Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
At Wang Haitao’s sharp command, all the Diancang disciples on the scene leaped and shifted in unison, forming a single line like a long serpent.
In the blink of an eye, amid a chorus of shouts and cries, they drew their swords together and unleashed a frenzy of slashes and thrusts.
Sword-light surged and flickered, sword-qi crisscrossed in a dazzling display. Nineteen razor-sharp beams of sword-light shot through the air simultaneously.
These beams were almost solid, impossibly sharp—capable of cleaving metal and severing iron. They merged into a single massive sword about ten meters long, like the Milky Way cascading from the heavens, carrying an unstoppable momentum as it descended upon Jiang Tian.
Beneath that enormous sword-light, rocks shattered, solid ice cracked apart, and a fissure over two meters wide suddenly appeared, stretching more than ten meters into the distance—a shocking sight.
“The Diancang Nineteen-Sword Formation!”
Many present cried out in surprise. Even Wu Yingxiong felt his heart skip a beat, and even Fire Lotus Great Master’s expression shifted slightly.
This sword formation had been conceived by the Diancang founder while gazing upon the sect’s nineteen peaks. When executed in concert, even Martial Grandmasters—even peerless experts at the peak of the Transformation Realm—would be forced to retreat.
“Pathetic!”
Jiang Tian let out a cold snort, then tilted his head back slightly. Channeling his Dragon’s Roar Demonic Art, he aimed at the sword-light and bellowed: “Break for me!”
A dragon’s roar erupted—like a great roc spiraling ninety thousand miles into the sky—piercing clouds and shattering metal, soaring straight into the heavens!
A white torrent, some ten zhang long, burst forth from Jiang Tian’s mouth.
That white torrent, carrying rolling sonic waves, rampaged forward with reckless abandon, crushing everything in its path. It shattered wind and ice, meeting the oncoming sword-light head-on.
Crack! Crack!
The nineteen beams of sword-light shattered on impact.
The rolling shockwaves sent the Diancang disciples tumbling head over heels like scarecrows, flung into the air before crashing back down into the snow.
“Pfft!”
Wang Haitao spat blood, staring at Jiang Tian with utter horror—then slowly closed his eyes and expired on the spot.
With a single exhalation, Jiang Tian had shattered the sword formation. Twelve Diancang disciples lay dead, seven severely wounded. Everyone was stunned.
“One breath—one single breath—shattered the sword formation. One shout could kill a Transformation Realm expert. Absolutely terrifying!”
The assembled experts were dumbfounded, as if they’d seen a ghost.
“Incredibly powerful!” Wu Yingxiong’s face changed dramatically, and he was already beginning to think of retreat.
“This kid is monstrous—no wonder they call him the number-one Grandmaster under the Divine Realm!” Ying Wusheng’s heart was racing, too.
“Don’t make a move yet. Don’t be reckless!” The Young Witch God’s eyes were filled with caution.
Though he coveted the Emperor’s Daughter Flower, he had no desire to provoke Jiang Tian. He warned the others not to act impulsively.
For the moment, all the Huaxia experts retreated to the sidelines, turning their gazes toward the three great masters from India.
“Who else wants to fight me, Jiang Taichu? Come on, then!”
Jiang Tian stood atop the snow and ice, his gaze sharp and commanding as he swept it across the assembled heroes. Like an emperor issuing decrees to the world, he radiated an overwhelming, heaven-defying dominance.
At the summit of Everest, there was only silence—broken only by the howling wind and falling snow. The heroes were mute.
“I, this humble monk, have guarded this Emperor’s Daughter Flower for ten years—fertilizing it, watering it—awaiting its maturation so I might use it to save the impoverished masses of India, who suffer under a plague. I wonder if this Master Jiang might be willing to grant this wish?”
Green Lotus Great Master stepped forward, intoning a Buddhist chant. His expression was benevolent, his demeanor that of an eminent monk. His words sounded noble—but his intent was simply to claim the flower for himself.
“The Emperor’s Daughter Flower is a celestial treasure of heaven and earth. Since when did it need your fertilizer and water?”
Jiang Tian snorted coldly, refusing flatly. He sneered: “What do the lives of Indians have to do with me?”
“Countless people are afflicted with grave illness, trapped in suffering and misery!”
Green Lotus Great Master’s expression grew stern, and he said gravely: “Heaven has the virtue of nurturing life. How can Master Jiang be so cruel and heartless—hoarding the Emperor’s Daughter Flower for selfish gain?”
“Enough with the nonsense, you sanctimonious monk. If you want to fight me for it, then come at me!”
Jiang Tian stood with his hands behind his back, cold light glinting in his eyes. He laughed contemptuously: “I don’t mind killing all three of you Indian experts! Killing you is like slaughtering chickens and dogs!”
“Great Master, why waste words with him? Just kill him!”
With a furious roar, the gray-robed man shot forward like a swift leopard—shield in his left hand, blade in his right—kicking up a blizzard of snow as he charged. With a single stroke, his saber swept toward Jiang Tian’s legs.
The blade-light burst forth like a silver vase suddenly shattering, moving at incredible speed, carrying a strange exotic aura. Layers upon layers of afterimage blade-shadows blossomed in the air, merging into a vast curtain of light.
Where that razor-sharp saber-qi passed, massive boulders split apart with clean, mirror-smooth cuts.
“That strike—so powerful!”
“This man is Guru Kal, a master of Indian martial arts—his strength rivals that of a Huaxia Transformation Realm Grandmaster…”
The crowd gasped, their eyes filled with shock.
Even Wu Yingxiong was slightly moved, silently wondering how he would handle such a technique if he were in Jiang Tian’s position.
The blade-light flashed. Jiang Tian stepped into the air, dodging instantly. But the gray-robed man showed no surprise—instead, a flicker of glee crossed his face. He abruptly reversed his blade, tracing a strange arc through the cold air, and slashed back at Jiang Tian’s legs.
His timing was impeccable—if Jiang Tian landed, his legs would surely be severed!
Jiang Tian did land.
But what shocked the gray-robed man was that Jiang Tian’s foot came down squarely onto the flat of his blade.
“How is this possible?” The gray-robed man was dumbstruck, crying out as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Pathetic! You dare wield a blade with skills like that? I can kill you with one finger!”
Jiang Tian sneered contemptuously. With his right hand, he flicked his finger—a beam of finger-light pierced through the air.
Seeing that sharp white light shooting toward him, the gray-robed man’s instincts screamed danger. He raised his shield to protect his vital areas.
“Block it!”
He bellowed with all his might, rooting his stance—waist and legs united—and dropped his center of gravity. His feet punched through snow and rock, his sturdy legs sinking into the ground like iron pillars.
At the same time, his black, corded muscles bulged like writhing dragons, the fibers of his arms bundling together to channel maximum power. He was determined to withstand Jiang Tian’s strike.
BOOM! A thunderous impact shattered wind and snow, startling even the layered clouds overhead.
Under that single point of finger-light, the shield—crafted from special alloy—shattered instantly like paper.
The finger-light pierced straight through and struck the gray-robed man in the chest. He flew backward like a kite with its string cut, landing more than ten meters away with a heavy thud.
A bowl-sized hole had been blasted through his chest, blood spurting endlessly, exposing pale shards of bone. His eyes were still open, but blood flowed from all seven orifices—he was dead beyond dead.
“So powerful—that single finger-strike was like a Barrett sniper rifle!”
“Too terrifying!”
“One breath shattered the Nineteen-Sword Formation, killing twelve and wounding seven Diancang disciples. One finger shattered a divine shield and killed India’s foremost Guru Kal. This is absolutely horrifying!”
Every single person present felt their hearts turn to ice.
Even Wu Yingxiong was completely cowed. Jiang Tian seemed to him less like a man and more like a god.
“I told you all—I am absolutely determined to have this Emperor’s Daughter Flower. Anyone who tries to take it dies without mercy!”
Jiang Tian fixed his gaze on Green Lotus Great Master and Singh, sneering: “Come on, don’t waste time. Attack together!”
When he’d first ascended the mountain, he’d concealed his identity because he feared that others might covet the Emperor’s Daughter Flower and later cause trouble for Qing’er and his family.
He didn’t really want to kill anyone. They were all just trying to claim the treasure—there was no deep blood feud.
But now that Wu Yingxiong had called out his name, and they still insisted on fighting him for it—well, there was no other choice.
He would have to beat them until they knelt in submission, cowed into utter dread, never daring to entertain such thoughts again.
“Well…”
At this point, even Green Lotus Great Master and Singh were hesitating. Their cultivation was certainly stronger than the gray-robed man’s, but Jiang Tian’s power was nothing to scoff at. He genuinely made them wary.
“One man, suppressing all three Indian masters on his own—Master Jiang truly lives up to his name!”
“Indeed—we are nowhere near his level!”
Seeing this, Huo Qingtian and Wei Feilong felt immense satisfaction. Their heads held high, their confidence soared.
“Green Lotus Great Master! We, the strong ones of the Nanyang Chinese Association, have come to lend you a hand!”
Just then, a fierce shout tore through the wind and snow, rolling down from above like thunder.
“Who’s there?”
“Such powerful aura and soundwaves!”
The crowd looked up in astonishment.
Thwup thwup thwup— A helicopter descended into view.
One by one, figures leaped from the helicopter, still hovering more than ten meters above the ground. They landed like galloping steeds, kicking up clouds of snow like white dragons charging toward the battlefield.
Oyelade the Transcendent, Blackwing Batu, Giant Elephant Taisang—and many other experts from the Nanyang Chinese Association appeared one after another, converging on the scene.
“Why are they here too?”
At the sight, the smiles on Huo Qingtian and Wei Feilong’s faces faltered and vanished, replaced by deep concern.
These three titans of the Nanyang Chinese Association had all received guidance from Wang Chongyan. Their strength rivaled Transformation Realm Martial Grandmasters or Tongxuan-level mystical practitioners.
Combined with Green Lotus Great Master and Singh, this was a gathering of virtually all of Southeast Asia’s top experts—a truly extravagant lineup.
One could say that Lin Zhenyu, whom Jiang Tian had killed on Poyang Lake, was only on par with Fire Lotus Great Master. But here, not only was Fire Lotus present, but also Oyelade and many others even stronger.
“Can Master Jiang handle them all?” Even Huo Qingtian began to have doubts.
Jiang Tian was powerful, yes, but he was only one man. How could he possibly take on over a dozen experts—especially with Fire Lotus Great Master, Oyelade, and others of comparable strength?
“Are you all coming to die as well?”
Jiang Tian laughed coldly, sweeping his gaze across the Nanyang Chinese Association members.
Oyelade didn’t rush to fight. Instead, he walked over to Green Lotus Great Master and exchanged a few words.
Before this, Green Lotus and the others had all witnessed Jiang Tian’s might. None of them wanted to make the first move and invite his wrath, so they’d been scattered and disorganized.
But Oyelade was a practitioner of dark arts, fundamentally at odds with the orthodox Buddhist Fire Lotus Great Master. He was also worried about whether they could truly cooperate, so they needed to establish a strategy first.
After a brief discussion, they quickly reached an agreement: kill Jiang Taichu, and all the Southeast Asian experts would share the Emperor’s Daughter Flower.
Oyelade thumped his staff on the ground, fixing Jiang Tian with a sinister, predatory gaze. He sneered: “Jiang Taichu, I hear you’re quite strong—you even killed my Nanyang Association’s Kun Tianbasong. Fine, then. Today, I shall test you with my supreme mystical arts!”
“Hmph! The so-called number-one expert under the Divine Realm in Huaxia? With so many of us here, even if you were a Divine Realm master, you’d still die today!”
Blackwing Batu laughed coldly, sneering again and again.
