Chapter 2005: Core Disciples of the Core

"How dare you! Do you know who you're speaking to?"

An elder standing to the side, seeing this insolent fellow who appeared out of nowhere, his face darkened.

This was Bai Ruanqing's grandfather, and it was natural for him to speak on her behalf... but his identity was special and inconvenient to reveal. "Where did you come from? Meddling in our affairs?"

"This is our conversation, stay out of it!"

With a flick of his long sword, Zhang Xuan thrust forward.

The elder, surprised that this fellow dared to attack him, laughed instead of getting angry. "How bold! Come, let me see what you're capable of. If you can withstand three of my moves, I'll admit you're not weak..."

Thud!

Before he could finish speaking, his head fell to the ground.

The long sword in his hand had just been drawn, intending to block the opponent's sword, but evidently... it didn't block it!

"So much nonsense..."

Having decapitated the elder with a single stroke, Zhang Xuan spoke as if he had just killed a chicken: "This fellow is spouting nonsense, don't believe him. Debts must be paid; it’s a matter of course! What kind of behavior is it to welch on a bet after losing?"

"For this matter, we need to hear it from Bai Ruanqing herself. Who are you? Are you speaking for her?"

A core disciple snorted.

No one wanted to give away the money they had painstakingly saved. They were secretly pleased by what the elder had just said, and now this guy came to cause trouble, so everyone felt a sense of grievance.

As for the elder who was killed by a single sword stroke, since his death was too quick, without him even displaying any formidable sword techniques, and the opponent was disguised as a young man, they initially thought he was an unimportant, unremarkable fellow. They had no idea he was actually one of their elders.

Therefore, they had no idea how powerful this person in front of them truly was.

"What? Are you implying you want to welch on the bet?" Zhang Xuan's face turned ashen.

He didn't expect even the core disciples to be so shameless!

They had made a bet, and just because Bai Ruanqing was killed and hadn't returned, they refused to acknowledge it... They didn't want to pay, truly having no integrity at all!

"Whether it's welching or not isn't up to you to decide. We'll listen to this friend. Since he said Bai Ruanqing made the bet just to put pressure on us, he must have a good reason!" The core disciple looked at the young man nearby, who was disguised as Elder Bai Ye. "Right, friend?"

"Yes..." Elder Bai Ye nodded. "Ruanqing did this only to create pressure, to allow people to better unleash their power, not genuinely for money..."

Before he finished speaking, a flash of sword light appeared.

"What..."

He quickly turned his head, only to see "I'm So Handsome" nearby, drawing his long sword again and thrusting it towards him.

His brows furrowed with a hint of displeasure. Just as he was about to draw his sword to defend, his wrist suddenly felt cold.

He then saw his own hand, severed by the opponent's sword at some unknown moment. The long sword, no longer held, fell to the ground with a *clang!*

"This..."

His pupils contracted, and his body stiffened.

As one of the three great elders of the Lingyun Sword Sect, his strength had long since reached the Immortal Monarch realm, placing him at the very peak across the entire continent!

His swordsmanship, in particular, was exceptional; among those of the same cultivation level, few could surpass him based solely on sword skills...

Yet now, he was disarmed before he even had a chance to strike!

Although there was an element of a sneak attack, this swordsmanship was simply too formidable, too terrifying!

No wonder his old friend was killed with a single sword stroke earlier. He had thought his friend didn't resist out of fear of revealing his identity, but now it seemed he was simply powerless to counter-attack against the opponent's swordsmanship!

Within the entire sect, only the Sect Master, or perhaps that super genius who comprehended the Sword Intent of the Gods—"I'm So Low-Key"—could render his old friend helpless and sever his own wrist with a single sword strike!

"I'm So Handsome, I'm So Low-Key..."

The two names flashed in his mind, and he instantly understood. "So it's you, you're 'I'm So...'"

He hadn't thought of it before, not because he was dull, but because... "I'm So Low-Key" was at the peak of the Void Shattering realm, while the minimum requirement to enter the Core Spirit Ascension Hall was only the early stage of the Virtual Immortal realm!

Given the disparity in their cultivation levels, he hadn't considered the possibility.

But now, with such exquisite swordsmanship displayed, failing to realize it would truly make him foolish!

Before he could finish speaking, a searing pain shot through his tongue. A long sword had already been inserted into his mouth. With a gentle twist, his tongue and teeth were all shattered by the sword qi. Intense pain surged through him, and he couldn't help but spurt blood.

"I am indeed quite ruthless! When I get ruthless, even I scare myself!"

Zhang Xuan glanced at him indifferently.

Muffled sounds escaped him.

With his tongue mangled, Elder Bai Ye tried to speak but couldn't utter a sound.

Although the Spirit Ascension Hall was an illusory realm, sensations like pain were real. Having his wrist severed by a sword was already excruciating, and now his tongue was cut off and his teeth shattered by the sword. As one of the sect's top three elders, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, trembling uncontrollably and nearly going mad.

An Immortal Monarch realm expert, a renowned super-existence across the entire continent, being reduced to such a state by two sword strikes was more unbearable than death itself.

"You're seeking death..."

This scene unfolded within just two breaths. Not far away, Bai Feng finally reacted, almost exploding with rage.

This was utterly audacious... attacking Elder Bai Ye was a direct provocation to the entire Lingyun Sword Sect.

He drew his long sword and thrust it towards Zhang Xuan. Even before the sword tip reached him, a sharp pain shot through his throat.

Thud!

His head fell to the ground.

"You are..."

As his eyes saw his own heels, he finally realized who the opponent was...

He couldn't believe he had been killed twice in a row by the same person...

Is there any justice left in this world?!

He truly felt like crying.

"This fellow can't spout nonsense anymore. Now, who still thinks Bai Ruanqing's bet wasn't real?"

Having dealt with the three meddlesome individuals, Zhang Xuan scanned the surroundings.

Originally, he just wanted to keep a low profile and avoid trouble... but then they refused to pay... wasn't that just asking for it?

This was beyond endurance!

So, with a single move, he decided to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, dealing with the most active ones first to deliver a powerful warning.

"Friend, your methods are quite ruthless. That's a bit unfair! May I ask... which core disciple are you?"

A core disciple walked over.

Upon seeing him step forward, everyone around fell silent.

It was Liu Yulian, the third-ranked core disciple!

After she was killed, she re-entered using another Spirit Ascension Jade Token, and for everyone's convenience, she even used her previous appearance and form.

"You don't want to pay either, do you?" Zhang Xuan snorted coldly.

"I believe in Bai Ruanqing's character. The competition wasn't for a bet..." Liu Yulian nodded, and just as she was about to continue speaking, her neck felt a sudden stiffness, and with a "whoosh!", she saw her own derriere.

Thud!

Her head fell to the ground, rolling several times.

"Alright, is there anyone else who doesn't want to pay? It doesn't matter if you don't want to. As long as you dare to come to the Spirit Ascension Hall, I'll kill you every time I see you! I'll keep killing you until you pay up!"

Too lazy to waste words, Zhang Xuan patted the sword in his hand and said indifferently.

You really think you're something, trying to welch on a debt... Dream on!

"You..."

Previously, they hadn't recognized the disguised Elder Bai Ye and others, thinking they might be some unknown core disciples who were killed with a single sword stroke... and they hadn't perceived "I'm So Handsome" as particularly powerful because of it. But now, Liu Yulian's head was severed in an instant...

Everyone was terrified!

Only then did they truly grasp how formidable this person in front of them was!

"This guy is strange! Let's attack him together and kill him!"

"He might not be one of our core disciples..."

Someone shouted out.

Even He Jingxuan, the strongest core disciple, couldn't decapitate Liu Yulian with a single sword stroke, could he?!

Yet this person in front of them did it. There must be something strange...

"Seeking death!"

He hadn't expected these guys to genuinely refuse to pay and even try to kill him. Zhang Xuan was truly enraged.

Are you taking advantage of my good nature, or what?

Since that's the case, then all of you can die!

Anyway, he had the Spirit Ascension Jade Token of a core disciple. If they didn't pay, he'd kill them one by one until they no longer dared to enter!

His body moved, darting into the crowd.

In an instant, sword energy whistled, and the ground shook.

Elder Bai Ye, whose tongue was cut off and wrist severed, watched as sword energy howled around him, the entire Core Spirit Ascension Hall seemingly on the verge of collapse. His face gradually turned pale.

"This guy is absolutely lawless. After stirring up trouble in the inner sect, now he's causing chaos in the core..."

Suppressing the pain in his body, Elder Bai Ye was just thinking of a way to reveal his identity when a pain shot through his neck.

Thud!

The stray sword energy from the opponent's killing of core disciples had severed his head.

Elder Bai Ye.

He opened his eyes to find himself back in his own courtyard. In front of him, Bai Feng and another elder were staring at each other, their faces filled with exasperation, looking as if they had aged more than a decade.

They were all true powerhouses, their cultivation having reached the Immortal Monarch realm. Yet... the moment they met, their heads were chopped off...

They all found it utterly unbearable!

"You... were killed too!"

Seeing him wake up, the elder looked over.

"Mm-hmm..."

Elder Bai Ye nodded.

"How many moves?" the elder eagerly asked.

He had been killed first and wasn't clear about what happened afterward.

Elder Bai Ye extended a finger.

"Three moves? That's a lot..."

Remembering how he was killed in a single move, the elder felt so frustrated he wanted to die. Seeing that the other elder had actually lasted three moves, he was full of disbelief. "What sword technique did you use to withstand three moves?"

When did the gap between himself and the elder in front of him become so vast?

He hadn't even lasted a single move!

"I didn't use any sword techniques!" Elder Bai Ye said with a wry smile.

"Didn't use any?" The elder shook his head. "That's impossible. His swordsmanship is so fast; those of the same level can't block it. How could you do it without using sword techniques?"

"In the first move, he severed my wrist, and my sword fell to the ground!" Elder Bai Ye explained. "In the second move, he stabbed me in the mouth, mangling my tongue to prevent me from speaking!"

The elder's scalp tingled, feeling numb. "But those weren't killing moves..."

"Exactly, they weren't killing moves. Because he didn't intend to kill me, I didn't die..." Elder Bai Ye said.

"Then you..."

The elder continued to look at him.

"He went to kill other core disciples, and I wanted to reveal my identity and go dissuade him. My head was severed by his stray sword qi..." Elder Bai Ye said.

"Stray sword qi..."

The elder was stunned.

Good heavens, does he have to be so ruthless...

He didn't intend to kill, yet his stray sword qi ended up killing one of the three great elders, a super-expert...

Is there any justice left?

Is there any law and order?

"Is he that genius who comprehended the Sword Intent of the Gods?"

His pupils contracted, and the elder finally understood.