Xiao Ze pressed her relentlessly, but Yun Yun stood her ground. He would have to step over her corpse first.
As the two sides argued without end, a group of Misty Cloud Sect elders came rushing over in a panic.
Someone had dared to boast about wiping out the Misty Cloud Sect. The arrogance was downright outrageous! Did he think the sect had no one to stand up for it?
"Sect Master, which petty nobody is yapping away here?" They had been in seclusion. If the sect disciples hadn't rushed to inform them, they wouldn't have known what was happening outside.
Yun Yun paid no heed to the Great Elder. Her gaze fell on Xiao Ze, and her heart was a tangle of conflicting emotions.
Thinking back to those days in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, they might have been the happiest of her life. They had been carefree, and she had thought they would always be happy together. She never imagined that they would now have to cross swords.
On one side were the sect's disciples; on the other was the person she loved most. How could she possibly choose between them?
Xiao Ze felt the same. If he wanted, he could simply knock Yun Yun unconscious and take her away, then destroy Yun Shan. But that would end any chance they had of being together. They might even become enemies. That wasn't what he wanted.
When neither side spoke, Yun Leng had no choice but to turn his attention to Xiao Ze.
He flew over and sneered. "So that's who it is. The Xiao Clan's good-for-nothing. Why have you brought so many experts to the Misty Cloud Sect? Planning a rebellion?"
Xiao Ze narrowed his eyes at Yun Leng. The next instant, he vanished from where he stood. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before him and slapped him hard. "Did I give you permission to speak? What a racket!"
Yun Leng hadn't even seen Xiao Ze move before the slap sent him flying into a massive pillar. Blood spilled from his mouth.
"This guy's ferocious! He actually hit the Great Elder just like that!"
Everyone's hearts clenched, and they sucked in a sharp breath.
Who was Yun Leng?
He was the Misty Cloud Sect's Great Elder, the sect's foremost figure after the master!
He represented the face of the Misty Cloud Sect!
Yet here and now, he'd been sent flying with a single slap. This was beyond simple disregard. It was outright contempt!
That slap had struck at the Misty Cloud Sect's pride, built over a hundred years!
"Great Elder!" Seeing him treated this way, the sect members erupted in fury and glared at Xiao Ze.
But no one dared approach. They had discovered that the newcomer was a Dou Zong expert!
The Great Elder had some nerve, mouthing off in front of a Dou Zong expert. Getting hit served him right.
But however rude the Great Elder had been, this was still the Misty Cloud Sect's private affair. What right did an outsider have to teach him a lesson?
"Bring Yun Shan out. You're no match for me." Xiao Ze ignored their impotent rage and calmly looked at Yun Yun.
"If you want to see my master, you'll have to get past me first!"
Yun Yun's gaze was resolute. She didn't know why Xiao Ze wanted to find her master, but as a member of the Misty Cloud Sect, it was her duty to protect the sect.
"Extreme Wind, Meteor Kill!"
Yun Yun struck first. The long sword in her hand quivered, and a thin, profound beam of light, scarcely thicker than a thumb, shot out in an instant.
The moment it appeared, even space seemed to tremble.
The attack had already reached the level of a seven-star Dou Emperor!
Xiao Ze shook his head, helplessness in his heart. "Since Sect Master Yun wishes to test her strength against me, I have no choice but to oblige!"
"Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Finger!"
Xiao Ze raised a finger and pressed it down toward Yun Yun.
Crack!
Rumble!
With that simple point, he instantly broke through Yun Yun's attack and continued crushing down toward her.
The terrifying surge of Dou Qi made everyone's hearts pound. They had no doubt that if they stood before that attack, they'd be dismembered in an instant, crushed until not even scraps remained.
"Rending Wind Dazzling Dance!"
As the enormous finger descended, Yun Yun unleashed another deadly move.
The space before her rippled slightly. Countless deep-cyan wind blades, each more than ten zhang long, appeared out of nowhere. They intertwined like a cylinder lined with blades, then spun at high speed in a spiral as they surged forward.
"Rumble!" The giant finger and the whirling blades tore through the air, warping space ever so slightly. In an instant, they collided with a deafening roar.
Yun Yun's ultimate move was formidable, but before the Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Finger, it seemed insignificant.
After the deafening crash, the finger broke through Yun Yun's attack once more. This time, she couldn't stop it at all.
The giant finger sent her flying.
"Pfft!" Yun Yun spat blood, her chest roiling with pain.
"Master, this disciple was useless. I couldn't protect the Misty Cloud Sect."
With that, Yun Yun fainted completely. Fortunately, Xiao Ze moved in time, appearing behind her in an instant and catching her around the waist.
"Was it really necessary to go this far?" Xiao Ze's expression grew complicated.
"Master!!"
The Misty Cloud Sect members watched the scene unfold, their faces turning ashen.
Their sect master had lost...
She had lost utterly, and the enemy had taken her captive.
They had expected as much before a Dou Zong. But as sect master, Yun Yun had to stand forward.
And apart from Yun Yun, the Misty Cloud Sect had no other Dou Emperor expert.
Was the Misty Cloud Sect about to be destroyed?
No one knew. They were ants, and ants had to know their place.
The scene before them also made the watching crowd realize that the Jia Ma Empire was about to change.
This was the Misty Cloud Sect's master, a Dou Emperor. Yet before a Dou Zong, she was as weak as an ant. Resist?
A joke. One raised hand was enough to crush you.
They might truly be about to witness a miracle: the Misty Cloud Sect, which had stood in the Jia Ma Empire for centuries, would collapse today, only for another clan to take its place.
After all, search the entire Jia Ma Empire and you still wouldn't find two Dou Zong experts.
The matter had come to this. The outcome was settled.
The Misty Cloud Sect was no more!
Unlike the crowd, the experts behind Xiao Ze didn't think the fight was over.
"What's going on? There's only one Dou Emperor? Where are the Dou Zong experts? Why haven't they come out yet?" Xiao Zi was itching for a fight.
What a pity. There was only one Dou Emperor, and before he could even act, his master had nearly dealt with her already.
After handing Yun Yun over to Ya Fei to care for, Xiao Ze's gaze remained as calm as still water. "Now that your sect master is gone, how long do you intend to keep hiding?"
Under his scrutiny, the Misty Cloud Sect elders fell silent. None dared step forward. They had seen what happened to the Great Elder. They were only Dou Wang experts; stepping out would mean certain death.
"Teacher..." Nalan Yanran watched the scene, tears streaming down her face. Everything had happened because of her.
If she hadn't acted on impulse, how could her teacher have been taken captive?
"Xiao Ze, kill me or punish me, whatever you want—but come after me!" Nalan Yanran cried out in anguish. "Give my master back!"
Xiao Ze looked at her coolly. "You're nothing but a useless Dou Shi. You're not worth my time."
At those words, Nalan Yanran's heart turned to ash.
Useless. What a familiar word.
Back then, she had used those very words to humiliate the Xiao Clan.
But fortune had turned, as it always did. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of it—and in the end, the word "useless" had landed on her own head.
At that moment, she finally understood why her teacher hadn't wanted to help her. Only she could have come up with the idea of making an enemy of a Dou Zong.
Before you continue