“I—impossible?!”
Yao Lian gazed in shock as she witnessed hundreds of cultivators, once soaring majestically in the sky like birds with wings, begin to plummet to the ground.
Nothing made sense; how could these formidable individuals be killed so easily?
Even if the swords they wielded were imbued with some kind of extraordinary energy by Rui Ke, she couldn’t fathom how they were succumbing to their wounds so effortlessly.
Feeling a wave of confusion wash over her, she turned her eyes toward the man beside her.
Initially, his unusual attire had caught her off guard, but now his actions left her even more astounded.
‘Is this truly his strength?’ she wondered silently.
Part of her wanted to grasp the full extent of his power, but asking him directly felt out of place.
Instead, her gaze fell downward as a sense of despair settled in.
Naturally, she had previously believed him to be incredibly strong—very strong, indeed.
Yet she had thoughts of becoming even more powerful herself once she reached the main peak, learned from the most skilled professionals and elders, and honed her own abilities.
Perhaps then she could stand against a man who had overpowered the patriarch of the Wei family.
But this entire situation was a perplexing eye-opener.
There seemed to be no conceivable way for anyone to kill so many elite cultivators in a single assault.
Even if he possessed an advanced technique, Yao Lian had only ever read in books about masters being able to control ten or twelve swords at most.
It required an extraordinary level of consciousness and mental strength to manage such a feat, and yet he was wielding over a hundred weapons with effortless control.
His mastery extended far beyond mere accuracy and precision; it was a level of control and power that made it seem as though death had no effect on him at all.
His eyes betrayed neither fear nor emotion as he watched them die before him.
[Host, how did you manage this?]
Let alone Yao Lian, even the system seemed puzzled.
Although it was controlling the swords using its own processing power, providing no pressure on Ryuk’s mind, he imbued those weapons with energy. However, the confusion was why all of these people, holding this amount of energy, were getting effortlessly pierced through the defenses of those cultivators.
‘Where is Jenny?’ Ryuk commanded inwardly, choosing to focus on finding her rather than pondering the question of the system.
Upon arriving, he had noticed a pattern among the pavilions—the cultivators were relying on the spiritual vein to fuel their internal energy.
It was akin to using the entire space as a communal energy source, established by connecting their bodies to the golden spiritual veins located within the inner pavilion.
They were essentially tapping into a single energy source.
It resembled a water tank supplying several streams of water to various areas; if the source were contaminated, all streams would be affected.
Understanding this principle, Ryuk, who was now wearing the artifact suit, which, unlike his previous outfit, enabled him to conduct his ability.
He nullified the spiritual energy vein within the inner pavilion directly.
His feet remained firmly grounded as he continued to neutralize the spiritual vines while tracing the energy pathways connecting to the cultivators.
This process created a chain reaction, nullifying their internal energy, much like a virus infecting a main computer that subsequently corrupts all connected networks—unless, of course, they are severed from the source.
However, it became evident that in their battle against outside intruders, they had tapped into the spiritual energy residing within the inner pavilion to gain maximum strength and boost their fighting capabilities.
Yet, one thing that Ryuk noticed was unsettling: these infiltrators—who appeared intent on attacking—were also connected to the same spiritual vein.
This could only signify one thing: those who had assaulted this place were either already aware of how to harness the energy source present in the inner pavilion or were traitors who had betrayed the Celestial Phoenix Order.
“I-imperial soldiers…”
‘Or not…’ It was the Empress, her voice barely more than a whisper, that broke the tense silence behind him.
In her exhausted state, she could hardly speak aloud, but Ryuk understood.
The individuals confronting them in the sky had knowledge of this spiritual vein only because they hailed from the Monarchy.
To be precise, the Jade Dominion was ruled by a monarch wielding two swords: one belonged to the Celestial Phoenix Order, and the other to the Heavenly Dragon Domain.
Given that the Empress had passed the first and second trials on her own—she being the very one who had created them—it became clear that the spiritual veins of the Inner Pavilion were also a creation of hers.
This meant that the people from Monarchy had gained insight into how to utilize it.
Now, the pressing question remained: Why were these individuals attacking the Celestial Phoenix Order?
From Ryuk’s perspective, it became apparent that not only had the Empress, who now stood weakly behind him, gotten herself killed, but she had also allowed her power to fall into the wrong hands.
“Aghhh—Thud!”
Finally, the last person crumpled to the ground, leaving behind a grim scene filled with corpses.
Ryuk, ignoring the horrific tableau, moved forward, while Esme, slightly more affected by the sight than he was, hesitantly followed suit.
It wasn’t the loss of life or the lying dead corpses that unnerved her; rather, it was the dense accumulation of internal energy she sensed gathering like a tornado above the main palace.
This was clearly visible from the peak at the top of the stairs before her.
“Wait! Are we going to leave just like that?” Yao Lian said, looking at them as they left.
She couldn’t believe these people were not even paying attention to the talismans, elixirs, and spiritual pills scattered around.
Even the high-grade weapons made using cold steel were lying on the ground, while they ignored them as both of them moved.
“Huh? Why? Do you want to help these people?” Esme asked without turning back while she kept moving.
Unlike Ryuk, who was mostly avoiding stepping on dead bodies, she was just walking over them, not caring, stepping over someone’s head, hands, back, as if she didn’t care.
She nonchalantly gestured with her hand and directed her words to Yao Lian.
“Of course not. Don’t you people want their weapons?” Yao Lian glanced towards the fallen bodies, thinking about how they had dimensional pouches on them, clearly indicating they would be used for other very costly things.
But she was hesitant, seeing how Esme and Ryuk were not interested in this.
“….Y…ou wan…t it?” Xiu Ying, with her body already on the edge of withering, lifted a pouch that appeared to be a dimensional pouch holding several rejuvenating pills which she needed.
But fearing that these people might attack her, given that her body was already weak, she offered it to Yao Lian.
“Huh? What? Me?” Yao Lian, who was hesitant due to embarrassment and seeing so many people with their inner energy already exhausted, didn’t want to stay here while following behind those two.
But hearing that woman’s voice, she halted and looked as she saw her gathering those things.
For a moment, narrowing her eyes, she looked keenly at that woman, also in her dirt-stained clothes, with a tattered body and a very thin physique, making anyone pity her.
Even her facial expression appeared ghostly.
‘…..’ Glancing between that woman and those two who had already reached the stairs leading to the main palace,
Yao Lian decided to collect valuable things with this woman instead of following them, adding, “No, it’s fine, I will search for something myself.”
