The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

A smile. He was actually smiling!

Seeing the faint smile on Qin Ya’s lips, the crowd of Extraordinary Martial Artists felt as if they had suffered a great humiliation. Their expressions instantly turned foul.

"Damn it! What an arrogant, clueless brat."

Seeing this, several of the Extraordinary Martial Artists burned with rage and attacked Qin Ya simultaneously. In an instant, majestic Palm Qi and Fist Force surged toward him.

These men were all Sky-Controlling High Rank Martial Artists. Their combined attack generated so much pressure that the sea’s surface around Qin Ya’s Profound Vessel sank by several feet.

Facing this majestic assault, Qin Ya didn’t activate his Profound Vessel’s Defensive Array. Instead, he unhurriedly drew the Ting Xiao Sword from his waist.

ROAR... A beastly roar, like thunder itself, echoed through the Nine Heavens!

A purple Sword Qi, carrying boundless Thunder, suddenly lashed out. Before this Sword Qi, the majestic Palm Qi and Fist Force were like ignorant pups facing a Beast King; they were torn to shreds in the blink of an eye. The Sword Qi’s momentum didn’t falter as it continued toward the Extraordinary Martial Artists, warping the very air wherever it passed.

"Look out! Retreat!"

The pupils of the Extraordinary Martial Artists constricted as they rapidly fell back. But for the few who had attacked Qin Ya and were now targeted by the Sword Qi, it wasn’t so easy.

SHRRRIP... The sound of tearing cloth echoed.

In the next instant, blood bloomed in the air. Those few Extraordinary Martial Artists were cleaved in two. A rain of blood sprayed from their bodies, dyeing the sea red. Their corpses, no longer able to use Sky-Controlling, plunged into the depths with a SPLASH.

The Sword Qi then struck the sea behind them. The water’s surface was seemingly sliced in two, leaving a massive trench dozens of yards long.

Water rushed down from both sides to fill it. A few breaths later, the surface was level again. Then, one after another, sea fish of all sizes floated to the surface, belly-up and lifeless.

In just a dozen breaths, the sea was covered with dead fish. Judging by the area, there had to be at least seven or eight thousand of them.

Strangely, none of the fish had any visible wounds.

But the Extraordinary Martial Artists knew. Though the fish hadn’t been hit by the Sword Qi, the Thunder Power within it had traveled through the water and killed them all.

The faint smell of fish filled the air. The crowd of Extraordinary Martial Artists panted, their hearts frozen with an icy chill. A trace of terror appeared in their eyes as they stared at Qin Ya.

A single beam of Sword Qi had crushed the combined attack of several Extraordinary Martial Artists and still retained such terrifying might. Power like this was probably on par with a Celestial Human.

’The power of a Spiritual Artifact is truly terrifying!’

Only now did they realize that the prey they thought was within their grasp was, in fact, an utterly terrifying Fierce Beast. The slightest misstep, and they would be the ones to die.

Holding the Ting Xiao Sword and pointing it at the crowd of Extraordinary Martial Artists, Qin Ya’s lips curled up, making no attempt to hide his scorn. He spoke with indifference, "How many of my strikes can you lot take?"

Faced with such a provocative question, the Extraordinary Martial Artists’ eyes filled with terror, and they remained silent. They knew Qin Ya only possessed such strength because of the Spiritual Artifact’s power. They also knew that, given his own level, he couldn’t possibly use it for long. Yet, despite knowing all this, they still didn’t dare to step forward.

Because whoever went first would die!

No one wanted to die! No one wanted to be the one to stick their neck out!

The Ting Xiao Sword’s blade trembled lightly, its hum echoing through the air. Wisps of lightning danced on the purple blade as a sharp, violent, and domineering Sword Intent shot toward the Nine Heavens.

"Haha, it’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun!"

The excited roar of the Thunder Beast suddenly echoed in Qin Ya’s mind. It was recklessly unleashing its power, announcing its existence to the world.

"Ting Xiao, calm down. I can’t wield you for much longer. If you keep this up, you’ll burn through all my True Essence and Divine Thought."

Qin Ya chided the Ting Xiao Sword via his Divine Thought.

Wielding a Spiritual Artifact didn’t consume Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, but rather the pure True Essence within one’s body. Although Qin Ya had already reached the Extraordinary realm, and his Leakless Body granted him incredibly deep reserves of True Essence, Spiritual Artifacts were still not easy to use.

At his current level, he could only wield the Spiritual Artifact for about three-quarters of an hour at most.

And that was him. If any other Sky-Controlling Martial Artist tried, they’d be considered lucky if they could use it for a quarter of an hour without being drained dry.

"My apologies. This scene reminded me of the old days, roaming the Azure Sky with the Thunder Sword King. I got a little excited," Ting Xiao said with a laugh.

"I imagine those were days of settling scores and living freely."

"They were."

With that, Ting Xiao brought its power under control. Outside, the lightning on the Ting Xiao Sword’s blade dissipated, and the violent Sword Intent slowly receded.

Seeing this, the expressions of the Extraordinary Martial Artists filled with doubt and suspicion.

’Could it be that this Qin Ya can only use the Spiritual Artifact for an instant?’

"Everyone, the boy is showing signs of fatigue! Let’s all attack together!" a Sky-Controlling Martial Artist shouted, raising his arm to rally the others. But not a single person made a move. The man’s face reddened with embarrassment.

"A pack of gutless rats," Qin Ya said indifferently.

Hearing this, the Extraordinary Martial Artists flushed red with shame and anger.

They had utterly lost face. A group of Extraordinary Martial Artists, being cursed right to their faces by a mere youth, yet not daring to make a move. Could anything be more humiliating?

In the distance, the spectating Martial Artists were already dumbfounded.

From the shadowy assassin’s sneak attack being thwarted with a single move, to the Extraordinary Martial Artists who were also slain with a single sword strike, and now to so many Extraordinary Martial Artists being openly mocked by Qin Ya... the shock of it all was too much for them.

In their minds, the scenario should have been Qin Ya fighting to the death to protect his Spiritual Artifact, only to be defeated and have it stolen. Or perhaps he would have knelt and begged for mercy, obediently handing over the Spiritual Artifact only to be publicly humiliated by the Extraordinary Martial Artists...

They had imagined many outcomes, but never this one.

GULP. One Martial Artist swallowed hard, his eyes filled with shock. His voice trembled as he said, "My god, this kid is way too fierce."

"You’re telling me. To force so many Extraordinary Martial Artists into a standoff all by himself... even with the help of a Spiritual Artifact, it’s still astonishing."

"Damn it, if those Extraordinary Martial Artists just swarmed him, Qin Ya would be dead for sure, Spiritual Artifact or not! Why are they just standing there?"

"Whoever strikes first, dies first. That’s why no one wants to make the first move. It seems Qin Ya is using that to buy himself time."

"But this stalemate can’t last long."

Far away, atop the Kun, Bo Wen laughed heartily, showing none of the etiquette expected of the Merfolk Royal Family. "This kid really has guts, daring to point his sword at so many Extraordinary Martial Artists. I wasn’t wrong about him. He really is an interesting member of the Human Race."

The guard beside him, however, frowned slightly and said, "Your Highness, this human does indeed have some courage, but it’s futile. You must know, there are several others observing from the shadows. Even with a Spiritual Artifact, he cannot contend with a Celestial Human. In this struggle, he has been at a disadvantage from the very beginning."

"Hehe, but isn’t that what makes it interesting?"