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

"Sect Master...Sect Master is dead!!"

Suddenly, a scream shattered the silence.

A young Qingyun Sect disciple's legs went weak, and he pointed in Xia Jin's direction, his face filled with fear.

This sound caused the hundreds of Qingyun Sect disciples to take several steps back in unison.

On the high platform, the faces of several Qingyun Sect elders were extremely grim. After exchanging glances, their gazes simultaneously turned to the First Elder standing at the forefront. The Second Elder, clutching his chest, asked in a low voice, "First Elder... what should we do next?"

A flicker of fear crossed the Fifth Elder's eyes, and he gritted his teeth: "Why don't we run away while that brat isn't paying attention to us yet! So many of us are scattering and running away, and he's just one person. Do you think he can catch up with and kill us all?"

"You idiot!" The Second Elder, enduring the excruciating pain, glared fiercely at him.

"If we followed your method, an ordinary disciple might have a chance of survival! But we are elders of the Qingyun Sect! Do you think that brat will let us go?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?!" The Fifth Elder's expression was rather unpleasant.

A glint of light flashed in the Second Elder's eyes: "Rather than fleeing and being killed, it's better to... surrender! What difference does it make who becomes the Qingyun Sect Master? As long as we can live, what's wrong with handing over the sect!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of several Qingyun Sect elders began to flicker intensely.

Yes, it doesn't matter who becomes the sect leader of Qingyun Sect.

The group turned their gazes back to the Grand Elder, awaiting his decision.

The Grand Elder's expression shifted uncertainly. After a moment of silence, he finally gritted his teeth and nodded emphatically: "Alright, we surrender... Let's go!"

Led by the Grand Elder, the group strode towards Xia Jin under the watchful eyes of hundreds of Qingyun Sect disciples. When they were still three zhang away from Xia Jin, they stopped simultaneously and respectfully bowed to her.

"Your Majesty's divine might is unparalleled. Ling Shanxiao has offended Your Majesty and deserves to die."

"Our Qingyun Sect...is willing to submit to Your Excellency's command! We only beg Your Excellency to show mercy and grant us a way to live!"

The elder's gaze fell on Xia Jin, his voice somewhat hoarse.

After hearing the Grand Elder's words, Xia Jin's smile deepened: "Let me think about it. Are you serious?"

The Second Elder immediately adopted a fawning expression: "Rest assured, sir! We are willing to serve you as the new Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect, and from now on we will follow your lead!"

As he spoke, he quickly gave a wink to the Qingyun Sect disciples around him.

The disciples standing here weren't entirely stupid. At the Second Elder's prompting, someone took the lead, and suddenly hundreds of Qingyun Sect disciples knelt on one knee in Xia Jin's direction, shouting in a chaotic manner:

"The Qingyun Sect is willing to appoint you as its sect leader!"

"Follow the lead of the adults!"

Looking at the scene of everyone kneeling before him, Xia Jin suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahahaha... Good, very good. Since you are all so sensible, then I will give you a chance... a chance to die a quick death!"

No one saw Xia Jin's movements clearly. They only saw him casually pull out a long sword from the bottom of the black coffin beside him with his left hand. A dark light flashed, and a long sword was already in his hand.

The next moment, his figure seemed to blur.

A thin, dark blade of light flashed past the waists of several Qingyun Sect elders.

"laugh--"

After a soft sound, the upper and lower bodies of several elders were separated into two parts.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

All the Qingyun Sect disciples, kneeling on one knee, stared wide-eyed and opened their mouths, but no sound came out. After a few breaths, someone finally broke down.

"Run away—!!"

Someone shouted this out at the top of their lungs, and hundreds of disciples, like ants scattered from a nest, pushed and shoved each other, fleeing for their lives in all directions.

Xia Jin looked at the chaotic crowd and shook her head.

"Today, none of you are leaving. The Qingyun Sect... is now a thing of the past."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure began to slowly rise off the ground and float up.

He gripped the hilt with both hands and raised the long sword high above his head.

"The third cut of the Avici Hell—"

"Hellbreaker!"

A crimson blade of light, seemingly emanating from the depths of the netherworld, burst forth from his blade, forming a perfect circle centered on him, sweeping across the entire Qingyun Sect mountain gate!

The red light wasn't dazzling; instead, it possessed an eerie beauty, instantly illuminating every corner of the Qingyun Sect.

No matter how far the running Qingyun Sect disciples went, or whether they hid behind pillars or boulders, their movements all froze the moment that red light flashed by.

As the red light faded, Xia Jin's figure slowly landed.

He glanced around expressionlessly, then turned and walked directly towards the gate of the Qingyun Sect.

Meanwhile, outside the gates of the Qingyun Sect,

More than a hundred men in black knelt respectfully on one knee. The leader of the men in black, upon seeing Xia Jin, respectfully called out, "Your Highness!"

Xia Jin waved her hand.

"Take everything useful inside—elixirs, books… anything that can be moved—and transport it all back to Great Xia tonight. Then…" He paused, glancing back at the outline of the Qingyun Sect's mountain gate, "burn this place down!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" The leader of the men in black accepted the order without hesitation.

Xia Jin said no more, and with a flicker, disappeared from everyone's sight.

After Xia Jin left, the black-clad commander led his subordinates and rushed into the Qingyun Sect's mountain gate.

However, the sight before them made them all gasp in shock.

The anticipated mountains of corpses and seas of blood did not appear.

Instead, the corpses of the Qingyun Sect disciples scattered everywhere all had wide-open eyes and unfocused pupils, filled with a trace of fear. It was unknown what kind of horror they had witnessed in their final moments.

Without exception, everyone had no external injuries and no breath.

Apart from the elders who were cut in half at the waist, there were no other obvious traces of blood in the entire Qingyun Sect.

"This...this is..." A man in black trembled slightly as he gripped the embroidered spring knife in his right hand.

The leader of the men in black was the same, but he still remembered his duty, and after a few breaths, he suddenly came to his senses.

Is now the time for shock?

"What are you all standing there for! Hurry up and, as the Prince ordered, plunder all the resources of the Qingyun Sect, quick!"

At his command, the remaining men in black rushed into the various rooms of the Qingyun Sect.

About an hour later, outside the gate of the Qingyun Sect, more than thirty carriages, fully loaded and covered with thick tarpaulins, were quickly transported away from the Qingyun Sect's territory by the men in black.

"Hmph! This Qingyun Sect actually dared to threaten my Great Xia back then! Today, I'll burn your entire sect to the ground!"

An hour later, after the carriages left, the leader of the men in black emerged from the shadows, looking at the utterly quiet Qingyun Sect gate with a cold smile.

He then lit an arrow soaked in kerosene, drew his bow, and nocked the arrow.

"call out--"

Flames shot into the air, growing larger and larger until they quickly engulfed the Qingyun Sect completely.

The Qingyun Sect is hereby expelled from the list.