Ning Qi moved like drifting white clouds, his figure appearing and vanishing amid the surging Gang Qi. At times he evaded with light steps; at others, the Long Xiao Sword flashed, Inner Strength clinging to the blade as it shattered incoming attacks.
But Iron Eagle did not retreat.
Instead, he charged.
Fast. Decisive. Ruthless.
Ning Qi responded instantly.
With a light tap of his toes, his aura changed. His gaze cooled, and in the next breath he surged forward like a roaming dragon beneath the night sky—his speed suddenly surpassing Iron Eagle's.
The Ethereal Wandering Dragon Steps.
A movement art Ning Qi had forged himself.
In that instant, Iron Eagle's heart skipped.
Something was wrong.
Too late.
The distance of several dozen feet vanished in a single breath.
Iron Eagle stared at the calm, indifferent Daoist rushing toward him. In a narrow path, only the brave survived—and he trusted his Sky Hawk True Gang Qi. Retreating now would shatter his momentum. At best, he would fail his mission. At worst, he would not escape intact.
Thirty feet.
Iron Eagle's hands twisted into talons. With a sharp clang, cold metal claws extended from his palms, glinting under the moonlight.
He roared inwardly.
Sky Hawk Claw!
Gang Qi exploded outward, tearing through the air as two massive claw-shaped strikes formed. A piercing hawk's cry echoed through the night, shaking the mind itself.
A killing move from the very start.
This strike had slain Gang Realm experts before.
But Ning Qi remained unmoved.
The hawk's cry barely stirred his mind. Too many times he had brushed past death for such intimidation to matter.
Facing the incoming claw qi, his expression did not change.
Under Iron Eagle's stunned gaze, Ning Qi casually swung the Long Xiao Sword.
No Gang Qi surged from the blade.
Only red and blue Inner Strength.
"Inner Yuan Realm?!"
Iron Eagle nearly laughed aloud. An Inner Yuan Realm cultivator daring to face him head-on? A pig pretending to be a tiger.
The laughter never came.
The sword qi crossed thirty feet in an instant.
Ning Qi swung once.
Though still far apart, the strike had already arrived.
Ice and fire descended together.
Iron Eagle felt as though two vast mountains—one blazing, one freezing—crashed down upon him. Scorching heat burned his senses, while bone-deep cold froze his blood. The Sword Intent alone made his scalp numb.
He had never encountered anything like this.
The Sky Hawk True Gang Qi shattered without resistance.
The sword qi did not stop.
Iron Eagle barely managed to activate his protective Gang Qi before his body locked in place.
He lowered his head slowly.
A terrifying wound ran from his left shoulder down to his right abdomen. Blood should have sprayed—but it froze instantly, blooming into crystalline red frost.
"What… what is this…"
His eyes bulged as vitality drained from him at a terrifying pace. The Inner Strength within his body vibrated, rotated, and tore him apart from the inside.
His Gang Qi collapsed like paper.
You call this Inner Yuan Realm?
He would never receive an answer.
Ning Qi stepped forward and swung again.
The blade kissed his throat.
Cold bloomed.
Iron Eagle fell, lifeless.
Ning Qi's gaze flickered faintly.
"So weak."
The White Mist Realm… was nothing special.
This first true battle against a Gang Realm cultivator left him satisfied. The Cold Flame Triple Sword shattered protective Gang Qi with ease—though it was also possible his opponent had been mediocre even within his realm.
"I need to support Senior Brother."
There was no time to deal with the corpse.
Ning Qi turned and vanished toward the training grounds.
He did not know—
The moment Iron Eagle died, everything changed.
Iron Dragon, who had been suppressing the True Disciples with ease, suddenly stiffened.
A sharp, twisting pain struck his heart.
His pupils shrank.
"Second Brother… is dead?!"
Impossible.
In his distraction, Ye Qinghe's sword light nearly pierced him.
"You old coward hiding in the dark," she cursed, "if this lady cultivates a few more years, killing you will be like slaughtering a dog!"
Iron Dragon forced everyone back with a violent punch, but his mind was already in chaos.
The Iron Ridge Three Fiends shared concentric Gu.
If one died, the others would know.
And now—
Iron Eagle's Gu was silent.
Fear crept in.
To kill his Second Brother so quickly—without even prolonged resistance—meant the hidden expert could not be underestimated.
"A hidden master of the True Martial Sect?"
"Or… has the Dragon Mountain Daoist emerged?"
"Damn Wang… he tricked us!"
Cold sweat formed on Iron Dragon's back.
The only reason they had dared to strike tonight was because the Dragon Mountain Daoist was in death seclusion.
If that assumption was wrong—
"We retreat. Now."
He had no thought of revenge.
The backlash from the Gu was already weakening him. Staying any longer meant death.
Dragon-shaped Gang Qi erupted as Iron Dragon forced an escape, shaking the training grounds with thunderous explosions.
But Jiang Baishan and the others closed in immediately.
This was the True Martial Sect.
You don't come when you please.
And you don't leave so easily.