The shouting demand came from none other than the Lavender Alchemic Sovereign, the eldest and second-highest ranking Alchemist of the Imperial Clan, Xun Yicao! The aged features on his face concealed his inner turmoil; his demeanor of authority and high status exuded from his pores, and he gazed at the trio above fearlessly. If one looked closely, there was even contempt plastered on his face.
The trio looked down.
Seeing that he'd caught their attention, Xun Yicao stepped forward. While this was a meaningless action given their literal locations, it was the act that carried endless confidence of a forward momentum that mattered. Xun Yicao's confidence was renewed, and his every movement carried a sense of superiority.
"Alchemic Sovereign Wei," Xun Yicao called out, the smile on his face solidifying into a half-grin; he continued with an interrogating tone: "Are you sure?" This was an unclear question to most, but it held several meanings that could be gathered from the situation, and all were valid. Whether it was if Wei Wuyin intended to 'attempt' to follow through with his threat, or if he would take two Imperial Monarchs, a Sky Monarch, a Grand Alchemic Sovereign, and the one and only Empress of the Imperial Clan hostage, or whether he would seize the property of the Imperial Clan—all were validly infused into a single question.
If it had to be summed up, then this was the equivalent of asking: "JUNIOR, DO YOU DARE?!"
"..." Wei Wuyin looked at Xun Yicao's calm face, then swept his gaze across the expressions of the others. Kong Yi was vigilant as his Mystic Aura was ready to erupt at a moment's notice, standing protectively near the Lavender Alchemic Sovereign. Tian Muyang had bitterness in his eyes, but he maintained a neutral expression and tried to convey all he could through his gaze. Tian Lingyu's eyes were transfixed on him, and her emotions were extremely familiar to him. It was hard not to smile.
But the Empress was different; she was abnormally calm and quietly observing the situation as if she was waiting for something. Wei Wuyin's ability to sense mental fluctuations had greatly increased since his cultivation base and physique breakthrough, and he keenly noted that she exuded signs of anxiety and the decisiveness of a warrior willing to risk it all. However, outwardly, she displayed the absolute calmness one would expect from the Imperial Clan's Empress.
°Interesting.°
"Remove the barrier," Wei Wuyin coolly ordered. Wu Yu heeded his command without question, instantly removing the solidified Mystic Barrier of the Sky Destroyer. With that, the trio fell slowly towards the deck, and they arrived a few dozen meters away from these Earthly Saints of the Imperial Clan.
Bai Lin eyed each of them with an intense glare, her golden eyes blazing with fiery might. When she finally met Xun Yicao, the murderous urge to end a life seeped into her heart as she recalled his earlier insulting and impudent words. She wanted nothing more than to burn him alive.
Kong Yi's body tensed; he contemplated taking Xun Yicao and escaping, but he noted that Wu Yu's Spiritual Sense was enveloping him entirely. If he made a move, Wu Yu would respond in kind, and a fight between two powerful Earthly Saints could be absolutely lethal to Xun Yicao's Demi-Mortal Lord's refined body; just the shockwaves were enough to bring fatal harm. Furthermore, Wu Yu controlled the Sky Destroyer's Core Array and could activate several of its restrictive formations to delay him.
The scene's ambient atmosphere instantly became heavy, on the precipice of an avalanche of chaos and spontaneous events. Just a single action, a single ignition, and it was hard to tell how this would explode!
This lasted for a few seconds that felt like minutes to some of the crew until Wei Wuyin broke the tension with his voice: "Empress Xiaocheng, you're free to leave alongside the Imperial Monarchs and Crew. I'll return the Sky Destroyer after I'm done." Those words sparked an uproar, but could not fully devolve into a commotion as Wei Wuyin coldly said, "Keep him busy."
"...!"
Who?
Before they could react, Wu Yu lightly nodded.
"Let's spar."
BOOSH!
From a standing position, Wu Yu erupted with terrifying forward momentum as Kong Yi was locked down. The eldest Sky Monarch felt the forceful aura barreling his way, and his eyes widened aggressively before his Wind Mystic Soul sublimated into action. A spiraling gust formed around him with planet-ravaging intensity, yet Xun Yicao remained untouched.
But Wu Yu's action was ferocious, despotic, and swift. With a single uppercut, Kong Yi's gust was overturned, and his body shot up and away in a blink. He was like a living tempest as he crossed thousands of miles, and Wu Yu transformed into a multicolored comet of Imperial Heaven Light and followed decisively.
The two began a clash of epic proportions that caused the nearby Voidships to all panic, twirling and twisting, activating all sorts of formations, but they weren't able to stabilize for a long, long time while continuously attempting to retreat.
"Shit!" Cardinal Song cursed as she directed her Voidship to protect itself. She cursed not just Wu Yu and Kong Yi but herself! She should've realized a fight was imminent! Unfortunately, her ship had sustained some damage already, while other ships were nearly non-functioning. And this was from the smallest of shockwaves from two Earthly Saints that hadn't even gotten serious!
One would often forget how terrifying Earthly Saints were, given the climate of their sealing, news of continuous deaths, and a lack of ongoing wars, but they were weapons of mass destruction that could cause the collapse of starfields if they wanted.
Tian Lingyu protected the crew, holding her position as she guarded herself with her arms. Tian Muyang backed off a bit, evading Kong Yi's ravaging gust, and his eyes looked at the intense fighting that kept going further and further away.
Wei Wuyin looked at Tian Muyang and Tian Lingyu, "Why don't you two take the others and play with Bai Lin?"
Bai Lin?
KREE!
The two were stunned and speechless; Bai Lin was the Fire Phoenix! More importantly, Wei Wuyin didn't even give the Empress a chance to speak! Before they could react, Bai Lin's Nirvanic Flames bloomed from her majestic body beautifully and surged toward the crew. Tian Muyang knew what to do, and Tian Lingyu followed after seeing him throw her a gaze, and they protected the crew and shot off into the Dark Void.
They were extremely fast, and Bai Lin cried out as she flew after them. The sight of two Earthly Saints and thousands of other cultivators all flying across the Dark Void, avoiding Nirvanic Flames as if it was a game of tag, was a scene no one expected. It didn't take long before they became blips tens of thousands of miles away, unable to approach as Nirvanic Flames blocked their path back to the Sky Destroyer.
Soon, only three figures remained on the ship—Wei Wuyin, Empress Xiaocheng, and the smiling and amused Xun Yicao. That confident demeanor of his was almost substantial, leaking from his pores, but Wei Wuyin was unaffected as he stared at the Empress quietly.
"You really are too young," Xun Yicao shook his head piteously. "What's next? Will you bring out your Armored Saint to deal with the Empress? Where is he? Hm?" As if he knew Wei Wuyin's next steps, he placed his arms and hands behind his back, cutting the figure of an invincible, untouchable figure.
"..." Wei Wuyin frowned, but his gaze remained on Empress Xiaocheng. She was extremely calm, and her Mystic Aura fluctuation was as peaceful as the eye of a storm. There was no indication of her readying herself for battle.
Huoyan Liulan gazed at the two battles happening in the far-off distance. Then, she looked towards the Sky Destroyer; her thoughts similarly matched Xun Yicao's words, thinking that Wei Wuyin was going to deploy the Armored Saint and take Empress Xiaocheng out of the picture.
"I fear if I do that, the Empress might be harmed, and that could make this situation go a little...out of my control." Wei Wuyin actually responded to Xun Yicao's question! When he did, the outward expression of the Empress was entirely unchanged, but Wei Wuyin could feel through her mental fluctuations that she was slightly shocked, but that feeling was dismissed with confidence.
If she was a cultivator that wore her heart on her sleeve, Wei Wuyin felt that her eyes might've constricted from surprise. Most spectators might think that this surprise was largely because Wei Wuyin had already made a move, an extremely big one at that, and the situation could no longer be easily settled, so those words felt ridiculous to hear.
But from the beginning, Wei Wuyin planned his words and orders carefully, including preventing any casualties from occurring, so it was still in a relatively neutral state. However, if he tried to perform either of his earlier tactics on the Empress, the chance of this situation spiraling out of his control was abnormally large.
Why?
Because something didn't feel right!
Wei Wuyin finally glanced at Xun Yicao's arrogant posture and expression. A thoughtful light flowed through his pupils, and an idea formed that felt extremely ridiculous. "You were fearful before; what changed?" Wei Wuyin curiously asked the Lavender Alchemic Sovereign.
"Why don't you make your move and see," Xun Yicao urged. "Bring out your Armored Saint! If you have the guts! Bring out what you intend to use against me!" The grin on his face was very annoying to see, and Wei Wuyin almost couldn't resist acting.
"Do you remember what I said before?" Wei Wuyin asked.
Xun Yicao's Mystic Aura wasn't even circulating, equally as calm as the Empress, and he didn't try to use the Empress as a shield against any incoming attacks. He stood his ground calmly, confidently, and contemptuously. "Do you think I'd remember everything an arrogant little junior has to say? If I did, I'd never have any peace."
Wei Wuyin's gaze was indifferent.
"Listen this time then. I said: No matter what, no matter who stands before you, even if the Empress or the Emperor begged for your life on their knees, today, next year will be the anniversary of your death."
No, he couldn't.
HE COULDN'T HOLD HIMSELF BACK!!!
SHIIING!!!
Clink.
A saber was sheathed; Wei Wuyin held Element and its Essence of War-formed sheathe in his hand, his eyes glacially indifferent as his pupils reflected the image of Xun Yicao's aged figure.
The crowd watched in confusion. Was Wei Wuyin going to act against Xun Yicao himself? But he's a mere Timelord against a Highlord! Moreover, Empress Xioacheng was right there. Of course, everyone expected the Armored Saint to make an appearance to distract the Empress, so no one found this irregular.
Step.
"I've always had a particular restriction on my strength," Wei Wuyin began. He slowly started to walk toward Xun Yicao, every step clear and crisp. He continued as he stared at him, "I could never unleash it fully without exploding. My body, a mere mortal body, no matter how refined, was severely limited in what could be used in a single instance, in a single action, and thereby my strength was considerably limited as a result.
Step. Step. Step.
"If I had a hundred units of available power, I could only use three units at any given moment. It was…infuriating, to say the least." Wei Wuyin's brisk walk soon passed Empress Xiaocheng on the deck, and her gorgeous eyes stayed glued to Wei Wuyin without any change in her expression. She genuinely didn't believe that Wei Wuyin could bring any harm to Xun Yicao, a Demi-Mortal Lord, even if he was primarily an Alchemist.
However, she didn't make a move. If she did, then it would ruin everything. When Wei Wuyin acted against Xun Yicao, she could make a move, and only then would it work.
"Alchemic Sovereign Xun, I no longer have that restriction, and I'm happy that you're the first one to experience it—my true strength. Today will be our greatest anniversary. The day I, Wei Wuyin, entered the stage as a cultivator. And for you, the day you took your last breath in this world."
Step.
Wei Wuyin halted exactly nine meters away from Xun Yicao, whose eyes, at some unknown point, had widened uncontrollably!
"..." Xun Yicao's eyes regained their fear! They regained their intense, heart-crumbling, soul-shrieking fear!!
"The only regret I have today…is that I can't kill you twice."
SPURT!
A torrential gush of endless blood erupted from Xun Yicao's neck like a sprinkler! A thin line formed, extremely clean and nearly imperceptible to the eye, and then with explosive force, the aged head of the Lavender Alchemic Sovereign jetted upwards!
The lone sight of Xun Yicao's head moving across the Dark Void consumed the world.
BOOSH!
The head combusted into white flames!