Feeling the terrifying pressure from the lightning, the old man in black changed his expression drastically, hurriedly circulating his spiritual energy to shield himself.

A faint rumbling sound echoed as the golden lightning split into two strands, piercing through his chest and head.

"You..."

The old man stood frozen in place, staring blankly at Li Sheng, his life force dissipating, his murky eyes filled with confusion and unwillingness.

After landing a successful strike, Li Sheng did not linger. A flash of electricity streaked by as he vanished, darting past the low hills of the swamp, leaving no trace in mere moments.

The young man in red before him was dumbfounded. He was one of the few in the crowd who had been paying attention to Li Sheng from the beginning. The entire sequence from Li Sheng's sudden attack on the master to his disappearance into the valley lasted no more than two or three breaths.

In disbelief, he murmured, "A cultivator with heavenly-level divine abilities?"

At the front of the group, Feng Xiao was busy flattering Ling Ke, eliciting continuous laughter from the enchanting beauty.

The moment Li Sheng made his move, sensing the slight fluctuations in energy, the two instinctively activated the jade tokens at their waists.

Pink and yellow light shields suddenly rose, enveloping them as they turned to look back, just in time to witness the scene of the old man in black collapsing.

Both their expressions changed dramatically, and they were about to speak when Li Sheng's figure transformed into a flash of lightning, darting into the valley.

"He possesses heavenly-level divine abilities!!"

They exchanged astonished glances, gasping in unison.

"This person looks familiar; his appearance doesn't match any of the fifteen names on the list!"

Feng Xiao stared intently in the direction Li Sheng had vanished.

"He must be another hidden genius..."

Ling Ke's captivating eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Seeing Ling Ke's interest, Feng Xiao felt a twinge of jealousy but quickly composed himself, smiling, "This person, despite being an extraordinary genius, acts so despicably. He didn't just disregard us; he also offended the Great Flame. This matter cannot be left unresolved!"

"Oh~" Ling Ke glanced at him in surprise, covering her mouth in a soft laugh. "Are you thinking of confronting him, Feng Gongzi? I'm quite looking forward to it..."

"Uh..." Feng Xiao paused, not expecting Ling Ke to show no sign of anger.

At that moment, many of the other young talents were discussing the event.

"Is this the power of heavenly-level divine abilities one strike to kill a master-level cultivator...?"

"That's nonsense; it was clearly a sneak attack!"

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"Not at all. Based on that genius's explosive power, even if it wasn't a sneak attack, he could have defeated him within twenty moves. This person should not be underestimated!"

As the crowd buzzed with conversation, Wang Ye and Yan Yungui quietly retreated until they were far from the group, finally exhaling a sigh of relief.

They exchanged glances, both seeing the shock reflected in each other's eyes.

"Thank goodness, Wild Daoist, that you didn't trick Li Sheng; otherwise, you might have ended up like that master, meeting your end..." Yan Yungui said, a teasing smile on his face.

"Shut up! I, the Daoist, walk a righteous path, relying on honesty to conduct my business. When have I ever deceived anyone?"

Wang Ye's voice lowered as his guilt became apparent, thinking to himself that he had planned to suggest his 'celestial talismans' to Li Sheng after he faced failure.

Who would have thought that Li Sheng's so-called sparring would turn out to be a sneak attack on a master?

Seeing Yan Yungui's teasing expression, Wang Ye's anger flared. "What are you so smug about? You drag people into your broken hall, and all you have are misfits! No wonder you rank at the bottom in the 108 halls of the Absolute Beauty Tower..."

"That's not true!"

"I'm clearly ranked one hundred and six!"

"Is that the point?" Wang Ye looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Enough of the bickering! What should we do now? Are you going into the valley or not?" Yan Yungui asked, dropping the playful demeanor.

Wang Ye replied immediately, "Of course we should go in! Since we've been seen together, we'd best keep our distance and follow from afar."

...

A flash of lightning streaked low over the swamp, revealing more than a dozen corpses of two-meter-long poison crocodiles scattered around. Li Sheng followed the lingering traces, turning left and right.

Suddenly, his expression shifted as he looked to the right, his figure vanishing from the spot.

On a low hill, thousands of poison crocodile corpses lay strewn about, and in the center stood a blood-red sphere, absorbing all surrounding energy.

Two old men in black circled around the cocoon-like object, relentlessly attacking.

A series of sword lights sliced through the air, forming a river of blade energy that pierced downward.

Meanwhile, one of the old men transformed into a small green tree, with dozens of branches shimmering with green light as they sought to extract energy from the blood-red cocoon.

After a moment, both paused, staring at the smooth, unblemished surface of the cocoon, their expressions heavy with concern.

The white-haired elder said in a deep voice, "This demon cultivator is rather troublesome. Should we call for more help or have our ancestor come in person...?"

The older of the two nodded, deep in thought. When they first encountered it, only the third elder was able to injure it. Afterward, it had transformed into this blood-red sphere, seemingly evolving. Once it emerged, its aura surged, allowing it to clash with the third elder for a while. Although it was slightly weaker, it had still shocked them all.

Then, the three joined forces to heavily injure it, chasing it to this point. Now, this was its second time condensing into a blood-red sphere. If it could evolve again, it would become even more troublesome.

As for destroying the cocoon, they had tried many times but achieved no results, not even leaving a mark on it.

"I guess we have no choice... Who would have thought a mere fourth-tier demon cultivator could be so difficult?"

The older black-clad man sighed, then took out a white spirit stone from his storage bag to send a message about Liu Hongfeng.

The two retreated a hundred meters, maintaining their guard.

Just as they were watching the blood-red sphere, a bolt of lightning suddenly cut through the sky.

"Who goes there? The Great Flame is here! Withdraw immediately!"

The two black-clad masters looked up at the sky, shouting.

In mid-air, Li Sheng surveyed the surroundings and detected a faint trace of his senior sister's aura within the blood-red sphere, his heart finally relaxing.

His gaze then turned murderous as he focused on the two men.

"What a bold claim! What if I refuse to withdraw?!"

They studied him closely, finally noticing something peculiar about his aura. Despite being at the fourth tier, he was capable of flying.

They exchanged glances, both sensing the shock in each other's eyes.

"A cultivator with heavenly-level divine abilities!"

Then, their minds raced, recalling the appearances of various major powers"geniuses. After a few breaths, they could not find a match.

The older black-clad man said cautiously, "Which sect do you belong to? Perhaps our ancestor knows your elders."

Li Sheng cryptically replied, "My sect has deep ties with the Great Flame."

As the sky darkened with ominous clouds, thunder rumbled as if the heavens were roaring.