There were six of them. Clad in black suits, a hood, and facemask that hid any identifying features from view, these six were at the peak of the Deva Realm. While he couldn’t be sure, he believed that made them stronger than the ones who attacked the Wu Clan that night. Had those guys been this strong, he and Wu Meiying would have never survived the attack.

Wu Jian wasn’t given time to demand answers from these people. He suspected they wouldn’t have answered him anyway. They attacked immediately after appearing. Wu Jian blinked, and two of the six assailants were right beside him.

How did they move so fast?!

[Nihility]

Their attacks passed through Wu Jian’s body as though he were a ghost. Immediately after, Wu Jian summoned Pale Moon and swung it at the figure on his left. His eyes went wide as the person literally blinked out of existence. It was like they had been standing there one moment and vanished the next.

His other attacker summoned a jian and swung it at him. He blocked the attack, but the one who disappeared had suddenly reappeared behind him and attempted to impale him with a dagger.

[Nihility]

Both jian and dagger passed through his body, though this sadly didn’t seem to surprise or knock them off balance. It was like they knew exactly what to expect from him. That, or they were so well-trained that nothing would phase them even when they were caught off guard.

Wu Jian’s shadow suddenly elongated, forming numerous sleek, dark spears, each tapering into a sharp point. They materialized as though emerging from his shadow to create a menacing array of weapons.

[Shadow Spears]

The spears were launched forward with a swift motion, streaking through the air like obsidian bolts. They left trails of wavering darkness in their wake.

[Spatial Severing]

Wu Jian’s chi surged as he channeled it along his blade, which had taken on an obsidian hue with constellations glittering inside. He swung his sword and sliced through the very fabrics of space itself. The tear looked like it had split the atmosphere. His hope was that his two opponents would be distracted by Youmei’s attack and miss his.

Those thoughts were dashed quickly. One of the three onlookers quickly intercepted his technique. They swung a hand upward, hand glowing with a brilliant white, the movements resembling the hand of a clock. His own technique vanished.

Youmei growled, though it didn’t sound fierce now that she looked human, and leapt at the attacker who intercepted his technique. Her punch landed. However, the figure had raised their arms to block it. The loud bang that echoed around them as her bare foot slammed into the figure with incredible force was deafening. Their assailant was thrown back from the force. Magical beasts were always physically stronger than humans of the same cultivation.

Youmei quickly engaged the figure in combat. There were two more enemies waiting in the wings, observing the battle and ready to step in should their help be needed. He didn’t understand why they weren’t doing anything but suspected it was to avoid interfering in their allies’ techniques.

While Wu Jian dealt with two enemies and Youmei fought another enemy, Mei Xilan was only dealing with one, but she was struggling a lot more than him. She had not yet reached the Deva Realm. This meant she was weaker than her attacker by an entire realm.

Mei Xilan had already activated the Ice Phoenix Domain. A dome of purest silvery blue had formed around her and her opponent. She had localized the domain to just around her, which not only limited the amount of chi the technique consumed, but also made the technique more powerful.

Ice Phoenix Domain was a formidable cultivation technique that allowed Mei Xilan to establish a domain of frigid authority. Only those who held the blood of an ice phoenix could utilize it. It was a manifestation of both the cultivator’s ice phoenix blood and their mastery over ice and cold.

The area around Mei Xilan had been enveloped in a freezing aura. Having been caught within her domain once, Wu Jian knew the temperature would be below freezing and the air itself would take on a crystalline quality that made it hard to breathe because, every time you inhaled, your lungs filled with chilling cold that created permafrost inside your body. The only way to counteract it was to use your own chi, which further consumed your energy.

Despite that, her opponent was doing a great job. Just like his opponents, they were disappearing and reappearing within the blink of an eye. That told him their technique was not a movement based skill. It was something else, something far more esoteric and dangerous.

Could it be…

“Time?”

Wu Jian mumbled as one opponent kept him busy while the other appeared behind him as though they had teleported. He placed Pale Moon behind him. The loud shriek as metal met metal in a clash of sparks echoed around the arena. While he was busy guarding against the first attack, his second assailant once more tried to stab him, but Wu Jian used spatial manipulation to hold his sword in place, then used Nihility to pass through his second opponent’s attack.

[Spatial Lock]

A radiant, ethereal glow surrounded Wu Jian’s body as he focused his chi, then extended it outward, creating an invisible but perceptible boundary around his opponent, who suddenly found himself unable to move. As the technique activated, the area he had targeted became distorted. It was like looking through a smoky haze. Grid-like patterns soon appeared within the affected area, represented as shimmering lines that materialized into thin air.

Wu Jian couldn’t use Pale Moon since it was blocking his other enemy. A brilliant aura enveloped him as he channeled chi through his body. The chi was expelled through his skin and manifested intricate patterns like constellations in the surrounding space. These patterns soon turned into semi-translucent swords, luminescent constructs that were finely crafted like an ornate blade of pure energy. They hovered in a spherical formation around Wu Jian, who quickly directed them toward the figure he had trapped.

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[Swords of Space Rondo]

Just before his attack could impale his foe, one of the three who had been waiting in the wings appeared before him. They wielded no weapon. Instead, they formed a seal with their hands, and Wu Jian narrowed his eyes as his technique stopped in middair. The swords became unstable and soon disappeared. It had been like watching them form in reverse.

I knew it. They’re manipulating time. That technique was a time reversal technique. I doubt they can use it on a person. That would require way too much power. What do I do now?

Wu Jian prepared himself for more attacks, but a shattering sound echoed around them, and an indomitable presence swept over the arena.

“I thought there was something strange happening here,” someone said from above.

Before Wu Jian could even look up, someone appeared before him. He was surprised to see Zhe Dāozhe. What surprised him even more was the man was sheathing a weapon as though he had already swung it. A soft click echoed around the arena, and quite suddenly, six separate sections of the area were rent. It was hard to describe. It was like someone had cut the very fabrics of reality. At the same time, blood gushed from the Wu Jian’s six attackers and they all fell to the ground. He didn’t need to look at them to tell they were dead.

“Wu Meiying was right. It seems you are a magnet for trouble,” Zhe Dāozhe said with an amiable smile, as though he hadn’t just casually killed six people faster than Wu Jian could blink.

“Did M… Wu Meiying send you?” he asked.

“Indeed, she said you were in danger and that I needed to hurry over.”

Wu Jian was shocked. The fact that Wu Meiying could order around the Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect like that astounded him. Wasn’t he supposed to be the most prominent figure in the entire Xaio Continent?

Zhe Dāozhe grinned and shrugged as his sword disappeared. “It cannot be helped. She is our Lady Oracle. If she tells us we need to do something, we have no choice but to obey since it means she saw something that we need to take care of.”

Wu Meiying’s position within the Heavenly Sword Sect appeared far more complex than he initially believed. She might actually wield the most power out of everyone he knew, though he did not say so.

Zhe Dāozhe told him they should leave now, but Wu Jian still needed to finish his conversation with Mei Xilan. He went over to the young woman. She was gazing at her enemy whom she had struggled so hard against with bitter frustration clear on her face. The way her brows furrowed told him more about her state of mind than anything else.

“If you plan on traveling, then I’d like to ask you a favor,” he said.

Mei Xilan glanced away from the corpse. “What’s the favor?”

“Head to the Southern Tang Dynasty and give this to a woman named Zhou Lihua.” He handed her a storage ring. “It contains alchemy ingredients. Tell her to deliver the pills she makes to the Heavenly Sword Sect. You can also have her make some pills for you in exchange for delivering this to her.”

Mei Xilan stared at the ring in her hand, then slipped it onto her finger and nodded. “Very well. I will deliver this for you.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“Are you all done?” asked Zhe Dāozhe.

Wu Jian nodded. “I am.”

“Very well, then. Follow me.”

Zhe Dāozhe took off into the sky, and Wu Jian followed after him. They flew through the air in silence. It was not long before they reached the hotel where the Heavenly Sword Sect was staying, which was far and away more luxurious than the one Wu Jian and his companions were staying at. This was just how significant the difference between the Shang Kingdom and Heavenly Sword Sect was.

They entered to find Wu Meiying and Zhe Fēnglì already waiting for them in the reception hall. The pair stood talking amiably, but Wu Jian noticed the distance Wu Meiying tried to put between herself and the young man. It was obvious in the way Zhe Fēnglì kept trying to close that distance that he was smitten with her. He either didn’t notice Wu Meiying rebuffing him or was ignoring it.

Wu Jian grimaced. He wanted to get between those two, tell that fool off, and proclaim that Wu Meiying was his… but he couldn’t. He could not let anyone know how close he was to her. Even the slightest fluctuation within the timeline could alert their enemies to his existence, and that attack just now proved they were already onto him. If they received definitive proof of his existence, they would attack relentlessly, according to Wu Meiying.

“Welcome back, Sect Master,” said Wu Meiying with a bow.

“Father, welcome back,” Zhe Fēnglì said, bowing as well.

Zhe Dāozhe raised a hand and gestured for them to rise. “I am back, and I believe we are ready to leave.”

Yu Chenguang had already been notified that he would be leaving for the Heavenly Sword Sect, so there was no reason to remain or see off those from the Shang Kingdom. It was regrettable. Wu Jian had at least wanted to say goodbye to Hua Xue. Wu Meiying assured him they would see her again, and he knew she wasn’t saying that just because it was what he wanted to hear, but he still wanted to see her at least one more time.

“Master really likes Big Sis Xue,” Youmei added.

“Ho? Well, I don’t quite blame you. She is an amazing woman.” Zhe Dāozhe cupped a chin to his hand and grinned. “I haven’t felt a stirring in my loins like this in a long time. Not since my wife passed away.”

Zhe Dāozhe’s wife had passed away from a rare disease, supposedly, though Wu Jian sensed the lie. She was most likely killed by an unknown person. Given that Zhe Dāozhe was keeping quiet about it, the killer was most likely still at large.

“Sect Master, I do not think you should seek to woo Hua Xue,” Wu Jian warned.

Zhe Dāozhe grinned. “Are you telling me that because you want her for yourself?”

Wu Jian shook his head. “Let’s just say she’s not quite what she appears and leave it at that.”

Hua Xue was the strongest person in the entire world, though she couldn’t bring that strength to bear for long. However, if she wanted to, she could crush the entire Heavenly Sword Sect within a few minutes if she was willing to risk damaging her cultivation further.

Wu Jian and the others followed Zhe Dāozhe to the dock. There, Wu Jian discovered a ship unlike any other he’d seen.

“This is my personal airship,” Zhe Dāozhe said. “It’s called Tianjian Genyun.”

“It’s incredible,” Wu Jian muttered.

The name Tianjian Fengyun roughly translated to ‘Heavenly Sword Storm” in the ancient tongue. This grand airship embodied both power and grace with its semblance to a sword.

He was directed onto the airship, which had a hull crafted from polished celestial steel and was adorned with sword-inspired motifs. Massive azure silk sales, embroidered with the sect’s emblem, billowed from towering masts. They were majestic. At the vessel’s prow sat a magnificent figurehead of a sword pointing forward as though to guide the ship on its voyage.

Numerous people were manning the ship. It looked like they were apprentices of the Heavenly Sword Sect who had been allowed to watch the tournament from the stands. They stared at Wu Jian in awe as he walked onto the deck alongside Wu Meiying, Zhe Fēnglì, and Zhe Dāozhe.

“Let us get the ship moving,” Zhe Dāozhe commanded, snapping them out of their reverie.

Everyone began working again, and Zhe Dāozhe marched up to the helm with a grin. It seemed he was going to fly the ship. As he took hold of the wheel, the many motifs lining the surface came to life. It was not long before the ship rose into the sky and took off. Wu Jian stepped over to the rail and peered at the clouds as they quickly closed the distance. Wu Meiying and Zhe Fēnglì came up beside him.

“Are you ready for your new life at the Heavenly Sword Sect?” asked Zhe Fēnglì.

“I am,” Wu Jian said.

“Good. I always knew you had a lot of promise, so I’m glad you could join us.” Zhe Fēnglì stuck out his hand. “It’ll be good to have another powerful cultivator join our ranks.”

Wu Jian clasped the hand back. “Likewise. I look forward to joining you both and hope you’ll show me the ropes.”