Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

"You... put me down first!" Su Xuanji, who was being held in Xia Jin's arms, felt her earlobes turning red and tugged at Xia Jin's clothes with her right hand.

"You're supposed to be the leader of the Hehuan Sect, can you even be shy?" Xia Jin heard a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz in her ear, and immediately glanced at the somewhat shy Su Xuanji with a half-smile.

However, he still put the other person down.

Su Xuanji covered her burning cheeks and retreated behind Xia Jin.

Just then, Zhao Yuankui slowly stood up. His right arm was useless, and the intense pain made his eyelids tremble uncontrollably.

"Who exactly are you!?" Zhao Yuankui stared intently at Xia Jin.

However, when he saw Xia Jin's eyebrows and eyes, which were somewhat similar to Xia Yu's, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"It's you!"

A familiar figure appeared in his mind.

Four years ago, the former sect leader of the Qingyun Sect unexpectedly passed away. The three major factions within the sect fought fiercely for the position of sect leader, plundering resources everywhere. The current sect leader's faction set their sights on the Great Xia.

On that occasion, their Seventh Elder personally led dozens of Qingyun Sect disciples to Great Xia.

The results of it?

The result was this person standing before them, alone with a sword, blocking the entrance to their inn.

That night, within just half an hour, the long street was stained with blood. None of the Qingyun Sect disciples survived, and although the Seventh Elder, who was also at the second level of the Grandmaster Realm, managed to escape back to the Qingyun Sect, he had his arm severed, and his Dao Heart was damaged, preventing him from making any further progress in his cultivation.

Zhao Yuankui looked at Xia Jin, who stood with her hands behind her back, his eyes filled with apprehension.

Four years ago, it was said that this person's strength was already incredibly close to the ninth level of the Grandmaster realm. Even with my full-force palm strike just now, I couldn't break through his protective aura; instead, I crippled one of my arms!

This person's strength may be similar to that of the current Qingyun Sect Master, reaching the half-step Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm!

Damn it, if I had known this person was here, I certainly wouldn't have been so tough. Now I've slaughtered hundreds of Xia soldiers, and I'm in a dilemma.

Zhao Yuankui took a deep breath, his body involuntarily taking half a step back. He looked at Xia Jin, forcing himself to remain calm, and said, "Four years ago, you killed a disciple of my Qingyun Sect and severed the arm of my Seventh Elder. Today, we are even! Today... I admit defeat... until we meet again!"

After saying that, he glanced at the river behind him, circulated his true energy, and tried to escape through the Heavenly River.

"What? You really want to leave right in front of me?"

Xia Jin simply took a step forward, and in an instant, she appeared in front of the other person, blocking his path.

"Great Xia, is it a place you can come and go as you please?"

"Since you're here, leave your lives behind."

"Rest assured, I will have your body properly returned to the Qingyun Sect by my men—so that everyone in the Qingyun Sect will understand what will happen to those who offend my Great Xia."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Jin grabbed Zhao Yuankui by the throat!

Zhao Yuankui was terrified and desperately twisted his body to avoid this fatal blow.

However, it was all in vain.

"laugh--!"

Xia Jin twisted Zhao Yuankui's neck with her right hand, and his head slumped down.

Zhao Yuankui, an elder of the Qingyun Sect and a Grandmaster-level expert, is dead!

Xia Jin withdrew her hand, her gaze sweeping over everyone present before settling on Xia Yu.

"Big brother!"

Xia Yu rushed over, and was about to speak when he saw Xia Jin's gloomy face. His heart skipped a beat, and he scratched his head with a silly grin, not daring to say another word.

"Hmph! Still laughing!"

"You, the ruler of a nation, risked your life! Have you lost your mind?" Xia Jin's voice was clearly tinged with anger.

This rebuke made Qin Hu, who was next to Xia Yu, tense up. He quickly turned around, keeping his eyes down, not wanting to offend this man at this critical moment.

Xia Yu was reprimanded to his face and felt somewhat embarrassed.

But he knew that once his elder brother got truly angry, the more he explained, the worse he would be scolded. So he immediately lowered his head, quickly admitted his mistake, and said with an extremely respectful attitude: "Yes, elder brother is right, I... I know I was wrong."

"Hmph!" Xia Jin snorted coldly, "Can't you use your brain for a second? I haven't come out of seclusion yet. Whatever demands these Qingyun Sect guys want to make, just verbally agree and play along."

"Once I emerge from seclusion, I will find a way to make them pay back everything they've ingested today, tenfold or a hundredfold, with interest! Why should you act recklessly now and gamble with your life?"

Xia Yu was so scolded that he dared not raise his head and could only nod repeatedly.

Su Xuanji, who was standing to the side, looked at Xia Jin scolding Xia Yu and her expression turned strange.

Her beautiful eyes swept back and forth between Xia Jin and Xia Yu, and she thought to herself: It seems that the rumors are not unfounded after all... The true ruler of the Great Xia Dynasty is probably this "Underworld Emperor"!

Just then, Qin Hu, seeing that the atmosphere had eased slightly, quickly stepped forward and cautiously changed the subject: "Your Highness, there...there's another person inside. Judging from his tone, he seems to be even more powerful than the Qingyun Sect. That old ghost was very respectful to him just now. Would you...would you like to go in and meet him?"

"Is that so? Then I'd like to see him! Come, follow me inside!" Xia Jin withdrew his gaze from Xia Yu, put his hands behind his back, and walked straight inside.

Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, and secretly gave Qin Hu a thumbs up. He then followed along with Qin Hu, Su Xuanji, and the others.

At this moment, Lin Xiao sat at the stone table next to the collapsed pavilion, his face ashen, the wine glass in front of him already crushed to pieces.

He was muttering curses under his breath: "...Damn it! This tiny country in the Eastern Region is nothing compared to my Jade Balance Sect! They almost cost me my life!"

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became!

Lin Xiao was representing the Jade Balance Sect to attend the coronation ceremony of the new sect leader of the Azure Cloud Sect, a subordinate sect of the Jade Balance Sect!

Who would have thought that just passing through this Great Xia would almost cost me my life... What a disgrace!

"Hmph! When I return to the Jade Balance Sect, I will definitely inform my master and wipe out this arrogant Great Xia! Leave no one alive!" Lin Xiao took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his anger.

"Um!?"

He suddenly frowned, looked up and towards the gate, and saw that Xia Yu and the others who had just been chased by Zhao Yuankui had returned, and were surrounded by a man in a black dragon robe.

The man's features resembled Xia Yu's somewhat, but he couldn't see through him at all.

Lin Xiao was startled, especially when he didn't see Zhao Yuankui. A sense of foreboding washed over him.

He slowly stood up, his gaze fixed on Xia Jin, who was at the head of the group. Despite his own cultivation at the sixth level of the Grandmaster Realm, he could not see through the person in front of him, which made him feel wary.

But with the backing of the Jade Balance Sect, he was used to acting arrogantly, and at this moment he still maintained his airs, asking in a deep voice, "Who are you? Where is Elder Zhao?"

Xia Jin glanced at him and said indifferently, "You mean that old ghost? I killed him. What, do you want to become a corpse along with him and be sent back to the Qingyun Sect?"

"What?! You killed Elder Zhao?!" Lin Xiao's expression changed.

Although he had anticipated that Zhao Yuankui might be defeated, he never expected that the other party would dare to directly kill him!

"You actually dared to kill Elder Zhao! Very well! It seems your Great Xia is determined to bring about your own destruction!"

Xia Jin looked at him as if he were an idiot, and directly ordered Qin Hu behind her, "Shut up. Take him away and lock him up somewhere."

"Yes!" Qin Hu responded and was about to step forward to arrest the person.

"You dare!" Upon seeing this, Lin Xiao was not afraid at all; instead, he revealed a mocking sneer.

He suddenly pulled a jade pendant from his pocket and held it high.

"Look carefully! This is the jade pendant of a direct disciple of my Yuheng Sect! If I crush it with just a little force, all the disciples of my Yuheng Sect will receive a distress signal and rush to our aid as quickly as possible!"

At that time, the entire Great Xia Dynasty will be razed to the ground by the experts of my Jade Balance Sect, leaving not a single blade of grass alive!

He surveyed the crowd: "Now, if you don't want to die and your country destroyed immediately, kneel down before me! Kneel and admit your mistakes! Perhaps if I'm in a better mood, I might grant you a quicker death!"