Swirling snowflakes should not have been tainted by the slightest bustle of the floating world.
However, these snowflakes were as large as human heads, with edges as sharp as flying daggers forged by master craftsmen.
They filled the sky in dense clusters… inevitably becoming a death trap falling from the heavens.
They also became Jiang Ke’er’s chance at survival.
Cold sweat poured down Honored One Zeng Tie’s back.
He could not believe the reality before his eyes — with her bracelet unfastened, Jiang Ke’er’s aura was surging at a rate dozens of times greater than before.
‘Has this girl been suppressing her strength during the fight until this very moment?!’
What kind of monster was she!
Even with her strength suppressed countless times over, she had already been capable of instantly killing every human participant on the field!
At this moment, Zeng Tie, who was used to seeing geniuses and was a supreme genius himself, felt a surge of fear well up in his heart.
Fortunately, he was an Honored One.
Fortunately, he was an Honored One…
His status as an Honored One and his seniority from practicing for several hundred more years than his opponent had become his final reliance.
But then…
“Poison?!”
Zeng Tie was horrified to find the Spiritual Power within his body stagnating. His muscles felt limp and refused to obey his commands.
“Did you think there was only snow inside those clouds?”
Jiang Ke’er would never let A Miao simply drop snow from the sky during such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for artificial snowfall.
Had she known an Honored One was down here and failed to prepare something good, she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.
The potent toxin had been mixed into the snow.
Melted and triggered by the heat released during the battle, it had been silently inhaled into Zeng Tie’s lungs and circulated throughout his body.
Zeng Tie finally panicked.
He turned and fled, wanting to escape the area covered by the blade-like snow at maximum speed.
Without being able to reveal his power as an Honored One, that was his only way to survive!
Three seconds had already passed, but Jiang Ke’er was in no hurry to strike…
In truth, the three-second claim was just a bluff.
Her goal was to scare Zeng Tie into exposing his strength as an Honored One, which was far more important than killing him.
However, Zeng Tie had actually turned coward. He didn’t linger to fight at all, refusing to fall into her trap.
“Lord Honored One, are you still not going to use your original power?” Jiang Ke’er followed leisurely behind Zeng Tie, her voice haunting the heavy snow like a specter.
“Emperor Jing didn’t send you here just to run for your life.”
“You have the wrong person,” Zeng Tie said, his mouth tightly shut.
He knew clearly in his heart that even if he died here, he absolutely could not reveal his power as an Honored One! Otherwise, if Emperor Jing’s plan was exposed to the world, the face of the Human Clan and the dignity of the Emperor of the Kingdom of Dasi would be completely dragged through the dirt. Everything would be over!
He would become a criminal for the ages, and Emperor Jing would make his life more miserable than death!
Therefore, even if he let Jiang Ke’er kill him, he absolutely could not use his own power to resist!
“Oh ho?”
Jiang Ke’er smiled, showing no signs of urgency.
Suddenly, Zeng Tie’s expression changed.
The Spiritual Power within his body suddenly expanded and surged out of control. His Celestial Dharma Projection bloomed automatically!
Following that, the Seven Stars of the Heavens appeared before the Dharma Projection! Then… came the Divination Compass Array, the symbol of his identity as an Eight Trigrams Venerable!
The vast and peerless aura pushed aside all the surrounding snow.
Even the clouds in the sky were blasted apart, creating a massive hole that allowed sunlight to project onto the earth…
The aura of an Honored One was fully exposed.
Anyone with eyes knew exactly what had happened.
Zeng Tie knelt on the ground in despair, no longer running.
He had thought the purpose of the toxin was to lock down his power so that Jiang Ke’er could kill him… but he was wrong.
From the very beginning, Jiang Ke’er’s goal was to force him to reveal his strength as an Honored One.
The toxin’s ability was not to suppress his power, but to make it run wild and go out of control.
The ugliest part of the entire competition was finally displayed clearly before the world, its final fig leaf torn away.
What was even more terrifying was that Zeng Tie found his skin tingling and itching as if bitten by ants.
His muscles and bones shifted, and his flesh realigned — as his power went out of control, his Disguise Technique failed!
He hurried to cover his face, but it was already too late. By the time he regained his senses, his original appearance had long been exposed to the world’s view.
The Vice Commander of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Dasi — Jia Huming.
Seeing this face, there was no longer any need to explain the identity of the mastermind.
Only one person had the authority to command Jia Huming.
The man currently sitting upon the high platform, wearing golden dragon robes — the ruler of the Kingdom of Dasi and the sole monarch of the most powerful nation in Shenzhou: Great Emperor Jing.
Jiang Ke’er stood before Jia Huming and smiled. “Just as I said, the Emperor is afraid, isn’t he?”
‘The Emperor is afraid.’ This was a rumor that had been circulating for a long time.
It was said that Emperor Jing had kidnapped Si Lian out of fear of the Bagpipe Squad…
Previously, no one had cared about these rumors, dismissing them as nonsense.
After all, how could the dignified Emperor of the Kingdom of Dasi possibly care about a small team from the Demon Race?
But at this moment, they had to face the facts before their eyes.
Yes, Emperor Jing was afraid.
The ruler of the most powerful nation in Shenzhou and the strongest nation of the Human Clan was afraid.
He was so afraid of this Demon Race team that he did not hesitate to trample on the fairness of the Shenzhou Cup and the dignity of the entire Human Clan in an attempt to cheat his way to victory.
Otherwise, why would the Vice Commander of the Royal Guard, Honored One Jia Huming, appear in the Divine Land Cup Arena?
Even more pathetic was that even after cheating, he still lost.
“If I am not mistaken, our Team Coach, Si Lian, should be right by the Emperor’s side right now.” Jiang Ke’er looked up at the sky, her gaze cold.
Emperor Jing knew she was looking at him.
Emperor Jing let out a sneer and stood up, preparing to leave.
“What a load of nonsense. Do you think that by finding someone to disguise themselves as Jia Huming, you can make me take a second look at you? Naive. It seems this match should come to an end.”
*Whoosh—*
A sharp wind came from behind Emperor Jing. His expression stiffened as he suddenly turned to block it, but it was too late.
The wind was not an attack directed at him, but was aimed at the large box containing Si Lian!
“What are you doing?!” Emperor Jing glared in shock and fury at the inconspicuous little guard; it was that person who had shattered the box.
“Protect the Emperor!” Emperor Jing roared, but he was not faster than the lens of the broadcast crystal, nor was he faster than the eyes of the people.
Si Lian’s body was now completely exposed to the world’s view.
This was a live broadcast facing all of Shenzhou.
When Si Lian appeared, the entire world became aware of the foul deeds Emperor Jing had committed.
A burning, unbearable sense of humiliation suddenly flooded the bodies of every Human Cultivator, making them so miserable they wished they could find a hole to crawl into.
It turned out Emperor Jing really was afraid. He was truly terrified.
But… why was it you? Clearly, it could have been anyone else. Why, why did Your Majesty personally commit such a foul deed!
You are the representative of the entire Human Clan! You hold the dignity of the Human Clan of all Shenzhou in your hands!!!
By doing all of this, it means…
It’s over. Everything is over.
Benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, and morality — everything the Human Clan touted as civilized and fair, everything they claimed distinguished them from the barbaric Monsters.
The moment Emperor Jing kidnapped Si Lian, the moment his plan was exposed, it all turned into sharp swords, stabbing into the hearts of his own people.
“No, that’s not it at all!”
Emperor Jing’s face was blood-red, and the veins on his forehead bulged — he had kidnapped Si Lian clearly to interrogate her for Blue Shadow’s whereabouts!
Sending Jia Huming inside was merely a part of that interrogation!
But now, the narrative was held in Jiang Ke’er’s hands. No matter what he said, no one would believe him.
He suddenly remembered that the rumors about him being afraid of the Bagpipe Squad had already spread through the streets days ago.
At the time, he hadn’t taken them to heart.
It was those rumors that had predisposed everyone, leaving him with no chance to defend himself now.
He looked up in horror at Jiang Ke’er on the screen.
So, the layout had already begun long ago.
Emperor Jing’s body began to tremble — this time, he was truly panicked.
What a massive plot. No matter how extraordinary Jiang Ke’er’s cultivation talent or how strong her power was, he would never have cared.
After all, no matter how strong one is, two fists are no match for four hands.
How many exceptionally gifted geniuses had appeared in history? In the end, only that one State Preceptor remained.
Such a layout and foresight were the things that truly made his skin crawl.
The Demon Race shouldn’t have her.
She absolutely cannot return to Shenzhou alive! Since his reputation was already in the gutter anyway…
“Jia Huming! At any cost, kill her!”