Watching the couple fly into the sky and disappear from sight, Jun Moji, with a grim expression, walked quickly, leaning on his cane, until he reached the city lord's side.
"City Lord, that bitch Liu is more powerful than we imagined. They actually managed to escape despite being so heavily surrounded."
The old Jun complained, irritated by what had happened. But deep down, his fear of Rihai grew.
Instead of the response he expected, the city lord shook his head, his expression heavy.
"You were too focused on the woman. The most dangerous one is the man..."
The city lord said in a grave tone, narrowing his eyes toward the horizon where the two had vanished.
"The man? He did have a strong defensive spell, but other than that, he was nothing special. It was clear his energy was running out. If it weren't for that artifact Liu Rihai pulled out, they never would have escaped."
Jun Moji disagreed, confused by the city lord's seriousness regarding the man.
"That's why I said you were too focused on the woman. Look at this trail."
The city lord rolled his eyes at Jun Moji and pointed toward the pile of corpses.
The old Jun, puzzled, still followed his lead and analyzed it.
There were many ashes and charred bodies, along with severed limbs.
Just as he was about to ask what the problem was, he noticed something strange.
Walking toward the center of the conflict, stepping over numerous corpses as if they were nothing, his frown deepened more and more.
Many of the bodies among the burned ones showed signs of attacks from elements other than fire.
Phantom-like images surfaced in his mind— a young man with black hair launching hundreds of spells of various elements, slaughtering everything around him.
This made him tremble slightly and widen his eyes.
"How is this possible? To cast so many spells, he would have needed massive energy reserves! And I didn't even notice! Who is he?!"
Jun Moji exclaimed, looking at the city lord in alarm.
The city lord, standing a bit further away, merely shook his head.
"Those spells weren't his..."
He said calmly, though his expression was dark.
"Huh? Not his? Then whose?"
Jun Moji asked, stunned.
The city lord pointed at the corpses on the ground, then at the subordinates surrounding them.
Jun Moji was shocked.
"Traitors?!"
The city lord froze.
Seeing that Jun Moji was about to lose his mind and act recklessly, he massaged his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
"Could you stop guessing wrong?"
The city lord said helplessly and continued when he saw the old man freeze in embarrassment.
"No, the spells really were from these subordinates, but their target was that man. The problem was the way he fought..."
"... I've never seen anything like it."
…
In Rihai's arms, Aotian couldn't contain his excitement, even after the battle.
Of course, he was aware that he would probably have rough days ahead, with none of the peace he had been experiencing until now.
But his excitement came from the battle he had just fought.
When the fight started, all the Illuminated Minds from his avatars focused on his body.
The sect leader's mind, as a Golden Core, processed everything at high speed. During the battle, Aotian practically saw the world in slow motion.
And it wasn't just him. All his other minds shared this perception. With the sect leader's perspective as a base, they entered a state of accelerated situational processing.
Given that he had opened the sensory connection, the avatars could perceive the scent of blood, the flow of air around him, the tingling of his arm hairs, and every detail of his surroundings—more than enough information to assist him to the fullest.
And so, the massacre began.
With reasoning far beyond normal, auxiliary talents came into play: the sect leader's talent, with high spell affinity and vast theoretical knowledge, allowed Aotian to understand what kind of attacks enemies would unleash even before they finished casting them.
The Elder Lie's talent allowed him to read microexpressions and identify patterns in opponents' attacks.
Bao Hui provided strategies to divert attention and create opportunities.
Even an external elder like Zheng Tao, from the Punishment Pavilion, was crucial. His affinity with combat generated valuable insights into attacks, retreats, and the flow of battle.
All of his avatars contributed in some way, turning Aotian into a true war machine.
The dozens, maybe hundreds of enemies slain fell due to his absolute mastery over the battlefield's chaos— making them kill each other.
In fact, the only spells he actively used were Radiant Armor and Endless Ripple Steps.
Endless Ripple Steps was one of the water spells he synthesized, and thanks to it, he became as fluid as water on the battlefield.
But since his Qi Refinement level was still too low, the prolonged use of those two spells had nearly exhausted him.
But that wasn't his fault. The Qi Refinement realm wasn't suited for large-scale battles. If it had been a one-on-one fight, Aotian would have been fine, but there were over a thousand enemies surrounding them.
It was already a near miracle that they escaped.
But what truly excited him was the sensation of the battlefield— it had become intoxicating for him.
It was during this battle that he learned just how strong he was with the help of his avatars.
It was as if he held life and death in his hands at that moment.
Everyone was an ant, and he decided who lived and who died.
Everything was so easy and simple in his slow-motion vision.
His body was stained with blood, but none of it was his. It belonged to the enemies who got too close and were torn apart by their own allies' spells in the chaotic battlefield— spells that Aotian had orchestrated like chess pieces.
On the battlefield, he was untouchable.
"Unstoppable..."
Aotian thought, thrilled, clenching his fist before his eyes, feeling the flame of arrogance rise in his chest.
But as he looked at his bloodstained hand, he froze.
His chest cooled, and all arrogance dissipated.
Amid the excitement, he had forgotten what covered him— human blood.
'Actually, I haven't killed anyone with my main body since arriving in this world. And with my avatars, only those whose sins were evident. This time, many people died directly because of me without me even knowing why... Though technically, they killed themselves...'
Aotian reflected, feeling conflicted.
But soon, he became confused about whether he should even feel conflicted.
Since he wasn't the one who killed them, and he himself was the victim, then technically... wasn't it not his fault?
Aotian scratched his head, feeling strange.
Rihai didn't notice his restlessness, keeping all her focus on the road ahead.
Shortly after flying for some time, she changed direction and accelerated, trying to shake off possible pursuers.
However, realizing it wouldn't be very useful, she stopped trying and simply pressed forward.
Minutes later, high in the sky, Rihai's wings started failing.
Suddenly, they began losing altitude rapidly.
"Shit!" Aotian cursed, eyes widening as the ground rushed toward them.
His energy was nearly depleted. A fall like this would be fatal.
Rihai gritted her teeth and slapped the pouch at her waist, making it spit out a sword into the air, which she quickly controlled beneath her feet.
"Haaah!" She cried out forcefully.
Blood began trickling from the corner of her mouth, but she managed to slow them down and bring them closer to the ground safely.
However, just as they were about to land, Rihai's eyes rolled back, her sword lost control— and they crashed just a few meters from the ground.