In an instant, the melodious sound that had been overwhelming Ji Wuye's mind, causing a pounding headache and dizziness, vanished.
At the same time, Elder Qiao's figure was suddenly flung backward, as if an invisible hand had pushed her with tremendous force.
Her body twisted and rotated midair, the fabric of her martial robe whipping loudly in the slowly dispersing mist, the loose folds billowing like tattered wings. Her usually composed expression contorted into one of shock and surprise as she fought to regain control.
Yet, just as she was about to smash into the ground with bone-shattering impact, she managed to stabilize herself at the last moment, landing in a half-kneeling position with one hand pressed against the stone surface for balance.
Her narrowed eyes, locked onto him—or more precisely, Ji Wuye's back—as he walked forward, heading toward the source of loud, furious clashing between the Black Thunder Emperor and the Kunlun Patriarch, which echoed through the dissipating, misty air like the clash of titans.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye's crimson pupils glowed ominously beneath the mist, cutting through the white haze like two smoldering embers. These piercing eyes revealed a fierce battle, where the Kunlun Patriarch and the Black Thunder Emperor stood locked in combat, their figures obscured by swirling tendrils of mist.
The Patriarch, his robes rippling from the sheer force of their exchange, held his ground against the Emperor, whose fury raged alongside the crackling of Thunder Qi that danced across his towering form.
"Greetings, Patriarch," Ji Wuye said as he emerged from the dissipating mist, his voice cutting through the cacophony of battle like a knife.
With his sudden presence, he immediately drew a reaction from the Patriarch, whose head snapped towards the sound. In a blur of motion, a swift horizontal slash from the edge of the Patriarch's jian came slicing through the air, aimed straight at Ji Wuye's face with lethal precision.
SWOOSH!
The sharp wave of the jian's strike sliced through the lingering mist that shrouded the vast, stone-paved Lower Level of Kunlun, dispersing it almost instantly in a violent gust.
The entire scene came into full view: the Black Thunder Emperor, standing tall with his halberd radiating roaring threads of thunder Qi that crackled and snapped like living tendrils; the Kunlun Patriarch, gripping his jian extended horizontally to the side, halting the blade's lethal path just before it could reach Ji Wuye's face.
"What are you doing here?" the Kunlun Patriarch asked with a deep frown creasing his brow, his white pupils shifting slightly to the side as he observed how this particularly handsome disciple neither flinched nor showed any sign of being affected by the aftermath of his jian's powerful swing.
The whitish Qi enveloping both the Patriarch's jian and his entire body was calm like still water, yet as deadly as poison. Its overwhelming presence could be felt by anyone who approached too closely, imbued as it was with the essence of the metal element—a suffocating weight that seemed to bear down on the very air itself.
Such was the vast difference between a martial artist who had reached the 9th Realm and those below it.
Once a martial artist attained the 9th Realm, they no longer needed to summon or resonate with their weapons, nor require a weapon as a medium to manifest their elemental energy. The Qi flowed from them as naturally as breath, an extension of their very being.
"As a disciple of Kunlun, and as the one responsible for causing this trouble, please allow me to handle it," Ji Wuye said politely, though his tone and demeanor were far from sincere.
He didn't offer a bow or even the customary gesture of cupping his hands toward the Kunlun Patriarch.
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Instead, his gaze swept over the Patriarch from head to toe, lingering on the wisps of whitish Qi that seemed to shimmer around the his form, before finally settling on the Patriarch's white pupils with an almost challenging glint in his own crimson eyes.
'White Qi... Pure Metal, huh?' Ji Wuye mused, his crimson pupils locking with the Patriarch's white ones. The two stood side by side in tense, unbroken silence, their gazes unwavering. The Kunlun Patriarch’s expression remained calm and impassive, mirroring Ji Wuye’s restrained demeanor.
Then, out of nowhere, as if on instinct—with a heaviness suddenly pressing upon the entire space, nearly suffocating in its intensity—both Ji Wuye and the Patriarch moved simultaneously in a blur of motion, their forms blurring and merging with the ebb and flow of Qi around them.
CLANK!
The sharp sound of a jian clashing against a massive halberd shattered the tension and cracked through the air like a thunderclap, sending a surge of Thunder Qi rippling outward in violent waves that distorted the very space around them.
Ji Wuye, gripping his jian with only one hand, raised his left arm, his elbow held high above his chest in a defensive stance.
The jian's edge, glowing faintly with bluish Qi that seemed to pulse and swirl around the blade, was aligned vertically as it met the force of the incoming halberd from the front with a resounding clang.
However, despite the halberd's ferocious power and the thunderous Qi crackling around it, Ji Wuye's blade held firm, stopping it cold in its tracks.
On the other hand, the Patriarch of Kunlun's jian, which had almost cut Ji Wuye's face moments before, now shifted its trajectory in a silver blur, the blade aiming to stab the side of the halberd's haft in a flanking maneuver. Yet its movement was a fraction slower than Ji Wuye's jian.
This brief clash left both Ji Wuye and the Patriarch locking eyes again, their gazes meeting across the crossed blades as the thunderous hum of colliding Qi filled the air.
Yet, once more time...
"HAARGG!"
The guttural battle cry split the air as a towering figure suddenly soared through the air, overshadowing Ji Wuye and the Patriarch of Kunlun.
It was the Black Thunder Emperor, his massive form arcing down from above in a surprise attack, the halberd clutched in his hands leaving a trail of crackling lightning in its wake as it descended towards the pair.
However, just as the attack was about to land—
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[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (C), has been triggered!
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The transparent notification screen flashed before Ji Wuye's crimson pupils, still fixed on the Patriarch's white pupils in intense focus.
In that same instant, the ambusher's trajectory was violently disrupted mid-flight, as if struck by an enormous invisible hand. The Black Thunder Emperor's body jerked unnaturally, his arms and legs flailing as the force of the unseen blow flung him backwards through the air—just like what had happened to Elder Qiao earlier.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye's focus was elsewhere, noticing a subtle change in the Kunlun Patriarch's expression. For just a moment, his white pupils briefly widened in surprise before narrowing in sharp calculation—a fleeting crack in his otherwise impassive facade. The Patriarch's gaze shifted toward the airborne figure that had been violently hurled back.
The aftermath of the failed attack played out in slow motion. The Black Thunder Emperor's massive form twisted through the air causing the ground to tremble violently and sending spiderweb cracks radiating outwards.
Yet, the Black Thunder Emperor immediately stabilized upon landing, digging his free hand deep into the fractured stone to halt the momentum of his fall, his body carving a deep furrow in the paved surface before finally coming to a stop.
"I see," the Kunlun Patriarch muttered after a brief pause, lowering his gaze as if deep in thought. With a calm, deliberate motion, he withdrew his jian from the air and sheathed it in one fluid movement, the whitish Qi surrounding him dissipating in an instant like fog before the morning sun.
"If you think you can use those so-called 'skills' you obtained from the Tower, then by all means, go ahead," he said.
With those final words hanging in the air, the Kunlun Patriarch turned away, presenting Ji Wuye with the sight of his retreating back.
The white martial robes billowed slightly as he began to walk, his steps measured and unhurried, leaving Ji Wuye behind as he made his way 16 zhang ahead, ascending the broad stone staircase that led into the Central Courtyard.
'Well, he's still the same... or should I say...' Ji Wuye's thoughts trailed off, his crimson eyes narrowing as he observed the Patriarch's departure.
In this new timeline, so much was both familiar yet different - impressions and nuances that seemed clearer now that he had grown stronger. He was beginning to sense new emotions from people he thought he knew well, or had known for far longer in the previous timeline...
Shaking off that thought, Ji Wuye turned his gaze - and his full, undivided attention - toward the Black Thunder Emperor.
The towering figure cut an imposing silhouette, standing utterly still and silent, his muscular forearms gathering dust and debris from the shattered paving stones, his bare hands clenched into tight fists.
A deep frown creased his forehead as he stared at Ji Wuye, his heavy brow furrowed over eyes that burned with an intense, smoldering rage. His gaze was dark and piercing, filled with a burning intensity that seemed to strip away all extraneous thoughts and focus solely on the target of his fury.
"I can finally see the face of the man who killed my precious disciple..." the Black Thunder Emperor growled, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder.
His bloodshot eyes blazed with unbridled fury, yet that gravelly baritone carried an unsettling edge, a cold undercurrent of something far darker lurking beneath the surface rage.
Slowly, with painful deliberation, his lips stretched into a wide, almost deranged rictus grin that contorted his features into a terrifying mask of wrath.
Without warning, his stance shifted dramatically, the rubble crunching beneath his bare feet as he dropped low. Both of his knees bent, his powerful arms tensed and crackled with roaring Thunder Qi that danced across his bulk like living tendrils, casting flickering shadows.
Black streaks of Qi, flickering with flashes of searing lightning, erupted from his entire body in violent bursts. The dark, malevolent energy seemed alive, pulsating and roaring like a living tempest as it consumed the space around him, tendrils of inky blackness intertwined with snapping arcs of brilliant purple electricity.
The Emperor's face twisted into a snarling rictus of pure, animalistic fury, the thunderous power gathering around him causing his hair and robes to whip and billow wildly.
"Black Thunder Clap!"
BANG!
Both of his hands came together in front of his body, palms cupped tightly as he channeled the full, terrifying force of his Qi.