"Go."
Han Li casually pointed a finger at his opponent.
The blue fire bird immediately spread its wings and shot forward as a streak of blue light.
Old Man Jin's face darkened at the sight, anger surging within him. The other party hadn't even brought out a single treasure — attacking with nothing but a fire bird. Did he think so little of him?
Consumed by fury, Old Man Jin actually let out a laugh. Without a word, his ten fingers flickered through a rapid sequence of hand seals as he decided to unleash his most powerful sword art from the very beginning, ending the fight in a single strike.
The three golden rainbows above his head let out a clear, dragon-like cry. With a flicker, they vanished from midair without a trace. In their place, a single golden thread materialized before Old Man Jin — impossibly thin, yet several zhang in length.
Golden light flashed again and again, and golden threads rolled forth one after another.
In the blink of an eye, over a hundred densely packed golden threads had appeared, dazzling and brilliantly radiant.
"Sword Transforming into Threads!"
A cold gleam flashed through Han Li's eyes, and a look of surprise crossed his face. Though his opponent was a sword cultivator, the ability to manifest so many sword threads at once was truly staggering.
As expected of the Grand Elder of the Ancient Sword Gate — his skill was anything but ordinary.
Down below, the cultivators watching the battle adopted odd expressions as they witnessed the curly-haired old man's display of such a technique.
"Spring Thread Severing!"
"Old ginger's still the spiciest — opening with his signature move right from the start!"
"Fellow Daoist Han was too careless. He's probably going to pay for it!"
Old Man Liehuo and the other two from the Hundred Craft Academy couldn't help but murmur among themselves at the sight.
The middle-aged cultivator who had arrived with Old Man Jin looked visibly pleased, Lü Luo's expression shifted slightly, and Elder Cheng and the female cultivator named Ming Xin remained as impassive as ever.
At that moment, Old Man Jin let out a great shout from midair, unleashing a rapid series of hand seals that struck into the golden threads before him.
Immediately, spiritual light blazed wildly. The sword threads merged into a vast golden net that rolled forward, heading straight for the oncoming blue fire bird.
The golden net spanned over ten zhang across, while the fire bird was barely half a foot long. Anyone watching would have felt it was like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken. But the moment the fire bird plunged headfirst into the golden web, the scene that unfolded left every cultivator below stunned.
The instant the blue fire bird touched the golden net, it detonated. Then, with flash after flash of light, a blue lotus of radiance took shape amid the flames. The lotus, still in bud, spun round and round within the net. Countless golden sword threads slashed at it, but only sent ripples through the layer of spiritual light surrounding the thing — not a single one could draw close.
Every cultivator familiar with the fearsome power of the Spring Thread Severing felt a chill run through their hearts.
Old Man Jin, seeing this, was simultaneously alarmed and enraged. Without a second thought, he frantically intensified the sword seals in his hands.
The golden threads shimmered and grew a full third thinner still, each one blazing with a piercing brilliance. They actually cut into the blue spiritual light, shredding it to pieces, and were about to slice directly into the lotus — At that moment, the lotus bloomed, petal by petal.
With a soft *pfft*, a mass of hazy blue-cold light burst from the petals, enveloping everything within a twenty-zhang radius. The radiance was blinding, impossible to look at directly.
Old Man Jin immediately felt his connection to his flying swords severed — he could sense nothing at all. Startled, he focused his gaze intently.
A moment later, the curly-haired old man's expression turned ugly beyond description.
Where the lotus had been, it was now gone without a trace. In its place stood a massive block of blue ice. Sealed within were three golden flying swords, utterly immobile.
Old Man Jin silently cursed. With a flick of his hand, he slapped his storage pouch, and a white-jade pendant appeared in his grip.
But before he could activate the treasure, a peal of thunder suddenly erupted from behind him.
Old Man Jin was badly startled. Without thinking, he made to dodge sideways and flee.
Yet in that very instant, his protective spiritual light shattered as easily as paper against some unseen blow. Immediately after, a hand wreathed only in blue flames pressed eerily onto his right shoulder — the one he had been about to lift. Half his body went cold, and all sensation vanished entirely.
"Fellow Daoist Jin, I think we can end our match here. What do you say?" Han Li's calm, cool voice drifted faintly from behind him.
"Fellow Daoist Han's abilities are truly extraordinary. I concede defeat!" The moment Old Man Jin found himself restrained, his heart sank — but he conceded cleanly and without hesitation.
"Brother Jin, you were too kind." Han Li seemed to chuckle lightly as he patted the man's shoulder gently, then withdrew his hand.