With his appearance, the others back in the sanctuary felt a surge of courage. They came out together, shielded by Wuhe's immense power. They didn't need to worry about their safety; they just wanted to witness what was about to happen.
But as they looked up and truly saw the massive army, their blood turned cold. The immense pressure coming from the legions of beasts and cultivators was a physical weight, threatening to crush their very souls.
Gui Wuyang's sneer cut across the void like a blade.
"Boy," he spat, his voice dripping with contempt for the lone, veiled figure before him. "Don't think you can do just anything in front of me. How dare you show up here without a single worry on your face? This generation is truly pathetic. You don't even know what fear is."
His eyes, cold and ancient, flickered with cruel amusement. "Then let me teach you."
He didn't move himself. He merely glanced at one of his subordinates and gave a slight nod.
Elder Hun-Lian stepped forward, a victorious smile twisting his lips. He was a Star Sovereign Peak powerhouse, his aura swollen and unstable from the forbidden power gifted by the extraterrestrial races. The same dark gift had elevated their entire sect.
"Boy," Hun-Lian said, savoring the moment. "Let me give you some advice for your next life. Don't act superior in front of powerful Cultivatiors."
He slammed his palm forward. A summoning circle of black lightning erupted in space. From it leaped his prized beast, an Alpha Lightning Wolf. It was a massive creature of pure, crackling energy, its fur standing on end with arcs of power. A Galaxy Apprentice level beast, it was a nightmare made for tearing apart starships.
"Tear him apart!" Hun-Lian roared.
The wolf vanished. It moved not as a beast, but as a bolt of living lightning. In an instant it crossed the distance, its jaws wide open, aimed directly at Huai's throat.
Huai did not move. His hands remained clasped loosely behind his back. His veiled face was still tilted slightly upward, and he was still smiling.
Down on the planet, Ling Zhan gasped. Ling Tian clenched his fists so hard his nails drew blood. They were certain he was gone.
The wolf reached him. Its fangs were inches from his silhouette.
Then it stopped. Not from impact, but from existence.
The monstrous creature of lightning simply unraveled. One moment it was a snarling apex predator. The next second , it turned into fine, gray dust. The dust hung in the void for a heartbeat before scattering into nothingness. It had been erased just before it could touch him.
Silence fell over the million-strong army.
Huai chuckled.
This time, the sound was not soft. It was clear and resonant, like a great temple bell being struck in the heavens. The sound did not travel through air. It rang directly inside the soul of every single beast and every single cultivator surrounding the planet. The millions of summoned beasts whimpered and lowered their heads in primal terror. The cultivators felt their spiritual energy shudder.
Even Ancestor Gui Wuyang felt it. A deep, cold tremor ran through his heart and shook his very soul, something he had not felt in many years.
He stared at Huai in pure horror. The arrogance was gone from his face, replaced by a dawning, terrible understanding. He focused all of his Galaxy General Peak senses on the boy, trying to see through the veil, trying to gauge his cultivation.
He saw nothing. No realm. No energy fluctuation. No spiritual pressure at all.
It was like trying to stare into the abyss itself.
Huai's gaze shifted. It settled on Elder Hun-Lian.
Hun-Lian was still staring at the space where his wolf had been. His face was frozen in horror. His mouth was open, but no sound came out at first.
Then it did.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It was a raw, terrifying scream. It lasted only a second. In that second, his body broke apart. He did not burn. He did not bleed. He simply came undone, from his fingertips to his face, turning into the same fine gray dust as his beast. The dust scattered in the void.
The million-strong army went completely silent.
This time, Ancestor Gui Wuyang felt something he had not felt in ten thousand years. It was fear. Real fear. His hands, which could crush planets, began to tremble.
"You!" he stammered, his voice losing its power. "How did you kill him without even touching him!"
Huai tilted his head slightly, as if considering a simple question.
"Do you want to try?" he asked. His tone was light. It was casual.
Gui Wuyang's body jerked. He nearly fell from the sky. The words hit him harder than any attack. Who would volunteer to die?
He recovered himself and forced his voice to be respectful. It cracked as he spoke.
"Your... Your Highness! I have no enmity with you. Why are you killing my people?"
Huai smiled behind his white veil.
"Did I ever say I would be your enemy?" he asked. "Or was it you who chose to be my enemy ?"
Gui Wuyang wanted to curse. He couldn't. The boy was right. He was the one who had come here shouting threats. He was the one who had ordered the attack. He had chosen this.
Huai's smile faded.
"Now that you have already chosen," he said, his voice still calm, "then let me take action."
He lifted his right hand. He did not make a fist. He did not summon energy. He simply waved it once, gently, as if brushing dust off a table.
Half of the army disappeared.
It was not an explosion. There was no fire or light. One moment, there were hundreds of thousands of cultivators and beasts filling the left side of the sky. The next moment, they were gone.
Elders, disciples, giant tigers, winged serpents, armored behemoths. It did not matter what they were. They all turned to dust at the same time. They did not even have time to scream. The dust vanished, and the space where they stood was empty.
In the sky, no one moved.
Half the army was just gone. The space where they had been was empty and cold.
The cultivators who were left stared at that empty space. Their faces turned white. Their hands shook so hard their weapons rattled. Some of them dropped their swords without realizing it. Others tried to step back, but there was nowhere to go. The air felt too heavy to breathe.
The millions of beasts stopped roaring. The giant tigers and wolves and serpents lowered their heads and whimpered. They pressed themselves close to their masters, their tails tucked between their legs. They could feel death standing right in front of them.
Ancestor Gui Wuyang was shaking. His proud back was bent. His lips trembled and he could not form words. The eight elders behind him, Feng-Bao, Shi-Gu, Ju-Ling and the others, clutched at their summoning rings. Their eyes were wide with pure terror. They were not looking at an enemy anymore. They were looking at something they could not understand.
On the ground, it was the same.
Ling Zhan grabbed his own chest, his heart beating too fast. Ling Tian stood frozen beside him, his fists still clenched, but now from fear, not anger. He could not breathe properly.
Ancestor Ling Wei, who had just regained his youth, slowly sank to his knees. His newly restored power felt like nothing.
Yao Shen pulled his daughter Yao Lingxi close to him, shielding her with his arm. Her face was pale and her hands were covering her mouth. The physicians behind them were trembling and holding onto each other.
They had all seen Huai the Divine Physician before. They had seen his gentle hands heal a dying man. Now they were seeing something else entirely. They were seeing his terror. The same hand that could give life had just erased half an army with a wave. They understood now that his kindness was a choice.
In the middle of them, Yan was sitting on a rock. He was calmly eating melon seeds, one by one. Wuhe had given him the small bag and whispered, "Enjoy the show, little one. Just watch the drama."
Wuhe himself was different.
While everyone else stared at the sky in fear, Wuhe was staring at Huai with a strange, soft look in his eyes. He was not afraid. He was mesmerized. Tears were running down his face silently, tracing lines on his cheeks. He did not wipe them away. He did not even seem to know he was crying. His lips were parted slightly, as if he was remembering something from a very long time ago.
A single notification rang in his head from his own training system, unknowingly he entered in a trance ,
[ Ding!
Dear host ! Seeing Shen Huai , fight against the enemies , you've triggered the hidden rewards ,
Recovering real memories .....in progress 10%
Initialising 1...2....3...]
No one saw him. Every eye on the ground and in the sky was locked on the lone, veiled boy floating above the planet.
And everyone felt the same thing. It was not just fear of dying. It was a deeper terror. It was the terror of standing before an unknown being who could decide if you existed or not with a single thought.
Ancestor Gui Wuyang was still shaking. He tried to speak, his voice broken.
"No! No, it's not possible," he stammered. "I... I just gained power to dominate this..."
He never finished.
Huai didn't even look at him. His veiled face was turned past him, staring into the empty void behind the army.
"For how long are you going to watch him embarrassing himself," Huai said calmly. "Just come out."
The void rippled.
A disgusting laugh rolled out of the darkness. It was wet and cold, like something crawling on your skin.
"Hahahahhahh! Good, good," the voice said. "Boy, give me the treasure that helped you pinpoint our location. Do you think this Nexus could save you?"
Then they came.
The darkness tore open and millions of Nether Wraiths poured out. They filled the sky behind the Summoning Beast Pavilion army. They were shaped like humans, but their skin was dark gray and their eyes glowed red. Each one had a sharp black horn on its forehead.
Their power was suffocating. The weakest among them were Galaxy Generals. Thousands were Galaxy Venerables.
And at the very front, their leader floated forward. He was taller than the rest, his horns were twisted like a crown, and his aura crushed the space around him. This was the Phantom Wraith Sovereign. He was at the peak of the Galaxy Sovereign realm, one of the strongest of his entire race.
The remaining cultivators of the Summoning Beast Pavilion gasped in relief. Ancestor Gui Wuyang fell to his knees in the air, bowing his head. "My lord!"
Huai just chuckled. The sound was light.
"Do you think I told Nexus to save me?" he asked.
As he spoke, space beside him shimmered. A woman in a long silver dress stepped out of thin air. It was Nexus. Her face was calm and cold. She did not need to hide anymore.
She looked at the Phantom Wraith Sovereign and her eyes narrowed. The enemy had not come to play. They had brought a true peak sovereign.
Nexus moved before Huai could answer.
She stepped in front of him, her silver dress fluttering in the void. Her back was straight. She was not hiding anymore. She was shielding him.
She knew she could not kill the Phantom Wraith Sovereign. He was a monster even among peak Galaxy Sovereigns. But she was also at the peak. She could hold him. She could force a draw.
She kept her eyes on the enemy, but her words were for Huai.
"Citizen Huai," she said quietly. "I will fight him. We are both at the peak realm of Galaxy Sovereign. I can hold him to a standstill. When I do, you need to find a gap and flee."
Her plan was simple and desperate. It was not the original plan. The original plan was to trap the Summoning Beast Pavilion. The Phantom Wraith's arrival had changed everything.
Huai did not answer. He just chuckled.
Then he lifted his hand and waved it once, gently.
In that instant, everything stopped.
The space for thousands of light years around them froze.