood, Liu Lujie breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. Just as he was about to leave the Divine Hall and return to reality, a sharp pain shot through his throat. He tried to turn his head, only to find his head once again looking at his own backside and heels...

"Damn it!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw "I'm Very Low-Key," who had just charged into the crowd, not only unharmed but advancing like a bulldozer. With every step forward, a large swathe of heads was severed.

The reason he was killed was simply that he was too close to the opponent; the stray sword qi effortlessly sliced off his head...

The faint wisp of sword qi that emanated when the opponent killed others was enough to kill him... And he thought of a sneak attack! What a joke! How could they possibly fight this?

With a look of deep resentment, his head fell heavily to the ground, bouncing a few times like a ball. Then he saw Wang Jiandong's head, just like his own, bouncing repeatedly on the ground... Looking at the other's expression, it too was filled with sorrow... They truly came to watch the excitement... innocent... Did he have no shame, no sense of justice, killing even the innocent?

As his consciousness returned once more, Liu Lujie felt increasingly depressed. The first time, he ran into the opponent's sword and was cut in half on the spot. The second time, he went to watch the show and had his head severed by sword qi meant for others... He had been the Inner Sect's top disciple for seven consecutive years, a peerless genius determined to surpass the Ten-Mile Sword God. When did he become so utterly insignificant?

A wave of exasperation swept over him. He looked up and saw Senior Sister Bai Ruanqing, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably, and the room already in disarray. It seemed that not only could he not accept being decapitated immediately after making a move, but this person in front of him found it even harder to bear, taking her anger out on his furniture. Fortunately, these items were worthless, otherwise, the loss would have been even greater.

"Senior Sister, please calm down..." He hurriedly stood up and clasped his fists.

"Calm down? I have no anger, so what is there to calm?" Bai Ruanqing's face was like ice, her silver teeth audibly grinding, as she cast a cold glance at him.

Seeing her expression, a chill went through Liu Lujie's heart. Just as he felt something was wrong, his vision blurred.

*Whack! Thud!* A series of sounds of fists and feet hitting flesh followed. The several Inner Sect disciples who had accompanied her, including Zhu Yanzhi and Wei Suifeng, were all lying on the ground, bruised and swollen, looking utterly miserable.

"Alright, I've vented..." After beating them, Bai Ruanqing seemed to feel much better, her chest less constricted. She finally exhaled and turned her graceful body. "The person I asked you to help find, put more effort into it. Also, I don't want anyone spreading news that I was here today. If I hear anything... you should know the consequences!"

Liu Lujie, Wang Jiandong, Zhu Yanzhi, and the others simultaneously flinched, feeling a sudden tightness in their lower regions.

"I'm leaving now..." *Whoosh!* Before her words finished, her figure flashed out, landing on the back of a flying sacred beast and disappearing from their sight.

A dignified core disciple came all the way to the Inner Sect disciples' Divine Hall to teach Inner Sect disciples a lesson, only to be instantly defeated by one move... Staying here would only bring more shame; it was better to leave!

"What do we do now?" Seeing the 'female tyrant' turn and leave, Wang Jiandong looked at Liu Lujie with a bitter smile.

"What else can we do? This matter has gotten so big, it's impossible to keep it under wraps. We can only report it to the elders!" Liu Lujie said.

If they had managed to kill "I'm Very Low-Key" earlier, even if serious, the matter wouldn't have escalated so much. But now, hundreds of people had been killed, and even a core disciple who personally intervened was defeated... If they didn't report it to the elders, they wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility!

"Yes, we need to notify the elders and have them come handle this..." Wang Jiandong also nodded.

After discussing, just as the two were about to act, they heard a whistling sound in the air. They hurriedly walked out of the room and saw more than ten elders descending from the backs of flying sacred beasts. They were the primary elders responsible for the Inner Sect disciples!

"Liu Lujie, Wang Jiandong, what's happening at the Divine Hall?" The leading elder, somewhat thin and gaunt, with an azure beard and a light grey robe, raised his eyebrows upon seeing them. He was Elder Mu, the most powerful and influential elder in the Inner Sect! He was also the old acquaintance Elder Lu Yun had encountered last time at the Elder's Hall, who often spoke unpleasantly.

If Zhang Xuan were here, he would surely recognize Elder Lu Yun among these dozen or so elders. He had just been promoted to Inner Sect Elder, and ordinarily, he wouldn't have been qualified to follow the others. However, because he had recruited a prodigiously talented junior, he had gained the sect's attention and was fortunate enough to come along.

"Reporting to Elder Mu, someone is challenging all the Inner Sect disciples..." Seeing the elder arrive in his courtyard, Liu Lujie didn't dare to hesitate and meticulously recounted everything that had just happened.

He had witnessed everything concerning "I'm Very Low-Key" from the start of the challenge, understanding the full sequence of events.

"One person challenged all of you, killed hundreds, and even you two joined in, yet you still couldn't stop him?" Elder Mu's eyebrows shot up, his face filled with rage. "I've educated you for so many years, and you're still so useless?"

"We..." Liu Lujie's face flushed, unable to utter a word.

"Regardless of this fellow's specific identity, whether an Inner Sect disciple or a core one, once inside the Divine Hall, they are of the same rank, all at the early stage of Ancient Sage First Layer!" Elder Mu scoffed. "The same rank, and one person challenges hundreds of you... It's utterly disgraceful! It seems that everything I usually taught you didn't sink in at all!"

"Elder, it's not that we are weak; it's that this fellow is too strong..." Wang Jiandong retorted, unconvinced.

"Nonsense! How strong could he possibly be? Even if he's strong, he's still using Lingyun Sword Pavilion's techniques!" Elder Mu interrupted him. "If your strength is low, it's low. Don't make excuses!"

"This... yes!" Wang Jiandong wanted to say more, but Liu Lujie tugged at his sleeve, so he reluctantly nodded. He knew that while Elder Mu's words were harsh, he might not truly think that way... but being openly mocked still made it hard to hold back.

"Elder Mu, what do we do now?" After the elder finished his scolding, Liu Lujie looked at him. Mere scolding was useless; this matter needed to be handled swiftly. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be the Inner Sect disciples who were disgraced, but the elders as well. Enjoying so many sect resources to cultivate disciples, only to be completely wiped out by one person... it wouldn't sound good if word got out!

"Since we're here, let's go and see where this fellow came from! How dare he act so irregularly?" Elder Mu waved his hand.

If you're strong, gain resources, and become a core disciple, that's fine. If you're even stronger, you can become a sect elder and guard a region... But being this powerful and challenging Inner Sect disciples is completely out of line! They also wanted to see who this person was, acting with such a lack of propriety!

"Once we confirm his identity, we'll find his true self and clarify the situation... We must try to suppress this matter; otherwise, if the impact becomes too great, all of you will be recorded in history and infamous for ten thousand years!" Elder Mu snorted.

"Yes!" Liu Lujie and the others nodded.

"Go get some Divine Hall jade tokens for Inner Sect disciples. It wouldn't look good for us to go openly as elders..." Elder Mu instructed.

The Inner Sect disciples' Divine Hall was a place for their trade and competitions. Under normal circumstances, elders would not enter. Moreover, with the matter having escalated so much, how would others view them if they entered as elders?

"Elders, please wait..." Liu Lujie and Wang Jiandong turned and entered the room. A moment later, they emerged with more than ten Divine Hall jade tokens.

The Inner Sect disciples who had just been violently beaten by Bai Ruanqing for her to vent her frustration were all vendors in the trade market and possessed a large number of jade tokens. When the elders made a request, no one dared to refuse.

With a drop of blood for confirmation, and a flicker of thought, their consciousness entered.

This time entering the Divine Hall, they also dared not reveal their true appearances, instead disguising themselves as ordinary Inner Sect disciples.

The dozen or so elders followed behind Liu Lujie and the others, quickly arriving near the competition grounds.

At this moment, the entire arena was engulfed. Sword qi whistled like a hurricane, countless heads continuously fell to the ground, and Inner Sect disciples vanished one by one into streaks of light.

In less than ten minutes since Liu Lujie and the others had left the area, at least seven or eight hundred more people had been killed! This meant that in just over a quarter of an hour, one-tenth of the Inner Sect disciples, more than a thousand people, had been killed! This was simply too brutal!

"It seems his True Qi and power are still largely unexhausted..." Looking at "I'm Very Low-Key" in the middle of the besieged crowd, Liu Lujie and the others' eyebrows twitched uncontrollably. Witnessing it firsthand, they felt like they were going mad. One person, continuously slaying over a thousand strong opponents of the same level, with minimal power consumption... Before this, they wouldn't have believed it even if beaten to death, yet now it was truly happening!

"Elder Mu, as you can see, emotions are running high right now; there's nothing we can do..." Liu Lujie approached.

Now, not only was "I'm Very Low-Key" massacring everyone and couldn't be stopped, but numerous Inner Sect disciples were also completely riled up and beyond caring. Even if Elder Mu himself spoke, it might not be enough to dissuade them, let alone him!

"You have no way because your strength is weak. Watch me!" With a displeased expression, Elder Mu scoffed, "All elders, follow me and stop this fellow from killing any more people!"

"Yes!" The dozen or so most powerful Inner Sect elders nodded simultaneously and advanced in unison.

Although they appeared to have the same youthful appearance as the Inner Sect disciples, their sword intent was palpable, and the surrounding crowd, who had been besieging the opponent, parted ways as they arrived.

"Alright, stop now..." Approaching, Elder Mu looked at Zhang Xuan, his long sword dancing in his hand. Sword qi whistled, enveloping the surroundings.

"Another batch? Are we going to fight one-on-one again? I really don't have this much time to waste!" Seeing so many people appear and stop the crowd, Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned. He then shook his head and suddenly flicked the long sword in his hand.

"You..." Elder Mu was enraged, not expecting this fellow to attack them without even letting him finish his words. He raised his sword, just about to make a move, when a sudden pain shot through his throat.

Immediately after, his head fell to the ground. His fading consciousness then saw the many elders following behind him, each one falling to the ground in unison, all decapitated.