Could it be that I am the cruel villain?

Only those who have been beaten by Jiang Feng know how crazy this kid is.

"Oh no."

A chill ran through her heart, but how could Yun Xiyin be an ordinary person? She lifted her chin and looked at the boy holding the iron wire high. This scene was just like the one with Liang Yu yesterday, but she was not someone to be tied up easily.

"Mo Qu!"

She threw forcefully.

A tornado of ink rose in the center of the arena. What Jiang Feng saw was different from what the masters on the stage saw; he was still trapped in an illusion woven by the opponent. The binding of the Wind Blades on his body finally weakened, and under the might of the Thunder Dragon, he broke free.

Raising the iron wire high, he injected all his strength and Spiritual Energy into the three-foot iron wire in his hand. But Yun Xiyin merely swung it with the flow, her ears ringing again with melodious tunes. The next second, a strange sense of dissonance suddenly arose in his heart, like the illusion of waking from a great dream.

"What's going on?"

The doubt in his heart flashed for less than half a second.

With an arrow on the string, he had to shoot. Although the Martial Arts Arena was spacious, it was ultimately just that big. Even if he bewitched others' Divine Souls through the Illusion Realm, the surging power within his body would not lie. Such a large-scale Thunder Technique had a significant advantage in this limited environment.

Trying as much as possible to contain his mind, he still couldn't figure out what was wrong. Facing Yun Xiyin, who stood motionless on the ground, he mercilessly exerted all his strength, squeezing his Spiritual Energy to the limit.

Swish!

He swung down a sword.

In an instant, heaven and earth changed color.

Eight flying swords worked in unison; thunder and lightning roared. Sword Qi converged into one, completely inconsistent with the explosive power of this realm, cutting a trench at least half a meter deep and several tens of meters long into the ground, leaving chaos wherever the Sword Qi reached.

"Xiyin!"

Her body moved almost instinctively.

As Yun Xiyin's master, she could be said to treat this child as her daughter. Concern creates chaos, especially seeing Jiang Feng cut down with that sword — it involuntarily reminded her of the scene where Liu Tangxi defeated her a hundred years ago.

That cold expression and aggressive Sword Qi were identical, causing her to panic on the spot.

"Stay calm."

The four words stopped Yun Yue, who was about to intervene forcefully, in her tracks!

Her body became immovable.

It was a form of control from the soul, completely restraining Yun Yue in just a moment.

Although she became the Peak Master at a young age, the difference in strength between the two sides was like heaven and earth, especially with these older generation's original disciples. Any one of them had a few hundred years' Taoist practice; in front of Gu Yuanshan, she was no different from when she was a child.

Still a child.

Cradling a warm cup of tea, the dignified Master Gu was shaking his head helplessly. Even he did not expect the turnaround to come so quickly. You could say Yun Xiyin gave Jiang Feng a warning just a moment ago, and soon enough, he retaliated with an even stronger and more domineering approach.

"How can you still be so impatient as a Peak Master? Do you think us old folks can't handle it?"

As he spoke, the anxiety on Yun Yue's face froze. She then relaxed her body, no longer moving recklessly. Indeed, with the Sect Master and numerous elders watching, nothing could go wrong.

The elders all smiled, as they doted on this young Peak Master of Yuzhu Peak quite a bit. After all, Yun Yue's master, their third younger sister, was once beloved and cared for by them on the mountain.

Yun Yue was naturally no exception now.

The smile also signified recognition for the entire Swordmaster Peak.

The Purple Cloud Palace, dormant for many years, had shown signs of decline over three hundred years ago. The sect had a gap in masters at that time because only Liu Jian and Gu Yuanshan were there to support it.

Later, Gu Yuanshan grew old, and the previous snitch incident almost wasted decades of the sect's painstaking effort. This was just the surface; the actual impact only let the Purple Cloud Palace fully recover now.

Now, Swordmaster Peak has reopened the Mountain Gate, and each disciple excels, including Yun Xiyin, who has also shown remarkable strength. This generation of disciples can be termed the most outstanding batch in centuries.

"What's more, your cherished disciple hasn't been defeated. Look."

With this reminder, she noticed that amidst the rising dust, the two seemed unscathed.

The dust settled. After the sword strike, the dissonance in the boy's heart gradually faded. For a moment, he felt he had overlooked something, staring blankly at the direction he had just cut towards, only to realize that the Yun Xiyin standing there...

...was nothing more than a charred wooden log blasted by lightning.

A piece of talisman paper was stuck on the log, and it was only then that Jiang Feng realized his sword swing was misaligned with the target he locked onto moments ago. Without knowing when, his body had turned roughly ten degrees to the right.

It might not sound like much, but when the distance is stretched, such a slight angular shift can make an attack completely miss. He felt a chill run down his spine, but the next second, the ingrained warning instinct prompted him to leap forward without hesitation.

"Moo!"

A bull charged directly at him from behind!

Its massive shape almost the size of an elephant, the ground trembled as it ran, and before he could scramble up, he sensed a strong gust from behind. Looking closely, he saw a whip seven or eight meters long and as thick as an arm.

No, it should be called a tail.

"What are these things?"

In a reverse grip, he slashed the blade to sever it, but the bizarre Spiritual Beasts quickly reformed after being cut. Their bodies were constructed of ink, obeying only the commands of the Splendid Brush and the Liu Wood Zither, without any independent will, relentlessly chasing Jiang Feng all over the place.

Buzz—

With a flick of her jade fingers.

It was then he noticed Yun Xiyin floating again, her feet off the ground, suspended in mid-air. With a swipe of the zither strings, a tempest of Wind Blades gathered, and as the Splendid Brush pointed, ink drops formed into soldiers, one person forming an army.

"Was everything I saw just an illusion?"

Without time to think, he turned and ran, intending to rise with Sword Flight with a big swing of his hand. But before he could stabilize himself, a flying eagle swooped towards his head from behind!

He ducked sharply.

At this moment, within the domain belonging to Yun Xiyin, she had once again taken the upper hand. Although her expression seemed serene and calm, judging by her scars and torn long skirt, Jiang Feng's earlier attack had genuinely frightened her. Much of her growth in recent years during travels and insight in Daoist Skills had helped her cope.

Otherwise, had it been her from two years earlier, she might have been unable to withstand that strike.

Spiritual Energy flowed frantically, and the erupting tornado filled the center of the arena with armored Spiritual Beasts. These were all from her journeys, perfectly recreated with the Splendid Brush. This is the magical synergy achieved only when Magic Treasure and exclusive Cultivation Techniques are combined.

Just like the Tangxi Sword and the Violet Firmament Sword Technique.

Though this battle lacked those terrifying large-scale scenes, such peculiar and subtle techniques were incredibly rare. Cultivators who can unfold domains are said to be the toughest monsters in the Cultivation World, hardly seen even in well-known Great Sects.

And small sects do not even have the qualification to study such subtle techniques. Although Yun Xiyin seems evenly matched against Jiang Feng, not fully displaying her terrifying strength, consider what it would be like if such a person engaged in group combat?

Simply put, if her opponents are of lower realms, she could nonchalantly play a tune, swing a brush, and handle however many come, killing or trapping them all.

Even Jiang Feng, now evidently struggling, relied on channeling Thunder Origin to gain an advantage in speed and strength. Though the effect still lingers, he cannot break through the situation.

Finally, after dispelling the ink once more, Jiang Feng stopped, flipping his palm at his waist, and unexpectedly did not dodge the oncoming Wind Blade, but swiped directly.

"The Mountain River Fan!?"