147: Try another one

"It's your turn."

Chu Xuanjin's voice was very light, as if he were stating a fact that couldn't be more ordinary.

But these four words, falling into Blade Reaching Heaven's ears, were no different from a judgment proclaimed by a demon god of the Nine Nether.

His face, which had looked somewhat distorted due to his arrogance, completely froze.

Cold.

A bone-chilling coldness originating from the depths of his Soul surged frantically up his spine, instantly freezing all his thoughts.

He finally realized exactly what kind of iron plate he had kicked.

That wasn't an iron plate.

That was an Immemorial Divine Mountain wrapped in iron skin!

"Sen... Senior..."

Blade Reaching Heaven's voice was trembling violently.

The trademark arrogance and gloom on his face had long been replaced by boundless fear.

He wanted to beg for mercy, to kneel, and like his useless subordinates, kowtow like a pestle pounding garlic.

But he couldn't do it.

An invisible aura locked him firmly in place; even bending a knee had become a luxury.

"I..."

He struggled to open his mouth, only to find his throat as dry as if it had been blown by a desert gale for three days and three nights.

Chu Xuanjin ignored him.

His gaze passed over Blade Reaching Heaven and fell upon the two Golden Immortal guards who had just struggled to climb up from the ground, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"What did you two say just now?"

Chu Xuanjin asked, his tone like a teacher testing a student.

"Hegemon Blade Soul Crusher? Wild Sand Absolute Blade?"

"Sounds quite impressive."

Upon hearing this, the two Golden Immortal guards' bodies shook violently, and the color drained from their faces.

They had lived for thousands of years, but they had never been as terrified as they were today.

The man before them clearly only had the aura fluctuations of an Early-stage Earth Immortal, but his composure, his casualness, and his indifference that treated Golden Immortals as nothing made them feel like they were facing an ancient deity walking the mortal world.

"Senior... we were blind and offended Senior's majestic presence!"

The Golden Immortal on the left endured the churning blood within his body and bowed low, shouting hoarsely.

"We are willing to sever our own arms to compensate for all of Senior's losses! We only beg Senior to spare the Young Lord's life!"

He knew very well that today, they had encountered an existence they absolutely could not afford to provoke.

"Spare his life?"

Chu Xuanjin smiled and shook his head.

"When did I say I wanted his life?"

"Killing is so boring."

He began to walk, slowly approaching Blade Reaching Heaven.

One step.

Two steps.

Every step that fell was like an invisible heavy hammer smashing hard against Blade Reaching Heaven's heart.

"You... don't come over here!"

Blade Reaching Heaven's psychological defenses completely collapsed.

He roared with a bluffing bravado, but his body trembled violently due to extreme fear.

Chu Xuanjin came to a stop in front of him.

He reached out and lightly flicked the exaggeratedly styled, overbearing Shark Tooth Battle Blade.

"Weng—"

A clear and melodious blade hum echoed through the long street.

That High Grade Immortal Artifact-level battle blade actually "jumped" out of its scabbard on its own!

It spun cheerfully in mid-air.

Then, with the tip pointing down and the hilt pointing up, it steadily hovered above Blade Reaching Heaven's head.

"What do you want to do?!" Blade Reaching Heaven screamed in terror.

"Don't be nervous."

Chu Xuanjin's voice carried a hint of playfulness.

"Doesn't your Hegemon Blade Sect say that fists are the truth?"

"I think that truth isn't vivid enough."

"It's more appropriate to explain the truth with a blade."

As his voice fell.

The hovering Shark Tooth Battle Blade moved.

"Swish swish swish—!"

Streaks of silver blade light, fast to the extreme, flashed frantically above Blade Reaching Heaven's head!

Only a faint sound, like a razor scraping across a scalp, could be heard.

Blade Reaching Heaven's carefully groomed, thick black hair was actually shaved completely clean!

Not a single strand remained!

A smooth, shiny, large bald head was freshly produced just like that.

"Pfft—"

In the crowd watching from afar, someone couldn't help but be the first to laugh out loud.

Immediately following.

"Hahahaha!"

"Oh my god! The Young Lord of the Hegemon Blade Sect had his head shaved bald!"

"This... this is more painful than killing him!"

Suppressed laughter spread out like a tide.

Every laugh was like a resounding slap, hitting Blade Reaching Heaven hard in the face!

"Ah—!"

Feeling the chilly sensation on his head and hearing the surrounding ridicule, Blade Reaching Heaven went completely insane!

He let out a roar filled with endless humiliation and resentment!

"I'll kill you! I will definitely kill you!"

However, his performance wasn't over yet.

After finishing the shave, the Shark Tooth Battle Blade made a beautiful flip, and the blade body lay flat.

Then, using its broad blade face, it aimed at Blade Reaching Heaven's smooth forehead.

"Slap!"

"Slap!"

"Slap!"

Three consecutive times, crisp and loud.

Not heavy, but extremely insulting.

After doing all this, the Shark Tooth Battle Blade let out a satisfied hum and slowly flew back into its scabbard.

It was as if it had just played a harmless joke on its Revered Master.

Blade Reaching Heaven was completely stunned.

He clutched his bright red forehead, his gaze empty and hollow.

He was finished.

He knew that from today on, he, Blade Reaching Heaven, would completely become a laughingstock in the entire Yunhe City and even the entire Central Continent.

After finishing all this, Chu Xuanjin clapped his hands as if he were simply dusting off his clothes.

He turned around and looked back at Lei Jingtian, who had been standing aside dumbfounded from beginning to end.

"Hey."

He pointed at the group of Hegemon Blade Sect Disciples on the ground, who were already scared out of their wits.

"These people are yours."

"Handle them however you see fit."

Lei Jingtian was momentarily stunned.

He looked into Chu Xuanjin's eyes, which were as calm as an ancient well, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.

Give them to me?

I'm a cripple without even a cultivation base; how can I deal with a group of Heavenly Immortals?

As if seeing through his thoughts.

Chu Xuanjin flicked his finger.

A strand of imperceptibly pure energy silently entered Lei Jingtian's body.

"Boom!"

Lei Jingtian felt as if a miniature sun had exploded out of nowhere within his long-dried and dead Dantian Qi Sea!

A long-lost, surging power instantly filled his entire body!

Although this power was very weak, roughly only at the first level of the Qi Refinement Stage.

But, this was power!

It was the power he had dreamed of for three whole years!

"Go ahead."

Chu Xuanjin's voice drifted over.

"Let me see how you explain your 'truth'."

Lei Jingtian took a deep breath.

He looked at Li Hu on the ground, who had once kicked him down with a face full of mockery.

Then he looked at Blade Reaching Heaven, who had wanted to kill him just because of a single retort.

The humiliation suffered, the cold shoulders tasted, and the despair experienced over the past three years.

At this moment, they erupted like a volcano!

The flames of hatred burned frantically in his eyes!

He walked step by step toward Li Hu.

Li Hu looked up and saw Lei Jingtian's eyes filled with killing intent, scaring him so much that he nearly wet himself.

"Don't... don't kill me!"

"I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

Lei Jingtian didn't speak.

He raised his hand.

The hand that concentrated all his power.

He could crush Li Hu's head with a single palm.

He could use the most cruel methods to torture and kill all these people who had once bullied him, one by one!

As long as he wanted to!

However.

The raised hand trembled slightly in mid-air.

In the end, it was slowly lowered.

He turned around and bowed deeply to Chu Xuanjin.

"Senior."

His voice was hoarse but firm.

"My enemies are the Purple Cloud Sacred Land and that hypocrite who personally crippled me."

"These people are just a group of lackeys who rely on others' power."

"Killing them would only dirty my hands and disturb my Dao Heart."

"If I kill a surrendered soldier today just to vent my anger, then how am I any different from them?"

After saying that, he straightened his back.

His eyes under his messy hair regained their clarity.

Chu Xuanjin looked at him, a flash of approval in his eyes.

Not bad.

Carrying a blood feud yet able to keep his original heart in the face of the temptation of power.

He wasn't blinded by hatred.

This Heart-Nature was worthy of that "Divine Grade" Root Bone.

"Very good."

Chu Xuanjin nodded.

Chu Xuanjin walked up to him and sized him up from head to toe with a gaze like he was inspecting goods.

"Your Root Bone is barely acceptable, and your Heart-Nature is passable."

"You'll do as my Disciple."

Lei Jingtian was completely dumbfounded.

Be... be your Disciple?

He looked at the man before him, who had an ordinary appearance and "low" cultivation but possessed heaven-defying methods, and his mind went blank.

Happiness came too suddenly.

"What? Unwilling?" Chu Xuanjin raised an eyebrow.

"I am willing! This Disciple is willing!"

Lei Jingtian snapped out of it and, without any hesitation, knelt on both knees with a thud!

He gave Chu Xuanjin three solid kowtows!

Every single one used all his strength!

"Disciple Lei Jingtian pays respects to Revered Master!"

He knew that this was his only chance!

It was the only ray of dawn he had grasped in the endless darkness and despair!

[Ding! Detected that the Host has successfully recruited a Divine Grade Root Bone Disciple, 'Lei Jingtian'!]

[Triggering the Disciple Recruitment Gift Pack!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: divine rank Cultivation Technique "General Outline of the Nine Heavens Response to the Primordial World-Destroying Divine Thunder"!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Great Dao Insight 'Dao of Judgment'!]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Ancient Divine Object 'heart of chaos thunder source' (Fragment)!]

In his mind, the System's cold notification sounds rang out in succession.

The corner of Chu Xuanjin's mouth curled into a satisfied arc.

"Rise."

He said faintly.

"From today on, you are Chu Xuanjin's tenth Personal Disciple."

Then, he flicked his finger.

A "heart of chaos thunder source," only the size of a fingernail and pitch-black but entwined with strands of Chaos-colored lightning, silently entered the space between Lei Jingtian's eyebrows!

Along with it, the "General Outline of the Nine Heavens Response to the Primordial World-Destroying Divine Thunder" was also passed to him.

"Boom—!"

Lei Jingtian's body shook violently!

He felt an indescribably terrifying and unfathomably vast primordial power of thunder explode within his body!

"Ah—!"

He couldn't help but let out a roar of pain, yet also extreme pleasure!

He could clearly feel it.

His Spiritual Root, which had long been shattered and covered in cracks like a spiderweb.

His immortal meridians, which had long withered and were devoid of immortal essence.

Under the washing of this Chaos-colored lightning, they were being reshaped in an incredible way!

Shattered, then reborn!

Every reshaping was a hundred times tougher and a thousand times stronger than before!

His "Thunder Spirit Physique," which had been dormant for three years, was like parched earth meeting the rain of creation, frantically transforming and sublimating!

"Crack!"

A soft sound came from within his body.

That was the sound of a Bottleneck breaking!

At this moment, his cultivation was like it was on a rocket!

Qi Refining!

Foundation Establishment!

Golden Core!

Nascent Soul!

Soul Transformation!

...Early-stage Earth Immortal!

Middle Stage Earth Immortal!

Earth Immortal Perfection!

Finally, his aura steadily stopped at the threshold of Early Stage Heavenly Immortal!

In just ten breaths!

He had leaped from a powerless cripple to a Heavenly Immortal!

"This... this..."

Lei Jingtian felt the powerful, surging strength within him and was completely stunned.

He stared blankly at Chu Xuanjin, his lips trembling, unable to say a single complete sentence.

What kind of method was this?

Turning stone into gold?

Shedding one's mortal body and exchanging bones?

"How do you feel?" Chu Xuanjin asked him faintly.

"Disciple... Disciple..."

Lei Jingtian knelt down again, his eyes instantly turning red.

"Revered Master's grace of rebirth is something this Disciple will never forget!"

"Alright, don't just kneel at every turn. My Myriad Dao Divine Sect doesn't go for that."

Chu Xuanjin waved his hand with an impatient look.

Then, as if remembering something, he said casually.

"Oh, right."

"You said just now that your enemy is the Purple Cloud Sacred Land?"

"Yes!" Hearing this, the flames of hatred burned fiercely in Lei Jingtian's eyes once again!

"It's that sanctimonious hypocrite, Immortal King Lei Yuan!"

"Oh, Lei Yuan." Chu Xuanjin nodded and said in a tone as if discussing today's weather.

"A few days ago, he seemed to have held some kind of Dao discussion meet in Nine Heavens Divine City."

"A few of my Disciples went over to have some fun while they were bored."

"As it turns out, his brother, some Purple Lightning Lord, didn't seem to know the rules and wanted to bully the small."

"I have a bit of a morning temper and hate it most when people make a lot of noise while I'm sleeping."

"So, I casually tore down his place."

Chu Xuanjin spoke nonchalantly.

But Lei Jingtian's heart was shaking violently!

The Dao discussion meet in Nine Heavens Divine City?

Zixiao Dao Field being leveled by a single palm?

That earth-shattering event that shook the entire Xuantian Immortal Domain and was cited by countless people as a divine miracle.

It was... it was actually done by this Revered Master he had just acknowledged?!

He stared blankly at Chu Xuanjin, his brain completely unable to think anymore.

"Alright."

Chu Xuanjin stretched.

"Everything that needed to be done is done."

He turned his head and looked at Blade Reaching Heaven, who was still slumped on the ground.

"As for this one, and those..."

He pointed at the group from the Hegemon Blade Sect.

"Handle them however you see fit."

After saying that, he yawned.

"Sigh, after all this tossing and turning, I'm hungry again."

"The noodles here taste average; let's try another place."

As his voice fell.

His figure slowly faded under everyone's gaze.