Yan Moxuanâs expression didnât change in the slightest after ending the life of this woman who seemed so important to Li Feng... as if he had merely crushed an insignificant insect beneath his foot.
Then, as if he still wasnât done, he slowly withdrew his blood-soaked hand from Yue Lanâs chest.
Drip...
Drip...
Thick, crimson blood slid down his fingers, falling in slow, heavy drops onto the ground below.
Yue Lanâs body went completely limp.
Her head tilted slightly to the side, lifeless... like a broken discarded doll.
"...As per the deal."
He reached out and grabbed the strange floating orb of light.
Up close, it pulsed unnaturally like a living heart made of pure radiance.
Something inside it twisted faintly, as if struggling... or waiting.
Without hesitation, he shoved the orb of light straight into Yue Lanâs corpse.
The moment the light made contact, it began to melt into her body.
Thenâ
Drip...
Something dark fell from above.
The same black, viscous substance that had seeped across the battlefield now poured down like a heavy, endless rain onto her corpse.
It didnât splash when it hit her.
Instead, it clung like something alive.
It wrapped around her limbs... her torso... her face... layer by layer... slowly as if it was consuming her.
Or perhaps... claiming her.
After completely engulfing her body, the black substance slowly lifted Yue Lanâs corpse upward, carrying it high into the sky toward somewhere.
Li Fengâs pupils shrank sharply as he witnessed the scene.
Deep in his instincts, something screamed at him... he could not let that black liquid take Yue Lan away.
Yan Moxuan seemed to smile with satisfaction upon seeing Li Fengâs agitation.
He spread his arms wide and grinned toward him.
"Li Feng, I have done you a great favor... so now you can become truly strong."
"You...!"
Li Fengâs face turned pitch black with rage.
An intense killing intent exploded from his body like a storm.
He tried to moveâ
But his body... refused to obey.
He glanced down and saw the black liquid writhing excitedly around him, clinging with even greater ferocity.
"Get... OFF!!"
BOOM!!
His aura erupted once more.
Silver light burst violently as the two hundred stars within his body roared to life, burning like a collapsing galaxy.
Yet the black liquid did not retreat.
Instead, it responded with desperate, almost frantic intensity, wrapping around him even tighter.
Yan Moxuanâs laughter rang out across the devastated battlefield.
"Hahaha! Li Feng. Forget about the woman! You should focus on me."
His crimson eyes brightened with hungry battle intent.
He had not forgotten the humiliation of dying like a dog at Li Fengâs hands.
Today, he intended to wash away that shame with blood.
BOOM!!
Li Feng completely ignored Yan Moxuan.
He smashed into the viscous black liquid again and again with raw power.
But instead of breaking, the substance clung tighter like glue.
No... more like a parasite.
The more he struggled, the more it coiled around his limbs, binding him as if it would rather die than let him pass.
"Dammit!!"
His heart pounded with growing urgency.
His eyes swept across the battlefield and saw Yan Moxuan drawing closer with a mocking grin, the scattered and severely injured disciples lying helplessly on the ground, and Yue Lanâs lifeless body being lifted higher and higher into the sky like a cruel trophy.
His teeth clenched so hard they nearly cracked.
Frustration.
Rage.
Helplessness.
All of it surged together until finally...
âDo I really have to use it...?â
His last trump card.
Right now, it seemed there was no other choice.
Only by becoming the Rule of the Stars could he overturn everything.
A flicker of determination ignited in his eyes then turned ice-cold.
In the distance, Yan Moxuan suddenly stiffened.
"...!"
His instincts suddenly screamed danger.
Without hesitation, he leapt backward, putting distance between them.
"What..."
Every fiber of his being warned him... something terrifying was about to descend.
Li Feng lowered his head slightly, his voice dropping to a chilling murmur.
"Age of theâ"
[...Wait!.. Donât use it!]
Li Feng froze as a soft, weak... unfamiliar womanâs voice echoed directly inside his mind.
His eyes widened as the skill halted just before activation.
For a brief second, everything stood still.
Before he could even question it, the voice came again and this time she sound more urgent and more strained.
[...He... is... watching you! Donât use it yet!]
Li Fengâs heart skipped a beat at that words.
âWatching...?â
And a chill crept up his spine.
Not from the battlefield... not from Yan Moxuan.
But from something far more distant... far more terrifying.
His gaze instinctively lifted toward the sky.
But then, suddenlyâ
...Clink.
A faint, almost insignificant sound echoed above Li Fengâs head.
Yan Moxuanâs eyes flickered,
He frowned in confusion as he recognized the object.
"...A brick?"
In the next instant, the "brick" vanished.
No- it moved so fast it became a blur.
WHOOSH!
Like a meteor, it shot straight toward the strands of black liquid hoisting Yue Lanâs corpse into the sky.
SPLASH!
It smashed through them effortlessly.
Surprisingly, compared to the thick mass restraining Li Feng, the strands lifting the corpse were thin and fragile.
Before the overwhelming force of the Divine Brick, they shattered like glass.
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
The thin black liquid burst apart, losing its grip.
And freed from its hold, Yue Lanâs body began to fall.
But in the next moment, the black liquid went berserk.
Like a starved parasite, it surged upward in a frenzy, desperate to reclaim what it had lost.
Just as it was about to engulf her againâ
WHOOSH!
The Divine Brick darted in and snatched her away mid-air, carrying her corpse as it streaked across the battlefield.
For a brief moment, it paused high above the ground as it attempting to store her body within its internal space.
"~?"
...Then it let out a confused fluctuation as it realized it couldnât store the corpse.
Thenâ
SSSHHHH!
SSSHHHH!
SSSHHHH!
The black liquid reacted violently.
It surged and twisted wildly, as countless sharp tendrils shooting upward from the ground like hungry spears, snapping at the air in pursuit.
But the Divine Brick moved like an extreme phantom.
It dodged every strike with terrifying agility by weaving, twisting, and vanishing in a blur.
SSSHHHH!
The black liquid erupted again.
This time, it didnât just strike upward.
It split.
Dozens-no, hundreds of needle-thin tendrils burst from the ground in a widening dome, sealing off every possible escape route in the sky.
They twisted mid-air, locking onto the Divine Brickâs trajectory with predator-like precision.
Then they snapped shut.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each impact detonated the air itself, black fluid exploding outward like thunder.
Yet the Divine Brick didnât slow down for even a fraction of a second.
It slipped through the gaps between the explosions, threading through the destruction with impossible precision.
One moment it was there then gone, then already ten meters away, then above, then behind.
The Divine Brick darted, wove, and twisted like an untouchable mosquito, roaring through the chaos.
Every attack missed by a hairâs breadth.
No matter how ferocious the assault... it simply could not be caught.
Li Fengâs eyes lit up at the sight.
"Nice!"
A breath of relief escaped his lips as he realized he wasnât alone in this fight.
But that relief lasted only a moment.
His gaze sharpened as he watched the Divine Brick weaving frantically through the air, barely evading the relentless pursuit of the black liquid.
At this rate... it wouldnât last long.
His expression turned cold as he lowered his head and stared at the viscous mass still restraining him.
Now that he had a sliver of breathing room and with the dire situation pressing in from all sides... something clicked in his mind.
Silvery starlight began to gather around his arm, swirling and condensing as he prepared to unleash Falling Star Fist.
But this time, he didnât release it.
He compressed it.
And compressed it again.
Further.... and tighter.
SZZZZZ...
Densely packing the violent energy inward, forcing the explosive power into a single, contained point.
The surrounding space trembled faintly, unable to withstand the pressure building in silence.
He pushed it to the limit-no, beyond the limit!
Untilâ
[Ding!]
[An innate ability "Star Impact" has been learned!]
Without bothering to check its status, Li Feng grinned coldly and released it.
"Star Impact!!"
BOOMMMM!!!
The moment he released it, space itself seemed to fold inward.
Not an outward explosion like before...
...but a collapse into a single point of annihilation.
A blinding sphere of compressed starlight detonated around his fist.
For an instant, there was no sound.
Only a silent distortion... as if reality itself had forgotten how to behave.
Thenâ
CRACKKKK!!!
The black liquid restraining him shattered.
Not pushed back nor dispersed... but completely erased, as though it had never existed under the wrath of the stars.
A perfect circular void formed around Li Feng as the ground beneath him disintegrated into fine dust, spiraling outward like the remnants of a dying galaxy.
And yetâ
Instead of turning to help the Divine Brick...
Li Fengâs figure vanished.
FLASH!
A silver streak tore through space.
The next instant he appeared directly in front of Yan Moxuan.
His voice and eyes were ice-cold.
"...I need to make sure youâre dead first."
Yan Moxuanâs eyes widened in shock at the sudden shift.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
He tried to dodge.
...But it was already too late.
Li Fengâs fist was right there, only a breath away from his face.
Teeth clenched, Li Feng poured everything into that single strike.
"Star Impact!!"
BOOOOMMMM!!!
A blinding silver bolt of lightning erupted on impact as the punch landed, swallowing Yan Moxuanâs figure in pure, condensed starlight.
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