Immortal of the Ages

"YOU!" Huyan Pin glared at Yun Xiao with a look that could pierce steel.

Yun Xiao withdrew his six-foot Sovereign Sword, making it look as easy as stepping off a horse. In a blink, that Sovereign Sword shrank to a three-inch Flying Sword, neatly caught in his grasp.

"Think using a Sovereign Sword for a Palm Sword technique is something? Well, feast your eyes on this." Yun Xiao, with a sly grin, flicked the Flying Sword into the air. That little blade danced and darted, whipping up a mini storm, an azure tempest in the shape of the sun!

WHOOSH! A single swipe, and Huyan Pin had new, bloody decorations on her limbs, her bones shattered, blood spurting like fountains.

"Ugh..." Huyan Pin hit the ground hard, gasping for air, her pretty face twisted in agony. Losing a fight was one thing, but this was a downright thrashing!

There wasn't a sound from outside the pagoda, meaning the onlookers, her own father included, had just had their faces and vocal cords neatly sliced by Yun Xiao's surprise double feature!

You could only imagine their faces, a picture of pure, unadulterated shock!

"I...I..." Huyan Pin's mind went blank. She'd never faced real danger in the Primordial Ruins, but now, she felt like jelly. Yet, the pride of being a descendant of the high and mighty Three True Immortals kept her heart from outright quitting on her.

WHOOSH! In a flash, Yun Xiao was right beside her, grabbing her by the collar and yanking her up.

"Hahaha..." Huyan Pin let out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Yun Xiao asked, puzzled.

"Just waiting for you to drag me down, then kneel before my dad and beg for a light punishment," Huyan Pin chuckled.

"Still dreaming, are you?" Yun Xiao quipped.

Huyan Pin paused, then with a smirk, replied, "Yun Xiao, are you saying the Primordial Ruins, under the rule of the Three True Immortals, is all just a dream? That's rich! Even Dean Yu wouldn't dare touch me here. Believe it or not!"

"Well, aren't you the bold one?" Yun Xiao gave her a look, then suddenly pointed up and behind him, asking, "The projection source, it's in that direction, right?"

"So what if it is? My father's on his way up!" Huyan Pin retorted with a frosty tone.

"Let's liven things up a bit," Yun Xiao said with a sudden grin.

That grin sent a shiver through Huyan Pin's pride.

With a swift motion, Yun Xiao dragged her into the blind spot of the projection.

"What do you think you're doing? I'm an examiner. Lay a finger on me, and you're in deeper trouble!" Huyan Pin snarled.

"Are you daft? I've already killed Song Bomei. What's one more charge when I'm facing the gallows in five days?"

With those words, Yun Xiao's Heaven Burial Sword Soul pierced Huyan Pin's belly and lodged into her spine.

"Aaaaah!" Huyan Pin's eyes bulged, her body convulsed in agony, her skin turned ashen, and sweat poured down her face.

"Yun... Your... Sword Soul..." In fear, misery, and despair, Huyan Pin looked at him. She couldn't understand how her own Sword Aura was withering away while Yun Xiao's seemed to grow.

It was like a nightmare come to life.

"The Three True Immortals will avenge me..." In her utmost agony, Huyan Pin grasped the Heaven Burial Sword Soul with trembling hands, her fingers smoking.

With a flick of his wrist, Yun Xiao sliced through her fingers and, right before her eyes, attached the seven Calamity Sword Rings to his sword, one after another.

"Much obliged." He smiled faintly.

"No!" Huyan Pin wailed.

With a thrust, Yun Xiao's sword pierced through her throat.

"Another disciple down." He sheathed his Sword Soul, grabbed Huyan Pin by the foot, and dragged her to the window of the Primordial Pagoda, tossing the body out from the fifth floor.

With a splat, blood sprayed in all directions.

"Esteemed elders, this person, posing as an examiner without the credentials, audaciously attempted to ambush a newcomer just stepping into the academy. The malice in their heart is chilling to the bone! I believe it was clear to all present that she struck first, nearly sending me to my doom. My desperate resistance was purely in self-defense! I urge the Primordial Pagoda to beef up its security, so newcomers like myself aren't trembling in fear!"

After delivering his piece, Yun Xiao descended from the Primordial Pagoda, with Lian Xi catching him halfway down. Though a fierce figure herself, Lian Xi's knees went weak seeing Yun Xiao's bold yet meticulous approach.

"From now on, you've got to stick by my side. Assassins and bounty hunters will be after you everywhere," Lian Xi expressed her concern.

"As long as you're in the right, there's nothing to worry about by my side."

"No worries, I've got a backup plan," Yun Xiao reassured with a smile.

"What's a backup plan?" Lian Xi asked, puzzled.

Yun Xiao just smiled, keeping silent.

In the next moment, they had stepped out of the Primordial Pagoda, and instantly, tens of thousands of sharp, sword-like gazes fell upon him. Among these were looks of anger, murderous intent, and admiration, but notably, no scorn. To scorn a killer of his caliber would be an insult to one's own intelligence.

The closest of these gazes, nearly piercing through Yun Xiao, belonged to figures like the Mysterious Sword Manor Master and Dharma Crown Qin, along with the fifty disciples from the Pathseeker Society, all with disdainfully white eyes—a clear indication of their lineage as descendants of the Three True Immortals. For them, the whiteness of their eyes denoted their status, the whiter, the higher.

At the Manor Master's feet lay a pool of blood, his black robe speckled with droplets. In that moment, his pale eyes were like vortices from hell, trapping Yun Xiao in their gaze.

With a flick of his finger, suddenly, more than a hundred robed figures stood before Yun Xiao.

The Manor Master's Sword Soul flickered a third of its way out before retreating back into its sheath.

"Manor Master," Lian Xi stepped forward and said in an even voice, "Yun Xiao made a fair point. Huyan Pin acted as an imposter, her intent to kill was clear, and she made the first move. He was merely defending himself."

"Even so," Dharma Crown Qin interjected, her brow furrowed, "A life has been taken. It falls upon the Mystic Zenith Temple to investigate and judge. Your opinion, while valued, doesn't change the need for truth and detail."

"You're correct," Lian Xi conceded with a nod. "Let the Mystic Zenith Temple investigate. I trust they will be just."

"Take him away," Dharma Crown Qin ordered.

"Wait!" Lian Xi pointed at Yun Xiao, "He's earned the rank of a Level 7 Ding disciple, granting him the right to bail three times before having to face the temple."

"He defeated an imposter, not a true examiner. How does that make him a Level 7 Ding disciple?" Dharma Crown Qin retorted coldly.

"Oh?" Lian Xi smiled, blinking, "By that logic, you're confirming that Huyan Pin was indeed an imposter. That's settled then, and I trust the judgment will reflect this fact?"

Dharma Crown Qin was momentarily speechless, outmaneuvered by a young girl. They had no desire to publicly admit the impersonation.

The very foundation of the Mystic Zenith Temple was law and reason, which Lian Xi has cleverly used to her advantage, backed by the silent support of the hundred robed figures behind her.

Dharma Crown Qin was faced with a choice. Admit to yet another scandal and take Yun Xiao away, or deny it and leave empty-handed.

"Take him away," the Manor Master said coldly. As Huyan Pin's father, he publicly acknowledged the impersonation.

"So, it's settled," Dharma Crown Qin announced to the crowd. "Huyan Pin indeed posed as an examiner against the rules. So, Yun Xiao is not considered a Level 7 Ding disciple and may be apprehended."

"Wait a minute!" Yun Xiao interrupted, "Many thanks for acknowledging Huyan Pin's deception. But, imposter or not, I remain a Level 7 Ding disciple.

"Nonsense," Dharma Crown Qin's gaze turned icy.

"No nonsense here," Yun Xiao retorted, pulling out the student handbook and pointing to a set of rules, "See this? The fifth floor of the Primordial Pagoda states that all I have to do is destroy the Primordial Armor. I did just that. Whether or not the person under that armor was a real examiner is irrelevant to my passing the floor."

Dharma Crown Qin was speechless. Outsmarted by a newcomer in her own game!

The crowd fell silent, their breaths held.

The prodigies of the Pathseeker Society were seething! They were beaten in combat and outwitted in an argument by Yun Xiao!

This was the Primordial Academy, not some lawless land under the Three True Immortals' influence. Without the upper hand in a public setting, one could only swallow their pride.

"Let's go, Lil Xi," Yun Xiao said, wrapping an arm around Lian Xi's waist amidst the silence. He was off to cultivate and practice the sword, with his newfound privileges as a Level 7 Ding disciple.

And there he was, ready to stroll out right in front of the Mysterious Sword Manor Master and Dharma Crown Qin.

"What's with the arrogance? You've only got five days left to live," someone from the Pathseeker Society sneered.

Yun Xiao ignored them.

"This guy's always stirring trouble, then relying on women to clean up his messes. He's going to be Lian Xi's downfall," another voice chimed in.

Yun Xiao couldn't help but chuckle. What else could he do? It was a bit much to expect a man to do the cleaning, wasn't it?

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