People were all horrified: What kind of anomaly was this? Was something about to happen?
They looked left and right, east and west, searching everywhere for the newcomer.
But after looking around, no one came.
Mu Gua seemed to see an opportunity. Seeing that everyone was focused on the anomaly and had forgotten Yao Shuang on the ground, he stepped forward, grabbed Yao Shuang, and prepared to leave amidst the chaos.
Without any warning, streaks of light and shadow appeared out of thin air, as if from within Mu Gua's body. From the inside out, these streaks of light and shadow flickered irregularly, slicing Mu Gua's body open.
Then, another person appeared in the center of the field. He held the startled Yao Shuang in his arms.
Upon seeing him, Yao Shuang's tears flowed like a spring: "You're finally back!"
Mo Qi nodded, put her down, and said calmly, "I'm back. You go find the others. Leave this place to me."
Yao Shuang hesitated slightly: "Can you really handle so many of them?"
Mo Qi looked at her gently: "Trust me, not one of them will escape today."
For some reason, seeing Mo Qi's determined eyes, Yao Shuang actually believed him. She then leaped away into the distance.
One of the prodigies flew to stop her: "Beauty, where are you going? Come play with us."
Mo Qi flicked his hand. A beam of light flashed, drawing a stunning arc through the air. With a *poof*, the prodigy's body was pierced, a golden spear penetrating him.
The prodigy looked back in disbelief, glancing at the people around him, then at Mo Qi, then at the spear in his body, before falling to the ground with a thud, dead.
Mo Qi beckoned, and the Sinless Spear returned to his hand. He stood majestically, like a patrolling sea yaksha, his gaze striking fear into all sea creatures.
Yao Shuang had left safely!
The eight prodigies, the four mentors, and the vice palace lord stared at Mo Qi in astonishment. Although they had never met Mo Qi, they could all guess it was him now.
"Didn't they say he was already dead?" He Shi asked Bian Zhihuan.
"I don't know what's going on, but it doesn't matter," Bian Zhihuan said, looking at Mo Qi's cultivation level. "Since he's not dead, we'll make him die once."
He probed Mo Qi with his divine sense and found that Mo Qi had only just entered the Saint Monarch realm.
On their side, there was himself, the four mentors, and He Shi among the prodigies, all of whom were Saint Monarchs. The others were either Saint Venerables or Saint Sovereigns, and the cultivation of these Saint Monarchs was generally higher than his. He was only at the first level of the Saint Monarch realm. No matter how they fought, they would win.
However, at this moment, Mo Qi spoke arrogantly: "I don't know who you people are, but you've offended me today. None of you will leave."
After a moment of stunned silence, He Shi chuckled: "You're saying that because you want us to leave, aren't you? Don't worry, we won't leave until we kill you. And," he glanced lecherously at Yao Shuang again, "I want to take this beauty with me when I leave."
At this time, Zhu Yan, who was still fighting Pi Donghua, also broke out in a cold sweat for Mo Qi: "Why don't you just take Yao Shuang and leave? I'll hold on for a while, and then I'll leave too."
Mo Qi snorted coldly: "This is my territory. No matter who comes today, I will not leave."
"Good," Bian Zhihuan nodded. "We won't bully you. Let the prodigies have some practice first. Mentors, step aside."
The mentors chuckled and retreated to the side. The prodigies, led by He Shi, confidently surrounded Mo Qi.
Mo Qi curled his lips: "Originally, I wasn't very confident. But now, you're giving me a chance to counter-kill. I won't be polite then."
As he spoke, Mo Qi suddenly attacked, unleashing the Star Carrier Stone. Light surged, instantly obliterating two prodigies.
"You're playing dirty!" He Shi roared. He made a hand seal, and a chilling wind swept through the area, forming cylindrical vortexes that trapped Mo Qi within.
However, two others who attempted to attack Mo Qi were also caught inside.
As Mo Qi dodged their attacks, the two were utterly bewildered: "Is he going to kill us too?"
While they were stunned, Mo Qi suddenly erupted. His figure flashed repeatedly, light and shadow like lightning. With the Heaven-Opening Axe, he struck again and again, and the two died one after another.
At this point, He Shi could not see clearly what was happening inside the vortex. While maintaining his magical power to tighten the wind vortex, he said apologetically, "My apologies for the accidental injury to the two of you. It was a necessary measure, but your deaths will be meaningful, allowing us to personally slay the culprit."
Bian Zhihuan and the others watched from the periphery. While they felt a sense of pity, they also vaguely felt that this arrangement was acceptable.
He Shi continued to compress the wind vortex. The sound of bones cracking echoed from within. He Shi rejoiced: "He's dead, he must be dead!"
Bian Zhihuan said, "No need to rush. To be safe, let's maintain the stalemate for a while longer. We need to ensure there are no mistakes."
"Alright," He Shi nodded. "I guarantee he won't even have bones left."
He Shi continued to exert his magical power.
Just then, a strange sound arose from within the vortex. In the midst of the swirling black smoke, streaks of green light began to flash, also in circles.
The green light flickered incessantly. With one flash, it dissipated much of the black smoke. With another flash, it diluted it even further.
He Shi realized something was wrong and immediately made a hand seal, forcefully channeling his magical power.
However, it seemed too late. The green light flashed again, violently impacting the wind vortex.
The faint wind vortex's range suddenly expanded in all directions, exploding with a roar.
The surrounding prodigies, who were still watching the spectacle, were caught off guard. They were affected by the expanding and exploding wind vortex, their bodies sent flying backward.
At this moment, Mo Qi, who was within the vortex, was rapidly assessing the strength and injuries of these individuals. He chose one who was more severely injured and launched a surprise attack. His figure flashed like lightning, killing that person. The man fell to the ground, killed before he could even catch his breath.
The other three were greatly alarmed. Forgetting their pain, they scrambled to their feet, fully on guard.
However, open attacks were easy to avoid, but hidden arrows were hard to defend against. Mo Qi's figure suddenly vanished.
Spatial manipulation was in effect!
But the three could no longer comprehend what was happening. They nervously unleashed various divine abilities to search for him.
One of them, Xiao Xiao, even continuously brandished her sword, using sword shadows to protect herself, while shouting nervously.
Pi Donghua realized how formidable his opponent was. Unfortunately, he himself was unable to disengage. Otherwise, he would have personally gone to deal with Mo Qi.
But he felt that no matter how troublesome Mo Qi was, it should be foolproof if Bian Zhihuan and the others attacked together.
At this point, there was no need to worry about honor; victory was the most important thing.
So Pi Donghua roared: "Old Bian, all of you, attack together and eliminate him. This person is too terrifying. If he is allowed to grow, he will surely threaten my palace. Therefore, to kill him, we should use any means necessary."
Bian Zhihuan and the others had already realized the seriousness of the situation. They exchanged glances, calculating who should go to help, but they hadn't expected the Palace Lord to order everyone to attack.
However, they instantly agreed with this order.
Because of the Palace Lord's concern, they also felt it. If this person were allowed to grow, he might indeed become a serious threat.
Thus, the five of them spread out, forming a pincer formation around the three remaining prodigies. As soon as any of these three were attacked, they would immediately launch their own attacks.
However, an unexpected situation occurred. Kang Shiji suddenly felt a spatial anomaly around him, a sudden oppressive feeling that made him extremely uncomfortable.
The entire space was rapidly contracting!
Kang Shiji's face turned ashen with shock, knowing he was bound by spatial manipulation, trapped in a rapidly shrinking space. If he tried to break free, he would surely be crushed to death.
However, after struggling a few times, to his horror, he found that not only could he not use his techniques, but even moving was a luxury. He was completely unable to move, only able to shout and use his physical strength to resist.
But what could physical strength do against the power of space?
His body began to twist and deform rapidly, instantly taking on a terrifying shape.
The others noticed the anomaly and thought to themselves, "This is terrifying." They had all been deceived by him. They thought he was going to continue dealing with those three prodigies, but unexpectedly, he had suddenly turned his attention to these mentors.
Indeed, his actions were somewhat unsportsmanlike, but weren't they the same?
Being at a disadvantage, he absolutely had no chance of winning without playing some tricks.
However, even playing tricks required strength!
Someone who could incapacitate a Saint Monarch in an instant could not be underestimated.
Bian Zhihuan immediately unleashed his divine sense to probe Mo Qi's location. He saw that Mo Qi was a few feet away from Kang Shiji, performing spatial manipulation.
Bian Zhihuan made a hand seal, and thousands of branches, like灵蛇 (spiritual snakes), burst from the ground, piercing into the space where Mo Qi was.
Mo Qi had gone berserk and completely ignored Bian Zhihuan's attack.
He couldn't be sure that the branches couldn't pierce his spatial barrier, but at this moment, he couldn't afford to give up.
These uninvited guests had to be killed one by one. Kill one, count one.
They had destroyed the empire they had built with their own hands, a crime unforgivable.
The branches fiercely struck and pierced the space he occupied. He heard the *chi chi chi* sound of space shattering.
But he still ignored it, desperately channeling his magical power to compress Kang Shiji's space.
With a *boom*, Kang Shiji exploded and died.
Only then did Mo Qi instinctively leap away at high speed to dodge, but he was still struck on the body by a branch.
Mo Qi fell to the ground, blood spilling from his mouth, but a fierce smile spread across his face.
Bian Zhihuan was both shocked and enraged. He waved his hand and said, "Everyone, attack together. Don't give him a chance to breathe."
The three mentors surged forward, joining He Shi and Bian Zhihuan to surround Mo Qi.
The other two prodigies stood there, unsure of what to do. Bian Zhihuan cursed them: "You two scoundrels, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and help." The two immediately followed.
Unexpectedly, Mo Qi's figure flashed, and he suddenly zipped past the two. With a flash of divine light, the two fell to the ground.
His target was clear: from easy to difficult, from manageable to troublesome.
Anyway, today it was either he died, or they died.