Jiang Yifan's face was pale, his arms trembling slightly from overexertion as he controlled the bronze disk.
Fight?
With their eldest senior brother absent, he, at the peak of the Golden Core stage, was their strongest combatant.
Facing Qin Lie, who was at the Nascent Soul stage, along with two formidable Golden Core cultivators from the Beast Taming Sect, their chances of winning were infinitesimal.
His fifth junior sister's arrays were being countered, while Ling Suxin, his little junior sister, and his seventh junior brother were struggling to hold their ground.
If he fell, the total defeat of their team was only a matter of time. Not only would they lose all their points and flags, but everyone might also suffer severe injuries.
Surrender?
Hand over the flags and points they had worked so hard to obtain?
That would be no different from trampling the sect's reputation into the dirt!
Their Five Elements Dao Sect had been silent for years, and they had finally managed to distinguish themselves in this assembly. The others had fought with everything they had to take top honors and redeem the sect's name.
If they surrendered without a fight now, how could they face their peers? How could they face their second and sixth senior brothers, who were currently gravely injured and waiting for rescue?
Had they not fought so hard to enter the team battle precisely to restore the prestige of the Five Elements Dao Sect?
Even though he could sense a hint of sincerity in Qin Lie's words and understood that the offer might be the most 'rational' choice in this situation...
Preserve their strength, avoid senseless injury, leave some hope for the future...
However, his gaze swept over his fellow disciples.
He saw the unyielding stubbornness in Feng Qingping's eyes, he saw Ling Suxin's steady hand seals despite being at a disadvantage, he saw the blatant anger and defiance on Li Nanzhu's small face, and he saw the resolve in Duan Xianxing's grip on his long sword, ready to fight to the death at any moment.
And even more...
He felt the weak but resilient fluctuations coming from the Soul-Sound Bell, belonging to his second and sixth senior brothers.
In the midst of that oppressive silence, Duan Xianxing suddenly raised his head. His face, which usually held a bit of a playful grin, was now flushed red as he practically roared:
"Fourth Senior Brother! Why waste words on them? If they want to fight, let's fight! If they want to rob us, let them try! They want me to hand over our points and flags? Not a chance!"
He brandished his long sword, pointing the tip directly at the group from the Beast Taming Sect. His voice was slightly hoarse from excitement, yet it carried an unquestionable finality.
"The points of our Five Elements Dao Sect were earned with every strike of our blades and swords! We traded our lives for them! Why should we hand them over just because they said so?!"
"So what if he's at the Nascent Soul stage? What's the big deal! At worst, we'll go down fighting together! The absolute worst that can happen is getting eliminated, as if I'm afraid of you!"
"Never surrender!"
Duan Xianxing's powerful words acted like a fuse being lit.
Li Nanzhu also said firmly, "Seventh Senior Brother is right! If you want the points, come and take them yourselves!"
A surge of hot blood rushed to Jiang Yifan's head, dispelling the chill brought about by the opponent's Nascent Soul cultivation.
The Five Elements Dao Sect could be defeated, but it could never surrender!
If they surrendered here without a fight and handed over their points and flags, their Dao hearts would surely be stained. How could he face his true self on the path of cultivation in the future?
How could he lead the sect back to its peak?
And how could he face his brothers and sisters who were struggling to hold on?
Jiang Yifan took a deep breath, and a sharp light erupted from his eyes—a resolve that discarded all hesitation and burned away all distracting thoughts!
He looked at Qin Lie, his voice not loud but exceptionally clear and firm, echoing across the silent battlefield with an undeniable power:
"Fellow Daoist Qin!"
"I appreciate your kind intentions!"
"But as disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect—"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over all his fellow disciples, seeing the flames ignited in their eyes. His voice suddenly rose in volume.
"Sect honor is more important than life!"
"You want the points and the flags? Fine!"
"Then take them with your true strength!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Jiang Yifan suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of essence blood onto the Seven-Star Disk in front of him!
"Buzz—!"
The array disk let out a low hum as a brilliant green light flared. The previously dim starlight barrier suddenly solidified, even showing signs of pushing back the lightning net!
Watching this scene, the appreciation in Qin Lie's eyes finally turned into a soft sigh and a faint, almost imperceptible trace of respect.
"A pity..." he whispered, his gaze turning sharp once more. "In that case... forgive me!"
As he finished speaking, he no longer held back!
Almost the instant his voice fell, Ling Suxin and Feng Qingping swapped positions!
Ling Suxin's figure flickered as she instantly appeared beside Jiang Yifan. The lotus lamp in her hand radiated a brilliant light, its soft halo merging with Jiang Yifan's starlight barrier, greatly enhancing its defense and stability!
At the same time, her slender fingers tapped repeatedly, sending several streaks of spiritual energy that radiated a heart-cleansing aura into Jiang Yifan's body, helping him stabilize his injuries and replenish his energy.
Meanwhile, Feng Qingping moved to intercept Ye Gucheng!
She knew well that close combat was not her strength, so she avoided direct confrontation entirely. Array flags flew out one after another, setting up small illusionary arrays to interfere with his judgment!
She utilized her control as an array master to the fullest, stubbornly dragging Ye Gucheng and his demonic beast into a quagmire of a battle!
"Hmph! Death throes!" Seeing the opponent's formation change, Qin Lie's eyes grew cold. The power of the fire dragon net increased further, transforming into substantial chains.
This time, facing the Nascent Soul pressure, Jiang Yifan did not retreat—he advanced!
He suddenly slapped his storage bag. This time, it wasn't an array disk he produced, but dozens of various magic tools, which he hurled toward Qin Lie in a relentless barrage!
Off-fire beads, mysterious ice spikes, golden light shuttles... although the grade of any single item might not be exceptionally high, their sheer numbers and varied attributes, even forming a faint resonance with each other, created an explosive power sufficient to throw any cultivator of the same level into disarray!
This was exactly Jiang Yifan's plan: to leverage his profound background in refining and his massive wealth to drown his opponent in a continuous stream of magic tools!
Qin Lie clearly hadn't expected Jiang Yifan to be so 'extravagant.' Faced with this overwhelming flood of magic tools, he didn't dare to be careless. He was forced to divert his attention, controlling the fire dragon net to transform into a massive fire shield for blocking!
"Boom! Boom!"
A continuous string of explosions rang out as various spiritual lights flashed wildly in the air. Although most of the magic tools were blocked or shattered by the fire shield, they successfully tied up the majority of Qin Lie's focus, preventing him from exerting his full power to suppress them.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the pressure on Li Nanzhu and Duan Xianxing decreased significantly!
Duan Xianxing let out a roar, his swordplay becoming even more ferocious as he locked the inner sect disciple of the Beast Taming Sect into combat.
Meanwhile, Li Nanzhu quickly retreated a few steps, her mind racing as she observed the entire battlefield.
'Qin Lie... why isn't he using beast taming?' The thought surfaced again.
She kept her eyes fixed on Qin Lie, noticing that despite his intimidating aura, there was a trace of almost imperceptible exhaustion between his brows while he controlled the fire dragon net, and his breath wasn't perfectly smooth.
'That's it! Mo Lin must have heavily damaged the origin of Qin Lie's demonic beast earlier. It's likely not fully recovered yet, and he can't afford to be distracted by summoning or commanding a stronger beast to join the fight!'
'All he can use now is his own cultivation!'
This discovery caused Li Nanzhu's spirits to rise!
This meant they weren't facing a Nascent Soul cultivator in peak condition. Furthermore, since beast tamers relied more on their beasts, their personal strength was far inferior to that of a sword cultivator of the same stage.
An opportunity!
"Suisui!" Li Nanzhu whispered.
Suisui, who had been lurking in the shadows to assist Li Nanzhu and Duan Xianxing, had a flicker of ghostly light in its eye sockets, instantly understanding its master's intent.
It abandoned its harassment of the inner sect disciple, its form turning into a nearly invisible white shadow as it silently crept toward the area where Feng Qingping was fighting!
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