"Brethren of the dao, this humble creature is Zhao Tianjian from Punishment Hall. If I may interrupt for a moment." Zhao Tianjian's face was cold, his voice ringing out clearly.

He had appeared at such a critical juncture, and was a bucket of cold water on the hype. But everyone was indeed curious. What was this guy up to?

Looking at him, and then at Zhao Xuanxian, it seemed like not even Zhao Xuanxian himself knew what his father was up to. He simply waved an irritated hand, saying, "Off with you. Don't come here and cause trouble."

Zhao Tianjian gave an embarrassed smile. He gave way to his son, but did not leave. Instead, he turned to Wu Yu and pulled out a black and white plaque, on which complex spirit designs were inscribed. In a loud voice, he said, "Punishment Hall's punishment decree is written thus! Hear, everyone. Shushan disciple Wu Yu, formerly a disciple of the Green Glass Sword Palace, Futu Hall. The above mentioned, in order to attain riches and glory, killed his master, Zhang Futu, and is found guilty of the intolerable crime of killing one's master. The evidence is solid! The authorities at Punishment Hall confirm the judgment and have decided to charge Wu Yu with imprisonment!"

Punishment decree?

Wu Yu knew that once the punishment decree was invoked, it represented the will of the entire Punishment Hall. This also meant that Zhao Tianjian was not blindly speaking on behalf of Punishment Hall, but that Punishment Hall had already decreed Wu Yu's sin. The highest ranking supervisors in the Common Sword Domain's Punishment Hall were two Earth sword ranks, and this disheartened Wu Yu. He had thought the matter of Zhang Futu concluded - why had Punishment Hall suddenly appeared to bring him to the Sword Impalement Prison? And why did Zhao Tianjian have to appear at his fight with Zhao Xuanxian?

Whoosh!

In a flash, Shen Xingyu appeared before Zhao Tianjian and took the punishment decree out of his hands. A quick glance told her that the punishment decree was genuine, and this disheartened her as well.

"Those two punks from Punishment Hall. I already spoke to them. They actually won't cooperate?" Shen Xingyu fumed. She wanted to behead those two. The problem now was that the establishment of Punishment Hall was decided by the entirety of Shushan. A judgment on an ordinary dan disciple before everybody - especially since the punishment decree was invoked - was not easily interfered with, even for Shen Xingyu. Perhaps not even a personal appearance by the Galaxy Sword Sage could save Wu Yu.

"Scram. This matter will wait until after their fight." Shen Xingyu was of an anxious nature, and directly sent Zhao Tianjian flying with a sweep.

As for Zhao Xuanxian, he actually sneered. He looked at Wu Yu with a much lighter heart. "Looks like my worthless dad actually gave me a good surprise this time. Wu Yu, this means that regardless of victory or defeat, you will have to suffer at the Sword Impalement Prison. However, that is as you deserve. You have killed your own master. With such decayed morals, you are not even qualified to be a Shushan disciple. And you still think you can be the Galaxy Sword Sage's disciple?"

Shen Xingyu was seething within as well. She could not work out where the problem was. She said to Wu Yu, "Don't be affected. Focus on completing this challenge. Although the punishment decree has been invoked, if my brother is willing, he might be able to help you."

The key was that the Galaxy Sword Sage had to be willing. Even Shen Xingyu felt that the punishment decree was hard to deal with. And if he lost to Zhao Xuanxian here, then he would be in trouble. Shushan's Sword Impalement Prison was not a place that humans could withstand!

"Forcing my hand?" Wu Yu truly felt like he was being forced along a one-way road.

The matter of Zhang Futu had caused Wu Yu to deeply feel how terrifying public sentiment could be. Sometimes, the truth caved in to a single blow from the public view. Many people did not even wish to know the truth. Once bias occurred in the account or against a person, even Wu Yu's innocence would not be able to turn the matter.

Unless he stood at a high enough peak and held the privilege to speak.

This was the only way that he could possibly wash away this bad name!

"If a dao practitioner decides to defy the natural order, he will near the ultimate peak one day, and all other mountains will look small before him!"

The stir that Zhao Tianjian had brought caused a huge uproar. An ordinary person would already have been undone by their fear, let alone facing a talent like Zhao Xuanxian. But from the start to end, Wu Yu was calm. He bid himself remain calm. He had only one enemy, and that was Zhao Xuanxian, who was reveling in Wu Yu's misfortune.

"Since Punishment Hall has invoked the punishment decree, then this matter must be real. Who would have thought that this Wu Yu was such a despicable character, to even have the affront to kill his own master? If the Galaxy Sword Sage dares to take him as his disciple, then he must be blind. If such a disciple surpasses him, he would kill him!" Many sighed regretfully.

"Punishment Hall has always been fair, and they probably haven't made a mistake this time. I hear that when it happened, many Futu Hall disciples were watching on as well. This disciple called Wu Yu is cruel and demonic in nature. He must be doomed for the Sword Impalement Prison. That's his just desserts."

"I'm just afraid that he will defeat Zhao Xuanxian and the Galaxy Sword Sage will take him under his wing and protect him. Punishment Hall would be unable to deal with the Galaxy Sword Sage's disciple, right? However, I think that the Galaxy Sword Sage has already seen the true nature of Wu Yu."

"You're wrong. Zhao Xuanxian is much stronger than He Taiyao. He Taiyao lost every challenge against him, and then finally grew to like him, becoming dao companions with him. Wu Yu barely defeated He Taiyao, and there is an 80% chance that he is not Zhao Xuanxian's match. In all these years, have you ever seen Zhao Xuanxian lose to an opponent of the same age?"

The chatter was like a swarm of houseflies buzzing by his ears. Ordinary people, being maligned thus, would already have been driven mad with anger, unable to reason clearly.

When it began to affect Wu Yu, he used Visualizing the Inner Ape. When the Unparalleled Monkey King appeared within his heart, he could feel those imperious eyes high up above. Wu Yu felt calm, and even an intense sense of understanding.

"The masses are like ants. These words mean nothing to me at all. Only by surpassing them can I rise above them and stop those tongues."

With that, Zhao Xuanxian became Wu Yu's only target. At that moment, both were charged up, ready to go at each other.

This fight had begun without even a need to be announced. Both began to fight!

A longsword the color of fresh blood had appeared in Zhao Xuanxian's hands. The sword was already dripping blood ceaselessly, despite not having killed anybody. The dripping blood could corrupt a radius of at least three zhang.

From within the sword, each design was like a ghostly face riddled with holes.

It was said that this was a ghostly cultivator weapon, called the Sword of Bloody Rivers. The Shushan Immortal Sect did not exchange for many ghostly cultivator weapons, and they were strictly limited. As a result, one had to spend even more merits on them. This Sword of Bloody Rivers, worth about 700 Golden Essence Pills, was said to have been bought by Zhao Xuanxian with more than 900 merits.

He had been willing to spend the extra 200 because the Sword of Bloody Rivers was a wonderful suit for him.

Zhao Xuanxian's immortal root was known as the Spirits of Blood, which could call forth bloody spirits or a river of blood. His blood powers would be enhanced greatly. Besides his appearance, this person resembled a ghostly cultivator even more.

Wu Yu's fate was basically sealed. And many were watching expectantly to see how he would fare in such a battle. After Wu Yu defeated He Taiyao, many people wanted to find out if this would be an evenly matched fight.

"Shushan having a tumor like you is our shame. Today, I, Zhao Xuanxian, will exact revenge on behalf of your master, Zhang Futu, and appease his soul in heaven!" Zhao Xuanxian brandished the Sword of Bloody Rivers, and his body morphed into liquid form. He became a river of blood that came roaring, blocking Wu Yu's path of advancement.

The Sword of Bloody Rivers was hidden within the river of blood!

Perhaps this river of blood was Zhao Xuanxian, or perhaps he was merely a portion of it. How it actually was, no one knew.

It was extremely bizarre that his opponent had changed into a river of blood to fight him. Wu Yu was taken aback, but not paralyzed by his fear. He was extremely calm. The Yin Yang Dao Sword in his hands called forth yin and yang. Compared to Zhao Xuanxian, Wu Yu indeed looked more like a sword cultivator.

When the battle began, everyone fell silent to watch!

The river of blood was resplendent and expansive. It gushed around Wu Yu, a beautiful force of nature that elicited gasps of admiration. Zhao Xuanxian's moves were indeed a work of art.

In comparison, Wu Yu paled.

Zhao Xuanxian's best dao technique was known as the 10,000 Mirror Image Slashes. It was very valuable, and many Huang sword rank disciples pursued it. But the only one who specialized in it was Zhao Xuanxian.

From within the river of blood, sword shadows shifted. Thousands of jets of sword light danced from within the current, and the 10,000 Mirror Image Slashes was clearly taking effect. In a moment, the 10,000 Mirror Image Slashes would be concealed within the river of blood, and come roaring over like a wave. Wu Yu would be swept up within the 10,000 Mirror Image Slashes!

An electrifying moment!

From start to finish, Wu Yu had been watching this gorgeous display that Zhao Xuanxian was putting on. He only silent merged the Yin Yang Dao Sword back together. Just as the river of blood frothed with the roar of thousands of swords, he blew a puff of air towards it.

"Fixed Body Art!"

Wu Yu had been cultivating Fixed Body Art for very long, and he had not dared to use it, afraid that he would meet someone like Zhang Futu. This time, he would stake it all. Before everybody, he actually used the Fixed Body Art.

All his stewing before had been to increase the success rate of the Fixed Body Art!

Luckily, his efforts paid off, and he succeeded.

Zhao Xuanxian was at the fourth tier of the Jindan Dao Realm. He was two levels higher than Wu Yu, not three. Wu Yu could hold him nicely for a moment! In a contest between experts, many things could be decided in an instant!

"Killing God Void Sword!"

After using the Fixed Body Art, Killing God Void Sword flashed out. The chaotic sword will blasted out, charged with profound sword qi!

As for Zhao Xuanxian's blood river, his dao technique faltered for a moment under the Fixed Body Art. Because he was completely merged with the dao technique, he was completely halted for a second!

In those two moments, life and death was decided. As the river of blood eased off, the Killing God Void Sword came bursting through. It directly tore the river of blood into two, becoming a rain of blood that came crashing down. From within the torrent of blood, Zhao Xuanxian's body came drifting down like a kite with its strings cut!

The battle was over too quickly. It was not even a third of the time that Wu Yu's battle with He Taiyao had taken.

As they watched Zhao Xuanxian lose, and fall helplessly, who could believe their own eyes?