A streak of red light shot out from within High Heaven Palace, piercing straight through the Sect-protecting Grand Array.
When it reached the front of the airship, the red light paused, revealing a petite, delicate figure — it was Zhu Qing, who had stormed off in anger.
In truth, she was regretting her actions to death right now. Her quarrel with Yang Kai moments ago had been fueled by a flash of temper, and she had simply up and left without a second thought — completely forgetting the task the Elder had entrusted to her. In her heart, she cursed Yang Kai for not even trying to stop her or ask her to stay, leaving her in such an awkward position.
When she suddenly spotted an airship parked outside the mountain gate, she naturally cast a curious glance.
Her gaze swept past Mi Qi and Ji Ying, but lingered for an instant on Li Jiao. Her lips curled slightly in what was unmistakably contempt.
For reasons he couldn't explain, Li Jiao felt his heart clench, an inexplicable sensation of facing a mortal enemy rising within him — as if this petite woman could snuff out his life on a whim.
A shock ran through him, and he was horrified that such a feeling could arise. He was already a Third Stage Emperor Realm cultivator. In this entire world, the only ones who could kill him at will would be Great Emperors, surely?
Could this woman before him be a Great Emperor?
That was impossible. No Great Emperor had ever looked like this. Great Emperor Flower Shadow was a woman, certainly, but she looked nothing like this.
What was going on? Li Jiao couldn't help but grow suspicious, wondering if his nerves had caused him to hallucinate.
"You!" Li Xuan cried out involuntarily, pointing a finger at Zhu Qing, his expression that of someone who had run into a bitter enemy.
"Who is she?" Ji Ying asked with a frown.
This woman had flown out from within High Heaven Palace, so she had to be one of theirs. Could she be the Palace Master? But that couldn't be right — wasn't the High Heaven Palace Master a man named Yang Kai?
"Master, it's her! She and the High Heaven Palace Master both beat me up, Master — your disciple suffered so much…" Li Xuan broke into tears.
"She struck you as well?" Ji Ying's expression darkened.
"That's right! She hit me first! She's in the Emperor Realm, and I'm only at the first stage of the Dao Source Realm — I couldn't even fight back!" Li Xuan wailed with snot and tears streaming down his face, the picture of misery.
"Shameless!" Ji Ying snarled. He had initially found the woman rather pleasant to look at — refined and striking — and had felt a sliver of goodwill toward her. But after hearing Li Xuan's account, that tiny shred of goodwill evaporated in an instant, and now he found the woman thoroughly detestable.
"An Emperor Realm cultivator bullying the weak — you disgrace all of us in the Emperor Realm!" Mi Qi bellowed. His Emperor Yuan surged as he moved. "Allow me to teach you a lesson and deliver justice for my Junior Nephew Li!"
Even as the words left his mouth, he was already lunging toward Zhu Qing like a great roc spreading its wings.
Ji Ying's expression flickered — he seemed about to stop Mi Qi's rash charge — but after a moment's consideration, he held back and stood there with a grim face.
A lesson was probably warranted. It would keep High Heaven Palace from getting too arrogant. He wasn't worried about Mi Qi losing — after all, Mi Qi was a Third Stage Emperor Realm cultivator, and no matter how strong this woman might be, she couldn't possibly match him.
Zhu Qing's elegant brows knitted tight, and a surge of pent-up fury erupted in an instant.
She had already been wronged by Yang Kai, and Mi Qi had just handed himself to her on a platter as a convenient outlet. She raised her hand, raised her fist, and struck hard — driving it straight toward Mi Qi's chest.
Mi Qi's hands flew in rapid succession, forming a massive seal. He sneered, "A mote of light dares to compete with the sun!"
He thrust both palms forward, his Emperor Intent flooding outward. His technique was fierce and overwhelming, as if he intended to crush Zhu Qing in a single blow.
The petite pink fist surged forward, sweeping all before it like a gale through rotten wood. It tore Mi Qi's Emperor Intent to shreds. A vortex of force materialized — like a black hole that devoured all things — and the seal formed before Mi Qi's chest shattered in an instant.
"What?!" Mi Qi's face changed drastically. A wave of terror surged from the depths of his being. Only now did he realize he had severely underestimated his opponent. This woman hadn't even employed her Emperor Yuan, yet her strength was impossibly vast. By the time he thought to shift his technique and salvage the situation, it was already too late. He could only desperately drive his Emperor Yuan into a defensive barrier.
A tremendous boom…
The petite pink fist slammed into Mi Qi's chest. Visibly, his ribcage caved in by a massive amount. Ji Ying and the others standing behind Mi Qi clearly saw his back bulge outward as if a hump had sprouted, and from that bulge, a shockwave of force exploded outward, tearing a gaping hole through his clothes.
Mi Qi — Sect Master of the Northern Domain's elite Heavenly Mist Sect, a Third Stage Emperor Realm powerhouse — was sent flying directly backward, slamming into the airship's protective barrier and sticking to it spread-eagle in midair.
A collective sharp intake of breath echoed through the air.
Every pair of eyes was filled with horror.
While it was true that Mi Qi had been somewhat careless, the fact that a single punch had done this to him left no room for doubt about this woman's strength.
Li Xuan, who moments ago had been watching with excitement, eagerly anticipating Mi Qi venting his anger on his behalf, now looked as if an invisible hand had seized him by the throat. His eyes were nearly bulging out of his head, his entire body trembling, his mind flooded with lingering dread.
He had been slapped by Zhu Qing a few days ago, but the damage had been minor.
If she had used this kind of power on him back then… he wouldn't have survived…
Cold sweat drenched his entire body in an instant.
After a long, stunned silence, Ji Ying finally remembered to lower the airship's protective barrier and let Mi Qi back in.
"I underestimated you… ugh—" Mi Qi landed on the deck. He had intended to say something to preserve his dignity, but halfway through the sentence, he vomited a mouthful of blood, his face as pale as paper.
Ji Ying was alarmed and quickly fed him a spirit pill.
"What manner of people are you?!" Having punched Mi Qi, Zhu Qing felt considerably calmer. Her cold gaze swept over the group as she demanded an answer.
Ji Ying's face darkened with anger. He assumed she was deliberately humiliating him — he had already introduced himself to that steward, and since she had come out of High Heaven Palace, how could she possibly not know who he was?
This was clearly a deliberate question asked in bad faith.
Had High Heaven Palace truly grown this brazen?