"This..."
Seeing Dugu Jian make a move, everyone present felt a primal fear. This woman was unbelievably powerful.
"She is Dugu Jian?"
Shen Tianjun and Song Shadao stared intently at Dugu Jian, exchanging a look before asking. Clearly, they had heard the name of this Grandmaster of the Sword Dao, Dugu Jian, but they couldn't believe she was so young and so formidable.
"Dugu Jian..."
The members of the five great families looked at the woman standing in mid-air, her white robes like snow, their expressions extremely grim. They knew that after today, Shen Tianjun and Song Shadao would no longer be the strongest martial artists in Long Country. Dugu Jian would replace them, becoming a new myth, a new legend.
"Master, this Dugu Jian seems to have been born for the sword. I have a premonition that she is the foremost sword master of this era." Shi Feixuan said to the Old Abbot, her face solemn.
"Feixuan, although we have lost our sword cultivation, we still have our Sword Eyes. Use your Sword Eyes to observe her, and you will understand why she can absorb our sword intent and sword techniques." The Old Abbot's forehead revealed a blood-red eye.
Hearing the Old Abbot's words, Shi Feixuan opened her Sword Eyes. The moment she looked, she was startled. "Dugu Jian... she... she has absorbed the sword intent left by all the swordsmen who have died over the past few millennia?"
"Yes, that explains why she never touched a sword before she was eighteen, yet became invincible the moment she held one," the Old Abbot sighed. "Furthermore, she has a great connection with our Cihang Jingzhai."
"Two hundred and forty years ago, a supreme expert from Cihang Jingzhai fought a great demon. Although she severely wounded the enemy, she exhausted her life force. Before she died, she said she would be reincarnated with thousands of sword intents to achieve her path as a Sword Saint." The Old Abbot continued, "I previously calculated that this person was in Nanling and assumed it was Gu Qinghan. Now it seems I was mistaken. This person is none other than Dugu Jian."
As soon as these words were spoken, Shi Feixuan was greatly shocked. At this moment, Dugu Jian, who was suspended in mid-air, slowly opened her eyes, as if awakening to something. Her gaze turned cold and terrifying as she said to Di Shitian, "Rebel, we meet again."
"Dugu Jian, is it you?" Di Shitian looked at the person before him, a flicker of terror in his eyes. "I didn't expect you to return."
"Yes, I have returned, and therefore, your plot will be shattered by me once more." Dugu Jian said calmly to Di Shitian, "Two hundred and forty years ago, you crossed the sea, attempting to seize the Imperial Seal and disrupt Long Country's destiny. I was able to heavily wound you then, and I can do so again today."
"Dugu Jian, you are mistaken. The Di Shitian standing before you today is not the Di Shitian of that time, but one who has already become a Land Immortal. I have reached the eighth grade of Innate, and in this world, I am the heavens."
"You were reincarnated with sword intent, that is true, but you cannot kill me. Instead, you will die here today." As he finished speaking, a golden shield reappeared around Di Shitian, with a golden dragon swimming on its surface.
Seeing this, Dugu Jian waved her hand, and tens of thousands of flying swords descended like meteors under her control, charging towards Di Shitian. However, Di Shitian's golden shield was impenetrable. The flying swords shattered upon contact, and soon all of them were exhausted.
Yet, Dugu Jian's expression did not change. At this moment, she patted the heavy sword in her hand, and then her entire being seemed to merge into the sword.
"What?"
To everyone's astonishment, the heavy sword plummeted from the sky and charged towards Di Shitian. The power of this strike was indescribable, its might immeasurable. The terrifying sword energy pressed down on an area of ten kilometers, black clouds filled the sky, and fierce winds whipped up dust and stones.
"This... this is the highest realm of the Cihang Sword Canon, Sword Heart Clarity. Master, this far exceeds our comprehension." Shi Feixuan looked at the scene, her face filled with dread. She said to the Old Abbot, "Even if all the powerhouses of Cihang Jingzhai were combined, we couldn't withstand this strike."
"This is normal. Dugu Jian is only the second person in the history of Cihang Jingzhai to have cultivated the Cihang Sword Canon, and she is the most powerful in sword cultivation. We were able to cultivate the Cihang Sword Canon thanks to the notes she left behind." The Old Abbot looked at Dugu Jian with reverence, but more with curiosity about whether she could defeat this old monster.
The world knows of four martial arts realms, but few know that above the Heavenly Realm peak lies the Innate realm, with the Innate realm having nine grades. Di Shitian, having reached the eighth grade, is already a Land Immortal, unmatched in the mortal world. Even the Old Abbot has only broken through to the first grade of Innate, and Shen Tianjun, though hailed as a genius, is at the same level. As for Shi Feixuan and Song Shadao, they have just broken through to the Innate realm and have not yet stabilized their cultivation. The gap in strength between enemies and allies is indeed too great.
However, Dugu Jian has not even reached the Innate realm, let alone the Heavenly Realm, yet no one doubts her strength. Under everyone's gaze, the heavy sword descended from the sky and collided with Di Shitian's golden shield.
"Bang—"
In an instant, the golden shield shattered like a glass dome. Di Shitian, exposed, was momentarily stunned. At this moment, the heavy sword stabbed down towards his head.
"Dugu Jian, I defeated you over two hundred years ago, and I can do it again today. You cannot kill me." Di Shitian was shocked that Dugu Jian could break his Golden Body protection. His face changed dramatically, and a sense of mortal dread washed over him. He raised his hands and clasped them together, stopping the descending heavy sword with sheer force.
However, at this very moment, Dugu Jian, who had merged with the heavy sword, suddenly appeared. She swiftly flashed before Di Shitian, drew the wooden sword from her waist, and pierced his heart.
"This..."
This single strike left all the onlookers wide-eyed in disbelief that the immensely powerful Di Shitian could be pierced through the heart by Dugu Jian. However, in the next second, Di Shitian's expression shifted from terror to malevolence. He quickly flung the heavy sword away and, ignoring the stab wound in his chest, struck Dugu Jian's chest with both fists, sending her flying backward more than ten meters. She crashed heavily before Shen Lang, spitting out a mouthful of blood, appearing on the verge of death.
"Dugu Jian, you are indeed powerful, but unfortunately, I have been researching technology for over two hundred years and have long replaced my heart with an artificial one. Your strike cannot kill me." Di Shitian slowly pulled the wooden sword from his chest, a smug, sinister grin appearing on his lips. "It's time to end this."
With that, Di Shitian charged rapidly towards Dugu Jian, intending to kill this greatest threat to him.
"Stop him—" The Old Abbot shouted as he rushed forward. Shi Feixuan, Shen Tianjun, and Song Shadao followed suit. They could not stand by and watch Dugu Jian die here; they would protect her at all costs.
"How can you, with your Innate eighth-grade strength, stop me? Get lost." Di Shitian laughed as he faced the four people blocking his path. With a single punch, he sent all four flying dozens of meters away, each severely wounded and on the verge of death.
After Di Shitian repelled the four, Shen Lang quickly moved to block in front of Dugu Jian. Like the Old Abbot and the others, even though he knew he was no match, he was determined to protect Dugu Jian.
"You insignificant brat, die!" Di Shitian already harbored hatred for Shen Lang. Seeing Shen Lang blocking him from killing Dugu Jian, he became enraged and unleashed a heavy punch towards Shen Lang. This punch was suffocatingly powerful and filled with despair; even Shen Lang, fighting with all his might, could not resist it.
However, just as Shen Lang's life hung by a thread, a girl in flowing white, as beautiful as a celestial being, rushed out and stood in front of him.
"Bang—"
Di Shitian threw a punch, and the white-clad girl threw a punch in return. In the next moment, their fists collided. But the outcome was beyond everyone's expectations. The white-clad girl stood unmoved, her face serene, while Di Shitian was sent flying backward like a broken kite, crashing through more than a dozen trees before stopping, blood gushing from his mouth. He looked utterly pathetic.
"You..." Di Shitian stared intently at the white-clad girl, unable to believe that a child of eighteen or nineteen could severely wound him. The others looked at the girl in white with disbelief, and even Shen Lang couldn't believe his eyes.
Because the white-clad girl was none other than his wife, Wang Yuyan.
"Yuyan..." Shen Lang looked at Wang Yuyan, a mix of surprise and joy overwhelming him.
"Husband, don't ask now." Wang Yuyan stood on tiptoe and kissed Shen Lang's cheek. Then, she walked step by step towards the heavily wounded Di Shitian.
"Little girl, who are you?" Di Shitian's eyes were filled with rage as he watched Wang Yuyan approach.
"Me? I am Wang Yuyan of the Wang family in Nanling, and also the daughter-in-law of the Shen family. But my identities are many. I am not only the behind-the-scenes boss of 'Hope' company but also the leader of the intelligence organization 'Tianluo Diwang,' and I also have a name called 'Bing.'"
"What?" Hearing Wang Yuyan's words, everyone present, including Shen Lang, was stunned. They couldn't believe that Wang Yuyan was the behind-the-scenes boss of the rising 'Hope' company and the leader 'Bing' of 'Tianluo Diwang.' Shen Lang, in particular, had been online friends with 'Bing' for many years and never knew that 'Bing' was his own wife, Wang Yuyan.
"Di Shitian, you spent nearly three hundred years cultivating to the eighth grade of Innate and becoming a Land Immortal, but I must tell you a cruel truth: I cultivated from an ordinary person to the highest realm of martial arts, the ninth grade of Innate, in less than three months." Wang Yuyan sighed. "The truth must be hard to bear, but soon you won't feel it, because you will be a dead man."
With that, Wang Yuyan casually unleashed a palm strike towards Di Shitian. However, this palm strike was accompanied by a world-destroying, immense power. Di Shitian had no power to resist and was instantly blown to smithereens by this palm strike.