Chapter 555

“As long as little junior brother stays inside Burning Heaven Courtyard, with the formation protecting him, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

In a flash, countless thoughts raced through Feng Wanxing’s mind, but his anxiety didn’t ease in the slightest.

What if?

What if Zimeng Domain had some way of bypassing the courtyard’s formation?

Or lured Lin Yuan out?

Too many things could go wrong.

Feng Wanxing had already been suspicious about Zimeng Domain’s operation—they had gone so far as to stall the Qingfen Lord...

Just to let a few hundred puppets rampage in the city?

It didn’t make sense at all.

Hundreds of peak Dominance-rank puppets were already costly.

On the battlefield, they could form a powerful battle formation.

But in the city? They were just wreaking some havoc.

They couldn’t cause any serious damage to Qingfen City.

A losing trade.

Would Zimeng Domain really make that move?

Now, sensing the deep space-time fluctuations coming from Burning Heaven Courtyard, Feng Wanxing had more guesses and suspicions.

Could little junior brother be Zimeng Domain’s true target?

It was a bizarre thought. Sure, the Qingfen Lord valued Lin Yuan greatly, but a disciple not even at the Path-Clearing level—was he really worth such a price?

“Junior brother Ruan, take my place.”

Feng Wanxing’s expression turned grave. He had made his decision.

The space-time ripples from the courtyard were too unsettling. He had to see for himself.

As for the formation core? He wasn’t the only Dominance-rank cultivator stationed there—other junior brothers were present too.

Feng Wanxing stepping away would lower the defense slightly, but compared to little junior brother’s safety, he clearly prioritized the latter.

Worst-case scenario, it was just a diversion and this formation core got breached.

But there were twelve formation cores across Qingfen City—losing one wouldn’t be a disaster.

If something happened to Lin Yuan, though... Feng Wanxing didn’t even dare imagine how the Qingfen Lord would react.

“Senior brother, you’re leaving now?”

Junior brother Ruan’s expression changed. He too had sensed the space-time ripple from the courtyard and was quite anxious.

But their mission from the Qingfen Lord was to guard the formation core. Feng Wanxing leaving would count as dereliction of duty—and the consequences wouldn’t be light.

“I’ll take full responsibility. Just focus on guarding this formation core.”

Feng Wanxing shook his head and left immediately, heading toward Burning Heaven Courtyard.

“The space-time ripples haven’t stopped?”

Feng Wanxing grew more uneasy. It had already been several breaths since he first sensed it.

Just what was happening at the courtyard? Was little junior brother... still okay?

Zimeng Domain.

Inside the skinny man Kuangzhen’s cave abode, a crystalline stone floated in midair, releasing faint soul fluctuations. Suddenly, a soul force emerged from the stone, coalescing into Kuangzhen’s figure.

Whoosh.

The backup preparations in the cave activated instantly, massive energy surging to reconstruct a physical body.

“My true body...”

Kuangzhen’s expression was ugly.

His real body had perished, and once he realized that a wisp of his soul had been captured by Lin Yuan, he immediately destroyed it without hesitation.

Then he resurrected using the life-saving backup he had prepared in advance.

As a disciple of the Zimeng Lord, Kuangzhen knew that even against a Great Sovereign-level expert, soul-based karmic curses were hard to pull off, especially with protective formations surrounding his cave.

But if a wisp of his soul was captured by a Great Sovereign...

The consequences would be devastating.

That was why he decisively destroyed it.

“A Great Sovereign... Qingfen City was hiding a Great Sovereign all along!”

Fear crept into Kuangzhen’s eyes. His physical body dominated the Zimeng Domain—someone who could kill him so easily could only be a Great Sovereign.

“What about the others...”

Kuangzhen quickly contacted the other disciples who had gone with him. All had lost their real bodies, destroyed the captured soul remnants, and resurrected using their backup methods.

“Senior sister’s still alive…”

Kuangzhen wasn’t comforted. The purple-haired woman was the Zimeng Lord’s strongest disciple, nearly at Great Sovereign level herself.

Still, he didn’t believe she could stand against a true Great Sovereign. She probably had powerful backup tools, allowing her to survive temporarily.

But only temporarily. Against a Great Sovereign, death was only a matter of time.

“This mission... has failed.”

Kuangzhen’s heart sank. A hidden Great Sovereign completely shifted the situation—especially one inside Qingfen City. They had been caught completely off guard.

“A Great Sovereign playing us like this...!”

Kuangzhen felt both bitter and furious.

In his eyes, the Great Sovereign must’ve known about their plan from the very beginning.

But he waited, watched them copy every formation in the city, then struck at the last possible moment—to make them taste despair.

“That intel on Yu Yan—definitely leaked on purpose by Qingfen Lord! All that crap about being a favored disciple, coming from the Yu clan—it’s all fake!”

Kuangzhen’s face was twisted with frustration.

“No, I have to tell Master immediately. This failure wasn’t our fault—Qingfen Lord was too cunning.”

Kuangzhen contacted the Zimeng Lord. The entire operation had originated from the capital of the ancient nation—failure meant punishment.

But no one mentioned there was a Great Sovereign hidden in Qingfen City!

If they’d known, they never would’ve carried out this plan. Taking on a hidden Great Sovereign would’ve required a complete change in strategy.

In front of Burning Heaven Courtyard, time and space condensed like amber, locking everything in place.

“Yu Yan... is a Great Sovereign?”

The purple-haired woman was filled with despair. They had come, thinking they might eliminate a future threat to Zimeng Domain.

Turned out, that "future threat" was already a Great Sovereign?

They’d come here with a bunch of Dominance-rank elites... to take out a Great Sovereign?

Whoosh.

Lin Yuan’s right hand reached through space toward her.

That hand had already killed many of her junior brothers and sisters—including Kuangzhen, whose physical body had been the strongest in the domain.

“Myriad Array Crystal!”

Facing imminent death, the purple-haired woman no longer held back. She immediately summoned the treasured Myriad Array Crystal granted by the ancient capital.

The Myriad Array Crystal could replicate any artificial formation—mysterious and powerful. But that wasn’t its only use.

It could also activate the formations it had copied externally.

Of course, these formations would only possess a fraction—one-tenth or even less—of their original strength.

Still, it was convenient. Creating a formation took materials and time, while this crystal could instantly project one.

Boom!

A massive labyrinthine space-time formation enveloped her. Lin Yuan’s hand missed its target, disappearing into the overlapping time-space maze before being pulled back.

“This formation... is quite interesting.”

Lin Yuan studied it, especially the crystal floating in front of the woman.

He could sense the space-time formation came from that crystal.

“Great Sovereign... with your level, why bother attacking someone like me?” The woman’s voice trembled. She had already activated the strongest defensive formation she could.

Even so, she could feel the space-time formation quaking from Lin Yuan’s previous strike.

She wasn’t the true owner of the crystal. Without deep understanding or Great Sovereign strength, she couldn’t unleash its full power.

The Myriad Array Crystal removed material restrictions, but to activate any formation from it, one needed at least some insight.

“You attacked me first. Can’t I retaliate?”

Lin Yuan continued examining the crystal.

[Your Unrivaled Insight allows you to comprehend the mysteries of the formation source.]

With his strength, Lin Yuan could brute-force his way through the formation and kill the woman—

But that would likely damage the crystal. From his readings on the thirteenth floor of Burning Heaven Courtyard, he recognized it as the legendary Myriad Array Crystal.

Its value was beyond measure. Even if he didn’t use it himself, he could trade it for anything he wanted.

So he chose to analyze the formation, bypass it, and kill her directly—preserving the crystal intact.

“Too bad the soul remnants I suppressed all self-destructed.”

Lin Yuan shook his head. Peak Dominance-rank experts could destroy their own souls with a single thought—hard to stop.

“We didn’t know a Great Sovereign was guarding this place…” The purple-haired woman saw that Lin Yuan wasn’t attacking immediately and let out a huge sigh of relief.

If he wasn’t attacking, there was still room to negotiate.

“I don’t think you’re a Great Sovereign from the Liyang Ancient Kingdom. What price did Qingfen Lord pay to have you here? Whatever it was, Zimeng Domain can pay double.”

She didn’t know who Lin Yuan really was, but tried to appeal with bargaining power.

This operation was tied to the start of a major conflict between ancient nations. Even if things went off track, she still had to salvage what she could.

“Are you done talking?”

Lin Yuan had already comprehended the space-time formation powered by the crystal. He attacked again.

Boom!

His hand reached through overlapping space-time again.

“You—”

The woman’s heart shook. But seeing the Myriad Array Crystal in front of her, she regained some confidence.

“We can’t drag this out. If Qingfen Lord breaks free and joins forces with this Great Sovereign, plus the city’s formation...”

As she thought this, she suddenly noticed that Lin Yuan’s hand wasn’t pulling back.

It kept moving through the space-time formation—as if it didn’t exist at all.

In Lin Yuan’s grasp, the Myriad Array Crystal’s space-time formation was like paper.

“No—!” the woman’s eyes went wide. The Myriad Array Crystal couldn’t stop him. Against a Great Sovereign, she had no means of resistance.

In an instant, she was caught.

A suppressive force enveloped her, even slowing her thoughts.

“Trying to capture me alive?”

She realized Lin Yuan’s intent and instantly destroyed her own soul.

Lin Yuan withdrew his hand. Only her corpse remained—and it was already disintegrating.

With a thought, he summoned Blazing Sun Divine Flame and incinerated it.

“Hm?”

At that moment, a deep violet tear condensed midair and grew into a woman in a purple dress.

“You—what Great Sovereign are you?”

This was the Zimeng Lord. She had left a backup on her disciple, enabling a temporary avatar to manifest at a critical moment.

Once Kuangzhen reported the situation, she had tried to descend immediately.

But it was already too late. Her disciple was dead. Everything had happened too fast.

“What Great Sovereign am I?”

Lin Yuan smiled.

Truth was—he wasn’t a Great Sovereign at all.

Not even Dominance.

In terms of life essence, he was equivalent to Path-Clearing.

But his foundation was too deep, his techniques too terrifying. With his awakened Blazing Sun Divine Body, the flames alone made him indistinguishable from a Great Sovereign.

“The Liyang Ancient Kingdom’s Great Sovereigns with Blazing Sun Divine Body—I know all of them. You’re not one of them.”

Zimeng Lord shook her head. Those who had both Blazing Sun Divine Body and Great Sovereign power were extremely rare.

“And you, a mere Marquis, think you know every Great Sovereign in Liyang Ancient Kingdom? Ha!” Lin Yuan said casually.

Every ancient nation surely had hidden powerhouses.

Zimeng Lord fell silent. True—just because she didn’t know him didn’t mean he didn’t exist.

“We’ve lost this time. But that Myriad Array Crystal doesn’t belong to me. Please return it—I’m willing to trade treasures in exchange.”

She was trying to minimize the damage.

The Myriad Array Crystal had been granted by the ancient capital. If she lost it, she would be punished.

“And who do you think you are? Just a projection—and you dare negotiate with me?”

Blazing Sun surged in Lin Yuan’s eyes as he raised his hand.

His hand swelled rapidly, blotting out the sky. Zimeng Lord’s expression changed—her form vanished.

She had no physical body—just an avatar that could dissipate at will.

Whoosh.

The surrounding space-time suddenly compressed.

Her scattered form was forcibly reconstituted—trapped beneath Lin Yuan’s palm.

“I’ll remember you.”

She locked eyes with him—and was crushed in the next moment.

"And I'll forget you"

Lin Yuan shook his head.

“No sincerity at all, and you want the Myriad Array Crystal back? You think I’m a fool?”

The Myriad Array Crystal’s value exceeded that of most Great Sovereign treasures.

Zimeng Lord had merely sent a projection and wanted to trade it back?

He wasn’t stupid.

Besides, any ancient nation would want such a treasure. Trading it to Liyang Ancient Kingdom would be far easier.

"Besides, why the hell do they always say 'I'll remember you' ?? Am I this handsome?"

He muttered to himself.

“Myriad Array Crystal?”

Lin Yuan flipped his hand and summoned it.

Within it, countless formations swirled faintly.

Killing those peak Dominance-rank infiltrators—this was his greatest reward. He also gained many other treasures and cards.

Since they dared sneak into Qingfen City, they had come well-prepared—even bringing something as precious as the Myriad Array Crystal.

Near Burning Heaven Courtyard.

Feng Wanxing arrived.

“Please... let little junior brother be safe.”

He was desperate. He would rather lose a formation core than see Lin Yuan harmed.

“Hm?”

Even before he got close, he saw time-space condensed near the courtyard. A woman in a purple dress stood there silently.

“That’s... the Zimeng Lord?”

As the Qingfen Lord’s eldest disciple, Feng Wanxing knew the major figures of enemy domains—he recognized her instantly.

“So little junior brother really was the target?”

Seeing her outside the courtyard confirmed it.

A Great Sovereign showing up here—the target could only be Lin Yuan.

But then—

Feng Wanxing witnessed a scene he would never forget.

Standing before the courtyard, little junior brother calmly raised his right hand.

It expanded—vast and ancient, blotting out the sky.

And the Zimeng Lord?

Was smashed to pieces with no resistance.

“This...?”

Feng Wanxing stood frozen.

That was little junior brother?

Qingfen Lord’s Residence.

The lord sat cross-legged, consciousness trapped in the dream woven by Zimeng Lord.

Moments later—

His aura surged. His eyes snapped open.

“Zimeng, your dream isn’t all that impressive.”

He spread his senses across the city—twelve formation cores were intact. Then he looked at Zimeng Lord.

“Hm?”

He frowned. She looked... disturbed. Staring at him.

It confused him.

She attacked him, and now she looked like that?

“Qingfen... impressive. You were prepared—hiding a Great Sovereign in advance. Well played. Truly well played.”

With that, she dispersed her avatar. Zimeng Domain had suffered heavy losses. She would now face punishment from the ancient capital.

“Well played?”

Qingfen Lord was baffled.

Prepared in advance?

Hid a Great Sovereign?

'Why didn’t I know that?'

'Wtf?!'

...

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