"Enough with the nonsense!"
The man's long saber vibrated, and his entire form vanished. A sharp saber wind surged, as if carrying the force to shatter rocks and waves. The chrysanthemums in the flower bed were suddenly pressed down, their heads bowing under this immense power!
Clang!
Ren Yuanhao let out a cold laugh, casually swung his saber towards the ten o'clock direction. True qi leaked out, immediately forcing the man back several steps.
"I saw through this ability long ago. Can't you try something new?"
"Try something new? Alright!"
As soon as the man finished speaking, Ren Yuanhao felt a prickling sensation on his back. Fortunately, Ren Yuanhao had mastered the Drunken Moon Glimpse steps. At the critical moment, his body spun half a circle, almost scraping the ground, narrowly dodging the saber blade thrust forward by Ji Fu!
"Ji Fu! What are you doing~"
Ji Fu didn't answer at all. Instead, she raised her hand and lunged towards Ren Yuanhao. Her entire movement seemed somewhat unnatural, yet her face was devoid of any expression. Ren Yuanhao countered with a swift upward slap, easily disarming her. He immediately realized that she must have been hit by the man's strange ability during their close-quarters saber exchange moments ago!
"What a beautiful girl. It seems you care a lot about her. I wonder, would seeing her die before your eyes make you go berserk?"
The man suddenly vanished. At the same time, Ji Fu was pulled backward as if by invisible threads. The next second, a narrow, chilling blade was placed at Ji Fu's neck.
Ren Yuanhao put away his long saber, his eyes spewing a predatory glint.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's with that expression? This weakling can't even save his own woman. What good is a glare? What can you do to me?"
The man laughed weakly, then suddenly drew a jade-like short sword from his hand and handed it to Ji Fu.
"I've thought about it. Killing her doesn't seem very interesting to me. Suicide is the most beautiful way to die in this world, isn't it?"
Ren Yuanhao laughed instead of getting angry. His long saber reflected the sky's light, emitting a chilling, extremely cold white gleam. "You've successfully angered me. Since you want to offer a treasure, I'll accept this great gift."
"Hmph, you little scoundrel, watch how your woman dies right before your eyes!"
The man's left hand was about to clench when, at that very instant, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. Crimson droplets began to trickle from his nostrils. Then, his eyeballs bulged outward violently, as if someone were strangling him. His chest caved inward without warning, accompanied by a horrifying sound of cracking bones. His ribs instantly pierced his heart!
Blood stained the scene. As he took his last breath, he didn't even know how he died.
This change was completely unexpected, like a divine punishment. Ji Fu also snapped back to reality in an instant. Seeing the man collapse beside her, she immediately realized she had likely been controlled by the man's ability as well.
"Miss Ji, are you alright?"
"Did I zone out just now? I didn't do anything terrible, did I?"
Ren Yuanhao released his clenched fist, tears of blood flowing from the corners of his eyes again.
"Is it still too much of a strain?"
He didn't answer Ji Fu's question. His legs felt shaky, and even the hand holding the saber was trembling slightly. He was terrified, because if he had failed to release his ability, or lost control, Ji Fu might truly have been manipulated into taking her own life!
Ji Fu dropped the short sword in her hand and hurried towards Ren Yuanhao, wiping the tears of blood from his eyes with a silk handkerchief with great concern.
Ren Yuanhao grabbed her hand, his grip surprisingly strong. Although Ji Fu felt the pain from the pressure, she could also sense the fear behind Ren Yuanhao's action.
"Hey, you little pervert, you're hurting me."
Ren Yuanhao immediately released her hand, his face flushing slightly. He then sheathed his saber and walked to the man. As their eyes met, the masked Sect Master of the Chi Xiao Sect, located in the southwestern mountain range, saw Ren Yuanhao through his disciple's eyes using a peculiar technique.
"Hmph, this man is indeed stronger than I imagined. I'm truly looking forward to it!"
"Sect Master, don't you need to retrieve Senior Brother's ability?" a man kneeling in the hall asked tremblingly.
The Sect Master waved his sleeve and looked down, saying meaningfully, "Oh? Are you looking down on our Chi Xiao Sect's secret arts? Or are you more interested in abilities?"
The disciple prostrated himself and stammered, "No, no, our Chi Xiao Sect's secret arts are naturally superior to that so-called ability. It's just that, this disciple means, we shouldn't let that bastard profit."
"It seems you still don't understand my strategy. Just wait and see. I'll make that brat taste hardship."
...
At this moment, Ji Fu and Ren Yuanhao had already moved the corpse to the main hall of the Dongfang Clan.
Other clan experts furrowed their brows tightly. Dongfang Ji, leaning on his cane, slowly approached the corpse.
"Patriarch Dongfang, now~"
Ouyang Shuo was about to speak but was interrupted by Dongfang Ji raising his hand.
"Slow!"
Before the words were even out, she quickly reached out and wiped the corpse's eyelids downward, closing its dead, fish-white eyes. Then, she took a silver hairpin from the top of her head and pierced both of the corpse's eardrums.
"Alright, you can speak now." Dongfang Ji stood up and added meaningfully, "The Sect Master has deep schemes, actually using the 'Heart Transference Great Technique' on his own disciples to eavesdrop on our conversations and every move."
Dongfang Ji's words made everyone's expressions even more solemn.
"I heard that people on 'S' Street previously acted as if they had lost their minds. In just one hour, the violent incidents were more numerous than in the past year. Speaking of which, it's likely due to this man's ability. This ability is extraordinary."
Ouyang Shuo looked at the corpse before him, a flicker of cunning flashing in his eyes.
"Indeed extraordinary. You probably don't know that abilities are divided into six ranks: S, A, B, C, D, E. And this domain-type ability, even the weakest of its kind, would at least be a C-rank ability."
Dongfang Xu spoke with a blank expression, as if discussing something unrelated to himself. In reality, he already knew what these people were thinking.
Abilities were always in high demand in this world. The higher the rank of an ability, the more precious and valuable it was, appreciating more than gold or silver.
"However, don't get too eager. Under normal circumstances, the higher the ability's rank, the geometrically increasing the risk of control and consumption. Before you covet it, at least weigh whether you can swallow it. Moreover, this person was killed by that brat, and the decision on its use rests with him."
At this point, Ouyang Shuo was the first to ask, "Brother, you are a great benefactor to our Ouyang family. If brother is willing to part with this ability, I am willing to give 50% of the Ouyang family's assets to brother for future use."