This plain, simple sentence, much like an elder’s gentle chiding when observing mischief, carried little overt reprimand, yet when it entered their ears, it possessed a power that shook the very soul. In an instant, everyone in Jiyang City, whether Spirit Masters or ordinary folk, looked up to the skies.
Nie Kong looked up as well. The voice seemed to emanate from the void, suddenly ringing out across the entire night sky.
Nie Kong knew perfectly well that this voice was directed precisely against the previous sound—the one that was soft, high-pitched, yet incredibly arrogant.
He could not fathom who the owner of this voice might be, to refer to those experts as merely "little ones"—what staggering arrogance!
Yet, Nie Kong’s own spirit was profoundly stirred...
...
The Nie Family’s Hidden Blade Courtyard.
Upon seeing the signal sent by Nie Xingdong, the Clan Head Nie Qingsong, the Fifth Elder Nie Xingyun, and the Seventh Elder Nie Xinghai all converged. Even the Second Elder suddenly materialized, preparing to depart for reinforcements. However, the aged voice that suddenly resonated caused them all to halt their steps simultaneously.
"Grand Elder!"
The Second Elder, who habitually kept his eyes shut, abruptly lifted his eyelids, revealing a pair of extraordinary eyes. His pupils were excessively large, nearly consuming the entire eye socket, black and glossy like twin whirlpools, seemingly capable of encompassing all the stars in the firmament within their depths.
"Grand Elder?"
Nie Xingyun and Nie Xinghai gasped involuntarily. Nie Qingsong’s lips trembled with emotion. The Grand Elder had lived in seclusion for decades; Nie Qingsong had never met him, only having heard his voice once fifteen years ago when he assumed the position of Clan Head. Back then, the Grand Elder’s voice had only resonated within the Nie Family assembly hall, lacking the sheer impact of this current manifestation, yet Nie Qingsong had burned that voice indelibly into his memory, a memory that had not faded in the slightest to this day.
Hearing the Grand Elder’s voice again after more than a decade, Nie Qingsong’s heart churned violently...
...
The Grand Elder!
Before the ruins of the courtyard complex, these three words simultaneously flashed through the minds of the three Nie family elders, instantly filling their chests with irrepressible, ecstatic joy. To the members of the Nie Clan, especially those elders who had once interacted with the Grand Elder, he was akin to the incarnation of a deity—someone to be revered and respected above all else.
Cheng Feiliu and Cheng Feihong exchanged glances, vaguely guessing the identity of the voice. Their moods turned complex; if it truly was that person, then the current Dongling Realm expert before them would cease to be a threat. However, once they were captured, the subsequent division of the "Fire Tree Silver Flower" might become complicated.
The old man in green and Zhu Jian also looked up. Elder Huo, who had been in mortal peril, seized the momentary respite to rush to the edge of the pit and pull out the heavily wounded middle-aged man. Yet, a bitter realization settled in his heart—he never expected that one of the people they had offended was a Dongling Realm powerhouse!
"Hee hee, little ones?"
The old man in green let out a high-pitched, cold laugh, his voice slicing straight toward the heavens. "Who is pretending to be mysterious and acting old and mighty? Aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock?"
"This old man is precisely the 'half-dead' Nie Shenggong you spoke of," the aged voice sounded again, stunning every soul in Jiyang City.
Nie Shenggong? The Nie Family Grand Elder? The legendary super-expert who had long since ascended to the Tianling Realm? Others might only feel shock, but after the voice personally confirmed his identity as the Grand Elder, the Nie Clan members, following their initial shock, erupted into almost delirious cheers.
They all knew Nie Shenggong lived in seclusion within Jiyang City, but no one knew his exact location. Even if they passed him on the street, they might simply walk by. After all, Grand Elder Nie Shenggong’s age was immense, and the duration of his seclusion was so long that most who had seen him were already dead. Some even occasionally doubted whether the Grand Elder had truly achieved the Tianling Realm or if he had simply passed away.
Now, the Grand Elder's voice lingered palpably in everyone's ears; every doubt vanished like smoke! The Grand Elder was alive, and he was here in Jiyang City!
"Grand Elder!"
These three words first echoed sporadically from various corners of Jiyang City. Moments later, the chaotic cries coalesced into a unified roar. Finally, the Nie Clan members scattered across the city shouted in unison, the sound of those three words condensing into a single force that exploded over Jiyang City...
...
"Nie Shenggong?"
The old man in green roared fiercely, "Nie Shenggong! Stop this charade! Others may not know your true background, but how could this old man not? Only those fools in your Nie family would believe you have reached the Tianling Realm and worship you. Today, I will drag you down into the dust..."
"Grand Elder! Grand Elder..." A deafening clamor erupted, rolling like thunder, actually overwhelming the voice of the old man in green.
"Noisy!"
The old man in green exploded in rage, pointing his right hand toward the high sky and shouting, "Scatter!"
Amidst a sound like ghosts wailing, the massive black vortex rapidly expanded in all directions, instantly enveloping the entirety of Jiyang City. Darkness fell upon the world, and a chilling aura permeated everyone's hearts, inciting panic, especially among the ordinary citizens.
"Sigh!"
A faint, aged sigh drifted down, and a colossal blue palm materialized in the night sky, pressing down upon Jiyang City below.
Seeing the blue light filtering down through the darkness from high above, the city dwellers stared dumbfounded. Nie Kong's mouth hung slightly open, his eyes fixed, his spirit utterly shaken.
The palm was so vast it nearly rivaled the size of Jiyang City itself! Legends claimed that a Tianling expert could move mountains and drain seas, shatter the heavens and destroy the earth with a mere wave of the hand. Was this... the might of the Tianling Realm?
As the colossal palm appeared, the enormous black vortex, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, rushed toward its center, condensing smaller and smaller. Then, the giant palm closed its five fingers and gave a gentle squeeze. A world-shattering explosion followed, leaving the crowd with ringing ears and sudden, stunned silence.
"Tianling? How is that possible? Nie Shenggong, weren't you long past the point of mortal recovery? How could you possibly have achieved Tianling? How!"
After a moment of stupefaction, the old man in green waved his arms, howling hysterically. At that moment, the giant palm spread open, rapidly shrinking by more than half its size, and then lightly patted downward.
Everyone watched with wide, unblinking eyes. Though scaled down, the palm remained ridiculously enormous. By Nie Kong's estimation, it was at least the size of a football field from his previous life. Such a massive hand striking that small residential complex below—would it kill all the experts gathered there?
"Boom!"
It was like an earthquake; the entirety of Jiyang City trembled.
From a distance, observers could vaguely see plumes of dust and smoke rising where the palm descended. But moments later, the crystal-clear blue giant palm lifted. Between its thumb and forefinger, it pinched a single figure, and between its middle and ring fingers, another figure was clamped.
Compared to the vastness of the palm, the two captured figures were like ants next to an elephant; no matter how they struggled, they could not escape the confines of the fingers.
"You two must also have secretly left the 'Spirit God Hall'… Out of respect for the 'Spirit God Hall,' this old man will not trouble you further. Go..." The giant palm flicked slightly, and the two figures shot away like meteors toward the north of Jiyang City, gradually diminishing until they vanished completely...
...
P: Brothers and sisters, thank you all so much for your support over the past two months. I'll be heading back to my hometown tonight, and after that, I might only be able to get online at an internet café every week or so. But don't worry about missing updates; I've already scheduled posts up to the twentieth. Subsequent content will be uploaded via USB drive. I just won't be able to see the suggestions you post in the review section. I'll have to trouble Brother Feiyang, the vice-moderator under Yaowang, and Brother Yu Can Shang (who goes by "Xiao Dai" in the QQ group) to manage the review section. If anyone has any comments or suggestions, you can send me a direct private message on QQ; I'll see it as soon as I log in. Messages posted in the group might be missed. Okay, no more rambling; I’ll bid you all farewell for a few days for now~~~ Cough, cough, one last word: Don't stop voting just because the author is away, haha (^__^*)。。。