Divine Sense swept outward, and the crowd relaxed—there were no traps or hidden formations here, nor any signs of powerful ambushers lying in wait.
What actually irritated them was the woman's posture, her back turned toward everyone as though they were beneath her notice. Every one of them felt slighted, resentment brewing in their hearts.
An old man with a bulbous red nose sighed. "Little girl, why did you have to go and provoke the Wind and Cloud Pavilion? You've brought trouble upon yourself for nothing. I'm reluctant to bully someone so young, but the reward is simply too generous to ignore. Take my advice—surrender now, before this escalates and you end up hurt. That wouldn't be pleasant for anyone."
His tone was one of earnest concern, but his eyes darted this way and that, clearly scheming something underhanded.
The others said nothing, though every one of them was secretly circulating their Emperor Yuan, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
The old man spoke again. "Little girl, you don't stand a chance. Resisting stubbornly will only earn you more suffering. At your age, reaching this level of cultivation is truly remarkable—it's a shame you don't know how to keep your head down! I'm willing to act as a mediator. We can go together to the Wind and Cloud Pavilion and apologize to the old Pavilion Master, putting this entire matter to rest. What do you say?"
As soon as the old man finished, the woman let out a soft laugh. "If you hadn't been secretly casting a technique against me, I might have actually believed you were a good person. Unfortunately, your methods are far too crude. Master was right—people out here are all cunning and treacherous. It's truly revolting."
With that, the woman flicked her finger through empty air with a casual slash. A soft ripping sound echoed outward, as though something had been torn apart, and a burst of radiance exploded from the void. The bulbous-nosed old man's body jerked violently, his face draining of color in an instant. His secret technique had been shattered, and the backlash had left him with hidden injuries.
Shock and terror warred on his face. He hadn't expected this delicate-looking young woman to casually dismantle his technique with a single gesture. His understanding of her strength sharpened in a heartbeat, and he felt a deep, piercing wariness settle in his chest.
At the same moment, a figure materialized without warning roughly three zhang to the woman's side.
No one had noticed this person infiltrating the space beside her—not a single trace of his approach had been detectable. He had seized the exact instant when the woman's attention was divided by the old man's shattered technique, striking when her vigilance was at its lowest. The timing was exquisite. His Emperor Yuan surged like a torrent as he raised his hand, and an Artifact shaped like an enormous net unfurled toward the woman. The net shimmered with five-colored light, its surface rippling with prismatic brilliance—clearly a fine Emperor Treasure, and one specifically designed for capturing people.
The net spread open as though it could blanket heaven and earth itself, sealing every shred of space around the woman with iron-tight precision.
The attacker laughed aloud. "Ha! Let's see where you run now!"
Though the woman possessed formidable strength, she clearly had little combat experience. Her brow furrowed as the situation changed, and she drifted backward with a light, ethereal step.
But the net clung to her like a parasite that had bored into bone—no matter what she did, she couldn't shake it off. Worse, the net's aperture was contracting rapidly, threatening to engulf her entirely. If she were truly trapped within this Emperor Treasure, even her considerable power wouldn't help her escape. After all, a sizable number of Emperor Realm cultivators had gathered here, and once they all rushed in simultaneously, her capture would be inevitable.
In the instant the woman turned, Yang Kai's expression went blank. He stared at that face—partly familiar, partly alien—and found himself utterly unable to connect the woman before him with the person he thought he knew.
Was this really her? Even Yang Kai couldn't be certain.
Just then, the Emperor Realm cultivator who had launched the attack formed several hand seals and barked a low command: "Shrink!"
The net contracted violently, wrapping the woman up completely. A flash of panic crossed her face as she struggled to break free from the closing aperture, but the surrounding space had already been sealed. A glint of steel hardened in her beautiful eyes—her only option now was to use her trump card to destroy this Emperor Treasure.
But at that very moment, a strange force enveloped her, and in the span of a heartbeat, as the net drew tight, she found herself inexplicably free.
The net's owner looked stunned, his face a mask of bewilderment. He had no idea what had just happened.
"Master taught me that whoever hits me gets hit back twice," the woman said. "Take my two punches. If you're still alive after, I'll let you go." After the ambush she'd just endured, she was clearly irritated. Her stunning features wore an expression of delicate anger—though, being a beauty, even her wrath was captivating.
As she spoke, her slender body blurred forward, surging toward the attacker. Her dainty fists blazed with radiant light, and from a distance of over a dozen zhang, she hammered them downward.
The attacker was still puzzling over why his Emperor Treasure hadn't worked when her words reached him. He flew into a rage. "What arrogance! You little girl dare look down on everyone around you! I don't know who your master is, but anyone who teaches a disciple like you can't be much of a powerhouse. Forget two punches—even a hun—zzzz…"
He never finished the sentence.
The moment those delicate fists descended, heaven and earth seemed to freeze. He felt as though a mountain ten thousand zhang tall had crashed down upon him—his chest constricted, his breathing faltered, and every drop of blood in his body ground to a halt.
BOOM…
A muffled thunderclap rang out, accompanied by the sickening sound of shattering bone. The Emperor Realm cultivator was sent hurtling earthward like a meteor, blood streaming from his mouth the entire way. His face turned ghastly white in the span of a breath.
Crack…