Just as Yang Kai was secretly communicating with Luan Feng, Wu Yuanzheng had already taken to the air, pouncing forward like a hunting falcon with a fierce and overwhelming aura. Mid-flight, he struck out with a palm and bellowed, "Kneel!"
Hua Feichen was dead, Yin Lesheng was dead, even Elder Zhong was dead...
The Yellow Spring Sect had suffered devastating losses.
Wu Yuanzheng harbored the intention of using Yang Kai and his companions to make an example, wanting the world to know what terrible fate awaited those who dared kill members of the Yellow Spring Sect.
As his palm descended, the might of his Third-Order Emperor Realm surged outward like a tangible force, and the very space around them froze in an instant—as though it wasn't a man falling from the sky, but an entire mountain.
The numerous Yellow Spring Sect disciples watched with fervent excitement, eager to see Yang Kai and the others kneeling and begging for mercy.
Several dozen Qitian Fortress disciples also observed with complicated expressions. Qi Hai, in particular, couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He knew that Yang Kai was likely doomed this time. Once Yang Kai died, regardless of whether the True Phoenix Fire was still on him, there would be no hope of borrowing it.
His wife's Heavenly Frost Earth Rain poison would probably never be cured. A wave of bitterness welled up in his heart, and he silently cursed his own weakness and uselessness.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Wu Yuanzheng wore a cold, contemptuous smirk, while Yang Kai and the other two stood rooted to the spot as though struck dumb with fear, not daring to move an inch.
Just as the palm was about to land, Luan Feng suddenly raised her hand and pointed upward with a single finger—her movement utterly casual, as though she were swatting a fly.
But the force behind that finger made Wu Yuanzheng's expression change drastically.
His formidable Third-Order Emperor Realm aura was shattered by that single point, his fierce momentum deflating like a punctured balloon, dissipating in an instant.
Not only that, a terrifying surge of finger force came hurtling toward him from ahead, like an indestructible sword, tearing through the Laws wreathing his body and the Emperor Yuan shielding him, annihilating everything in its path before piercing straight into his palm.
"Impossible!" Wu Yuanzheng's mind reeled with shock, disbelief etched across his eyes. He desperately poured every shred of his cultivation into his palm, trying to resist the force invading his body.
But the Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation he had always been so proud of was, in the face of this inexplicable finger force, nothing but a joke—utterly, completely useless.
*Pfft…*
A soft sound. Blood sprayed in every direction. Wu Yuanzheng, who had been charging down with such ferocity, was struck as though by lightning. A blood hole the thickness of a chopstick appeared clean through his palm, and his entire body tumbled through the air several times before staggering to the ground. His eyes trembled violently as he stared at Luan Feng.
The Yellow Spring Sect disciples were stunned.
The Qitian Fortress disciples were equally dumbfounded.
What had they just witnessed?
Wu Yuanzheng—possessor of Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivation—had just been pierced through the palm by a single finger from a woman, and from the looks of it, he had no power to fight back?
Everyone was terrified. The entire grounds fell so silent you could hear a pin drop, with nothing but the sound of pounding hearts filling the air.
In all the world, who could wound a Third-Order Emperor Realm cultivator so effortlessly?
"You… who are you?" Wu Yuanzheng's face was deathly pale. Not because his wound was particularly grave—that finger had pierced his palm, but it was only a minor injury. With some pills and a few days of recovery, he should heal just fine. Compared to the wound itself, what overwhelmed him far more was shock.
Shock at the identity of this woman! To wound him so casually, her identity couldn't possibly be ordinary.
A terrifying thought suddenly surged from the depths of his mind. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and Wu Yuanzheng's hoarse voice rasped, "Are you… Lady Huaying?"
The moment those words left his lips, the entire crowd erupted.
Huaying—a person's name, and also a title!
One of the Ten Great Emperors, the Great Emperor Huaying.
She was also the only female Great Emperor among the Ten. Though she was a woman, her strength was no less than any of the other Great Emperors. She had carved out a space for all the female cultivators of the Star Boundary, and was an object of reverence for every one of them.
Unlike the Phantom Soul Great Emperor and the Bright Moon Great Emperor, who had established sects, the Great Emperor Huaying seemed to reside in a place called the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers—though no one could say exactly where in the Star Boundary this valley was located.
The Ten Great Emperors were all different in temperament. Some founded sects and spread their influence. Some roamed the world alone, free and unrestrained. Others secluded themselves in mountains and spirit rivers, unknown to the wider world.
But every single one of their names was renowned throughout the entire Star Boundary.
Wu Yuanzheng's guess that Luan Feng was the Great Emperor Huaying wasn't without basis—mainly because this woman's strength far surpassed his own. He was already at the Third-Order Emperor Realm, so anyone above him was undoubtedly at the Great Emperor level.
And since Luan Feng was a woman, it was easy to match her to Huaying.
"The Great Emperor Huaying!"
Exclamations erupted one after another. The dozen or so Yellow Spring Sect disciples were ashen-faced, legs trembling, wearing expressions as though they had just lost their parents. It was over. Who in their right mind would the Vice Sect Master go and provoke? He had offended a Great Emperor—and to think he'd just arrogantly told her to kneel...
And they themselves had been even more ridiculous, hurling insults at this personage moments ago.
Now they were all as good as dead!
The Qitian Fortress people wore equally grave expressions. They had remained silent throughout, but they had been associating with the Yellow Spring Sect after all—who knew whether Lady Huaying would settle accounts with them as well?
On the other side, Wu Yuanzheng's cold sweat poured down like a waterfall, his face saturated with terror. His voice trembled, "My Lady, I was blind and failed to recognize your honored presence. Please… please forgive me…"