Chapter Sixty-One: Awe Among the Heroes

"Shattering Gold Palm!"

After exchanging hundreds of blows with Yi Tian, Elder Chen the Third could no longer hold out. Unable to withstand the relentless assault, he finally unleashed the battle technique he had mastered to perfection—the Shattering Gold Palm.

The Golden Scale Sword in Yi Tian’s hand blazed with dazzling brilliance; the overwhelming, pure yang sword energy erupted in full force, slashing through the void to collide with Elder Chen’s Shattering Gold Palm, exploding into a storm of sword qi.

Elder Chen’s palm shattered one strand of Yi Tian’s sword qi, and when it struck the Golden Scale Sword, the ringing impact almost made him lose his grip on the prized spirit sword. The sword itself was left deeply imprinted with the mark of the palm, nearly broken by the blow.

But at that moment, the true energy in Elder Chen’s body collapsed with a loud crack. The lingering pure yang sword energy carved wounds of varying depth across his body, and the force sent him flying.

Elder Chen, in the late ninth tier, was defeated!

But just then, two figures suddenly burst from the crowd—it was the Grand Elders of the Liu and Wu families. They both launched attacks on Yi Tian, their surging energy unleashing terrifying sword qi that tore through the void, aiming to kill him.

Yi Tian had anticipated this. Facing two apex ninth-tier powerhouses, he released all his aura, fully activating the Great Sun Heavenly Technique. His body was wreathed in terrifying pure yang energy, radiating out for thirty feet around him like a domain of fire. The Golden Scale Sword unleashed wave after wave of scorching, unstoppable, annihilating sword qi.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sword qi clashed and shattered again and again.

The devastating force spread, leaving the ground within dozens of yards in utter ruin; the thick stone-paved plaza was riddled with pits and craters.

"Kill!"

Grand Elders Liu and Wu pressed their assault, their true energy condensed to shield themselves from the aftershocks as they broke into the fiery domain to battle Yi Tian in fierce combat.

Time and again, the two sides’ energies collided in violent explosions.

The chief and elders of the Yi Tribe could no longer stand by—how could the Eight Great Families dare to gang up on a youth?

As they prepared to intervene, several Grand Elders from the Eight Families rushed out to block their way.

Meanwhile, seeing Yi Tian holding his own against two Grand Elders, the Eight Families sent two more to join the battle. Now, four apex ninth-tier experts surrounded Yi Tian, intent on killing him.

They were determined to end Yi Tian, the one with the potential to become a master of the Human Rank, before he could grow to threaten them.

At the same time, the chief and the elders of the Yi Tribe shouted accusations of shamelessness and charged forward, engaging the other Grand Elders of the Eight Families in a great battle of their own. For a time, the strongest of both sides clashed in a furious melee.

The Eight Great Families and the Yi Tribe now faced each other in a tense deadlock. Any sudden move could trigger the most brutal and catastrophic war between them.

"I’ve been waiting for you to act!"

Even Yi Tian felt immense pressure facing four apex ninth-tier opponents; his life was in grave danger, and he found himself hard-pressed.

Yet a smile appeared on his face.

"This is bad!"

Grand Elder Chen realized something was amiss.

In that instant, a five-inch-long sword shadow appeared in Yi Tian’s hand, somewhat ethereal, yet radiating a boundless, overwhelming presence that seemed capable of swallowing the sky. A supreme, peerless sword intent suddenly swept across the mountaintop; every martial artist present felt the force of heaven and earth erupt, and in the face of such power, they were as insignificant as ants.

The next moment, the sword qi sliced through the void.

Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!

In an instant, the Sky-Piercing Sword Qi cut through the air like nothing, pierced through their true energy defenses, shattered their spirit weapons, and bored through the skull and throat of Grand Elder Chen, Grand Elder Wu, and Grand Elder Liu. Finally, it passed through the chest of Grand Elder Lin, then plunged into the distant forest, vanishing from sight.

"Ah..."

Grand Elder Lin, pale with terror, staggered back several hundred yards. Though the sword pierced his chest, it missed his vital organs; otherwise, he would have died instantly. Even so, he was gravely wounded and had to quickly swallow a spiritual pill.

On the mountaintop before the ancestral shrine, the tense atmosphere instantly fell silent; not a sound could be heard. The chief Yi Du, the Great Elder, and the other apex ninth-tier experts halted their battle.

At that moment, every warrior of the Eight Families looked at Yi Tian in horror.

That one strike from Yi Tian was simply too terrifying—he had killed three apex ninth-tier experts in a single blow and gravely injured a fourth.

Grand Elder Xu and the other three quickly retreated back into the ranks of the Eight Families, relying on the presence of hundreds of elite warriors and an army of a hundred thousand to regain a sense of security.

"This is the price of your greed!"

Yi Tian looked at the remaining Grand Elders of the other families and said, "If any of you take one more step forward, today will be your last. Do not doubt me—if I wish to take your life, not even a hundred thousand warriors could shield you."

"Your lives are in your own hands. Continue your attack and be slain by me, or withdraw with your clans, and live to fight another day."

Yi Tian’s words thundered in their ears like a rolling storm.

The killing intent within his words chilled them to the bone.

None of them knew whether Yi Tian could unleash another strike like that—if they guessed wrong, they might die here in the Yi Tribe today.

With the power Yi Tian had just displayed, at the apex of the ninth tier, he could come and go among high-level warriors at will; hunting them down would be no difficulty at all.

It was almost impossible for them to escape from Yi Tian’s hand.

The Grand Elders of the great families hesitated.

They were deeply wary of that killing strike—he had slaughtered three apex ninth-tier experts and wounded another in a single blow. Such an attack had already reached the level of a Human Rank master.

Yet, with the Grand Elders of the Liu, Chen, and Wu families slain by Yi Tian before their very eyes, the clans and all their direct and collateral descendants were left stunned and furious.

These were the highest-ranking elders of their families—their strongest assets—yet today, they had been slain.

The heads and elders of the three clans all wished they could muster every resource and wipe out Yi Tian and his tribe entirely.

"Grand Elders, we command an army of a hundred thousand—surely we can bury that brat with sheer numbers. We must not waver! If we let this opportunity slip and allow him to grow, it will spell the end for the Eight Great Families," urged Wu Shigong, the head of the Wu family, his voice trembling with fear, yet still trying to persuade the other families to act and eliminate the threat once and for all.

The leaders and elders of the Liu and Chen families were also filled with murderous resolve.

Meanwhile, after unleashing the Sky-Piercing Sword Qi, Yi Tian quietly gathered his strength again, refining his immense pure yang energy into another sword qi. When a sword aura several inches long hovered above his dantian, he found that his true energy was nearly depleted.

In other words, he could only unleash the Sky-Piercing Sword Qi once more; after that, with so little true energy remaining, his strength would be greatly diminished.

The Yi Tribe’s chief, the elders, the great leader, the captains, and other high-level warriors were all stirred by this turn of events—it seemed their calamity might yet be averted.

Yi Tian’s strength left all the elite warriors of the tribes in utter shock.

With a single move, he had slain three apex ninth-tier experts and gravely wounded another—such power was truly astonishing.

Now, Yi Tian alone was enough to cow the Grand Elders and heads of the great families.

"We are all humans. I do not wish to shed more blood. Withdraw now, and I will let the past be. But if you let greed blind you, you will leave your lives here, and with death, all your dreams of reaching the Human Rank will be shattered forever—think carefully," Yi Tian said calmly.

At the same time, a strand of Sky-Piercing Sword Qi shimmered in his hand, its terrifying sword intent enveloping the entire area, ready to strike at any moment and claim the life of another strong foe.

The Grand Elders and family heads all stood in awe.

They looked at the sword qi in Yi Tian’s hand and could feel the deadly intent within.

This was the sword qi that had just slaughtered apex ninth-tier experts as easily as chopping vegetables—none of them could withstand it.

"We of the Lin family will withdraw. We hope you will keep your word and let bygones be bygones," declared the Lin family’s Grand Elder, the first to retreat after being gravely wounded by Yi Tian.

With the Lin family as the first to withdraw, the leaders of the Xu, Li, Liu, and Tie families quickly followed suit, each announcing their withdrawal from the confrontation.