Ming Yuling saw death. It was bleak, cold, unforgiving, and pervasive. It touched her very soul, forcing her to feel as if time itself had frozen, no-had slowed. Very, very slow. It was a single moment elongated into a thousand clear, substantial thoughts. Her life was all thoroughly reviewed, flashing across her distressed eyes with stunning clarity.
The wind-splitting, sky-sundering, life-ravaging power contained within the spear was steadfast in its intent, supported by refined wind-attributed starforce; it wanted to end Ming Yuling's life.
Was this how it all ended? By an attack of a random Starlord in the lands of Everworld?
WOOSH!
The spear was only a few meters away from her chest, unleashing a stifling aura that made her chest feel stuffy and discomforted. Just as it was about to pierce her through and through, a hazy figure distorted by its high speed crashed against the spear. It pressed its right leg against the spear's shaft, its knee bent, its eyes exuding a fierce light, and proceeded to push its leg out violently!
The spear was instantly shifted by sheer force! Its trajectory was forcefully altered by pure strength, and it kept going down its life-ravaging path as it passed Ming Yuling by a hair-s breadth. Her right arm, cheek, and eye stung from the raging winds.
BOOSH!!
The spear kept going until it stabbed into a large tree, producing a mountain-shaking explosion! The air currents went wild as robes fluttered and bits of grass flew for miles.
Chen Yangzi unleashed a soul-rousing roar as he attacked the Starlord in tandem with the others. The death of their companion had come as a shock to them, but they were all experienced Chosen, so they fully knew that escaping at this moment would only make them an easier target, especially the weaker ones.
They all unfurled their Worldly Domains as colorful domains enveloped the world, distorting the scene and causing a clash of rampantly chaotic power. The Starlord was instantly boggled down without his weapon! While it was merely two Timelords and two Realmlords, they were not ordinary at all.
Chen Yangzi belonged to two top-tier Mystic-rank forces of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, so despite his relatively irrelevant degree of status held in either power, he was a far cry from the average ordinary cultivator. As for the other three, they were experts that had been cultivating for nearly five hundred years! Since their birth till now, they fought for their resources amongst others.
The Starlord was a young man, mid-twenties in looks, garbed in light combat armor. Its cobalt sheen gave it a fiercely imposing presence. He weaved his hands into fists as he clashed with the four with a frown, shifting his attention slightly to find two figures in the distance. The young woman who was collecting his Tungsten Realm Liquid and a young man.
That young man...
...he had redirected his spear with a kick!
A simple kick!
Ming Yuling's heart was racing so fast, pounding so hard, that she could hear the blood pumping joyously through her ears. Her body shook with happiness as she gasped in the breathable air to confirm her status as alive! However, her thoughts were instantly brought back to reality as a young, tall, lean man stood before her.
"Senior Sister Yuling, are you okay?" He called out to her, his vibrantly bright blue eyes flickering with concern. From the sides of his head, his sharp-tipped ears stood out alongside the duality of black hair with platinum highlights.
Elf?
Ming Yuling instantly recognized the figure, "Yi Yun?" Her tone was slightly absentminded. The youth before her was a known figure of the Boundless Martial Sect, some may even consider highly controversial due to the ill-carried reputation of the Elven Races' inferior status throughout the eighteen regions.
WOOSH!!
Before Ming Yuling could properly respond, a sky-changing light pierced through the sky. Her eyes constricted as she looked toward the ongoing fight between the two Timelords, two Realmlords, and one Starlord! The four fought fiercely yet they were clearly on the losing end despite the Starlord throwing his weapon.
But this light belonged to an entirely different aura! It split the clouds and sundered the earth, piercing toward the group of five with unerring determination.
"Huh?" The Starlord's eyes slightly shifted as the incoming light blazed his sight. It fixated on his figure, threatening to collide with him. He remained entirely unfazed despite being besieged on all sides. With a soft palm, the older Timelord was pushed over a hundred meters away in distress, blood flowing from their nose and ears, and their arms flailing about wildly.
BOOM!
"ARGH!" He crashed heavily into the ground with a painful, heart-shaking yelp.
The Starlord twisted his body, unleashing a burst of wind-attributed starforce that sent the three others flying. Chen Yangzi growled as he resisted the pushing force with his Astral Ward, sliding across the ground for fifty meters with deeply entrenched leg marks through the dirt.
With a soft slap of the Starlord's palm, starforce gathered and erupted in a torrential outpour of wind! The incoming light was instantly battered by a torrential storm of wind and shattered. The sheer ease of his actions left Chen Yangzi's heart sinking. This Starlord was not ordinary!
"Oh?"
A gracefully, beautiful green-robed figure arrived on the scene! She descended in front of Chen Yangzi while holding a shortbow, an arrow primed. The tip of it glistened with astral force as it was aimed at the Starlord.
"Senior Sister Qiao?!" Chen Yangzi exclaimed in shock. This graceful woman was Qiao Shulin, a disciple of the Boundless Martial Sect! She was a Timelord!Qiao Shulin kept her bow trained on the distant Starlord's figure, asking: "Can you still fight?" Her tone was valiant and strong, like a great warrior. Despite her feminine beauty that could stir the heart, she was definitely not defined by her looks. The will to fight echoed through her every breath.
Chen Yangzi was briefly taken aback by her question before his eyes glinted fiercely. He nodded, "I can." He was stimulated by her voice, and his Astral Soul grew rowdy as his cultivation base was pushed a notch higher in effectiveness. He felt the urge to go twelve full rounds with this Starlord!
The Starlord stayed silent during this exchange, quietly inspecting the new arrivals cautiously, sizing up their cultivation bases, auras, and weapons. "Battle Intent!" Qiao Shulin's Battle Intent was instantly recognized by the Starlord, his eyes gleaming intriguingly.
Qiao Shulin ignored his gaze, looking at Yi Yun and Ming Shilling. She transmitted through spiritual strength, "Continue!" After sending this, her expression drastically changed. Woosh!
She released her shortbow's string! The arrow flew true as it pierced through the air, viciously sundering the air as it sought to impede the Starlord's explosive dash!
Boom!
The Starlord was unfazed as he exerted strength through his palm, slamming against the arrowhead, crushing it and the astral force it carried to nothingness. Unhindered, he continued his dash. He was like a gust of rabid wind, devastating the ground, grass, and trees near him.
Qiao Shulin's pupils constricted slightly; her hands kept flowing like moving shadows across the shortbow's string, releasing arrow after arrow in a steady, rhythmic motion backed by hundreds of years of practice. Her lithe figure retreated with light steps.
Chen Yangzi, however, roared as he rushed forward. Those arrows shot as if they had eyes, weaving through Chen Yangzi perfectly, and he roared as his body expanded two sizes, and he punched with both fists. His sleeves madly fluttered as earthforce gushed out!
The Starlord's eyes lit with interest, but that was all. His retaliation was swift and simple, launching a palm once again toward it all! This palm gathered eighty percent of his strength, and it caused a barreling storm of raging winds that blasted Chen Yangzi and the arrows.
The hyped young man's eyes filled with the Battle Intent of Qiao Shulin instantly gained a sense of clarity as the sensation of lethal danger enveloped his soul. He roared as he unleashed everything he had remaining!
The palm was unstoppable.
The storm was ravenous!
Chen Yangzi's body was instantly engulfed and vanished within its might as the arrows were obliterated. Qiao Shulin's eyes widened uncontrollably as her calmness broke along with her arrows. She executed a profound Movement Art, gliding across the grassy surface like a fairy as she tried to retreat toward Yi Yun.
"Run!" She sent through a spiritual scream.
Despite her earlier shock at Yi Yun's appearance, Ming Yuling went into action the moment she heard Qiao Shulin's order to continue. She executed the spell as the Tungsten Realm Liquid flowed into the bottle, but this lasted less than two whole seconds before she got the order to run.
Just two seconds!
Yi Yun decided to act as her protector to ensure another strike wouldn't impede her from gathering the liquid, but his expression changed as he saw the cataclysmic power being unleashed in the distance.
"Senior Sister Qiao!" He shouted instinctively.
Qiao Shulin was frighteningly fast for a Timelord, but only for a Timelord.
"You're interesting," the Starlord's voice echoed through her Sea of Consciousness as his Spiritual Strength invaded her mind. She instantly wobbled in her movements despite her spiritual protection items, her eyes widened once again as her heart shivered. This small disturbance of her movement was enough for her to be overtaken in speed.
"Let's talk later," the Starlord flashed behind her like a looming shadow, the raging storm was lagging behind him, and he reached out to grab her neck. Qiao Shulin tried to react, her Astral Ward erecting in full force, but those fingers were like heaven-sent vice grips, grasping through her Astral Ward as if it was wet paper.
"Guh!" A throaty sound left her soft lips as her body was seized. A wave of invasive Spiritual Force instantly breached her body, robbing her of her cultivation base almost instantly. She nearly lost consciousness.
"!!!" Ming Shilling barely caught sight of Qiao Shulin being captured and her heart was disturbed. The spell failed and she didn't know what to do. While she was a Chosen, she was too young, and she had never experienced genuine war and death. Was Chen Yangzi dead?
She didn't know!
And this caused her mind to be enveloped in fear!
At this point, the Realmlords were stunned. They couldn't even approach when the Starlord began to launch his attacks.
"Flee!" The old Timelord shouted at the two Realmlords. But just as they were about to leave, a whooshing sound passed by their body, leaving a gaping hole in their heads!
The spear!
It spun and twisted after reaping two lives, pointing toward the older Timelord with a murderous glow. The Timelord's heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He didn't hesitate to ignite his Astral Core!
Instantly, his aura explosively increased to the point even the Starlord glanced at him. The Timelord then released a terrifying wave of power, and with an explosive burst, shot off into the distance like a shooting star.
Gone!
He left without looking back.
"No."
The Starlord muttered only a single word, pointing their finger casually toward the distant Timelord. With a soft breath, the Timelord's movement was halted as the world around him spun chaotically. His body twisted as if caught within a whirlpool.
"AHHH!!" His screams could be heard for hundreds of miles.
Spiritual Art!
Yi Yun and Ming Yuling instantly recognized the terrifying power! They watched as the older Timelord's body kept spinning and spinning until he twisted eerily and exploded into a burst of blood, bones, and energy. The resulting explosion sent a turbulent wave of air that battered them, pressing against their faces and clothes, and sending shivers down their spines.
The acrid smell of blood tainted the air.
The Starlord's hand trembled as he lowered it. His expression was slightly pale. The Spiritual Art had exhausted a lot of his starforce! However, the signs of observing auras began to rapidly retreat in tandem. Those who were watching it all unfold, hoping to seek out benefits in the chaos, ran away with the quickness of a thousand horses.
After adjusting himself, the Starlord looked at Ming Yuling and Yi Yun with a narrowed gaze.
"..." Ming Yuling's mind was in total chaos.
"..." Yi Yun's fists clenched tightly, his eyes focused on the dangling Qiao Shulin held like a baby chick at the neck.
