# Chapter 1134: The Humiliation of the Branded Heart
"Holy... crap!" Huo Rulie was so startled he nearly jumped up. "This this this... we're really done for this time!"
Yan Juehai's pupils also contracted, but unlike Huo Rulie, the trembling in his eyes was not shock, but terror.
Jun Xilei stood up in the snow, still somewhat dazed. She could never have dreamed in her wildest imagination that as the Sword Lord's disciple, she would be publicly slapped across the face by a realm king of a mid-rank star realm right in front of the Sword Lord and everyone present.
"Wretched thing! How dare you utter my name!" Mu Xuanyin said coldly.
"You..."
"Pfft!" Just as she was about to speak, another mouthful of thick blood spurted from her lips. Her standing body immediately fell to her knees, her whole frame shivering in an irresistible cold, her face gradually turning deathly pale.
Mu Xuanyin's slap was not something easy to endure. If she were not Jun Wuming's disciple, even ten thousand lives would have been snuffed out.
Jun Wuming stepped forward and helped Jun Xilei up, a formless mystic energy enveloping her entire body. Only then did Jun Xilei's complexion improve somewhat. She said with a trembling voice, "Master..."
"Enough, don't speak." Jun Wuming sighed softly, his voice carrying a sense of powerlessness that Jun Xilei had never heard before.
"Realm King Xuanyin." Jun Wuming was not angry, nor did any mystic energy surge from him. He remained as calm as ever: "Lei'er was indeed in the wrong first. Since things have come to this point, she has received her punishment, and your anger has been vented. I have nothing more to say. Let us part ways here."
As soon as Jun Wuming said this, everyone was stunned.
Huo Rulie's jaw dropped to the ground, and after being dazed for a long while, he muttered, "The Sword Lord's... his mental fortitude and forbearance... this endurance... is too good... isn't it? No way! Even this... he can tolerate this?"
Moreover, in terms of seniority, Jun Xilei was definitely above Mu Xuanyin. Though calling her by name directly was improper, she did have the qualifications to do so.
"Patriarch Huo, aren't you puzzled about one thing?" Yan Juehai's chest heaved as he spoke in an extremely low voice. "Mu Xuanyin was a hundred steps away from the Sword Lord's disciple, and the Sword Lord was only two steps away from his disciple. Yet just now, the Sword Lord was unable to stop that slap!"
"...!!" Huo Rulie was initially startled, then his entire body shook violently, unable to speak for a long time.
"Of course you have nothing to say! But wanting to leave is still a bit too early."
The initial respect for Jun Wuming had now completely turned into ice-cold ruthlessness. "That was merely punishment for calling my name directly. I didn't take her life, leaving you a hundred thousand times more leeway than you deserve. You should know this well in your heart."
"But she offended my Bing Huang God Sect and injured my disciple. She hasn't even knelt to apologize, and she thinks she can just walk away like this?!"
"You—" This time, anyone could clearly see Jun Wuming's brows twitching slightly, a surge of anger and killing intent gathering between his eyes.
Just when everyone thought, with trembling hearts, that the Sword Lord would undoubtedly explode in fury this time, they watched in disbelief as that newly risen anger and killing intent was forcibly suppressed within a few breaths.
"Alas." Jun Wuming let out a long sigh. "In the end, it is well-deserved retribution. Lei'er, though unintentional, you did indeed offend the Bing Huang God Sect and injure Realm King Xuanyin's disciple. It is no wonder Realm King Xuanyin is so enraged. Obey Realm King Xuanyin's words and go apologize."
"Master?!" Jun Xilei raised her head, her face full of incomprehension and disbelief.
Her master was the Sword Lord, a figure as legendary as a myth in the vast world. She was the Sword Lord's disciple, who at a young age had become famous throughout the God Realm and was ranked among the "Four Divine Sons of the Eastern Domain." No matter where she went in the God Realm, everyone respected and looked up to her. And the Yin Xue Realm was merely a mid-rank star realm. In her view, their arrival in Yin Xue Realm was entirely an honor for the realm.
The Yin Xue Realm and the Yan Shen Realm had treated the Sword Lord with utmost respect, revering him like a deity. She was long accustomed to this and was unmoved. That the Yin Xue Realm King would cross half the Yin Xue Realm to pay respects was, in her understanding, perfectly normal. Her blocking the Yin Xue disciples with sword energy to let her master and herself go first was even more perfectly natural... How could the mere Bing Huang God Sect deserve to walk ahead of them?
She had never imagined such an outcome.
Jun Wuming had always doted on her. Wherever they went to cultivate, the people she met would be terrified of offending or disrespecting her in the slightest. And today, she had been slapped heavily in public—a humiliation she had never suffered in her entire life, from childhood to now.
What was even more unbelievable was that her master not only did not strike out in anger for her sake, but instead... wanted her to kneel and apologize to the other party.
How could she accept this?
"Go." Facing her trembling gaze, Jun Wuming slowly closed his eyes. "This is your master's decree, and also an important lesson in your life."
Jun Xilei's state of mind and understanding were already on the verge of collapse, and Jun Wuming's words undoubtedly became the final straw. She stood there completely stunned, her eyes losing their color, the sharp pain on her face completely numb.
"Haven't you heard your master's words?!" Jun Wuming's voice suddenly turned harsh.
"..." Her dull pupils finally regained some focus, but the sparkle of before was gone, replaced by a dim shadow. Jun Xilei had never been so confused, disoriented, and lost, and for the first time in her life, she truly understood what humiliation was.
A master's decree could not be defied. Jun Wuming's sigh echoed in her mind: "This is your master's decree, and also an important lesson in your life."
An important lesson in life... Is Master tempering my state of mind?
Finally, a shred of support took root in her heart. She took a deep breath, walked slowly toward Mu Xuanyin, then knelt slowly before her. However, her gaze was cold and resolute. Even as one knee touched the ground, the dignity belonging to the Tearless Sword Maiden and the pride of the Sword Lord's disciple remained unbowed.
"Hmph! You've knelt to the wrong person." Before Jun Xilei could speak, Mu Xuanyin spoke coldly, pushing Yun Che forward. "You looked down on my Bing Huang God Sect. That slap just now, plus the fact that I'm giving your master some face, means I won't pursue that further. But you also injured my disciple. So obediently apologize to him."
"..." Jun Xilei froze again, the calm she had barely managed to restore shattering once more.
Mu Xuanyin was, after all, the Yin Xue Realm King, and also a supreme Divine Lord like her master. Kneeling publicly to apologize, though humiliating, was not a complete loss of dignity.
But the man Mu Xuanyin pushed in front of her... He was about the same age as her, but his profound power was only at the first level of the Divine Tribulation Realm. People like this, she had seen far too many while traveling through the realms with her master. In many star realms, such a level at this age could be called a genius. But in her eyes, such people usually didn't even deserve a single glance from her in daily life.
And now, she was supposed to kneel and apologize to someone like this?!
If she actually did this, it would be more than humiliation. All the dignity and pride she had ever possessed in her life would undoubtedly be trampled underfoot, ground to dust, becoming a mark of shame she could never erase or escape for the rest of her life.
But from behind her, Jun Wuming's voice remained silent for a long time.
Time seemed to slow down, every moment feeling unbearably long. Her sea of thoughts went from chaos to blankness, blank to the point where she had almost lost all ability to think. Mechanically, she knelt:
"Xilei was rude and offended... please forgive..."
Having finished those few words, her tightly bit lips had lost all color.
"..." Yun Che stood there motionless, unable to respond.
"That's more like it." Mu Xuanyin said coldly, not even glancing at her. "Don't think you've suffered some great injustice. You brought this entirely upon yourself! Don't naively believe that just because you're called one of the 'Four Divine Sons of the Eastern Domain,' you can be arrogant and look down on everyone. In my eyes, you're not even qualified to be a bed-warming maid for my disciple!"
Jun Xilei: "..."
Yun Che: (⊙﹏⊙)b
"Lei'er, even a Sword Lord's disciple can make mistakes. When a Sword Lord's disciple makes a mistake, they must recognize it and apologize. Your master has long wanted to teach you this lesson. It's good that it's happening now. Remember this day well. The moment you can face it completely calmly, you will be one step closer to the 'Sword Heart.' Let us go."
Jun Xilei stood up. No expression, no words. Like a soulless husk, she silently followed behind Jun Wuming, disappearing into the wind and snow, vanishing from everyone's sight.
"They... left?" Huo Rulie said dazedly. "Could this really be... the Sword Lord's 'Sword Heart' training for his disciple?"
"He's just forcing a way out for himself," Yan Juehai said in a low voice.
"Could Mu Xuanyin actually be..."
"..." Yan Juehai remained silent.
The entire snowfield was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
The shock in everyone's heart was beyond measure, and it took a long time to calm down.
At first, when Jun Wuming conceded, their impression was that the Sword Lord's heart was as vast as the sea, or perhaps he simply deemed it beneath him to act. But Mu Xuanyin pressed harder and harder, and Jun Wuming, even after his disciple was publicly slapped, continued to retreat step by step...
They were not fools. Even if they were the most naive, they should have sensed something was off... But the possibility was too outrageous. Under repeated shock, they still couldn't believe it, and even dared not think about it.
Looking at the dumbstruck Bing Huang disciples, Mu Xuanyin's icy brows furrowed, and she scolded coldly, "What are you standing around for! Waiting for the mystic array to close?!"
That rebuke was like a morning drum or an evening bell. Mu Huanzhi suddenly snapped out of his daze, scrambled to his feet from the ground, and shouted loudly, "All Bing Huang disciples, follow me into the formation immediately! In less than twenty breaths, the mystic array will be sealed!"
The Bing Huang disciples obeyed, rushing into the mystic array in an orderly and swift manner.
Mu Bingyun came to Mu Xuanyin's side, her gaze complex, and said softly, "I will look after Yun Che at all times. Sister, rest assured."
Mu Xuanyin turned her gaze to Yun Che, but her expression was no longer ice-cold and ruthless, but rather a profound look that Yun Che couldn't understand. "It's in his nature. No matter how much I say, it's ultimately useless."
Mu Bingyun: "..."
"Master?" Yun Che was slightly startled.
"Don't cause trouble. Before making any risky decisions, remember to repeatedly think about the words I've told you... Also, your master only taught you to act recklessly and overestimate yourself when necessary, but I never taught you to let others bully you!"
"...Yes, Master." Yun Che listened attentively.
"Go."
The Bing Huang disciples heading to the Zhou Tian Realm were not many after all. Soon, all the disciples had entered the formation. Mu Bingyun lifted Yun Che and stepped into the mystic array, disappearing in a flash of white light.
The rotation of the dimensional mystic array slowed down, and the mystic light gradually weakened—a sign that it was about to close.
With several thousand disciples from the three Flame God Sects, it was completely impossible for all of them to enter. Yan Juehai quickly said, "Patriarch Huo, take Poyun and go first."
"Alright!" Without time to think, Huo Rulie grabbed Huo Poyun and dashed straight into the mystic array, their figures disappearing with the last flicker of mystic light.
The dimensional mystic array closed. Huo Rulie and the remaining Flame God elders and disciples would have to wait another one shichen.
The mystic array fell silent. The snowfield now only held the Flame God disciples, but it was still deathly quiet, because Mu Xuanyin was still nearby.
This Yin Xue Realm King, who had forced even the Sword Lord to retreat from Yin Xue, simply existing there brought them a weight of pressure too heavy to describe. No one spoke, and even their breathing was cautious.
Yan Juehai included.
At this moment, Mu Xuanyin finally turned around, gazing northward, and said calmly, "Congratulations are in order, Patriarch Yan. It seems that barring any surprises, in three years, the Eastern Divine Region will gain another upper-rank star realm."
Yan Juehai revealed a stiff smile and raised his arm, saying, "First, I thank Realm King Xuanyin for her kind words. Even if everything comes true, it will be thanks to Realm King Xuanyin's favor. Yan Juehai will never forget this, and the Yan Shen Realm will never forget it either."
In the past, due to the difference in cultivation level, Yan Juehai would be polite yet cautious in front of Mu Xuanyin, afraid of provoking her anger.
But now, whether in his words or his body language, he unconsciously—perhaps without even realizing it himself—showed a hint of respectful deference.
"There's no need for that!"
Mu Xuanyin flicked her snow-white sleeve. Before everyone's eyes, her figure had vanished, as if merging into the endless flying snow.
Yan Juehai was silent for a long time, his emotions still hard to calm. He took a deep breath, turned around, looked at everyone, and said slowly, "What just happened—not a single word, not a single syllable is to be leaked out... Understood?!"
His voice was very soft, very slow, yet it sent a chill down everyone's spine.
There was no need for Yan Juehai to warn them. Everyone present, even if they had three more times the courage, would never dare say anything. After all, this involved the dignity of the Sword Lord. The Yin Xue Realm might be able to afford offending the Sword Lord, but the Yan Shen Realm certainly could not!
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