"Too weak."

Among the entire crowd, only Li Yun remained calm.

He shook his head, his heart completely unruffled.

Chi Liuyang’s strength was indeed too weak. Li Yun had not even become serious, yet he had already defeated him with ease.

His current strength had already gone far beyond what the ranks of the Earth Ranking could measure. Compared to him, Chi Liuyang was merely ranked eighty-first on the Earth Ranking. The gap between them was simply too vast.

"Chi Liuyang, how do you plan to give me an explanation for today’s matter?"

Li Yun’s gaze was indifferent as he looked toward Chi Liuyang.

Since they were inside the Heavenly Sword Sect, he could not kill Chi Liuyang or cripple him. However, this matter absolutely would not end here so easily.

If Chi Liuyang could not provide a reasonable explanation, Li Yun would not mind using some methods to make him pay for his actions.

"I admit defeat."

Feeling Li Yun’s cold gaze, Chi Liuyang could not help shivering. He said bitterly, "From now on, I will no longer suppress Su Fengyan and Li Hao, nor will I harass Huang Chen. In addition, I will publicly apologize on behalf of the Crimson Sun Society."

"Furthermore, our Crimson Sun Society is willing to offer one million high-grade spirit stones as compensation. From this day forward, wherever cultivators from Southern Martial Domain are present, we will keep our distance."

As he spoke, Chi Liuyang’s face was full of bitterness.

The Crimson Sun Society was the ninth-ranked small faction within the Inner Sect of the Heavenly Sword Sect. As for the cultivators from Southern Martial Domain within the sect, all of them combined were only a small handful. Aside from Li Yun, the strongest among them was merely an ordinary Inner Sect Disciple.

In the past, it would have been utterly impossible for the Crimson Sun Society to bow its head to people from Southern Martial Domain. But now, Chi Liuyang had no choice but to do exactly that.

"That is not enough."

Li Yun said calmly, "From now on, if cultivators from Southern Martial Domain encounter any trouble, you must step in and help. If I find out that Su Fengyan and the others face difficulties and you fail to assist them, do not blame me for being ruthless."

As he spoke, a cold light suddenly flashed in Li Yun’s eyes. Clearly, his words were not empty threats.

"Fine. I agree."

Chi Liuyang nodded with a bitter smile.

When standing beneath someone else’s roof, one had no choice but to lower their head. In this situation, how could he possibly refuse?

"In that case, this matter is temporarily settled."

Li Yun nodded, unsurprised by this outcome.

"Wait!"

He had just turned to leave when Chi Liuyang’s voice suddenly came from behind him. "Li Yun, there is something I must tell you."

"What is it?"

Li Yun raised an eyebrow and turned back around.

"Actually, the reason we targeted Su Fengyan and the others was because someone incited us."

A flash of hatred appeared in Chi Liuyang’s eyes as he said coldly, "That person should be familiar to you. He is Elder Chen Ming’s second disciple, Senior Brother Qianmo."

"Him again?"

Li Yun’s gaze instantly turned icy.

Back in the Lost Ancient City, Luo Qingchen had tried to kill him because of Senior Brother Qianmo’s instigation. Now, Chi Liuyang had also been incited by Senior Brother Qianmo. That fellow really was like a lingering ghost that refused to disappear.

Li Yun despised such sinister schemers who hid in the shadows. It seemed that it was time to settle these accounts with Senior Brother Qianmo.

"I understand."

He responded indifferently, then turned and directly left the Crimson Sun Martial Hall.

"Senior Brother Qianmo, you used me to deal with Li Yun. This matter certainly will not end here."

Watching Li Yun depart, Chi Liuyang sneered. "I would like to see how you plan to handle that fellow Li Yun."

After leaving the Crimson Sun Martial Hall, Su Fengyan and Li Hao looked at Li Yun as if they were staring at a monster. Their eyes carried both astonishment and bitterness.

"Li Yun, your strength has actually reached such a level."

In just a few months, the gap between their strength had widened even further.

Last time they met, Li Yun was still in the middle levels of Mortal Core Realm, while Li Hao was in the later levels, and Su Fengyan was also at the peak of Mortal Core Realm. But now, Li Yun had already reached the Earthly Core Realm, while both of them were still only at the late stage of Mortal Core Realm.

Not only had Li Yun surpassed them in realm, but his combat power had also utterly crushed theirs by an unknown number of levels. Perhaps with just a casual swing of his sword, Li Yun could kill hundreds of cultivators at their level.

Now, they could only look up to Li Yun. Perhaps before long, they would not even have the qualification to look up to him.

"Li Yun, that Senior Brother Qianmo will not be easy to deal with."

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Su Fengyan spoke up. "Although his strength is only around the two-hundreds on the Earth Ranking, and he is even weaker than Chi Liuyang, he is the vice president of the Black Mountain Society. The president of the Black Mountain Society, Mo Shanhe, is the fifth-ranked expert in the Inner Sect and ranked forty-seventh on the Earth Ranking. This person is extremely protective of his own people. If you want to deal with Senior Brother Qianmo, you must get past him first."

"In addition, Senior Brother Qianmo’s senior brother, who is also Elder Chen Ming’s eldest disciple, Feng Wuyin, recently broke through to the Heavenly Core Realm and became a True Disciple. His status within the sect has increased greatly. If you target Senior Brother Qianmo, Feng Wuyin probably will not stand by and do nothing."

"Feng Wuyin?"

Hearing this name, Li Yun slightly furrowed his brow.

He was not afraid of Feng Wuyin himself. Although he had not tested his current strength yet, Li Yun was confident that he could fight against geniuses at the 1st level of Heavenly Core Realm.

However, the status of a True Disciple within the Heavenly Sword Sect was not something an Inner Sect Disciple could compare to.

Inner Sect Disciples were merely the backbone of the sect, and their numbers were not small. While they held some status, that status was still limited. True Disciples, however, were different.

Every True Disciple was a core force of the sect and a treasured asset. Losing even one would enrage the entire sect and provoke a major response.

Within the Heavenly Sword Sect, True Disciples also held significant authority. Their status was even slightly higher than that of ordinary elders.

"But so what?"

Li Yun sneered coldly and continued walking forward.

If he retreated merely because of Feng Wuyin, then he would not be Li Yun. Once he decided to do something, he never changed his mind because of someone else.

Feng Wuyin did not have that qualification either.

A quarter of an hour later, he arrived at the Black Mountain Society’s base, the Black Mountain Pavilion.

The Black Mountain Pavilion was clearly much larger than the Crimson Sun Martial Hall. The Crimson Sun Martial Hall belonged to only the ninth-ranked faction in the Inner Sect, while the Black Mountain Society ranked fourth among all small factions in the Inner Sect.

"Who are you?"

Seeing Li Yun and the others arrive, the two cultivators guarding the gate immediately turned cold.

Li Yun ignored them.

His expression remained indifferent as a sharp shout instantly rang out.

"Senior Brother Qianmo, get out here!"