Nangong Muyue was extremely confident.
There was only one most powerful force on the Bright Continent: the Bright God Hall.
And Nangong Muyue was the current Goddess of the Bright God Hall.
From childhood onward, Nangong Muyue had been the center of attention. After she began cultivating, she had gotten whatever she wanted.
Even Peerless Treasures that could help someone break their limits would inevitably be obtained as long as she asked.
In return, Nangong Muyue had never tasted defeat. She had swept aside prodigies of the same realm all the way, displaying peerless talent the Bright Continent had never seen in countless ages.
And this had also forged Nangong Muyue's absolute confidence.
She was even disdainful toward super-monsters like Lu Yuan, Ye Gucheng, and Ye Tian, who were renowned alongside her.
Faced with Nangong Muyue's arrogant expression,
Qing Wuji was speechless, because she truly had the capital to be arrogant.
Nangong Muyue had defeated him with a single sword strike, leaving Qing Wuji unable even to find an excuse to argue back.
"Enough. The nonsense is over. You can go die now. Being able to die by my hand is the honor of your life."
Nangong Muyue raised her sword and pointed it at Qing Wuji.
In an instant, bone-chilling sword energy swept in all directions.
Everyone present felt as though their bones had been frozen.
Qing Wuji's heart rose to his throat, and he gripped a black pearl in his hand.
"Do I really have to use this thing?"
Qing Wuji felt somewhat helpless.
Sometimes, the gap between people was greater than the gap between a person and a dog.
He was clearly also at the Heavenly Saint realm, a top-tier prodigy at the peak of the Break Limit Third Layer, only one step away from the Break Limit Fourth Layer.
Yet before this seemingly delicate and powerless woman, he could not even withstand a single move.
He was being crushed in every aspect—strength, speed, vitality, and comprehension of laws.
He had encountered this feeling before only in front of one person: Lu Yuan.
The next instant,
Nangong Muyue swung her sword and slashed. A streak of sword energy containing the Primary Perfection Law surged toward Qing Wuji and the others like an ice dragon, roaring furiously.
At this critical moment,
a white-robed figure descended from the sky and blocked the way before Qing Wuji and the others.
Then, the figure raised a hand and simply reached out through the air.
Bang!
The icy sword energy exploded and vanished.
The white-robed figure remained completely unharmed.
Nangong Muyue's expression did not change, but a trace of something unusual appeared in her cold eyes.
"To block a sword containing only thirty percent of my strength, it seems Lu Yuan's reputation isn't undeserved. You're qualified to be my opponent."
Nangong Muyue spoke indifferently.
"Is that so? But I don't feel honored. In my eyes, you're not qualified to be my opponent."
Lu Yuan truly could not stand the other party's upturned-nose expression, so he retorted with words that were just as arrogant.
However,
upon hearing Lu Yuan's words, Nangong Muyue showed no anger whatsoever. She even nodded matter-of-factly and said, "That's right. Prodigies and monsters like us should be arrogant. If you weren't arrogant and treated everyone politely, I would actually look down on you."
As she spoke, a faint smile unexpectedly appeared on Nangong Muyue's face, cold as a thousand-year-old glacier.
"To be honest, you seem to be my cousin. As expected of the bloodline of my Nangong Family. Even if you only possess half of it, you still can't be compared to those lowly bloodlines.
"I heard that the Lu Clan encountered a calamity not long ago. That's fortunate, because now you can return to my Nangong Family. Considering your decent talent, I can make an exception and allow you to join my Nangong Family.
"However, as your pledge of allegiance, you need to slaughter all those good-for-nothings behind you. Now, do it. Don't make me wait for you."
Nangong Muyue rattled off a great many words, her face wearing a completely matter-of-fact expression.
Lu Yuan was stunned.
It was not only Lu Yuan. Qing Wuji and the others were equally dumbfounded.
Only the prodigies of the Bright Continent behind Nangong Muyue showed no strange expression, as though they also found it perfectly natural.
"Are you always this confident?"
Qing Wuji spoke as if he had seen some novel creature.
"Trash, you have no right to speak to me!" Nangong Muyue shouted coldly. Then she looked at Lu Yuan and scolded him as well. "What are you still standing there for? Returning to my Nangong Family is my gift to you. Otherwise, did you think just any stray cat or dog was worthy of becoming a member of my Nangong Family?"
Coming to his senses and hearing those words, Lu Yuan's gaze turned cold.
His mother had indeed come from the Nangong Family, but she had long since been expelled from the Family Registry by the Nangong Family.
The Bright Continent and the Dark Continent had been enemies for countless billions of years.
Lu Yuan's father, Lu An, had met Lu Yuan's mother—who had also come from one of the Bright Continent's top families—on the battlefield.
The moment they met, the two had launched into a fierce fight, but neither could do anything to the other.
In the end, their fighting had kindled feelings between them.
But their relationship was regarded as taboo.
The Lu Clan did not care.
The Nangong Family, however, could not accept it under any circumstances.
Lu Yuan's mother refused to compromise and insisted on marrying him. Thus, the Nangong Family expelled her from the Family Registry and severed ties with her.
Therefore, Lu Yuan had no feelings for the Nangong Family whatsoever.
Lu Yuan turned and looked at Qing Wuji.
"Can you still fight?"
The corners of Qing Wuji's lips curled into a smile. "Killing another eight or ten won't be a problem."
Lu Yuan nodded. "Good!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yuan shot toward Nangong Muyue like a cannonball.
Nangong Muyue's gaze became incomparably cold. "Lu Yuan, you've made the wrong decision. You'll repay this mistake with your life."
Lu Yuan said nothing more. He merely clenched his fists in silence as thunder laws began to surge around his body.
"Extreme Thunder Fist!"
Lu Yuan murmured softly. The thunder around his body seemed to come alive, transforming into streaks of Thunder Dragons that gathered over his fist.
Then Lu Yuan punched out!
Rumble!
It was a punch that could shatter the earth and split the ground.
Endless thunder burst forth. Dazzling lightning filled the entire sky and earth.
Nangong Muyue was sent flying into the air by the punch.
With a flash, Lu Yuan appeared above Nangong Muyue.
He stomped down viciously.
"Eight Desolations Step Heavenward!"
Boom!
It was as though the divine statue that suppressed the prison had stamped its foot and shaken the heavens from atop the Nine Heavens Immortal Court.
The heavens and earth trembled, and the ground shook.
Under that stomp, Crimson Flame Ancient City seemed as if it were about to split apart.
The stomp landed solidly and completely on Nangong Muyue's abdomen.
In an instant,
Nangong Muyue folded over like a shrimp bending around a bow and plummeted toward the ground like a cannonball fired from its barrel.
Bang!
A vast cloud of dust billowed upward.
It obscured Nangong Muyue's battered figure.
Lu Yuan descended through the air, each step cold and severe. Streaks of Thunder Dragons flashed and coiled through his pupils and all over his body.
Nangong Muyue was very strong, but that was only in comparison to Qing Wuji and the others.
In fact, in Lu Yuan's view, Nangong Muyue at this moment was not much stronger than Zhao Wuji, whom he had easily killed not long before.
"Is the Break Limit Fourth Layer what gives you the confidence to be arrogant and presumptuous?"
Lu Yuan walked into the dust, found Nangong Muyue in an utterly battered state with every bone and tendon in her body shattered, grabbed her by the collar, and lifted her into the air.
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