Outside the main hall, the night sky hung heavy over the earth like a massive black silk curtain, devoid of even a sliver of starlight—as if the stars themselves were hiding away, terrified of the impending bloodshed. A fierce gale raged through the darkness like thousands of howling, savage beasts, mercilessly tearing at everything in its path. Trees whipped violently back and forth, their friction producing a rustling sound that seemed like a painful groan or a whisper against a cruel fate. In the distance, mountain ranges lingered as mere blurred outlines in the gloom, resembling silent, colossal beasts coldly watching the world's mortal grievances.
Crack! Crack! Two sharp explosions rang out like the scythe of the Grim Death, shattering the tense atmosphere already pervading the hall. Inside, candles flickered wildly, their light and shadows dancing frantically across the walls as though terrified by the sudden horror. The faint candlelight struggled against the darkness, casting writhing, demon-like shadows that shifted shape with every sway, lending the hall an eerie, terrifying air.
Du Bufan stood as if shrouded in a mysterious shadow, every step seeming to tread upon the folds of time and space. The ripples of spiritual energy from his footfalls were visible to the naked eye, expanding outward in concentric circles and sending tremors through everyone's hearts. The surrounding air seemed stirred by this energy, forming small, wispy whirlwinds that whistled between the onlookers. Whipping up the dust within the hall, the whirlwinds danced like ghosts in the dim light. He walked toward Li Muge, his deep eyes harboring a chaotic firmament; amid the flashing stars surged a tempestuous fury and a resolute desire for vengeance.
"Hmph! That engagement of ours was once a bond of familial affection, yet you used it as a tool to trample upon my dignity," he said, his eyes growing ever colder, resembling a deep-space black hole capable of devouring all light and hope. "The humiliation of those days cut like a blade into the depths of my soul. Today, a blood debt must be paid in blood!"
Outside, the wind abruptly howled like wailing ghosts, as though lamenting the impending carnage. It slammed against the doors and windows with a rattling clatter, seemingly urging the execution of this vengeance.
Reaching Li Muge, Du Bufan slowly raised his foot. Ancient, mysterious runes instantly flickered across his sole, glowing with a deep blue light as though chanting an arcane incantation. With a ferocious stomp accompanied by a hair-raising crack, Li Muge's arm snapped instantly. A brilliant yet eerie arc of spiritual energy burst from the fracture—the futile, agonizing struggle of her own power, which was swiftly suppressed by the mysterious force of the runes on Du Bufan's sole. Blood sprayed from the broken limb, blossoming upon the floor like a flower of death. A heavy, sickening stench swiftly filled the air, mingling with the hall's existing odor of decay. The blood dripped onto the stone slabs with a rhythmic patter, sounding chillingly distinct in the silent, tense hall—like a countdown to death.
"Ah—!" Li Muge's scream echoed like the agonizing death wail of a collapsing universe, fracturing the space around her. The surrounding air seemed ignited by the excruciating pain, churning up waves of distorted heat that intertwined with the hall's freezing chill to form a strange, wrapping mist. Countless unseen eyes seemed hidden within the fog, coldly watching the cruel punishment.
Yet Du Bufan's expression remained as cold as an ancient glacier, entirely devoid of pity. "This is merely the tip of the iceberg of the punishment you deserve—a tiny installment on the soul-debt you owe me," he murmured coldly to himself.
He raised his foot once more. With a series of sharp cracks, Li Muge's legs and other arm were broken as well. Every fracture was accompanied by mysterious fluctuations of spiritual energy, reminiscent of the opening prelude of an ancient seal. Li Muge was now reduced to a shattered doll, the light of her life rapidly dimming, looking utterly wretched. The pool of blood beneath her expanded continuously like the gaping maw of a demon, creeping along the cracks in the flagstones as if it possessed a life of its own, threatening to dye the entire hall into a bloody hell.
"Such ruthlessness!" The members of the Du Family gasped in unison, horror masking their faces as though the end of days had arrived. Cold sweat poured down their brows, and their bodies trembled slightly in the alternating grip of chill and heat. The sweat slid from their foreheads, dropping to the ground where it was instantly swallowed by the atmosphere of blood and decay.
As if nothing had happened, Du Bufan reached out and hoisted Li Muge up as easily as one might pick up an ant struggling in a turbulent rift of time and space. Cold light flashed in his eyes as he thought to himself, *Do you all really take me for that same defenseless Du Bufan, lingering by in the dark? Today marks the start of your descent into an endless nightmare. I shall be the root of a terror you will never forget in this lifetime, and I will make the entire world tremble with my wrath.*
His voice, carrying the chilling judgment of a void realm, froze the soul: "Wretch! Whether it is the Sword Mystery Sect or the Divine Martial Prince's Estate of the Luyu Ancient Kingdom in the Southern Wasteland Domain, go ahead and call whoever you like. Within one month, have them come find me, Du Bufan, to settle the score! A month from now, I will personally visit the Li Family and reduce your clan to ashes in the fires of my fury. Get out!"
With a fierce sweep of his arm, he hurled Li Muge away with tremendous force. She flew like a meteor wreathed in the fires of death, tracing a colorful yet lethal arc through the air. As her body was cast out, a fierce gust rushed through the doorway of the hall, whipping the onlookers' robes and carrying the distant roars of wild beasts from the forest. The gale swept the bloody stench outward, as if determined to broadcast the news of this vengeance to every corner of the world.
Outside the gates, members of the Li Family hurriedly gathered her up. Their panicked figures seemed pursued by a terrifying force from a multiverse away, each of them pale with fear and stumbling as though the boundless dark might swallow them at any second. Overhead, dark clouds churned like massive black waves, pierced by lightning like ferocious dragons that tore the darkness asunder and illuminated the world with blinding white light, instantly followed by deafening thunder—as though the heavens themselves were roaring in fury over this bloody scene. Raindrops the size of beans began to pelt the ground, kicking up tiny splashes that mixed with blood and turned the earth into a muddy mire, enveloping the entire world in a desolate atmosphere.
Du Tianxiong frowned deeply, his face etched with worry. "Fan'er, why did you let her go?"
Du Bufan offered a calm smile, his expression radiating an otherworldly self-assurance as he replied to his father in his thoughts: *Father, you don't understand. This is a brilliant stratagem to lure the snake out of its hole; it is a web of fate I have cast.*
Out loud, he said to his father: "Today's events have already spread like a cosmic explosion. Even if I hadn't spared her, the enemies lurking in the shadows would still have known. If they continue to hide, that would be our true doom. Letting her go is precisely how I mean to make her an anchor to draw out our enemies from their dark corners. Once they emerge, I will wipe them out in one fell swoop using a power that surpasses the stars. That will be satisfying, clean, and efficient!"
At that moment, an invincible aura radiated from Du Bufan, making him look like a creator god descended upon the mortal realm, his heart burning with boundless ambition. *I possess supreme cultivation methods, akin to holding the source code of the universe. I no longer need to endure in silence. I will make this endless expanse of time and space witness my rise, and I shall become the legend that rewrites fate!*
The candles inside the hall flared brightly, as if cheering on Du Bufan's lofty ambitions. In that instant, their glow grew immensely brilliant, pushing back the surrounding darkness to illuminate his resolute and confident face.
"This..." Du Tianxiong and the others exchanged bewildered glances. They found it utterly impossible to keep up with Du Bufan's unimaginably bold and enigmatic train of thought, their eyes filled with a mixture of doubt and awe for the unknown. The atmosphere within the hall grew even heavier, as though an invisible mountain pressed upon everyone's chest. Rain drifted in through the gaps in the doors and windows, dampening the floor and compounding the oppressive tension, leaving the entire world locked in a profound state of contemplation and dread.