A massive bolt of lightning, easily a thousand zhang high, tore across the heavens. It coalesced into a seven-hued blade of light, a radiant edge that seemed capable of shattering the very world…

It sliced down ferociously toward Suola, who stood a hundred zhang away. Furthermore, the sky erupted; countless streaks of lightning plummeted down like a tempestuous thunder storm. These bolts were densely packed, some as thin as a finger, others as thick as several dozen zhang—a colossal, cascading waterfall of raw energy.

With a deafening "BOOM," the gigantic blade of light struck the massive silver serpent enveloping Suola’s body. The corporeal serpent shattered instantly into nothingness.

Suola immediately spat a mouthful of blood. He desperately urged the Silver Serpent Armor, and another flash of silver light erupted, manifesting before him just in time to intercept the descending blade.

Yet, the sheer destructive power of the blade was overwhelming. This defensive silver light managed to persist only for the blink of an eye before it, too, disintegrated, though the immense sword-light had merely dimmed slightly.

Suola’s heart seized with terror. He channeled all his might into the Silver Serpent Armor, causing an even more dazzling silver radiance to flare forth. But the blade descended relentlessly. The silver light fragmented and vanished, and Suola coughed up another spray of blood. This time, he had no chance to activate the armor further; the remaining shard of the blade slammed directly into his Silver Serpent Armor.

"CRASH!" The blade struck the armor with earth-shaking force, generating a massive concussive blast that hurled Suola backward through the air. Simultaneously, the blade finally shattered, dissolving into countless arcs of lightning-laced sword energy that sprayed out in every direction.

Wherever the sword-light passed, every structure was cleaved into fragments. The tribesmen of the Silver Serpent Clan who failed to flee were likewise torn limb from limb by the cascading sword qi. The sword energy, combined with the raw lightning from the sky, enveloped an area spanning a thousand zhang. Within that radius, everything was a maelstrom of electrical discharge and cutting force; all existence was mercilessly annihilated.

Within the thousand zhang expanse, nothing remained but ruin.

Sssshhh-sss…

Pah-pah-pah…

Rumble-rumble-rumble…

Innumerable bolts of lightning continued to hammer down upon the desolate landscape.

Liang Xiaoke, having retreated a full ten thousand zhang, viciously wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and muttered, "This maniac cares nothing for his own life, but must he drag us all down with him?"

Suola and Charles felt their backs instantly drenched in cold sweat, silently counting themselves fortunate that they had not initially attempted to seize his treasures, for under such an attack, they would have been utterly erased without even needing to deploy that cyan ancient bell.

This must be his true combat strength? Even without the cyan ancient bell, he was capable of killing Yingkong Wu?

What an astonishingly powerful human, what a formidable being. Thank heavens, thank heavens that he had become his ally.

Lei Linna’s eyes were wide with shock. She truly had not anticipated that the two individuals she casually plucked from a tavern would possess such staggering might. If her father knew the powerful reinforcement she had secured, he would surely reward her handsomely.

Luo Linger felt a surge of joy witnessing Ye Jingyu achieve such heights, but that elation was immediately tinged with anxiety—the growing chasm between them. As his woman, how could she constantly rely solely on his protection?

She, too, must cultivate with fierce determination, must narrow this disparity…

No one paid further attention to Suola. Faced with such a terrifying blow, they doubted he could possibly survive. The potential repercussions of killing Suola were temporarily forgotten in the face of the immediate cataclysm.

But Ye Jingyu was not as complacent as the others. He gripped the Tianzun Blade tightly, his gaze fixed upon the ruins a hundred zhang away. He could sense that Suola’s life aura had not completely vanished.

Indeed, just as the vast curtain of smoke began to slowly dissipate, a figure painstakingly pulled himself upright from within the swirling haze.

The helmet that once sat upon his head was gone, clearly obliterated by the strike. His long silver hair was a tangled mess, and the Silver Serpent Armor itself was visibly scarred with cracks. A long, deep gash ran across his chest, almost splitting the silver plating in half. In his hand, he still clutched the silver longsword, the two jewels embedded in its hilt now emitting a faint, reddish glow.

Suola glanced down at his damaged armor, then across at Ye Jingyu standing in the distance, a venomous, twisted smile spreading across his face.

“You actually destroyed the armor my Mother gave me. Very good, very good, very good…” After repeating the word thrice, Suola’s eyes slowly bled into a scarlet hue, and a brutal, savage aura began to emanate from his entire being.

Charles and Lei Yalung were momentarily stunned that Suola could still stand, but the sight of his blood-red eyes caused their expressions to shift sharply.

Ye Jingyu’s brow furrowed deeply. The Tianzun Blade in his hand hummed again, responding to the unusual presence radiating from Suola. This aura felt entirely distinct from the demonic energy he had previously unleashed.

This new presence, underneath the Silver Serpent Clan’s inherent decadence, carried a layer of savage ferocity that was rapidly gaining dominance. This viciousness contained an essence of profound age, an antiquity stretching back over ten millennia.

And unlike Yingkong Wu, who willfully unlocked his seals, this power felt as if it had forced its way out, like a creature hidden deep inside Suola that had only just erupted.

As this violent aura intensified, Ye Jingyu and the others felt waves of dread wash over them.

No, I absolutely cannot allow this to continue. This thought flashed through Ye Jingyu’s mind. He reactivated the Bā Yuán Force within his body, and the Tianzun Blade flared once more with seven-colored light.

This time, Ye Jingyu held nothing back. He would not permit the savage energy within Suola to fully awaken, for if it did, not only he, but potentially even Luo Linger, could be harmed by its malevolence.

“Heavenly Annihilation Slash!” Ye Jingyu whispered the words softly, and the Tianzun Blade shot forward with a whisper of displaced air.

A black light flashed across the void—the unmistakable sign of space itself being torn asunder. This single strike ripped through the very fabric of reality to lash out at Suola.

Suola, caught in the act of continually pouring out his malevolent energy, could not possibly evade. Just as the black light was about to cleave him in two, a small hand materialized out of thin air directly in front of him.

(I am too tired to wait for midnight, uploading now. 23:25)