Inside the dilapidated wooden house!

The Bear's Knife floated in the air, emitting a hazy earthen yellow glow. Within that glow appeared a mighty figure, and a powerful pressure emanated from this blurry silhouette.

"Zhou Xiaotian!"

Old Blue seemed to be extremely familiar with Zhou Xiaotian and immediately recognized this figure. Xiaotian floated in mid-air like a blazing sun, with a strong pressure as overwhelming as a mountain, making it difficult to breathe.

Zhu Bufan, who was originally sitting cross-legged, was suddenly crushed by this pressure, letting out a miserable cry as both he and the broken bed were slammed to the ground, his limbs powerless and prostrate.

Zhu Bufan's entire Inner Qi crazily surged within his body, with a faint blue halo and white cold air emanating from him.

With a cracking sound, the moment he lifted his legs, he stomped on two stone slabs until they exploded. Zhu Bufan's shoulders trembled uncontrollably, supporting himself on the ground as if performing an imperfect horse stance, reaching his limit.

However, despite the powerful presence, Old Blue's clothes didn't even flutter, and with the aura from the Bear's Knife rapidly intensifying, the blue light protecting the wooden house only transformed brightly a few times.

"Good..."

"Good..."

"Good..."

Old Blue's eyes shone with inexplicable light, "Zhou Xiaotian, after more than ten years, you indeed haven't been idle. Your aura has actually grown to this extent. It seems, you've absorbed at least four layers of the King's energy, far beyond my expectations! However, if that's all, then this so-called Bear's Knife Soul Seal Device is the first interest payment I've retrieved for the King!"

Seeing the aura continue to increase rapidly, Old Blue no longer hesitated, stepped forward, and slapped down with a palm, a phantom hand image expanding continuously...

Boom...

The palm struck the Bear's Knife, a devastating aura instantly burst forth, Zhu Bufan could only see the golden yellow and blue halos continually entwine. As these lights slightly dimmed, Zhu Bufan was pleasantly surprised to find the glow on the Bear's Knife dimmed, and even Zhou Xiaotian's figure slightly paused, his aura diminished considerably!

"It's effective!" Zhu Bufan rejoiced in his heart, eyes wide watching Old Blue's actions.

Boom boom boom...

As if venting frustration, Old Blue's palm strikes fell on the Bear's Knife like raindrops, triggering ripples and further dimming Zhou Xiaotian's phantom, weakening the omnipresent pressure significantly.

Zhu Bufan stared with eyes wide open at this scene; he never imagined that Old Blue, so gentle and kind in his presence, had such a violent side.

"It's good; grandfather's been repressing too long, letting him vent is just right!" Seeing this, Zhu Bufan thought to himself.

...

Li Chu Country's capital, Wang Mansion.

As if sensing the phantom nearing dispersion, Zhou Xiaotian's hands continuously trembled, even shaking off the hand formations, his face darkening, eyes flaring with dazzling blue light.

"Drink!"

Zhou Xiaotian let out a loud shout, and his Dantian revealed a mysterious blue light even his Yellow Python King Robe couldn't hide.

As the blue glow emerged, Zhou Xiaotian's body immediately stopped trembling, once again turning into a boulder, but his eyes emitted terrifying cold air.

...

In an instant, Zhou Xiaotian's phantom roared fiercely, his overwhelming aura and pressure surging back up.

Bam...

This time, Zhu Bufan couldn't even sustain his horse stance, as if smacked by a falling stone, he laid flat on the ground, while his throat surged sweetly, surprisingly spitting out fresh blood.

In this moment, he was injured internally.

"Hmph, ultimately you can't avoid using the King's power. Without the King, what are you!" A trace of anger flashed across Old Blue's face.

He then extended his hand, gently tapping the Eye of Mang Sea.

Instantly, the calmly floating Eye of Mang Sea began spinning rapidly with a squeal, while a finger-thick blue light beam was directed down by Old Blue, aimed right at the Bear's Knife.

In just a few blinks, with a "bang," Zhou Xiaotian's phantom exploded and scattered, the Bear's Knife exhausted its energy, falling down.

...

'Bang!'

Inside Wang Mansion, Zhou Xiaotian's face turned ashen, slamming his palm down fiercely, shattering the desk before him, scattering countless wood shards.

Everyone's expressions varied, especially the armor-clad guards who've followed Zhou Xiaotian for long, naturally aware of their master's mysterious and formidable strength. Zhou Xiaotian, who had never suffered any losses, surprisingly did suffer this time.

"Prince..."

A few guards just began to speak but were interrupted by Zhou Xiaotian raising his hand.

"You all return to You State. I'm worried about Lady's safety. As soon as I finish dealing with matters here, I'll rush back! Someone able to disperse a shred of my consciousness surely possesses close to Innate strength. Be careful!" Zhou Xiaotian instructed.

"Rest assured, Prince!" These nine were carefully groomed by Zhou Xiaotian over ten years, each possessing Postnatal peak strength, while the team captain had recently gained insight into the Innate Realm and believed they'd soon reach the peak of Innate.

"Sigh, has that mad person come yet?" Zhou Xiaotian's face relaxed, sighing as he asked.

"No! But Prince, that madman's assassination attempts on you grow stronger each time. Last time, you were even slightly injured defending, why not eliminate him directly?" a guard asked puzzled.

"Hmph!" Zhou Xiaotian's face changed suddenly, and the guard let out a low hum, crashing through the door, rolling into the courtyard. "This is the first time I spare you! Know what to ask and not to ask, have you forgotten!" Zhou Xiaotian huffed coldly, flicking his sleeve as he left.

While the guard lay on the ground, vomiting blood in large gulps.

Others, even quieter than cicadas in winter, waited until Zhou Xiaotian's figure disappeared completely to pull up the guard, simultaneously pulling out an Elixir to shove it into his mouth.

"You little fool, didn't you see every time that madman comes, Prince defends but never retaliates? There's certainly some hidden reasons between them, not something we guards need to know!" The Guard Captain, having followed Zhou Xiaotian the longest, knew vaguely some things but kept them buried, never speaking a word. Servants should stick to their duties.

...

After erasing the sliver of consciousness Zhou Xiaotian left in the Bear's Knife, even Old Blue felt a bit exhausted, his figure dimmed considerably.

"Xiaofeng, now this Bear's Knife is an unclaimed Soul Seal Device, you can leave a trace of consciousness in it to preliminarily control it!" Old Blue said with a smile.

Standing up, Zhu Bufan wiped away the bloodstains at the corners of his mouth, nodded, and directed his thoughts into the Bear's Knife. This so-called imprint was rather simple, akin to scanning a barcode so the Soul Seal Device recognizes your soul wave. However, leaving a trace of consciousness such as Zhou Xiaotian's within the Soul Seal Device wasn't feasible for Zhu Bufan now, as it could cause immense harm to the soul and sow many latent hazards on his cultivation path.

Once his intent entered the Bear's Knife, Zhu Bufan felt as though he entered a world of yellow—vast and empty. Yet, he sensed a subtle but real connection with the Bear's Knife.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.