Chapter Forty-Three: Stop

"The first thing," Lin Fei looked calmly at Yu Lin, his tone carrying a trace of unquestionable majesty, "you should address me as Senior Brother."

Immediately, Lin Fei's left hand waved gently in the air. Yu Lin's face instantly contorted, his body bending like a shrimp as if struck by an invisible force, flying backwards four or five meters before crashing heavily onto the ground, clutching his abdomen and wailing in agony.

"The second thing," Lin Fei's voice sounded again, tinged with a hint of contempt, "your swordsmanship is the weakest and ugliest I have ever seen. Therefore, I do not intend to acknowledge you as my junior brother."

Following a casual wave, Yu Lin's body seemed to suffer a violent impact once more. His body shot backwards involuntarily, slamming hard against a shattered boulder.

Then, his body was bounced up again, colliding once more, repeating this cycle until he finally collapsed limply to the ground, his face covered in blood, resembling an abandoned dog.

The surrounding air was filled with Yu Lin's continuous screams, a scene both bizarre and terrifying.

Until finally, Yu Lin made no further sound. His body finally grew still, lying motionlessly on the ground like a lifeless corpse.

"The third thing," Lin Fei turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping across the spectator stands, his voice calm and firm.

He raised the long sword in his hand, pointing the tip toward a section of the stands, and asked, "Is this sword yours?"

Ning Baitao, the Master of Azure Wing Peak, wore a face as dark as water and offered no reply. In such a situation, no matter how many people understood the truth in their hearts, none dared to openly admit it.

For that would be a blatant provocation against the Sword Sect's rules, and the consequences were something even he could hardly bear.

"It seems not." Lin Fei smiled faintly, his fingers sliding from the tip of the sword to the hilt, before switching to a single-handed grip.

His right hand tightly grasped the blade, and slowly, bright red blood began to flow from it, a sight that puzzled countless people present.

Ning Baitao's face suddenly turned pale, and with a despairing tremble in his voice, he shouted aloud, "No!"

At the same time, a deep and powerful voice came from afar, urgently shouting, "Stop!"

Yet, Lin Fei acted as though he heard none of these cries. His face still wore a bright smile, seemingly indifferent to what was about to happen.

Immediately afterwards, a loud explosion shook everyone to the core.

The ancient sword surging waves exploded instantly, the blade shattering inch by inch as fragments scattered in all directions.

Ning Baitao was struck as if by an invisible heavy hammer, his body violently knocked backward. His chest heaved heavily as he spewed gouts of fresh blood from his mouth.

...

The surroundings fell into a dead silence.

Everyone present felt their scalps tingle, a chill rising from the soles of their feet and rapidly spreading throughout their entire bodies.

The events unfolding before their eyes were so shocking that they almost forgot to breathe.

The youth in the center maintained a calm expression, yet no one had anticipated that his methods would be so cold and ruthless.

Lin Fei slowly turned around. The explosion of the ancient sword had left his right hand drenched in blood, exposing the pale bone beneath.

Despite this, his expression remained detached, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.

He had once told Qin Qianqian that he only knew how to fight, so today he was helping her fight back.

It could also be considered fulfilling a promise.

The youth's gaze shifted toward Mu Qi, his voice calm and powerful: "Now, it's your turn."

The ancient sword surging waves, which belonged to Ning Baitao, had now been reduced to countless fragments scattered across the ground.

The surrounding disciples gradually recovered from their shock, followed by a succession of sharp gasps echoing through the air.

No matter how deep the grievance between the two parties, the ancient sword surging waves was ultimately Ning Baitao's natal sword and the symbol of his status.

The name Ning Baitao was known to everyone within the Sword Sect.

He was the master of Azure Wing Peak, a powerful sword cultivator standing at the pinnacle of the Boundless realm, and perhaps even poised to advance further.

What was even more shocking was that after Ning Baitao called out to stop him, another voice followed closely behind—it was Cui Lianyun, the master of Western Ridge Peak, who likewise shouted "Stop" from afar.

Yet, facing these two renowned figures, Lin Fei showed not the slightest bit of mercy. Right in front of everyone from the thirteen peaks, he unhesitatingly destroyed Ning Baitao's natal ancient sword.

"This kid's methods are truly ruthless."

While marveling and feeling curious, the masters of the remaining eight peaks looked at Lin Fei with an undisguised wariness now tinged in their eyes.

Lu Shuili's beautiful eyes were locked firmly onto Lu Chen, as if she were rediscovering this youth in this very moment.

Amidst the tranquility of North Wandering Mountain, Chu Chanyi's wide, watery eyes remained fixed on Lin Fei, filled with curiosity and astonishment.

She thought to herself that this must be a person who holds grudges.

It was rumored that a certain woman on Azure Wing Peak had been severely injured by Yu Lin, and her ancient sword had also been destroyed.

Today, Lin Fei paid him back in kind, responding in a far more decisive and merciless manner.

Chu Chanyi suddenly cupped her cheeks in her hands, her eyes flashing with excitement, and she praised with a beaming smile, "So handsome, truly so handsome! No wonder outside rumors say Lu Shuili has a connection with him. Now it seems those rumors are not entirely groundless after all."

In the stands of Western Ridge Peak, Cui Lianyun's face maintained an unfathomable expression, making it difficult to fathom his inner thoughts.

Meanwhile, Ning Baitao, the master of Azure Wing Peak, had a face as pale as paper, his body swaying slightly as if he might collapse at any moment.

His eyes were filled with venom as he glared fixedly at the youth in the arena.

Because he could not command the divine sword of surging waves in public, he had to watch helplessly as his opponent destroyed his flying sword. This not only dealt a heavy blow to his sword heart but also severely depleted his vitality.

Now, whether he could even maintain his current realm had become an unknown.

Some elders from the main peaks recalled the techniques Lin Fei had displayed during the battle, their faces revealing expressions of shock and incomprehension.

After all, the ancient sword surging waves was a top-tier spiritual sword; why could a mere disciple in the mortal realm completely destroy it with a single hand?

And as for those final two moves he used against Yu Lin, they could not discern any traces of Dao techniques whatsoever, yet why did Yu Lin not even have a shred of resistance?

Doubts filled everyone's hearts, but when they saw the youth's gaze turn toward the stands of Western Ridge Peak, they realized that today's events were far from over.

A gentle breeze swept past, and Mu Qi's figure landed neatly in the arena.

Mu Qi's gaze locked tightly onto Lin Fei's gruesome wound. He remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "I admit, I underestimated you."

His voice carried a trace of imperceptible solemnity as he continued, "I also know that you have yet to draw your sword, but that is meaningless. Even if you were completely unharmed, you would still be no match for me. Furthermore, your right hand can probably barely hold a sword right now."

Mu Qi's words sounded reasonable enough to the onlookers.

Though he appeared gentle in appearance, within Western Ridge Peak—a gathering place of experts—his consistent ranking in sparring matches had always remained firmly in seventh place, which was more than enough to prove his strength.

However, those who knew Mu Qi well began to frown. They knew that while Mu Qi spoke much on ordinary days, he was always extremely economical with his words during battle.

His abnormal talkativeness now could only indicate that his inner self was far from calm, and he needed these words to bolster his own courage.

Listening to Mu Qi, Lin Fei's face remained completely devoid of fluctuation as he simply asked calmly, "Are you ready?"