Chapter 213

The Moon Tower, the Hong family estate. Within the dim, purplish-black palace.

A breathtakingly alluring woman with vibrant purple hair and lips to match sat languidly at the head of the dining table. Clad in little more than scant silken undergarments, she gazed at Hong Ling and Hong Lingxiang seated on either side of her.

"You've returned rather early today. Care to join me for some new games tonight? I've collected a few new playthings."

A dark red tentacle slithered from behind her, curling around a pastry on the table and lifting it to her mouth. She crossed her legs, raised a vanity mirror with both hands, and set about meticulously touching up her makeup.

"Thank you for the offer, Mother, but we prefer to live relatively normal lives," Hong Ling replied respectfully. "You may not mind indulging in Extreme Bliss, but we couldn't bear the toll. We would eventually lose ourselves to depravity."

"Do you actually think you're normal?" She smiled—an expression caught between mockery and pity.

"Perhaps we aren't," Hong Lingxiang interjected, "but holding to our own limits is the very least we can ask of ourselves."

"How tedious. Life is short—without Extreme Bliss, what a dreary affair." She raised an eyebrow.

"You're right to scold us, Mother. We're simply too set in our old-fashioned ways." Hong Ling hastily lowered his head.

"What a pity. I still remember when you were just little cuties tumbling out of my womb. In the blink of an eye, you've grown up and become no fun at all... So young, yet you increasingly resemble those old fogeys... Oh, right." She paused, suddenly remembering something.

"Speaking of which, a Grand Elder from the Three Sects came to me earlier asking whether I had any connection to a small martial hall in the Outer City. I recognized the name—it was that Clear Wind Temple you mentioned, Little Ling."

"Clear Wind Temple? The Three Sects?" Hong Ling said quickly. "It's a faction under a sworn brother of mine. I apologize for the trouble, Mother—and thank you for looking out for them."

"An Outer City martial hall that's managed to build ties with the Inner City's Three Sects—and counts the Inspectorate Division's own director as a sworn friend." A trace of genuine curiosity colored her tone. "This Clear Wind Temple is rather interesting."

The Hong siblings lowered their heads, not daring to reply.

"Forget it, forget it. Look at how frightened you are. Do I look like someone who eats people?" Hong Wuxin giggled.

You don't eat people—no. You just like giving birth to them. And if a newborn doesn't suit your tastes, you stuff them right back in and consume them on the spot.

The thought surfaced unbidden, and a subconscious shudder rippled through both siblings.

She had consumed the infant using her Blood Heart—the prerogative of a Blood Ancestor—solely to prevent the bloodline from leaking into the outside world.

From that twisted perspective, she truly did love them.

Over her many years of promiscuity, she had given birth to countless offspring. But they were the only two children she had ever truly acknowledged. Perhaps it had something to do with their mysterious father.

The three spoke no more. As Hong Wuxin continued to eat, she suddenly reached out, seized a serving girl by the wrist, and dragged her close. A writhing mass of dark red tentacles surged from beneath the table and, in a few swift motions, stripped the girl bare. Ignoring the servant's pale, terrified expression, Hong Wuxin was just preparing to have her way with her when—

Hm.

A faint yet distinct vibration pulsed from an exquisite, pure white earring on Hong Wuxin's earlobe. She paused, brow furrowing, and tossed the girl aside without a second glance.

"An emergency notification. Eat by yourselves for now."

The words had barely left her lips when she vanished from her seat.

A second later, she materialized inside the highest hall of the Extreme Desire Heaven. The other seven had arrived simultaneously. One by one, they shrouded themselves in voluminous black robes and floated into the air. The eight figures arranged themselves in a great circle—faces hidden, auras entirely concealed, communicating only through voice transmissions. The sweeping hems of their black robes trailed beneath them like mermaid tails, stirring gently in the void.

"Calling us here in such haste—what's happened?" a young, magnetic male voice demanded, edged with impatience.

"The observation tower detected abnormal power fluctuations. Very close—right over the Yanshan Ruins," a gentle female voice replied.

"Oh? The Yanshan Ruins? Wasn't the observation tower recalibrated to react only to unconventional-level power? Could it be..." an elderly voice wondered.

"You are not mistaken. Unconventional-level power was indeed detected," the gentle female voice confirmed.

"If I recall correctly, the unconventional-level threshold we set requires an energy output approaching our own level to trigger the tower's surveillance. Am I wrong?" the elder pressed.

"You are correct. The last time such a reaction occurred was during the Super-Adapter's frenzied riot."

"How fascinating," Hong Wuxin laughed. "Why speculate? We could simply go and see for ourselves."

"One of the power signatures belongs to Yun Xiazi, Grand Elder of the Nine Dreams Sect. She answers to That One at the Taisu Primal Disk. Our agreement forbids us from interfering," the gentle female voice replied.

"...Agreement, agreement—it's always the agreement! Are the people at the Taisu Primal Disk not sticking their noses a bit too far into our affairs!?" Hong Wuxin grumbled, visibly displeased.

"They answer directly to the Federation. If you have a complaint, take it up with them. No one here is stopping you," a cold, youthful male voice cut in for the first time.

Uncharacteristically, Hong Wuxin did not retort. She was evidently quite wary of the speaker.

"Let's wait and see. It is still far from the city—it won't affect anything," another voice said indifferently.

"Agreed. We will wait to see the Taisu Primal Disk's stance. If—"

Before the cold male voice could finish, an emotionless, mechanical female voice cut him off.

"Warning: Power fluctuations have exceeded the designated limit. Should the trajectory change, an immediate threat to the urban districts is possible. Please handle it promptly."

A heavy silence fell. All of them had received the observation tower's broadcast the instant it aired.

"Exceeded the designated limit... What is this?" For the first time, a trace of uncertainty crossed Hong Wuxin's face.

"You, from the Chen clan—head to the scene and investigate," the cold male voice ordered.

"Yes." One of the figures gave a slight nod, stepped back, and vanished.

"I'll go too!" The gentle female voice followed, and she disappeared as well.

Hong Wuxin smiled and slipped away right behind them.

…

Tianzhan Cliff.

A vast lake of white light spread out beneath their feet, rippling steadily outward. Endless layers of Internal Force enveloped Lin Hui, trapping him at the center.

Yun Xiazi held her longsword upright, two fingers pressed flat against the blade's spine to form a cross. A faint, multicolored radiance gathered between her brows.

She fixed her gaze on the motionless Lin Hui. Her eyes had turned completely white—devoid of irises and pupils, they radiated nothing but a blinding purity.

"This white lake is formed by a mere ten percent of my power. It completely isolates and suppresses any external or internal force within its domain. Within this range, your Internal Force will circulate several times more sluggishly than normal."

Her gaze locked onto him.

"Come! How will you respond to such a predicament? Let me witness the true strength of the Clear Wind Temple Master!"

"This isn't your true strength, is it?" Lin Hui asked softly.

"I already told you—this is only ten percent of my power. If you can't even break through this white lake—"

Chi!

In an instant, a sword gleam of terrifying speed tore through the air like silver lightning. It flashed past Yun Xiazi's cheek and vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving a shallow trail of blood in its wake.

Lin Hui materialized less than ten meters behind her. He turned and sheathed his sword in one smooth, unhurried motion.

"Does this count as breaking through?"

Ruyi's silver blade, caught in the white glow of the surrounding Internal Force, gleamed like pure liquid mercury.

Yun Xiazi reached up, touched the blood on her cheek, and brought her finger to her lips.

A speck of pitch-black appeared in the center of her glowing white pupils.

"That counts... far more than it should!!"

She spun around. White fire blazed across every inch of her skin. Her robes billowed wildly as a colossal white dragon—formed entirely of pure energy—tore free from the blazing Internal Force flames erupting at her back.

Roar!!!

A head the size of a truck surged into the sky, dragging a serpentine body hundreds of meters long in its wake. The white dragon dove immediately, spewing a blinding pillar of draconic breath from its maw.

Boom!!

A massive hole was blasted clean through the center of Tianzhan Cliff. The entire precipice groaned and split, the front half shearing off and plummeting into the bottomless abyss below.

"Kill!!!" Yun Xiazi screamed. Gripping her sword in both hands, she swung it forward with everything she had.

The white dragon overhead plunged, crashing down onto the very spot where Lin Hui stood.

"Old Dream Divine Method: Lunar Dragon Breath Sword!!"

She laughed uproariously as the limiters within her body were rapidly undone—thirty percent, fifty percent, seventy percent, ninety percent!

Swish!!

In the very next instant, a silver sword gleamed.

The massive white dragon and the surging torrent of white Internal Force were cleaved cleanly in two.

Lin Hui appeared directly in front of her, wearing a calm smile. Ruyi swept down toward her head.

Clang!!

The ground beneath Yun Xiazi's feet exploded. Amid the shattering rock and earth, she plummeted toward the abyss.

She gritted her teeth and raised her sword in both hands to block, but the terrifyingly massive force—augmented by unparalleled speed—dragged a buried memory violently to the surface. It was the same feeling as when she had been an ordinary person, facing a ten-meter-tall Nine-Tailed Scorpion bearing down on her: the raw pain, the shock, the absolute terror of that moment.

Pfft!

Her internal organs ruptured from the shockwave. She spat blood and was sent into a violent freefall.

Falling through the air, she looked up. Lin Hui stood at the edge of the broken cliff, his waist-length black hair whipping in the wind, sword held horizontal, gazing down at her from above like a god. In that instant, the phantom of the Nine-Tailed Scorpion from her youth seemed to materialize behind him.

"Just what kind of monster are you!?"

She finally discarded every last scruple. Before now, she had held back—afraid that going all out would attract the observation tower's attention. But she saw it now: the shadow of her deepest childhood terror, superimposed over Lin Hui.

Fury surged up from some deep, forgotten place, stripping away her every last restraint.

"I will never be afraid again! I don't care who it is!!"

Staring through the Scorpion's phantom at some greater shadow that had always lurked behind the scenes of her life, Yun Xiazi felt the full weight of it.

She had striven all her life to push the absolute limits of power, desperately seeking every possible path to break through. And for what?

"KILL!!!!" Yun Xiazi roared.

At that moment, the absolute pinnacle belonging to a Luminous Extreme Grandmaster—the Ultimate Martial Form—exploded into being.

The Ultimate Martial Form was attained at the zenith of a martial artist's path, the moment when body and soul fully merged with their martial arts. The practitioner was remolded into a perfect vessel, one capable of unleashing the absolute maximum power of their art.

A martial artist who stepped into the Three Harmonies Grandmaster realm gained a balanced five-fold increase across all physical attributes. The Ultimate Martial Form—the final state exclusive to Luminous Extreme Grandmasters—went further still, instantly multiplying base attributes by fifteen upon entry. Simultaneously, Internal Force would metamorphose into True Force, a higher order of power, and the practitioner would gain terrifying regenerative abilities far beyond mortal limits.

Its only drawback was that the form had been forged purely for slaughter. There were no flaws, no hesitation—everything existed solely to kill, and restraint became an absolute impossibility.