Blood still clung to the corner of Shi Nian's mouth as he looked at Lin Yang before him, the horror yet to fade from his face. "L-Lin Yang, why are you here?"
"Cut the crap." Lin Yang tightened his grip further. "I'm asking you, why didn't you come kill me?"
Shi Nian froze for a moment.
He had lived more than half his life and killed plenty of geniuses. Many had kowtowed and begged for mercy, and some had fought back to the death.
But this was his first time meeting someone like Lin Yang, who refused to play by the rules.
What was this supposed to be?
Was he so eager to die that he was chasing up his order?
Shui Bing'er, who had just escaped the illusion, froze when she saw Lin Yang, then quickly pieced together what had happened.
A trace of gratitude entered her eyes.
"I..."
The corner of Shi Nian's mouth twitched. He coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam, then said quietly, "I've heard about you."
"And?"
"Y-you're much stronger than I imagined. I wasn't completely confident I could subdue you."
Shi Nian's voice was strained, with a faint note of resentment.
His Remnant Dream Martial Soul had many advantages.
Its illusions in particular were powerful and lifelike, and could be cast without a sound or trace, killing invisibly.
But illusions were not all-powerful.
Their most obvious weakness was their lack of killing power.
As long as his opponent had strong Spiritual Power and a firm will, Shi Nian's Remnant Dream Martial Soul was more than halfway useless.
In other words, it worked fine for crushing weaklings.
Once he encountered a Soul Master of similar strength or the same rank, his illusions could only trap them briefly.
In a head-on fight, the split would