Lin Xiao's face paled in shock.
Ji Wusi watched him, a trace of satisfaction flickering in his eyes. With a calm smile, he went on, "Later, several Mahayana elders from Yuehua Sect showed up. They intended to take away Xue Daoren. Yun Jin refused, and those cultivators tried to seize both Yun Jin and Xue Daoren by force."
Ji Wusi paused for a moment.
Lin Xiao's eyes lit up again, latching onto a sliver of hope.
Even if what he had just heard was true—somehow, Yun Jin had managed to suppress Xue Daoren—he had made thorough preparations this time.
He had contacted the Yuehua Sect early on and ensured their presence.
Yuehua Sect was a supreme sect, known for its powerful cultivation arts and techniques. Their Mahayana elders were on a completely different level from the combat-weak Phantom Demon Clan. Compared to them, Yun Jin had no chance.
As long as Yuehua's experts made their move, Yun Jin would have no way to turn the tables.
But Ji Wusi continued, watching Lin Xiao closely. "Wushuang Sect's guardian spirit beast, the Lava Dragon, arrived just in time. Yun Jin joined forces with the Lava Dragon and drove off all the Mahayana elders from Yuehua Sect."
"Impossible!" Lin Xiao blurted out again.
He had done his research on the Lava Dragon. That's why, in this arrangement, he had accounted for it. The five Mahayana experts dispatched by Yuehua Sect were among their strongest. Even the Lava Dragon shouldn't have been able to hold them off. Three of those cultivators were more than enough to handle the Lava Dragon. That would leave two more. Were they seriously unable to deal with Yun Jin?
Absurd. Absolutely absurd. It made no sense.
"Everything is possible," Ji Wusi replied mildly, glancing at Lin Xiao. "Afterward, Xue Daoren fled. The latest update says Yun Jin pursued him for three thousand li and personally beheaded that demon. While she was at it, she also purged the demonic cults in the Canglan Kingdom. From now on, Canglan Kingdom is likely entering its most peaceful era."
"You're lying." Lin Xiao stared at Ji Wusi, eyes burning with disbelief.
He refused to accept it. There was no way Yun Jin had grown that powerful.
It was too outrageous. Too ridiculous to be true.
And yet...
That very absurdity made him uneasy.
Because...
Ji Wusi had no reason to lie about something so easily disproven.
There was no point in that.
"Master Lin," Ji Wusi said with a smile, "surely you've received some messages too. Why not check them now?"
Gritting his teeth, Lin Xiao no longer hesitated and quickly pulled out his communication token to review the information.
"I've got some visuals here. Why don't we all take a look?" Ji Wusi waved his hand, and a large image appeared in the sky above them.
Everyone turned to look.
They were curious too.
How could someone at the Divine Transformation stage possibly defeat a Mahayana cultivator?
It shouldn't have been possible.
In the projection, Yun Jin moved fearlessly to meet Xue Daoren's attack.
A few sharp-eyed viewers narrowed their gaze.
"She's probably no longer in the Divine Transformation stage," someone muttered. "That kind of spiritual energy... at least Unity stage."
Others began nodding in agreement.
Even Ji Wusi's eyes flashed with astonishment.
He already knew the whole story before seeing this projection, so his mood was relatively calm. Still, he couldn't help wondering—how exactly did Yun Jin pull this off?
This footage had already spread like wildfire, so there was no reason to hide it anymore. That's why he had revealed it publicly.
After watching for a bit longer, someone said, "Definitely Unity stage. Maybe even peak Unity."
"Her progress is terrifying. She only broke through to Divine Transformation a few days ago. And now? Another major leap? Before entering the Wushuang Sect's secret realm, she was just at the Nascent Soul stage. In half a month, she's jumped two whole stages. Is this the heritage of Wushuang Sect? Or is Yun Jin simply... a monster?"
"Maybe both."
"But even if she's peak Unity, how could she go toe-to-toe with Xue Daoren? He's been Mahayana for quite a while now. The Illusion Demon Clan may not be known for their combat strength, but a two-stage gap isn't something talent alone can bridge."
"I remember Yun Jin received the sword imprint from the Tian Po Sword. Could that be the reason?"
"No... back at Tianxing Sect, the Tian Po Sword exhausted its energy and entered dormancy. It's barely been any time. I highly doubt it's fully recovered."
"Then what is it?"
The group fell into murmured discussion.
Lin Xiao quickly read through his messages. His face turned darker and darker as he lifted his eyes to the sky.
He wanted to see it for himself.
How had Yun Jin escaped a trap like that?
Just as the others had speculated, at first, Yun Jin wasn't a match for Xue Daoren. Soon enough, she was caught within a blood-colored vortex.
Then the Blood Dao cultivators took the opportunity to unleash the Blood Net, intending to sacrifice innocent civilians to empower their foul arts.
Everyone watching knew that Yun Jin must eventually prevail, but even so, they couldn't help feeling tense.
Because before witnessing it themselves, no one could guess how she had done it.
As they stared at the sky...
The crimson vortex shattered.
Yun Jin burst free.
For a moment, even Ji Wusi was stunned.
Something was different about her.
She seemed... she seemed...
A thought flashed through Ji Wusi's mind, unbidden.
But he immediately dismissed it.
No matter how much of a genius Yun Jin was, that couldn't be possible.
And then—
Yun Jin's wounds vanished before their eyes.
At the same time, endless fire elemental energy surged toward her like a tidal wave.
It looked...
Like they were worshiping their queen.
Yun Jin stood at the center of the blaze, burning with radiance.
Everyone was momentarily dazed.
Elemental reverence.
That was a phenomenon that only occurred when someone fully comprehended an entire Law.
Yun Jin...
She had fully mastered the Law of Fire.
Understanding a full Law was a goal so distant, most cultivators would never even approach it. Back in the capital, few had realized Yun Jin had touched upon any Law.
But the people watching now were the elites of the Four Holy Lands.
Even those who hadn't yet mastered a Law were striving toward that very goal.
They understood instantly what this display meant.
They had imagined countless possibilities for how Yun Jin could have overcome Xue Daoren.
Maybe Wushuang Sect had some hidden trump card.
Maybe she had forcibly activated some terrifying artifact.
But the truth...
Was the most outlandish answer of all.
Cultivator Yun Jin. Sixteen years old. Less than one year of cultivation. Master of the Law of Fire.
No one spoke.
Her achievement left even the pinnacle of humanity's cultivators speechless.
"The Law of Fire..." Qing Yun muttered blankly, then suddenly laughed. "Master Ji, I doubt even you achieved something like this back in your day."
Liu Li smiled and added, "Sixteen years old. I recall you began cultivating at eight. A once-in-a-generation prodigy. At sixteen, weren't you just reaching the Golden Core stage?"
"Golden Core stage! Truly extraordinary talent," Qing Yun teased, glancing sidelong at his friend. "But Yun Jin also started at sixteen, and she's cultivated for only a year. I wonder... what stage is she at now?"
In cultivation...
Ji Wusi had always been proudly arrogant. Over the years, he had only ever admitted that he was inferior to Wan Dao Saint.
Qing Yun couldn't resist poking at him.
Ji Wusi, watching Yun Jin command the flames and fully seize the battle, smiled at last.
"From blue, even deeper than indigo," he said calmly. "Yun Jin is my disciple. That she would surpass me is only natural."
Disciple?
Ji Wusi had never publicly declared that before.
Now, he had said it openly.
Qing Yun and Liu Li stared at Ji Wusi in disbelief.
Shameless. Truly shameless.