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In the valley…
The Blood Pearl in Blood Spirit Sect's Third Saint Xue Qian's hand soared, spinning wildly.
A stench of blood, vile to the extreme, pervaded the air. Crimson torrents erupted from the Blood Pearl, deftly blocking Ruo Xue and Liu Shi Qin's twin assaults.
"Why so furious, fair ladies? I merely wish to peel that lovely skin from your faces—why such a fuss?" Xue Qian giggled, his effeminate tone grating.
"Pervert!" Ruo Xue's willow brows furrowed, her gentle nature roused to anger by Xue Qian's taunts.
"Ice Flash Shadow!"
Liu Shi Qin, unwilling to parley, transformed into fleeting afterimages, cloaked in icy aura, charging at Xue Qian.
Ruo Xue, in sync, gathered Water spiritual energy at her fingertips, her fragrant lips parting, "Water Heart Finger!"
A peak Mysterious-Grade technique from Hundred Flowers Sect, its might undeniable. From her graceful fingers, sharp water qi shot forth, targeting Xue Qian's form.
"Hmph, Blood Pearl, block her!" Xue Qian scoffed at Ruo Xue's attack. His Blood Pearl, a high Earth-Grade treasure, held the blood of thousands.
Indeed formidable, it hovered midair, spewing blood streams, thwarting all of Ruo Xue's Water Heart Finger strikes.
The Blood Pearl even counterattacked, forcing Ruo Xue to defend.
"Ice Moon Seal!"
Meanwhile, Liu Shi Qin closed in. A lunar mark on her forehead glowed, her soft hands weaving countless afterimages, forming a half-moon seal. Chilled by millennial frost, it smashed toward Xue Qian's head.
Its terrifying momentum, like an icy moon, tore the air, pressing Xue Qian into grim focus.
"Blood Spirit Claw!"
Unable to dodge, Xue Qian roared, his nails lengthening into blood-red talons, slashing at the Ice Moon Seal.
Boom…
Brutal and fierce, the Ice Moon Seal shattered the claws with unstoppable force. Its trajectory skewed, missing Xue Qian's head but crushing his left shoulder.
Crack…
Bones splintered, his shoulder caved. Xue Qian flew back, spitting blood.
"How… how can this be? My Blood Spirit Claw is an Earth-Grade technique!" Xue Qian, ignoring his wounds, howled in bitter defiance.
He hadn't anticipated the Ice Moon Seal's dominance.
Liu Shi Qin, seeing this, curved her lips in delight. The Ice Moon Seal, from Lan An's Ice Moon Night Wind Scripture, proved astonishingly potent.
Ruo Xue's eyes sparkled, watching her aunt's prowess, resolving to master Lan An's gifted Water Desolate War Canon swiftly.
"Die, both of you!" Xue Qian, suppressing shoulder agony, glared venomously. With a wave, a coffin materialized.
As usual, a Blood Fiend Corpse, brimming with physical might, leaped out.
Yet, bound by the realm's laws, its strength matched only an Early Fourth-Revolution Body Cultivator.
Facing the corpse, Liu Shi Qin's face turned serious. She turned to Ruo Xue, "Full force—end this quickly, no delays!"
"Agreed!"
Ruo Xue nodded gravely, eyeing the spinning Blood Pearl with a sneer.
Her will stirred, and another pearl appeared in her hand.
As it emerged, space quivered, Water and Wood spiritual energies surged, bowing to their sovereign.
"What is that?" Xue Qian's pupils shrank, instinct screaming danger.
Liu Shi Qin, too, stared at Ruo Xue's pearl.
Its aura rivaled Mu Zi Yin's Purple Wood Sword, though slightly weaker. That sword was a peak Heaven-Grade treasure…
This pearl was at least mid or high Heaven-Grade.
"From him?" Liu Shi Qin mused, unenvying, as she shunned treasures.
As the Blood Fiend Corpse charged, she engaged it.
Her Ice Moon Seal's might forced the corpse back repeatedly.
"Playing tricks? Blood Pearl, advance!" Xue Qian, quelling unease, roared to bolster confidence, urging the Blood Pearl forward. Blood surged, aiming to slay Ruo Xue.
"Water-Earth Pearl – Suppress Mountains and Rivers!"
Facing Xue Qian's assault, Ruo Xue shouted, hurling the Water-Earth Pearl.
Before their stunned eyes, the pearl swelled, faintly revealing visions of vast lands and rivers within, bearing the weight of mountains, crashing into the Blood Pearl.
Blood gushed from the Blood Pearl like a cascade, forming walls to block the Water-Earth Pearl.
Yet, the Water-Earth Pearl, heavy as a dominion, roared forth, Water and Earth energies shredding the blood barriers.
Layers of blood walls collapsed, and the Water-Earth Pearl struck the Blood Pearl.
Crack…
Spurt…
As the Blood Pearl shattered, Xue Qian spewed black blood.
"How… how is this possible?" Grievously wounded, he suffered backlash from his natal treasure's destruction.
"Die!" Ruo Xue, relentless, raised her hand, guiding the Water-Earth Pearl toward Xue Qian.
"No…" Xue Qian's eyes bulged, then turned ruthless, glaring at the Blood Fiend Corpse, bellowing, "Self-detonate!"
The corpse, obeying, trembled violently, swelling, primed to explode.
Forged from countless cultivators' blood, brimming with resentment, its detonation rivaled a nuclear blast.
"Trouble!" Ruo Xue, alarmed, recalled the Water-Earth Pearl to flee.
Too late.
"Hahaha, die, you harlots!" Xue Qian's madness peaked, sacrificing his corpse to kill them.
"Fool!" A mocking voice froze his expression.
Before his dazed eyes, Liu Shi Qin morphed into a black whirlwind, enveloping Ruo Xue, vanishing from the battlefield.
Night Wind…
Swift as lightning.
"Damn you, damn you!" Xue Qian, unresigned, wailed skyward.
With the corpse nearing detonation, he gritted his teeth, pulling five human corpses from his storage ring, his mouth gaping, "Flesh Devouring Art!"
The corpses dissolved into nutrients, consumed.
"Blood Escape Thousand Miles!"
Regaining some strength, Xue Qian, near death, lost two-thirds of his blood.
His body transformed into a blood streak, fleeing the scene.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Events unfolded swiftly. As Xue Qian escaped, the Blood Fiend Corpse detonated like a bomb.
The valley was obliterated, leaving a bottomless crater and a blood stench.
A thousand miles away, hearing the blast, Liu Shi Qin smiled wryly, "Worthy of an Eighth-Grade power's Saint such tricks!"
Ruo Xue nodded, grateful for Lan An's Water-Earth Pearl. Without it, Hundred Flowers Sect's means couldn't match Blood Spirit Sect.
She yearned to master Water Desolate War Canon and refine Water Desolate Bloodline to aid her husband.
"Come, there's a beast herd nearby let's gather points!" Liu Shi Qin, unhesitating, vanished in afterimages.
Ruo Xue, clutching the Water-Earth Pearl, brimming with battle intent, followed.
Outside the Secret Realm…
The Seven Enforcers and many Sacred Spirit Academy students watched battles streamed by the Ten Thousand Mile Mirror.
A Spirit-Grade treasure, it captured myriad fights simultaneously, displaying them in split frames.
The seven women's prowess dazzled the crowd, sparking ceaseless awe.
Especially Liu Shi Qin's defeat of Xue Qian, a contender for the Sacred Spirit Ranking.
"So these are your women? Fine taste…" Hundred Faces' alluring figure trembled, musing inwardly.
These women, once matured, could rival Golden Era prodigies.
She saw their potential, as did the Seven Enforcers and hidden elders watching.
They resolved to nurture these seven as core forces for inter-Academy contests.
To most male students, the women were goddesses, sparking fervent debate.
"They're so beautiful, so strong I'm smitten!"
"Hundred Flowers Sect's Third Saintess wields a Heaven-Grade pearl at least—a rich lady! Imagine being her kept man!"
"I adore Die Qing and Zhu Luan's cuteness—pure perfection!"
"Get lost! Mature seductresses like Mu Zi Yin are the real deal!"
"What about saintly Bai Su Mei or fiery Yan Hong Lian? Are you blind?"
Hearing the prodigies' fervor, Hundred Faces shook her head, pitying her man's future troubles.
Amid the clamor, a new image flickered on the Ten Thousand Mile Mirror.
A woman, enchanting to her core, besieged by three demon beasts.
"I know her Great Saintess Su Mei of Hundred Flowers Sect!" someone exclaimed.
On a vast dune, under a scorching sun, Su Mei's flawless skin glistened with sweat, pure as ambrosia, sweet as nectar.
Facing three Early Fourth-Order Earth Wolves encircling her, Su Mei calmly stroked her hair. Her pink veil clung to her curves, revealing divine contours. Her large, watery eyes, framed by curled lashes, and fiery lips curved in subtle allure.
A vision of beauty amid monsters.
As the Earth Wolves closed in, Su Mei's eyes flashed with feigned grievance. To the largest wolf, she pouted, "Why stare at me so? I'm terrified!"
Her eyes gleamed with pink, heart-shaped radiance, fleeting yet potent.
Opposite, the fierce wolf dazed, its lower body swelling, consumed by lust.
"Yes, protect me! Kill them!" Su Mei cooed, her eyes pleading.
Roar!
Abruptly, to the other wolves' confusion, the largest turned, its iron fangs tearing one's throat, claws raking another.
Growl! Roar!
The ambushed wolves, enraged, retaliated savagely.
In moments, the tide turned.
Su Mei, from prey, became spectator, watching the beasts clash brutally.
Her seductive lips curved, a Pipa appearing in her hands.
Her lithe form lounged on the sand, the Pipa resting on her plush thighs. Fingers danced, plucking strings.
Twang, twang, twang…
Ethereal, enchanting notes rose, weaving into the beasts' fray.
Their eyes reddened, primal instincts forgotten, driven to bloodlust by her music, attacking kin recklessly.
Her Pipa's charm controlled their minds.
Su Mei smiled serenely, watching the beasts' carnage escalate.
As her final notes faded, the three wolves lay dead, perishing together, ignorant of their demise.
Su Mei's charming smile bloomed, checking her Token: 150 Points. Satisfied, she soared away.
A distant beastly roar piqued her interest.
Gliding like a breeze, she hid behind a boulder, intrigued by the scene.
In her gaze, Third Sister's man, Lan An, faced five Earth Wolves, likely kin to her earlier foes.
Su Mei's lips curved mysteriously, whispering, "To claim Third Sister's heart, let's see this little man's mettle…"