Zong Rui’s death caused a massive uproar.

At that moment, every expert who witnessed the scene was utterly horrified.

Gazing at the young man who stood in mid-air, radiating a dark golden light like a Golden Armor War God, everyone’s hearts were filled with a storm of complex emotions.

They recalled Jiang Chen’s journey. Just a few months ago, he had made a high-profile entrance into the Saint Martial Sword Sect by matching the record set by the Saint Child, Lan Haichen, during his first challenge of the Earth Martial Hall.

Immediately after, he became the ultimate dark horse in the Outer Sect Grand Competition!

He cut through all obstacles to seize the first-place throne!

Then, faced with provocations from the Celestial Alliance’s masters, he acted decisively. With his True Martial Realm cultivation, he crushed several of their experts and killed the prodigies ranked one hundredth, eighty-sixth, and fifty-first on the Inner Sect’s Celestial Pride List.

And now, with tyrannical power, he had staged a desperate counterattack, broken through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, and crushed an Outer Sect Elder, Zong Rui, to death with a single stomp.

Even one of these achievements would have been enough to make any other Sword Sect disciple a legendary figure!

What’s more, all these miraculous experiences were concentrated in one person: Jiang Chen.

It was as if dazzling halos surrounded him, making him appear incredibly brilliant, imposing, and magnificent!

"H-How can he be so strong? Even if he broke through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, his power shouldn’t have increased this much..." In the crowd, the wrinkles on Elder Zhang’s old, bark-like face trembled as he spoke in horror.

From the True Martial Realm to the Heavenly Destiny Realm.

It was like crossing a celestial chasm.

Even the strongest master at the Peak of the True Martial Realm had a lifespan of two hundred years at most, still within the realm of mortals.

But once one broke through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, they could easily live for five hundred years.

This was what was commonly known as transcending the mundane—the very definition of a Heavenly Destiny Realm expert.

However, while Heavenly Destiny Realm experts were far stronger than those in the True Martial Realm, it was still extremely rare to see someone’s strength skyrocket as much as Jiang Chen’s had after their breakthrough.

Of course, if Elder Zhang had known that while Jiang Chen was breaking through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, his Divine Demon Tyrant Body had also advanced to the Late Stage of the Third Stage, making his physical body comparable to an Earth Tier High-level Profound Weapon... And that his Martial Soul, the God-slaying Sword, had also used the Thunder Tribulation Spirit Liquid to reach the Earth Tier Ninth Grade...

...Then he wouldn’t have been so shocked by Jiang Chen’s massive increase in strength.

"Elder Zhang!"

The calm voice came from Jiang Chen, making Elder Zhang tremble as if struck by lightning.

His neck stiff, he turned toward the source of the voice. The sight of Jiang Chen, now right in front of him, scared him so much that he stumbled back several steps.

His eyes flickered uncertainly as he stared at Jiang Chen, his voice trembling with horror and fear. "Jiang... Jiang Chen, w-what do you want?"

"Heh!"

Jiang Chen grinned, his malicious gaze sending a chill down Elder Zhang’s spine. "Elder Zhang, you great men are so forgetful. It’s only been a few days. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten who told Zong Han my whereabouts?"

"H-How would I know?" Elder Zhang flatly denied.

Jiang Chen shrugged, his tone scornful. "It seems Elder Zhang is getting old, and his memory is failing him badly. In that case, let me help you jog it!"

With a cold sneer, Jiang Chen suddenly shot out his palm.

The strike was incredibly fast.

It arrived in an instant.

It landed heavily on Elder Zhang’s chest. He convulsed violently and was sent flying a hundred meters before he finally stopped. Blood spurted from the corner of his mouth, his internal energy churning chaotically. He glared at Jiang Chen with a savage expression and roared, "Jiang Chen, are you insane? I’m an Inner Sect Elder! How dare you attack me?"

His cultivation was only a sliver stronger than Zong Rui’s.

Even Zong Rui had been crushed to death by Jiang Chen with a single stomp. Elder Zhang didn’t believe for a second that he could gain any advantage if he fought Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen sneered disdainfully. "So what if you’re an Inner Sect Elder? Have I not killed enough people from the Inner Sect today?"

Elder Zhang’s expression changed drastically. "What are you going to do?"

"Kill you!"

Jiang Chen’s lips barely moved as he suddenly drew his sword.

The strike seemed ordinary, but it was the Fourth Technique of the Infinite Sword Technique, Endless Universe.

Eighty-one strands of Sword Qi erupted in the shape of a net, ensnaring Elder Zhang within. The strands of Sword Qi intertwined, forming a Sword Qi Cage. Inside the cage, a torrent of Sword Qi crisscrossed chaotically.

Every strand of Sword Qi pulsed with Destruction Power.

Elder Zhang’s cultivation was not much higher than Zong Rui’s; both were at the Sixth Stage Peak Realm of the Heavenly Destiny Realm. He only managed to hold on inside the Sword Qi Cage for a short while before being brutally shredded to pieces!

Another Inner Sect Elder had fallen to Jiang Chen’s sword!

Jiang Chen stood with his sword in hand, his calm gaze turning toward the peak of Martial Saint Mountain. A deeply sarcastic smile touched his lips as he spoke calmly, "You’ve been spying from the shadows for quite some time. Aren’t you going to show yourself?"

The Outer Sect and the Inner Sect were worlds apart.

The Outer Sect was chaotic, and it was common for disciples to kill each other. Even if you killed an Outer Sect Elder, as long as you demonstrated sufficient power, the Law Enforcement Hall would turn a blind eye.

After all, in a massive Sect like the Saint Martial Sword Sect with millions of disciples, the rules of ’survival of the fittest’ and ’respect for the strong’ were the easiest way to cultivate true experts.

A true powerhouse could never be nurtured in a greenhouse!

Only by breaking through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, entering the Inner Sect, and demonstrating sufficient talent and value would one earn the Sect’s protection.

In the Ten Halls of the Inner Sect, disciples were not forbidden from fighting, but killing was strictly prohibited.

After all, anyone who could reach the Heavenly Destiny Realm was a precious asset to the Saint Martial Sword Sect!

Of course, there were no absolutes in the world!

Prodigies as supreme as Saint Child Lan Haichen or the Holy Dragon Knight Di Tian would not be punished by the Saint Martial Sword Sect even if they killed an Inner Sect Elder or even a Hall Master.

This was the law of the jungle: respect for the strong, power above all!

This was why when the Inner Sect Disciples of the Celestial Alliance had swarmed into the Outer Sect to kill Jiang Chen and the others, resulting in such a bloody and brutal conflict where even three experts from the Inner Sect’s Celestial Pride List had died, no one from the Law Enforcement Hall had intervened.

It was because the Celestial Alliance had given prior notice!

For the Celestial Alliance’s masters to have died so miserably and for the Law Enforcement Hall to still be absent, there was only one possibility—the Celestial Alliance was not ready to let this matter go!

As he was breaking through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, Jiang Chen had already sensed an exceptionally powerful presence spying on everything from high up in the clouds.

Clearly, this was the Celestial Alliance master who was preventing the Law Enforcement Hall from interfering!

"HAHAHAHA... As expected of the madman who dares to provoke the Holy Son. Since you knew I was here, yet still dared to so brazenly kill Zong Rui and the others, I truly don’t know where you get your courage!" a calm but majestic voice boomed from the clouds as a streak of silver light descended from the heavens.

It was a handsome young man clad in silver battle armor. A bright moon seemed to rise and fall behind his head, and there was a red mole between his eyebrows.

Divine and holy!

That was the first impression this young man gave to everyone!

"That’s Young Master Silver Moon, Xin Yuhuang, ranked thirteenth on the Inner Sect’s Celestial Pride List! He’s one of the founding members of the Celestial Alliance. Why is he here?"

"Is Young Master Silver Moon going to attack Jiang Chen?"

"No way, right? Given Young Master Silver Moon’s status, how could he possibly lower himself to attack Jiang Chen?"

Just as everyone was bewildered, Young Master Silver Moon, Xin Yuhuang, spoke up. "If it were up to me, I would have erased you the moment you killed Zuo Qing. However, the Holy Son issued a Holy Edict long ago. If you can survive this ordeal, then your miserable life will be spared..."

Xin Yuhuang spoke nonchalantly as a golden scroll materialized in his hand. He tossed it into the air, and the golden scroll soared high into the sky.

RUSTLE—

The scroll opened on its own, and streams of golden characters flew out from it. They moved like flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, every stroke imbued with a profound True Martial Dao. To be able to infuse True Martial Dao into calligraphy... Lan Haichen, the one who wrote this Holy Edict, must have reached an unimaginable level of cultivation!

As the golden characters appeared, a resounding and majestic voice that compelled submission echoed above Martial Saint Mountain: "During the Celestial Fate Hunting, I will take your wretched life!"

The resonant voice exploded in everyone’s mind, an order no one dared to defy!

Xin Yuhuang’s eyes were filled with gloating and pity as he laughed. "Jiang Chen, from now until the end of the Celestial Fate Hunting, no one from my Celestial Alliance will touch you. We’ll spare your miserable life for now. When the time comes for the Celestial Fate Hunting, Junior Sister Ziyou will personally come to claim it!"

"Jiang Ziyou? Go back and tell her and Lan Haichen that I, Jiang Chen, will be waiting for them!" Jiang Chen said in a low voice, his eyes narrowed.

Xin Yuhuang let out a derisive laugh. "You’re truly naive! Do you think you’re strong now? I don’t mind telling you, Junior Sister Ziyou has been cultivating by the Holy Son’s side this entire time. The speed of her improvement is beyond belief. The Celestial Fate Hunting will be the day you descend to the Yellow Springs. Cherish these last few days of your life! HAHAHA..."

Xin Yuhuang soared into the sky and flew away, bathed in the glow of a silver moon.

Jiang Chen tilted his head up slightly, his fists clenched tightly. An unyielding fighting spirit burned within him like a raging fire...

’Jiang Ziyou, Lan Haichen... The Celestial Fate Hunting will be the day I get my revenge!’