Timothy Xiang was utterly confused. He instinctively turned around, wanting to ask who Joe Di was.
“So it really was them who killed my grandnephew.” Timothy Xiang didn’t get a reply, but instead heard Owen Murphy speak through gritted teeth.
“Peak Master Owen, who killed your grandnephew?” Timothy Xiang was even more puzzled.
Owen Murphy bowed to Timothy Xiang before speaking bitterly, "It’s just as Elder Shang from the Qi Family Merchant House said: Joe Di and Garrett. These two are lawless—barely entered the sect, and already plotted against my grandnephew Owen Tao. After killing Owen Tao, they stole his belongings. And besides that, they killed Joel Sa…"
After Owen Tao was killed, Owen Murphy investigated all the records from that day. Joel Sa took on a mission at Gale Ridge, with Owen Tao and Joel Sa listed as participants. Following Joel Sa, Joe Di also took a mission—his was at Thousand Float Fortress, and the records showed Joe Di and Garrett went together.
Joe Di and Garrett had only just joined the sect. Even though they left the sect right after Owen Tao, Owen Murphy initially ruled them out—they weren’t qualified to plot against his grandnephew. But now it seems, the ones he ruled out—Joe Di and Garrett—were truly the killers.
“That’s impossible! Joe Di and Garrett were recruited by me—they had never cultivated before, had no cultivation level at all. How could they possibly kill Owen Tao? And it’s even less likely they went to Swampsea Town and offended Young Master Shao.” Yu Jingyan quickly spoke up.
In fact, Joe Di had already cultivated before—only at that time, his meridians were all severed. Yu Jingyan hadn’t examined him closely, so he didn’t notice Joe Di had once cultivated.
“What exactly is going on?” Timothy Xiang also sensed something was off about this matter.
Yu Jingyan explained, “When Starstream School was recruiting disciples, I happened to be in Jichuan City. Joe Di and Garrett had poor aptitude and no sect wanted them. Since I’d won a bet with Elder Hui and was in a good mood, I made an exception and recruited them as outer disciples—mainly because they knew Sherry Jing, who had just joined Starstream School. At the time, they really hadn’t cultivated at all.”
With just one punch, Simon Qi reduced Eugene Yu's body to a mist of blood.
"Kill! Starstream disciples only fall in battle!" Seeing Eugene Yu slain by Simon Qi, Timothy Xiang’s eyes blazed with fury. He frantically summoned a long spear and charged at Simon Qi.
Except for Ouyang Mufei, who pretended to be unable to withstand the axe’s murderous intent and stayed back, every Golden Core cultivator of Starstream School unleashed their treasures and attacked Simon Qi with reckless abandon. The sect’s defensive array outside was also activated.
For a moment, killing intent surged outside the sect, and spells exploded everywhere. Starstream School had no Soul Ancestor cultivators; even with the killing array, three Golden Core cultivators were slain in quick succession. Including Eugene Yu, four Golden Core cultivators of Starstream fell in a short time. After Timothy Xiang lost an arm, he finally managed to strike Simon Qi’s waist with his spear, drawing a spray of blood.
Simon Qi roared in anger. He had thought that, as a fourth-tier Soul Ancestor, slaughtering a few Golden Core ants would be effortless. He never expected Timothy Xiang to fight so desperately, risking the lives of all Starstream’s cultivators to battle him.
If he didn’t annihilate Starstream School today, Simon Qi’s cultivation to the Soul Ancestor realm would have been in vain.
The savage intent of the axe began to condense as an even fiercer murderous aura spread around Simon Qi.
Timothy Xiang’s heart sank to the bottom. Even with Starstream’s killing array, their strength was still no match for Simon Qi. If Starstream School was destroyed, he was determined to kill Simon Qi no matter the cost.
Boom! At that moment, a powerful and violent aura erupted into the sky. It surged from deep within Starstream School, as if a furious force was brewing.
The enraged Simon Qi immediately sensed the wild aura. His heart trembled—this was definitely the presence of a Soul Ancestor cultivator.
Does Starstream School have a Soul Ancestor? If so, and if he didn’t flee now, Simon Qi would surely die here today.
He did not fear a single Soul Ancestor, but with so many reckless Golden Core cultivators and the killing array active, his fate would be grim.
But if the other side truly had a Soul Ancestor, why hadn’t they appeared yet?
Timothy Xiang and the others were equally astonished—this aura was clearly the sign of someone advancing to the Soul Ancestor realm. Starstream School had a Grand Elder in closed-door seclusion for over a century, and by all accounts, he should have long since perished.
Now, with this Soul Ancestor aura, could it be that the Grand Elder had survived and broken through?
"Our Elder Leo has reached the Soul Ancestor realm! Let’s bring down that villain together!" With one arm lost, Timothy Xiang fought even more fiercely.
Almost as soon as Timothy Xiang finished speaking, a gray-robed figure shot out from deep within Starstream School.
"Kill!" Timothy Xiang charged at Simon Qi first, with every other Golden Core cultivator of Starstream School following close behind—even Ouyang Mufei, who had previously held back, now rushed forward.
Simon Qi, who had originally planned to slaughter every Starstream cultivator, finally regained his composure. Without a Soul Ancestor present, he might have succeeded today. But now, with a Soul Ancestor on the field, staying meant certain death.
The thought of escape flashed across Simon Qi’s mind. Instantly, he suppressed his murderous aura and turned to break out of the killing array. Though he was a fourth-tier Soul Ancestor, facing the frenzied assault of dozens of Golden Core cultivators, he lost an arm in his retreat. Yet, before leaving, he managed to kill another Golden Core cultivator.
For a Soul Ancestor, losing an arm could be remedied if reattached quickly, and the loss wouldn’t be severe. However, since Simon Qi couldn’t recover his arm, his strength would decline sharply.
From now on, not only would advancing to the fifth tier of the Soul Ancestor realm be impossible—even maintaining his current level would require great effort. As for reaching the fifth tier, unless he encountered a miraculous opportunity, he was likely to remain stagnant. Now, his most urgent task was not to hunt down Joe Di, but to seek rare treasures to heal his severed limb.
As soon as Simon Qi retreated, a gray-robed elder landed before the crowd.
"Elder Leo! Congratulations on reaching the Soul Ancestor realm!" All the Golden Core cultivators stepped forward to offer their respects.
Despite the loss of five Golden Core cultivators and Timothy Xiang’s arm, if the sect gained a Soul Ancestor, it was worth it.
"Was that Simon Qi from the Qi family who just left?" the gray-robed elder asked, his voice deep as he looked toward Simon Qi's retreat.
Timothy Xiang’s arm was shattered by Simon Qi and couldn’t be reattached, so he could only salute with one hand. "Yes, that was Simon Qi from Qi Trading House."
He vaguely sensed that although Elder Leo had reached the Soul Ancestor realm, his spirit seemed weak—there was likely a problem. What worried Timothy Xiang even more was that he hadn’t seen Elder Leo’s tribulation lightning.
"Should we seal the mountain gates?" a Golden Core cultivator asked worriedly.
"Seal the gates, and in a few decades Starstream School will still be destroyed. If our sect can’t live gloriously, then we’ll die gloriously. Why bother sealing the gates?" Timothy Xiang replied without hesitation.
The gray-robed elder nodded. "Sect Master Xiang is right. If we seal the gates, they’ll think Starstream School is afraid. Let’s not discuss this here—return to the main hall first."
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)