The operational command center of the Martial Division Headquarters and the Eastern Domain Legion.
Qi Wufu, Qin Yuanzheng, and others focused their gaze on the central screen of the control console.
That screen displayed the scene at the entrance to the training grounds.
Because the surveillance footage from the East Sea Martial Academy's training grounds lacked audio, they couldn't hear what Li Xiaoman and the others were saying, but they could discern the changes in their expressions.
Their emotions fluctuated with Li Xiaoman's group, like being on a roller coaster.
When they saw the grave, powerless, and heartbroken expressions on the faces of Li Xiaoman, Ren Xiaoyao, and the others, they realized that Jiang Wuming was unlikely to survive, filling them with despair.
When they saw the surprised and excited expressions on the faces of Li Xiaoman, Ren Xiaoyao, and the others, they climbed out of the abyss of despair, all realizing that Jiang Wuming could still be saved!
And at this moment, they saw another change in the expressions of Li Xiaoman, Ren Xiaoyao, and the others. Simultaneously, through another screen, they saw the middle-aged man in the purple robe, who had been fully focused on killing Xia Xueqin, suddenly change his strategy and rush towards the entrance of the training grounds.
This discovery instantly sent their hearts into their throats!
At the same time.
On the training grounds, Xia Xueqin's excited expression froze.
In the battle thus far, her philosophy of tenacious defense, her refusal to engage the middle-aged man in the purple robe head-on, and her constant evasion of his attacks had gradually allowed her to adapt to the realm of a first-stage Four-star War God.
This had progressed from her initial struggles to a point where she could now handle him with ease—as long as she didn't proactively engage the middle-aged man in the purple robe in a frontal confrontation, it would not be easy for him to kill her!
This allowed her to see the dawn of victory; her only concern was Jiang Wuming's injuries.
Just moments ago, when Jiang Wuming's aura began to shift from weak to strong, she had also sensed it.
This realization, like Li Xiaoman and the others, filled her with surprise and excitement!
However—
Amidst her excitement, she also noticed the actions of the middle-aged man in the purple robe.
*Swish!*
Xia Xueqin instinctively lunged towards the middle-aged man in the purple robe, intending to stop him from heading towards the entrance of the training grounds!
Because she understood that the middle-aged man in the purple robe's primary mission was to kill Jiang Wuming.
Earlier, after severely wounding Jiang Wuming, the middle-aged man in the purple robe had not made Jiang Wuming his primary target because he believed Jiang Wuming was as good as dead.
Now, as Jiang Wuming's aura grew stronger, the middle-aged man in the purple robe realized Jiang Wuming had a chance to live and intended to strike again!
"Finally stopped being a turtle hiding in its shell?!"
Seeing this, the middle-aged man in the purple robe sneered, his speed undiminished. He swung his right arm violently, clenching his fist, and unleashed a punch at Xia Xueqin!
Although he had once again made Jiang Wuming his priority target, he saw Xia Xueqin, who had been like a turtle hiding in its shell, actively charging at him and immediately struck to kill her.
For him, killing Xia Xueqin first and then dealing with Jiang Wuming was also an option.
"Roar~"
As the punch was thrown, the middle-aged man's internal *zhenqi* surged outwards, manifesting as a bizarrely shaped monstrous beast that roared and lunged towards Xia Xueqin.
That beast was one of the divine beasts from the Outer World.
With this punch, the middle-aged man in the purple robe unleashed a terrifying killing move, imbued with the true intent of an Outer World divine beast, intending to kill Xia Xueqin with a single blow!
Facing the whistling *zhenqi* beast, Xia Xueqin reflexively attempted to dodge.
However—
This time, the moment the thought of dodging arose, she abandoned it.
Because she clearly sensed that Zhang Guanzhong and Wu Zhipeng from the East Sea Branch were behind her. If she chose to dodge, both of them would be attacked by the *zhenqi* beast and would certainly die on the spot!
*Whoosh whoosh whoosh…*
Abandoning the thought of dodging, Xia Xueqin immediately activated her defensive techniques. Streams of *zhenqi* surged out, transforming into swords that converged before her, forming a mountain of swords to block the charging *zhenqi* beast.
"Roar!!"
The beast manifested by *zhenqi* instantly reached the *zhenqi* sword mountain, let out a roar, and then swung its eight claws, tearing at the sword mountain.
"Boom—"
In an instant, the *zhenqi* sword mountain was torn apart, exploding with a roar. Terrifying energy waves swept in all directions.
Xia Xueqin bore the brunt of it. She was shaken backward, and simultaneously sensed the *zhenqi* beast's form growing dim, but it hadn't disappeared and continued to lunge at her.
*Swish!*
At a critical moment, Xia Xueqin used her *zhenqi* to protect herself, blocking the energy waves, and at the same time, she sidestepped, evading the *zhenqi* beast.
This was because she had already sensed that Zhang Guanzhong and Wu Zhipeng from the East Sea Branch had sidestepped while she was blocking, and the *zhenqi* beast could no longer attack them.
Indeed, this was the case.
Knowing the terrifying power of the middle-aged man in the purple robe, Zhang Guanzhong and Wu Zhipeng had maintained a distance from Xia Xueqin, avoiding being injured by the middle-aged man's attacks, and thus had chosen to evade from the very first moment.
*Swish!*
*Swish!*
After evading, Zhang Guanzhong and Wu Zhipeng almost simultaneously raised their sabers and slashed at the middle-aged man in the purple robe.
They seized the opportunity presented by Xia Xueqin's engagement with the middle-aged man in the purple robe, when the latter's *zhenqi* circulation and reactions were affected, and simultaneously launched their attacks.
With this strike, they both unleashed the forbidden technique of the fifth form of the God Slaying Saber Technique—God Slaying!
In an instant, two God Slaying sabers manifested by *zhenqi* roared out, striking the middle-aged man in the purple robe almost simultaneously.
*Boom! Boom!*
Two explosions sounded almost at the same time.
The middle-aged man in the purple robe had no time to dodge and withstood the two saber intents with his protective *zhenqi*. He was not injured, but his protective *zhenqi* dimmed slightly, and he was forced to take a step back.
*Swish!*
Seeing that his and Wu Zhipeng's desperate efforts, their strongest attack, had only forced the middle-aged man in the purple robe back by one step, Zhang Guanzhong's expression drastically changed.
Then, he subconsciously tried to move to avoid being attacked by the middle-aged man in the purple robe, but found he couldn't move an inch.
Under the sunlight, his body seemed to be frozen in place, with blood flowing from his seven orifices.
At this moment.
He felt as if his entire body was being cut by a thousand knives, experiencing immense pain!
This realization made him pause for a moment, then a sense of powerlessness and despair washed over him—he had been fighting continuously since the battle began, using forbidden techniques multiple times, and at this moment, his *zhenqi* was completely depleted, and the side effects of the forbidden techniques had kicked in.
"Pfft—"
Understanding all of this, Zhang Guanzhong spat out a mouthful of black blood, then his body collapsed to the ground with a bang, instantly ceasing to breathe.
In this battle.
He had fought bravely until his last breath, dying from exhaustion!
"Die!!"
At the same time, the middle-aged man in the purple robe, not far away, let out a ferocious roar.
As he roared, a palm manifested by *zhenqi* descended from the sky, slamming down at Wu Zhipeng.
Unlike Zhang Guanzhong, Wu Zhipeng had only arrived at this location at the start of the third battle. Even though he had used forbidden techniques, he had not yet reached the point of exhaustion.
After unleashing a saber strike at the middle-aged man in the purple robe, he immediately tried to move.
However—
His movement speed could not match the attack speed of the middle-aged man in the purple robe.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, the palm manifested by purple *zhenqi* slammed into the area where Wu Zhipeng was located.
"Pfft—"
In an instant, Wu Zhipeng's body exploded, turning into a mist of blood. He died gruesomely on the spot, leaving no trace of his remains!
Due to the difference in strength, he was killed by a single palm strike from the middle-aged man in the purple robe!
In a mere instant, Zhang Guanzhong and Wu Zhipeng both fell. This outcome sent shockwaves through Ren Xiaoyao, Qin Linhai, and the others on the training grounds, their faces filled with terror!
Then, before they could recover from their shock, a world-shattering dragon's roar echoed.
"Roar!"
Accompanied by the dragon's roar, a celestial dragon manifested by *zhenqi* appeared in the air, lifelike.
On the training grounds, Xia Xueqin could not change Zhang Guanzhong's fate of dying from exhaustion, nor could she rescue him. However, she did not continue with her previous evasion strategy. Instead, she actively attacked once more!
This was because Zhang Guanzhong and Wu Zhipeng had used their lives to buy her an excellent opportunity to strike.
More importantly, she knew very well that if the middle-aged man in the purple robe targeted her, she could use her evasion tactics to stall him. But if the middle-aged man in the purple robe went to kill Jiang Wuming and the others, she alone would be utterly incapable of stopping him!
"Roar!"
As the first celestial dragon manifested by *zhenqi* appeared, another dragon's roar resounded above the training grounds.
In the sky, a second celestial dragon manifested by *zhenqi* appeared.
Following that, there was a third, a fourth, a fifth…
The Heavenly Dragon Sword Formation!
At this moment, both Qi Wufu and the others in the Martial Division Headquarters' operational command center, as well as Ren Xiaoyao at the edge of the training grounds, immediately recognized the move Xia Xueqin was using.
This move was the ultimate forbidden technique of the True Dragon Precious Art, manifesting celestial dragons with *zhenqi*, which then transformed into swords, forming a sword formation to attack the enemy.
A martial artist's martial realm would determine the number of celestial dragons they could manifest.
A one-star War God could manifest a maximum of two celestial dragons, a two-star War God four, a three-star War God six, and a four-star War God eight. A five-star War God could manifest nine.
The 'Five Elements Sword Formation' formed by five celestial dragons, seven celestial dragons could form the Big Dipper Seven Star Sword Formation, eight celestial dragons could form the Eight Trigram Sword Formation, and nine celestial dragons would form the ultimate sword formation, integrating the true intent of the Daoist Nine-Character Mantra.
Xia Xueqin, having just broken through to the first stage of a Four-star War God, could theoretically only manifest seven celestial dragons with her *zhenqi*. By the time she reached the ninth stage of a Four-star War God, she could manifest eight celestial dragons.
However—
After the appearance of the seven celestial dragons manifested by *zhenqi*, *zhenqi* continued to surge from Xia Xueqin's body.
And then…
The eighth celestial dragon manifested by *zhenqi* appeared!
Xia Xueqin had broken through her limit!
However—
She still did not stop!
Her body trembled violently, and she struggled to move her hands and form seals, manifesting the last celestial dragon at any cost.
Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian.
"Roar!!"
With a sky-shattering dragon's roar, nine celestial dragons manifested by *zhenqi* roared and converged above the middle-aged man in the purple robe, forming the ultimate sword formation imbued with the Daoist Nine-Character Mantra!
On the training grounds.
That once noble and elegant woman, under the gaze of Ren Xiaoyao, Qin Linhai, and the others, had her once flowing black hair turn snow-white, her originally rosy skin become withered, and her slender body slightly stooped.
At this moment.
With her back to the 'man' she loved, she was frantically burning her *zhenqi* and blood essence, depleting her life force, to unleash the strongest, and her final, strike of her life!
She had loved him her entire life, remained chaste for him her entire life, and finally, before his statue, her hair turned white in an instant.
Without regret.
…