The silver-black Mó Yuè Zhǎn had been dormant for a long time, but when Jian Dan came under attack, it didn't wait for her command. The blade tore free from the Yin-Yang Taiji Plate above, blinked once through the air, circled her in a flash, and instantly shattered the three strikes aimed her way.
The Mó Yuè Zhǎn floated at her side, its rotation slow but steady, leaking faint, pure demonic energy as if hungry for more.
"Now it's my turn. All of you better be ready."
Her enchanting voice rang out. Before the three Tian Squads could recover, she infused her fist with magic power. A soft laugh slipped from her lips, and then she vanished right in front of them.
"Shit! Defense, now!"
The Tian Squad moved fast, shrinking their formations and setting their battle arrays back-to-back, forming a triangular defense that let them support each other.
Too bad it was still a step behind Jian Dan. She activated the Ice-Jade Demonic Body, letting the results of her body cultivation shine through. She appeared right in the middle of the three arrays and swung her fists.
The sharp bam, bam, bam echoed nonstop. In the blink of an eye, the three arrays shattered, and with another flash of movement, she slipped away, letting their desperate counterattacks fall uselessly.
The next moment, Jian Dan charged straight into the first squad's formation. Black fist shadows flickered across the field, and one after another, cultivators were blasted from the array, breaking it apart instantly.
The other two squads saw the first collapse and quickly pressed in from both sides, hoping to slow her down and ease the pressure on their comrades.
A nice idea, but unfortunately, Jian Dan never played by the rules.
She pressed her palm lightly on the eager Mó Yuè Zhǎn, then used Shadow-Stepping Footwork to weave through the scattered cultivators of the first squad. Every flash and sudden disappearance ended with another disciple falling flat, unable to fight back.
The two remaining squads cursed her ruthlessly in their hearts. She darted around within the first squad, preventing their attacks from locking on. Even worse, whenever they managed to fix their strikes on her, she shamelessly dragged one of their own in the way to block for her, hitting them with brutal counters.
All they could do was watch helplessly as the first squad was eliminated. Soon after, Jian Dan's figure reappeared at the center of the arena.
"Your turn now."
The teardrop mole at her eye gleamed faintly as the Mó Yuè Zhǎn howled past her shoulder, cutting in from behind the two remaining squads.
Wrapped in dark energy, the weapon slammed down left and right, crushing both arrays into rubble. Feeling unsatisfied, it spun back to Jian Dan's side, then dove straight into her dantian.
"Boring. I can't even go all out. You train them yourself."
The blade's spirit wrinkled its little nose and returned to the Yin-Yang Taiji Plate, content to keep nurturing itself.
Jian Dan twitched at the voice in her head but smirked. Then her figure flickered, slipping into the ranks of the two squads. One by one, cultivators were slapped out of the arena.
"Don't panic! Group up and fight her together!"
A clear-headed disciple shouted just in time. Seeing that she'd sealed away the Mó Yuè Zhǎn, they knew they still had a chance. Quickly, they formed loose mini-arrays and launched joint attacks.
She nodded approvingly. "Finally showing some sense." If they'd done this earlier, she might've had to spend real effort. But now that the strongest squad was already out, the other two didn't stand much chance. Their strategy was solid, but their cultivation just wasn't high enough.
They lasted for about the time it took to burn a stick of incense. Then, one after another, Jian Dan booted them off the stage. Those eliminated first could only watch bitterly from below.
When the last disciple was tossed aside, she brushed nonexistent dust from her Manjushahua Robe, swaying gracefully as she stepped off the platform.
"Your performance wasn't terrible, but there's plenty of room to grow. Your array formations were fast, but your strategies were sloppy. Clearly, you haven't trained together enough."
"Your teaching is right, Zūnshàng!"
All twenty-one answered in unison.
They'd thought they were the strongest squad in the Heaven Division. They'd even sought advice from the Mo Squad beforehand. Yet against Mo Yue Zūnshàng, their flaws were exposed instantly.
What stung most was that she hadn't even truly used the Mó Yuè Zhǎn. They'd lost just to her body cultivation alone, and the weapon hadn't fired a single real strike.
"Reflect on the mistakes you made today. Draft improvement plans and bring them to me in two days. Next time, if you can't last an hour under my hands, you'll be punished."
"Yes, Zūnshàng!"
Satisfied, she waved them off, then headed to meet Chief Mo Zhang.
"Junior Sister, how was it today?"
He couldn't read her expression, so he had to ask.
"The Tian Squad barely passes. Their teamwork's sloppy though."
Relief finally loosened Mo Zhang's chest. Otherwise, he'd be facing another round of scolding from Mo Yan Zhēnzūn.
Thinking of it made him curse inwardly. That sly old Mo Lie had tossed away the Palace Master seat and happily shut himself in seclusion, leaving him to sweat over everything.
"In that case, I'll trouble you to train them harder. Whatever you need, take it from the Core Disciples Hall. If they don't have it, let Gong Yi report to me, and I'll have the Black Robe Guards supply it."
"That's fine. I won't stand on ceremony with you. But you said Mo Yi would be working with me, and I still haven't seen him."
"Oh, that was my oversight. I sent him to escort Bi Shu. Two days ago, we got word that the Life and Death Pavilion finished their inspection. They escorted Bi Shu safely into Heavenly Demon Palace's territory."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Nothing unusual from the Life and Death Pavilion?"
"Nothing. No blood insects found inside or outside their sect."
"What about the other demonic sects?"
"The Nine Fiends Hall caught one. Old Nine Fiends turned both the cultivator and the insect into blood water on the spot. Bi Shu was pretty shaken up."
"So we're the ones getting special attention. Three of them were planted right here."
"Luckily, we caught them early, or things might've gotten ugly."
"And the cultivators who were infested?"
"Wiped out along with the insects. We won't risk leaving a hidden danger."
"Senior Brother, you're ruthless, and that's exactly how it should be."
Her praise was genuine.
"Something that foul has no place staying alive."
From his tone, it was clear Mo Zhang didn't approve of the Heavenly Sword Sect's approach. Jian Dan didn't voice her own opinion.
Just then, a Black Robe Guard stepped into the hall, bowed, and reported:
"Mo Yue Zūnshàng, Chun Yu from your cave residence reports that cultivators of the Hua Family request an audience."