Chester's body tensed, fiercely resisting Seraphine's terrifying aura.
He slightly raised his head, speaking with difficulty:
"This... This one, is absolutely no match for Your Highness!"
"Stop."
Seraphine calmly extended a finger and waved it, saying coldly:
"I don't like being refused. I'll give you one minute to prepare. Gather every ounce of strength you have to defeat me."
"Right, use that Primordial Ether Unification Art you were just bragging about."
Upon hearing this, Chester's eyes widened. He raised his head and shouted with hoarse anger:
"Does Your Highness truly wish to leave no room for maneuver?!
Do you know my Grandmaster is Mystic Dao?
He is the number one martial artist in the world! If he knew what we encountered today..."
His words were heavy with threats, unspoken but clear.
"Ah."
The corner of Seraphine's mouth curved.
She tilted her head toward the three men, Elias and the others, who were pinned by her telekinetic force, and chuckled:
"Using him to threaten me? Truly ridiculous!"
Seraphine turned back, staring into Chester's bloodshot eyes with a cold smile:
"Chester, these three companions of yours have committed insubordination. Their crime is death!"
"Their punishment: kowtow until they die!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Seraphine had spoken.
The three men on their knees were suddenly invaded by her terrifying mental power, seizing control of their entire bodies.
Against their will, they prostrated themselves, slamming their heads onto the ground toward Seraphine.
The Imperial Gardens filled with screams and roars of fury.
The Imperial Guards in the distance fell silent, their faces full of astonishment.
They couldn't understand why the quiet Ninth Highness had become so brutal.
What was this strange power that could control others from a distance?
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Your Highness, spare us!"
"Your Highness, let me go!"
"Ah! Uncle, save me!"
"I was wrong! Spare my life!"
Elias and the others groaned in pain, crying out in misery.
Yet their bodies moved as if possessed.
Uncontrollably bowing to Seraphine, their heads repeatedly struck the floor.
The granite was already stained with blood and showing slight cracks.
Among them, Victor—who was 'cared for' most by Seraphine—was the most miserable.
His past arrogance and youthful fearlessness were shattered along with his splitting headache.
His pride was gone.
His face was a mask of tears, regret, and despair.
He sobbed and begged for mercy like a pathetic maggot.
Elias and Adrian had long since given up, offering only humble, broken pleas.
But Seraphine did not let them go.
"Interesting. The sight of arrogance shattering is truly interesting!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Heavy thuds echoed in Chester's ears.
He knew if they kept hitting the ground like this, they would die soon.
"One minute..."
Thoughts flashed like lightning through Chester's mind.
He looked at Seraphine, standing quietly before him.
Suddenly sensing an aura like the Primordial Unity, he blurted out in shock:
"Something's wrong! This is... the aura of Primordial Ether Unification Art?!
You... How did you learn it?!"
Seraphine's eyebrows flicked. She said casually:
"Simple. The flow of Vitality in your body is ceaseless. My ears are quite sharp; I listened and learned a little."
"What!!"
Chester was shocked. He couldn't believe his ears.
Was the secret art of his sect really that easy to learn?!
Then, a realization hit him.
He stared at Seraphine incredulously:
"Could it be... you intend to learn the Primordial Ether Unification Art in just one minute?!
Without diagrams or incantations, just by listening to my pulse?
How could you be so arrogant?!"
Seraphine sneered:
"A frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean."
"The timer begins."
Chester took a breath.
He suppressed his anger and fear, sitting cross-legged on the ground.
"Today, I am destined to die."
He knew he couldn't defeat the Ninth Princess.
Her power and the ability to control his companions were beyond him.
But her contempt made him feel humiliated.
A few seconds later, Chester opened his eyes and said coldly:
"Your Highness, you think you are a genius.
So haughty!
Fine. Let me be the one to shatter your pride!"
Chester began to breathe in a peculiar, rhythmic tempo.
"I will use the forbidden move of the 《Primordial Ether Unification Art》, burning all my potential to reach the 【Indestructible Furnace】 realm.
And defeat you!"
Rustle rustle rustle ~
Dense vitality, like small snakes, constantly circled and trembled beneath his skin.
His entire body's tendons and bones were continuously vibrating and bulging, looking from afar as if possessed by a demon.
Causing a terrifying feeling of unease in people's hearts.
At the same time.
Seraphine's Eye of True Revelation, fully deployed from a distance, rapidly gathered all the information emitted by the opponent's body while cultivating.
For the purpose of learning and deduction.
She could clearly sense Chester's internal organ movements, blood flow, bone and muscle changes, and even the changes in heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure.
Unlike mental power which excels at grasping concrete things.
The Eye of True Revelation is better at peering into the subtle changes in matter and energy at the most refined levels.
Including the circulation pathways of Chester's vitality within his body, the frequency of movement, and its relationship with all organs.
As well as the deeper movement of life energy within his body and soul.
To Seraphine, it was all clearly visible.
Almost like reading the lines on her palm.
Seraphine stood quietly, her expression unmoved.
But in her incredibly vivid brain, a phantom human figure had already appeared.
Skin, muscles, flesh, internal organs, bones, bone marrow...
Even that mysterious and inexplicable so-called vitality.
Within the phantom human figure inside Seraphine's mind, everything was complete.
Immediately after, this human figure began to move and accelerate within her mind.
Like a movie being fast-forwarded.
In a matter of seconds, it completed various body movements and posture changes.
The generation and transmission of force between muscles and tendons.
The surging and accumulation of vitality between organs and flesh.
In a short span of time.
Just standing with her hands clasped, completely without actual practice.
Solely relying on practicing within her mind, Seraphine had already fully comprehended the 《Primordial Ether Unification Art》.
"So this is the so-called ancient miracle art, I have completely learned it."
"《Primordial Ether Unification Art》, one of the strongest cultivation methods in the early stages. Taking this as a basis, and then collecting a lot of martial arts at the Martial Arts Convention.
With my current Eye of True Revelation and unparalleled memory, it is enough to deduce the path forward in martial arts."
Seraphine slightly closed her eyes, learning and comprehending the peerless art.
"Palm-Heart Lightning, Ignorant Flame, Starlit Sword Qi.
Deductions made by the creator of Primordial Ether Unification Art, these three killing techniques are only suitable for practice after reaching the Evershield Body realm, and they are perfect for me."
Indeed.
It was only after hearing the name Primordial Ether Unification Art from Chester's mouth that Seraphine impulsively took this action.
As for the deaths of Victor and the others because of this.
They were merely insects, no need to care.
At this moment, Seraphine recalled the power system of martial arts within 《Dragonblood》.
From low to high, a total of 7 levels.
【Force Unity】: Can gather all of a person's own force into one stream and attack outwards through fists and feet.
【Forged Veins】: Can skillfully gather the body's total force and temper it day and night.
Stolen story; please report.
Until the force is tempered as solid as hard iron, able to break rocks and tiles, which is hard force.
【Fluid Force】: After tempering the hard force to perfection throughout the entire body, inside and out, the extreme yang generates yin, transforming it into a force that can penetrate the body and pierce through stone, which is soft force.
Finally, dual forces are practiced together, sometimes hard, sometimes soft.
【Roaring Vitalis】: Hard force and soft force tempered to the extreme limit, can interweave and promote the growth of an even more mystical inner force.
While pondering the inner force, she simultaneously sensed the circulation of vitality throughout her entire body, above and below.
Then, she continuously vibrated the vitality in every part of her body through the inner force.
Strengthening vitality, cleansing vitality.
Finally reaching a state where blood was like mercury and breath was like a great river.
Those who reached this realm could exert a force of a thousand jin with every move of their hands and feet, and live up to one hundred and twenty years.
As long as they were not trapped and besieged by many people with guns in a narrow alley.
Using the sensitivity and speed possessed by martial artists of this realm.
As long as there was even a little space to maneuver.
Even ordinary people holding modern firearms would be unable to kill them, and could easily be counter-killed by them.
Can be called a martial arts master.
【Metalborn】: Using powerful vitality, continuously temper one's internal organs from the smallest aspects of the body.
Finally reaching a state where swallowing poison or hard objects causes neither death nor injury.
After reaching this realm, the practitioner's total force can increase several times.
【Indestructible Furnace】: Continuously cultivate, tempering the vitality to penetrate deeply into the entire body's bones.
Vibrating and strengthening the bone marrow, aiming to reach a state where marrow is like frost, and bones are like steel.
Finally, after breaking through the body's blood-brain barrier, one can even use the refined inner force to expand the subtle and imperceptible thoughts of the soul in the underworld.
Thereafter developing one's mysterious and inexplicable mental power.
Thus cultivating the legendary and secretly guarded soul technique for unleashing force.
After that, even if besieged by many people.
A martial artist of this realm can also unleash force through the soul from a distance, influencing and simultaneously affecting the nervous systems and brains of ordinary people around them.
Creating various illusions and strange phenomena, thereby easily breaking out of the situation.
Even harder to kill.
【Evershield Body】: Both the physical body and soul have been cultivated to the extreme, with every move of the hands and feet possessing several tens of thousands of jin of terrifying great strength.
Walking as if on wind, the spirit is extremely sensitive, able to easily detect aimed firearms, and even evade bullets.
A body refined a thousand times, nearly impenetrable to blades, spears, water, and fire, ordinary firearms completely unable to break its defense.
An aura like an immortal or a Buddha, a lifespan extended to 180 years, able to sprint at a speed of over a hundred meters per second.
Can be called a grand martial arts master.
At present, those who have reached this realm and appear before others are but a handful.
"To refine the scattered soul thoughts in the mind a hundred times into steel, condensing them into a will that serves as the central hub of the entire body's vitality.
Then use this central hub will to drive, temper, and condense the surrounding vitality.
To elevate the mixed and scattered acquired vitality within the body, purifying it into a more refined and condensed innate vitality.
Finally, breaking through the heavy shackles of the human body, stepping into the Evershield Body realm where both soul and body are flawless."
"I, have completely understood."
Learning and deduction completed in a few seconds.
The enormous amount of life force boiling within Seraphine's body quickly and naturally began to operate autonomously, interrelating with each other.
Imitating the creation and circulation pathways of vitality within Chester's body, a wisp of vitality was rapidly birthed.
In an instant.
Seraphine bypassed the 【Force Unity】, 【Forged Veins】, and 【Fluid Force】 stages. In her eyes, these were merely simple technical realms.
She went straight into the realm of 【Roaring Vitalis】.
A few seconds later.
Her total amount of Vitality multiplied by five.
Furthermore, as the total Vitality within Seraphine's body increased, it vibrated at a high frequency, continuously purifying itself.
10 seconds later.
The total amount of Vitality multiplied by twenty.
Another 10 seconds passed.
The Vitality within Seraphine's body was already enough to rival Chester, who had practiced martial arts bitterly for thirty years.
In terms of purity, she had already surpassed him by several levels.
Another 10 seconds passed, reaching the half-minute mark.
Seraphine's bones moved constantly.
At the same time, the soul deep within her brain suddenly grew stronger.
Now, her martial arts realm had completely leaped into the 【Indestructible Furnace】 realm.
But this was far from over.
In the distance.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Chester noticed nothing.
At this moment, Seraphine's Vitality had become immense, rapidly approaching the peak level of the current era.
【Evershield Body】!
Buzz ~
After a while, Chester finished his cultivation and slowly stood up.
His body had become extremely emaciated.
His face was a pale green, covered in thick, purplish-black blood vessels.
At first glance, he looked like an evil ghost.
Even his aura had become ferocious and fiendish.
"Hoo ~"
Letting out a long breath of relief, Chester exhaled a foot-long stream of crimson air.
He raised his eyes, which were bloodshot and straining.
His gaze passed over the corpses of Victor and the others—whose heads had been smashed until they exploded—and looked towards Seraphine.
In his eyes, a deep and miserable aura of death was revealed.
"The five viscera have collapsed, Vitality is gone, Yin and Yang are broken."
"I have only one hour of life remaining."
Chester grinned, revealing withered teeth, his expression incredibly ferocious.
"Seraphine! Today I want you dead!!"
Bang!
Like a thunderclap exploding on the ground.
Chester stomped his foot, and the entire Imperial Garden seemed to shake.
Crack crack crack!!
Leaving pits the size of washbasins in the dirt.
Carrying heavy afterimages and the whistling sound of wind, he crashed towards Seraphine, who was still standing with her eyes slightly closed.
Chester's speed was so fast.
Even the Imperial Guards couldn't see his movements clearly in broad daylight.
He was like a ghost in the dark night.
Even if they wanted to protect the Ninth Princess, they realized it was already too late.
"Dog thief!"
"How dare you!"
"Your Highness, be careful!"
In a trance, they could only hear the wind howling like demons, but could do nothing.
Roar roar!!
Chester widened his eyes, his hands suddenly expanding several times until they looked like two black iron pillars.
His skin cracked, blood burst forth, gathering tens of thousands of jin of strength.
He crashed towards Seraphine, right before his eyes.
Simultaneously laughing wildly:
"Hahaha! This is the strongest move of my life. Unless a grandmaster of the 【Evershield Body】 realm intervenes, no one can resist it!
Seraphine! I want you dead without a grave!"
"Is that so?"
A teasing voice suddenly invaded his ears.
It was Seraphine's voice.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Resounding explosions. Within the flurry of fists, a fair white palm—like tempered black steel—suddenly appeared.
This palm completely ignored Chester's fierce punches, which were capable of crumbling walls.
In a split second, it crushed his black fists, wrists, and arms one by one.
Flesh, blood, and broken bones immediately scattered and flew everywhere.
Then, Seraphine brought two slender fingers together and fiercely stabbed Chester in the chest.
Crack!
The sound of a shattering sternum rang out.
Splurt...
Scarlet fresh blood spurted out wildly.
Chester's emaciated body was struck as if by lightning.
His whole body flew backwards like a sharp arrow, heavily smashing onto the ground, kicking up a large amount of dust and stone debris.
"How is this possible?!"
Chester, falling to the ground, had both arms tragically shattered, blood gushing out in large amounts.
"This is impossible!"
He struggled to get up, unable to stop glaring at Seraphine standing leisurely in the distance, screaming hoarsely.
The surrounding Imperial Guards who had rushed over also froze in place.
They hadn't expected that besides the miraculous controlling technique she just revealed, Her Highness's physique was also so formidable.
The next moment...
The air in the Imperial Garden trembled inexplicably.
"This is... This is..."
In Chester's shock-filled, lifeless eyes.
Suddenly reflected an incomparably brilliant and glorious... 'Sun'!
That was Vitality.
It was Seraphine's intensely dense, terrifyingly extreme Vitality.
The 'Sun' emitted boundless, scorching Vitality radiance, intimidating Chester, who was already shocked to the point of stupor, causing his whole body to tremble.
Immersed in martial arts for many years, how could he not know what this level of Vitality represented.
This was the Vitality only an Evershield Body could possess!
"This... This is impossible..."
"Energy like a canopy, spirit like a blazing sun!"
"This is... this is the characteristic of Primordial Ether Unification Art reaching perfection!"
"This is, the Evershield Body!"
"You actually... actually really learned the peerless art I've studied all my life in one minute! And cultivated it to perfection!"
"How is this possible! Impossible! I don't believe it!"
Chester's expression collapsed, looking as if he were crying and laughing at the same time.
At this moment.
He felt his entire worldview shattering.
He felt that these past decades had been lived in vain.
Compared to this mysteriously unfathomable Ninth Princess.
He was simply a waste.
"Wrong wrong wrong wrong!"
Chester suddenly shook his head and looked at Seraphine again.
His eyes widened to the extreme, to the point that the corners of his eyes cracked, oozing strands of blood.
But Chester ignored these.
It was as if he had discovered something even more terrifying.
Chester waved his two crippled arms that were continuously spurting blood, staggered back, and plopped down onto the ground.
His expression was as if completely broken, laughing foolishly and vacantly saying:
"Hahaha hahaha! You can't scare me! It's all fake! It's all fake!!
How can a human cultivate a Vitality a hundred times stronger than an Evershield Body!"
"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!!"
Looking at Chester who was yelling crazily and foolishly before her.
Seraphine's expression was indifferent; her slightly opened, cool eyes suddenly turned scorching crimson.
Whoosh ~
Chester, paralyzed on the ground with tears streaming down his face, suddenly zoned out.
Suddenly, he felt his internal organs and entire body burning with immense, stifling heat.
As if molten lava had been poured into him.
"Ah ah ah!!"
Amidst miserable screams, his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth suddenly spewed out bursts of blood-red flames.
In a breath, those flames expanded and grew larger.
Transforming into streams of crimson fire, ruthlessly burning through Chester's dried-bark-like black skin, bursting fiercely from within his body.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh ~
"Ah ah ah! No no no no!!"
"What is this ah ah ah ah!!"
Amidst increasingly agonizing screams and howls, Chester actually spontaneously combusted.
Before the horrified and terrified gazes of the Imperial Guards on the scene.
He was burned alive by the demonic fire erupting from within his own body, turning into a pile of black, smoking charred remains and scorched bones.
"Hmph ~"
Seraphine's lips curved into a delighted smile.
This fire was the Ignorant Flame.
It was one of the three great killing techniques of the Primordial Ether Unification Art.
According to the records in the cultivation manuals.
This flame was not tangible thermal energy in reality, but invisible Spiritual Heat acting on the mental and spiritual plane.
By using a soul at the level of at least the Evershield Body realm, one could transmit spiritual power through the eyes to ignite the heart-fire of those with weak souls.
The invisible Spiritual Heat then transformed into tangible fierce flames, eventually causing spontaneous human combustion.
Burning bone and body, reducing them to a heap of dry bones.
It was a truly miraculous and sinister secret technique, bordering on the supernatural.
Seeing that the burning was nearly complete.
Seraphine leisurely raised her arm and gave it a forceful wave.
Whoosh ~~
The black-gray broken bones scattered on the ground were instantly blown away by a gust of wind.
Ultimately, Chester died without a grave.
But at that moment...
"Hmm?"
Glancing at a golden slip on the ground that remained perfectly intact despite the intense flames.
Seraphine raised an eyebrow, and with a light flick of her finger, her telekinesis activated.
Swish!
The golden slip instantly floated and shot into her palm.
Seraphine focused her gaze.
On this gilded invitation made of hard metal, a row of bold calligraphy was imprinted.
〔World Martial Arts Convention · Entry Ticket〕
"So the Martial Arts Convention is about to begin, so soon."
Seraphine tilted her head slightly and said indifferently, "It seems I should head out for a while as well."
...
Swoosh ~~
With a calm expression, Seraphine leaped across the rooftops of skyscrapers.
Dressed in a loose black robe, her figure was upright and her speed incredibly fast.
She moved across the heights of dozens of stories, vaulting over roofs and scaling walls.
Like a swift falcon.
Her body shot like an arrow, accompanied by the crisp cracks of piercing air, as Seraphine soared through the forest of skyscrapers. Every time she pushed off, she would glide dozens or even hundreds of meters. The seemingly vast gaps between the buildings were, to Seraphine, like mere half-meter wide ditches that she could cross with a single step.
Dusk had arrived. Below the skyscrapers, the streets were bustling with crowds and heavy traffic. This was a major intersection in the most prosperous district of Ashara.
Pedestrians came and went incessantly, and vehicles flowed like water. Yet, not a single person noticed a blurred figure flashing past over a hundred meters above their heads. They continued their noisy laughter and chatter, living their ordinary lives.
After a short while, Seraphine finally reached the outskirts of Ashara.
Halting her steps.
She slowly clasped her hands and gazed toward the distant horizon. There, the brilliant sun was mostly obscured by the horizon. Only a rim of dim gold remained, still slowly radiating its blazing light.
That hazy, dim light made the entire city of Ashara appear even more silent and profound.
The sky was high and vast, boundless and infinite. Outside this heart of the Emberlight Empire, the forests were lush and green, and the mountains rose and fell, majestic and rugged.
Bathed in the evening glow, Seraphine gradually released her bodily functions, preparing to...
