Encircled Assault

The instant the two of them stepped over the threshold.

Bzzz!

A deep hum rang out. Darkness abruptly fell before their eyes, and everything around them vanished as if by magic, replaced by deathly silence.

Then, an eerie blue light suddenly flared to life. The air grew thick and heavy, carrying a bone-piercing chill.

Li Yuan was greatly startled. He had never expected this. He spun around sharply, only to discover that Mister Mo behind him had vanished as well. It was as though he were the only one left in the entire space.

Could this be spatial demon magic?

Almost at the same moment, Mister Mo, who had just entered the room, sensed a strange force.

"Spatial severance?"

A sharp gleam burst from his eyes. With a low shout, his withered palm cleaved at the surroundings, as though he intended to forcibly split open the space.

That palm strike could split mountains and shatter stone, yet his hand seemed to strike an incomparably resilient barrier, knocked back by an irresistible force.

Mister Mo's expression darkened. This was no ordinary spatial formation, but an extradimensional prison forged with some kind of spatial secret treasure, specifically meant to trap and kill experts!

To kill Li Yuan, they had actually spared no expense.

Within the space, Li Yuan swept his gaze around. It was incomparably dim here, its boundaries impossible to discern, and it emanated a suffocatingly uncanny aura.

His heart sank. Their methods truly were sinister. Without Mister Mo's help, he could rely only on himself now.

He did not charge about blindly, nor did he attempt to break open the space. Since they dared trap him here, they surely had absolute confidence.

Better to conserve his strength and wait to see what happened.

Just as Li Yuan focused his mind and remained on guard, three figures slowly emerged from the blue-lit space.

The leader was tall and graceful, dressed in fitted black leather armor. Half her face was covered by a savage yaksha mask, revealing a pair of cold vertical pupils. It was Shadow Thirteen.

She toyed with two crescent short blades as thin as cicada wings.

To her left stood a hunched old man draped in a black cloak, holding a twisted wooden staff. At the tip of the staff was set an eerie green eyeball that spun without pause.

On the right stood a hulking giant of a man, built like a mountain, with blood-red eyes and fangs jutting from his mouth. Bare-chested, his muscles knotted like coiled dragons, he carried a black great axe as broad as a door panel. His entire body radiated violent Sha Qi.

The three formed a triangle, boxing Li Yuan in at the center.

"Li Yuan," Shadow Thirteen said, a trace of delight in her voice. "Let's see where you can run this time."

"To kill me, your Dark Pavilion has really paid a hefty price." Li Yuan's gaze swept over the three of them. "A spatial formation, plus three demon generals, all to deal with a mere student like me. Don't you think that's wasteful?"

"Wasteful?" Shadow Thirteen sneered, killing intent blazing in her vertical pupils. "To eliminate a future grandmaster, any price is worth paying. If you must blame someone, blame your talent for being too great—and your failure to keep a low profile."

She gave a cold laugh. "In your next life, remember to be smarter."

"Why waste words on him?" the giant roared impatiently, his voice like muffled thunder. "Just tear him apart and take his head back to report!"

The hunched old man stared fixedly at Li Yuan. "This boy's soul is unusual. Once this old man extracts it and refines it into a yin puppet, it will surely make excellent material..."

"Move!" Shadow Thirteen spoke no further. Her short blades crossed, and her figure vanished from where she stood like a ghost. In the next instant, she appeared at Li Yuan's side, her twin blades scissoring toward his throat with extreme speed.

At the same time, the giant roared and strode forward. The ground seemed to tremble beneath his feet as the door-panel great axe swept horizontally at Li Yuan's waist, bearing a terrifying force capable of splitting mountains and rending stone.

The hunched old man planted his staff on the ground. The eerie green eyeball blazed brightly, and an invisible, intangible shriek surged toward Li Yuan like a tidal wave. It was actually a spiritual attack.

A three-pronged assault: one for close combat, one for brute force, one for spiritual harassment. Their coordination was seamless, every killing move unleashed. They clearly intended to end this swiftly.

Li Yuan's thoughts raced. This place was cut off from the outside, an isolated domain unto itself. The scale of this was indeed astonishing, but maintaining such a powerful space had to consume an enormous amount of energy.

Having realized this, Li Yuan steadied himself somewhat. His greatest advantage now was that they mistakenly believed he was still at the Subtlety Realm. They would inevitably underestimate him.

"Cowering in the shadows—the Demon Race truly are nothing but rats that cannot stand the light!" Li Yuan called out loudly, his tone brimming with contempt as he attempted to provoke them. "If you have the guts, give me your names, so this young master can at least die knowing!"

"Kehehe..." A shrill, eerie laugh rang out from the hunched old man. "A man about to die need not ask so much. Still, it does no harm to let you die with understanding."

Pride appeared on his face. To kill a future human prodigy—what an honor that would be.

"This old man is Cangmu of Dark Pavilion's Shadow Kill. Dying by my hand is your good fortune."

Li Yuan was about to continue fishing for information when someone suddenly dropped into the space with a thud.

It was Aji.

He sat collapsed on the ground, his eyes hollow and vacant, strange rasping sounds issuing from his throat.

"Aji!"

Li Yuan called to him, but Aji abruptly raised his head. His face remained expressionless, yet his eyes had turned pitch-black. At the same time, a tyrannical demonic power burst from his small body.

"Hah!"

Aji let out an inhuman growl. His right arm bent violently backward at an extremely unnatural angle, and an inky-black dagger slid from his sleeve, stabbing straight at Li Yuan's lower abdomen.

The attack came without warning, and the movement itself defied the limits of the human body. It was unbelievably fast.

Though Li Yuan had long been wary of him, he had not expected the controlled Aji to erupt with such bizarre speed. His feet moved instinctively, and he narrowly twisted aside. The dagger grazed past his clothes.

"Aji, wake up!"

Li Yuan tried to rouse his consciousness. At the same time, he pressed his fingers together like a blade and swiftly chopped toward Aji's neck, intending to knock him unconscious.

Yet he had miscalculated. His palm struck Aji's neck, but it felt as though he had hit a piece of hardened pig iron, leaving Li Yuan's fingers faintly numb from the impact.

As though he could not feel pain, Aji charged again without hesitation. His dagger traced an arc as it slashed toward Li Yuan's throat.

Li Yuan's heart tightened. Aji, controlled by demon magic, was not only immensely strong and impervious to pain, but also attacked without defending, making him exceptionally ferocious.

He had no choice but to abandon the idea of subduing him. His footwork shifted repeatedly as he dodged Aji's storm-like barrage again and again.

He had to avoid lethal blows while also taking care not to hurt Aji. He was severely constrained for a moment, driven into a flustered retreat.

Ssh! Ssh!

At the same time, two black shadows burst forth from the darkness on either side, locking onto Li Yuan in an instant.

Shadow Thirteen's figure had nearly merged with the darkness itself, her short blades silently slicing toward Li Yuan's legs.

Meanwhile, the giant's fan-sized hand spread its fingers wide and slapped straight toward Li Yuan's head. A layer of grayish-white rocky keratin covered his hand, his nails sharp as hooks and containing enough brute force to tear apart refined iron.

Two Shadow Kill experts at the demon general level, together with the fearless Aji, launched a three-sided assault. Their timing was exquisite to the finest hair, forcing Li Yuan into a desperate situation in an instant.

No matter which way he dodged, he would face two killing moves at once.

At the razor's edge between life and death, Li Yuan's thoughts raced.