The demon servant Chao Qing and the old demon Nian Jiu joined forces in a frenzied assault, exerting their full strength while remaining wary of any hidden experts. They had witnessed the earlier diversion of the venomous attack and knew better than to underestimate their surroundings.
“Sneaking around like rats—hardly a sign of strength,” they scoffed, unafraid. One was a demon servant, the other had six avatars—what was there to fear? Even if a few avatars perished, as long as they succeeded in killing Young Master Xueying, it would be a trivial loss.
“Boom—”
The void within a million-mile radius suddenly twisted violently. Chao Qing and Nian Jiu were stunned as they sensed the distortion around them. The spatial fabric had completely unraveled. Just moments ago, they could still see Xueying, but now, their bodies were forcibly displaced, and the young master had vanished from sight.
Nian Jiu’s six avatars found their positions shifting unpredictably, disrupting their coordinated attacks.
“Shhh—” Countless fissures appeared across the bodies of Nian Jiu’s avatars. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“I… I’m dying just like this? Where is the enemy? Where?”
Whoosh.
All six avatars shattered into nothingness, obliterated before Nian Jiu could even identify his assailant.
If manipulating the venom had been a display of Dongbo Xueying’s fine control over his domain, this was the full eruption of its power. Until now, he had only practiced such techniques within the Void God Tower—this was the first time he unleashed it in battle.
Two spatial distortions acted simultaneously on a single body. One sought to displace the upper half northward, while the other attempted to drag the lower half southward. The result? A grotesque bisection as the twisted void tore the body apart. In that single instant, each of Nian Jiu’s six avatars endured over a thousand such spatial rends, annihilating them completely.
Elsewhere, the demon servant Chao Qing suffered the same fate—his body subjected to a thousand spatial cuts. However, as a Chaos-level flesh puppet, his physical resilience was formidable despite his low cultivation. Though Dongbo Xueying’s technique was of the eighth-tier, it was still a domain-based attack. The distorted void alone couldn’t rend Chao Qing’s body apart.
“Show yourself!” Chao Qing roared furiously, unable to locate his unseen foe.
“Impressive durability.”
Seated calmly in his carriage, Dongbo Xueying rested his spear across his lap. With a faint motion, his right index finger tapped forward.
Though he appeared to remain seated at a distance, his fingertip suddenly materialized at Chao Qing’s forehead—a seamless connection forged through spatial manipulation.
“Pfft.”
The finger struck true, landing squarely between the demon servant’s brows.
With no defense raised, Chao Qing took the full brunt of the devastating strike. His eyes bulged before his body silently disintegrated, dissolving into particles and vanishing like smoke.
A single finger, and Chao Qing was no more.
Dongbo Xueying remained motionless, as if he had never moved.
**Tenth Form of the Southcloud Sacred Twelve Strikes—’Dust Scatter.’**
Unlike the secret treasure spear shaft, which required personal enlightenment, the *Southcloud Sacred Twelve Strikes* was a meticulously detailed combat art. By studying his innate Void lineage, Dongbo Xueying had mastered the ninth and tenth forms—techniques rivaling the eighth-tier of the Divine Palace’s standards.
The tenth form, ‘Dust Scatter,’ was renowned for its overwhelming destructive power, though its simplicity left it vulnerable to counterplay. The ninth form, by contrast, was far more elusive but lacked raw force.
Yet, when combined with his domain—preventing the enemy from even raising a defense—the fusion of the two techniques reached the pinnacle of eighth-tier might. Against such an assault, Chao Qing stood no chance.
—
“What in the—”
The surrounding void convulsed in chaos. The hidden guards felt the world around them shift violently, watching as buildings and mansions were torn from their foundations and flung into the distant sky.
Whoosh.
Then, as abruptly as it began, the distortion ceased.
Every displaced structure within the million-mile radius returned to its original position, as if nothing had happened.
Countless cultivators caught in the spatial upheaval blinked in confusion, staring at their restored surroundings.
“What an incredible expert!” Tian Yizhi and the others exclaimed in awe, bowing deeply. “We thank the senior for saving our young master!”
“Gratitude, honored senior!” The maidservant Yan Yu echoed fervently.
Yingshan Liehu, meanwhile, slumped onto the carriage floor, his legs weak with fright. Wiping his brow, he turned to Dongbo Xueying. “Fear not, my son. Our Yingshan Clan’s foundations run deep. Clearly, they assigned a formidable protector to you. Did those assassins truly think they could succeed?” His limited perception left him oblivious to the true terror of the attackers.
“Thank you, senior, for your lifesaving grace,” Dongbo Xueying proclaimed loudly.
Though he had merely tapped a finger, he had simultaneously warped the surrounding void. Even if someone had been watching him closely, they would have seen only his seated form—his finger’s motion concealed by spatial distortion.
No trace of his involvement remained.
—
From afar, the black-robed master of the demons observed the distorted void. When space stabilized, both Nian Jiu and Chao Qing had vanished without a trace.
Two experts, each capable of unleashing seventh-tier Divine Palace power, eradicated in an instant. What manner of strength was this?
“Even if Firepeak Marquis had intervened, it wouldn’t have been this swift,” the black-robed figure muttered coldly. With spatial suppression preventing teleportation, any assailant would have had to close the gap physically. Yet Nian Jiu’s six avatars and Chao Qing’s resilient body had been obliterated in a single stroke.
“With space suppressed and time obscured, who could annihilate Nian Jiu and the demon servant so effortlessly?”
“Does the Yingshan Clan possess such a figure?”
After a moment’s contemplation, the black-robed master dismissed the idea.
Only the enigmatic ‘Yingshan Matriarch’ could achieve such a feat—but she would never leave the capital, Yingshan City, which dwarfed Firepeak City in both size and importance. Without long-range spatial transmission, she couldn’t have arrived in time to protect Yingshan Xueying.
“Then who?”
“Perhaps some recluse dwelling in Firepeak City, moved by the boy’s talent to intervene?” It was the only explanation that made sense.
“Lucky brat.” With a final glare, the black-robed figure turned and departed.
—
The carriage hovered midair, its eight draconic beasts restless.
The hundred hidden guards, Tian Yizhi and his nine personal attendants, the maidservant Yan Yu, and Yingshan Liehu’s entourage all stood in stunned silence, struggling to process what they had witnessed.
“Young Master, I saw buildings floating in the distance just moments ago,” Yan Yu whispered excitedly. “Then, in the blink of an eye, they returned!”
“Truly a peerless expert,” Dongbo Xueying mused. “I wonder who it was.”
“Whoever it was, they aided you—perhaps out of old ties to our clan,” Tian Yizhi said with a smile. “But you must remember this debt.” He couldn’t help but envy his young master’s fortune in attracting such a mighty benefactor.
Whoosh.
Above them, Firepeak Marquis’s avatar materialized once more.
Relief washed over the marquis as he confirmed Dongbo Xueying’s unscathed state. He began questioning the group about the events in detail.
As they spoke—
“Whoosh.”
Two figures appeared abruptly beside them.
One was the green-eyed elder, the other—the Yingshan Matriarch herself.
“Ancestor, Lord Fuchen,” Firepeak Marquis greeted respectfully.
“We arrived too late,” the Matriarch said, surveying the scene. “But all is well. How did you repel Chao Qing?”
Firepeak Marquis shook his head. “I do not know. It must have been a passing expert.”
The Matriarch glanced upward.
The void shimmered as she attempted to reconstruct the past events, but interference quickly muddled the vision.
“The assassins obscured spacetime,” she remarked, turning to the green-eyed elder. “Fuchen, your insight is needed.”
“Understood.”
The elder’s emerald eyes glowed as he projected the battle’s replay into the air. Yet, during the spatial upheaval, the scene dissolved into chaos. Only fragments—areas Dongbo Xueying hadn’t deliberately concealed—remained visible.
“What a terrifying domain technique,” the elder murmured. “Nian Jiu and Chao Qing were annihilated instantly. The latter, at full power, rivaled seventh-tier Divine Palace combatants with his durable physique. To erase them so effortlessly… This is extraordinary.”
“I couldn’t have done it,” Firepeak Marquis admitted.
His combat style was more direct, but even so, the demon servant wouldn’t have fallen without resistance.
“The attacker must wield ninth-tier strength,” the Matriarch mused. “Strange, though—why save our little Xueying without notifying me? Perhaps it wasn’t out of regard for our clan.”
Had it been for her sake, the mysterious expert would have made contact.
“Maybe a recluse in Firepeak City, or a traveler passing through,” she concluded with a shrug. “Regardless, their intentions were benign. We owe them thanks.”
“Indeed,” Firepeak Marquis agreed.
Neither could pinpoint the savior’s identity. No known figure in the Southcloud Kingdom matched the description. But the Heartvoid Continent was vast, home to countless nations and the unfathomably powerful Six Ancient Kingdoms. Wanderers and hidden masters were legion—many of whom the Matriarch had never met.
“Little Xueying,” she said, turning to him. “Whoever saved you must see potential in you. If you encounter them again, foster that connection.”
By their estimation, the mysterious expert was at least a King.
The Southcloud Kingdom currently had only twenty-one Kings—none of whom possessed such mastery over spatial distortion.
“I will,” Dongbo Xueying affirmed.
“You kept your composure admirably,” Firepeak Marquis praised.
As the Matriarch spoke, her mind raced through possibilities. She ruled out domestic experts—this was someone from beyond their borders. Within the four nations of the Black Fiend Domain, she knew of two Chaos-level figures capable of such a feat. Beyond that, the wider world teemed with unknowns.
“Consider this an opportunity,” she said at last. “Xueying’s Void lineage aligns with this expert’s prowess. Having intervened once, fate may bring them together again.” Her expression darkened as she shifted focus. “Now—who dared orchestrate this attack?”
Who would go to such lengths to eliminate Yingshan Xueying—the most gifted prodigy their clan had ever produced?
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