Shock.
Pure disbelief.
What kind of madness—or what kind of confidence—did Lin Ye have to say something like that?
Shen Miaoyu's heart sank.
Lin Ye was doing the worst possible thing: provoking a true monster.
That wasn't bravery.
That was suicide.
"Send a signal. Call the sect."
She spoke quickly to Sun Yun beside her.
Sun Yun stepped aside and crushed a jade slip in his palm.
A beam of light shot into the sky like a flare.
Yu Baiji noticed it… and didn't even blink.
"Heh. Calling for help?"
He chuckled softly.
"Idiots."
"Do you really think you know how I got out?"
His words made everyone's blood run cold.
There's a traitor among us.
But after what just happened with Jiang Fusheng…
was anyone surprised?
Yu Baiji's gaze locked onto Lin Ye like a predator.
"You're arrogant."
"Just like your father."
"But unlike him…"
"You don't have the strength to back it up."
He raised a hand.
A heavy iron chain snapped into his grasp.
Mystic energy surged into it—
and the once-limp chain stiffened like it had grown a spine, twisting into a straight line.
Then he swung it.
The chain lashed forward like a blade—
as if it were a sword dozens of meters long.
WHOOSH!
Walls.
Trees.
Buildings.
Everything in its path was sliced clean in half.
With a single strike, half the branch hall was torn apart.
Lin Ye didn't block it head-on.
He shifted his footwork and slid past the chain's arc.
Then he surged forward.
Straight at Yu Baiji.
A sword hum filled the air.
His Cold-Iron Sword erupted with Qi Sea Eighth Layer sword energy—
and crashed forward like thunder.
Yu Baiji raised his hand casually and caught the sword energy with his palm.
BOOM!
A ripple of force burst outward.
Yu Baiji's eyes flashed with surprise.
"Oh?"
"Qi Sea Eighth Layer?"
He grinned.
"This sword is sharp."
"Precise."
"Good."
"At least you're not completely disappointing."
Not far away, Gu Qing watched—
and his face twisted in disbelief.
"How…?"
"That brat…"
"He's actually Qi Sea Eighth Layer?!"
Shen Miaoyu and the others were equally shaken.
So Lin Ye had been hiding it all along.
Sun Yun swallowed.
"This guy…"
"Kept it buried deep."
Yu Baiji's chain suddenly softened again, becoming a flowing whip.
It shot toward Lin Ye, snaking through the air, trying to coil around him.
If Lin Ye got bound—
he'd be finished.
Lin Ye flicked his sword forward again and again.
Steel met steel.
Sparks exploded.
The chain trembled under each strike.
It didn't snap—not with Yu Baiji's mystic energy reinforcing it—
but Yu Baiji's consumption was obvious.
Lin Ye slid backward, putting distance between them.
His expression remained icy and calm.
"You're not as impressive as you think."
That calm tone…
made Yu Baiji's smile fade.
His eyes darkened.
He could tell now.
Lin Ye wasn't bluffing.
Lin Ye wasn't panicking.
And worse—
Lin Ye's reaction time, technique, and combat instincts were terrifying.
This kid is a threat.
Yu Baiji's killing intent sharpened.
"This boy cannot be allowed to live."
He stepped forward.
"Earth Transformation—Draw Earth Veins into the Body!"
A heavy pulse spread through the ground.
Within a hundred meters, an endless stream of earth-vein energy surged into Yu Baiji like a river pouring into the sea.
This was the advantage of the Earth Transformation Realm.
Borrowing the power of the land itself.
Inside Thunder River City, at the Grand Prosperity Auction House—
earth-vein pressure rolled through the air.
The Earth Transformation experts inside immediately sensed it.
Xia Wei walked to the window, her brows tightening.
"That direction…"
"Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect's branch hall."
"What happened?"
"Send people. Now."
Back at the branch hall—
Gu Qing watched Yu Baiji finally release his full strength.
He smiled quietly.
A cruel satisfaction glimmered in his eyes.
Lin Ye…
Even if you've been hiding your strength…
Tonight is still your death.
Yu Baiji's chain whipped up again, now twisting like a living serpent.
"MOUNTAIN PYTHON DEVOURING STRIKE!"
His aura rose like a tidal wave.
Mystic energy condensed around him, forming the shadow of a giant python.
It opened a massive bloody maw—
and lunged at Lin Ye.
A violent storm burst outward.
Even the scattered wind pressure forced Shen Miaoyu and the others to stagger back.
Faced with the giant python strike…
Lin Ye stabbed his Cold-Iron Sword into the ground.
Then he formed a seal with both hands.
"Secret Art…"
"Frenzied Blood Curse!"
The moment the seal completed—
several key acupoints in his body awakened like they'd been struck by lightning.
His blood ignited.
His strength exploded—
tenfold.
And his aura—
shot straight through the Qi Sea Realm barrier.
It climbed into the Earth Transformation Realm.
Yu Baiji laughed.
Even now, he still believed Lin Ye was struggling uselessly.
"No matter what tricks you use…"
"My strike will crush you."
Lin Ye's voice turned cold and steady.
"Blood Slaughter… Nine Exterminations."
He yanked the Cold-Iron Sword from the earth.
HUM—
Nine blood-asura sword waves erupted.
A storm of crimson sword energy slammed directly into the giant python projection.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The collision shook the ground.
But Lin Ye's Blood Slaughter Nine Exterminations—
cut through the python like a blade through paper.
CRACK!
Yu Baiji's python energy shattered.
His eyes widened.
"What—?!"
The final sword wave carried the Cold-Iron Sword itself—
piercing through his defense…
and driving straight into his chest.
PFFT!
The sword punched through him.
Blood burst out like a red flower.
Yu Baiji stumbled back.
His once-overwhelming aura collapsed.
In a matter of breaths, he looked like a dying man.
Old.
Broken.
He staggered two steps and dropped to the ground.
His voice trembled.
"How…?"
"How is this possible…?"
He stared at the gaping blood hole in his chest.
In that instant, Lin Ye's sword energy had surged into his body—
and severed every meridian he had.
Yu Baiji…
was finished.
Shen Miaoyu's eyes gleamed with shock and awe.
Lin Ye stood there—
tall.
Unshakable.
Like a god of slaughter.
Every core disciple stared at him with pale faces.
Lin Ye…
had just killed an Earth Transformation expert.
Gu Qing froze.
His blood ran cold.
How could this happen?
Yu Baiji had been unstoppable.
So how could Lin Ye—just Lin Ye—kill him?
Then Gu Qing saw Lin Ye step forward, crouching beside Yu Baiji.
Lin Ye leaned down close, as if to whisper something.
Yu Baiji's lips moved weakly.
Gu Qing's heart skipped.
What did he say?!
Gu Qing rushed forward.
"What… what did he tell you?!"
Lin Ye stood up slowly.
His eyes were calm.
"He said…"
"The antidote to the Dispersal Pill was given to him by you."
Gu Qing's face drained of color.
Sweat exploded from his forehead.
"N-no! He's lying!"
"Lin Ye!"
"You're only a disciple—how dare you threaten a steward?!"
"I'm an inner steward!"
"You can't kill me!"
Lin Ye's voice was ice.
"Colluding with a blacklist criminal…"
"Execution on the spot."
He moved.
Gu Qing panicked and tried to gather mystic energy to block—
but Lin Ye was faster.
Lin Ye appeared behind him.
A single slash.
Gu Qing's head flew into the air.
It landed beside Yu Baiji's corpse.
Rolling to a stop.
The Frenzied Blood Curse faded…
yet Lin Ye felt no backlash.
No weakness.
Not even discomfort.
His eyes flashed.
This Frenzied Blood Curse…
It lasts for an entire incense stick's time…
and has no side effects.
If secret arts have ranks…
then this one is terrifyingly high.
The branch hall was in ruins.
The night had been filled with chaos and blood.
Everything was tangled and unclear.
But Lin Ye gave them a "perfect" conclusion.
"This steward took bribes from Yu Baiji."
"He ordered Jiang Fusheng to poison the Wind-Riding Birds."
"He released Yu Baiji intentionally."
"They're all dead now."
"Go back and rest."
"Tomorrow, we carry Yu Baiji's body back to the sect."
The core disciples were still stunned.
But no one dared argue.
Not after what they'd witnessed.
Lei Yongbiao, however, had watched everything clearly.
Yu Baiji had already died before Lin Ye leaned in.
He never spoke.
But Lei Yongbiao would never say a word.
Not after seeing Lin Ye's strength.
Later that night…
an old physician reported to Lei Yongbiao.
"Hall Master…"
"The poison in the birds wasn't Gut-Cleaving Poison."
"It was Lanxin Bitter Gall."
"It has nothing to do with Gut-Cleaving Grass."
Lei Yongbiao stared at him.
Then smiled.
And patted his shoulder.
"You're mistaken."
"The birds were poisoned by Gut-Cleaving Grass."