Chapter 87: Love Severed

The white-haired elder’s expression changed dramatically, his gaze settling on the points ranking. At that moment, Long Yun’s name had already surpassed that of Cheng Rongxiang, claiming the first position. At the same time, Chu Huarang’s name had vanished as well.

“End the trial at once! Bring all the disciples out immediately!” the white-haired elder bellowed in fury. Instantly, the four great elders of the Azure Sect acted in unison, sending four beams of light soaring into the sky.

These beams seemed to be a signal, for dozens of lights nearby flared up in response. The power of space surged madly, and the Heavenly Demon Mirror—no, the Wheel of Reincarnation—began to spin rapidly.

Dazzling radiance blazed forth, as if a blazing sun had descended, its vast aura raging and surging.

Inside the realm of reincarnation, after a brief recovery, Long Yun—thanks to the Wheel of Reincarnation’s formidable healing powers—had regained most of his depleted true energy.

Thus, with the combined might of Long Yun and his two companions, Chu Huarang could not escape death and fell beneath Long Yun’s sword.

It was not for the sake of Chu Huarang’s points that Long Yun acted. He knew that killing the three great disciples of the Azure Sect would inevitably provoke their wrath, potentially bringing irreparable disaster to the Jade Sword Sect.

He possessed the Green Emperor’s “Grainless Sword of Green Wheat,” and the Green Emperor himself had assured him that with this sword in hand, no one from the Azure Sect would dare to move against him.

But Liu Xiaoxiao and the others had no such protection. Their only path was to fall by Long Yun’s hand.

Not long after Chu Huarang was slain, a violent spatial tremor erupted. The four of them felt an immense suction force envelop them, and their bodies were swept into a rift in space.

When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves back in the martial arena of the Azure Sect.

Within the realm of reincarnation, monsters and demons prowled freely. Previously, no disciples had perished because they remained in the outer regions, but as the creatures there were slaughtered and numbers dwindled, the disciples ventured deeper, closer to danger.

Since Long Yun and his companions had left the land of death, many righteous disciples had fallen to the monsters. Of the thousand-plus disciples who had entered the hunting tournament, only a little over seven hundred remained. Long Yun and his trio were among them, and he understood well why the tournament had been abruptly halted.

As he stood in the arena, his gaze fell upon the four Azure Sect elders standing before Shangguan Yu, and he could not help but let out a cold, mocking smile.

“Where are the disciples of the Jade Sword Sect? Get up here at once!” the white-haired elder of the Azure Sect bellowed. His voice rolled like thunder, instantly silencing the noisy disciples—none dared utter a word.

Long Yun smiled faintly, delighted to see that Chang Yi, too, had survived and was now flying toward the Jade Sword Sect’s stand.

“In a moment, none of you are to speak. Leave everything to me,” Long Yun instructed Liu Xiaoxiao and the others before soaring straight toward the stands.

“Which one of you is Long Yun?” the white-haired elder roared in fury when he saw the five disciples of the Jade Sword Sect lined up, his mighty aura pressing down upon them without hesitation.

Shangguan Yu flashed forward, shielding the five disciples. The power of the Five Elements enveloped them, dispersing the elder’s oppressive aura.

Both the white-haired elder and Shangguan Yu were at the fifth stage of the Innate Eight Realms—the Realm of Integration—so Shangguan Yu did not suffer greatly facing him.

“Elder Bai, with all the sects of the Green Mountain Alliance present, how could my disciple possibly lie? If you wish to settle this matter, there is no need for haste. Let us first hear what they have to say,” Shangguan Yu spoke.

Bai Yunfei, the white-haired elder, fixed Shangguan Yu with a cold stare. Though he was furious at Shangguan Yu’s challenge to his authority, he knew that forcing the issue would only make the other sects mock them.

Composing himself, Bai Yunfei said, “Very well. I’ll give you a chance, lest anyone claim our Azure Sect abuses its power.”

“Long Yun, tell us everything exactly as it happened. I will see justice done for you,” Shangguan Yu said, his eyes narrowed.

Long Yun smiled bitterly within. Shangguan Yu’s willingness to go this far proved him an outstanding sect master. Yet from the moment Long Yun slew the Azure Sect disciples, he had foreseen grave consequences.

Even if the Grainless Sword of Green Wheat could deter the Azure Sect, Long Yun could not put his full faith in the Green Emperor’s assurances.

As soon as Shangguan Yu finished speaking, Long Yun bowed deeply and said calmly, “Master Shangguan, I am deeply grateful for your support during my time in the Jade Sword Sect. But my ambitions do not lie here. From this day forward, I am no longer a disciple of the Jade Sword Sect. Please, Master, let me go.”

Shangguan Yu was taken aback; he had not expected Long Yun’s first words to be these and stood frozen in surprise.

“Master, you must agree,” Long Yun sent a thread of sound directly to Shangguan Yu’s ear. Shangguan Yu trembled, meeting Long Yun’s gaze and seeing earnest pleading within.

Shangguan Yu sighed. Indeed, when he claimed he would see justice for Long Yun, it was merely to put pressure on the Azure Sect, hoping they would show restraint. Yet, as sect master, he bore the responsibility for the sect’s fate.

If he were to oppose the Azure Sect, the Jade Sword Sect would surely be destroyed. After receiving Long Yun’s message, Shangguan Yu calmed himself, relinquished his earlier intentions, and gently closed his eyes.

Bai Yunfei gave a faint, mocking smile. In his view, Long Yun had no concrete evidence and so was sacrificing himself to spare the Jade Sword Sect.

But would this truly save them? Even if Long Yun took all the blame and died by his own hand today, the Azure Sect would not simply let things rest. The Jade Sword Sect would face relentless oppression from now on.

With this thought, his gaze locked onto Long Yun’s face, and a silent killing intent spread, ready to strike at any moment.

Long Yun composed himself and spoke, “Situ, Chu Huarang, and Bai Yuanzhan were all slain by me. But I did not attack them without cause—they imprisoned my fellow disciples from the Jade Sword Sect, and I had no choice. In truth, they brought this upon themselves. Because of Chu Huafei from the Hua Ying Sect, Chu Huarang bore a grudge against me. During this hunting tournament, he sought to eliminate me, so I was forced to act in self-defense.”

“Nonsense!” Bai Yunfei roared. “You, a mere Initiate, could not possibly defeat Situ without some underhanded trickery!”

Long Yun laughed coldly. “Do you think disciples of other sects are all useless? Though your Azure Sect dominates the Green Mountain Alliance, talent is not yours alone!”

Long Yun’s words rang with conviction, and disciples from the other sects secretly cheered. For years, they had suffered the Azure Sect’s oppression, yet dared not speak out. Now, Long Yun—a humble disciple of the Jade Sword Sect—dared confront Elder Bai Yunfei directly, with scathing words and unyielding spirit. Such courage inspired admiration.

“No matter what, you killed disciples of my Azure Sect! Don’t think you’ll leave alive!” Bai Yunfei shouted, itching to tear Long Yun apart on the spot.

Long Yun burst into wild laughter, his voice ringing out boldly, “Your Azure Sect is the overlord of the Green Mountain Alliance. Why be so cautious to kill a mere cultivator? Everyone knows that your actions will only bring the scorn of all righteous sects!”

“Fine! Since you are so arrogant, you can leave your life here!” Bai Yunfei advanced step by step, his killing intent locked onto Long Yun as he moved to strike.

“Brother Long Yun!” Xiao Leng and Chen Long gritted their teeth. Had it not been for Long Yun, they would have died instead. Now Long Yun faced death for their sake—how could they stand by as senior brothers? They prepared to rush forward.

But Shangguan Yu stopped them, sealing their meridians with a surge of true energy.

Bai Yunfei snorted coldly. With his cultivation, he could have slain Long Yun in an instant, but his intention in delaying was to lure the other Jade Sword disciples into action, thus giving him an excuse to kill them as well.

Yet Shangguan Yu saw through his plan and restrained the two disciples poised to intervene, much to Bai Yunfei’s regret. No longer holding back, he unleashed his full killing intent, surging toward Long Yun with deadly force.