The Whole Sect Forced Me to Die, So I Went Berserk and Killed Them All - Chapter 25:

Chapter 25: Nangong Li’s Useless Disciple

Magical beast cores were extremely rare. Only 5th-grade magical beasts had a chance of producing one, making them priceless. Once the beast essence within a core was absorbed, it could significantly alter the cultivator’s physique, strengthen their bones and meridians, and even grant traits from the beast itself.

Besides enhancing one’s physical foundation, magical beast cores were also excellent alchemy ingredients. Most high-grade pills on the market contained traces of beast core essence.

Shen Lian accepted the beast core, which was about the size of a chicken egg. Just as he was about to find a place to refine it, a sword aura suddenly shot toward his back from over 50 kilometers away.

“Hmph.” Shen Lian snorted coldly and gave a slight flick of his shoulder cloak.

Boom—

A wave of aura burst from his body, instantly swallowing the incoming sword energy.

The next moment, a voice full of arrogance echoed through the air. “Put down that core. It belongs to my Chess Sword Pavilion.”

At the mention of “Chess Sword Pavilion,” a sharp glint flashed in Shen Lian’s eyes.

A gust of sword wind swept by as a pale figure descended slowly from the void, carrying a green frost sword on his back. His cold gaze locked on Shen Lian’s back.

“I am Bai Jiansheng. I hope you, fellow cultivator, can hand that core over. That way, I can answer to my Sect Master.”

Bai Jiansheng’s tone was extremely arrogant, not taking Shen Lian seriously at all. After all, once the name of Chess Sword Pavilion was invoked, few across the continent dared to refuse.

“Hahaha!” Shen Lian replied with a loud, icy laugh. As his folding fan snapped open, his voice turned sharp and mocking. “So Nangong Li’s trash disciple only knows how to launch sneak attacks from behind?”

Bai Jiansheng’s face instantly changed. No one had ever dared speak to him like that.

It was true—his earlier sword strike had been a sneak attack. Had it succeeded in killing the target, the 7th-grade beast core would have been his.

From the moment the Three-Headed Land Dragon appeared, he had been hiding in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity. But with only 1st stage Spirit Transformation Realm cultivation, he couldn’t possibly face the beast head-on.

Watching the thousands of disciples from Cloud Thunder Sect die, Bai Jiansheng never stepped in to help. Instead, fear overtook him, and he gave up on trying to kill the Three-Headed Land Dragon.

Just as he retreated, a giant blade, over 30 meters long, descended from the void and instantly killed the beast. That sight filled him with greed, so he rushed over, hoping to snatch the core by surprise.

But he hadn’t expected that his confident strike would completely fail to injure Shen Lian.

Only then was he forced to switch to “negotiation.”

Of course, this so-called negotiation was nothing more than pressuring the other party into handing it over.

“Answer me. Did that useless Nangong Li only teach you all such disgraceful tactics?”

“Fellow cultivator, mind your words! Our Sect Master is not someone you can insult so freely!” Bai Jiansheng, infuriated by the repeated insults, could no longer hold back. What angered him more was Shen Lian’s disrespect toward their Sect Master.

“You defend that wretched woman so much—is it because you’re after her looks, or is it some pretentious devotion to your so-called teacher-student bond? A woman who only got where she is because of her Senior Brother’s help… I really can’t see what’s so worthy of your respect. The only explanation is that your brains are ruled by obedience, incapable of independent thought. People like you…” Shen Lian slowly turned around, his eyes gleaming with cold light, “aren’t anything but trash!”

With a low hum, waves of pressure exploded outward.

Bai Jiansheng was instantly forced back over ten steps. By the time he steadied himself, he felt a suffocating pressure in his chest.

“Urgh… pfft…” He couldn’t hold it in and coughed up blood.

When he raised his head and saw Shen Lian’s refined figure clearly, his pupils shrank.

“It’s you… You’re the useless Junior Brother Master mentioned… Shen… Shen Lian?”

“Hahaha…” Shen Lian burst into laughter. “If I’m considered trash, then what does that make you?”

As soon as he finished, his folding fan spun and shot toward Bai Jiansheng like a blade.

Startled, Bai Jiansheng quickly raised his sword to defend, but just as he took a stance, his movements froze completely.

The fan spun back into Shen Lian’s hand, and his arrogance returned as if nothing had happened. “You couldn’t even take half a move from me. Now tell me—who’s the real trash? Hahahaha…”

As he laughed, a dark cloud enveloped him, transforming into a ghostly carriage that sped off deeper into the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

“Shen… Lian…” Bai Jiansheng muttered bitterly as he stared at the vanishing figure.

Suddenly, a thin red line appeared across his neck. His head flew from his shoulders.

From a distance, Han Zhirang and Sun Xiuying, who had seen everything unfold, didn’t even dare breathe.

Only when the sound of the hooves faded did they finally come to their senses.

“Senior Brother, who was that? He’s way too overbearing—he even killed a Chess Sword Pavilion disciple.”

“I don’t know, but I do know this—he saved our lives.”

“Yeah. Senior Brother, we need to return quickly and report all this to the Sect Master.”

“Agreed!”

The two of them immediately rushed toward the direction of Cloud Thunder Sect.

At that moment, deep within the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Sect Master of Cloud Thunder Sect, Yun Piaoyang, was surrounded and wounded by dozens of cultivators of equal strength.

“Yun Piaoyang, your Cloud Thunder Sect is finished today. Surrender and we’ll give you a quick death!”

“Despicable! You self-proclaimed righteous cultivators dare to ambush me like this?”

“Hahaha, survival of the fittest, Yun Piaoyang. You’ve lived for nearly 1,000 years and still don’t understand such a simple truth?”

“My Cloud Thunder Sect never offended any of you. Why are you all pressing so hard?”

“Blame yourself for discovering a natural spiritual vein within your territory. As they say, ‘an innocent man gets punished for holding treasure.’ Since you can’t protect it, we’ll keep it for you!”

“Aren’t you afraid the cultivation world will mock your shamelessness?”

“Don’t worry. We won’t harm your disciples. As long as they swear loyalty to us, they’ll be spared. We’ll even let the Cloud Thunder Sect name remain. So you can die in peace.”

Yun Piaoyang clenched his fists as blood dripped from his mouth. He hadn’t imagined that what he thought would bring glory to the sect would instead lead to its destruction.

“Let me tell you another secret.” A cultivator in a purple robe stepped forward.

“Those disciples guarding the outer perimeter? They’re probably doomed too.”

Yun Piaoyang’s eyes widened. “You dare lay a hand on the juniors?”

“You’ve misunderstood. We wouldn’t stoop to that level. We merely lured a 7th-grade Three-Headed Land Dragon their way… Who would’ve thought we’d actually find one? Tsk tsk… Your disciples aren’t even at the Spirit Transformation Realm. Their chances? Slim.”

“You bastards! I’ll kill you!”

Yun Piaoyang’s eyes turned bloodshot as his Spiritual Energy erupted and he lunged at the purple-robed cultivator.

But the man only smiled. Knowing Yun Piaoyang was at his limit, he wasn’t in a rush to strike back. When the two clashed, the cultivator casually raised his palm.

Boom—

A muffled explosion followed, and Yun Piaoyang was blasted back over a hundred steps.

“Yun Piaoyang, do you still think you have the prestige of a 7th stage Void Refining Realm cultivator?”

The purple-robed man approached step by step, his palm glowing with blue energy.

Yun Piaoyang dropped to one knee. Despite watching his enemy close in, he couldn’t muster a trace of Spiritual Energy to resist.

“Enough. I’m done playing. You look miserable. Let me send you off properly.” The cultivator thrust his palm.

A violent wind howled toward Yun Piaoyang’s face.

Yun Piaoyang sighed, realizing there was no escape from death today. He slowly closed his eyes.

Clatter-clatter—

Suddenly, the sound of galloping hooves echoed closer and closer.

Then came a voice full of disdain. “A group of cowards ganging up on a wounded cultivator—how shameful.”

A palm strike burst from the carriage, blocking the purple-robed man’s attack. But the power didn’t stop there—it rebounded with overwhelming force toward the attacker.

“What!” the cultivator’s expression changed as he quickly retreated and activated his protective energy.