Chapter 110: Rising to Fame in a Single Battle

The battle taking place where Liu Junhuai stood drew the attention of many; it was impossible not to notice the purple-red sky above. Every cultivator who witnessed the Heaven-Covering Hand was stunned by its brutal, ferocious, and unreasonable display of power. Many who were already engaged in their own fights halted their actions, standing frozen in place.

Zisang Yanqi, currently locked in a struggle with Xiao Qingtian, clearly witnessed the scene that had just unfolded. A storm of shock rose in his heart—he had provoked such a terrifying existence. The strength Liu Junhuai displayed far exceeded that of a simple early-stage Golden Core cultivator, and combined with his endless array of secret techniques, Zisang, as an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, felt he had no certainty of victory. His psychological response slowed, and the battle, which he had been slightly dominating, began to be turned around by Xiao Qingtian.

Using his celestial perception to observe the situation, Liu Junhuai teleported behind Zisang Yanqi and struck his back with the Heaven-Covering Seal. Zisang was horrified and lunged forward desperately, but found his path blocked by Xiao Qingtian. Unable to fend off Xiao Qingtian’s sharp palm wind, he had just enough time to channel his true essence into his back before Liu Junhuai’s strike landed on his protective barrier.

With a muffled thud, Liu Junhuai’s palm collided with Zisang’s protective energy. The force of the blow sent Zisang stumbling forward, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips as his internal organs were shaken by the impact. Liu Junhuai also suffered from the backlash of Zisang’s true essence, a thin line of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth; the gap of an entire major realm remained difficult to bridge. Fortunately, it was a sneak attack, and the backlash was merely the passive defense of his opponent.

Zisang’s forward momentum brought him right into the path of Xiao Qingtian’s massive palm strike. With a sound like leather being struck, Zisang was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, tracing an arc through the air before crashing into the ground far away.

Xiao Qingtian and Liu Junhuai moved forward with lightning speed. Liu Junhuai unleashed his "Two Variations Converged into One," his palm energy manifesting as a golden bolt of electricity, while Xiao Qingtian’s thick, profound palm power descended with the crushing weight of Mount Tai. Before Zisang Yanqi could even stand, both attacks slammed into him with a roar. With a resounding boom, he was sent flying once more, his left leg severed by Liu Junhuai’s technique. Xiao Qingtian quickly applied several restrictive seals, and the withered Zisang was captured alive.

Giving a slight nod to Xiao Qingtian, Liu Junhuai turned to join the battle involving Mo Sitong. She was dueling Zisang Shangpin, who, having lost an arm, was struggling to maintain a stalemate. Sensing Liu Junhuai’s arrival, Mo Sitong waved her hand to signal that he need not intervene. Her "Seven-Ribbon Brocade" suddenly hardened into a heavy staff, which she swung down toward Zisang Shangpin’s head. Zisang raised his remaining arm to block, but just as the weapon neared his head, it reverted into its soft, red silk form, leaving his raised blade with nothing to strike.

As he hesitated, the red silk draped limply over his blade’s edge. In that split second, a white light shot out from the silk and coiled tightly around Zisang Shangpin’s neck. With a sharp shout from Mo Sitong, Zisang’s massive head flew into the sky, and his body collapsed to the ground.

Elsewhere, Bian Jizhong was engaged in a massacre. Yes, a massacre. Of all the Golden Core cultivators in the Blood-Slaying Alliance, only two early-stage ones remained, fighting desperately; all the high-level cultivators had been systematically eliminated by the Sect Alliance. The ferocious tiger formed by Bian Jizhong’s Tiger Shadow Saber was everywhere; wherever its roar echoed, another corpse fell.

Yun Jiezi and Zhi Kejian had already been subdued and tossed aside, guarded by late-stage Golden Core cultivators. Half an hour later, the training grounds had turned into a sea of blood. Over a hundred corpses of cultivators at or above the mid-stage Foundation Establishment level lay scattered, with severed limbs visible everywhere. Aside from the few captured alive, the Blood-Slaying Alliance had been wiped out. The Sect Alliance had achieved a great victory.

The onlookers who had scattered began to slowly gather again. After hearing explanations from those in the know—that the Blood-Slaying Alliance were the perpetrators of the Dragon-Sacrifice Pool tragedy—the crowd erupted into deafening cheers. In an instant, the reputation of the Sect Alliance soared. Xiao Qingtian, the leader of the Heavenly Mystery Sect and initiator of the Alliance, was lauded by many, and even a man accustomed to flattery felt immensely satisfied, a broad smile fixed on his face.

Bian Yanshan had not even needed to strike, and Fang Keyin had not moved at all. The battle that had made Xiao Qingtian so nervous had become easy once Liu Junhuai joined the fray. Reluctantly stepping away from the tide of praise, Xiao Qingtian approached Liu Junhuai.

"Junhuai, thank you for your help. Without you, I don't know how long this battle would have dragged on. This is a perfect ending for the Alliance. The remaining forces of the Blood-Slaying Alliance in the Western Regions will soon be finished. Your contribution is the greatest; without the information you provided, who knows how many more tragedies would have occurred?" Xiao Qingtian was speaking from the heart.

Liu Junhuai replied, "Not at all. Senior Xiao has exhausted himself for the stability and prosperity of the Western cultivation world. The Alliance will only grow stronger, and the entire Western region needs the Alliance, under your leadership, to win victory after victory against the Blood-Slaying Alliance. Only then can the cultivation world develop and thrive in order."

Knowing Xiao Qingtian enjoyed being flattered, Liu Junhuai did not hold back, further endearing himself to the man. Liu Junhuai then shifted the topic to the remaining forces of the Alliance: "Senior Xiao, internal purges within each sect are the next priority. We must interrogate the captives immediately and keep the results strictly confidential. Only after clearing out the traitors can we begin to expand the Alliance. And we must be wary of retaliation from the Blood-Slaying Alliance."

Xiao Qingtian patted Liu Junhuai on the shoulder and said, "If you could join the Sect Alliance, our strength would increase tremendously. I hope that day comes soon!"

Liu Junhuai smiled. "My master has given strict orders, and some things cannot be rushed. Regardless, if the Sect Alliance needs anything in the future, just speak up. As long as it does not violate my master’s commands, I will be duty-bound to assist."

After bidding a pleasant farewell to Xiao Qingtian, Liu Junhuai returned to his own group. Shen Duoduo flew into his arms, babbling about her admiration. "How was it? Big Brother, did the battle go smoothly?" Liu Junhuai teased Bian Jizhong.

Bian Jizhong curled his lip. "I only killed one early-stage Golden Core cultivator, the rest were just ants. I don't have your luck, Second Brother—killing mid-stage, then late-stage, and capturing a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"Hey," Shen Duoduo asked curiously, "Since when did Big Brother learn to perform rhythmic storytelling?"

Fang Keyin laughed, "This battle at the training grounds was a total victory. But why did the Blood-Slaying Alliance come to Pingdu City? What mineral resources did the Shen family possess? You must take this seriously. If you can secure them for yourself, it will be a great help for future development."

Liu Junhuai’s heart stirred at these words, suddenly remembering Shen Ao’s remark. Briefly explaining to the group, he stepped onto his flying sword and rushed toward the City Lord’s mansion. Upon reaching the cellar in the depths of the mansion, he found it empty, save for a single letter left on the floor.

The letter contained no words, only a mineral rights contract signed by the City Lord of Pingdu, along with a map drawn on animal skin. Liu Junhuai stood in the cellar, lost in thought for a while, before heading into the main residence. The mansion was in chaos; the City Lord, Xi Nanyu, had clearly fled. Liu Junhuai did not care much; Xi Nanyu was merely a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator and could not have known the Blood-Slaying Alliance's secrets.

Liu Junhuai activated his celestial perception, and every secret of the mansion was laid bare before him. Shen Bingwen was nowhere to be found, likely having fled at the start of the battle. However, a small jade box buried beneath Xi Nanyu’s bed caught his interest. Inside the box lay a green bamboo leaf. Before even opening it, Liu Junhuai sensed a vast, ancient aura, which then flickered and vanished as he tried to focus on it. Even with his vast knowledge, he could not identify the leaf's origin, but he was certain that anything hidden so deeply in the ground could not be ordinary. Satisfied, he tucked it away.

Anything portable had been stripped clean by Xi Nanyu, leaving nothing else of value. Liu Junhuai turned back to his sword to rejoin his companions.

Today’s battle was destined to be recorded in the annals of the Fengling Kingdom and the entire Western region. Regardless of the rank of the cultivators involved or the intensity of the fighting, it was a large-scale conflict of rare proportions. Furthermore, the cause and inner details of the war became hot topics for everyone in the know.

The name of Liu Junhuai, the initiator and orchestrator of the battle, spread throughout the Western region overnight. His young age as a Golden Core cultivator, his meticulously planned operations, his powerful support team, and his brutal, formidable strength were all discussed in hushed tones by everyone.

Contrasting his overnight fame was the exposure of the mysterious Blood-Slaying Alliance. More incidents of murder and robbery began to surface, all closely linked to this organization. Countless victims and sects reached out to the Sect Alliance to join, and a massive, sweeping hunt for the Blood-Slaying Alliance began to spread across the West.

Only a few knew that this shocking, unified movement had been started and propelled by a mere fifteen-year-old: Liu Junhuai. This battle, which would be widely celebrated by the cultivation world for the next thousand years, was officially named the "Battle of the Training Grounds" in the Great Records of Western Affairs.