At this moment, all major factions across the Heartland Continent were solemn and grave. Even the likes of ‘Xia Emperor’, ‘Cang Emperor’, ‘Fan Ancestor’, ‘Tian-Sundering Great Exalt’, and ‘Lord of Nanyun’—who knew Dongbo Xueying’s true identity—were inwardly shaken. Through various means, they observed this battle.
The strength displayed by just one of Dongbo Xueying’s clones was enough to suppress the Ultimate-level powerhouse ‘Island Master Zhanba’. If all nine clones were to unite, what level would they reach?
The mere thought sent shockwaves through even the invincible existences!
“The strength of this mysterious figure…” murmured Great Exalt Fuyi, clad in blue robes, as he peered into the distant battle through the art of Boundary-Shattering Teleportation. “A single clone is already this formidable. If all nine clones unite in perfect harmony, his power might even rival mine.”
Even Fuyi’s unshakable heart rippled with unease.
Ultimate-level powerhouses without Supreme Treasures might possess more profound techniques than Fuyi, but none could match him in raw combat prowess.
Fuyi, the Great Exalt who once single-handedly suppressed an entire ancient kingdom! Even the Lord of Motian had to intervene, yet could only manage to contain him.
And now, Fuyi had a premonition—this mysterious figure’s strength might be approaching his own!
…
As the factions watched with bated breath, they all sensed it: another terrifying existence was about to rise on the Heartland Continent.
“Island Master Zhanba, are you afraid? Didn’t you want to see my true strength? Now that I’m going all out, you cower?” The nine white-robed men simultaneously extended a single finger, lightly tapping forward.
*Whoosh—*
The vast void before them erupted into chaos at that single touch. Across millions of miles, space fractured into countless minuscule bubbles. Starting from the outermost edges, the bubbles collapsed like a chain reaction, rapidly converging toward the center. Even a Cosmic God’s consciousness could perceive the intricacies of this technique—but the collapse was too swift.
In an instant, the force of countless collapsing bubbles surged like a flood, all converging toward the center—where Island Master Zhanba stood.
Zhanba tried to flee, but the bubbles moved with him, trapping him eternally at their core.
This was one of Dongbo Xueying’s three ultimate killing techniques—**”Infinite Bubbles, All Vanished.”**
He had used this very move to slay the Lord of Chenfan, though back then, he hadn’t wielded the ‘Voidfire Lotus’. This time, though the lotus remained hidden, it was with him, its power amplifying the technique’s range and devastation.
“Damn it,” Zhanba muttered, his beady eyes cold as he surveyed his surroundings.
His pride as an Ultimate powerhouse forbade retreat. If he truly wished to escape, not even the invincible could stop him. As one who had mastered the Dao of Might, every inch of the Source World was but a plaything to him.
Yet this time, he didn’t resist head-on. Instead, he employed a deflection technique—for who could surpass an Ultimate expert of Might in dispersing force?
Zhanba pressed his palms together before his chest.
Within a ten-zhang radius, space turned hazy, while beyond it, swirling gray energy became visible to the naked eye.
**”BOOM—!”**
The Infinite Bubbles, All Vanished!
The colossal bubble surrounding Zhanba shattered. As it did, an invisible ripple pierced toward him, only to meet layer upon layer of resistance. Dongbo Xueying’s expression flickered—his attack’s power was being redirected, turned against itself.
Fortunately, the nine clones, empowered by the Voidfire Lotus, wielded enough Hunyuan Force to overwhelm even this redirection. Though most of the force was dispersed, a fraction still struck Zhanba.
The Island Master’s face darkened as the impact seeped into the depths of his flesh.
*”Pfft—”* Blood seeped from his pores, and a mouthful of crimson sprayed forth.
Zhanba glared at Dongbo Xueying in the distance.
“An incredible defensive art. Far superior to my ‘Ten Thousand Laws Untouched’ in dispersing force,” Dongbo Xueying admitted with genuine respect.
“Under the Supreme Laws, all attacks manifest as different forms of ‘force’,” Zhanba rumbled. “At my full defense, none should harm me. Yet your command of Hunyuan Force… it’s beyond anything I expected.”
“I bear you no enmity,” Dongbo Xueying said calmly. “I merely wish to curb the slaughter.”
He had no desire to push Zhanba to madness.
For if the Island Master cast aside all restraint, he alone could unleash carnage across the land—a horror Dongbo Xueying sought to prevent.
Of course, Zhanba dared not go too far. First, excessive slaughter would draw the wrath of the invincible existences. Second, the enigmatic ‘Meta’ of the Heartland Continent, though he welcomed struggle and survival of the fittest, would not tolerate boundless bloodshed.
That was why the great fiends orchestrated massacres through underlings, never acting directly.
‘Meta’ watched from a higher plane. Those who defied him met unspeakable ends.
Yet Dongbo Xueying differed from Meta.
To Meta, some slaughter was natural selection—so long as the Heartland’s order remained intact, he would not interfere in the conflicts of cultivators.
But to Dongbo Xueying, talk of ‘the greater order’ meant nothing to the weak. What use was a thriving Heartland to the dead? A few casualties were the risks of cultivation, but wanton slaughter by super fiends was no trial—it was atrocity.
This was the divide between their philosophies.
Meta, lofty and detached, saw cultivators as lesser beings. He sought only those who could ‘transcend the cage’. And he wasn’t wrong—to one of his stature, the lives within a Source World were indeed beneath him.
Compared to some colder, crueler Hunyuan Lifeforms—who would gladly see countless Source Worlds perish if it produced even one transcendent—Meta was almost merciful.
Dongbo Xueying, still weak by their standards, could not sway Meta. He could only walk his own path.
“You care so much for these ants?” Zhanba sneered. “What does it matter if millions perish?”
“They have parents, spouses, children. They struggle, they cultivate—how can they be slaughtered like insects?” Dongbo Xueying shook his head.
“And if my men keep killing?” Zhanba challenged.
“Then I’ll keep killing too,” Dongbo Xueying met his gaze. “Every last one of your underlings who dares to strike. You, I cannot stop—but if you unleash massacre after massacre, not even the heavens will save you when ‘Meta’ descends.”
Zhanba’s jowls twitched.
Meta.
Even the Ultimate and the invincible feared him. The higher they climbed, the more they clung to life—for they all dreamed of taking that final step, of breaking free from the cage.
“And the other factions? Black Devil Abyss, Fuxi Kingdom, Devilcloud Mountain, Sacredflame City?” Zhanba pressed. “Will you slaughter them too?”
“Yes,” Dongbo Xueying said firmly. “Any who commit mass slaughter—I will kill.”
In that moment—
Countless powers across the Heartland watched. Though tools like the ‘Heaven-Gazing Mirror’ showed only the battle, not the words, these observers were no ordinary beings. By reading lips and sensing air vibrations, they deciphered the exchange.
Dongbo Xueying’s declaration was clear: a warning to all fiendish factions of the Heartland.
*Indiscriminate slaughter would be met with death.*
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