The smoke began to ascend toward the main palace, drawing the inner palace along as its target seemed to be Ryuk.
It wasn’t damaging anything in its path, instead concentrating all its venom and strength on a single point as it moved forward.
Glancing down, Ryuk noted that the Empress appeared to be alright—she was coughing like someone suffering from a cold, a clear indication of her vulnerability to even this ordinary smoke, let alone the more toxic version.
However, it seemed to be doing her no lasting harm, which brought him a sense of calm.
With that thought, he shifted his attention back to the encroaching smoke and, gathering his resolve, lifted his leg just above the ground, enveloped in amethyst glow.
Drawing on all his strength, he unleashed a powerful kick.
Bam
Swish
The sheer force of his thrust sent several chunks of the ground into the air; the earth cracked, foamed, and rippled as a soft wave emanated outward, pushing the smoke away from the main palace and clearing the area.
The smoke was flung back once more, near the inner pavilion.
[Here it comes again.] the System notified again as the smoke resumed its upward march toward the main palace, creeping toward Ryuk’s ankles and attempting to climb higher.
Without hesitation, he lifted his leg a second time and struck the ground again.
Bang!
Swish
Once more, the shockwave created an earthquake-like tremor that sent everyone to the ground—everyone, that is, except for three people who remained standing.
The pressure from the shockwave expelled the insidious smoke once again.
[Once Again,] the System warned as the smoke attempted to approach him yet again.
Naturally, even if the smoke were poisoned, it would have no effect on Ryuk, whose abilities nullified any potential debuffs or harm to his body.
However, he remained cautious, knowing that Esme was positioned behind him.
Nevertheless, he had a clear plan to deal with this menace while simultaneously addressing the woman before him.
He focused sharply, his breath steady as he noted her intention to gather her internal energy amidst the chaos of battle through some breathing technique.
Determined, he raised his leg once more, its amethyst aura blazing, and thrust down on the ground.
This pattern continued, repeating the action each time the System chimed in with a warning.
Eventually…
[Host, smoke density is increasing; the surge of internal energy is boosting its strength.]
‘Finally,’ Ryuk thought, sensing the one behind this smoke stepping into his trap.
He steadied himself, and in an instant, all the smoke vanished.
Yes, smoke just vanished.
‘!?!’
“Wh—where is he?” The woman, lying on the ground and shielded by guards tending to Yao Lian, stared in disbelief.
The smoke that had enveloped the entire area—specifically the inner pavilion—had vanished without a trace, so thoroughly that she couldn’t even detect Mahila’s presence, as if he had ceased to exist.
“…You?!” Yu Shao Yan exclaimed, her narrowed gaze zeroing in on something beneath her feet.
She felt it then—the source of strength that had sustained the Celestial Phoenix Order for years: a lake filled with spiritual energy.
This very body of veins, which had empowered every cultivator practicing here through its flowing enormous internal energy, suddenly dried up before her very eyes.
‘She is cautious,’ Ryuk thought, observing Yu Shao from a distance.
It was evident that she was still healthy, clearly indicating that her internal energy had not been depleted.
He recognized how careful she was to refrain from tapping into the spiritual vein as a source of energy.
To clarify, he had deliberately led that smoke figure to decide to use the spiritual vein as his energy source by employing strategic sock whips.
Since the smoke could not approach Ryuk, it had resorted to drawing internal energy from the spiritual vein.
It was akin to plugging something into a corrupted port; at that moment, Ryuk nullified the entire spiritual vein at the main peak.
This action sparked a chain reaction of nullification that also affected the entity that was drawing energy from it.
However, what Ryuk did not anticipate was that the smoke was not merely a technique, but rather a disembodied form of that individual.
This led to instant death since the entity was currently in an energetic state.
“So, should we begin?” Ryuk asked, shifting his attention away from the now-nullified smoke form to Yu Shao Yan.
His gaze lingered on her intensely before his entire body became enveloped in a swirling mix of orange and amethyst aura.
He sheathed his sword into his inventory, fully aware that confronting her with a sword would be a critical mistake.
swish
In an instant, his figure blurred, ready to engage.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Beneath the clouded skies of the Jade Dominion, the main peak of the Celestial Phoenix Order lay in ruins.
The once-grand grounds had been violently fractured, deep fissures radiating outwards from the force of the clash.
The inner pavilion’s towering ladders, which once led majestically to the main palace, now stood marred by gaping cracks, the pristine architecture reduced to jagged and broken remnants.
Amidst the devastation, two figures confronted each other.
One was a man clad in a masquerade-black mask and a black suit, enveloped in an orange aura.
His hands were drenched in an amethyst glow, and his body bore more than dozens of sword marks, evidence of the fierce battle fought.
Remarkably, his clothes seemed to heal as he stood, a green light radiating from the wounds as if they were mending on their own.
“Phew,” Ryuk exhaled, fatigue creeping in with each breath.
Contrary to his expectations, despite possessing greater strength, his stamina was considerably lower than that of the woman before him.
The major source of his exhaustion arose from his ability to nullify energies.
Each time he employed this power, it siphoned a portion of his own strength, leaving him weary.
And after nullifying the large amount of spiritual veins present inside all the pavilions, he had already triggered his exhaustion.
His state was definitely not good.
Opposite him stood a woman, cold and unyielding.
Her gaze reflected an unbreakable resolve, hardened and sharpened as if it had been forged from ice.
She was no stranger to the violence of their encounter, bearing the marks of a fierce struggle upon her own body.
Yet, unlike the man, whose clothes appeared untouched by dust, her dress was marred with grime; she remained composed and in control, her eyes locked onto his, observing his sore wounds as they continued their slow regeneration.
It was a sight that piqued her curiosity.
Although her own wounds were also healing, the process had ceased moments ago, having exhausted all her internal energy after being caught off guard by his mysterious abilities.
Having already seen how he depleted the spiritual vein a few moments ago, she understood that he possessed an unusual ability to nullify internal energy.
This realization had prompted her to take calculated risks, feigning vulnerability to create an opening and land a sword strike against him.
However, the end result had revealed that her depleted internal energy was insufficient to inflict significant damage, as he continued to heal from the injuries she had inflicted.
Their stances conveyed weariness yet not surrender; it was a calm before the impending storm that hung heavy in the air.
Ding!
[ Host, it appears that due to forcefully leaving seclusion, her body has more internal injuries and even her foundation has some cracks. ]
‘….’ Ryuk going on out for more than an hour and hearing the system now telling him her weakness being that she is injured which he can clearly see since he had attacked her many times.
Can’t help but feel how late the system was in giving an answer.
‘You did well.’
