Above the Spirit-Nurturing Sect, among the clouds.
Chen Qianqiu concealed his presence, his enormous, long, pitch-black draconic body hovering silently. Even without him moving, the light around him kept warping.
At that moment, a group of Soul Masters with wolf-head emblems embroidered on their chests had completely surrounded the Spirit-Nurturing Sect's mountain gate.
A closer look revealed that these Soul Masters were protecting a lavishly dressed man at their center, like stars clustered around the moon. He was presumably the highest-ranking person among them on this trip.
The man's clothes were made from the finest fabric produced in Barak, with cloud-wolf totems embroidered in expensive gold thread on both collar and cuffs. This was presumably an emblem unique to the Silves royal family. He also waved a folding fan with white jade ribs, putting on airs of refinement.
It was hard to imagine someone dressed like this appearing in such a rugged, desolate wilderness. Like a peacock, he exuded affected arrogance, acting superior in every way.
"Your Highness Meng Shan, slow down. The Spirit-Nurturing Sect is just ahead. That little wench Liu Yan definitely won't escape your grasp today! Just say the word, and I'll tie her up and deliver her to your bed!"
The lavishly dressed man was named Meng Shan, the second prince of the Silves Kingdom.
The person who had just spoken was the man who had led the group earlier. Now, none of his initial savage ferocity remained. Like a lapdog wagging its tail and begging for favor, he nodded and bowed to Meng Shan, his face plastered with flattery:
"Kuang Heng, don't speak so wildly. I have never liked vulgarity."
Meng Shan closed his jade fan with an arrogant expression. Despite his fine-sounding words, his eyes held undisguised greed, as though he were inspecting a plaything already in his possession.
Standing atop the steps was none other than the Spirit-Nurturing Sect's sect master, Liu Yan.
Not only was this woman exceptionally beautiful, but she also had a full figure. Her long blue-green dress outlined her mature, voluptuous curves, and her dark, delicate brows and eyes held a gentle yet tenacious charm.
"Meng Shan, why must you keep pushing me again and again!"
At that moment, however, Liu Yan's stunning face was filled with humiliation and anger.
Chen Qianqiu noticed that almost every disciple within the Spirit-Nurturing Sect had gathered at the gate. He had to admit that, although their strength was mediocre, the sect's unity was quite good.
"Even if you belong to the royal family, you can't disregard the law like this and change established rules on a whim!"
"Our Spirit-Nurturing Sect pays its security deposit on time every year and has never overstepped in the slightest! And every water source we've dug has been under the kingdom's supervision."
"Yet now, based solely on an uninvestigated charge of drawing water without permission, you're tripling our Spirit-Nurturing Sect's security deposit for this year. How are we supposed to survive?!"
Liu Yan's chest heaved violently, and she was clearly suppressing her fury.
"What's the security deposit?"
"It's something of a specialty of the Silves Kingdom. Anyone occupying the kingdom's land has to pay a considerable sum of soul coins every year. Now that a member of the royal family has set his sights on Liu Yan of the Spirit-Nurturing Sect, she's probably in for trouble."
Lor Diarra explained.
"How you survive is your business. All I know is that I won't accept a single soul coin less than what I'm owed this year. Otherwise, I'll report this to my royal father and have your Spirit-Nurturing Sect wiped out of existence!!!"
Meng Shan smugly tapped his palm with his jade fan and threatened her with a condescending air.
"I'm sure you've already received word. Those sects you used to be on good terms with took the initiative to abandon you a few days ago. I won't hide it either. That was my doing. Let me put it this way: as long as I want something, there's nothing I can't accomplish in this Silves Kingdom."
"You!!!"
Liu Ruyan was beside herself with anger.
"Sect Master Liu, you should actually understand what I mean. Why insist on being so stubborn? As long as you become mine and serve me well enough to keep me happy, I can naturally help you negotiate this security deposit."
Meng Shan sneered, his gaze roaming brazenly over Liu Yan's full chest, his tone frivolous and cloying:
"You wouldn't want your precious disciples to get hurt because of you, would you?"
"You're shameless! Sect Master, don't listen to him!!!"
"That's right, Sect Master! We're not afraid!!!"
Every disciple trembled with rage, their eyes reddening.
But the more they said this, the more powerless Liu Yan felt. If she refused, given Meng Shan's temperament, these disciples of hers would certainly have no way to survive. And even if they resisted now, Silves's practice of avenging the slightest grievance meant it would not spare the entire Spirit-Nurturing Sect.
Death lay both ahead and behind. Was there truly no way out? Did she really have to submit?
Despair filled Liu Yan, and her clenched hands slowly loosened.
"Hahaha! That's more like it!"
Meng Shan happened to catch this sight and burst into unrestrained laughter. Liu Yan's demeanor stoked the lustful fire within him, but just as he was about to speak again-
A tearing, searing sensation suddenly struck from deep within his soul.
The energy between heaven and earth seemed to have been drained dry in an instant. The light overhead abruptly dimmed, as though a dark cloud blotting out the sky and sun had settled over everyone's heads!
Boom!!!
A terrifying blast of dragon breath, black as ink, poured down from the heavens like a suspended river. Those black flames could devour even the surrounding light, descending directly with terrifying laws in their wake.
Rumble!
The earth shook violently. Perhaps because this was his first time using dragon breath in actual combat, Chen Qianqiu's throat grew a little dry as he kept breathing it out, and he felt like drinking some water. This directly caused his attack to go off target.
Poor Kuang Heng had still been desperately forcing a flattering smile. Before he could even scream, the pitch-black dragon breath swallowed him whole.
Only a hair-raising crackling echoed through the surroundings as flesh and bone alike turned into deathly gray powder, as though he had never existed in this world!
Then a tremendous amount of life energy swept back up through the air and was swallowed in a single gulp by Chen Qianqiu high above.
"I actually missed..."
High in the sky, Chen Qianqiu exhaled a puff of black smoke, annoyance flashing through his dark-gold slit pupils.
"Looks like relying solely on devouring energy to improve my combat strength won't do. I'll have to practice my aim properly in actual combat from now on."
"But its destructive power certainly didn't disappoint me. I'll call this move Breath of Death from now on."
The upheaval below had happened in the flash of lightning and the strike of a flint. It took the remaining royal guards a good while to realize that their leader had turned to ash. Instantly scared out of their wits, they no longer cared about protecting Meng Shan and screamed as they tried to turn and flee.
An afterimage as swift as lightning tore through the air.
Squelch! Bang! Crack!
Lor Diarra could not even be bothered to activate his Martial Soul Avatar. The strength of an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo was simply too terrifying. His figure darted about like a phantom, and, as though snapping the necks of **, he killed every remaining guard trying to escape in the blink of an eye. Their bodies collapsed limply across the ground.
Drip, drip.
Blood flowed everywhere.
In midair, Chen Qianqiu watched the scene.
"Not bad at all. As the saying goes, don't treat a spud like it isn't a potato."