Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

In a pool of blood, Zong Han’s corpse lay split in two, already grown cold.

He had been cleaved in two down the middle by a single strike from Jiang Chen’s sword, his blood and organs spilling across the ground.

Jiang Chen swung the Dustfall Sword in his hand. A black light pulsed from the blade, and a faint crimson glow emanated from the blood groove in its center, absorbing all the blood around it.

The crimson light within the blood groove grew brighter!

This was a bloodthirsty Sword of Slaughter!

’As expected of a Profound Weapon inscribed with the Thirteen-Stage Destruction Rune. This Dustfall Sword is so sharp, it could probably rival an ordinary Celestial-tier Profound Weapon!’ A corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth lifted slightly. He was very satisfied with the Dustfall Sword’s performance in its first battle. He drew the longsword into his body to be nourished by his Essence Blood.

This was the Sword-Bearing Technique, first created by the Celestial Demon Emperor Venerable.

Nourishing a Profound Weapon day and night with one’s own Essence Blood could drastically increase its power.

Crouching beside Zong Han’s corpse, Jiang Chen removed his Storage Ring. Inside was an Identity Token, but unfortunately, he had no way of using it.

Keeping it would only make it easier for him to be exposed.

After all...

Although the Saint Martial Sword Sect’s Outer Sect didn’t prohibit fighting among disciples, the Sect still had its bottom line. Experts of Elder Level could not be harmed lightly!

Once the matter of killing an Elder was exposed, it would be tantamount to violating the prestige of the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

He would face severe punishment!

Jiang Chen took a deep breath. His True Essence circulated, coalescing into a ball of True Flame. Using an Artifact Refining Technique, he melted the Identity Token into a lump of metallic slag, completely destroying it.

He then went back to searching Zong Han’s Storage Ring.

Zong Han certainly lived up to his station as an Outer Sect Elder of the Saint Martial Sword Sect. His Storage Ring alone contained as many as 100,000 Lower-Grade Spirit Crystals. There was also nearly a billion in gold and silver notes—quite a fortune. In addition, there were several Cultivation Techniques, Secret Manuals, and various treasures.

A rough estimate placed the total value of the treasures inside the Storage Ring at the equivalent of 200,000 Lower-Grade Spirit Crystals.

’An Outer Sect Elder is this rich? Tsk tsk, robbing and killing really is a fast way to make money. But... how did Zong Han know I’d be passing through here?’ Jiang Chen’s brows knitted together. After a careful search, he discovered a Communication Token.

Refining a Communication Token was not difficult.

With Jiang Chen’s current Artifact Refining skills, he could refine one with ease.

He easily broke the Restriction on the Communication Token. A glint flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes as his Divine Thought Power surged into the Token, instantly revealing a series of messages.

Among them, two messages caught Jiang Chen’s attention.

One was a transmission from Outer Sect Grand Elder Zong Rui: *Third Brother, how are things going?*

The other was from Elder Zhang of the Sword Pool: *Zong Han, Jiang Chen has left the Sword Pool!*

’So Zong Rui and Elder Zhang were both involved...’ Jiang Chen’s gaze turned icy, flickering with a biting cold light as a sneer appeared on his face. ’You all want me dead? Fine. Excellent. Zong Rui, Elder Zhang, you’d better pray you don’t fall into my hands, or else...’

His hand suddenly clenched, and the Communication Token shattered with a CRACK.

One must be as ruthless as a harsh winter toward one’s enemies.

Since Zong Rui and Elder Zhang wanted to take his life, Jiang Chen would naturally show no mercy.

A ball of True Essence Fire condensed in his palm. Jiang Chen’s figure shot into the air, and the Flame Lotus in his hand fell, incinerating Zong Han’s body to ash. After destroying the corpse and removing all traces, he rose and headed for the Saint Martial Sword Sect at top speed.

About an hour later, Jiang Chen returned to the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

The first thing he did upon returning to the Sect was, naturally, to go and pay his respects to his master, Qi Daotian. However, when Jiang Chen arrived at the valley, he found it empty.

His master, Qi Daotian, was not there.

In front of his master’s thatched hut, Jiang Chen found a letter. He opened it and saw it was a note left by his master, containing only seven words: "Go all out. I’ve got your back!"

The corners of Jiang Chen’s mouth lifted slightly. He placed the letter into his Storage Ring, his eyes filled with gratitude. ’It seems Master already knows about my grudge with the Celestial Alliance. Go all out, huh? Master, I will not let you down.’

As his strength increased, Jiang Chen’s understanding of Qi Daotian also deepened.

He knew that this master of his seemed to be a taboo subject within the Saint Martial Sword Sect, an incredibly mysterious existence.

He had been somewhat worried before, as the Celestial Alliance’s power was simply too great.

If he truly had a complete falling out with the Celestial Alliance, he worried the Sect would side with them, putting him at a disadvantage.

But now...

With his master’s words, Jiang Chen no longer had any worries holding him back.

It was time to go all out!

If anything happened, his master, Qi Daotian, would back him up!

In addition to excitement, Jiang Chen’s heart also filled with a new level of gratitude for Qi Daotian.

...

Leaving the valley, he returned to his residence on Martial Saint Mountain, the Earth Spirit Pavilion.

The Earth Spirit Pavilion was the designated residence for Nine-star Core Disciples. Jiang Chen’s current courtyard was the one that had previously belonged to Li Yunlong.

The Spiritual Qi here was even richer than at Cuiwei Pavilion.

Cultivating here could significantly increase one’s cultivation speed.

’In six days, it will be time for me to establish my own faction. The Celestial Alliance will surely send experts to interfere. Besides myself, I’ll need to win over a few other masters,’ Jiang Chen thought.

The Celestial Alliance’s strength didn’t just come from its Saint Child, Lan Haichen. More importantly, it had recruited so many powerful experts that it laid claim to nearly half of the Saint Martial Sword Sect’s prodigies. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

If he wanted to confront the Celestial Alliance, he absolutely could not do it alone. He had to gather a group of powerful and trustworthy experts.

Jiang Chen mulled it over and finally settled on a few candidates. ’Senior Sister Bai Ling and Prince Xunyi are good choices, but I don’t know if they’d be willing to join my side. I’ll ask them what they think later. As for others, people like Lin Feifei and Ruan Lingyun don’t seem to have joined any faction yet. I can try them too!’

With his mind racing, Jiang Chen selected a few experts and then sent them all messages via his Communication Token.

「Not long after...」

He began to receive replies.

The first reply was from Bai Ling. Her response was just two words: *Wait for me!*

Next was Prince Xunyi: *Let me think it over!*

It was four hours before Ruan Lingyun and Lin Feifei replied. Their message read: *Let’s talk in person!*

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but give a wry smile. ’Only Senior Sister Bai Ling agreed? Well, that’s alright. The others didn’t reject me outright, so there’s still hope!’

Jiang Chen then sent another message to the group: "Let’s meet at the Earth Spirit Pavilion in three days!"

This time, they all replied quickly, and everyone agreed.

Jiang Chen immediately threw himself back into his training. He practiced the *Cyan Lotus Sword Song*, the *Mystic Wind Nine Swords*, the *Shadow Body Technique*, and the *Infinite Sword Technique* over and over. With the help of his Ten Thousand Laws Golden Pupil’s unique ability to see the essence of all things, his progress in the several Martial Skills was rapid.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Jiang Chen stopped his cultivation.

Outside the Earth Spirit Pavilion, several people had already been waiting for some time...