Captivity

Dust scattered in all directions as Leng Yulai collapsed into the deep crater, her soul power in utter disarray. Blood continuously spilled from the corners of her mouth, and her aura had weakened to its limit.

She struggled to prop herself up and looked at Benares in the air, as well as Xiling on its back. Her eyes were filled with unwillingness, venom, and terror she could not hide.

No matter what, she could not believe that she, a dignified level ninety-seven Dark Phoenix Douluo and three-word battle armor master, had actually fallen to a mere nine-year-old three-ring Soul Elder!

"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!"

Leng Yulai roared, trying to mobilize her soul power for another counterattack. But the instant she exerted herself, waves of agonizing pain shot through her meridians. Her soul power completely collapsed, leaving her without even the strength to lift a hand.

She tried to activate the shuttle-shaped crystal in her hand, yet no matter what she did, she could not draw upon the spatial power within it.

"Don't waste your effort."

Xiling slowly stepped forward, his white hair fluttering gently in the wind. "Your Spacetime Divine Shuttle is indeed a spatial divine artifact, but before my spatial domain, it isn't worth mentioning."

From the moment he had used Shifting Places, Changing Scenery to move the battlefield to this desert, his spatial domain had remained active. Any spatial methods Leng Yulai possessed had become utterly useless.

Leng Yulai's face turned deathly pale as she stared fixedly at Xiling, her voice hoarse. "Just who are you?"

Even if she were a fool, she should have understood by now that Xiling was far more than he appeared. He even knew about the Spacetime Divine Shuttle, and he could command a dragon-type soul beast comparable to an Ultimate Douluo!

Xiling did not answer. Instead, he extended a hand, and the Spacetime Divine Shuttle in Leng Yulai's grasp seemed to answer some sort of summons as it appeared in his palm.

"For a man, because of a ridiculous misunderstanding, you came to hate the elder sister who cherished you and even wanted to kill her."

"You should be grateful that you're Teacher's younger sister. Otherwise, you'd already be a corpse."

As his words fell, Leng Yulai's already pallid face instantly flushed red. The venom in her eyes nearly overflowed as she began shrieking madly, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.

"Ridiculous? What do you know? You don't understand anything at all!"

"What makes Leng Yaozhu so special? Why was she born with everything? The love of the family, the admiration of everyone—even the person I longed for, she had to meddle with him!"

"I am the Dark Phoenix. Everyone saw me as an aberration. Only he ever gave me a sliver of light, yet it was my own dearest sister who personally destroyed my only hope!"

"Why does she pretend to be so magnanimous? Why does she pretend that we're close sisters? I don't need her pity, and I don't need her concessions! Everything she has should have included a share for me!"

She coughed up blood, every word steeped in bone-deep hatred.

"I hate her! I wish I could tear her to pieces! So what if it was a misunderstanding? All these years of pain, inferiority, and humiliation were real!"

"Her lofty pity is the greatest humiliation of all!"

"And you! A little brat still wet behind the ears—what gives you the right to lecture me? Even if I fell into your hands today, I will never yield!"

"If you have the guts, kill me! Otherwise, sooner or later, I'll make you and Leng Yaozhu pay the price!"

She suddenly threw back her head and coughed up a large mouthful of black blood. Yet she still forced her battered body upright and glared at Xiling, her eyes filled with the reckless madness of someone with nothing left to lose.

Xiling ignored the crazed Leng Yulai, his expression calm. He had no intention of telling her the truth.

Leaving aside whether Leng Yulai would believe it in her current state, her hatred ran too deep to be resolved in a few words.

It would be best for the two sisters to settle their own affairs.

At that moment, Benares let out a low, gentle dragon's roar. Its enormous wings folded in as it landed beside Xiling and meekly lowered its head.

Xiling raised a hand and gently stroked its head. In a warm voice, he said softly, "You worked hard, Benares."

Benares seemed to understand him. It affectionately rubbed its head against his palm and let out a low whimper, bearing none of the fearsome momentum it had displayed moments ago.

After putting away the Spacetime Divine Shuttle, Xiling began considering how to deal with Leng Yulai without letting her escape—or how to make her incapable of escaping.

Crippling her was definitely not an option. He still had to show Teacher some respect. But if he did not cripple Leng Yulai, what if she ran after recovering from her injuries? He did not possess any means of sealing someone's cultivation either.

Xiling rubbed his brow, deeply troubled by the matter. But when he saw the hatred-filled look in Leng Yulai's eyes, along with her lack of ability to retaliate, an idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.

He turned to the giant dragon at his side and asked, "Benares, can you shrink yourself to the size of a palm?"

Upon hearing this, Benares blinked its icy blue dragon eyes and immediately understood Xiling's intention.

The next second, a dazzling icy-blue radiance spread from the dragon's body. Its incomparably massive form shrank at a visible rate, its bones, scales, and wings all folding inward.

In the blink of an eye, the giant dragon that had once blotted out the sky transformed into a palm-sized little dragon covered in icy-blue scales. Flapping its tiny dragon wings, it gently landed on Xiling's shoulder and affectionately rubbed against his cheek, looking exceptionally well-behaved.

Xiling lightly tapped the little dragon on the head, a smile spreading across his lips. "You really can do it."

"I have a task for you. See that person over there?"

"From now on, keep an eye on her. Whenever she recovers a little from her injuries or tries to escape, attack her. Just keep her severely injured and unable to move."

Benares gently flapped its wings, its icy-blue dragon eyes locking firmly onto Leng Yulai in the crater.

Upon hearing Xiling's words, Leng Yulai's bloodshot eyes suddenly widened. Extreme humiliation and fury instantly overwhelmed the last remnants of her reason.

She was a dignified level ninety-seven Super Douluo, one of the Holy Spirit Cult's Four Heavenly Kings. Even if she had been defeated and captured, she could never endure such humiliation!

This was a thousand times worse than killing her outright!

"Xiling! How dare you!"

"If you have the guts, kill me right now! Otherwise, I'll grind your bones to ash!"

She struggled desperately, trying to rise, but her scattered soul power and agonized meridians left her unable to move.

Madness and unwillingness intertwined as venom solidified into something almost tangible. "You'll regret this! So long as I have even the slightest chance, I'll grind your bones to ash and make you wish you were dead!"

Little Benares on Xiling's shoulder glanced at her disdainfully. A cold gleam flashed through its dragon eyes as faint dragon might spread outward.

Just a trace of pressure made Leng Yulai's entire body stiffen. Her restless soul power was instantly suppressed, and even breathing became difficult.

Xiling was utterly unaffected. He simply said flatly, "You have no room to choose."

As his words fell, Benares on his shoulder instantly transformed into an icy-blue streak of light and landed not far in front of Leng Yulai. Its tiny body emitted faint dragon might as it firmly locked onto her.

Looking at the tiny dragon before her, which nonetheless rendered her powerless to resist, Leng Yulai finally broke down completely. Her shrill curses and roars echoed across the desert for a long time.

No one knew how long she cursed—four hours, perhaps five—before she finally exhausted the last of her strength. Her body went limp, and she passed out.

Xiling walked over to her, helplessly rubbing his forehead as he muttered, "This crazy woman can really curse."

A spatial rift opened. He grabbed Leng Yulai by the back of her collar and tossed her inside, then stepped into it himself.

In an instant, the two of them and the dragon vanished completely. Only the devastation covering the ground bore witness to the earth-shaking battle that had taken place here.