The light faded, and Shen Luo was still standing.
His black robe was in tatters, not a patch of skin on his body remained intact, and blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Yet his feet stayed nailed to the ground, not budging an inch.
He glanced back at Zi Yan.
There was actually still a smile on his face.
"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet."
Zi Yan could no longer hold back her tears.
She rushed forward, threw her arms around Shen Luo's waist, buried her face in his bloodstained chest, and sobbed aloud.
Her sobs held terror, lingering fear, heartache, and another feeling she herself could neither explain nor name.
Zi Yan had grown up at Jia Nan Academy. Everyone gave way to her or avoided her, but no one had ever protected her like this.
She was just a little girl who knew nothing but how to cause trouble.
"Stop! We're from Jia Nan Academy! If you dare attack us, Su Qian won't let you off!"
As though remembering something, Zi Yan lifted her head from Shen Luo's embrace and shouted.
Han Feng raised his brows slightly, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Su Qian wasn't worth a damn.
Who had he, the Medicine Emperor, ever feared in the Black-Corner Region?
Zi Yan had underestimated these ruthless men who licked blood from their blades.
In the Black-Corner Region, Jia Nan Academy and the region's other factions had long held deep grudges against one another.
Though the factions fought among themselves endlessly, they displayed surprising unity whenever they faced Jia Nan Academy.
No single faction could stand against that colossus. Had they not banded together, Jia Nan Academy would have wiped them out one by one long ago.
Shen Luo looked down at Zi Yan, who was sobbing her heart out in his arms, and silently sighed.
What a fine performance he'd put on.
He'd give himself ninety-nine points, withholding the last one lest he get too proud.
Why else did they say a hero rescuing a beauty worked anywhere?
Zhu Kun, oh, Zhu Kun, look how many blows I've taken to protect your daughter!
Once you get out, you'd better do as I say!
The corners of Shen Luo's mouth rose slightly.
He had been laying his plans for a long time, all for tonight.
Though Zi Yan had already fallen for him, something was still missing.
True feelings revealed themselves in adversity.
Zi Yan was innocent and carefree, not brainless.
Did anyone really think a few pills would be enough to win over the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragons?
He was a dragon, not a pig.
With the Ancient Void Dragons' treasures, repaying a mere favor of a few pills would be easy.
How could this work without a story of weathering wind and rain together?
He had to stoke the fire.
Shen Luo raised his hand and rubbed Zi Yan's head.
"Zi Yan, give me a kiss."
"Shen Luo, have you gone crazy?"
Zi Yan froze for a moment. "At a time like this, you're still thinking about mating?"
Shen Luo said, "Just tell me whether you'll do it. Look how many blows I've taken. I couldn't even die without regrets."
Zi Yan frowned deeply, but seeing Shen Luo's pale face, she still rose onto her tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek.
"Shen Luo, I don't want you to die. Neither of us should die, okay?"
Zi Yan's innocent expression stirred something in Shen Luo's heart.
"Okay."
Shen Luo pinched Zi Yan's cheeks, lovely as pear blossoms drenched in rain.
He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Han Feng, the Gold and Silver Elders, and everyone present.
A mighty surge of Dou Qi spread out from within him.
Purple blood surged to the heavens, and every wound on his body vanished in an instant, as though none of it had ever happened.
"Heh, you little bastards. Had your fill of hitting me, did you?"
I'd meant to play with you a little longer, but you scared my Zi Yan into tears.
"Devouring Realm!"
Shen Luo roared.
Pitch-black light poured continuously from his body, rapidly forming a domain like a black hole that spread outward in an instant.
Han Feng's entire estate was immediately shrouded in darkness, forming an enormous vortex.
Everything within it that contained energy was devoured by that terrifying power of darkness.
The bodies of the three Dou Wangs Shen Luo had just killed swiftly shriveled into dried corpses.
Their Dou Qi, souls, blood essence, and even the medicinal ingredients in their Storage Rings were all devoured by Shen Luo, leaving nothing behind.
The terrifying domain continued to expand rapidly. Two Dou Wangs failed to retreat in time and were instantly engulfed.
"Aah!"
"Medicine Emperor, save me!"
They frantically circulated their Dou Qi to resist that terrifying devouring power.
Yet the Dou Qi that normally flowed at their command now behaved like mice confronting a cat, refusing to obey them and madly converging on Shen Luo.
A few breaths later, the two men plummeted from the sky like kites with severed strings, their lives extinguished.
Those still alive retreated at full speed while their Dou Qi surged, hurling chains of swirling Dou Qi in every color wildly at Shen Luo.
Yet whether palm imprints or fist imprints, flames or anything else, every attack was instantly eroded and devoured upon entering the black domain, shrinking visibly.
By the time they reached Shen Luo, only twenty or thirty percent of their power remained.
Shen Luo punched out, shattering those lingering waves of Dou Qi.
Han Feng stood at the forefront, raising a shield of flame to protect everyone behind him.
The icy-blue flames blazed fiercely, but upon contact with the black light, the barrier formed from a Heavenly Flame gradually thinned.
Damn it, it could even devour Heavenly Flames! What in the hell was this thing?
Alarm and fear filled Han Feng's face.
The Devouring Ancestral Symbol stood at the head of the Eight Clans, the source that governed devouring power.
Within this black domain, Shen Luo was the sole master.
Any energy, whether Dou Qi, souls, Heavenly Flames, or heaven and earth essence, faced only one fate upon entering this realm.
To be devoured, refined, and claimed as his own.
That was what made the Devouring Ancestral Symbol so terrifying.
Its essence was a return to nothingness: all things returned to nothing, and all arts were devoured.
"Han Feng, hand over your Storage Ring, and I will spare your life!"
He did not want to kill Han Feng just yet.
Xiao Yan and Yao Chen were both at Jia Nan Academy.
With Gu Xun'er backing Xiao Yan, Shen Luo did not want to get involved with him.
But Xiao Yan possessed a fragment of the map to the purifying lotus demon flame, and Shen Luo had to obtain it.
The purifying lotus demon flame ranked third.
Even Shen Luo coveted it dearly.
But he did not want to step forward himself. Whether or not Xiao Yan was a child of destiny, Shen Luo did not want to attack him.
Otherwise, Xiao Yan might shout at him, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west! Don't bully a young man because he's poor!"
Then Shen Luo would be in trouble!
Having Han Feng act instead could not be better.
There were already ties between them, and they were destined to be enemies.
If master and disciple fought, with fellow disciples slaughtering one another, it would have nothing whatsoever to do with him.
The three of them, master and disciples, were quite something: one had the bone spirit cold flame, another the sea heart flame, and another the green lotus core flame, each more impressive than the last.
Apparently, the Dou Qi Continent's Heavenly Flames were there for their family alone!
Shen Luo slowly raised his hand. The black vortex condensed into a fist-sized black hole in his palm, frantically devouring the surrounding heaven and earth essence.
Han Feng's expression shifted uncertainly.
As the Medicine Emperor, he had dominated the Black-Corner Region for years and possessed countless trump cards. His icy-blue sea heart flame ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.
Yet at this moment, he felt utterly powerless.
He could even feel the Dou Qi inside him draining away uncontrollably.
"Some Jia Nan Academy you are! Do you intend to make an enemy of the entire Black-Corner Region?"
Before you continue