The Sixth Palace Lord and Seventh Palace Lord whipped their heads around abruptly. There, between Yan Zhen’s hands, a terrifying orb of light slowly took shape, pulsing like a beating heart.
Each throb sent a tremor through their own hearts. The energy contained within was so horrifying that it sparked an overwhelming urge in them to flee the scene on the spot.
If that thing struck them, death would be instantaneous and certain!
“Isn’t that an Extreme Flame in his hand? Does he actually possess three Extreme Flames?”
“Three? I thought mastering two Extreme Flames marked a peerless genius. How has it become three now?”
“That kid is fusing three Extreme Flames together. That’s utterly ridiculous.”
“Quick, seize the Eighth Palace Lord, then get the hell away from here.”
Amid the crowd, only Yun Ling showed no fear. His sole focus was on killing Yan Zhen.
If Yan Zhen hadn’t defeated Wenqing, Wolf Poison would never have had a chance to appear. If Yan Zhen hadn’t beaten Wolf Poison, the Heavenly Gu Elder wouldn’t have shown up either!
Yan Zhen was the root of all this evil!
Extreme Flames be damned—Yun Ling had only one thought in his mind:
Kill this brat!
With no warmup or probing strikes, Yun Ling fully unleashed the wind mystic power within his body, enveloping himself in it. He then channeled his mystic power to draw upon the power of heaven and earth, condensing a massive wind sword nearly ten zhang long behind him.
The giant wind sword descended slowly, hovering parallel above Yun Ling’s head and parallel to the ground. Its enormous tip locked onto Yan Zhen, pinning down his aura.
“Die for this old man!”
Cloud Heaven Palace’s signature Lord Arcane Skill: Great Gang Wind Sword!
A single strike like this could pierce straight through a mountain!
Even though it was only locked onto Yan Zhen, the Sixth and Seventh Palace Lords and the assembled Cloud Heaven Palace elders all felt their hearts seize in terror.
This was the full-force attack of a Mystic Ancestor expert. If it had targeted any of them, they would have perished on the spot! Could that kid Yan Zhen really withstand it?
At that moment, Yan Zhen finished fusing the gold-silver fire, the Great Crimson Heaven Flame, and the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame into a single tri-colored, mesmerizing orb of light. Flames flickered across its surface like a miniature sun, radiant and brilliant, outshining even the setting sun perched atop the distant peak.
Seeing the giant sword tear through the air amid howling gales, Yan Zhen calmly extended the little sun cradled in his palm.
“Go—Heaven and Earth Incineration Art!”
The little sun shot forward, tracing a straight path through the air before slamming into the wind sword’s tip.
There was no deadlock. The moment the tri-colored orb touched the sword’s point, it melted it away. Then, like a drill boring through a tunnel, it pierced straight through—from tip to hilt—before halting right in front of Yun Ling.
Yun Ling seemed utterly unprepared for this outcome. He let out a dazed grunt.
Before he could react, the little sun swelled amid the storm, bursting forth with a blaze of light a thousand zhang wide.
Boom!
The terrifying explosion unleashed boundless waves of fire that swept outward, rippling the very fabric of space. The entire Cloud Heaven Palace shook with earthquakes as rocks tumbled from the surrounding peaks. Had the battlefield been on the ground, the mountains themselves might have vanished outright.
The Cloud Heaven Palace members, who had long since retreated to a safe distance, stared at the scene in stunned awe.
—How could a mere Mystic General, without even wielding a high-tier Mystic artifact, unleash such power? No one had ever heard of anyone possessing three Extreme Flames!
The youth’s silhouette flickered unsteadily amid the blaze.
Yan Zhen hovered in midair on a bed of starlight, his face ashen pale. His head spun and his legs felt like lead—he wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep right there.
He forced himself to rally, staring intently into the sea of flames. There, amid the inferno, a charred black figure emerged, frozen in place. A pair of eyes stared blankly ahead, their pupils devoid of any light.
Yan Zhen let out a slow breath, finally relaxing completely. He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: Mystic Ancestor experts, having been tempered by the power of heaven and earth, gained tremendous enhancements to their physique and divine soul. Their reactions were lightning-quick, and they were incredibly resilient.
Take Yun Ling or Yun Xiu, for example—their combat prowess in every aspect was worlds apart before and after their breakthroughs.
The crystal pendant at his neck slipped out from under his clothes on its own, blooming with dazzling light. Space twisted, and Long Ying was the first to emerge, her little face etched with anxiety.
“Yan Zhen Zhen! Are you okay?”
Hot on her heels came Cai Lian, Yi Xian’er, and Ji Ya, along with Yun Xiu and her master-disciple pair with Huangfu Wenqing. They all rushed to surround Yan Zhen.
“Husband!”
“Yan Zhen.”
“Little Brother Yan Zhen…”
Seeing his pallid face and exhausted, weakened state—but no obvious injuries—they breathed a little easier.
Yun Xiu asked gravely, “What happened, Yan Zhen?”
Yan Zhen tilted his chin, gesturing for them all to look ahead.
Yun Ling’s charred corpse hung suspended in the air. As the fire waves gradually receded, it crumbled to ash and scattered on the wind.
“Second Palace Lord…” Yun Xiu frowned. “Did he… escape?”
Yan Zhen hummed in affirmation, then turned toward a certain spot.
“It should be related to the Eighth Palace Lord. You should have a proper talk with her. Otherwise, when the Demon Exterminator Envoy arrives, she won’t escape blame.”
“It really was her.” Yun Xiu looked saddened. “She must have heard me say that the Heavenly Lord failed his breakthrough and wouldn’t last much longer, so she wanted Yun Ling to contact the Heavenly Gu Elder for a deal… It was the same in my past life. I never imagined that even after my rebirth and changing so many things, she’d still go down this path.”
Yan Zhen fell silent. In the Eighth Palace Lord Yun Ye’s heart, Cloud Heaven Lord was practically her father—and the woman had more than a touch of paternal fixation, making her utterly devoted to the idea.
“You won’t blame me for killing Yun Ling, will you?”
Yun Xiu shook her head.
“I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Maybe you stepping in was the best outcome—how are you feeling now?”
“No big deal. But I can’t stick around to help with the cleanup.”
“Silly…” Yun Xiu turned to the others. “She Ji, Xian’er—Yan Zhen is in your hands now.”
With that, Yun Xiu flew off toward the Sixth and Seventh Palace Lords. Huangfu Wenqing gave Yan Zhen one last check to confirm he was unharmed, then followed after her.
“Hiss~”
Yan Zhen suddenly drew in a sharp breath through gritted teeth. He flipped over his palm to find the skin there burned black and charred—a glaring, ugly wound.
To avoid backlash and wield Mystic King realm power of heaven and earth, he would need it to shield his hands.
Cai Lian furrowed her delicate brows, a flicker of heartache in her blood-red slit pupils. Her tone remained cool, however.
“Get into the Fire Refining Starry Sky quickly. Master Chen Xi said you’d definitely be injured after using that move.”
Yan Zhen nodded and activated the Star Shifting Fire Seal. The crystal pendant sucked him in, and moments later, he reappeared atop the altar.
“M-Master…”
Yan Zhen took a step forward, but his knees buckled. He collapsed limply to the ground.
Chen Xi appeared before him in an instant, arms outstretched to catch her precious disciple in a gentle embrace.
Yan Zhen realized his handsome face hadn’t met the floor. Instead, it sank into an indescribable softness and faint, elegant fragrance—a sensation all too familiar from past experiences. Utterly reassured, he closed his eyes.
His final thought before consciousness faded into darkness:
I’m starving~
