"You know what’s good for you."

With a flick of his sleeve, Qi Yun summoned a gust of wind that swept the Golden Light Sword Talismans into his hand. He looked down coldly at Pang Xiao.

"Get lost."

"Thank you, Brother." Breathing a sigh of relief, Pang Xiao straightened up, a wide smile on his face.

"If you ever need me for anything in the future, Brother, just say the word. I’ll do everything in my power to help."

’If I can get on his good side, it’s like indirectly knowing a Foundation Establishment Master.’

’These few Golden Light Sword Talismans were well worth the price.’

As he fantasized about how he would build a good relationship with Qi Yun, Pang Xiao turned to leave.

But before he could take a step, two cyan-white streams of Sword Qi, powerful enough to pierce gold and shatter stone, shot brazenly toward the back of his head.

Just as he had wanted to smash Qi Yun’s head with a single punch earlier.

This time, Qi Yun was going to run him through the skull.

The two streams of Sword Qi arrived in an instant. By the time Pang Xiao heard them whistling through the air and thought to dodge or defend, it was already too late.

CLANG! CLANG!

With the explosive sound of striking metal, a translucent, orange-yellow Dharma Light flared. He had barely managed to activate two Protective Talismans to block the lethal Sword Qi. Pang Xiao spun around in shock and rage, staring at Qi Yun in disbelief.

But there was no sign of Qi Yun behind him.

’Not good, the Illusionary Body Concealing Skill...!’

Realizing what was happening, Pang Xiao immediately circulated the abundant qi and blood of his Qi Refining Third Layer cultivation. His eyes darted around, trying to find any trace of Qi Yun.

WHOOSH!

Two more cunning streams of cyan-white Sword Qi shot out like phantoms from his blind spot.

Prepared this time, Pang Xiao reacted in a flash. He stomped hard on the ground, launching himself into the air like a cannonball and narrowly avoiding the Sword Qi’s path.

But before he could land, the Sword Qi that had just passed beneath his feet carved a bizarre, unnatural arc in mid-air and shot toward him again.

’What the hell? Does this Sword Qi have eyes?!’

Pang Xiao’s eyes widened as he watched the Sword Qi he had just dodged suddenly change direction.

He was suspended in mid-air, his momentum spent, with no way to generate new force.

He could only grunt, frantically circulating his qi and blood as he hastily chanted:

"Giant Spirit, heed my Decree! With Profound Iron, forge my sinews!"

"Let my blood surge through the wilds, my soul pacify the Nine Netherworld!"

"Descend!"

A crimson mist erupted from the pores of his arms. Veins bulged like chains, and his skin turned a dark bluish-black, covered in faintly glowing scripture. He looked like an ancient Demon Deity.

A Martial Arts Skill—Giant Spirit Blood Command!

Having activated the skill, Pang Xiao’s eyes turned icy. He reached out and brazenly snatched the two incoming streams of Sword Qi, clenching them in his palm and squeezing his fingers tight.

CRACK! CRACK!

Two crisp sounds, like shattering glass.

He had crushed the two streams of Sword Qi with his bare hands, and they dissipated into motes of Spiritual Light!

"It seems, Brother, that you are determined to see me dead today..."

Pang Xiao’s face was grim. He was about to deliver a threat when two more streams of cyan-white Sword Qi shot at him from an unknown location, their angle cunning and brimming with killing intent.

"Brother, you..."

The corner of Pang Xiao’s mouth twitched. He tried to speak again.

But after those two streams of Sword Qi came two more, and after those, another two.

In the space of just a few breaths!

A full ten streams of Sword Qi came one after another, like a school of piranhas that had scented blood. They converged from every direction at impossibly cunning angles, carrying a bone-chilling killing intent. They formed an inescapable net of death, closing in to shred him!

"Motherf—"

His face drained of all color. Pang Xiao didn’t dare to take the attack head-on and turned to flee. He only had two hands; how could he possibly fight off so much Sword Qi?

But in dodging, he sealed his own fate.

A dozen meters away, Qi Yun observed intently.

This was his second real life-or-death Magical Combat since killing Tang Shun outside Anning County.

’The two times on Piaohai Mountain didn’t count. I was just being chased around, completely unable to fight back.’

’Against tracking Sword Qi, fighting it head-on might offer a sliver of a chance.’

’But if you try to dodge... well, tough luck. Self-tracking Sword Qi will show you the meaning of being trapped with nowhere to run.’

As expected, the moment Pang Xiao gave up on a direct confrontation and tried to evade, the intersecting Sword Qi wove into a net that completely engulfed him, cutting off all avenues of escape.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

The Sword Qi swept over him, and the muffled thuds of blades sinking into flesh became a continuous blur of sound!

In an instant, Pang Xiao was turned into a bloody mess, his body a gruesome sight.

But just as one of Qi Yun’s blades pierced the center of Pang Xiao’s brow, about to finish him off...

His body exploded without warning.

There was no spray of blood and gore, only countless fine, ink-black feathers shimmering with an eerie light. They scattered explosively like a startled flock of crows before dissolving into motes of black light that vanished into the air!

"Hm?"

His form reappearing, Qi Yun strode over. He looked at the bloody mess on the ground and the few Black Feathers slowly drifting down. His eyes narrowed. After a moment of silence, he looked up.

Vaguely, he could almost "see" them—a pair of cold, indifferent, slender eyes looking down silently from above the dome, observing the entire Mirage Thousand Faces Realm.

’As I thought. Not a single word from the mouths of my Holy Sect is true!’

’So much for "no restrictions on life and death." In reality, that Foundation Establishment Great Demon has been watching the entire maze.’

’When it’s truly a matter of life and death, it casts a spell to save them.’

’If those Outer Mansion Disciples who gave up on the assessment out of fear for their lives knew this, they’d probably be grinding their teeth to dust in regret.’

「Meanwhile, at the entrance to Bixue Hall.」

Covered in blood, Pang Xiao was violently ejected from an emerald-green vortex. Looking bewildered, he stared at Ling Master before him. Before he could speak, the Master raised a hand and pointed.

The next second, his Taixu Jade Order appeared.

Two large, glaringly red words were fiercely branded upon it.

BOTTOM STREAM!

Seeing this, Pang Xiao’s already pale face darkened further. Boundless humiliation and towering hatred burned in his chest. He clenched his fists and squeezed a name out from between his teeth:

"LU! REN! JIA!"

...

Having discovered this new rule of the assessment, Qi Yun’s eyes narrowed. He began to scheme, ’How can I use this to my advantage... and stir up some real trouble?’

But just as the thought crossed his mind...

The entire Mirage Thousand Faces Realm shook violently without warning!

A pure white pillar of light, several meters in diameter and too dazzling to look at directly, suddenly erupted from a location deep within the maze.

The pillar of light tore through the hazy mirage vapors and shot straight toward the dome. Its radiance was so immense that it was clearly visible even from dozens of miles away!

Within the maze, nearly all the Outer Mansion Disciples looked up at the same time, their eyes fixed on the incredibly conspicuous pillar of light.

At the same time, the Taixu Jade Order at Qi Yun’s waist vibrated slightly. He took it out and saw a line of small characters slowly materializing on its surface.

「The first Crystal Key has been found!」

Qi Yun looked at the words on the Taixu Jade Order, then back at the rising pillar of light, a strange expression on his face.

’Is this... a real-time location ping?’

’Damn. They’re just going to put whoever finds a key on blast for everyone else, huh?’

And not long after the first pillar of light rose...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Four more pillars of light erupted from the ground.

Now, five Crystal Keys had been found.

More than half the total!

In an instant, the atmosphere in the Mirage Thousand Faces Realm grew tense and strange.

It seemed the real assessment...

...had, at this moment, truly begun!

...