C6 He Was Arrogant and Domineering!

He had yielded a hundred swords!

Such a simple phrase, delivered in a tone as tranquil as still water, yet it struck like thunder, resonating in the hearts of all who were present. Each syllable sent shivers through their spines.

Could the one who uttered these words really be Shen Feixue, the same person who had been oppressed for three years and could only hysterically scream, "Don't scorn the young for being poor"?

What was even more astonishing was that Shen Feixue, who evidently had the skill to compel Ye Dongyun to concede a hundred swords, had never fought back. But why?

Why, indeed? The reason was to restore the honor of the previous Shen Feixue. With just the basic sword techniques, without channeling Spiritual Qi, Shen Feixue could remain unbeaten within the Celestial Sword Sect.

It wasn't just about yielding a hundred swords; even a thousand or ten thousand swords wouldn't harm him, assuming he could disregard the drain on his physical strength.

At this moment, Ye Dongyun's face was a shade of iron. Recalling the moment when his first sword thrust met only air and Shen Feixue casually raised a finger in response, a wave of humiliation overwhelmed him. He was so enraged that he was shaking, teeth clenched, without even realizing it.

No longer able to contain himself, he flung his right hand up, tossing the long sword into the air, while his left hand formed a sword technique and began to move fluidly.

Ultimately, he did channel his Spiritual Qi, breaking the rules of the Sword Competition, but Zhung Qiu showed no sign of intervening.

It was clear to everyone that Zhung Qiu wouldn't intervene. Shen Feixue herself knew this, which is why she had the audacity to allow Ye Dongyun a hundred strikes.

Unfazed by Ye Dongyun's sword technique, Shen Feixue vibrated her green sword and advanced, declaring, "This sword is for the ten venomous snakes you threw into my room 542 days ago!"

With those words, she thrust her sword towards Ye Dongyun's left hand.

The next moment, blood sprayed, and Ye Dongyun's hand movement abruptly ceased, as a three-inch green sword tip emerged from his wrist.

"Ah..." The excruciating pain of his wrist being pierced by a sword caused Ye Dongyun to cry out without thinking.

The spiritual energy he had just summoned from his dantian vanished in a flash. The sword he had tossed into the air, no longer under his control, clattered to the ground and stuck in at an angle.

"How dare he... injure Ye Dongyun?" The disciples watching from the sidelines had become somewhat desensitized.

From the moment Shen Feixue arrived, they had been repeatedly shocked.

She faced Ye Dongyun with a cool composure, evaded his hundred sword strikes, and even claimed to have allowed those strikes. The audience had been through so much that their numbness was almost expected.

Their current discussion wasn't about how this 'good-for-nothing' had grown so strong.

Instead, they were shocked that Shen Feixue had the audacity to harm Ye Dongyun, the grandson of Ye Jingxian, the Celestial Sword Sect's Sect Master.

Moreover, judging by Shen Feixue's words, it seemed this sword strike was far from the end. Considering Ye Dongyun had bullied Shen Feixue nearly every day for over a year, the retribution could be over a thousand sword strikes.

Was Ye Dongyun about to endure more than a thousand sword strikes?

The crowd's gaze shifted subtly as they watched Shen Feixue.

Ignoring their murmurs, Shen Feixue shook her wrist and withdrew the sword from Ye Dongyun's wrist.

This action sent Ye Dongyun clutching his wrist and writhing on the ground in agony.

"Ha ha," Shen Feixue chuckled softly.

Despite her outward calm, Shen Feixue's earlier display of leniency with the hundred sword strikes was rooted in a cautious respect for Ye Dongyun.

Of course, her wariness was specific to Ye Dongyun's cultivation at the Perception Stage, which posed a threat to her at the Sword Core Stage.

Her actions were designed to unsettle Ye Dongyun's focus. The moment his sword strike went awry, he had stepped right into Shen Feixue's snare.

In Ye Dongyun's mind, Shen Feixue was nothing but trash, and he was the top talent of the younger generation within the Celestial Sword Sect. Faced with such a disparity, his unexpected miss would only lead him to doubt himself, prompting him to prove his worth without immediately resorting to his spiritual energy.

In fact, Ye Dongyun's mindset was precisely what led him to descend into the abyss, step by step.

Shen Feixue exploited Ye Dongyun's state of mind, driving him to frustration. He attempted to channel his Spiritual Qi, but by then, Ye Dongyun was too mentally scattered to remember the cardinal rule of using Spiritual Qi. Shen Feixue capitalized on this lapse, piercing his wrist with her sword.

Shen Feixue was intimately familiar with the ways of cultivators.

Leaving the Acquired Stage aside, once a cultivator reached the Perception Stage, they could sense the spiritual energy settled in their dantian and mobilize it for their own purposes.

However, from Level 1 to Level 9 of the Perception Stage, controlling Spiritual Qi required time. Cultivators at this stage typically used Spiritual Qi to enhance their physical attributes, such as strength and speed, during combat.

Thus, individuals at this level would not readily employ their cultivation techniques, and if they did, they would prioritize their safety.

This shortcoming would not see improvement until one reached the Energy Sea Stage. Take, for example, Lin Changhe's attempt to strike down Shen Feixue in the Celestial Sword Hall two days prior. His attack was swift, with virtually no time needed to form the necessary hand seal.

Moreover, the Celestial Sword Sect is quite unique.

The Grandmaster, intent on mastering the Sword Path yet unable to form a Sword Core, devised a hybrid approach of cultivator and Sword Path techniques. This led to a cultivation method that relied on hand seals to manipulate Spiritual Qi for sword control.

All these elements contributed to Ye Dongyun's downfall.

Shen Feixue's sword, without pause, found its next mark on Ye Dongyun's ankle. "This strike is for the chamber pot you placed over my head four hundred and ninety-seven days ago!"

"Ah!"

Ye Dongyun's agonized scream jolted Zhung Qiu from his stupor. He bellowed and leapt onto the platform, "Shen Feixue, cease your attack!"

"Hmm?"

"The match is over; you've won." With one arm and leg now useless, not only was it impossible for Ye Dongyun to continue the competition, but his future prospects as a cultivator were utterly ruined.

Ye Jingxian and Ye Dongling stepped onto the stage in succession. They began by examining Ye Dongyun's injuries, after which Ye Jingxian rose to his feet.

"Why did you have to be so ruthless?"

"It was a competition," Shen Feixue replied coolly, sliding her sword back into its sheath.

Just then, a figure darted past Ye Jingxian, a glint of cold steel aimed at Shen Feixue.

"Dongling, no!"

Ye Jingxian's low shout came as he extended both hands, deftly catching the crossed blades.

Even though he had intercepted Ye Dongling's sword, Ye Jingxian was shaken. Had he not intervened, whether Shen Feixue would have been injured was uncertain, but Ye Dongling's death would have been guaranteed.

Ye Dongling's sword stopped a mere three inches from Shen Feixue's eyes, but Shen Feixue's blade was less than half an inch from Ye Dongling's throat.

Ye Jingxian was alarmed. Shen Feixue's swordsmanship had improved dramatically, and her temperament seemed to have shifted—she had just made a lethal move against Ye Dongling.

"Shen Feixue!" Ye Jingxian's gaze turned icy as he forced out her name through clenched teeth. His granddaughter and grandson had been grievously harmed—one maimed and the other nearly killed by Shen Feixue's hand. Were it not for the greater good, he would have slain her on the spot.

"You wish to kill me?" Shen Feixue's face finally showed a change, turning utterly frosty in response to Ye Jingxian's murderous aura. "Feel free to try!"

Arrogant? Domineering?

No, the disciples watching from the sidelines didn't see it that way. They were convinced that Shen Feixue had lost her mind.

She had to be insane!

To think that after concealing her true power and besting Ye Dongyun, she could confidently face Ye Jingxian and even dare to threaten him?

Ye Jingxian was a genuine Celestial Energy Stage master, albeit at Level 1. In Tianxi Town, the number of people capable of defeating him could be counted on one hand.

Shen Feixue certainly wasn't among them.

So what was she doing, if not acting utterly mad?

"Young man, it's easy to be arrogant and overconfident, not realizing that it's yourself you're harming," someone at the edge of the stage called out, gaining nods of agreement from those around.

"Indeed, to think you could challenge the authority of the Celestial Sword Sect and the Sect Master himself. Unforgivable!"

Slowly, the majority of the disciples, feeling that the Sect's honor had been deeply challenged, began to chant in unison.

"Sect Master, avenge Senior Brother Ye by taking his life!"

Yet, the response from Ye Jingxian caused the chanting to fade, until silence once again enveloped the room.

Ye Jingxian's icy gaze drifted away from Shen Feixue, scanning the sky, the earth, and the crowd—anything but her.

His message was clear to all.

He had compromised.

Confronted with Shen Feixue's wildly threatening words, he, the Sect Master, had actually backed down.

The crowd was stunned, their gazes shifting mechanically between Ye Jingxian and Shen Feixue, unable to comprehend what had just transpired to make Ye Jingxian inexplicably yield.

Ye Jingxian, however, was acutely aware of the situation. Unsure of how to face his disciples, he knew this was a blow to his reputation and authority, but he was left with no choice.

Initially, he believed Shen Feixue's offer of five High Grade Earth Level Spirit Gathering Pills was merely to prevent Bi Zhuang from marrying Ye Dongling.

Now it was clear that Shen Feixue's concerns lay elsewhere. She was indifferent to Ye Dongling's fate, having nearly been slain in the Celestial Sword Hall.

All of this convinced Ye Jingxian that the terms were not for anyone else's sake but for Shen Feixue's own safety within the Celestial Sword Sect.

Within seven days, no one would dare harm him, and all his demands must be met, no matter how outrageous or implausible.

Otherwise, if this lord were displeased, he could fabricate any excuse to blame the Celestial Sword Sect for the lack of Spirit Gathering Pills upon Bi Zhuang's arrival, potentially leading to the Sect's downfall.

Although it would be a simple matter to kill Shen Feixue now, Ye Jingxian dared not act.

The choice between Ye Dongling and the five Earth Level Spirit Gathering Pills was obvious to anyone.

If Shen Feixue were killed now, when Bi Zhuang arrived to find both the Spirit Gathering Pills and Shen Feixue missing, the situation would escalate far beyond the simplicity of Ye Dongling batting her eyelashes and playing up to him.

"This guy's planning is incredibly thorough, having anticipated every possible escape route," Ye Jingxian thought with disgust, yet she couldn't help but feel a begrudging admiration for Shen Feixue.

The man before her had crippled her grandson, and she was rendered helpless—not due to a lack of cultivation, but because...

She had naively thought he was merely using her as a pawn...

Ye Jingxian couldn't bear to continue the thought; it was too agonizing.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ye Dongling's alarmed cry snapped everyone back to the present.

Shen Feixue approached Ye Dongyun, sword in hand.

"Don't be nervous," Shen Feixue said, turning to address Ye Jingxian while still eyeing Ye Dongling, "I'm only after his limbs."

"Shen Feixue, you've gone too far!" Lin Changhe bellowed, drawing his sword in anger.

But Shen Feixue remained unfazed, her gaze fixed on Ye Jingxian.

"Too much?" he said with a smirk.