Clang! Clang!
The Black-and-White Envoys remained expressionless, ignoring Wugu and the others. The spirals in their eyes twisted, and their fingers flicked as though plucking strings, producing a ringing clash of metal.
The net of force enveloping Hong Yuan and Xin Shiniang rapidly tightened. Thousands upon thousands of fine strands of force hissed inward.
"Please stay your hands! Let me take the Five-Colored Sail Master back alive as a sacrifice to the Mountain Ghost!" Wugu called hurriedly.
If there had been no choice, killing Hong Yuan on the spot would have been necessary. But now that he was caught, taking him alive was worth far more.
"Once my brother and I make our move, we've never known the meaning of mercy," the Black-Clad Envoy said coolly. As he spoke, the force filling the air erupted around Hong Yuan and Xin Shiniang. Countless razor-sharp strands converged into a single point. There was no earth-shaking boom, only the faint pop of a bursting bubble.
As assassins, the Black-and-White Envoys prized every scrap of their strength. Almost none of it went to waste.
Pfft!
Hong Yuan's and Xin Shiniang's bodies suddenly split apart, dissolving into clouds of vapor that drifted away in opposite directions.
The Black-and-White Envoys showed no surprise. Still expressionless, they raised two blades, one black and one white. Their gleams rose like cold moons, Divine Ability light coursing through them as they shot skyward.
Hong Yuan appeared in midair just then, directly before the rising cold moons. He reached down, his long fingers spreading with a force that seemed capable of shouldering mountains and carrying seas, and plunged his hand straight into the moonlight.
Rays of cool moonlight burst across his palm with a crisp clang. Ripples spread through the void, and a tremendous shockwave swept downward, tearing through the