Although Xue Ren had yet to return, someone who wanted to surpass him and become the strongest swordsman in the Myriad Heavens had already arrived.
However, even though many people set this as their lifelong goal, not many actually had the ability to achieve it.
Qu Hongye, Gao Xiaowen, and Zhang Hui were sitting high on the mountain peak with ugly expressions as they watched Yin Qing walk up, step by step and strike by strike. Sword in hand, she approached the summit just like that.
Yin Qing was the most traditional kind of swordsman. Every move and every style contained strong martial arts vibes. She was no different from the mortal world's martial artists.
Due to Xue Ren's unique sword path, the Sword Sect he controlled naturally also had a biased opinion of swordsmanship.
For example, Qu Hongye, his heir, had never been a fan of traditional swordsmanship, and a look of disapproval had already formed on her face.
"Stop!" Zhang Hui halted Qu Hongye, who wanted to go down the mountain. "What are you doing?"
Qu Hongye turned around and replied matter-of-factly, "To teach her a good lesson!"
Zhang Hui pulled her behind him and instructed Gao Xiaowen, "Go find another sword ape."
Gao Xiaowen hurriedly nodded and swiftly ran down. Since the Sword Sect had the ability to cultivate sword apes, of course they didn't only raise one. Plus, now that Zhang Hui was present, there was no need to worry about losing control of the sword ape.
On the other hand, Qu Hongye could only bristle resentfully. Zhang Hui was also her Martial Uncle, so she had no way to disobey the other party's wishes.
As for Gu Nan, he was treated more like Qu Hongye's babysitter. It wasn't like Xue Ren entrusted the entire Sword Sect to him. Yin Qing's current actions were tantamount to provoking the whole Sword Sect.
Judging by strength alone, Yin Qing was also considered a top-tier Void Cutter, so Zhang Hui directly dispatched a Star Ruler level sword ape without another word.
Sword apes didn't have any laws, nor were they a higher-level lifeform, but their power was genuinely at Star Ruler Realm.
Even though a sword ape might be completely trounced when fighting a normal Star Ruler, it would still be enough to deal with a Void Cutter cultivator.
However, contrary to Zhang Hui's expectations, the sword ape lost, and it was even lost very thoroughly, without any suspense at all. This wasn't because the young lady could challenge opponents at a higher realm than her, but because… she was a Star Ruler!
This Star Ruler level sword ape was simply no different from the earlier Sword Sect disciples and was cleanly decapitated with a single swing of her sword.
"Tsk tsk, as expected of Boss." The winged man, who was following her alongside Lou Wanying, couldn't help chuckling as he watched the scene. "I'm afraid neither of us would've been able to defeat this big ape."
Lou Wanying nodded wordlessly. Unlike normal Star Rulers, the sword ape's power was almost completely exposed, so the two of them could easily discern how strong it was.
Because of this, Lou Wanying acknowledged that it would be quite a troublesome opponent for him without resorting to some of his trump cards.
On the mountaintop, Zhang Hui and the others' expressions didn't look very good. Qu Hongye flattened her mouth and no longer brought up the topic of "teaching her a lesson."
She was very confident in her own swordsmanship, but not enough to ignore the gap between a Void Cutter and a Star Ruler.
Star Ruler meant one's laws were complete and self-contained enough to create its own world, and until she could do the same, she lacked the power to challenge the other party for the time being.
Unfortunately, it just so happened that this step was the hardest to achieve in Xue Ren's swordsmanship—taking this step meant the establishment of an entirely new worldview. This wasn't an easy feat even for Qu Hongye, who was raised with such ideas from the start.
"I'll do it," Gu Nan's voice rang in everyone's ears.
Zhang Hui's expression changed slightly, but he ultimately shook his head firmly. "There's no need to trouble sir yet. We must win back the Sword Sect's face by ourselves."
Xue Ren managed Extreme Sword Heaven for tens of thousands of years. He naturally had more than a couple of trump cards in his lair.
Otherwise, any random Star Ruler would be able to bully his astral world whenever he was gone, which would bring chaos to Extreme Sword Heaven.
Zhang Hui's gaze was fixed on Yin Qing below. The latter was already halfway up the mountain. 'As long as she takes another step forward…'
Gu Nan, however, smiled. "I'm afraid it's too late."
Right as his words fell, Zhang Hui and the others' expressions changed simultaneously, because an indistinct sword intent had already reached them.
Yin Qing remained in the same spot and didn't actually take that fatal step forward, yet her sword intent had already reached her enemy.
"Qu Hongye." Her will was composed entirely of sword intent, yet it clearly conveyed this message, as if there really was a person standing in front of them.
Qu Hongye's face paled slightly. The education she received never included sword intent, much less actually conveying a will through something like sword intent.
However, Gu Nan stepped forward at this time and appeared in front of Qu Hongye, blocking the attack and instantly severing all the sword intent.
The sword intent that seemed incomparably metaphysical to others was as clear as a beacon to Gu Nan's eyes.
However, he was secretly shaking his head at this time. Qu Hongye's performance wasn't satisfactory enough for him.
Xue Ren used the method of cultivating scientists to train his heir, resulting in Qu Hongye's ability still having flaws. Perhaps time could be used to make up for it, but Gu Nan didn't have that time.
In contrast, Gu Nan much preferred to use probability to select his apostles—if he raised a hundred people, then at least one person among them would stand out.
If a hundred wasn't enough, then a thousand or even ten thousand. Human life was the most worthless thing in this world.
After making up his mind, Gu Nan no longer cared about Qu Hongye so much anymore. His gaze shifted down the mountain, turning somewhat cold and ruthless.
He didn't want to waste any more time here.
Lou Wanying and the winged man—Yan Yang—also reached Yin Qing's side by this point. The latter warned coldly, "Do not take another step forward."
Before Lou Wanying could respond, Yan Yang had already stepped back with a swish. His movement was so exaggerated that it gave people a theatrical feeling.
"Hmph! I already knew that this Sword Sect isn't a good place! To think there was actually a trap, how despicable and shameless!" Yan Yang muttered quickly under his breath. The speed of his words made Lou Wanying feel that it was perhaps even faster than his sword speed.
Yin Qing, however, wasn't in the mood for jokes and told them in a heavy voice, "It's very dangerous. You two go back."
Only when she said these words did Lou Wanying and Yan Yang truly feel stunned. Even with Yan Yang's personality, he was still surprised to hear this from the mouth of his Boss.
The next moment, Yin Qing brazenly drew her sword. The surging sword intent almost seemed to sever the sky and cut down the sun, moon, and stars.
But what descended from the sky was simply a fist.
The collision was entirely silent. Lou Wanying and his friend only felt their hearts sink, as if a heavy weight was pressing down on them, leaving them unable to breathe.
Yet the sword containing Yin Qing's full power also impaled that fist, traveling through the wrist, bones, and all the way to the shoulder before it tore out of the opponent's body.
But even so, a small portion of the fist's terrifying strength remained.
Yin Qing's sword-wielding right hand instantly burst apart, and blood spurted wildly from her mouth. Gu Nan's figure was standing there quietly in front of her.
His right hand had a longsword stuck in it, which looked a bit comical, but no one could laugh right now.
Because Gu Nan was currently casually raising his left hand, pulling the longsword out, and then casually tossing it onto the ground.
Immediately after that, the injury on his right hand started to heal.