C7: Crushing the Core Elder

The air above the outer sect gate grew heavy with killing intent. Elder Tie, a bald and muscular Core Formation Realm expert, hovered in the sky like an angry mountain. His aura pressed down on everyone present, causing weaker disciples to tremble and kneel involuntarily.

Lin Xiao stood on the blood-soaked ground below, his long black hair tied in a high ponytail whipping violently in the wind created by the elder’s pressure. Red and black chaotic lightning crackled intensely across his body, resisting the oppressive force.

“You dare raise your hand against the Heavenly Cloud Sect?!” Elder Tie roared, his voice shaking the nearby mountains. “For killing my son and massacring our disciples, I will skin you alive and refine your soul into a lamp for ten thousand years!”

Lin Xiao looked up with a cold, arrogant smile. His inner voice was filled with dark excitement:

Core Formation Realm. Finally, a worthy grind. This is what I’ve been waiting for — to prove that no matter how high they stand, I will drag them down and plunder everything they own.

“Old dog,” Lin Xiao called out loudly, his voice carrying clearly. “Your son was a pathetic bully who enjoyed stepping on the weak. He died crying like a dog. If you want to join him, come down here.”

The insult triggered Elder Tie completely. He descended like a meteor, his fist wrapped in dense golden qi that formed the shape of a roaring tiger.

Tiger Shattering Fist!

The attack came with terrifying momentum, capable of flattening an entire hill.

Lin Xiao activated Heaven Defying Slaughter Domain at maximum power. A forty-meter sphere of red and black lightning exploded outward. The domain clashed violently with the elder’s golden qi, creating sparks and explosions in the air.

He raised his spirit sword and executed the second form of Chaos Emperor Sword Art — Chaos Vortex Slash.

The blade spun rapidly, pulling in surrounding spiritual energy mixed with chaotic lightning to form a destructive vortex. Lin Xiao met the incoming fist head-on.

BOOOOM!

The collision created a massive shockwave that shattered the outer gate and sent nearby disciples flying. Lin Xiao was pushed back several steps, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, but he remained standing. The chaotic energy quickly healed the minor internal injuries.

Strong, he admitted inwardly. But not strong enough to make me kneel.

Elder Tie’s eyes widened in shock. A mere Spirit Condensing junior had blocked his full-powered strike.

“Impossible! What kind of demonic technique are you using?!”

Without giving the elder time to recover, Lin Xiao counterattacked. He used Shadow Step to its limit, appearing in a series of afterimages around Elder Tie. His sword rained down strikes infused with red-black lightning. Each hit corroded the elder’s protective qi, slowly eating away at his defenses.

Elder Tie roared and unleashed a wide-area technique — Golden Tiger Roar. A massive sound wave mixed with destructive qi blasted outward.

Lin Xiao was hit directly. He flew back and crashed into a stone pillar, cracking it. Pain surged through his body, but it only made his rage burn hotter.

Flashback – Six months ago.

During one of Lin Feng’s visits to the outer sect, he had brought back stories of how Elder Tie had publicly crippled a talented but disrespectful outer disciple, then forced the man’s fiancée to serve as a concubine. Lin Feng had bragged that he wanted to do the same to anyone who opposed him in the Lin Clan.

That same night, Lin Feng had broken Lin Xiao’s arm again just to demonstrate “what real power feels like.”

The memory fueled Lin Xiao’s chaotic energy. The red and black lightning around him intensified dramatically, turning his eyes completely crimson for a moment.

“You like crippling people and stealing their women?” Lin Xiao shouted as he charged again. “Then today I cripple you!”

He pushed the Slaughter Domain even further. Inside it, Elder Tie’s movements became noticeably slower. The corrosive lightning constantly drained his qi and inflicted hidden damage.

The fight turned into a brutal exchange of techniques. Elder Tie used powerful body refinement arts and heavy fist techniques, while Lin Xiao relied on speed, chaos corrosion, and precise sword strikes. The outer sect square was completely destroyed in their clash. Buildings collapsed. The ground cracked open.

Su Mei and Murong Xue watched from a safe distance, their eyes wide with disbelief and growing admiration.

“He’s actually fighting a Core Formation elder evenly…” Su Mei whispered, her cheeks flushed.

Murong Xue remained silent, but her fists were clenched tightly. The cold beauty had never seen someone so young and ruthless display such domineering power.

After dozens of exchanges, Elder Tie grew desperate. He burned his blood essence, increasing his strength temporarily, and landed a heavy palm strike on Lin Xiao’s chest.

Lin Xiao was sent flying again, coughing blood. Several ribs cracked. But instead of retreating, he laughed.

“Is this all a Core Formation expert can do?” he taunted arrogantly. “Pathetic. No wonder your son was so weak.”

This pushed Elder Tie into a frenzy. He prepared his strongest technique — Heavenly Tiger Descent, summoning a gigantic golden tiger phantom above him.

Lin Xiao’s God-tier Comprehension analyzed the technique’s weaknesses in an instant. He poured every ounce of power into his next move.

“Chaos Emperor Sword Art — Third Form: Annihilation Lightning Emperor!”

His entire body became wreathed in violent red and black lightning. The high ponytail stood straight up from the static energy. He slashed upward with all his might.

A massive sword light infused with primordial chaos shot forward, clashing against the golden tiger. The explosion lit up the entire outer sect like daylight.

When the light faded, Elder Tie was falling from the sky, his right arm severed and his chest covered in corrosive wounds. The golden qi around him had been almost completely destroyed.

Lin Xiao didn’t waste the opportunity. He flashed forward using Shadow Step and drove his sword through the elder’s remaining shoulder, pinning him against a broken pillar.

“No… this can’t be…” Elder Tie gasped, blood pouring from his mouth.

Lin Xiao leaned close, eyes cold and merciless.

“You raised a bully. You protected bullies. You looked down on the weak. Now you die like one.”

He activated Plunder at full power, plunging his hand into the elder’s dantian. The Core Formation expert screamed horribly as his lifelong cultivation, talent, and life essence were forcibly extracted.

【Major Plunder! Core Formation Essence absorbed!】
【+12,500 System Points.】
【Cultivation breakthrough… Spirit Condensing 9th Stage!】
【New Title Acquired: “Core Slayer” – Increases intimidation and plunder efficiency against higher realms by 20%.】

Power surged through Lin Xiao’s body. His injuries healed rapidly. The chaotic energy around him grew thicker and more terrifying.

Elder Tie died with his eyes wide open in disbelief and regret.

The entire outer sect fell into dead silence. Hundreds of disciples who had gathered to watch the fight now stared at Lin Xiao as if he were a demon god descended from hell.

Lin Xiao pulled his sword free and flicked the blood off the blade. He looked around arrogantly.

“Anyone else from the Heavenly Cloud Sect want to test me?” he shouted. “Your so-called geniuses and elders are nothing but stepping stones for my grind!”

Su Mei stepped forward first, lowering her head slightly. “Young Master Lin… I am willing to follow you.”

Murong Xue hesitated for only a moment before kneeling gracefully. “If you can continue defying the sect… I will serve you.”

Lin Xiao looked at the two peerless beauties and nodded with satisfaction. He didn’t offer gentle words. “Good. Prove your loyalty and you will have status and resources. Betray me and you will suffer worse than death.”

He then addressed the terrified outer sect disciples.

“Those who surrender and swear loyalty to me will live. Those who resist will die. The choice is simple.”

Dozens immediately knelt. The fear of his displayed power was overwhelming.

【System Notification】
【Main Quest “Rise from the Ashes” – 18% completed.】
【New Sub-Quest: Conquer the Heavenly Cloud Sect’s Outer Region.】

Lin Xiao stood tall amid the ruins, his ponytail swaying, red and black lightning slowly calming around his imposing figure. The once-mighty Heavenly Cloud Sect’s outer gate had fallen in a single day.

But this was only the beginning.

Deeper inside the sect, more powerful elders and the Sect Leader were already rushing over, alerted by the massive disturbance.

Lin Xiao smiled darkly.

“Come then,” he whispered. “I will grind every last one of you.”