Astonishing Change

Seeing Prince Duan hesitate, seemingly still unable to make up his mind to spare Ren Jiao and her mother just like that.

Duàn Yì released both women, putting on an air of righteousness, integrity, and benevolence as he strode forward, about to make another effort to persuade him.

Suddenly, a black shadow smashed through one of the window lattices in Yipinju Restaurant's fifth-floor hall from some unknown direction. With a bang, it shot inside, sweeping up a damp gale laced with force like rumbling thunder, and crashed toward Ren Jiao and her mother, whose faces still held expressions of hope, with tremendous inertia and impact.

Splat. The two women, one lovely as a maiden and the other seductive as a mature beauty, had still been immersed in the joy of possibly escaping unscathed. Yet amid this sudden upheaval, they were smashed directly into two unrecognizable pools of minced flesh, their bones and muscles shattered and churned together.

Bodies that had once drawn countless men like moths to a flame now collapsed limply onto the floor. Red and white matter spread outward alongside a heavy stench of blood and decay, leaving no trace of their former stunning beauty.

The person closest to the mother and daughter had been Duàn Yì, who had just helped support them. Yet the instant that black shadow came flying in, Duàn Yì's ears twitched, and he had already sensed what was coming.

His steps followed the pattern of the Nine Palaces. Retreating one pace, he evaded to the side with exquisite subtlety, while casually flicking out a gust of force that blurred the space before him. Layer upon layer, it blocked the flying flesh and shattered bones outside his body, leaving his robes unstained.

"Such a fierce strike. Whoever made it must be a master of