Chapter 291 |
High above Black Cloud City, just as they neared the Inner City's white walls, the Society Master abruptly halted.
"Go find out who just flew past," he told Commander Xin beside him.
For this trip, he had brought three of the Mingxin Society's five Commander Xins—enough to seize Black Cloud City as swiftly as possible. Complete domination was never the objective; that had always been unrealistic.
His true goal was to bury the array disk he carried beneath Black Cloud's critical Moon Towers. It was a cornerstone of his grand design. He viewed the entire Federation as a chessboard, its cities as pieces, and this was his next move toward a far larger ambition.
Yet somehow, the young man who had just flown past left him with an inexplicable sense of discomfort. It had been a very long time since he'd felt this way—not since his Evil Mist condensed and his Emperor Blood reached great completion. His once-thin Emperor Blood had compressed to its absolute limit.
Emperor Blood was classified by tier. A single mercury-like drop in an ordinary Emperor Blood Mistborn was enough to steadily suppress a common Mistborn. Beyond that, the tiers were determined by the concentration of Emperor Blood in the body, divided into five stages. The Mistborn Emperor had once coined names for them: Morning Dew, Water Vase, Origin Stream, Heavenly River, and finally, Mist Emperor.
To date, only the Mistborn Emperor had ever reached the Mist Emperor tier. No matter how hard anyone else tried—devouring and compressing their power—they could only reach Heavenly River.
The Society Master watched Commander Xin accept the order and depart, then turned his gaze to the massive white wall.
"Move out. Let's see what Xie Chang'an has kept in reserve."
Above the docks outside Black Cloud City, Moth Carriages streamed past Lin Hui, flowing in and out of the urban district. He adjusted his altitude, slipping into the noble-exclusive flight lane. Moth Carriages were forbidden from this particular corridor; anyone caught trespassing would be immediately seized by the Black Army.
From this height, Lin Hui had a clear view of the bustling dock workers loading and unloading cargo below. Where did this whole group come from? He had just identified Zhang Yao's disguised form among them. But with Xia Si already fleeing, there was no time to act on it now.
That didn't mean he'd simply let the threat go. His sect members and family were in the Clear Wind Dao Academy and the surrounding residential blocks—places like the Lin Manor.
With a thought, he sent a message through the Wind Chime.
Moments later, Pang Jiu, the Mistborn stationed within the Clear Wind Dao Academy, snapped his eyes open. Blue light pulsed in the vertical slit on his forehead.
"Understood. I will secure the perimeter," he said quietly, rising to his feet.
On the surface, he was a crippled Mistborn test subject sent by the three City Lords to probe the law seals. In reality, Lin Hui had turned him three years ago, and he had since devoted himself entirely to the Clear Wind Dao—even receiving the Bestowal Seal. That was the true reason he had been permitted to remain and cultivate in the Clear Wind Courtyard.
He was a failsafe. An ultimate failsafe reserved for critical moments. Just before his departure, Lin Hui had bestowed the final Clear Source Law Body upon Pang Jiu. Barring Lin Hui himself, Pang Jiu was now likely the most dangerous combatant hidden within the Clear Wind Dao.
As a Mistborn, his terrifying, undying nature gave him a profound innate advantage. Add to that the way his Evil Weapon interacted with the law seal—even Lin Hui had yet to test the full extent of what he could unleash.
Still not enough experts I can use... He sighed. Several methods had been turning over in his mind for years now. It was time to put them to the test.
After settling his arrangements, Lin Hui accelerated and gave chase.
…
Above the Jade Sea.
"Damn it!" Su Yaping slashed in exasperation, sending a blue-clad woman tumbling away from his right flank.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done!?"
He had been moments away from catching Xia Si when three streams of power burst in from the side, also lunging for her. The interference shattered his timing. Xia Si erupted with speed, evading both his attack and the three intrusions in one burst. Two of the forces collided at an awkward angle, triggering a massive explosion—one that only launched her further out of reach.
As he watched Xia Si vanish into the distance, Su Yaping finally broke.
The boundless power of the Wind Disaster surged into his body. The blue hair cascading down his back blazed with fluorescent light, and blue particulate dots began shedding off him in waves.
"Anyone who ruins my plans can go to hell!"
He gripped his sword with both hands. Behind him, an enormous grayish-blue tornado erupted from the sea and shaped itself into a titanic dragon hundreds of meters across. Roaring, it hurtled toward the three guest elders of the Mingxin Society—the Sea King Generals—swallowing all three in its path.
Against an ordinary tornado, they wouldn't have flinched. But this vortex was saturated with the Wind Disaster's Disaster Energy, freshly infused. Its intensity surpassed even Purgatory and Extreme Cold.
Before the dragon even drew close, the surrounding air, the seawater below, and the clouds above took on a blue hue. Everything began to decompose—dissolving into blue particulate dots that scattered in all directions. Even the protective Void Force and True Force the three men wore began to shudder violently.
Their expressions shifted. Xia Si's Ash power had been formidable, but it hadn't been able to shake their True Force or Void Force at range. This was different.
"His realm and Divine Method are actually inferior to ours—it's purely that his power is too strong!" the white-bearded elder transmitted urgently to the other two. "Do what we did with Xia Si—use that!"
"Understood!"
In the next instant, thick, viscous black liquid oozed from all three of their bodies simultaneously. It surged and pooled, rapidly merging into a giant black octopus that swung its tentacles at the oncoming dragon.
Then, a moment later, a second tornado dragon of equal scale formed directly behind the octopus and drove into its back.
Yun Xiazi.
Boom! Boom!
The black octopus vanished in an instant, torn apart along with both dragons and scattered into a mess of dissolving light. Before the three guest elders could draw breath, two more tornadoes formed instantly and came crashing down on them.
"Retreat!" Blood flew from their lips as the full gravity of the situation hit them at last. No wonder this opponent had been strong enough to suppress Xia Si and drive her to flee. And despite this level of ferocity, neither attacker appeared to have spent the slightest effort.
Even as a Mistborn who could detonate and reassemble endlessly, a duel with these two had never been their goal.
Pfft!
The twin tornadoes swallowed all three at once, reducing them to blood mist—but in the next moment, the three red clouds burst free and shot away at full speed.
Yun Xiazi moved to pursue. Su Yaping stopped her.
"No rush. Xia Si comes first."
"Mistborn!" Yun Xiazi was visibly shaking. "Those three were actually Mistborn!"
She had never imagined there would come a day when she—relying entirely on her own strength—could drive back Mistborn in combat. Even if they weren't City Lord–tier, they were still far beyond the reach of a Blood Ancestor.
Every scrap of this staggering growth had come from following the Dao Master and joining the Clear Wind Dao. Her hands were trembling.
She wasn't the only one. Upon realizing the three had been Mistborn, Su Yaping was equally exhilarated.
Driving back Mistborn head-on meant they had crossed the threshold into that tier. They had stepped onto an unprecedented path—just like the Dao Master—one no one had ever trodden before.
"Enough. There's nothing to make a fuss about." Lin Hui's figure appeared above them both. "Head back and guard the Dao Academy. I'll bring Xia Si back myself."
A shadow of shame crossed both their faces. They had taken the mission and failed to complete it—and now had forced Lin Hui to step in personally.
"It doesn't matter. The failure was purely accidental. Send someone to look into those three's origins," he said without concern.
"Yes."
"There may be major changes unfolding in Black Cloud as we speak. When you return to the city, gather our people close to the Dao Academy. Wait for word." With that, his figure disappeared—chasing the direction Xia Si had fled.
…
At this moment, Xia Si was streaking across the Jade Sea like a golden meteor, pushing herself to the edge of her speed.
Everything blurred past her.
Faster.
Even faster.
She could feel it clearly—a calm, unhurried gaze, fixed on her back the entire time.
Fear. Not even the endless Ash had ever planted this in her. Yet here it was, rising once more from the very bottom of her heart.
"As the spokesperson of Ash, you shouldn't be afraid."
In the next instant, a blurry phantom flickered into being directly in front of her.
Lin Hui turned to face her. He wasn't even carrying a sword—only a gentle breeze turning slowly around him as he regarded her in silence.
"What I fear is—" Xia Si opened her mouth to retort. The words didn't come.
She could feel it. Her lips were trembling.
"Come back with me." He extended a hand, palm open.
"No!" She reeled backward and veered away at full speed.
But in the next instant her vision blurred, and he was in front of her again—hand outstretched, just the same.
"No! No! No! No!" She changed directions like a madwoman.
It didn't matter. No matter how she swerved, that white-robed figure was always there, blocking her path.
"Child, you shouldn't hate me. I was the one who pulled you out of the chaos of your amnesia," Lin Hui said gently.
"No! I said—no!" Her face contorted with fury, and she stopped running.
She gripped her sword in both hands. Terrifying golden air currents surged in a violent corona around her body.
"Even if it's you..."
"Even if it's you—"
"I'm no longer that weak girl from the past!"
Her roar split the air. The mutated Wild Wind Sword Technique blazed forth, fused with the golden Ash power that had been building in her body the entire time.
"Wind!"
Throwing every ounce of her strength against the tearing pain that wracked her body, holding nothing back—discarding her fear—she swung her sword at Lin Hui.