"The Elder you struck is none other than Elder Luo TianXun, of the Soul Devouring clan."
"Why have I never heard of that clan before?"
"They're relatively new—a few hundred years old—but they don't possess any offensive techniques so they've remained as an Outer Court clan up until now."
"No offensive abilities? NO OFFENSIVE ABILITIES!? LOOK AT , I CAN'T FUCKING MOVE!" Chi Rui shouted before trying to escape again, only to be dropped flat under the trendous pressure she was feeling.
"He's rely using a debuffing technique," the young man said, before lighting his spirit stick again to take another puff. His next words he said under his breath, but still loud enough for everyone to hear, "I suppose you can master any technique these days and make it seem like an effective offensive ability."
Elder Luo finished dusting himself off then looked at the handso young man with interest,
"You know of and my clan, and it seems my technique isn't affecting you like the others. May I know your na, young disciple."
"My na?" The man said with a hint of surprise. "Ah, that's right, you Outer Court clans wouldn't really hear much about my family clan, we're new to the sect as well."
'Relatively new, but already an inner court clan?' Elder Luo frowned at the thought of it.
Typically, clans only earned a place in the Inner Court after forging powerful alliances with other powerful Inner Court clans. For newly inducted clans, such alliances were nearly impossible—walls built from bloodlines, pride, and centuries of cultivation.
And yet… this one had made it in.
That was what made Elder Luo uneasy.
Because he knew of one other way to beco an Inner Court without allies.
Overwhelming, unfathomable strength.
The kind that crushed resistance rather than negotiated with it.
"In that case, let introduce myself," the young man said, rising slowly to his feet atop the beast. His gaze swept downward, casting shadows across the crowd below. He took one final drag from his spirit stick, then exhaled smoke like a veil over his face.
"My na is…"
Suddenly, an impossible darkness spread from beneath his feet reaching everyone in an instant. However, the heavy darkness was a fignt of their imagination, what they truly felt in that mont was sothing far worse.
[ Fear ]
"Sihun Kuye," he said, his voice hauntingly smooth and quiet. "Of the Death Reaper Clan."
Luo Yue was the first to falter. Her knees buckled, her pupils trembled, and though she tried to breathe, her lungs refused to move.
It wasn't just fear. It was pure, invasive dread—like a cold hand slipping into her chest and squeezing her heart. Her thoughts beca muddled, her spirit trembled. She couldn't tell whether the horror she felt was hers… or sothing that had been placed inside her.
The technique bypassed her body and assaulted her soul directly.
Even Elder Luo, a man of age and experience, staggered. His vision dimd. The weight pressing on him wasn't spiritual pressure or killing intent—it was the oppressive suggestion of death itself. His dantian flickered as if trying to defend against sothing it couldn't grasp. His breathing slowed, and he tasted bitterness in the back of his throat.
This wasn't just an ordinary technique, it hardly felt like a technique at all. This was sothing that couldn't be defended against. What they were feeling at that mont was raw, unfiltered bloodlust. An urge that made them feel like standing up against him would an putting their lives on line against a killer, soone that didn't fight to fight, but fought for the thrill of cold-blooded murder.
It made every fiber in their body scream to flee, but their bodies refused to move.
They stood, frozen, as if sothing ancient and hungry were coiling around their souls—sothing whispering that resistance was useless, that hope was an illusion, and that their fate had already been decided.
"Do you get it now?" Sihun Kuye asked, almost lazily. "You're not the only one who can use a debuff technique."
But no one was more shaken than Xiao Fang.
Even though the technique had no effect on him, he recognized it—down to its very core.
Because he was cultivating the sa thod.
Suddenly, the darkness vanished—but the feeling it left behind lingered like a stain on their souls.
To them, this man wasn't just a demon, he was a devil. Death, personified.
The thought of an entire clan full of people like him was beyond comprehension. No—Elder Luo could imagine it… he just didn't want to.
In that mont, Xiao Fang's thoughts drifted back to the cave in the deserted city of Mannan, deep in the GuQin Province (chapter 32). He rembered the corpse of the Elder he had looted from—the one whose scroll had introduced him to the Death Reaper thod.
If a re disciple of that clan could wield such overwhelming presence and power, what kind of monster would an Elder possess, one who had cultivated that thod for decades?
And more terrifying still—who was strong enough to kill such a man?
Xiao Fang had countless questions, but he knew there was no point in dwelling on them now. This wasn't the place for answers.
Only survival.
Silence blanketed the road like a shroud, thick with tension.
Sihun Kuye remained standing atop the paralyzed beast, his hands still casually tucked into his pockets. The darkness had faded, but the mory of it clung to their bones like frostbite.
Then, he smiled charmingly. Sohow that simple action lifted the tension completely.
"I hope I didn't scare you too much," he said, his tone smooth and disarming, as if they'd rely bumped shoulders in passing. "I assu the four of you have so place to be. We won't get in your way."
He spoke in a respective tone, and turned his body slightly as if to tell them to continue on their way.
Luo Yue's breath hitched. Even with the fear slowly draining from her limbs, her heart was still pounding like a drum.
Yin Fei on the other hand simply scoffed. Unexpectedly, she viciously kicked Chi Rui in the stomach, sending her flying and rolling towards the paralyzed beast from which Sihun Kuye stood.
Finally able to move again, Chi Rui coughed up a mouthful of blood as she held her stomach where Yin Fei kicked her. Chi Rui looked up at Yin Fei angrily, as her eyes shone red.
"You!—"
But just as she was about to get up, she felt a familiar pressure, that disheartening threat of death keeping her frozen in place. When she looked back at Sihun Kuye, she saw him looking down at her with his hauntingly black pupils.
Truthfully, she knew if she fought against Sihun Kuye, she'd likely win, but so people simply weren't worth fighting. So she reluctantly kept her head down and did nothing about the kick she just received from Yin Fei.
Elder Luo gave a tight nod in return.
As the three of them walked away from the road, Luo Yue glanced over her shoulder one last ti.
Sihun Kuye still smiled at her knowingly, only her.
And sohow, that was the most terrifying thing of all.
Eventually, she recalled sothing strange that he said.
'Wait, didn't he say four?'
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