Witnessing Bai Su Mei wield a Heaven-Grade weapon, the crowd fell silent.

  They realized a truth: most of these women bore treasures rivaling Ninth-Grade powers. Claim them as such, and none would blink. Even high-ranking Academy elders stirred, dark thoughts brewing.

  Fan Shan's face drained of color. His last clash with this woman had taught him caution, yet now she wielded a Heaven-Grade weapon. But with no retreat, he steeled himself, believing she couldn't unleash its full might. With a thought, a staff appeared in his hand. As Mortal Hidden Temple's chief disciple, his status matched Saint Sons of other powers. His Golden Staff was a High Earth-Grade artifact.

  "Demon-Slaying Strike!" Fan Shan roared, his staff erupting in sacred golden light, smashing toward Bai Su Mei.

  The sky blazed with blinding Buddha Light. Bai Su Mei raised her head, her pure eyes unshaken. Her ancient beast ancestry feared not even True Dragons, let alone Buddha Light. Facing the onslaught, she crossed her Gold-Silver Twin Serpent Swords. A Dual Sword Convergence unleashed, slashing fiercely.

  The swords hissed, two sword qi streams tearing the air, clashing with the Buddha Light in mutual destruction. A shockwave of qi rippled.

  But to Fan Shan's horror, Bai Su Mei's swords extended. The gold and silver blades, like serpents dozens of meters long, slithered with uncanny agility, targeting his neck. Fan Shan gritted his teeth, dodging with Single Tail Crossing River. Yet the swords stretched further, hissing like snakes, relentless. Bai Su Mei pursued with Stellar Step, closing in.

  "Vajra Force Finger!" Fan Shan barked, striking the Golden Serpent's head. As a Heaven-Grade artifact, it paused briefly before resuming its chase. The Silver Serpent neared, coiling to strangle his neck. Clang! Fan Shan, terrified, smashed his staff against it, barely escaping.

  "Hmph!" Bai Su Mei intensified her grip. The swords pursued with greater ferocity.

  "Witch, die!" Seeing Fan Shan suffocating, Mu Song (note: original text said Fan Shan here but contextually refers to Mu Song as the one trying to save Fan Shan) roared, eyes blazing. "Arhat Twelve Fists!" His robes exploded, revealing a dark-skinned Arhat-like physique, clad only in undergarments. His muscled arms unleashed a barrage of fists, targeting Bai Su Mei.

  "Ganging up on the weak? Courting death!" Yan Hong Lian, bonded with Bai Su Mei, wouldn't stand by. Purple Variant Fire blanketed the sky, forming a Violet Heart Palm slamming toward Mu Song.

  "Your opponent's me!" Lan Chang, beside Lan Yu, bellowed, condensing a Lan Moon Palm to counter Yan Hong Lian's strike. Palm met palm, Violet Heart Palm faltering. Lan Moon Palm, a Heaven-Grade technique, outshone even with Variant Fire's aid. Lan Chang, a prodigy, wielded it with unmatched skill.

  "Hmph, Wind Blessing!" Yan Die Qing, behind the Wood Turtle, sneered, a breeze empowering Violet Heart Palm. Fire fueled by wind, its might surged, becoming fiercer than ever. It forced Lan Chang back mid-air. Yan Hong Lian pressed her advantage, clashing with Lan Chang in a heaven-shaking duel. Two prodigies from Eighth-Grade clans, Ice versus Fire, waged a terrifying battle.

  "Die!" Mu Song reached Bai Su Mei, a fist aimed at her back.

  Lan An watched Mu Song calmly, as if he were a fool. Indeed, unnoticed, Nangong Wenyun had vanished from his side.

  "Golden Needle Dance!" Her soft voice echoed, eight golden needles appearing between her fingers. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! They shot with unmatched speed, piercing Mu Song's arms. Golden threads bound to the needles, their ends in Nangong Wenyun's hands. She yanked hard.

  "Ugh!" Mu Song staggered back, his sturdy arms bloodied. Yet this madman ignored his wounds, blood and flesh mangled, still intent on saving Fan Shan, though now trapped by Nangong Wenyun's control. "He's a Body Cultivator too," Nangong Wenyun noted, surprised.

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  "Interesting!" Lan An smirked.

  As the Gold-Silver Twin Serpents neared, Fan Shan's eyes gleamed with madness, producing a jet-black pill. "If I don't enter hell, who will?" he roared, swallowing it.

  His body swelled, muscles bulging, black beard whitening, clear eyes bloodshot. Buddha Light blazed fiercely. Defying the Secret Realm's suppression, his cultivation surged: Late Nascent Soul.

  With newfound strength, Fan Shan swung his staff, repelling the swords. Like a berserker, he chased them, driven by instinct.

  "Oh?" Bai Su Mei raised a brow, intrigued by the pill's effect.

  "These Eighth-Grade powers have some treasures!" Lan An mused.

  "As if they compare to you!" Su Mei teased.

  Proving her words, Bai Su Mei smiled faintly, gazing skyward. The sun had set, yielding to the moon and stars. From her lips came a mystical, ethereal chant. "Stellar Transformation Secret Art!"

  Her eyes glowed in the night, stars answering her call, their radiant power flooding her. Her cultivation soared: Fourth Stage Early, Mid, Late—matching Fan Shan.

  With boosted strength, she wielded the swords with greater precision, swiftly closing on Fan Shan. The blades, like giant serpents, knocked his staff away, coiling around him. The Silver Serpent bound his limbs, the Golden Serpent his neck, tightening. Crack! Bones shattered faintly.

  "Damn it, save my Senior Brother!" Mu Song, pinned by Nangong Wenyun, roared at Lan Yu's group.

  "I'll do it!" Bing Feng growled, soaring forth. An Ice Spear materialized, aimed at Bai Su Mei's slender back.

  "Think this place unguarded?" Liu Shi Qin said lazily, her stunning figure intercepting Bing Feng.

  Twang! Twang! A melodious zither note hit Bing Feng, his mind clouding. Su Mei struck.

  "Damn it, wake up!" Bing Yang roared with qi, snapping Bing Feng awake.

  Too late.

  "Ice Moon Seal!" A moon-shaped seal on Liu Shi Qin's forehead glowed, a massive seal crushing toward Bing Feng's head. He dodged, but the seal struck his chest. Spurt! Bing Feng staggered back, spitting blood. His Earth-Grade armor cracked, saving his life.

  "Wretch, I'll kill you!" Bing Feng roared, humiliated.

  "You're not worthy!" Liu Shi Qin said coolly. A black wind swirled around her: Night Wind. The crowd shivered. "Great Storm Surge!" Liu Shi Qin swept her hand forward. A terrifying black vortex formed, roaring toward Bing Feng.

  Nangong Wenyun, seizing the moment, yanked her threads, aiming to hurl Mu Song into the storm. But Mu Song wasn't weak. Gritting his teeth, he gripped the threads, ripping the needles from his flesh. The needles' barbs tore like countless ants gnawing within. Mu Song howled in torment.

  Facing Liu Shi Qin's black vortex, Bing Feng gripped his Ice Spear. "Ice Spear Tempest—Mid Heaven-Grade Technique!" With a shout, Bing Feng hurled the spear. Boom! Boom! Boom! The blizzard grew, clashing with Liu Shi Qin's vortex. Night Wind's terror eroded the Ice Spear Tempest, but it pierced the vortex bit by bit. The vortex dissipated, the spear spent, falling inert. Bing Feng, pale, retrieved it, eyeing Liu Shi Qin warily. They were at a stalemate.

  Fan Shan, strangled by the Gold-Silver Twin Serpents, tongue lolling, neared death. Bing Yang acted, using Frost Shadow Flash, he stealthily approached to save Fan Shan.

  "Star-Piercing Finger!" Spotting Bing Yang with Pierce Weakness, Lan An aimed a finger. But Lan Yu and Yu Han blocked him. "Going somewhere? Your numbers seem thin," Lan Yu taunted.

  Two attacks lunged, merely to delay him.

  Lan An glanced at his blockers, vanishing. Instant Shift.

  He reappeared beside Bing Yang, Star-Piercing Finger striking.

  "No!" Bing Yang yelped, dodging, abandoning his ambush.

  "Ugh!" A final gasp echoed. Fan Shan's breath stopped, his organs pulped by the Golden Serpent. No chance to discard his Token.

  "Spare me!" A tiny Nascent Soul fled his body, desperate. Bai Su Mei bit her lip, guiding the Golden Serpent to slice it in half.

  Fan Shan fell.

  Silence. The world stilled. Countless eyes viewed Bai Su Mei as a goddess of slaughter.

  Ignoring them, she turned to Lan An, smiling, awaiting praise. "Well done, treasure!" Lan An said sincerely.

  Satisfied, Bai Su Mei's body slumped. Stellar Transformation had drained her. Her cultivation fell back to Early Fourth Stage. Yan Die Qing, a breeze, supported her back to the Wood Turtle.

  "Damn it! Damn it!" Lan Yu roared. The battle barely begun, yet they'd lost one. A slap to his pride, rage consumed him.

  But another's reaction was more terrifying.

  Mu Song.

  His face blank, he stared at Fan Shan's corpse, then at Bai Su Mei recovering. Blood tears streamed from his eyes.

  Trapped in the Peach Blossom Array, he was helpless. Before countless witnesses, a crystal vial appeared in his hand. Within, a drop of black blood pulsed with savage aura. Mu Song didn't open it, shoving the vial into his mouth.

  He bit down, swallowing the blood.

  ROAR!

  A beastly howl erupted from his body. The battlefield's air grew wild, primal.