At the same time, Sevrine felt a sudden, fleeting sensation.
It was as if countless invisible threads were connecting his soul and body from the outside in, burrowing deep.
"Good, it is done. The formation is complete," Lan Yuca's laughing voice rang out once more. "Sevrine, I'll tell you the truth: the moment you chose to enter Wolf's Nest to slaughter my soldiers, letting the blood and souls of thousands soak into this land...
You fell into the trap I meticulously prepared, becoming a fish in a jar. This underground palace is the end of that trap. It is your final resting place."
After speaking, his voice went silent.
"Keep going, why stop?" Sevrine said calmly as he stood his ground. "You haven't finished speaking, and you've put so much effort and heart into this arrangement; surely you want to boast about it properly. You want to explain its brilliant uses, and you want to see me kneel in terror and beg for mercy. So, continue. Tell me all about it."
"Oh? You're quite composed. It seems you don't understand the power of this formation," Lan Yuca said, first with surprise, then with a sinister laugh. "I shall explain it, so you may grasp its wonders. See those red threads around you? They don't just surround this room; in fact, this entire underground palace beneath your feet is now wrapped in red silk.
These red threads have a specific trait. They can only bully those 'inside the house.' Under their enclosure, unless you can attack from the outside, the cage can be broken by even the slightest force.
However... hehe, as a Valiarior-rank martial artist, you should know that to achieve such a result, you would need to possess the legendary Remote Force Emission. But that is a power belonging only to those in realms above the Valiarior; do not harbor such delusions.
Even if you wanted to attack from the inside, unless your strength was great enough to turn this entire underground palace into fine dust like sesame seeds in a single strike, you can only sit honestly inside, never to escape."
"Is that so?"
With a thoughtful expression, Sevrine swung his steel whip, lightly striking the wall in front of him.
CLANG!!
Instantly, the countless red threads interwoven on the surface of the wall erupted with a burst of bloody light.
At the same moment, Sevrine felt an invisible, weak lash strike somewhere on his own body.
It didn't cause him injury or pain, but when he looked at the wall... it was completely undamaged.
Furthermore, none of the countless red threads draped over the wall surface had snapped.
"I see."
Sevrine's thick brows furrowed as he scanned his surroundings. "This formation of yours... it can reflect my own attacks back at me."
"You truly are cautious," Lan Yuca said with a hint of mockery. "I thought you would strike heavily or even use your full strength; I was looking forward to the joke. Ah, what a pity."
"You're a sinister old bastard," Sevrine sneered. "Always looking for a trick. Why would I ever fully believe a single word you say?"
"True enough," Lan Yuca said thoughtfully. "But if I weren't sinister, how could I display my heaven-shaking brilliance?"
Sevrine ignored the self-boasting and continued his own train of thought:
"I'm a bit confused. Since you claim your martial prowess is world-shaking and enough to dominate this region, why didn't you intercept me at the start? Why not cut me down before I even stepped into the fortress?
By all accounts, Wolf's Nest is the foundation you built. Why were you so willing to discard it, using it for this worthless formation and sacrificing it just to bury me?
Is it possible that you truly lack even a shred of courage? That you can only play mind games and schemes, a coward too afraid to face even a youth like me in direct combat?"
"A youth? No, no, no. You underestimate yourself," Lan Yuca said in a leisurely tone. "As far as I know, in the hundreds of years of the Graew Dynasty, there hasn't been a peerless genius like you who could step into the Valiarior realm at only eighteen.
Therefore, as a supreme talent, you couldn't be as simple as you appear on the surface. To be safe, it is better to resolve you through strategy.
Furthermore... haha, you might not know that these so-called Black Wolf Bandits are actually just one of my 'industries.' Losing them is of no consequence; I can just find another place to play. As for you, you can slowly starve and die of thirst right here.
Ah, right. You seemed to despise my eating habits, didn't you? Well then, let's see. When you become so hungry you can't bear it, will you be able to resist tasting a few bites of those female servants you killed? When that time comes... we shall talk again."
With that, Lan Yuca's voice fell completely silent.
At the same moment, Sevrine bared his teeth and shouted coldly:
"Only Remote Force Emission can break through? Hmph, I'll save the shards for later. Lan Yuca, right now, I just want to fucking kill you, you piece of trash!"
Having said that, he immediately activated the System's skill fusion function.
He took his "Demonic Ape Colossal Art", "Furious Flood-Dragon Whip", "Black Tortoise Guardian Physique", "Spring-Autumn Blade Arts" along with the various Mainstream Martial Arts techniques he had acquired during the slaughter of Wolf's Nest, and fused them all into one.
Perhaps it was fate.
Coincidentally, this was the exact moment his mysterious precognition sensed was the best time for the System to "yield results."
And so, after a single instant, those twelve mainstream martial techniques vanished from Sevrine's personal interface.
In their place appeared a brand-new technique titled: "Heaven-Sunder Demon Fist Scripture".
At the exact moment this technique appeared, all its recorded contents surged into Sevrine's mind.
WHOOSH!!
In a flash, it felt as if Sevrine had practiced this "Heaven-Sunder Demon Fist Scripture" thousands of times. He instantly and completely understood every facet of the technique.
The scripture consisted of ten layers. By cultivating to the peak of the tenth layer, a martial artist could break through all shackles and reach the realm above Valiarior... the realm of a True Grandmaster.
Aside from its profound and obscure details, the most fundamental principle of this technique was to transform all of one's own attacks into mysterious, unpredictable, heaven-sent calamities.
This was the primary characteristic of a Grandmaster-rank martial artist: the ability to emit force remotely at will, without any physical medium.
An individual in this realm possesses a martial will that is further condensed and solid, capable of manifesting externally. Along with a massive surge in physical strength, power, and agility, they can also transform the surging True Force circulating throughout their body from its intangible state into the even more powerful and mysterious True Vitality Force.
Thus, a Grandmaster-rank martial artist who has refined internal force from the intangible into the tangible can, without the aid of limb impact, weapon strikes, or even relying on air or water to transmit force... strike across several thousand meters and emit ten million kg of force.
Within a maximum radius of 3,000 meters, whether the intervening space is a total vacuum, layers of dense rock, or even a mountain several hundred meters thick, the moment a Grandmaster-rank martial artist strikes, the enemy will inevitably suffer a remote critical blow of up to ten million kilograms.
Upon grasping the essence of the "Heaven-Sunder Demon Fist Scripture", Sevrine did not hesitate to push it from Layer 0 to the maximum of Layer 10 in a single breath.
In the split second he mastered this art, every aspect and part of his entire body, from head to toe, inside and out, underwent a staggering qualitative transformation. It was a leap to a brand-new realm that occurred almost without transition.
The resulting surge in physical toughness, muscular power, and vital energy was so intense it defied description, skyrocketing in an instant.
Simultaneously, Sevrine's martial will transformed from its previous state of intangible nothingness, which could only dwell within his own mind.
It instantly condensed into a "liquefied" state, coalescing into something nearly tangible, tangible enough to manifest in the physical world and reach a mysterious level capable of influencing the five senses of ordinary people.
From this moment on, a mere glance, a single movement, or even the silhouette of his back would inflict a soul-crushing shock upon those in lower realms.
He could easily trigger chaotic delusions in others; in severe cases, victims might even experience the authentic physical sensation of being burned by fire, frozen by ice, or mangled by blades and hammers.
The most critical evolution, the sublimation of his True Force, occurred in perfect synchronization with these changes. It leaped from the realm of the intangible and formless to the realm of the intangible but tangible.
Thus, Sevrine ascended then and there to become a True Grandmaster of the Void and Reality.
However, on his personal interface, this monumental change was reflected only by the words following Mainstream Martial Arts shifting from Valiarior to True Grandmaster.
Along with that, his Special Traits, Robust Physique, Sharp Nails, Iron Body, Stone Heart, Spirit-Concentration, Stamina, and Technique, simply upgraded from Level 3 to Level 4.
Overall, the changes on paper did not seem vast.
One could only say that the disparity between trait levels was truly immense, so immense that even a single-level increase represented the distance between heaven and earth.
"It is done."
Sevrine slowly opened his eyes. The divine light flashing within them for a brief moment immediately returned to calm.
Had any ordinary person, or a steel-rank or even Valiarior-rank martial artist below the Grandmaster realm, witnessed that split-second gaze, they would have been left in a dazed, soulless stupor for a long time.
Had Sevrine harbored any malice, they might even have perished miserably, experiencing the sensation of falling into a hell of blades and fire.
Yet, this effect was merely a tiny overflow of Sevrine's formidable martial will, the most insignificant part among the many terrifying abilities of a martial Grandmaster.
Only Sevrine, standing within this realm, understood that the most vital power of a True Grandmaster was not the externalized martial will, nor the formidable physique, nor even the terrifying physical strength that started at ten million kilograms.
It was... the ability to strike enemies across a distance of a thousand meters out of thin air via remote force emission.
A True Grandmaster possessing this terrifying ability could, even if heavily wounded and near death with severely diminished physical strength, still instantly kill a group of Valiarior-rank martial artists attempting a siege.
The reason a Grandmaster held such absolute dominance over lower realms was that no matter how much power or defense those in lower realms possessed, they were helpless.
As long as their brains and internal organs could not withstand a ten-million-kilogram explosive strike appearing out of thin air, they would be nothing more than lambs for the slaughter when facing a True Grandmaster.
In contrast, a True Grandmaster, whose entire body, from head to toe, inside and out, was "saturated" in their own surging, invisible True Vitality Force, could easily immunize themselves against such remote attacks from those in the same realm.
Sevrine surmised that in the northern Graew Dynasty, a duel between Grandmasters would likely still be fought fist-to-fist until one side's body, True Force, and martial will collapsed.
However, if anyone in a lower realm were to pass by or unfortunately witness a battle between Grandmasters, their body and mind would likely be shattered, and their soul extinguished.
"Remote Force Emission..."
Sevrine slowly raised his hand, spreading his five fingers, as a divine light flickered slightly in his eyes.
In fact, upon officially ascending to the True Grandmaster realm, his mental power broke through the limitations of the five senses, allowing him to scan his surroundings in all directions with absolute clarity.
To the current Sevrine, this massive, ten-story underground palace, with each level spanning a thousand meters, was as clear as the lines on his own palm.
"Lan, I know you've been watching me, waiting to see me in a state of absolute despair with nowhere to go. Haha, what a pity," he looked up and said with a light smile.
"It's a pity your words earlier reminded me. They let me know that as long as I use the remote force emission of a True Grandmaster to attack from the outside, I can break this formation with ease.
So now, take a good look. See for yourself... whether what I use is remote force emission or not."
With that, he suddenly closed his fingers, clenching them into a tight fist.
BOOM!!
As if an invisible, giant hand had descended from the heavens, reaching through the earth, it gripped the thousand-meter secret room where Sevrine stood. Then, it suddenly yanked it upward, hurtling toward the surface, located untold meters away, in a rapid "ascent."
The countless red threads tightly binding the room snapped instantly and vanished.
During the room's "flight" toward the surface, all the underground palace levels above it were simultaneously battered as if by ten thousand great hammers and axes. Before the room even ascended, they disintegrated into debris, splitting open to form a perfectly straight, vertical tunnel.
When the room pierced through the entire underground palace structure and faced the layers of solid rock further above, it acted like a massive, invisible drill bit. It bored straight through immense quantities of rock and soil from bottom to top, finally bursting out from the underground and reaching the surface.
"How is this possible?! This cannot be!"
In the middle of the vast wasteland of Wolf's Nest's ruins, surrounded by roughly twelve blade-spirits and nearly a hundred Dharma-Puppets, stood Lan Yuca. Clad in white robes and white armor, his hair and beard snow-white, he looked up at the grey stone secret room that had burst from the earth and was now suspended a hundred meters in the air.
His trembling face was a mess of disbelief, wonder, and terror. He stared wide-eyed, his voice distorted as he shrieked:
"You... Sevrine... you... how did you suddenly ascend to the Grandmaster realm?! This... this is impossible!"
In his stunned shouting, Lan Yuca's hands danced frantically, forming a series of seals. Finally, he gritted his teeth and whispered:
"Moon-Chasing Soul-Fright, Escape!"
WHOOSH!!
In that instant, his entire figure blurred and flattened, narrowing into a faint, crescent-moon-shaped spectral image. Without a sound, he fled toward the distance at extreme speed.
His escape velocity was incredible, crossing over half of Wolf's Nest in a heartbeat.
But just as Lan Yuca was about to clear the fortress and vanish into the distance, Sevrine's voice abruptly echoed from all around him:
"What a formidable escape technique. Heh, didn't you just say you wanted to have a chat? Why run now?"
As soon as Sevrine spoke, Lan Yuca's frantic flight halted abruptly. He was forced out of his crescent-moon state, becoming completely rigid where he stood.
Immediately, a surge of invisible internal force struck out of thin air, yanking the paralyzed Lan Yuca a hundred meters up into the sky.
There, Sevrine was suspended in the air.
The reason Sevrine could float so leisurely in the sky was that the air beneath his feet was currently boiling with intensity, continuously generating massive pulses of thrust that held him firmly in place amidst the heavens.
This was a minor trick derived from remote force emission, one Sevrine had naturally mastered upon entering the Grandmaster realm.
As for Lan Yuca... his predicament was purely a case of "brute force creating miracles"; he had been directly seized by Sevrine's remote force and yanked into the sky to be held captive there.
The moment Sevrine truly saw this wicked man, his full personal interface information naturally manifested before Sevrine's eyes:
[ Character Name: Lan Yuca
Level: Mainstream Martial Arts → Valiarior, Occult Techniques → Object Manifestation, Bloodline Divinity → High
Mastered Skills: "Black Tortoise Guardian Physique""Phase-less Wind-Severance""Vile Pupil Great Law""Kan-Li Intercourse Yang-Refining Method""Purple Cloud Yang-Inducing Art""Ghost Swallow Thousand-Blade Saber""Heavenly Poison Needle Palm""Mountain-Cleaving Eighteen Force""Turning Wheel of Yin""Dharma-Registry""Moon-Chasing Method"
Special Traits: [Level 3 Robust Physique][Level 3 Stamina][Level 3 Iron Body][Level 3 Stone Heart][Level 3 Malice][Level 3 Technique][Level 3 Spirit-Concentration][Level 3 Magical Power][Level 3 Intuition][Level 3 Yang-Absorption][Level 3 Toxicity][Level 3 Sexual Potency]
Expert Shards: 1 ]
A rare triple-system user, and he even carried an Expert Shard. It was truly beyond Sevrine's expectations.
One could only say that this old thief was indeed extraordinary.
After viewing the entirety of the other's information, Sevrine naturally understood the origins of all his skills. To summarize it in one sentence: this old fossil... was truly incredibly wealthy.
Putting aside the "Black Tortoise" and "Phase-less" techniques, which Sevrine had already acquired long ago...
In addition to those two, he also possessed two other Valiarior-rank techniques: the "Ghost Swallow Thousand-Blade Saber" and the "Heavenly Poison Needle Palm".
The former focused on craftiness and illusionary changes, while the latter centered on poisoned projectiles and lethal venom. These perfectly matched the old dog's style of operation.
Beyond his various martial arts, Lan Yuca also unexpectedly wielded a significant number of occult arts.
For instance, the "Vile Pupil Great Law", along with the "Kan-Li Method", the "Purple Cloud Art", the "Dharma-Registry", and the "Moon-Chasing Method", were all esoteric arts.
Among them, the "Vile Pupil Great Law" was clearly an evil technique that relied on "food-men" children to advance one's magical power. It also detailed the method for crafting puppets from brined children, along with techniques for spirit-attachment and remote control.
As for the "Kan-Li Method" and the "Dharma-Registry", they were both vicious, evil arts, the former being a path of Yin-Yang "Dragon and Tiger" cultivation, and the latter a method for seizing souls and devouring spirits.
It was through these heterodox occult arts that Lan Yuca had been able to push his cultivation to the third realm above Astral Travel... the Object Manifestation realm.
However, among all of Lan Yuca's skills, the one that most captivated Sevrine's attention was not these martial arts or occult techniques, but the High-Grade divinity named "Turning Wheel of Yin".
The specific function of this divinity was the ability to freely regulate certain functions of one's own body.
Furthermore, it granted a unique self-healing capability and a defensive power nearly equivalent to that of a divine weapon.
One final point: an individual with this divinity could freely adjust their own charm value, allowing it to be either far below that of an ordinary person or far exceeding it.
In short, this was a top-tier divinity.
Sevrine even suspected that Lan Yuca might have originally relied on this divinity to seduce women and gradually build his empire step by step.
"Sevrine... Sevrine... I surrender..."
While Sevrine was silently studying these new skills in his mind, Lan Yuca, who was floating before him with limbs spread out in a "star" shape, began to stammer:
"Can we... can we... can we make peace? I am willing to give you everything I have. I... I can serve you like an ox or a horse... I can also..."
"Silence!"
Silencing Lan Yuca's mouth with a single thought, Sevrine looked at him coldly and suddenly bared his teeth in a smile. "Nonsense. Ask your own heart: if our situations were reversed right now and you had me at your mercy, would you... let me go?"
The mute Lan Yuca, upon hearing this, actually began to nod his head frantically.
But Sevrine acted as if he hadn't seen it at all, continuing his own monologue:
"See, you're not saying anything. If that time truly came, you would absolutely never let me go. Therefore..."
CRACK!! SNAP!! CRUNCH!! GRIND!!
Amidst a series of rapid, violent sounds of tearing flesh and shattering bone, Lan Yuca's four limbs were suddenly and frantically twisted dozens of times. Flesh splattered as they were brutally wrung off.
Having been turned into a human stump in an instant, Lan Yuca's face turned deep red as veins bulged. Even the corners of his eyes tore open, letting streaks of blood flow down.
But due to Sevrine's powerful suppression, despite his boundless agony, he couldn't emit even a shred of a scream. He could only keep it all bottled within his mouth, his entire face trembling violently as if struck by lightning.
"Hahaha, how does it feel? Quite refreshing, isn't it!"
Gazing into Lan Yuca's eyes, which were filled with both agony and rage, Sevrine bared his teeth in a wicked grin. "What's the matter? Do you really want to kill me? What a pity. You'll never get the chance in this lifetime."
With that, Sevrine released the seal on Lan Yuca's mouth with a thought.
A series of heart-wrenching, piteous screams erupted from his wide-open mouth:
"AAAAHHHH!!! You little thief, you animal! You... you cannot kill me! My identity is not as simple as you imagine! If you kill me, it will disrupt the Organization's plans! It will disrupt the Organization's arrangements at Mount Qing! When that time comes, you will surely suffer far more than I! Ten thousand times worse! You just wait..."
Sevrine frowned and once again sealed Lan Yuca's foul mouth, laughing with disdain:
"Fine, fine. Who are you trying to scare? If the small one is beaten, the old one shows up, right? Aren't you tired of this? It's been the same routine for years; don't you find it boring?"
Lan Yuca didn't understand the mockery at all, nor did he have the heart to listen; he was currently occupied with trembling and struggling incessantly from the pain.
"I just suddenly thought. Throughout your life, you must have stolen many men's wives and trampled on many innocent young girls," Sevrine stroked his chin, looking Lan Yuca up and down before saying coldly.
"As the saying goes: 'He who defiles another's wife shall surely have his own defiled.' But you don't have a wife. Tsk, tsk. That's a bit unfair; the karma isn't balancing out. Therefore..."