The moment "Zong Wu" finished speaking, the elite cultivators lunged toward the distant Sword Sect disciples. The power radiating from their combined auras alone made the sky tremble, blurring reality like a distant dream.

Realizing that "Zong Wu" was planning on exterminating the Qingzhou Sword Sect, Zhu Qiu's face turned pale. He hadn't expected "Zong Wu" to go this far. Killing these Sword Sect disciples would surely have terrible consequences. Even though they were only members of a sect branch, they were still Sword Sect disciples.

However, Zhu Qiu also realized something else just then. Ye Yang would certainly reveal the cheating that they had done in the martial contest if they were to let these disciples go.

Since they had already decided to make a move, why not move decisively and thoroughly?

With that in mind, Zhu Qiu's eyes turned cold. In moments like these, hesitation meant death. There was no turning back, and there was only a ruthless path forward.

"How dare you!" Yue Qi roared with her sword in hand. With a sweep of her sword, a wave of sword light surged forth, forcing the attackers to retreat.

Swoosh!

The black-clad figures vanished.

Kaboom!

A wave of overwhelming energy swept across the battlefield. Yue Qi's face twisted with determination as she transformed into a streak of sword light and slashed out.

Upon impact, the shockwaves pervaded the sky in an instant. The mysterious black-clad figures hesitated briefly, but they soon rushed at the Sword Sect disciples again.

"Formation!" Ye Guan yelled.

At his words, thirty-two beams of sword light shot up from the Sword Sect disciples as each of them raised a sword to the sky.

Thirty-two streams of Stellar Energy fell upon them, and their combined might managed to push the attackers away.

"A sword formation…" "Zong Wu" muttered with a frown. He turned to Zhu Qiu and asked, "Does the Sword Sect have that kind of sword formation?"

Zhu Qiu shook his head. "I don't know."

As he gazed at the pillars of Stellar Energy, confusion filled his eyes. He hadn't heard of such a powerful sword formation from the Sword Sect.

"Attack!" the thirty-two disciples shouted in unison. The Stellar Energy merged, bursting with an intense sword aura that flew toward the mysterious black-clad cultivators.

Several of them were blasted a few hundred meters away. The two leaders were struck so violently that their fleshly bodies shattered, leaving only their souls behind.

The mysterious black-clad cultivators were stunned. Despite their superior strength, they hadn't anticipated such fierce resistance from the Sword Sect disciples. Their cultivation realms were higher than the Sword Sect disciples, but the Sword Sect disciples wielded a powerful sword formation.

"Zong Wu" chuckled coldly. "Interesting… that sword formation has a lot of potential."

"We should finish this quickly," Zhu Qiu advised, "The longer we wait, the more trouble we invite."

"No need to worry," "Zong Wu" replied calmly, "They can't overturn the heavens."

Meanwhile, Ye Guan murmured, "If only we had more time…"

These swordsmen were only drawing out a fraction of the sword formation's potential strength. If they could wield even a third of its full power, the mysterious black-clad figures would have been annihilated in an instant.

The thirty-two disciples were left trembling and pale-faced from exhaustion after just one attack. Their cultivation bases were simply too low to sustain the sword formation's power. 𝑅ÁŊ𝘰ʙÊŚ

"Zong Wu" noticed that, and his eyes flashed as he sneered, "They are running out of strength, and they can't draw out the sword formation's true power. Attack!"

The attackers charged forward, but once again, thirty-two streams of Stellar Energy fell from the heavens, forcing them back. This time, over ten disciples collapsed, drained of all their strength.

The attackers exhaled in relief, preparing to strike once more.

"Stop!" someone roared.

Looking up, everyone saw Zhou Yu approaching with six guards.

"Zong Wu" frowned. "Who is he?"

"He's a manager from the Immortal Treasures Pavilion," Zhu Qiu replied. "Where is Liu Zhong?"

Rushing to Ye Guan's side, Zhou Yu was about to kneel, but he stopped himself in time and bowed instead.

"Young Master Ye," he greeted.

Ye Guan looked at Zhou Yu, puzzled. "And you are?"

"I'm a humble manager from Qingzhou's Immortal Treasures Pavilion."

At this, Ye Guan glanced at Yu Ning, who seemed slightly flustered by the gaze.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yu eyed Ye Guan carefully. One look made his heart skip—the young man definitely resembled the Academy Master!

Just then, Liu Zhong stormed into view. He glared at Zhou Yu and roared, "Zhou Yu! What are you doing?!"

Zhou Yu turned to him with a frosty gaze. "Liu Zhong, I believe there has been some cheating in the Qingzhou Martial Contest. I've already notified the Main Academy and the Main Sword Sect. They're coming to investigate."

Liu Zhong's face twisted in rage. "Are you insane?! What does that have to do with you?"

"I'm insane?!" Zhou Yu roared, "Your entire family is insane!"

Everyone around was stunned, including Ye Guan.

Liu Zhong's face darkened.

Meanwhile, "Zong Wu" stared at Zhou Yu with cold eyes. "If he wants to die, then let's grant his wish."

"Zong Wu" raised his hand, and the attackers moved to strike.

"Who dares to touch Young Master Ye?!"

A powerful voice boomed, and hundreds of figures arrived at the same time. At the helm stood the general managers of Nanzhou and Yunzhou's Immortal Treasures Pavilion. There were sixteen managers in total.

Liu Zhong, Zhu Qiu, and "Zong Wu" all frowned. What were they doing here?

The General Manager of Nanzhou's Immortal Treasures Pavilion, Wang Yue, locked his gaze on Ye Guan. The young man didn't look like the Academy Master, but his expression and demeanor were familiar.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Are you certain it's him?" asked a manager beside Wang Yue.

"Don't be ridiculous, Old Qin," Wang Yue replied sternly, "I wouldn't lie to you."

Old Qin looked uneasily at Ye Guan. "This is no small matter. If you're mistaken, then we're all going to die."

Wang Yue was calm. "Look at him—a mere youth facing down so many strong foes with such grace. His face looks different, but his bearing speaks for itself. How many youths can stay calm in a situation like this?"

Old Qin studied Ye Guan and nodded slowly. "You have a point."

Just then, Zhu Qiu stepped forward with a dark expression. "Wang Yue, Old Qin, what are you doing here?"

"We suspect cheating in the Qingzhou Martial Contest," Wang Yue said. "We request a full investigation."

Zhu Qiu scowled. "That is an internal matter of the academy. It does not concern the Immortal Treasures Pavilion at all."

"Doesn't concern us?" Wang Yue replied coolly, "The Martial Contest affects all of Qingzhou. However, you don't seem to care much about that, as you've decided to work with outsiders from Cangzhou instead of us."

Zhu Qiu glared intensely at Wang Yue. "The External Committee has issued an order to arrest Ye Yang. If the Sword Sect resists, then they're rebelling. Are you planning to rebel as well?"

Wang Yue laughed. "Zhu Qiu, don't try to scare me with that. The Immortal Treasures Pavilion is its own entity, separate from the academy, and the academy has no authority over us.

"I know the person beside you is influential, powerful enough to silence even the Ye and An Clans… but let's see if he has what it takes to silence the Immortal Treasures Pavilion as well."

Zhu Qiu's expression grew dangerously dark. He hadn't expected these managers to come here and intervene. They weren't particularly strong, but their status was unique. Touching them would lead to serious consequences, as the Immortal Treasures Pavilion wasn't under the control of the academy.

Just then, "Zong Wu" took out a transmission talisman. The talisman vibrated slightly as he opened his palm, allowing it to float gently toward Wang Yue.

Wang Yue frowned slightly.

"Zong Wu" chuckled. "Go ahead, listen to it."

After a glance at "Zong Wu," Wang Yue picked up the transmission talisman. A voice sounded from it, saying, "All Immortal Treasures Pavilion personnel are ordered to withdraw immediately, or you will be dismissed on the spot; your ties to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion will be severed as well."