One-shotted?

Xu Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the five words floating above the other's head: 【Heaven Immortal Stage - Early】. He found it somewhat laughable.

"Acting like such hot shit just because you're two stages higher than me?"

Seeing Xu Xian remain silent, Little Sequence Ning assumed he was afraid. "Don't worry," he said. "The adults above said you have to stay alive. So, we're only determining the victor, not deciding life and death. Don't be scared, hahaha!"

Xu Xian truly laughed this time. "Haha!"

"Do you dare to give me an answer?" Ning remained as arrogant as ever.

Xu Xian pondered for a moment. "Fine!"

Little Sequence Ning laughed even more wildly. With a wave of his hand, the white robe behind his silver armor fluttered. He declared loudly, "Listen up, all of you! No one is allowed to help. I'll have a problem with anyone who interferes."

The surrounding wilderness was empty, and no voice replied.

The others with Xu Xian looked around. With their cultivation levels, they naturally couldn't see the powerful dark creatures lurking in the shadows. Consequently, they felt that this fellow was mentally ill.

A look of displeasure crossed Little Sequence Ning's face. He shouted again, "Retreat already!"

Several afterimages in the shadows slowly retreated, vanishing from the darkness into an even deeper gloom.

Everyone understood that this descendant of an Ancestral Spirit was afraid someone else would steal the credit. Xu Xian understood it too, especially since the other party had mentioned wanting him alive.

Why?

The only reason he could think of was his identity as a Sword Bearer, or rather, that Sword Tower.

It had been two years.

It had been over a thousand days since he ascended to the Heavens. Above the Heavens, he had summoned the White Jade Capital more than once.

The White Jade Capital was something not only Li Shuhe, the old tortoise, and the Twilight Emperor recognized; there were bound to be those among the dark creatures who recognized it as well.

After all...

During the Era of Primal Chaos, this sword had once stirred the stars in the Boundary Sea and dealt a massive blow to the darkness.

Therefore, the person who wanted him alive must know the inside story.

What they were after was likely this Sword Tower and the Twelve Divine Swords.

Xu Xian's eyes turned gloomy. He pursed his dry lips and said, "You want to use me to claim credit, but aren't you afraid of losing your life?"

Little Sequence Ning didn't care that his intentions had been seen through. He drew the blade at his waist and slashed to his side. The blade's momentum erupted forward, cutting through ten miles of turbulent air. Arrogantly, he said:

"Come!"

Xu Xian glanced at the Little Book Spirit hovering outside the array, and the latter understood his meaning instantly.

Then, ignoring the attempts of the others to stop him, Xu Xian stepped out of the array. Little Sequence Ning was impatient, yet he still acted with overconfidence.

He danced with his long blade as if performing a trick, seemingly waiting for Xu Xian to make the first move.

Divine light erupted from Xu Xian's eyes. A strand of divine sense condensed from his Pupil of Insight lunged straight at Little Sequence Ning.

The latter felt his head grow heavy as a sharp pain stabbed through it.

His movements stiffened, his expression became dazed, and his eyelids drooped.

"Hiss..."

"What the hell?"

He cursed inwardly. Snapping back to his senses, he looked up only to see a vast expanse of snowy white before him.

"Huh?"

After a momentary daze, he finally saw clearly. Behind Xu Xian, a towering pavilion had risen at some unknown point. It had twelve floors and stood a full thousand feet tall.

The moment the tower rose...

Not only was Little Sequence Ning stunned, but even Spirit Sequence Seven, who was in the middle of a fierce battle, couldn't help but cast a glance over.

The divine senses in the shadows and the dark creatures already arrayed in formation saw it even more clearly.

The tower that appeared out of air was a massive thousand feet tall. It was wreathed in immortal essence and radiated a vast divine might. Staring at it was like gazing upon heavenly radiance.

It was an anomaly similar to the derivative products of an Emperor Domain divine ability, which only powerhouse great emperors could comprehend.

But he was definitely no emperor. Therefore, this boy must possess an extraordinary treasure.

This object was that very thing. Beyond the shock in their eyes, a hint of greed inevitably surfaced.

Before they could even snap back to their senses, they saw the tower open six floors in succession, its colors changing to six different hues in an instant.

Red,

Black,

Blue,

Green,

Purple,

Grey.

Then, six strands of sword intent surged out from the tower, each one containing the might of the Great Dao.

The six sword intents were unleashed, vanishing into the void in a split second. Then, a Book Sword Immortal descended into the world.

A dharma body, ten thousand feet tall, stood level with the heavens and earth...

The dharma body phantom looked down,

And Little Sequence Ning looked up.

A buzz exploded in his head.

It was as if he were seeing an Immortal King.

He stood there, dazed.

Little Sequence Ning's throat bobbed. "This...?"

The Little Book Spirit drew its sword and slashed down.

First came the hum of the sword,

Then came the sword's howl.

In the world before them, surging sword intent ran rampant, and Little Sequence Ning was instantly swallowed by it.

The sword intent continued to crisscross, the noise chaotic and deafening.

All living beings were silent, staring blankly.

They waited until the Sword Tower faded,

Until the Book Sword Immortal dissipated,

Until the sword intent subsided,

And until even the whistling sword qi had vanished...

The people fixed their gazes once more.

The human youth in the grey coat gave his hand a flick and retreated back into the array.

But in front of the array, there was no longer any sign of Little Sequence Ning.

All that remained was a massive crater, a deep sword gorge, and a blade mostly buried in the dirt.

Silence!

A peculiar sort of deathly stillness!

Even though the wind was howling and the thunder was roaring...

At this moment, their hearts were as silent as the grave.

Adam's apples bobbed,

Corners of mouths twitched,

And eyes bulged.

Ant Old Man: "What happened?"

Half-Beast Hunk: "Where is he?"

Angel Girl: "One-shotted!"

It had all happened too quickly. From the boy agreeing to the duel, to stepping out of the array, summoning the tower, unleashing the sword, the appearance of the Book Sword Immortal, and the final strike—it had taken less than three breaths in total...

From the moment the sword intent erupted until it faded away, it had only been a few dozen breaths.

Many people still hadn't processed what had actually occurred.

They only saw that the person who had just been shouting was gone.

They only knew that the human youth at the Mortal Immortal stage had one-shotted the descendant of an Ancestral Spirit who was at the Heaven Immortal stage!

Absurd.

Ridiculous.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, who would believe it?

Even having seen it, it was still hard to accept...

At this moment...

The outsiders stared with wide eyes, the dark creatures furrowed their brows, and the six people within the array were filled with endless admiration.

Cool.

That was the only word.

Badass.

That was the best description.

They knew Xu Xian was fierce, but they hadn't expected him to be this fierce.

Especially now...

His calm and composed expression, as if everything were only natural, made their respect for him surge like the endless waters of a great river...

Only the tiny Little Book Spirit sat weakly on his shoulder, raising a hand to wipe its pale face, though there was no sweat on it.

Lu Yuan gave a thumbs-up. "Strong!"

Jin Yu raised both thumbs. "Badass!"

Xu Xian smiled slightly and said softly, "It's not worth mentioning."

The six of them: "..." What a show-off!

Xu Xian had decided long ago: either he wouldn't fight, or he would one-shot him.

The other wanted to determine a victor, but Xu Xian wanted his life. There was no other reason.

The guy was a descendant of an Ancestral Spirit and stronger than him. If he didn't kill him in one blow, a powerhouse would surely step in to protect him.

He had to use this move, using the other's life to prove his own name.

In the battlefield in the sky, Spirit Sequence Seven witnessed everything and was enraged. She roared, "You brat, how dare you!"

She issued an order: "Kill him for me!"

In the battlefield behind, Spirit Sequence Three sensed what had happened and went mad. She let out a mournful cry, "Ning'er!"

She glared fiercely at the Sovereign. "I'll tear you apart alive!"

The Sovereign: "???" What the hell.

The Sovereign: "You're insane!"