Chapter 144: The Slaughter Has Not Yet Ceased

"Repeat what you just said!"

Li Jiansan emerged from the air, his gaze cold as he looked at Yun Feiyang.

"Which part are you referring to? The part where I called them trash? Or the part where I insulted the Grim Reaper?"

Yun Feiyang turned around, saw Li Jiansan, and exclaimed in shock, "Who are you?"

"The one who is here to kill you!"

The person before him gave Yun Feiyang an unfathomable feeling, yet his cold tone deeply annoyed him. "I don't care who you are. If you dare to act up in front of me, I'll deal with you first."

Yun Feiyang transformed his palm into a claw and swiped viciously at Li Jiansan.

The fierce offensive left whistling sounds in the air, and the surrounding rocks were shattered into dust by the intensity of his sharp energy.

"Li Jiansan, watch out!" Zixuan cried out not far away.

"Heh, you have helpers? You might as well all come at me together," Yun Feiyang said with disdain. "You're just a few ants that I could crush with a flick of my finger!"

Hearing this, Li Jiansan's expression hardened with murderous intent. "You aren't even worthy of me using my full strength, yet you want them to join in? How truly laughable. Your life—I'll be taking it."

As the words fell, Li Jiansan transformed into a gust of wind, striking with lightning speed.

The arrogant nonsense Yun Feiyang had spouted earlier had ignited Li Jiansan’s lethal intent.

A mere Fourth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator was nothing in his eyes. He had already killed elders, let alone someone like Yun Feiyang.

Li Jiansan clenched his fist, and his knuckles popped with a thunderous sound. Like a volcanic eruption, he unleashed a punch, releasing terrifying power in an instant.

With a loud boom, Yun Feiyang was sent flying back.

Yun Feiyang’s eyes narrowed. "This boy’s strength... it's so powerful!" The hand he had hidden in his sleeve was still trembling uncontrollably after taking that punch.

Yun Feiyang’s gaze sharpened, and he drew a refined iron sword. With a roar, he poured his massive True Essence into it, causing the sword's light to flare up with a dazzling, blinding brilliance. He then swept his sword out, sending sharp, relentless waves of sword light forward.

Seeing this, Li Jiansan smiled faintly. "To dare play with sword techniques in front of me—how ridiculous."

At that moment, Li Jiansan’s aura erupted like a volcano, surging toward the heavens, scattering the dark clouds in the sky. He was like a blazing sun, radiating a brilliance that was incomparably resplendent.

A large golden sword instantly appeared in Li Jiansan's hand. With a slight movement, violent sword energy burst forth from it.

The moment Yun Feiyang's refined iron sword touched the energy, it shattered into countless fragments. Furthermore, with a loud crash, the heaven-shaking sword light sliced right through, severing one of Yun Feiyang’s arms!

When Yun Feiyang saw the Supreme Broken Sword in Li Jiansan's hand, his pupils contracted violently. This golden sword was the mark of the Grim Reaper!

"You are... you..." Yun Feiyang was paralyzed by terror, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Didn't you say earlier that you could crush me with a single finger?" Li Jiansan sneered. "Well, here I am. Why don't you come and try?"

Upon recognizing the sword, any courage Yun Feiyang had to fight vanished, and he was scared out of his wits. That was the Grim Reaper! A madman who had already killed two Foundation Establishment elders! He was no match for him. His earlier boasts had been nothing more than posturing.

Boom!

Terrified to the point of losing all composure, Yun Feiyang collapsed to his knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy. "It was my eyes that failed to recognize your greatness! Please... treat me like a fart and just let me go!"

Li Jiansan, with his surging aura, looked like an overlord descended from the heavens, striking fear into the very soul of Yun Feiyang.

"How is this possible? His aura is so incredibly powerful!" The surrounding warriors stared with wide, disbelieving eyes. They had never seen anyone capable of increasing their combat power so drastically in an instant.

A strong sense of impending death washed over Yun Feiyang; he no longer doubted that Li Jiansan would kill him.

"Escape!" Just as he tried to flee, he felt as though a heavy mountain had descended upon him, making even the surrounding air feel suffocatingly heavy.

"I am a man of Young Master Sun Yiqiu! Do you dare kill me?" Yun Feiyang threatened. "If you kill me, you won't have a good end!"

"I don't know the person you're talking about!"

Li Jiansan ignored his words entirely and swung his sword horizontally. The tyrannical force kicked up a violent storm, instantly depleting the oxygen in the surrounding air. The wild sword energy caused the very world to tremble; the sound of cracking echoed incessantly, and sword light flickered in the void, as if it were about to cleave the heavens themselves.

"Boom!"

The domineering force struck Yun Feiyang head-on.

"What! His sword technique is this powerful!" Yun Feiyang’s face was filled with shock, his voice failing him under the sheer weight of the pressure.

The terrifying sword energy spread wildly, seemingly splitting the world in two with an earth-shattering explosion.

"Ah..."

With a piercing scream, blood sprayed everywhere as Yun Feiyang was reduced to a rain of blood amidst the sword light.

"Don't kill—" The other warriors tried to intercede, but Li Jiansan was far too fast. By the time they opened their mouths, Yun Feiyang had already been pulverized into a blood mist.

They stood there as if stunned, trembling uncontrollably, unable to believe what they had just seen.

"Did you say something just now?" Li Jiansan slowly put away his golden sword and turned around, acting as if nothing had happened.

The group stammered, "No... nothing at all..."

Just then, Zixuan and Zhang Dabao finished their bickering and witnessed the moment Li Jiansan slew Yun Feiyang.

"My god, that was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and you... you killed him!" Zixuan's eyes were wide, and she gasped for air. How could this be possible? Even among Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was considered above average. Yet, Li Jiansan had killed him with a single sword stroke, and so nonchalantly! It completely shattered her worldview.

"What's wrong? These arrogant pieces of trash deserve to be killed," Li Jiansan said, completely unbothered.

Zixuan was alarmed. "But he was one of Sun Yiqiu's men! We can't afford to offend him."

Li Jiansan looked indifferent. "And so what?"

Seeing his serious expression, Zixuan was stunned. Could he really deal with Sun Yiqiu?

After that, the group found a place to rest for half a day. Then, Li Jiansan and his companions began a frantic killing spree.

With a low roar, the sword energy in Li Jiansan's hand swept forth like a scythe of death. Within a hundred-meter radius, screams rang out one after another. With a single strike, Li Jiansan had slain at least four or five people. This was only because he had held back; otherwise, the slaughter would have been far worse.

"Feihua of the Imperial City disciples, you are defeated!" Li Jiansan said coldly, his sword pointed at the man's throat.

Standing before him was a small team of five or six. Their leader, Feihua, was now unable to move a muscle, pinned by Li Jiansan’s blade.

"Cough, cough... who are you? Since when did such a powerful person appear among that group of trash?" A strange look crossed Feihua's eyes, and he pleaded, "We have no life-or-death grudge, do we? Why not let me go? I'll give you all the essence cores I have."

Li Jiansan gave him a cold, indifferent look. "For your words earlier alone, you are destined to die!"

The sharp sword light in Li Jiansan's hand erupted, instantly shredding Feihua into a mist of blood.

"Lieying, it's over!"

"Damn it! How are you so strong? I can't escape you, you bastard!"

Lieying had practiced an agility technique; while his combat power wasn't high, his speed was immense, and it was this skill that had allowed him to stand out among the newcomers. But his speed was nothing in front of Li Jiansan.

"Hand over your essence cores, crush your token, and get out of here!" Li Jiansan said coldly. "Or, you can choose to be killed by me."

"What did you say!" Lieying was furious. He could give up the cores, as long as he remained in the Maze Forest, he had a chance to accumulate more. But if he crushed his token, he would forfeit the assessment and lose all his chances.

Seeing him hesitate, Li Jiansan said coldly, "It seems you have chosen death!"

"Don't go too far!"

"Heh, in your eyes, the weak aren't fit to remain in the Azure Dragon Academy. Likewise, in my eyes, you are an ant. An ant has even less right to stay here, and even less right to live!"

Li Jiansan's icy gaze terrified him to the core. He scrambled to say, "No! I'll leave right now!"

Just as Lieying hurriedly reached to crush his token, Li Jiansan coldly said, "It's too late!"

Boom!

Lieying was immediately obliterated by the sword light.

"He Jian, you are pathetic. Get out!"

Under Li Jiansan's cold and merciless sword light, those high-and-mighty Imperial City disciples were either turned into corpses or forced out of the assessment.

Li Jiansan's sword continued its slaughter, never stopping. The shadow of death slowly spread across the entire Maze Forest.