BOOM!
Suddenly, a clap of thunder cracked above Kyoto.
In an instant, the sky was filled with roiling dark clouds.
Rain poured down in sheets.
No, it was a torrential downpour!
The deluge fell upon the Fire Domain and was instantly vaporized.
Within the Fire Domain.
Shrill screams, piercingly sharp against the backdrop of the rain.
The screams came from eight womenâthe eight women who had blasphemed against the Empressâs dignity.
Lady Liu, Lady Zhao, and the othersâeight women who were usually insufferably arrogantâwere now twisting and struggling madly within pillars of black flame.
Gu Yuexi and Chu Sheng had acted too suddenly.
No one had expected it.
The Seven Great Family Heads had all arrived, only to be faced with such an outcome.
"Insolence!"
Finally, a roar filled with the fury of a Peak Emperor Realm Powerhouse shattered the curtain of rain.
Patriarch Chen of the Chen Family, Chen Xuanfengâa man known for his sinister crueltyâcould no longer hold back.
He took a step forward.
THUMP!
It was as if that single step had landed on the very pulse of the earth.
An invisible ripple instantly spread out, and the once-violent raindrops all froze in mid-air.
The next second, Chen Xuanfengâs figure appeared at the edge of the Fire Domain.
He wasted no words, nor did he use any flashy moves.
He simply extended a hand and pressed it down on the air, toward the raging Fire Domain.
"You will be... extinguished!"
RUMBLEâ
A terrifying Power of Law, belonging to a Peak Emperor Realm Powerhouse, surged forth like a bursting dam.
It was the [Annihilation] Law!
Before this power, Chu Shengâs once-unbeatable Fire Domain was like a fragile bubble meeting a steel needle.
CRACK!
There was no suspense.
The Fire Domain shattered.
It was brutally crushed from the outside, compressed to its absolute limit until it dissipated completely.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Eight charred figures dropped from the sky like garbage, landing heavily on the waterlogged ground and splashing up mud.
Although the fire was out, the strange [Indestructible Black Flame] still clung to their mangled bodies like a maggot on a bone, burning stubbornly and making a SIZZLING sound.
What a vicious flame!
Chen Xuanfengâs pupils contracted, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
âEven his Annihilation Law couldnât completely extinguish this flame right away?â
"Hmph!"
Chen Xuanfeng snorted coldly and waved his sleeve again.
An even greater Divine Soul Power swept over, forcibly stripping the black flames from the eight womenâs bodies.
However, even though the fire was extinguished, it was too late.
The eight women on the ground were little more than mangled husks. Even if they werenât dead, they would be better off that way...
...
Seeing the horrific and wretched state of the eight women, the atmosphere at the scene became dreadfully oppressive.
No one could have ever predicted that things would develop to this point.
They had originally thought Gu Yuexi summoned the Seven Great Family Heads to negotiate and vie for the status of Divine Son.
But who would have known? She hadnât said a single word about the Divine Son, as if she couldnât care less.
All she seemed to want was to make these people pay the price.
That, and nothing more.
This... was the price for offending the Ancient and Modern First Beast Taming Empress?!
...
"Woman, I donât care what your goal is."
"And I donât care what kind of backing you have."
Liu Canglan, who had not yet made a move, finally stepped forward.
The rain automatically slid away from him, three feet from his body, as if even heaven and earth dared not approach.
His voice was soft, made somewhat ethereal by the washing sound of the rain, yet it drilled clearly into everyoneâs ears, carrying a despair-inducing chill:
"Today, no one can save you."
The moment his voice fell, BOOMâ! With no warning and no flashy movements, Liu Canglan merely flicked his sleeve.
A terrifying wave of energy, like a toppling mountain or an overturning sea, instantly crossed the dozens of meters between them and slammed viciously into Gu Yuexi.
Fast! It was too fast!
So fast that Gu Yuexi didnât even have time to react.
THUD!
With that muffled impact, Gu Yuexi was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string!
She carved a miserable arc through the air, a mouthful of crimson blood spraying uncontrollably from her lips, blooming like a tragic, beautiful flower in the curtain of rain.
This was the might of the Half-Step Emperor Realm!
But in the face of such an absolute disparity in power, all techniques seemed pale and useless.
Seventh-Grade was, after all, only Seventh-Grade.
However, before she could even hit the ground, SWOOSH! A burly figure appeared like a ghost at her landing point.
It was the Sun Familyâs Patriarch, Sun Xiaotian!
His face, covered in a thick beard, was twisted in a savage expression. A hand as large as a cattail fan, glowing with golden Gang Qi, lunged viciously for Gu Yuexiâs neck.
"You hurt my wife! Iâm going to tear you limb from limb!!"
In mid-air.
Gu Yuexiâs face was as pale as paper, with blood still at the corner of her mouth.
But her eyes remained terrifyingly calm.
There was no fear, no panic, not even a hint of regret.
She just watched coldly as the large hand drew closer, as if all of this was within her expectations.
âWhat Iâve done today must look like a suicide mission to outsiders.â
âAs the Reborn Empress, I should understand forbearance. I should know to lay low and develop my strength, to appreciate that revenge is a dish best served cold.â
âBut I disdain such a path.â
âI am Gu Yuexi, the peerless Empress who once suppressed an entire era!â
âSome people, some families, if they dare to extend their claws and do wrong, they must pay the price.â
âBesides...â
âWho said I came here to die?â
A subtle glint of light flashed in Gu Yuexiâs eyes.
âMy plan has never been out of control!â
"Damned mosquito!"
Gu Yuexi suddenly spoke, her voice extremely fast, followed by a string of blurry, indistinct syllables that were masked by the rain, audible only to Chu Sheng, who was clinging to her shoulder.
Just as Sun Xiaotianâs hand was about to clamp around her throat, at that critical, hairâs-breadth moment...
"BUZZ BUZZ! (Old bastard, you want to touch her? Have you asked this Lord Mosquito for permission?!)"
Chu Sheng, who had been gripping Gu Yuexiâs shoulder tightly, instantly activated a Skill.
[Boundless Wings]âInstant Teleportation!
WHOOSH!
Space distorted.
Gu Yuexiâs figure vanished from where she stood.
"Hm? Trying to run?!"
Seeing Gu Yuexi disappear, another Patriarch, Zhou Tong of the Zhou Family, made his move.
With a cold snort, he clawed viciously at a certain point in the empty air!
BZZZTâ!
Chu Sheng, who was in the middle of a spatial jump, suddenly felt as if he had slammed into an invisible, impenetrable wall of bronze.
Immediately after, that wall began to squeeze him frantically!
"Get... out here!!"
Zhou Tong bellowed, his five fingers clenching abruptly.
CRACK!
He had actually shattered a piece of the void with his bare hand!
The human and the mosquito, in the midst of their Instant Teleportation, were knocked out of the void like fish being violently yanked from the water!
âHe can even forcefully interrupt an Instant Teleportation?!â
Zhou Tong took a single stride, instantly shrinking the distance, and appeared before the falling Gu Yuexi.
He showed no intention of showing mercy to a beautiful woman, raising a foot imbued with world-destroying might and kicking directly at Gu Yuexiâs Dantian!
He didnât want to kill Gu Yuexi; that would be letting her off too easily.
He wanted to cripple her!