The three bosses of the Gale each had their own extraordinary skills. The first boss, Sheng Yao, went without saying — a Void King Realm Stage Two powerhouse whose cultivation was formidable enough to rank among the top of the entire Star Domain.
The second boss, Ma Chaoqun, was a chubby white fellow who looked perfectly amiable, but that rolls of fat weren't merely the result of overeating — they were the capital upon which his survival depended. His defense was astonishingly powerful, making him a veritable meat shield. Relying on that layer of fat, he could trade several blows with a cultivator a full realm above him without losing ground.
Of course, that was only a few exchanges. The gap in cultivation was not something a bit of fat could make up for.
As for the third boss, Ge Ming, he was a lean, wiry man of small stature. He excelled at concealment and assassination, his movements unpredictable and ghostly — appearing from nowhere and vanishing without a trace.
An enemy hiding in the dark was the most terrifying kind. There was a reason people said open spears were easy to dodge, but hidden arrows were impossible to guard against.
The one who had suddenly struck at Lu Huaishuang was none other than Ge Ming, the Gale's third boss.
Lu Huaishuang's earlier guess had been correct. When the Gale struck, they truly moved in full force. Ma Chaoqun's claim that the first and third bosses had important matters to attend to had been nothing but a barefaced lie.
Ge Ming had relied on his superior concealment abilities to slip silently into range beside Lu Huaishuang. At the very moment her attention was drawn toward Ma Chaoqun and He Wuzui, his water-splitting stiletto struck with lethal precision.
He was a Void King Realm Stage One cultivator, and he held the advantage of a sneak attack. With this strike, he was confident that even if he couldn't take Lu Huaishuang's life, he could at least grievously wound her!
The Lu family's fortunes rested on Lu Huaishuang. As long as this woman was severely injured, the rest of the motley crew would pose no threat.
Everything was going according to plan.
Then the unexpected happened, and Ge Ming's soul nearly fled his body.
In that flash of lightning, a ragged young man was suddenly standing before Lu Huaishuang, gazing at him with an utterly calm expression. Those eyes held not a trace of emotion, yet Ge Ming was involuntarily overwhelmed by a feeling of insignificance. Before him stood a young man who was like a mountain ten thousand zhang tall — no matter how he looked up, he couldn't see the peak. Even the mid-slope was shrouded in mist, hazy and indistinct.
Who was this person?
When he had quietly crept over earlier, he had noticed this person — lying at Lu Huaishuang's feet, devoid of all life force, obviously dead.
But how could he stand up? And how had he erupted with such overwhelming vitality in an instant?
This was no dead man. He was perfectly, thoroughly alive.
Panic lasted only a heartbeat. Ge Ming had cultivated to the Void King Realm, and both his temperament and intelligence were first-rate. In a split second of weighing retreat against advance, he poured his full power into the water-splitting stiletto, its gleaming cold light flaring as it shot forward with even greater speed.
Whoever you are, at this distance, even a Void King Stage Three blocking the way would get a hole punched through!
"Get away!" Lu Huaishuang finally snapped back to her senses. Seeing Ge Ming press forward with murderous intent, his eyes blazing with killing light while the young man before her showed no reaction at all, she cried out sharply and reached for his shoulder, trying to pull him back.
But to her utter horror, the other showed not the slightest response. His feet seemed rooted to the earth. Her tug not only failed to move him, but she stumbled forward herself, nearly crashing into his back.
Ting…
A crisp, clear sound rang out.
The ferocity on Ge Ming's face froze, replaced by utter terror. He looked up at the young man, and his eyes began to tremble violently.
In that instant, his mind had conjured countless possibilities.
The most likely scenario was that this reckless fool would be killed by his blow. He might merely be wounded. Perhaps he would fight back, and Ge Ming would adapt accordingly…
But never — not once — had he imagined this.
The young man stood perfectly still, allowing the water-splitting stiletto to strike him squarely in the chest.
Flesh unbroken. Not even a mark on his skin. Instead, the stiletto itself flashed once, its glow dimming slightly, and a jolt shot through Ge Ming's hand, nearly sending the weapon flying.
The water-splitting stiletto was a Void King-grade Artifact, its sharpness unparalleled. Forget flesh and blood — it could pierce through solid steel as if it were nothing.
Ge Ming hadn't even felt a ripple of power from the other's body. In other words, this peculiar young man had taken his full-power strike head-on with nothing but his bare body, and then… not a damn thing had happened.
Was this even human?
Ge Ming was a master of concealment and assassination, skilled at killing in a single blow, and his sense of danger was razor-sharp. The moment he realized his strongest attack had been utterly ineffective, he made his decision without hesitation. His small body blurred, becoming hazy as it began to merge with the surrounding air.
He had to flee.
This young man's existence had exceeded the bounds of his understanding. A voice in the depths of his mind screamed: flee or die!
The young man slowly raised one hand. The motion was unhurried, almost stiff, yet with that simple reach forward, Ge Ming — who had been on the verge of dissolving into the air — found his throat seized in a grip. His semi-transparent body instantly solidified once more.
His concealment technique had been broken, just like that, for reasons completely beyond his comprehension.
Ge Ming's soul nearly shattered on the spot. He felt a tremendous force closing around his neck, ready to snap it at any moment. He struggled with all his might, but it was futile.
The young man lifted him straight off the ground.