CHAPTER 157: BOUNTIFUL HARVEST OF THE SLY DISCIPLE

And then it came.

[Immortal’s Gaze – Annihilation].

A black beam erupted from Yu Xuan’s eyes, far darker and more sinister than the usual golden-red brilliance. It howled through the air like a curse, piercing straight into Ye Chen’s skull.

There was no time to dodge.

The beam slammed into Ye Chen’s face, burning twin holes clean through his eyes. In the next breath, where eyeballs should have been, there was only darkness—holes that went straight through his head, as if someone had drilled a path to the other side.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ye Chen collapsed, clutching his face, writhing and twitching in agony as blood poured down his cheeks. His screams echoed like a dying beast, sending shivers through every onlooker.

But Yu Xuan’s Annihilation didn’t stop. The black beam tore forward, smashing into the teleportation hub behind Ye Chen.

Stone split apart, disciples inside shrieked as formations flared desperately to life. Protective arrays absorbed the worst of the strike, but even so, several cultivators were injured in the backlash.

Chaos erupted.

Mei’s horrified scream tore through the noise.

"YE CHENNNN!" She rushed forward without hesitation, her pink hair whipping like fire. Beside her, Xiu Ying froze — paralyzed by terror at the sight of Ye Chen’s ruined face.

Yu Xuan exhaled slowly, then opened his eyes once more. They remained pitch black. Cold. Endless.

Jian, Ye Chan, and the others near him reeked of fear so strongly it was almost visible. In the crowd, a sly disciple who cultivated emotions slipped closer, siphoning away their terror with a satisfied grin before vanishing. Today, his harvest was bountiful.

Yu Xuan’s footsteps echoed as he walked toward Ye Chen, each one measured, deliberate, like a judge approaching a condemned prisoner.

"STAY BACK!"

Xiu Ying snapped out of her stupor, unleashing her full Peak Core Formation pressure. With a roar, she lunged forward, blade flashing.

Yu Xuan only looked at her.

Those abyssal eyes locked onto hers for an instant and her body froze mid-motion, trembling violently. A heartbeat later, [Telekinesis] slammed into her.

BOOM!

She was flung like a ragdoll, smashing through the outer wall of the building which shattered as she crashed into the disciples within the teleportation hub, who had already been on edge after the earlier strike.

Weapons drawn, they had braced themselves to meet an attacker but instead, what fell before them was the broken body of someone.

Shock rippled through the disciples. Even those in the Soul Nurturing Realm hesitated, exchanging looks.

They could intervene — but the sheer killing intent radiating from Yu Xuan warned them that stepping forward now might mean they would become his enemy. They too understood things. Making an enemy of a genius, with unknown origins was a big no for them.

Still they would make sure that no one died here, even Ye Chen. Though he had not died, he was so severely injured, that he was unable to move.

The angriest among them was the very disciple who had earlier warned Jian to take the fight outside. His eyes narrowed dangerously. And he decided to go out and check the situation.

Meanwhile, the Discipline Committee had already been notified. Though they had little authority on the Main Peak, open battles like this were rare. A squad was making its way over quickly, drawn by the sheer scale of destruction.

And from deep within Chaos Heaven Peak — dragging her short legs angrily — the little "shorty" was heading toward the scene as well.

In her grip was none other than Yu Lingluo herself, pulled along against her will.

The heart of the storm was gathering.

***

"I’m telling you, it’s not my brother! He didn’t even send me a message!" Yu Lingluo protested, her voice sharp with anger and panic.

The shorty snorted, ignoring her words. Her small frame cut through the skies at a speed that tore the air apart, the sound barrier breaking behind them in constant booms.

Despite her size, her cultivation was frightening. Mid Soul Nurturing Realm — fast, ruthless, and efficient.

She carried Lingluo as though she were nothing more than a chicken, fingers pinched around her neck, though Yu Lingluo was taller than her. Yu Lingluo kicked and struggled, but compared to the raw force restraining her, she looked almost fragile.

"My information said your brother arrived. So he has arrived," the shorty replied coldly, tightening her grip before accelerating again.

Moments later, she descended upon the scene.

What met her eyes could only be described as disaster.

The once orderly teleportation hub was ruined. A massive crowd had gathered, yet silence weighed heavily upon them. They could only watch as Yu Xuan stood over Ye Chen, who lay twitching on the ground. Blood pooled beneath him, his face mangled, his body bent in ways no cultivator’s body should be.

Even though Ye Chen was a Nascent Soul cultivator, his healing was sluggish.

The initial strike had destroyed his head, injuring his spirit and upper dantian — the seat of the sea of consciousness.

No matter how sturdy his physique, no matter his vaunted True Yang Physique, damage to the head in the lower realms was a critical weakness.

The shorty’s gaze flicked sharply to the side. Mei and Xiu Ying knelt desperately beside Ye Chen, pleading Yu Xuan to stop, who ignored them. And whenever they tried to attack they would be slammed back with [Telekinesis].

Despite both being stronger on paper than Yu Xuan, they had been rendered helpless.

Further away, one of the sect’s disciple lay sprawled unconscious, probably knocked out by the oppressive force Yu Xuan had unleashed. The very same disciple who had earlier warned Jian to take the fight outside. Maybe he was shocked.

The shorty’s lips curled. She dropped Yu Lingluo to the ground without so much as a glance and strode forward.

Her first targets weren’t Yu Xuan or Ye Chen — but the surrounding Soul Nurturing Realm disciples who had stood idle.

"You worthless bastards," she spat, her voice like venom. "You stood here and watched?! Watched this chaos unfold under your very noses?!"

None of them dared to respond.

One by one, the shorty lashed out. Each kick landed with brutal precision, sending Soul Nurturing cultivators — proud figures in their own right — flying into the air so far that they turned into stars.

Not one resisted. They knew better. If they resisted, the punishment would be far worse.

The crowd’s silence deepened.

Yu Xuan stood unmoving, his abyssal eyes fixed on Ye Chen, as if nothing else in the world mattered.