Yun Ze stared at Gong Li while his spiritual energy in his Qi sea had already latched onto the sword energy.
He was gambling.
He gambled that Gong Li wouldn't dare to kill again!
He gambled that the force behind Gong Li, even if it could save him once, couldn't save him a second time!
He gambled that Gong Li's intention in coming to the imperial palace and using his influence was to make him yield before the fight even began!
If he hadn't involved the Ji family, he might have yielded. After all, those Foundation Establishment cultivators were no match for him.
But even if Gong Li couldn't do anything to him, he would still have the right and the excuse to take Ji Xiu as his disciple.
Now…
He couldn't yield!
Gong Li clenched his fists, staring at Yun Ze without speaking.
"Oh dear!"
Gong Xiao quickly stepped forward with a smile, "Daoist Tu, what are you doing? Senior was just joking, he didn't really intend to snatch your disciple.
Senior Gong, regarding this Dao Discussion…"
"Hmph!"
Gong Li snorted and took the ladder offered by Gong Xiao, "You can begin your Dao Discussion anytime. However, I'll make it clear: a Dao Discussion is about discussion!
If anyone holds back and uses killing moves, don't blame me for not holding back!"
Killing intent surged.
Yun Ze frowned slightly.
Did this guy dare to make a move against him during the Dao Discussion?
"Alright, we will certainly heed Senior's teachings."
Gong Xiao cupped his hands in agreement and turned to Yun Ze, "Daoist Tu, we can begin the Dao Discussion. What about the first match…"
A flash of inspiration struck Yun Ze.
Since that was the case, why not play along!
If he truly intended to make a move during the Dao Discussion, he could take this opportunity to teach him a good lesson!
"Let's not bother with a 'first match'."
Yun Ze said as he sat down cross-legged, placing the Zhen Dan on his lap, "You, come at me together."
Together?
One against four?
Among them, Gong Xiao was at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and two of the other three were at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
Everyone thought Yun Ze would challenge the early stage Foundation Establishment cultivator first, so even if he lost, he would at least save face.
But who would have thought…
At these words, everyone in the hall was shocked!
Only one person remained unfazed, eating and drinking as usual, his peripheral vision warily watching Gong Li in the hall.
That was Xu Caiwan!
He was one of the few who knew about the emergence of the new Dao last night.
That was the Dao of Qin and Sword!
The one who opened a new Dao must have at least reached the realm of two Daos.
Let alone facing four Foundation Establishment cultivators, with the Dao of Qin and Sword, he could even fight across realms!
Gong Xiao frowned, sensing something amiss, and was about to decline.
But before he could speak, Gong Li in the hall made the decision, "Good! Then together!
Since Daoist Tu is so confident, don't disturb his mood, just come at him together!"
He felt a headache looking at that broken zither!
He wished he could get it and smash it sooner. This Dao Discussion should be over as quickly as possible!
With Gong Li's decree, Gong Xiao had no choice but to agree.
"Yes."
Gong Xiao could only cup his hands, glance at the three behind him, and say in a low voice, "I'll be the vanguard. Daoist Rui, you'll provide support and strike decisively when necessary!
Daoist Chen, Daoist Xiao, you two will act opportunately to provide support and interference."
"Understood," the woman in red replied calmly.
The other two also nodded slowly, indicating they understood the plan.
They hadn't practiced a four-person combat plan before, so they could only brace themselves.
"Have you finished discussing?"
Yun Ze placed his hands on the zither strings and asked calmly.
"Daoist Tu."
Gong Xiao stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Please enlighten me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gong Xiao took out a yellow talisman and slapped it onto himself, his aura instantly surging, reaching the perfect stage of Foundation Establishment!
Behind him, the cultivator in red turned into a shadow and instantly infiltrated the ground, attacking Yun Ze at extreme speed!
Zhi Fu Pavilion, Yellow-grade Mid-tier Spirit Talisman, Spirit Augmentation.
Ying Sha Lou, Yellow-grade High-tier Movement Technique, Shadow Stealth.
Since it was a Dao Discussion, one must know oneself and the enemy to win every battle.
Last night, Yun Ze had specifically reviewed the sects participating in the Ascension Assembly from the jade slip given by Yun Xiao, focusing on the Yellow-grade cultivation techniques and secret arts of each sect.
This was to avoid being caught off guard.
Zhi Fu Pavilion specialized in talisman arts, with tricky methods; one person, one technique, no fixed pattern.
Ying Sha Lou specialized in assassination arts, focusing on movement techniques and offensive combat.
Although the other two hadn't made a move, Yun Ze could guess their origins by observing their cultivation techniques.
Ju Zhen Lou, Yu Shan Lou.
These two sects were named for their formations and their ability to command beasts of the mountains and forests, respectively.
However, like Ying Sha Lou, they were the lowest-tier sects, while Zhi Fu Pavilion was slightly higher.
Except for the Northwest Xuan Tian, the sects of the other eight Xuan Tians had to follow the naming conventions set by the Immortal Mansion.
If a sect only had Golden Core cultivators, the suffix could only be "Lou" (tower).
If there were Nascent Soul ancestors, it could be called "Ge" (pavilion).
If it was guarded by an Out-of-Body stage half-immortal, it could be called "Dian" (hall).
Above that were "Zong" (sect) led by powerful cultivators in the Separation stage!
Sects like Tong Tian Academy, which had cultivators in the Integration stage, could ignore the naming rules and name themselves freely.
Yun Ze had spent the entire night reviewing the descriptions of the famous cultivation techniques of these four sects, and in the end, he could only come to one conclusion… they were all trash!
It wasn't that he looked down on these four sects, but when their cultivation techniques were compared to the sword arts in the Gui Wu Secret Codex, they were simply not on the same level.
Now, as he had expected, there were flaws everywhere.
Since that was the case, he would end it quickly.
Yun Ze watched as the four people approached him.
When they were about ten meters away, he lightly hooked his index finger, strumming the zither strings while also activating the sword energy within him!
Clang!
A burst of zither music spread out, but the sword energy mixed within it transformed into four streams, precisely slashing towards Gong Xiao and the other three!
The Qi Refining stage cultivators couldn't discern anything unusual, but all the Foundation Establishment cultivators present were stunned.
Not to mention the zither music and sword energy being emitted simultaneously.
Why could the sword energy, which was originally scattered within the zither music, now gather into four streams and slash towards the four of them?
Those who were not locked onto by the sword energy were filled with confusion, but the four who were locked onto by the sword energy were in a panic!
Sword energy!
And such bizarre sword energy, it was not something to be trifled with!
Gong Xiao's pupils trembled, and he quickly shouted, "Retreat!"
The cultivator surnamed Chen quickly took out various materials from his Qiankun bag and instantly set up a defensive formation.
"Here!"
The other three quickly gathered and entered the formation.
Yun Ze smiled upon seeing this, "Daoist Gong, has your turtle-like behavior become contagious? Why has the other Daoist Gong also become a turtle?"
Gong Li's face instantly darkened, but he didn't say anything more.
Yun Ze then hooked his finger again and strummed the zither strings.
One wave after another of zither music fell, and sword energy continuously emerged.
Although the zither music was绝, the sword energy it carried lingered, encircling the formation without attacking.
After the song ended.
A total of a thousand streams of sword energy had completely surrounded the formation, making it impenetrable.
If there were people from Gu Feng present, they might have recognized that the method of controlling sword energy seemed to have similarities with the Huan Yu Sword Art.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Yun Ze then turned to look at Gong Li, "Daoist Gong, has the winner of the Dao Discussion been decided now?"
This question was both an inquiry and a final ultimatum.
If Gong Li was willing to take a step back, Yun Ze would also stop.
Show mercy where possible. He would first collect those scholarly items and then find an opportunity to settle accounts with Gong Li. As for Gong Xiao and the others, a small punishment would suffice.
If he didn't retreat…
"Winner?"
Gong Li sneered, "Daoist Tu, do you intend to concede?"
"It seems that while Daoist Gong was hiding like a turtle, he accidentally dropped his eyes on the ground."
Yun Ze retorted casually.
Then, he put away the Zhen Dan, slowly stood up, and said, "Fine, since Daoist Gong has lost his eyes, let's rely on your ears."
Clang!
As soon as he finished speaking, a sword's hum exploded!
The sword energy that had been lingering around the formation continuously slashed towards the formation.
One sword, then another!
It was unclear if it was an illusion, but the sound of swords slashing at the formation seemed to have a slight resemblance to the zither music.
When the third sword fell, the formation shattered with a bang!
Gong Xiao, seeing this, quickly slapped a yellow talisman onto himself and instantly moved several meters away.
But the other three didn't react as quickly.
The fourth stream of sword energy struck, and the woman in red was instantly severely injured and fell to the ground. The fifth stream of sword energy struck, causing the cultivator surnamed Chen, who had consumed a large amount of spiritual energy to set up the formation, to also collapse.
The sixth stream of sword energy…
"I concede!"
Before the sixth stream of sword energy could fall, the cultivator surnamed Xiao, who didn't even dare to release his spirit beasts, shouted.
Yun Ze had no intention of making things difficult for him. He turned to look at Gong Xiao not far away, and the remaining nearly a thousand streams of sword energy surged towards him simultaneously!
"Bold rogue!"
Before Gong Xiao could speak, Gong Li in the hall suddenly exclaimed, "In my presence, you dare to wantonly kill fellow cultivators!"
Before his voice even faded, he had already attacked Yun Ze!
He didn't pay attention to the nearly a thousand sword energies heading towards Gong Xiao, but instead aimed directly for Yun Ze's head!
To kill Yun Ze, there had to be a reason.
And to wantonly kill a fellow cultivator, there had to be a dead fellow cultivator, right?
Gong Xiao, wasn't it?
After returning to the Gong family, he would definitely find a geomantically auspicious place to bury him properly!
Yun Ze frowned, his subconscious mind immediately grasped the intention behind the other party's move.
Sacrifice the pawn to capture the general!
But how could he be so sure that he would kill Gong Xiao?
Yun Ze recalled the sword energy, preparing to defend against Gong Li.
But Gong Li, who was approaching, smiled slightly, his figure paused slightly, and then… bang!
A muffled sound exploded, and flesh and blood flew everywhere, splattering the golden hall!
Gong Xiao was dead!
Gong Li arrived in an instant. He didn't attack directly but raised the Immortal Mansion token tied to his waist and thrust it in front of Yun Ze's eyes!
"Bold Tu Sheng, under the guise of a Dao Discussion, you wantonly killed a fellow cultivator. Now that there are witnesses and evidence, do you know your crime!"
Yun Ze chuckled and shook his head.
"Gong Li, it seems that when you turtles get ruthless, you really know how to bite!"