Chapter 491: Fall

Like a shooting star tearing across the horizon, Liu Xiaoyue vanished at the edge of their vision as the crowd watched helplessly.

A tingling numbness gripped their scalps.

Liu Xiaoyue had been sent flying...

The domain lord of Moon Yin.

An entity at the Summit of the Eighth Tier.

Sent flying by a single punch from Yan Jing.

"A physical Summit," Zhuang Yun muttered, her body freezing.

A physical Summit—such a concept shouldn't have any connection whatsoever to a peripheral region like the Twelve Ring Domains.

Looking back through the entire history of the Twelve Domains, there had never been a single entity who reached the Summit purely through their physical body.

Rumor had it that if someone achieved a physical Summit, once their Tier also reached the Summit, they would become a dual-Summit entity capable of fighting a Ninth Tier to a standstill.

This meant...

Moon Yin now had a pseudo-Ninth Tier.

More accurately, Yan Jing was currently the person closest to the Ninth Tier across all three domains.

Advancing from the seventh to the Eighth Tier was far easier than advancing from the eighth to the ninth.

Wang Yu stared in the direction Liu Xiaoyue had vanished. After a few seconds, she finally took a deep breath. "Liu Xiaoyue might be finished."

"She's definitely finished," Long Quezhou said coldly.

Both of them understood Liu Xiaoyue's personality well enough to foresee exactly how this would play out.

"We'll have to see if we can mediate a truce when the time comes..." Wang Yu sighed.

The relationships between the domain lords were far more complex than outsiders believed.

If Yan Jing and Liu Xiaoyue tore each other apart, it wouldn't do them any good either.

She had previously considered Yan Jing a potential candidate, but looking at him now, he was no lesser than a true candidate.

"Broadcast the situation," Long Quezhou coldly ordered a subordinate he'd summoned. "A joint broadcast across all three domains."

"This is the first step of the merger plan."

Wang Yu shot Long Quezhou a look of surprise.

When the merger plan was initially proposed, he had been its most staunch opponent.

It took a full dozen seconds for Liu Xiaoyue's figure to reappear on the horizon.

Her hair was an unkempt mess. Her armor bore a deeply indented fist print, and faint, barely discernible cracks webbed outward from its center. When she looked at Yan Jing again, her gaze was profoundly complicated.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"I told you, you should have chosen me," Yan Jing said with a faint smile.

Liu Xiaoyue tried to maintain her composure, but failed completely. Her expression visibly darkened. "Stop now, and we can renegotiate."

"You still don't understand who's in charge here."

"A physical Summit doesn't guarantee your victory." Liu Xiaoyue's face grew even uglier. "I'm only giving you a chance because I see potential in you."

She didn't feel she was bluffing. An entity at the physical Summit had far fewer offensive methods than one at the Tier Summit.

But Yan Jing simply smiled. "Where did all that swagger go from when you challenged me just a moment ago? If you're afraid of losing, you can just say so."

Liu Xiaoyue blinked backward. The armor enveloping her flared with blinding light. The moonlight in her hands transformed, morphing away from its blade form and manifesting into several distinct figures.

These were the heroic spirits of Moon Yin's past. Every single one hailed from the First Ring Domain. Before their deaths, they had willingly preserved their strongest lifelong technique, allowing the Moon Yin domain lord to make a rubbing of it.

The figure leading them possessed flowing white hair and a bright moon mark between their brows. This was the very first domain lord of Moon Yin.

Dozens of figures surrounded Yan Jing, unleashing a barrage of techniques.

In an instant, a kaleidoscope of radiant light bloomed across the sky, spiderweb cracks fracturing the air itself.

Liu Xiaoyue reached out, white light erupting from her pupils, and clenched her fist viciously.

A chain of lunar explosions detonated in unison.

Now that she knew what Yan Jing was capable of, she had switched her offensive strategy, deliberately keeping her distance.

Yan Jing's expression remained impassive as a Pitch-Black Fine-Hair Brush materialized in his hand.

Almost simultaneously, the tips of the tentacles writhing around him rose. Their wings curved inward, morphing until they looked virtually identical to the Pitch-Black Fine-Hair Brush. Then, a Crown manifested above Yan Jing's head, cascading threads of light over him.

Peerless; Painting Spirit.

The Peerless Painting Spirit cast under the Fear Stance First Layer and the Fear Bird Stance.

Yan Jing's fingertips twitched, and every tentacle moved in perfect synchronization.

The next instant, hundreds of identical copies of him appeared, flooding toward the heroic spirits.

The dozens of heroic spirits were shattered in a fraction of a second.

A second later, the Painting Spirits blinked in front of Liu Xiaoyue, whose face fell in horror.

They threw their punches.

Liu Xiaoyue was once again reduced to a streak of light blasting toward the horizon.

Yan Jing paid her no mind. Instead, he lifted his head and looked at the leading heroic spirit, who had slipped through the horde of Painting Spirits to reach him.

Those detached, ethereal eyes met his gaze.

For a fleeting moment, Yan Jing felt a strange sense of illusion.

It was as if there was actual emotion stirring within those eyes.

A hint of reluctance, a complexity of feelings traversing across the river of time...

Then, Yan Jing thought he saw the heroic spirit part its lips, seemingly trying to speak.

"&%&m..."

What?

Yan Jing blinked in surprise.

In the distance, Wang Yu watched as the sword in the hands of the former Moon Yin domain lord's heroic spirit reached Yan Jing's throat.

She narrowed her eyes. "Rumor has it that the first domain lord of Moon Yin was an ancient, treacherous schemer. He never spoke during a fight, and his greatest expertise was illusions."

"Looks like the rumors were true."

"That kid's weakness is his spiritual strength. This might be Liu Xiaoyue's only chance to win."

Beside her, Long Quezhou remained noncommittal, but in the very next second, both of their faces froze in shock.

Just as the blade was about to pierce Yan Jing's throat, he suddenly reached out, slapped a palm over the heroic spirit's face, and squeezed ruthlessly. With a sickening crunch, the heroic spirit shattered into fragments.

Yan Jing's expression was as placid as ever. He lowered his gaze, sweeping it over Wang Yu and Long Quezhou, inexplicably making their hearts clench.

His weakness wasn't spiritual strength either.

Wang Yu shuddered inwardly.

Yan Jing's spiritual strength was equally terrifying. This shouldn't have been possible.

No one could exist without a weakness.

"...Or perhaps his only weakness is that he's too young," Long Quezhou said, narrowing his eyes.

"If he reaches the Summit, the question of the leader that the Twelve Domains have been fighting over all these years will instantly be resolved."

Minutes later, Liu Xiaoyue's figure reappeared on the horizon.

Her armor was riddled with cracks, and blood stained the corners of her mouth, but the glare she fixed on Yan Jing was filled with venomous hatred.

This time, the collective punch of the Painting Spirits had blasted her entirely out of the First Ring Domain.

And precisely because of that, she noticed the broadcast of their battle projected in the sky. The realization that all of Moon Yin was witnessing her in such a pathetic state made her heart bleed.

Even if she managed to win this battle, the absolute authority she had spent years carefully building was ruined.

At that thought, she wanted nothing more than to grind Yan Jing's bones to dust and scatter his ashes.

"Yan Jing!!!"

She surged forward, opening her mouth to speak.

But Yan Jing just raised his hand and delivered another punch.

With a thunderous boom, she was blasted backward in a streak of light again.

Seconds later.

"...You motherfu—"

"Boom!"

"...You—"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Liu Xiaoyue's face twisted with absolute fury.

She stood far in the distance, staring at Yan Jing, refusing to inch any closer.

If she let the distance between them drop below a hundred meters, only one outcome awaited her: being punched into the horizon again.

"Don't force my hand!"

She practically roared, "I'm giving you one last chance! A truce! After this, we can govern Moon Yin together."

"There's still room to step back from this."

The First Ring Domain descended into dead silence.

Everyone could see it: Liu Xiaoyue was at the end of her rope.

Given her personality, if she had any other way to deal with Yan Jing, she never would have offered a compromise.

But Yan Jing just smiled. "I want to see what else you have."

"Fine... fine... fine..." Liu Xiaoyue muttered. A glint of pure madness flashed in her eyes as she snapped her head up to glare at Yan Jing. "You forced me to do this!"

Behind her, the phantoms of three Rituals manifested simultaneously.

The first was a watercolor painting depicting a starry sky with a crimson moon hanging above, radiating an indescribably eerie aura. The moment the painting appeared, the sky above them instantly plunged into darkness.

The clouds dissolved, the stars shifted, and the sunlight was snuffed out.

Countless stars materialized in the black void.

A blood moon hung high.

It was exactly the scene from the painting.

Liu Xiaoyue had covered the heavens with her painting, forcibly manufacturing a night sky.

As the bloody moonlight spilled over her, the oppressive aura radiating from her body began to visibly climb.

"You forced me to do this."

The pupils in Liu Xiaoyue's eyes vanished completely, replaced by a wash of solid crimson.

Then came the second Ritual—a photograph of the moon.

The photograph seemed to have been specially doctored. The moon in it was frighteningly massive, spanning as wide as the horizon itself.

With the appearance of the photo, the blood moon in the sky began to swell. Initially only the size of a thumb, it quickly grew to the size of a tire, then a windmill, until it threatened to blot out the entire sky.

What was even more terrifying was the distinct sensation that the blood moon was descending inch by inch, as if intent on crushing the entire First Ring Domain flat!

It wasn't a targeted attack!

Liu Xiaoyue had gone completely insane!

Instantly, the crowd fell into absolute panic.

If they attacked Liu Xiaoyue to stop her—setting aside the future consequences—they might be killed in the backlash on the spot. Even if they survived, their attacks likely wouldn't do anything. But if they did nothing, they were just waiting to die.

Only Wang Yu curled her lips in a faint smirk. "She's begging us for help."

"She wants us to step in and call it off."

Long Quezhou scoffed dismissively. "Playing petty tricks again. She blew the situation out of proportion right from the start, refused to swallow her pride, and now she can't defuse the bomb she armed."

He immediately sighed. "But we really do have to intervene."

It was a blatant power play.

Liu Xiaoyue was threatening to crush the entire First Ring Domain. If they didn't step in, their people would be crushed along with everyone else.

But the moment they intervened, the nature of the conflict would change.

They couldn't possibly stop Liu Xiaoyue without also restraining Yan Jing.

After all, Liu Xiaoyue was closer to being one of their own.

In the end, it would most likely result in a forced truce.

However, Yan Jing's voice cut through, perfectly calm. "You want a truce?"

Liu Xiaoyue's eyes narrowed. In the next instant, the aura around Yan Jing began to surge at a terrifying speed.

"Unfortunately for you, I have no such intentions."

"Is he trying to interrupt her?" Wang Yu frowned.

It was a viable tactic. Anyone could tell that the 'Blood Moon' was an ultimate move requiring time to charge. If interrupted early, its destructive power would likely be drastically reduced. But it wasn't the right choice here.

Wang Yu stared at the moon-like Mirror floating in front of Liu Xiaoyue.

That was Liu Xiaoyue's eighth Ritual, and her true trump card.

It was a trap.

If Yan Jing attacked Liu Xiaoyue now, he would lose disastrously.

That ability was called flower in the mirror and moon on the water—it was the very foundation of Liu Xiaoyue's power.

"Not necessarily," Long Quezhou said, his brow furrowing. "He might be trying to outpace her charging speed."

This was the second way to counter a charged ability: initiate a charge of your own and finish before the opponent could.

"But can he do it?"

This was the desperate counterattack of a Summit entity; it wouldn't be that simple.

Sure enough, to everyone watching, the blood moon was visibly expanding faster than Yan Jing's aura was climbing.

Ten seconds later, it was so massive that they could only see its underside, a colossal celestial body teetering on the brink of collapse.

While Yan Jing appeared significantly stronger than before, a vast gap still remained between him and the blood moon.

"It's over..." Long Quezhou shook his head.

During the last battle for the twelve seats, he had been defeated by this exact combination of abilities from Liu Xiaoyue.

Wang Yu nodded. "But the real loser this time is still Liu Xiaoyue."

Everything was being broadcasted now—including Liu Xiaoyue being repeatedly swatted away like a fly, and her 'attempt' to crush everyone in the First Ring Domain. Regardless of the battle's physical outcome, Liu Xiaoyue had already lost, and lost completely.

"Get ready to intervene," Long Quezhou said quietly.

Yet in the very next instant, everyone on the ground felt their breath hitch.

An inexplicable dread seeped into the deepest corners of their hearts. Many began to shiver uncontrollably.

"What's happen—"

A girl clutching a stuffed toy hugged it tightly against her chest, wrapping her arms around herself.

She stared at the sky in terror, the color draining completely from her face.

In the span of a single breath, the aura around Yan Jing had suddenly multiplied into something thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of times more terrifying than before.

It was as if everything he had shown up until now had merely been a facade.

And now, that facade had been torn away.

The space around him shattered entirely. A tremendous suction force dragged at his body, whipping his hair into a frenzy.

But his figure didn't budge an inch. He simply reached out a hand.

Clenched his fist.

And thrust it directly toward the blood moon.

"Riiiip."

It sounded like something snapping. Sunlight poured through unseen fissures, returning to the world below. A tiny web of cracks appeared at the base of the blood moon and began to violently spiderweb outward, accelerating with every passing microsecond!

In the next instant, the blood moon shattered completely, taking the manufactured starry sky with it, reducing everything back to nothingness.

"Pfft!" Liu Xiaoyue spat blood as if struck by a massive hammer. Her body was blown backward, tumbling wildly through the air, bleeding profusely.

This time, Yan Jing gave her no chance to recover. Wiping a speck of blood from the corner of his mouth, he took a single step forward, his left hand instantly clamping down on Liu Xiaoyue's throat.

"Heh... kill me if you dare..."

Liu Xiaoyue sneered weakly.

Yan Jing mirrored her smile. "You're trying to anger me."

"Is it because of this Mirror?"

"Unfortunately, your acting is terrible."

Liu Xiaoyue's face warped in horror. The Mirror at her chest rapidly expanded, attempting to block Yan Jing's killing blow. But an instant later, an aura of absolute death washed over them, and the Mirror instantly disintegrated.

Yan Jing's right fist slammed down like a torrential storm.

Wang Yu and Long Quezhou paled. weird energy surged around them as they rushed to Yan Jing's side at top speed.

But they were too late.

Liu Xiaoyue's head was coated in blood. Her skin was a mosaic of bleeding cracks, and her armor had completely shattered.

She screamed incessantly, her hands hovering agonizingly over her face, too afraid to actually touch it because the pain was overwhelming.

It was a pain that drilled into the deepest parts of her mind, a pain that made her very soul shudder.

Broken by the sheer agony, she sobbed, tears mingling with her blood as they dripped down.

"Don't look! Don't look!!!"

Even at a moment like this, her mind was fixated on the fact that the residents of Moon Yin were seeing her in this grotesque state. Her voice was shrill and ear-piercing.

"Xiao Yan—Yan Jing, we can still talk this through."

Wang Yu urged, trying to placate him.

"Indeed, I acknowledge your strength."

Long Quezhou also spoke up, "But some matters require long-term consideration."

"She dies," Yan Jing said, his face a picture of calm.

An inexplicable chill ran down Wang Yu's spine. She pressed on, "The situation is like this..."

She began to explain the Twelve Domains' plan to jointly advance into the Central Region.

"Our Twelve Domains aren't actually enemies. If you understood the history, you'd know that we've never had any substantive wars between us. At most, we engage in some healthy competition."

"This is because the domain lords of the Twelve Domains actually belong to the same organization: Zodiac."

"Named after the twelve zodiac signs from a distant era."

"Dongcang, Dalao, Beast Lord, Moon Yin, Tianzi, Hui Domain, Wanli, Weiyang, Qitian, Maori, Tiangou, Dark Ghost."

"In truth, the Central Region operates the exact same way. Managing the territories is no longer a concern for those superiors."

"If this were a distant era, we would be the equivalent of immortals. Immortals and mortals are fundamentally distinct. Ultimately, there is only one thing we need to consider: becoming gods."

"And to become gods, one must first possess the qualifications to participate in the Day of Godhood."

"This time, the allied forces of the Central Region have released a single organizational slot. Five or six factions are competing for it together."

"Losing Liu Xiaoyue right now would put us at a severe disadvantage."

"Do you understand?"

Wang Yu's tone was softer than it had ever been, terrified of provoking Yan Jing's wrath.

Yan Jing listened, then nodded.

"I understand."

"So?"

Wang Yu looked at him with a probing, hopeful gaze.

"So she dies."

Yan Jing said.

"You wouldn't dare! You wouldn't!! If I die, the rules of the Twelve Domains mandate that the other domain lords must avenge me! Yan Jing, you wouldn't dare!!! Why! Why did it have to be you, why—"

"Slap!"

Liu Xiaoyue was still screaming when Long Quezhou backhanded her across the face.

With his back turned to Yan Jing, Long Quezhou spoke in a low, heavy voice, "Spare her life, and she'll agree to whatever it is you want to do."

"Our three domains will jointly nominate you as a candidate."

"Afterward, all three domains will be under your rule."

"Even she will answer to you."

"In your dreams!!!" Liu Xiaoyue struggled to lift her head. Her face was smeared with gore as she gnashed her teeth at Yan Jing.

"Yan Jing! I'm warning you, let me go right now! Did you think I don't have any trump cards left?! Did you think I don't have—"

"Crack."

The sickening sound of bone shattering echoed out. Startled, Long Quezhou and Wang Yu lunged forward to stop him.

But it was already too late.

Threads of power pierced into Liu Xiaoyue's body, shredding the very last sliver of her vitality.

Only the foundation of a Summit-tier entity kept her from dying on the spot.

She stared at Yan Jing in sheer disbelief. Then, an overwhelming tide of fear consumed her body.

She clawed at his arm, choking out in sheer terror, "No, no, no... no, I don't want to die... I don't want to die... you can't kill me..."

"But I already have."

Yan Jing's expression remained perfectly indifferent.

"You have a way, right? You definitely have a way to stop this, don't you? Really, I still have trump cards! I have Lunar Artifacts! Mu Yi—Mu Yi, he'll..."

Liu Xiaoyue babbled hysterically, but she quickly realized that the damage was done and there was no turning back. Her terror swiftly warped into blinding fury.

Tears soaked her battered face.

"Why!! Why!!!! How dare you!!!!"

She clung desperately to Yan Jing's hand as her face visibly withered away.

She refused to accept it. She was the lord of Moon Yin!

Just two months ago, the boy standing in front of her was nothing more than an insect she could crush at will.

In an abyss of despair and unyielding resentment, she died.

"Why..."