Chapter 198: Shatter the Void
Chapter 198: Shatter the Void
“Master… Master… I…”
Shao Feiyuan’s face turned deathly pale as he kowtowed to Xue Wudi, trembling uncontrollably. He’d been moments away from claiming leadership of the Martial Arts Alliance, only for Xue Wudi to reappear at the critical hour. Not only had Xue Wudi achieved a major breakthrough in cultivation, but the Demonic Sect expert he’d counted on couldn’t even stand before him. Terror gripped Shao Feiyuan’s heart.
“Feiyuan.”
Xue Wudi’s gaze drifted as he studied his youngest disciple, memories surfacing. This boy was the orphaned son of his lost love—a living reminder of bittersweet days from his youth.
“Spare me… for my mother’s sake—”
*Thud!*
Xue Wudi’s finger struck Shao Feiyuan’s forehead. The cowardly disciple burst into a cloud of blood mist before finishing his plea.
This was no ordinary Martial Arts technique. The Xue Wudi of old could never have vaporized a man with a touch.
“Your mother… I killed her too.”
Xue Wudi’s murmur hung in the air, his thoughts unreadable.
Black Robe and the others paled. Xue Wudi had executed his own disciple without hesitation—what hope did trespassers like them have?
“Will you kneel, or shall I *make* you kneel?”
Xue Wudi’s attention shifted to the intruders. The Martial Arts Alliance was his tool for achieving Ascension. Those who disrupted it were enemies. As the saying went: *To block another’s path is to murder their parents.*
“Alliance Leader Xue! We serve the Demonic Sect!”
Black Robe blurted in desperation. “Our former leader Mo Xiaotian has returned—a Celestial Being realm expert—”
Xue Wudi’s impatient sneer cut him short. But before action could be taken, a distant aura gave pause.
“Seems you too benefited from the Divine Palace of Xi.”
The voice arrived before its owner—a man in black-gold robes stepping through roiling clouds. Xue Wudi’s brow lifted. *Hovering midair? A Celestial Being?*
“You’ve made your point. End this now. Grant me this face.”
Mo Xiaotian hovered proudly, Celestial energy radiating. Over three months, he and Changqingzi had divided the world’s factions, assigning the Martial Arts Alliance to the Demonic Sect. None had expected Xue Wudi—newly emerged from the Divine Palace of Xi—to rival their power, forcing renegotiations.
“Grant you *face*?”
Xue Wudi laughed coldly. He’d already gauged Mo Xiaotian’s strength: *Early-stage Celestial Being.* Once, such power dominated the world—Great Masters were insects before it. But Xue Wudi had reached the *peak* of that realm, toes brushing Shatter the Void’s threshold. This newcomer’s posturing was laughable.
“You’re *nothing*.”
Diplomacy abandoned, Xue Wudi prepared to crush both Mo Xiaotian and his followers. Death wasn’t necessary—the Demonic Sect could gather resources for his final breakthrough. The Martial Arts Alliance alone couldn’t sustain his needs; soon, he’d unite all clans under his banner.
“Impudent!”
Mo Xiaotian’s eyes blazed. He’d ruled an era before Xue Wudi’s time, forged in unshakable supremacy. Retreat? Unthinkable.
“Who gave you courage?”
Demonic techniques surged, instantly engulfing the entire region as dark clouds churned across the sky.
But Mo Xiaotian’s speed paled before Xue Wudi’s.
The latter stood below, raising his right fist to strike empty air. Though seemingly ordinary, the punch left glass-like fractures in space itself, the cracking sound echoing through the battlefield.
Life-and-death peril!
Mo Xiaotian barely twisted sideways midair, avoiding vital organs as destructive energy grazed past, damaging his internal organs. The blood he swallowed burned his throat. When he turned, the magic clouds he’d summoned with great effort had vanished completely under that single punch. The staggering disparity left him momentarily stunned.
“What… is this power?”
After several breaths, Mo Xiaotian finally managed to ask the figure below.
He’d believed his achievements unparalleled – forging new paths, reaching the Celestial Being realm, elevating Yuan Wu World’s Martial Arts. Yet his three months of dominance had ended abruptly. Against Xue Wudi, he couldn’t even counterattack.
“Shatter the Void.”
“Shatter… Then beyond Celestial Being lies Void Shattering.”
Mo Xiaotian sighed in bitter acceptance. Any plans to divide territories with Changqingzi evaporated. With Xue Wudi guarding it, the Martial Arts Alliance stood unshakable as the Sea God’s anchor.
“From this day…”
Xue Wudi’s words cut short as his expression changed. A Phantom Shadow remained where he’d stood while his true form appeared midair. Sensing disturbances, Mo Xiaotian forced himself upward while the Masked Man and Black Robe remained earthbound, oblivious.
The two masters peered through atmospheric layers to distant seas.
Terrifying ripples pulsed from that direction, like gods warring in heaven.
“That bearing…”
“Divine Palace of Xi!”
Both spoke simultaneously.
“Who challenges heaven itself?”
Mo Xiaotian tasted despair. Xue Wudi’s might already dwarfed his, but this new presence… Could mortals truly wield such power?
“He succeeded. Shatter the Void.”
Xue Wudi recognized the distant figure instantly – his senior brother who’d hidden near Xi’s sacred mountain for twenty years chasing mythical tales. The Storyteller.