Years of friendship seemed to shatter in that single moment.

Zhuang Yan stared furiously at the approaching Wu Shang. ’That last sword strike... if Yu Changsheng hadn’t pulled me away in time, I’d be a corpse right now.’

Wu Shang’s expression flickered. He hadn’t expected them to dodge. Now, facing the direct accusation of his former friend, he felt a surge of complicated emotions.

But a moment later, he steeled his heart, his belief in the path he had chosen unwavering.

"We walk different paths, so we can no longer walk together. And since I’m already killing one, I might as well kill two."

Wu Shang’s gaze locked onto Yu Changsheng. "Attack!" he ordered coldly.

Behind him, two servant disciples formed hand seals, took to the air on their swords, and unleashed a wave of Sword Qi at Yu Changsheng.

At the same time, Zhuang Yan made his move, roaring, "Why?!"

BANG! The streams of Sword Qi collided.

With a cold expression, Wu Shang pushed off his toes and shot forward, gripping his Magic Sword and slashing out horizontally.

"There is no why! If I don’t kill you, how can I get promoted to the Outer Sect?!"

"The change in the sect’s rules proves I’m right!"

Just then, Yu Changsheng cast the Wood Shield Skill to block the attack. At his side, the Iron Carving King coordinated by flapping its wings and unleashing a Black Wind Slash.

Since it wasn’t a sneak attack, their opponent was fully prepared, and the Iron Carving King’s attack was ineffective.

But Wu Shang’s advance was halted, which caused his expression to shift slightly.

"So you’re the one who used this Demon Beast to kill Huang Li and frame Luo Lesheng?"

"Luo Lesheng must have died at your hands, too!"

Wu Shang barked, his fingers brushing over his Magic Sword. The weapon flared with intense light, and a single strike sent the Iron Carving King reeling.

Yu Changsheng, of course, wasn’t about to admit to Wu Shang’s accusations. Instead, he silently formed the seals for a Fireball Skill and launched it.

The massive, instantly-cast fireball sent one of the servant disciples scrambling back in fright. This gave Zhuang Yan the opening he needed, and a stream of Sword Qi grazed the man’s shoulder, causing blood to spray everywhere.

"Be careful! This Beast Master is tough!"

The injured servant disciple clutched his wound, slapped his Hundred Treasures Pouch, and caught the Qi Blood Pill that flew out, swallowing it in one gulp.

"This Beast Master is a real handful. Not only is his beast powerful, but his Magic is also nothing to scoff at. If that fireball had hit, it would’ve taken off more than just a layer of skin."

The other servant disciple glanced back at the patch of ground already scorched to cinders by the fireball, his voice laced with fear.

"Hmph, so what if he’s strong? He’s only at the Qi Refining Fifth Heaven. The three of us are at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. You think we can’t kill him?"

"Attack together."

A savage expression twisted Wu Shang’s face as he charged forward again, swinging his sword.

In response, Yu Changsheng didn’t summon his Red Snake King. He simply used his Divine Sense to order the Iron Carving King to charge forward while he and Zhuang Yan flanked it, taking on the two servant disciples.

The servant disciples only had a handful of spells in their arsenal, and Yu Changsheng’s Divine Sense far surpassed theirs. Defeating them was only a matter of time.

Wu Shang could see they were locked in a stalemate, and that his side was gradually losing the upper hand.

’This Iron Carving King...’

He swung his sword in frustration, hacking at the creature’s black iron feathers, but only managed to kick up a few sparks.

’To even harm it, I have to use my full strength,’ he thought. ’To land a serious blow, I’d have to find an opening.’

Otherwise, with the Iron Carving King’s Defense Force, it could simply endure the damage and press its close-range attack.

This was why ordinary Cultivators needed to hunt Demon Beasts in groups...

A Demon Beast’s Physique was simply too formidable for a Qi Refining Cultivator to handle alone, unless they were a Sword Cultivator with superb Swordsmanship.

They had learned the Cultivation Technique of Sword Control Peak, but their swordplay was not refined enough to be called that of a true Sword Cultivator. They were merely executing clumsy Sword Techniques.

’Weak...’

That was Yu Changsheng’s assessment of them.

He flipped his hand over, and a fan appeared in his palm. It was the Fan of Extinction, the very one he had taken from Luo Lesheng!

WHOOSH—!

With a single wave of the fan, a torrent of wind erupted, surging forward and enveloping one of the servant disciples.

The wind spun with incredible speed, feeling like a thousand blades scraping against his skin.

The servant disciple frantically hacked at the gale with his Magic Sword, trying to break free. He formed hand seals to raise a weak protective barrier, but a searing pain was already spreading through his entire body, making him realize that if this continued, he would certainly die!

He shrieked in terror, "I can’t hold on, Brother Wu!"

Hearing this, Wu Shang, who was still fighting the Iron Carving King, gritted his teeth and slapped his Hundred Treasures Pouch. He finally brought out the Magic Sword Huang Suyu had given him.

"Dragon’s Roar!"

He forcefully channeled his Spiritual Power into the blade. The Magic Sword let out a sound like a Dragon’s Roar as it shot toward the torrent of wind!

The weapon was a Middle-Grade Magical Artifact. With his level of Cultivation, he hadn’t fully refined it yet, but its power was more than enough to tear through the gale.

PFFT!

With a muffled pop, the Dragon’s Roar Sword pierced through the gale. A ripple of force spread outward, sending the servant disciple flying into the distance.

After that one strike, the Dragon’s Roar Sword, its momentum undiminished, continued its charge toward Yu Changsheng.

"Die!" Wu Shang roared.

’Once I deal with Yu Changsheng,’ he thought, ’the remaining Zhuang Yan and Iron Carving King will be mine for the slaughter.’

HUMMM!

However, at that exact moment, a soft hum suddenly filled the air. The powerful momentum of the Dragon’s Roar Sword began to falter, its speed rapidly decreasing.

"This is... Divine Sense!" Wu Shang’s eyes widened in disbelief.

’Just how powerful must his Divine Sense be to stop the Dragon’s Roar Sword?!’

He hadn’t fully refined the Dragon’s Roar Sword, but he had established basic control over it. Yet now, he could feel immense, layered resistance ahead—a Divine Sense several times stronger than his own!

Yu Changsheng narrowed his eyes, then pushed forward forcefully with his Divine Sense.

BOOM!!!

A shockwave rolled out, making the very air tremble. An immense pressure descended from above, slamming down on the Dragon’s Roar Sword and pinning it to the ground.

At the same time, Wu Shang suffered the backlash. He violently coughed up a mouthful of blood and stumbled back several steps.

"H-How is this possible? Why is his Divine Sense so powerful?!"

Wu Shang was utterly terrified, but the Iron Carving King wasn’t about to give him a chance to catch his breath. It immediately flapped its wings and shot toward him.

PFFT! It spat a Wind Blade from its beak, knocking Wu Shang’s Magic Sword from his grip. Then its sharp talons pierced his chest and ripped out his heart.

Blood sprayed everywhere. Even at the moment of his death, Wu Shang couldn’t understand why Yu Changsheng’s Divine Sense was so overwhelmingly powerful.

The gap in Divine Sense between Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

Yu Changsheng paid the falling corpse no mind. He beckoned with one hand, and the Dragon’s Roar Sword flew into his grasp. He promptly stored it in his System Space.

He then turned to face the two remaining servant disciples, their faces masks of terror.

A profound fear bloomed in the depths of their hearts as they met the young man’s gaze.

"If you must blame someone, blame yourselves for siding with the wrong person."

A cold smile touched Yu Changsheng’s lips. He ordered the Iron Carving King to attack from the side while he and Zhuang Yan coordinated to kill one of the remaining servant disciples.

The fight had been quick to start, and it was even quicker to end.

In the blink of an eye, the ground was littered with corpses, which were ultimately fed to the Iron Carving King.

And this entire scene was witnessed by Yun Hejing, who observed from the outside.

"This boy... is utterly terrifying."