The figure that had suddenly appeared stood silently amid the eternal night, clad in a black cloak, his face expressionless, his bearing regal and magnificent.
Like the sovereign of the eternal night!
The members of the Night Alliance were swallowed by Zhuzhao's power right before him, torn apart, their bodies and souls destroyed, yet he never even raised an eyelid.
"My lord!
"Save me! Save me!"
Like a drowning man clutching his last straw, Venerable Night cried shrilly for help, desperation filling his voice with terror of death!
But his heart was growing cold!
Because he knew who the man before him was...
His purpose in killing Xie Feng and seizing the Dharma artifacts had also been to break free of this man!
And...
The existence behind him!
Would someone without feeling or loyalty save him?
No matter how piercing Venerable Night's screams grew, the black-robed man watched indifferently, without pleasure or anger, cold and merciless to the extreme.
Sure enough!
Venerable Night despaired!
He tried to save himself, but Solar Zhuzhao's power covered the entire Land of Eternal Night! That power was so immense that space was collapsing wildly. He could not resist it at all.
Boom!
A deafening crash rang out.
The terrifying power struck Venerable Night. In an instant, his soul shattered into fine powder, cascading down beneath the black-robed man's indifferent gaze, covering the earth in half an inch of dust!
It was all over!
Solar Zhuzhao gradually dissipated.
The turbulent heavens and earth finally returned to tranquility.
Clap, clap!
The black-robed man raised his eyes and clapped a few times in approval.
Xie Feng looked at him.
Their gazes collided in the eternal night!
One smiled; the other was cold.
One was bright and unrestrained; the other, towering and silent!
Their oppressive might erupted like ocean waves, warping space violently until it hummed beneath the unbearable burden.
Sushang's delicate brows creased slightly. Cradling the Radiant Sun Sword, she looked at Xie Feng, then at the black-robed man.
This fellow seems to be testing Master...
He's so confident...
But Master is very, very, very... a hundred times very, powerful!
The pressure on space continued to increase. Storms began to rage, mountains and rivers began to collapse, and heaven and earth seemed about to shatter!
The black-robed man abruptly withdrew his power and turned his head to complain, "Hey, come out! Weren't you going to make friends? Why are you pretending to have social anxiety?"
A yellow-robed man emerged from the shadows. Slender and handsome, he held a palm-sized, dark-red chessboard and looked every bit a frail scholar.
He raised his eyes to look into the distance. His eyes were as deep and mysterious as a river of stars, two overlapping pupils glimmering with a strange, mysterious light.
Double Pupils!
"Fortunately, you didn't start fighting."
Ye Yuan smiled warmly, shaking his head with a soft sigh.
*???*
What's with that disappointed look?
Was he actually hoping I'd fight him?!
Meng Wuqu's hands suddenly itched...
He no longer wanted to fight Xie Feng. He wanted to hit this fellow!
He really wasn't afraid of making a spectacle even bigger!
That exchange of gazes had seemed as brief as a flash of lightning, yet storms had surged within it, fraught with danger!
It had been a clash of temperament, strength, soul, and sword intent!
What astonished Meng Wuqu was that he and Xie Feng...
Had been evenly matched!
Very few people in this world could withstand his edge anymore!
And he was so young!
Given time, the young man ranked first on the Heavenly Ranking would surely surpass his achievements!
"Solar Zhuzhao... the reward for first place. You must be Mr. Xie Feng.
"This is Meng Wuqu, and I am Ye Yuan. I have long heard of the Heavenly Ranking's number one. Meeting you today, I see your bearing truly is extraordinary."
Ye Yuan spoke with a smile.
Xie Feng narrowed his eyes. Ye Yuan's name was not unfamiliar to him: the Holy Venerable of the Azure Cloud Holy Land on the Cloud Continent, rumored to be detached by nature, with something of a recluse's air. His appearance on both Heavenly Rankings had made his standing even more extraordinary!
"Master, isn't he with Venerable Night?"
"He even called him 'my lord' just now!"
The turn of events had left Sushang confused. The young girl blinked, pointed at Meng Wuqu, and looked up to ask.
Meng Wuqu said, "Merely ants."
Ye Yuan smiled. "I am the master of Endless Heaven. The Night Alliance was a newly incorporated subordinate faction of Endless Heaven. I apologize for the trouble it caused you, Mr. Xie."
Xie Feng had also heard of Endless Heaven. It was the world's strongest clandestine network, holding intelligence and secrets from across the world. Its headquarters lay on the Northern Continent, near the Land of Eternal Night!
The Night Alliance, a newly emerged faction in the eternal night, had very likely clashed with Endless Heaven. After a battle, the weaker Night Alliance had been absorbed.
Ye Yuan was the master of Endless Heaven, but Meng Wuqu, as Ye Yuan's friend, must have intervened when the Night Alliance was subdued, which was why Venerable Night had feared him so much!
But this man truly was coldhearted, remaining utterly unmoved as he watched all those people turn to ash before him!
And!
His cultivation was exceptionally profound!
During their exchange of gazes, even Xie Feng had felt his terrifying sword intent!
Like a blade born to kill!
This man made him wary!
Sushang hugged her sword. "Hmph. One leaves, another comes. One leaves, and another comes again. Even if you aren't tired, we're tired of fighting."
Ye Yuan looked at her sword, his smile freezing slightly.
The Radiant Sun Sword!
The reward for second place on the Aptitude Ranking!
This little girl was actually second on the Heavenly Ranking!
And!
On the Dharma Artifact Ranking, where Xie Feng monopolized the top four places, her Water Dragon Chant still firmly occupied fifth!
Such a young girl with such extraordinary strength-it had to be connected to Xie Feng, who stood behind her!
Ye Yuan smiled. "If you wish, Mr. Xie, you may consider the Night Alliance's destruction a gift from me. I have long admired powerful individuals like you. Since chance has brought us together like drifting duckweed, how about becoming friends?"
"You want to be friends with me?"
"Yes."
"You think I'll agree?"
"Yes!"
Ye Yuan answered with certainty.
That sincere look actually bore some resemblance to his eldest senior brother...
But his senior brother had always been upright and restrained, while this man was rather flippant.
So Xie Feng thought.
Ye Yuan lifted the chessboard in his hand. "How good are you at chess, Mr. Xie?"
Xie Feng said, "I know a little."
Ye Yuan said, "Care for a game?"
Xie Feng smiled. "Making friends through chess. How refined."
Ye Yuan lightly swept his cloud-patterned sleeve, opening a vast domain containing a table and two stools. At that moment, the Soundless Disc flew from his palm, instantly enlarged, and floated gently onto the stone table as a set of chess pieces materialized.
"Please!"
Ye Yuan extended his sleeve with a smile.
Xie Feng turned back to instruct Sushang. "Xiao Shang, stay here and behave. I'll be out in a little while."
"Oh..."
Sushang answered, but blinked in puzzlement.
Why won't he let us watch them play?
Is he afraid we'll offer advice?
I don't even understand chess!
Besides, I know a true gentleman watches a game in silence...
Oh, forget it. Master must have his reasons.
Xie Feng and Ye Yuan entered the domain. Power swirled up, and the domain vanished into space!
Sushang sat cross-legged, hugging her sword. Beside her, Meng Wuqu stood motionless like a mighty mountain. Neither spoke, and the atmosphere was strange and oppressive.
She waited and waited.
Why haven't Master and the other man come out yet?
Have they met their match and need to play for three days and nights?
Heavens, doesn't that mean I'll have to stay with this terrifying big black bear the whole time?
Will he suddenly attack?
Ambush me from behind and seize my neck?!
The more the young girl thought, the more frightened she grew. She hurriedly covered her delicate neck, but then suddenly remembered that she was not weak either, and she had a divine weapon in hand. She could not be so spineless!
With Master absent, she had to stand tall!
Sushang puffed out her little chest, secretly glanced sidelong at Meng Wuqu, and released a slight trace of oppressive might, putting on a look that warned strangers away. But she did not keep it up for long before she could no longer help worrying about Xie Feng again.
Holding her sword in her left arm, she unconsciously drew circles on the ground with her right hand...
Meng Wuqu watched this whole display of split personalities...
It truly broadened his horizons.