Mo Cheng's Death

In the forest, everyone stared blankly at the young black-clad figure, involuntarily swallowing hard.

They knew all too well who that old man was. He was the Great Elder of the Mo Clan, one of the four great families of the Northeast Provinces, the true helmsman of the Mo Clan. He had once slaughtered the entire Black Whirlwind Bandit Group alone, a genuine Dou Ling expert. Yet now, someone actually dared to provoke him.

"It has been over a year since we last met. It seems you have even forgotten the proper respect for elders..." Mo Cheng sneered coldly, slowly taking a step forward.

"Respect for elders? You old bastard, are you even worthy?" Mo Yun shot back icily.

Mo Cheng laughed in fury. "It seems your strength has improved over the past year, giving you quite a bit of confidence. This old man needs to make you see reality!"

In an instant, Mo Cheng's body trembled. An explosion of energy rang out beneath his feet, and his entire body became a black blur, appearing behind Mo Yun almost as if he had teleported.

With a raised hand, dark-red Dou Qi wrapped around his arm like clusters of crimson flames. At the same time, his palm curled into a claw, his slightly sharp nails gleaming with cold light as he viciously tore toward Mo Yun's heart.

Seeing that Mo Yun had been unable to react from start to finish, a triumphant smile appeared at the corner of Mo Cheng's mouth.

With his back to Mo Cheng, Mo Yun likewise remained unseen by the latter, including the disdainful smile rising on his face.

Just as that red claw strike was about to land on Mo Yun, his entire body suddenly split apart with a splash, transforming into countless writhing water snakes and effortlessly evading Mo Cheng's swift sneak attack.

His strike missed, and Mo Cheng's expression turned somewhat unnatural as he watched the water snakes scatter. He had never expected Mo Yun to evade.

Mo Cheng had observed Mo Yun's battle with Mo Shi from the shadows. Since Mo Yun could defeat Mo Shi, a peak nine-star Great Dou Shi, head-on, the strength he displayed at the time should have been around that of a two- or three-star Dou Ling. Considering that he had only had a little over a year, his control over his strength and combat experience surely could not match Mo Cheng's own. Thus, Mo Cheng had believed this strike was certain to succeed. Who could have expected the humiliation to come so quickly, with his attack actually dodged?

Some of the water snakes gathered together, revealing Mo Yun's figure once more.

"Old fellow, considering I was once a member of the Mo Clan, I let you strike first. Now, I'm going to get serious..."

His right arm shot forward, transforming in an instant into more than a dozen white snakes that lunged at Mo Cheng.

Their speed was clearly even greater than Mo Cheng's previous attack.

Though Mo Cheng was astonished by Mo Yun's speed, he did not take it too seriously. He merely struck out with a swift palm, and a giant flaming hand reached toward Mo Yun.

The flaming giant hand collided with the dozen or so white snakes. To Mo Cheng's horrified shock, the flaming hand was completely torn apart by the white snakes, which instantly surged forward and wrapped tightly around him.

"Old fellow, you're the one who hasn't recognized reality!"

In merely two exchanges, that famed expert of the Jia Ma Empire's Northeast Provinces had been subdued by such an absurdly young kid. The exaggerated scene made everyone present feel as though it were unreal.

Although the mercenaries had learned from the earlier battle that Mo Yun was very strong, they had never imagined that "very strong" could mean this strong. At the very least, a renowned Dou Ling expert had been subdued in a single exchange.

Mo Cheng tried to struggle free, only to discover that the white snakes wrapped around him were incomparably tough. Even with his strength, he found it difficult to break free.

Mo Cheng's face was deathly pale. He had now realized that he had underestimated Mo Yun. Unable to break free after repeated attempts, he began to panic.

Yet he forced himself to remain calm. "I never expected you to grow to this extent in just one year. Did you transplant the Blazing Flame Mountain-Breaking Rhinoceros?"

Hearing this, Mo Yun hesitated for a moment before slightly nodding, tacitly admitting it.

Although it was not a transplant like the Mo Clan's, strictly speaking, Mo Yun had indeed transplanted the Blazing Flame Mountain-Breaking Rhinoceros.

Mo Cheng was unwilling to accept it. "This old man researched it for years, yet in the end, you little brat benefited from it!"

"You're overthinking it. With your crude transplantation method, at most you'd turn people into neither human nor beast. It's fundamentally of little use!" Mo Yun said disdainfully.

How could the Mo Clan's transplantation technique compare to that monstrous system?

However, Mo Cheng was unwilling to accept that. The transplantation technique the Mo Clan took pride in had actually been mocked by a junior, especially a junior from the Mo Clan. Mo Cheng simply could not accept it.

"Impossible!"

"Mo Yun, release the Great Elder at once! Otherwise, you'll regret it!" Mo Chen threatened.

Mo Yun gave a cold laugh. "Even old Mo Cheng is no longer my match. What can any of you do to make me regret it?"

Mo Chen was left speechless. Only after a long silence did he shout, "Mo Yun, if you dare harm the Great Elder, you won't merely be offending the Mo Clan—you'll be provoking the Yun Lan Sect! The Mo Clan is one of the Yun Lan Sect's affiliated families. You know that perfectly well!"

Although Mo Cheng harbored ambitions and wanted to eventually break away from the Yun Lan Sect to build up his own power, when it truly came down to it, the Yun Lan Sect's banner was indeed useful.

"The Yun Lan Sect is impressive within the Jia Ma Empire, but not enough to make me overly wary. At worst, I'll leave the Jia Ma Empire. In any case, I'm taking Mo Cheng's life. You've hunted me again and again—did you really think I'd keep indulging you?" Mo Yun said softly, though his voice carried a trace of mockery and a cold sneer.

Seeing that Mo Yun had developed killing intent, Mo Cheng could no longer remain calm. In an instant, immense Dou Qi burst from his body, forming a complete robe of flaming Dou Qi around him. He snarled viciously, "If you want to kill me, I'll cripple you first!"

The flames of Mo Cheng's Dou Qi robe grew increasingly thick and profound, the scorching heat making Mo Yun narrow his eyes slightly.

"Damn, old fellow, you're not planning to self-destruct, are you?"

Mo Yun had only ever seen self-destruction in novels and had never encountered it before. Seeing Mo Cheng's imposing display, he made the guess.

Seeing this, Mo Shi and Mo Chen immediately stopped trying to persuade him. They fled in different directions with the rest of the Mo Clan members, clearly realizing that Mo Cheng intended to trade his life for Mo Yun's.

The remaining mercenaries likewise scattered in all directions. The self-destruction of a Dou Ling expert posed an enormous threat to them.

Boom!

An explosion rang out, and shockwaves continuously surged in all directions, sending rippling waves through the air above the forest.

Mo Shi, Mo Chen, and the others felt their hearts sink even further at the sight. With Mo Cheng dead, the Mo Clan would certainly undergo drastic changes and would likely fall into instability for some time.

As for whether things would become stable afterward, they had no time to worry about that now, because they had just seen a figure chasing after them.

It was Mo Yun!

Whether it was his completely unscathed appearance or the enormous, conspicuous pair of Dou Qi wings behind him, both were enough to make them choke in shock.