Ian Song's custom Killing Scripture was divided into three forms.
The first was a single-target move, which he named Ten Steps, One Kill.
The second was an area attack, called No Sheathing the Blade Before Ten Thousand Fall.
The third was his ultimate technique—a finishing move that concentrated all his power into a single strike. He boldly named it: Lingxiao and the Nine Nether Realms, I Can Cut You All!
The Sovereign-grade scripture was more a state of mind than a fixed method; it had no set forms or techniques, focusing on intent over appearance.
After mastering the Killing Scripture, you didn’t need to change your core cultivation method, but the scripture would continually temper and refine your internal energy. The longer you cultivated it, the purer your power became.
Any martial arts moves you’d learned before could be blended into the Killing Scripture, letting you create techniques unique to yourself.
If you wanted an analogy, the scripture was like water—add different pigments, and it would take on different colors.
Of course, that analogy didn’t capture the full power of the scripture; it was just one way to look at it.
With a single thought,
Ian began circulating the Killing Scripture.
As the Killing Scripture ran, his martial power was refined again and again, growing more and more pure.
After one month, his martial energy doubled in purity.
After half a year, it doubled again.
Time slipped by without him noticing.
He’d already spent over ten years cultivating inside the Divine Temple. Now, looking at his martial power, it had transformed completely—at least twelve times purer than before he started the Killing Scripture.
Inside the Divine Temple, more than a decade had passed; outside, only a few days.
But as soon as he stepped out, Ian sensed that his Martial-Soul Huang Yan had already left with the Ward Clan for the front lines the previous day.
He quickly contacted Cici and Joy.
With a flicker of movement, the two girls appeared before him.
Joy, you stay at the manor and manage things for now. Cici, head into the Divine Temple to cultivate!
He sent Cici into the Divine Temple, handed her the two blood-colored mini-dragons to swallow, and then activated the Great Teleportation Art to rush to the front lines.
Huang Yan was his avatar, knowing everything about him, so as long as he didn't act out of character, outsiders couldn't tell the difference.
At that moment, Huang Yan was at the Vermin Squad's old manor, meeting with Jason Zhuge and the others.
Sensing Ian's arrival, Huang Yan quickly found an excuse to leave.
After recalling Huang Yan into his sea of consciousness, Ian seamlessly resumed his own role, continuing to drink and chat with Jason Zhuge, Jackson Wenren, Ben Wang, Hannah Chen, and other friends.
At the same time, by recalling Huang Yan, Ian also gained knowledge of everything the avatar had experienced.
Although rumors spread that Princess Myra Vance would visit the front soon, her exact arrival time was still uncertain.
But as the frontline fortress, Dragonskull City had become a hot spot, with countless sects and clans from the Sky-Sun Region sending their young elites here.
In addition, the number of handsome young men in the city had greatly increased—clearly, these powers were imitating the Ward Clan's strategy, preparing male 'offerings' for the princess.
Notably, the Hidden Dragon Ranking's top genius, Tianyang, had arrived in Dragonskull City two days earlier.
Tianyang was already twenty-nine, and would age out of the ranking next year. He had reached the early Saint Sea Realm.
Below Tianyang but above Victor Ward on the ranking was Serena Sima, a late Law-Phase peak powerhouse from the Sima Clan, whose heritage was nearly equal to the Ward Clan's. She too had come with her clan's delegation.
Victor Ward's cultivation had soared to late Saint Sea Realm, making him extremely confident. He arrived in Dragonskull City and immediately challenged Tianyang, planning to defeat him and seize the top spot.
He completely dismissed Serena Sima, not even considering her worthy as an opponent.
Gavin Ward also issued a challenge to Jasper Xie, the seventh-ranked genius known for his beauty and swordsmanship. Gavin had previously stayed off the public ranking only because the Ward Clan kept him low-profile.
But now, with Princess Myra about to arrive, the clan decided that showing off was better, and more than ten duels between top youths erupted as the Ward Clan entered Dragonskull City.
Meanwhile, Tiana Wei, who had been ranked outside the top ten, broke through to early Law-Phase Realm about a month after Ian left Dragonskull City. She immediately challenged Lonely Cloud, the eighth-ranked saber genius, and defeated him in open battle, taking his spot as the new no.8.
If Gavin hadn't already claimed Jasper Xie as his target, Tiana would have challenged him next.
Within just a few days, Dragonskull City had gathered the majority of the Sky-Sun Region's younger prodigies. They competed, preened, and showed off, each more ostentatious than the last, like peacocks flaring their tails.
Strangely, no one came to challenge him.
It seemed the lingering deterrent of his earlier defeat of Victor Ward was still present; no one wanted to risk provoking him.
Meanwhile, the Vermin Squad members had spent over a month in bitter seclusion after taking Frost-Soul Pills, and their cultivation soared.
Adrian Zhang broke through to late Sun-Soul Realm; Jason Zhuge, Jackson Wenren, Hannah Chen, and others reached Sun-Soul Realm. Even the weakest members now stood at peak late Sigilforge Realm.
With the Flamefrost Armor's defense, every Vermin Squad member could now duel a Sun-Soul expert without defeat. Their gratitude toward Ian deepened into near-reverence.
The duel between Victor Ward and Tianyang for the top spot was scheduled for noon the next day, on a plain a hundred li from the city. The title-fight drew tremendous attention.
Several other planned duels were postponed because the draw of the no.1 battle was too great; everyone wanted to see whether Victor would seize the throne or Tianyang would maintain his reign.
As Ian and his friends drank and chatted, they naturally started discussing the upcoming showdown. Jackson Wenren asked Ian whom he favored.
Ian replied firmly that if Tianyang was still only early Saint Sea Realm, he would definitely lose; Victor's current late Saint Sea cultivation, plus his Fire Qilin divine form, gave him power comparable to a Demigod—something Tianyang could not match.
The night passed quickly.
The next day, half an hour before the duel, huge crowds had already gathered around the battlefield, loudly debating who would win.
Suddenly, a hoarse hawker's cry rang out: someone had set up a simple table on the plain and started taking bets on the fight, offering three-to-one odds on Victor and two-to-one on Tianyang.
The already feverish atmosphere became even more combustible as the whole region's attention focused on this clash for supremacy, while Ian quietly watched, having turned the Ward Clan's deepest heritage into his own weapon and standing far beyond these 'peacocks displaying their feathers.'
As for the rest of the Vermin Squad, plenty broke through to Sun-Soul Realm, and even the weakest reached peak late Sigilforge. With the Flamefrost Armor's defense, every member could go toe-to-toe with a Sun-Soul martial artist and not lose.
Which is why every single Vermin Squad member was overflowing with gratitude for Ian.
The date for Victor Ward and Tianyang's battle had been set for noon the next day, on a plain a hundred li outside the city.
The fight for the top spot was a total spectacle.
Because of this, several other duels that had been scheduled in advance were all postponed. The hype around the title match was just too big—everyone wanted to know right away whether Victor would claim the throne and become the undisputed king of the Sky-Sun Region's young generation, or if Tianyang would hold onto his crown.
As everyone chatted, the conversation naturally turned to tomorrow's battle for the top spot.
"Ian, who do you think will win?" Jackson Wenren asked.
"If Tianyang's still only early Saint Sea Realm, then he's definitely going to lose!" Ian declared. "Victor's already at late Saint Sea, and with his Fire Qilin divine form, his strength is basically at Demigod level. There's no way Tianyang can match that."
The night flew by in a blink.
The next day.
With half an hour left before the title fight, a huge crowd had already packed the area around Victor and Tianyang's battlefield, everyone arguing over who would win.
"Place your bets! Place your bets! Who's going to be number one? Three-to-one odds on Victor, two-to-one on Tianyang!"
Just then, a rough, raspy voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention. People looked over and saw that, at some point, a young man had set up a table out on the plain.