Volume 1, Chapter 18: Instant Annihilation

"Hahaha!" The four brothers of the Duanmu family opposite them laughed arrogantly. Being older than Xu Que and his three companions, and having consumed Breaking Boundary Pills beforehand, their cultivation levels had briefly surged to the peak of the Martial Ancestor realm. If they could lose under these conditions, then pigs would surely learn to climb trees.

The leader pointed a finger at Xu Que. "Xu Que, today we shall show you the true value of one of the three great families of the Sacred Land. Brothers, use the ocular technique!"

Suddenly, the dark pupils of all four men flashed as they unleashed the mysterious ocular technique of the Duanmu clan: Tremor.

"Stay behind me," Xu Que commanded, bracing himself at the front. Internally, he was struggling to suppress his laughter. The people of the Duanmu family were truly one more absurd than the last. Yet, this could hardly be blamed on them; who could have known that Xu Que’s Invincible Divine Body was the perfect counter to their ocular arts?

As they channeled their spiritual power to trigger the technique, a strange, sinister force attempted to invade Xu Que’s eyes. But the very next moment, blood erupted from the eyes of all four Duanmu brothers. They screamed in agony, clutching their bleeding sockets, blinded and utterly bewildered by what had happened. They only felt a backlash of overwhelming, unbearable power.

"This!" The onlookers within the Sacred Land were horrified, the members of the Duanmu family in particular unable to fathom the outcome. A backlash of this magnitude should only occur if the opponent was at least one major realm higher. Yet, Xu Que was clearly only a Martial Ancestor. How had he withstood it all by himself?

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Seizing the opportunity, the four members of the Xu family struck with swift, wind-like movements, their spiritual-grade weapons drawn.

*Clang.*

Four heads belonging to the Duanmu brothers flew into the air and hit the ground.

"No!" Duanmu Ao let out a pained, mournful cry. It had happened too suddenly; even if he had wanted to intervene or call for a surrender, there simply wasn't time. The beautiful woman who had sought to avenge her son, Duanmu Xiong, was left deathly pale with terror.

Events had spiraled beyond everyone’s expectations. On the life-and-death arena, it had ended in a single second. The Xu family disciples had achieved a crushing victory. Since they had signed the death waiver, there could be no blame directed at the heavens or others—only at one’s own lack of skill.

"Hahaha!" The head of the Xu family walked out holding the Dragon Map. "Fang Qianren, Duanmu Ao, do you have anything left to say? If not, my Xu family disciples and I shall take our leave. This wretched place only judges people by their standing; it is not worth staying."

Duanmu Ao’s face flushed with repressed rage, his body trembling uncontrollably. After consecutive failures, his family had suffered heavy losses.

Could this really just end here? Fang Qianren was speechless, and he flicked his sleeves in frustration before leaving the arena. After all, this had been a sanctioned death match. He did not fear the consequences of reneging, but with the Dragon Map in the Xu family’s possession, they might be able to spirit Xu Que away safely. Xu Que was shrouded in mystery; if he were to attack and fail to kill the boy, the resulting mutual destruction would be meaningless. Furthermore, the Sacred Land’s supreme treasure, the God-Burying Cauldron, was currently occupied suppressing Lin Qingni, leaving them naturally short of a trump card. There was also the troubling report that the Duanmu family’s Black Martial Guards had died mysteriously while intercepting Xu Que. This incident remained unsolved, leaving the Xuantian Sacred Land suspicious that the Xu family had other powerful backers.

As the Sacred Lord departed, the Sacred Mother was forced to speak on his behalf: "The Xuantian Sacred Land keeps its word. However, your Xu family disciples are cruel and bloodthirsty, repeatedly violating the rules of the Sacred Land. You are hereby expelled. The four great Sacred Lands of the Eastern Wilderness shall never recruit from your family again."

This was a threat intended to sever the martial path for all Xu family disciples. But what of it?

"Where there is no place for us here, there is surely a place for us elsewhere. Do not regret driving us out of your Xuantian Sacred Land."

Xu Que no longer wished to associate with such wretched, scheming people. He looked around, but his master had not appeared to stand up for him. He sighed inwardly. It seemed that when forced to choose between the Sacred Land and him, his master had chosen the Sacred Land. After all, the Sacred Lord and Sacred Mother were Lin Qingni’s senior sisters; their bond was stronger.

"Forget it. I shouldn't have presumed."

The Xu family members quickly departed from the Xuantian Sacred Land.

Inside the grand hall, Fang Qianren angrily smashed a dragon-headed chair to pieces. "Xu Que! Why is he so hard to kill?"

Fang Qianren recalled his own early cultivation days, during which he had used schemes and treachery to cause the downfall of several prodigies with special physiques. Every step had been calculated to ensure his rise and protect his reputation. Now, because of a single mistake by his wife and son, everything might be ruined.

Fang Wu spoke in a deep voice, "Father, the Duanmu family likely knows. They sent a few useless fools just to give Xu Que a path to survive, so he could target me in the inter-sect competition in half a month."

Jiang Liyue huffed with disdain. "Why are you so angry? Just send men to wipe out the Xu family. It’s just a Great Martial Dynasty—what is there to fear?"

Fang Qianren gave his wife a silent, exasperated look. Was it the Xu family he feared? No, he feared the loss of his reputation and a lifetime of endless pursuit. He pondered for a moment before saying, "Spread the word. Claim that Xu Que had a conflict with Duanmu Xiong over Zhu Yanran, that Zhu Yanran refused his advances and fled back to the Sacred Land, and that Xu Que pursued her here. Claim that Duanmu Yi was protecting justice and guarding Zhu Yanran when he was killed by Xu Que. Finally, claim that Xu Que continued to pursue her, was stopped by righteous disciples, turned violent, began slaughtering the innocent, and was expelled for violating the Sacred Land's iron laws."

Fang Qianren intended to portray the Sacred Land as the defender of justice and Xu Que as an irredeemable villain, inviting the world to curse him. Once Xu Que’s reputation was ruined, no one would believe a word he said.

Fang Wu asked, unsatisfied, "Father, are we just going to let it go like this?"

Fang Qianren sneered. "Fang Ran won't let it go. Xu Que killed disciples from the He, Lin, Li, and Wang families—all first-rate clans in the surrounding dynasties. They will fight among themselves. One must not be too hasty. Let those idiots take the lead, and we shall fish in troubled waters before withdrawing silently."

Fang Qianren paused, then patted his son’s shoulder with confidence. "You have absorbed the Divine Martial Bone; your bottleneck is loosening. You must focus on breaking through to the Martial Monarch realm. When that time comes, Xu Que will be nothing more than a stray cat or dog before you. This boy has survived, but his arrogance will lead to his own suffering. As for his talk of the inter-sect competition, rest assured—no Sacred Land will take him in. From this day forward, he and you shall never cross paths again."

Seeing his father’s careful arrangements, Fang Wu felt at ease. Though he had stolen Xu Que’s Divine Martial Bone, there was no going back; he could only fight to the end.

Meanwhile, at the Duanmu family’s peak within the Sacred Land, Duanmu Ci sat in his study, leisurely flipping through martial arts treatises, listening to Duanmu Ao’s report from behind a screen.

Duanmu Ci chuckled. "It seems this Xu Que is quite clever, diverting the disaster onto others. He wants us to clash with the Fang family." Clearly, he did not take the life-and-death struggle of the younger Duanmu generation to heart. After all, none of the elite youth of the Duanmu family had been lost.

Duanmu Ao asked, "In that case, does the Fang family truly possess a technique that can devour the special physiques of others?"

Duanmu Ci shook his head. "Do not investigate. The more we know, the more it will affect the alliance between our two families. If we fight, the Xiao family will be the only ones to benefit." The Xiao family was the third of the three great families of the Xuantian Sacred Land.

Duanmu Ci mused for a moment. "However, Xu Que took the ocular technique of my Duanmu clan and killed many of our disciples. If there is no resolution, it will be hard to maintain order within the clan."

Outside the screen, Duanmu Ao was overjoyed that the family head was finally taking the matter seriously. He added with concern, "But Master, that group of Black Martial Guards... the killer has yet to be identified."

Duanmu Ci waved his hand dismissively and tossed out a token. "Then send another, more powerful group. I want to see how long that person behind the scenes can continue to protect the Xu family!"