“Cough…cough…”
Dongfang Yun coughed violently, spitting out another large mouthful of blood.
Dongfang Shou snapped back to his senses and dared not delay.
He quickly channeled his own spiritual energy, sending it into Dongfang Yun’s body to forcibly suppress the surging blood and qi.
At the same time, he took two sixth-grade recovery pills from his spatial ring and fed them to Dongfang Yun.
The pills dissolved upon entering the mouth, transforming into a dense medicinal force that surged into Dongfang Yun’s internal organs and limbs.
Spiritual energy circulated to help regulate his breathing.
After a while, Dongfang Yun’s breathing gradually steadied, and a trace of color returned to his face.
Though he still looked disheveled, his life was no longer in danger.
“Yun’er, how do you feel now? And more importantly, who was it that injured you so badly?”
Seeing his condition stabilize, Dongfang Shou asked again in a deep voice.
Beside him, Xuan Ji and Yan Dangmo also shifted their attention with interest, equally curious.
They knew about the Dongfang family’s Puppetry Art and were aware that several members of the family specialized in it.
From the quality of the war puppet, they could roughly estimate the astonishing combat power Dongfang Yun could unleash while controlling it.
That was precisely why they were even more curious about who could defeat Dongfang Yun, who controlled such a powerful war puppet—and even damage the puppet to such an extent.
More importantly, in their view, among the group participating in the secret realm, there didn’t seem to be anyone with the strength to do so.
Dongfang Yun still kept his head lowered, his long hair disheveled, messily covering his face.
Only his tightly bitten lower lip and gloomy expression were visible.
This was a sheer humiliation!
“I… I don’t know him…”
Although deeply ashamed, Dongfang Yun answered Dongfang Shou in a low voice: “He’s a body cultivator with an extremely formidable physique!”
“He didn’t use any weapons or techniques. He relied purely on his physical strength to withstand my war puppet’s attacks! Even when my puppet was unleashing its full power, he could still repel me with just his body…”
He paused, then said resentfully: “But he was despicable! He agreed to face my attack head-on, but then suddenly struck while I was charging my power, severely wounding me! Otherwise, the outcome would have been uncertain!”
Hearing this, Dongfang Shou fell silent.
He could tell that Dongfang Yun was making excuses.
The reality was that Dongfang Yun had lost—completely—and even his strongest war puppet had been reduced to this state.
Dongfang Shou felt a headache coming on, a sense of surreal unreality washing over him.
It felt bizarre.
First, an unknown swordsman with a mastered sword intent had taken down Dongfang Ge in one strike.
Then, a physically powerful body cultivator had appeared out of nowhere and shattered Dongfang Yun, who had combat strength equivalent to the sixth layer of Nascent Soul.
Such extraordinary talents couldn’t be nobodies.
Could they be monstrous geniuses sent by some hidden sect or family to gain experience?
On the other side, hearing the words “body cultivator,” Yan Dangmo narrowed his eyes slightly, thoughtfully stroking his chin and murmuring: “Could it really be that kid?”
Xuan Ji showed surprise and shook his head.
“No way? His physical strength is indeed extraordinary, but can he really overcome such a vast realm gap to defeat Dongfang Yun, who’s controlling a war puppet? That seems highly unlikely.”
In Xuan Ji’s view, Chen Yuyang was certainly strong—perhaps able to defeat someone at the first or second layer of Nascent Soul across realms—but that was about his limit.
After all, Dongfang Yun could not only unleash sixth-layer Nascent Soul combat power with his war puppet, but his cultivation and techniques were also top-tier within the same realm.
In other words, you may be a genius, but he’s no slouch either.
How could you be expected to win across so many realms?
“But…” Yan Dangmo wanted to say something else, but in the end, he didn’t speak and just shook his head.
“Forget it. There’s no point overthinking now. Let’s just wait for the final result. The answer will reveal itself then,” Yan Dangmo continued.
Xuan Ji nodded, then showed a gleeful smile and said in a low voice: “Speaking of which, did you see that Dongfang Shou kid’s expression?”
Mentioning this, Yan Dangmo couldn’t help but laugh, a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.
“Regardless of who that kid is who eliminated the Dongfang family members, when it’s time to reward, you can’t be stingy!”
Xuan Ji nodded repeatedly.
“Easy, easy. Those little fellows helped us vent our frustration, so they’ll naturally get their due.”
“But speaking of which,” Xuan Ji shifted the topic, “what kind of dogshit luck did the Dongfang family’s younger generation have?
Whether it’s Dongfang Ge, Dongfang Yun, or Dongfang Bai, they’re all extraordinary talents rarely seen in a thousand years.
Even though they stumbled this time, their talent and performance are undeniable.”
“In this generation, the Dongfang family has produced so many top-tier prodigies. It really makes others envious.”
Yan Dangmo didn’t deny it, but after thinking for a moment, he said: “Luobo is a few years younger than them. In terms of talent and strength, I believe Luobo can surpass them in the future!”
Hearing this, Xuan Ji couldn’t help but sigh, a trace of worry appearing between his brows.
The Yan family had Yan Luo to support them, and the future looked promising, able to contend with the Dongfang family’s geniuses.
But what about his own Xuan clan?
So far, even the most talented one, Xuan Tian, was excellent but still fell short compared to these Dongfang family youngsters.
The Xuan clan couldn’t rely on him, an old man, forever.
Eventually, it would have to be handed over to the younger generation.
Thinking this, Xuan Ji couldn’t help worrying about the Xuan clan’s future…
“Besides, aside from that girl Luobo, if I can find a way to bring that monstrous kid Yuyang into the Yan family as Luobo’s husband, the Yan family will be safe for a hundred years!”
Yan Dangmo said, feeling somewhat proud.
Hearing this, Xuan Ji’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly realized the solution.
A matrilocal marriage!
That’s a good idea!
If the Xuan clan couldn’t produce geniuses comparable to the Dongfang family’s, they could find one or two from outside and take them in as sons-in-law to serve the clan.
Problem solved! And right now, there was an excellent target…
That Chen kid…
He was exceptionally talented, his style of conduct deeply agreeable, and he was a pill dao prodigy—a rare talent…
Xuan Ji genuinely admired him.
But earlier, he hadn’t seriously thought about making the kid part of the Xuan clan.
Because he knew Yan Dangmo had his eyes on the kid, and he couldn’t bring himself to steal from his old friend after so many years.
But now…
Xuan Ji frowned, his mind in turmoil.
After all, he had to consider the Xuan clan’s development plan for the next hundred or even thousand years—matters of the clan’s rise and fall…
Compared to that, what was his old face worth?
If it meant recruiting top talent for the Xuan clan, he wouldn’t mind losing it.
But…
Before that, it was best to first find out who this swordsman and the body cultivator who could fight the war puppet were.
If they came from small sects or families, he might not have to fight Yan Dangmo over the kid.
Being able to defeat Dongfang Yun and Dongfang Ge proved they were equally—or even more—outstanding talents.
As long as he could recruit any one of them into the Xuan clan, the future would have some security…
Meanwhile, inside the secret realm.
With Dongfang Yun’s defeat, the battle situation had completely tipped in Chen Yuyang’s favor.
Although Dongfang Bai hadn’t seen exactly how Dongfang Yun lost, he noticed when his companion was teleported out.
This turn of events shocked and angered him, unsettling his mind.
Facing Yan Luo’s relentless storm of attacks, he was now retreating step by step.
“No!”
Dongfang Bai gritted his teeth, his will to fight gone.
Now, he only had one thought: he couldn’t keep fighting!
If he were also eliminated, the Dongfang family’s expedition to the secret realm would be a total wipeout.
They would become a laughingstock!
If he left now, preserved his strength, and hid, he could still secure a decent rank with the tokens he had.
With this in mind, Dongfang Bai suddenly swung his long spear in a wide arc.
Yan Luo avoided the attack, retreating to dodge.
Taking advantage of her dodge, Dongfang Bai unhesitatingly pulled back, channeling his spiritual energy to push his speed to the limit as he fled into the distance.
Among his techniques, there was one called the Flowing Cloud Steps, a sixth-grade movement technique known for its speed.
Now, Dongfang Bai activated the Flowing Cloud Steps to the max.
He left behind blurry afterimages, his figure flashing hundreds of feet away in an instant.
“Hmph, trying to run?”
Yan Luo snorted and immediately gave chase through the air.
But her speed was still a notch slower than Dongfang Bai’s.
Even as she pursued, the distance between them kept widening.
Midway, watching Dongfang Bai’s figure shrink into the distance, Yan Luo could only stop reluctantly, hovering in the air and muttering a curse.
“Tch, coward!”
On the other side, Xuan Ke also frowned.
She knew that if Dongfang Bai escaped and hid with the other Dongfang members, their own rank would still fall behind.
But against Dongfang Bai’s extreme speed, she was helpless.
Even though she was fast herself, her cultivation level was lower than his, so there was no way she could catch up.
Still, having defeated Dongfang Ge and Dongfang Yun was already a huge gain.
Xuan Ke comforted herself and turned to find Chen Yuyang, wondering if he had any other plans.
But as soon as she turned, she saw the young man standing there, a longbow in his hand that hadn’t been there before.
He drew the bow and nocked an arrow—a golden arrow aimed directly at the direction Dongfang Bai had fled.
The bowstring was fully drawn, the arrow glowed with golden light, and even from a distance, the sharpness made Xuan Ke’s heart tremble.
Her pupils slightly dilated.
Dongfang Bai was already several miles away.
Shooting an arrow at such a distance—could it hit?
She was still wondering when the young man released his fingers.
Whoosh!
The bowstring vibrated.
A golden streak of light tore through the space, silently speeding toward where Dongfang Bai had disappeared.