Ahem! Ahem!
Dust choked the air, and the earth lay in fragments.
The great hall was shrouded in a thick haze of debris.
Yet, from the epicenter where the Primordial Imprisoning Heaven Seal had struck, a series of coughs suddenly rang out.
Then, a figure, drenched head to toe in blood, stumbled out unsteadily.
It was the Fire Wolf. His aura had diminished to its absolute limit.
Even the fiery, boiling energy of his blood seemed to have calmed into embers.
He stared at Ling Xiao, his eyes wide with pure terror, his face a mask of despairing fear.
Peerless immortal demeanor?
This was fucking more than just a peerless immortal demeanor! This was a young prince among men! No, a demon sovereign in the making!
No wonder the heir of the Ling Clan hadn't shown a hint of panic from the very start.
Even without those two great demons by his side, with his own tricks and trump cards, facing him head-on would have been a death wish!
"Still not enough."
Ling Xiao shook his head, a faint trace of disappointment flickering across his face.
He had executed that soul imprint with the power of a Divine King's soul, yet it still failed to utterly annihilate a mere peak Divine Marquis.
It wasn't a lack of soul power, but his physical cultivation realm—stuck in the Breakthrough Realm—was bound by the laws of this world, preventing him from unleashing the seal's full, devastating potential!
Besides, while this Fire Wolf was a peak Divine Marquis, he clearly lacked any truly remarkable life-preserving treasures, the kind a core expert from a major sect would surely possess.
I need to raise my cultivation realm, and fast, Ling Xiao mused.
Moreover, he decided to use soul-based secret arts more sparingly. Soul cultivators were virtually extinct in the current Sacred Dynasty. If he flaunted this talent, who knew what labels those hypocrites from the Sacred Church might slap on him? 'Evil Devil' sounded likely.
Though he was, in fact, the real deal—a true demon—it was wiser to lay low and play it safe in the early stages. Those who stuck their necks out usually got them chopped off.
Ling Xiao let out a soft sigh. Had any outsider witnessed this scene, they would have surely cursed his insufferable arrogance. A cultivator at the Breakthrough Realm, nearly vanquishing a peak Divine Marquis with one strike, and he still wasn't satisfied?
"Young… Young Master… C-can I leave now…?"
Fire Wolf swallowed hard, his throat dry. Every bone in his body felt shattered. Had he not ignited his bloodline power at the final moment, that one imprint would have been the end of him.
Dammit! Why did I have to run my mouth?
'Withstand hundreds of his attacks'?
Fire Wolf felt like weeping. What a fool he had been.
"Leave?" Ling Xiao arched an eyebrow, a faint, chilling smile touching his lips. "Senior, there's no need to rush. We've only just begun."
His original intention was to gauge the upper limits of his current combat strength, to better understand where he stood. That way, in future encounters, he could operate with greater precision and confidence. Otherwise, accidentally provoking someone far beyond his current means could lead to a troublesome situation, despite his numerous hidden cards.
After all, he was the villain in this story!
Unlike those Sons of Destiny, for whom showing off always seemed to work out perfectly.
"G-gulp! Young Master's divine might has Little Fire trembling in fear! Young Master… perhaps… we could…" Fire Wolf stammered, desperation creeping into his voice.
But before he could finish, a pitch-black demonic blade materialized in Ling Xiao's grasp.
A terrifying demonic chorus instantly filled the air, and waves of icy, sinister aura washed over everyone present.
Even Die Ying and Mi Yong, the two great demons, felt a primal fear stir within them. The oppressive energy emanating from the blade was so profound it threatened to force them to their knees.
Such terrifying demonic intent!
A dark stain spread on the ground beneath Zhuge Liuyun; he had lost control of his bladder. Such a terrifying demonic blade! Why had he never seen the Young Master use it before? And this demonic intent… it felt different, more ancient and pure, than the demonic arts practiced by their Myriad Daos Demon Sect.
"Gulp."
Fire Wolf's legs trembled violently, every strand of his fur standing on end. His instincts screamed at him that the power contained within this demonic blade was ten thousand times more terrifying than the soul imprint from before!
"Young Master!!! Spare me!!" Fire Wolf crumpled to his knees, thudding heavily onto the broken ground. At this moment, concepts like Divine Marquis dignity or pride were utterly meaningless. Survival was all that mattered.
Wasn't staying alive the most important thing? Even if he never reached the Divine King realm, he could still live for centuries, free and relatively powerful. Why had he been so stupid?
It's all that damned true disciple of the demon sect's fault! he thought bitterly. If not for his honeyed words, I would never have lost my mind and attacked the Ling Clan heir!
This wasn't just seeking death; this was outright suicide!
"Senior, please brace yourself," Ling Xiao's voice was calm, almost conversational. "I'm going to test this blade now."
Ling Xiao smiled faintly. Subduing a Divine Marquis Fire Wolf wouldn't be entirely useless. But a wild demon beast like this, whose talent had likely peaked already, reaching the Divine Marquis realm was probably his ceiling. The chance of him breaking through to the Divine King realm was minuscule.
Ling Xiao wasn't particularly interested in such followers. What he sought were true talents, those blessed by destiny, who could grow alongside him and conquer the realms together. Disciples like Xiao Tu, while not possessing world-shaking luck, still had a decent amount of Destiny Points and could grow steadily with sufficient resources.
In other words, this Fire Wolf had low value and wasn't worth the expenditure of Ling Xiao's precious divine sense to place a slave seal.
"Young… Young Master!!"
Hearing Ling Xiao's utterly calm tone, a final, desperate spark of ferocity ignited deep within Fire Wolf's eyes.
You're leaving me no choice!!
Ling Xiao!! You brought this upon yourself!!
Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!!
BOOM!
An overwhelming conflagration, tinged with the metallic scent of blood, erupted from his body with unprecedented violence.
"Hmm? Detonating his demon core?" Ling Xiao's smile turned playful.
But before Fire Wolf could complete his self-destructive move, two figures blurred into motion. Die Ying and Mi Yong appeared on either side of him in an instant, their auras locking onto him completely.
"And where do you think you're going?" Mi Yong growled, a savage grin spreading across his face. He had been burning with envy ever since Ling Xiao bestowed that treasure and the Dao Principle Spirit Fruit upon Die Ying. Now, finally, was his chance to prove his worth and earn his master's favor.
Fierce, primordial demonic energy erupted from him. Mi Yong's body swelled, transforming into a giant several meters tall. A massive, fur-covered hand shot out and clamped around Fire Wolf's body, effortlessly containing the unstable, erupting energy.
Although Mi Yong's cultivation was two minor levels lower than Fire Wolf's peak Divine Marquis, his true form was the Chaos Demon Ape, a primordial entity born in the chaos of the great Desolation. His combat power far surpassed that of any ordinary Divine Marquis, let alone a mere wild mountain demon beast. In his eyes, Fire Wolf was nothing but an insect.
The cataclysmic flames around Fire Wolf were instantly suppressed, snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane. He hung limply in the demon ape's grasp, utterly helpless.
"Don't kill him yet," Ling Xiao instructed mildly.
The murderous intent in Mi Yong's eyes instantly receded, replaced by obedience. A flicker of wild hope appeared on Fire Wolf's face.
"Th-thank you, Young Master, for your mercy! This great kindness, Little Fire will never forget it! I will serve you faithfully forever!!" he babbled, thinking a reprieve had been granted.
"Hold him steady," Ling Xiao continued, his voice devoid of emotion. He raised the demonic blade, gripping it with both hands, and carefully aimed it at Fire Wolf's head, adjusting his angle slightly. "I need to test the blade's sharpness."
"No!!" Fire Wolf screamed.
"No!!! AHHHH!! MOTHER!!" he shrieked again, his body convulsing with terror. But the blade still didn't fall.
"Mi Yong, a little to the left. Yes. Now, a bit to the right. You, take half a step back. Perfect, just like that," Ling Xiao directed calmly, as if arranging a still life.
"Y-you… just kill me!! Get it over with!! KILL ME NOW!!!"
Fire Wolf was truly broken, sobbing uncontrollably. The psychological torment was worse than any physical pain.
This monster! This fiend! This absolute bastard! Just end it already! Give him a clean death!!
"Very well," Ling Xiao said, his grin widening, showing a hint of cold, white teeth. "Since Senior insists so passionately, I can only reluctantly… oblige."
His eyes suddenly blazed with intense demonic light. The pitch-black demonic blade in his hands erupted with a radiance that seemed to tear the very fabric of reality, a concentrated aura of absolute destruction. With a final, resonant demonic shriek that shook the heavens, the blade descended towards Fire Wolf's head.
Space itself warped and trembled under its pressure.
It was a strike that seemed capable of splitting the sky and shattering the earth!