Liam didn't like that possibility.
Not knowing who was behind it, not seeing the full picture, it made things messy.
A hidden enemy that somehow had it's sight here. How, unsightly...
He exhaled slowly, the faint smile returning, though there was a slight edge to it now.
"Since they want to play it big…"
His gaze shifted to the side.
Seven figures stood there, silent the whole time. Never moving from the start, and perhaps, this is the chance to see his current greatest creations at the field.
Tall, cloaked, their presence like a quiet killer.
The Purple Cloud Pavilion emblem on their robes gave off a faint glow under the night light.
Liam looked at them briefly.
No extra words.
They already understood his intention through the imprints.
"Go."
The order was simple.
In the next moment, the seven puppets disappeared from the courtyard, leaving the place quiet again.
-
Across the city, the scene shifted to Hero and Lucien.
The teleportation talisman had done exactly what Lucien intended.
In a flash, the two were moved straight into the central district of the city, landing among the dense crowd where people were already reacting to the earlier explosion.
Some were duck, heads lowered, as a visible line of smoke wafted into the sky in the distant.
Hero steadied himself after the landing, his breathing still uneven. He glanced around quickly, taking in the familiar surroundings before turning to Lucien.
"The center?" he muttered.
Lucien nodded once, eyes already scanning the area.
"Safer here," he said quietly. "He won't come easily."
The meaning was clear.
At the heart of the city, the strongest presence resided. A Nascent Soul ancestor stood behind everything here. No Golden Core cultivator should be bold enough to chase into this place without thinking twice.
That was the plan.
But before either of them could settle.
A question should be asked.
What if the Golden core monk chasing them is crazy?
A streak cut across the sky.
Both of them looked up at the same time.
The figure was coming.
Hero's face paled slightly. "You've got to be kidding…"
Lucien's expression sank, his jaw tightening.
The man didn't slow down. He crossed the sky in a straight line, heading toward them without hesitation.
Around them, the crowd began to panic. People scattered in all directions, voices rising as the pressure from above grew heavier.
The air rattled, houses trembled, and mortals without being able to escape in time, was crushed to the ground, cowering and kneeling as their bodies felt the invisible mountains from above.
Hero grabbed Lucien's sleeve briefly, then let go as they both moved.
"Run."
They blended into the fleeing crowd, moving fast but not recklessly, trying to avoid standing out while creating distance.
Above them, the Golden Core cultivator advanced like a streak of light.
His spiritual energy wasn't concealed in the slightest, it pressed down over the entire area, heavy and suffocating, as if the sky itself had lowered by a fraction.
Buildings trembled under the pressure. The air felt thick, harder to breathe.
Along the way, several foundation building guards rose into the air, trying to intercept him.
"Stop right there—"
They didn't finish.
The man waved his hand once.
A simple motion.
The guards were struck midair, their bodies flung apart before falling lifelessly to the ground.
No resistance.
No struggle.
Just gone.
Below, people saw it.
And understood.
This wasn't something they could interfere with.
From different corners of the central district, several auras were stirred.
But none of them moved immediately.
They watched.
This was a chance to see how things would unfold.
A test.
For the Purple Cloud Pavilion.
Meanwhile, at the highest point of the pavilion's tower, Ilya stood by the window.
Her hands tightened slightly against the frame as she looked out toward the sky.
The scene unfolding outside was clear enough even from this distance, her guards rising one after another, only to be struck down just as quickly.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Buildings destroyed, monks and mortals alike ran for their lives. Such a scene, this definitely would deal a huge blow to the Pavilion's face if left unchecked.
Her breathing grew uneven.
"What do we do… what do we do…"
She turned slightly, looking toward the cloaked figure standing beside her.
The man didn't move, his posture calm despite the scene outside.
"Do not worry, Madam."
Ilya frowned, her voice rising slightly.
"Do not worry? How am I not supposed to worry? That's a Golden Core cultivator making a move. If he wants to, he can destroy this entire city."
The guard remained calm.
"But he can't."
Ilya paused, her expression tightening as she looked at him again.
"Will the Lord take action?"
The guard shook his head.
"No."
A brief pause.
"But someone else will."
Ilya's eyes shifted.
Then she understood.
Their Pavilion's own Golden Core expert. Will they finally make appearance?
And at the same time, the perspective panned away towards the intruder.
Knowing that foundation building guards weren't a threat to this person, Ilya ordered the guards to stand down, and decided to wait for the so-called reinforcement to arrive.
In the center of the city, the chaos hadn't settled yet.
People were still running, bumping into each other, shouting, trying to get away from the pressure pressing down from above.
Qi refining realm Cultivators ran the fastest, and there were even some foundation building cultivators that flew far away already.
But they didn't run far, and perched in a circle outside the city center, waiting for the issue to be resolved.
One male cultivator arrived on top of a building's rooftop, slowly turning his gaze back and sighing, "What's actually happening today? I am supposed to do some errand tasks, not to deal with this headache."
"Beats me" the other male cultivator next to him shrugged.
On one hand, he was holding a wine jug, and under one smooth motion, he drank it down before wiping his mouth using his sleeve, "Seems like a big trouble. A crazy golden core senior from an unknown background, it's going to be the most sensational news over our head for the next few years."
And as he was speaking, he nudged the friend, gaze peering downward to the wave of mortals that were running for their lives, "Look, as I expected. Mixing up mortals and Cultivators too much, now when the sky falls, the buildings would crumble fast, implicating many... "
As for mortals, their fate was much worse.
Some ducked into alleys, some hid behind stalls, others just froze, not knowing where to go.
Along the way, the women, children, and old ones would be trampled by accident to death.
How unfortunate.
Though despite the cruel scene, there were still some kind hearted Cultivators that made a shot, bringing several batches of mortal outside the main area safely before continuing.
Then, the scene shifted to the two main characters.
Hero and Lucien.
They moved with the flow, keeping their heads low, slipping through the crowd without drawing too much attention.
Their pace was fast, but cautious.
Though inwardly, they knew that such an attempt was futile. At best, they could extend their safety guarantee by a few seconds, and that was more than worth it.
"A Golden core expert, a being that is capable of lifting mountains and moving oceans" Hero murmured in a low voice as the two moved silently.
"Hey, why don't we just go into the dungeon instead to escape? Isn't that better?"
"Then risking our secrets be exposed?" Lucien replied, almost rolling his eyes out, but he kept going, "Unless we have no other choice, let's not use the card yet. We still have hope with the Purple Pavilion forces here."
"So confident? Do you think the Ancestor will take a shot?"
"No" Lucien shook his head, "But someone else will, definitely"
Then.
As they were running.
Lucien suddenly slowed down.
Not by much, just a fraction.
But it was enough.
"…He locked on," Lucien said quietly, not even turning his head.
Hero's steps stuttered for half a beat before continuing. "Yeah… I felt it."
That feeling wasn't something you made.
It wasn't just being watched.
It was being picked out from everyone here. Like an invisible hand from the sky pointing towards them.
Well, what a hassle.
And at the same time they felt it, their bodies sent out the strongest distress signal in their life.
Like an alarm as their back felt cold all over, as if someone had thrown a bucket of water over them.
Above them, the cloaked figure hovered in the sky, unmoving.
His gaze dropped slightly, and that was all it took.
"Run where, ant"
"Stay with me."
Boom!
His voice thundered across the space, the air seemed to riot under his spiritual energy.
The moment his eyes settled.
The air around Hero and Lucien tightened.
Not the whole street.
Just around them.
Hero clicked his tongue under his breath. "Of course it's us."
Lucien didn't reply. His hand had already moved closer to his sword, not drawing it, just resting there.
He possessed several more means to escape that he was willing to use.
But to no avail.
The man in the sky simply raised his hand.
Slow.
Casual.
Too casual that the air seemed to be drawn inward into his palm.
Spiritual energy gathered without any effort, pulling in from the surroundings like it naturally belonged to him.
The space above them distorted slightly, the pressure increasing as if something heavy was about to be dropped straight down.
Bad!