The wooden sword in Su Hongzhen’s hand pressed against Wang Yuzhe’s throat.

It was an extremely plain, unadorned strike.

To look at it, it seemed as if Su Hongzhen only raised the sword and then casually rested its tip on Wang Yuzhe’s shoulder, nothing more.

But Wang Yuzhe knew very clearly that he could not avoid this strike.

That seemingly ordinary cut had, within a million shifting moments, seized the almost sole opening he could not evade.

He let go of his wooden sword, revealing a helpless, bitter smile:

“I lost.”

In fact, he did not only lose the moment Su Hongzhen’s sword touched his throat.

The instant he himself launched his strike, Wang Yuzhe already knew he had lost.

That perfect sense of distance control and footwork that had just barely evaded each of his thrusts…

This opponent was on a completely different level.

The boy before him was a mountain he could never climb in his lifetime.

No, don’t say climb — even the sole of that boy’s foot was something utterly out of his reach.

What was worse, the boy didn’t even need to use Innate Sword Intent for all of Wang Yuzhe’s actions to be completely seen through.

He conceded cleanly and decisively.

What kind of person was standing before him!

That was Innate Sword Intent!

Through Chenping Continent’s history, who had borne Innate Sword Intent?

Realman Cangyue! Realman Bai Shang!

Which bearer of Innate Sword Intent wasn’t a top-tier Great Power starting from the Divine Ability Realm?

When they stepped into the Divine Ability Realm, they were virtually guaranteed to awaken a natal divine ability tied to sword intent!

Wang Yuzhe, born of Moxu Mountain, knew how vast the gap between himself and those legends truly was.

After all, his biggest dream in life was to enter the Passable God Realm, to become someone on par with Ma Huwei of Han Crow Sect or Han Qianshan of Jiugong Sect — figures who stood tall among the great names.

If he could comprehend even a sliver of sword intent, that would be ideal.

But the boy before him?

His future would be on par with those legendary figures!

A heaven-chosen talent destined to leave a bold stroke across Chenping Continent’s history!

All he could do was look up in admiration.

Yet knowing the gap, he still felt some lingering resentment.

He had trained his swordsmanship for thirty hard years. Both as a Manor Lord and among others, people believed he would become Moxu Mountain’s greatest swordsman in the future.

But what did being “first” really mean, and where exactly was that “first”?

“Thank you for the match.”

Su Hongzhen said.

“Let’s go, Yuzhe.”

Behind them, Duan Ziyi spoke slowly, his voice heavy with melancholy.

The figures of the Fuliuliu Willow Sword Manor’s swordsmen leaving the Moxu Inn looked thoroughly dejected.

“Manor Lord, safe travels!”

The innkeeper followed after these swordsmen and saw them off, escorting them a short distance before returning, and when he looked toward Chen Yan and the others again, his smile had turned even more obsequious, almost abject in its eagerness to please.

In truth, when Chen Yan first arrived at the Moxu Inn with Little Su and Little Zhou, the innkeeper’s demeanors had already been flattering.

At that time, however, there was more to it because of spirit stone considerations.

Renting three premium rooms at once and paying three mid-grade spirit stones each day — as of today it had already been nearly ten days.

Three high-grade spirit stones in one go would normally be worth almost half a month’s usual revenue for this inn!

But today it was not about spirit stones’ face value.

…

After everything ended, Chen Yan sat in his room, contemplating the events of that evening.

He was not worried about what had happened that evening.

The conflict that had arisen between Little Su and Fuliuliu Willow Sword Manor — these small frictions could never escalate into anything major.

As for Su Hongzhen’s Innate Sword Intent,

Chen Yan understood clearly that Little Su had only unleashed that Innate Sword Intent unintentionally; no one had expected such an accident.

Moreover, quite a few people had witnessed Su Hongzhen’s Innate Sword Intent.

The Mirage Palace envoy was currently in Wushi Town, and the Grand Elder Jing, who had been hiding in the shadows, had been watching developments around Moxu Mountain.

If one only considered the surface, the situation could seem very thorny.

In the worst case, Chen Yan might have to show his true self.

The most powerful cultivator present on Moxu Mountain at the moment was Grand Elder Jing, who lurked in the shadows. The Mirage Palace’s special envoy, by contrast, was only a Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator who had just refined two thousand strands of innate true energy.

If Chen Yan exposed himself, Grand Elder Jing would likely still spare him face this time.

However, the relationship between Chen Yan and the faction behind Grand Elder Jing would probably become strained.

If they traced him from Jiangdu Prefecture all the way to Moxu Mountain, Grand Elder Jing and his backers would certainly grow wary of Chen Yan.

And then the matter of Kang Zongdan and his possession technique — continuing to investigate that would likely become very difficult.

Still, Chen Yan did not need to worry.

People from Mirage Palace would not come knocking at his door.

Because…

Suddenly Chen Yan lifted his head and looked toward the door.

After a few breaths, someone knocked on his door from outside.

“Come in.”

Chen Yan said softly.

He already knew who stood outside his door.

The door opened slowly, and standing there was the girl in gray daoist robes — Zhou Jinyun, the chief disciple of Weaving Dreams Tower from Mirage Palace.

“Senior.”

Zhou Jinyun bowed respectfully.

“Come in and speak.”

Chen Yan said.

Zhou Jinyun nodded and turned to close the door:

“Senior Chen, I have come this time regarding Su Hongzhen’s Innate Sword Intent.”

“Speak.”

Chen Yan said.

“After this evening, many cultivators who know of Su Hongzhen’s Innate Sword Intent will spread the news. Word of mouth multiplies — ten to a hundredfold… eventually it will reach the ears of Mirage Palace, and then…”

Zhou Jinyun paused, and Chen Yan understood her implication perfectly.

If it were only the small Fuliuliu Willow Sword Manor — even if they had truly killed that young man this afternoon — Zhou Jinyun alone could have handled the aftermath.

But from the very moment Su Hongzhen displayed Innate Sword Intent publicly, everything changed.

Especially since Little Su was only thirteen this year and already a cultivator in the early stage of the Qi Circulation Realm, this meant that with proper guidance he would certainly carve out a place for himself in Chenping Continent’s cultivation world in the future.

Even Mirage Palace would not lightly let such a talent walk away if they had the chance to recruit him.

After all, a swordsman born with Innate Sword Intent, once nurtured to maturity, would have combat strength no lower than the eighth tier.

An eighth-tier Divine Ability Realm powerhouse is top-tier even among the Five Great Sects, possibly even able to occupy the Supreme Authority position.

This was why Zhou Jinyun felt worried.

She feared Little Su’s Innate Sword Intent would draw Mirage Palace’s people here and then stir up a lot of unnecessary trouble.