Chapter 52: I Am Too Arrogant
"What?"
Taoist Chen turned his head—
At the center of the thick gray clouds, a strange vortex had formed. As it devoured the surrounding mist, it expanded at a visible rate.
In an instant, winds howled between heaven and earth. The outer walls of skyscrapers trembled, and trees near the storm's epicenter shook violently, their roots nearly tearing free from the ground.
"Commander! Something's wrong!"
The Holy Department's retreating forces halted abruptly. Li Sheng, after a single glance back, immediately raised a hand to stop everyone.
Rain continued to pour as all eyes turned skyward.
The old man's weathered face tensed with suspicion.
The twenty Loft Void—monstrous entities perched atop buildings like prehistoric beasts—now shrieked in terror as the vortex at the center swallowed them whole. Chains of energy lashed out, piercing their forms and shrinking them rapidly, like deflating balloons.
"We, the Divine Evil Society, claim this city."
Jiu Ye had just finished his declaration when the sight before him rooted him in place.
Instead of exploding as planned, the twenty Loft Void had condensed into thumb-sized white orbs—their primordial forms—hovering midair.
"What—?!"
Before the Divine Evil members could process it, tendrils of gray mist surged like rivers reversing course, funneling violently into the distant vortex.
As the vortex shrank, the figure behind it became clear—a black-robed man in a spade mask, floating calmly. His left hand rested behind his back while his right palm faced forward, drawing in the corrupted energy like a black hole.
The apocalyptic storm of thunder and malice dissolved into nothing.
Lan Hu's jaw hung open. "I—fucking—what?!" His deep voice cracked with disbelief.
Jiu Ye's smirk vanished, his face darkening. The abrupt reversal made his grand proclamation laughable.
One moment, everything was perfect. The next—this?
Without this sea of evil clouds, they stood no chance against the Holy Department.
"Spade mask." Jiu Ye turned to the Clown, his voice tight. "Is that the Spade Man you mentioned?"
The Clown, snapping out of his shock, let a smirk curl beneath his mask. "Yes."
Jiu Ye's expression soured further. A Venerable?
Only a Venerable could neutralize such overwhelming corruption so effortlessly. Why would he hide his power before?!
"Damn it—our entire plan just collapsed!" Lan Hu grimaced, reluctantly admitting the Clown had been right. His usual rivalry with the man made the realization bitter.
"Master Jiu, what now?"
"Do we retreat?"
"The Holy Department's hounds will seize this chance to hunt us down!"
The Clown observed his comrades' shock and irritation with silent amusement. Fools. I warned you.
Xia Feng continued absorbing.
Eyes half-lidded, he focused on his palm as the evil energy streamed into the Heart of the Demon. The Infinite Stones, carried within the flow, were filtered out—rolling down his sleeve and collecting in a hidden pocket with a metallic clink.
Ding, ding, ding—
1 gram.
10 grams.
20.
30.
60.
The stones came in steady increments—10 grams at a time.
.
.
.
190!
290!
390!
Only then did the influx slow. He lifted his gaze to rest—
And froze.
Not far in the sky, before a shimmering golden gate, floated over a dozen figures clad in blood-red robes, each bearing strange markings on their foreheads.
Xia Feng's gaze immediately locked onto the Divine Evil Society member wearing the clown mask.
"These people... the Divine Evil Society?"
His expression shifted slightly, a chill running down his spine.
Did I just stumble into the wolf's den? I'm screwed!
Countless thoughts raced through his mind—until he noticed the wary, almost fearful expressions on the cult members' faces. A realization struck him.
Xia Feng's eyes lingered on the Clown, piecing it together.
They still think I'm a Venerable...
A slow smirk curved his lips. In that case... With feigned nonchalance, he resumed his eyes-closed search for Infinite Stones.
As the evil energy dissipated, crimson remnants of blood-beast impurities hung suspended in the air. But instead of falling, they began coalescing—every 500 meters, the fragments merged into two-meter-tall scarlet eggs that thudded to the ground.
Evil Eggs. The name said it all: with time, they could hatch into full-fledged evil beasts—the primordial birth cycle of the corrupted.
Across the tens of kilometers of affected sky, nearly a hundred such eggs plummeted. Some shattered on impact; others landed intact.
Yet the Holy Department had no attention to spare for them. The Prince's pupils dilated as he stared at the masked figure calmly siphoning the apocalyptic storm.
"Is that... a Venerable?"
"Given those methods, it must be," Xuanwu murmured, his stern face thawing into a rare smile. "How intriguing. It seems fate hasn't abandoned the city yet."
The revelation was as abrupt as it was miraculous.
With the Erli Cloud Sea dissolving, the city-drowning rains receded. The Holy Department's members exchanged stunned glances, their earlier despair replaced by dawning relief.
Against all odds, a mysterious Venerable had reversed their doom.
"Prince," Xuanwu said, eyes alight, "let us greet our benefactor."
In a blink, they vanished.
...
Pingshan Hospital
Mu Qingtong stood frozen, staring skyward. Her usually sharp eyes now brimmed with utter bewilderment.
The spade-masked figure floating above was unmistakably Xia Feng.
"Is he actually a Venerable?"
The notion lasted only a second before her mind flashed to another memory—Xia Feng healing the girl in white.
"That's his ability," she realized. Or one of his trump cards.
A smirk tugged at her lips. "Clever. Very clever."
Her gaze dropped to the ever-morphing purple crystal in her palm. With a rueful shake of her head, she chuckled under her breath:
"And here I thought I needed to save you. Turns out... I was the arrogant one all along."
(End of Chapter)