Divine Vault Suppresses Dharma Aspect

He looked down from on high, gazing at the assassin curled up in the corner, groaning in pain. There was not a shred of pity in his eyes—only the cold detachment and control of a predator facing its prey.

"Die!"

A cruel smirk curled at the corner of Black Tortoise's mouth as he raised the Black Iron Heavy Sword, intent on ending this final resistance.

But suddenly, a hand grabbed his Black Iron Heavy Sword.

Yet, just as the blade was about to fall, a hand appeared without warning, precisely and steadily catching his sword edge.

Black Tortoise's heart jolted violently. He snapped his head up, pupils contracting sharply!

A figure draped in a black robe, face obscured, stood before him—when had he arrived?

That hand was long, fair, almost untouched by dust, yet it firmly gripped the Black Iron Heavy Sword infused with True Essence, preventing him from channeling even a sliver of Sword Qi.

Who was this man?!

Naturally, it was Chen Lin.

He had only intended to follow and observe this Shadow Assassin, but the moment he arrived, he stumbled upon this "fine show" of murder.

As for this Black Tortoise, he had learned from Little Anzi earlier that the man had already been subdued.

But now it seemed that was merely a disguise, a deliberate act.

The one truly controlling Black Tortoise was likely still His Majesty on high.

And since his own hands, which should have been aged, were about to act, he naturally had to show a different appearance.

"Who are you!"

Black Tortoise suppressed the storm raging in his heart and barked coldly.

But before his words faded, the hand gripping the sword edge suddenly clenched its five fingers, unleashing a terrifying surge of immense force!

With a dull bang, Black Tortoise felt a searing pain in his tiger's mouth. His entire arm felt as if it were no longer his own. The Black Iron Heavy Sword flew from his grip, and he himself was sent stumbling backward by the horrifying shockwave, crashing straight into the wall behind him as dust rained down.

His expression shifted drastically, his face pale with shock!

Just a casual shake from the other party, relying solely on that monstrous physical strength, had sent him—an expert of the Dharma Idol Fifth Layer—flying?

How was this possible!

"I didn't expect that just as This Seat emerges into the world, I'd witness this. Can the Imperial Court withstand the war between the forces it seeks to provoke?"

Chen Lin's words carried a hint of mockery.

Trying to stir conflict between the mercenary group and the Yantian Sect?

Clearly impossible, but the momentum could still be built.

After all, if the mercenary group dared to assassinate Imperial Court personnel, those common folk would only grow more terrified.

Hearing this, Black Tortoise's expression darkened. "This Seat advises you not to meddle in affairs that don't concern you. When the time comes, you won't even know how you died!"

Chen Lin let out a soft laugh. "And what if This Seat meddles anyway?"

At these words, Black Tortoise Commander's eyes blazed with murderous intent. The dark armor around him shimmered with a sinister Sha Qi: "You seek death!"

Before the words had even faded, Chen Lin's figure vanished.

Bang!

A dull thud rang out as the Black Tortoise Commander's iron faceplate suddenly caved in.

He realized in shock that Chen Lin had somehow closed in, that slender hand pressing lightly against his chest—

Crack!

The Black Tortoise Armor, said to withstand Dharma Idol-level attacks, shattered like thin paper!

Black Tortoise Commander felt a primordial force surge through his body, his True Essence instantly freezing solid.

"You..." He tried to roar, but saw the black-robed man raise his other hand, a long index finger pressing to his lips.

"Shh—" A light syllable escaped, carrying a near-mocking warning.

Smack!

Without any warning, a resounding slap, carrying physical strength far beyond imagination, slammed hard into Black Tortoise's weathered face.

The strike was swift as lightning, its force savage to the extreme, as if it would send Black Tortoise flying entirely.

Boom!

Black Tortoise's already unsteady body, rocked by the shock, lost all balance and crashed like a tattered rag into the bluestone wall behind him.

But just as he was about to smash into the wall, an invisible yet resilient force, like a giant net, silently wrapped around his body, absorbing the subsequent impact into nothingness, leaving only a deep, dust-spewing crater in the wall.

Inside the wall, half of Black Tortoise's face was a bloody mess. The socket where his right eye had been was now a charred, smoking hole.

His left arm twisted at an unnatural angle, the hardest bones in his body reduced to powder by that single slap.

He was like a discarded, broken doll, utterly stripped of all luster and dignity.

Chen Lin looked at Black Tortoise, now unconscious and barely breathing within the wall, and slowly shook his head, no pity in his eyes.

Pity you ran into me.

Though he was only at Dharma Aspect Second Level, the gap in strength, techniques, and Martial Skills was enough to leave this Dharma Idol Fifth Layer Black Tortoise utterly helpless—the outcome of a crushing victory was already set in stone.

Black Tortoise had lost all consciousness, but Chen Lin did not stop there.

He recalled that Black Tortoise had come here specifically to intercept the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group's personnel. What if, instead, the other party ended up severely wounded?

Wounded by an expert from the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group.

Would the two forces then become irreconcilable?

The royal family was already locked in conflict with the Yantian Sect, but now they would have to contend with the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group as well, not to mention the various princes and marquises across the land, and the several imperial princes.

Ling Cangqiong, Ling Cangqiong...

Without another word, Chen Lin shifted his steps lightly and threw another punch.

Before the fist's wind even arrived, a surging, fierce force had already compressed the air into a buzzing roar.

With a dull, heavy bang, another gruesome hole was torn into Black Tortoise's already mangled abdomen. At the same time, his other shoulder did not escape—it was brutally pierced through!

Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the stone wall behind him.

Black Tortoise's body went completely limp, all signs of life fading, leaving only faint, ragged breaths to prove he was still alive.

Having done all this, Chen Lin turned around, his gaze falling coldly upon the Shadow Assassin, who had already collapsed to the ground, nearly frightened out of his wits.

He clearly had not yet recovered from the scene that overturned his understanding—this man possessed such earth-shattering strength, subduing a Dharma Idol Fifth Layer Black Tortoise with a single hand!

"Thank you, senior, for saving my life!" Forcing down the terror in his heart, the Shadow Assassin scrambled to his knees and bowed respectfully to Chen Lin, speaking urgently, "This junior has many resources here..."

Chen Lin did not even lift his eyelids. His voice was as cold as ice: "This Seat does not lack."

His tone shifted abruptly, carrying a detached omniscience: "I know you just recorded an image. This Seat merely wishes to remind those who will view this image—"

His words seemed to carry a certain power, pressing down on the listener's breath:

"The royal family's scheme to kill with a borrowed blade is already plain for all to see. Now that the royal family is besieged on all sides, sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight is not necessarily the best choice. Besides, your Blood Wolf Mercenary Group was never going to escape being framed in the end."