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Bing Lan Xi froze at Lin Qing's shamelessness, too distant to intervene. As a Bing Xuan Dynasty member, her interactions with him were sparse, but a Void Refinement strike was lightning-swift, punishing any lapse.
BOOM! A deafening clash echoed across ten thousand miles as two Heaven-Grade arts collided. Thunder Monarch Seal and Combined Spirit Palm grated fiercely, each vying to annihilate the other. Sky-filling thunder clashed with a compressed fusion of three spiritual forces, brimming with destruction.
Though Thunder Monarch Seal's thunder was domineering, the tri-elemental fusion of Combined Spirit Palm a Supreme Heaven-Grade art crafted by the Five Elements Emperor began to suppress it. Jin Ni had revealed the emperor's legend: a peerless genius who dominated an era, unmatched by contemporaries. The seal, a mere Mid-Tier Heaven-Grade art cast at Spirit Transformation Perfection, faltered, pierced by devastating energy, its thunder crumbling.
Lin Qing's divine sense captured this, his face twisting savagely. The seal, a prized Lam Clan art, was failing, cementing his resolve to kill Lan An. This youth's potential threatened the Lam Clan and Second Prince catastrophically.
"Haha, before absolute power, talent's a distant dream. Die!" Lin Qing laughed maniacally, his Thunder Leopard Claw nearing Lan An's chest.
Killing intent enveloped Lan An, yet his face held eerie calm, silver-white eyes blazing with fury. Murderous intent surged within him.
"This stone holds my full strike, enough to cripple a Mid-Stage Void Refinement cultivator if it lands a sneak attack,"Qin Meng Ying's tender voice echoed. As the claw neared, a stone materialized, blocking the lethal strike.
"No need to cripple. Killing an Early Void Refinement is enough!" Lan An sneered, activating Speed Shift.
Lin Qing's claw sliced the stone effortlessly, confusion flickering. Then, a cataclysmic shockwave erupted, space collapsing, flames and thunder roaring. Thunder Flame Mysterious Art unleashed, flames devouring the sky, laced with furious thunder.
Lin Qing's face paled, engulfed by the inferno's killing intent, his body incinerated utterly. Lan An fared little better, despite triple Speed Shift. The blast's scope caught him, vaporizing half his flesh, exposing stark white bones. Blood dripped, hair burned away, half his face a ghastly skull—a demonic visage.
His worst injury yet. Collapsing, Lan An gazed at the apocalyptic blaze ravaging Qing Yun Mountain, a hellscape of scorched earth and ruined peaks. A cool, fragrant scent reached him as he clung to consciousness, lifting his grotesque face.
Through blurred vision, Bing Lan Xi's ocean-like eyes shimmered with tears pain, guilt, regret. Her delicate nose, rosy cheeks, and ripe lips parted, revealing pearl-like teeth, her breath orchid-sweet.
"Tixi, I'm yours from now on," Lan An rasped, his twisted grin ghastly. Before she could respond, exhaustion claimed him, his eerie eyes closing, unconsciousness swallowing him.
Bing Lan Xi's heart churned with unprecedented turmoil. Regret and guilt consumed her. She'd approached Lan An, a stranger, for her brother Bing Wu Yong's throne ambitions and her own curiosity, leading to this tragedy. A peerless genius, destined to shake the continent, now lay broken because of her, his future uncertain.
Tears streamed down her jade cheeks. Unbeknownst to her, Lan An's ambition would have pitted him against great powers regardless, the Lam Clan merely another foe.
Murmuring at the relentless blaze, she said, "Thunder Flame Mysterious Art? The technique Father Emperor coveted for Second Brother?" No time to ponder, she cradled Lan An's ravaged body, tearing space to flee, knowing delay could cost her everything.
Events unfolded in moments. From the blaze engulfing Lin Qing to Bing Lan Xi's escape, mere breaths passed. As she vanished, a muscular arm tore through space, shattering it layer by layer. A towering figure emerged a middle-aged man with stern features, thick brows, and a black beard, clad in silver robes, exuding noble aura.
Lam Kun, Bing Xuan Dynasty's Prime Minister and Lam Clan patriarch, a Late Void Refinement powerhouse. His presence could shake the continent. Even Luo Po Lei of the Luo Clan would address him as "brother," dwarfed by the Lam Clan's Ninth-Grade empire backing.
Sensing his son's peril, Lam Kun descended. Narrowing his eyes at Bing Lan Xi's exit point, he snorted, "For His Majesty's sake, I'll let you go once." Turning to the thunder-laced inferno, his face grew solemn. "Thunder Flame Mysterious Art resurfaces?"
Though unranked as Heaven-Grade due to its grueling cultivation, Lam Kun respected its terror. Its creator, Evil Emperor, nearly felled an emperor, slaying countless dynasty experts. Lam Kun had fought in that legendary battle, bearing a scorched chest scar from the art's wrath.
"No matter the reason, you must be crushed in the cradle," he vowed, unwilling to see another Evil Emperor. Unaware, two prodigies Qin Meng Ying and Yan Yue Qi already wielded it.
Gazing at the unquenchable blaze, Lam Kun remained impassive, as if his son weren't trapped within. "I taught you never to underestimate foes, to use full force. This loss will teach you to grow," he muttered, viewing Lin Qing's arrogance as a lesson.
Satisfied, he slashed the air, opening a massive spatial rift. "Enter!" With a cold shout, his spiritual energy surged, seizing the inferno and hurling it into the void. Closing the rift, he erased all traces a testament to Late Void Refinement's spatial mastery.
Then, he spotted a skeleton, flesh reduced to scraps, blood dried Lin Qing. His eyes reddened, aura shaking space. Despite preparation, his son's state enraged him. Breathing deeply, he roared, "Come out! The Lam Clan isn't so weak!"
From the wreckage, a crimson Nascent Soul, a third charred, emerged Lin Qing's essence, pitifully mute. "This is your lesson. Rebuild your body or seize another. Your Nascent Soul can heal, but today's defeat will haunt you. Don't disappoint me again," Lam Kun said sternly.
The Nascent Soul nodded solemnly. With a wave, Lam Kun tucked it into his sleeve. As he prepared to leave, his gaze fixed on a distant cliff.
Two figures trembled, drenched in sweat, terror gripping them elders from Fire Sword Sect and Water Mysterious Sect. Planning to report Qing Yun Sect's fall, they sensed the battle and returned, only to be detected by Lam Kun.
"Come out!" Lam Kun said calmly, hands clasped. The Spirit Transformation elders groveled like stray dogs, quaking before his might.
"What do you know?" he asked lightly.
Glancing fearfully, they stammered, "Senior, we saw nothing! We swear, we didn't see you or your son!"
"Wise," Lam Kun smirked. He'd orchestrated Lin Qing's lesson, but its secrecy was paramount. A Lam Clan heir's defeat publicized would shame him.
Relieved, the elders kowtowed, "We swear, we saw nothing, or may heaven strike us fivefold!"
Lam Kun chuckled, his eyes flashing silver. Clouds darkened. "Fools!" The elders screamed, fleeing, but five thunderbolts descended, annihilating them, souls and all.
"You lied, so heaven struck. Not my doing," Lam Kun smirked, his anger eased. Tearing space, he vanished, leaving no trace of two Seventh-Grade sect elders' unjust deaths. Before a Late Void Refinement powerhouse, they were ants, vented upon without resistance.