"Old man, you should have thought of this day when your Muye family colluded with forces from outside the region." Wang Hao's voice suddenly became ethereal, completely different from his usual self.
Makino Shinichi grinned maliciously: "A mere late-stage Innate Realm cultivator dares to spout such nonsense!" He stomped his foot, and dozens of pillars of blood exploded from the ground: "Blood Prison Demon Sealing Array!"
Crimson runes instantly formed a cage, trapping Wang Hao in the center. Countless ghostly hands emerged from those pillars of blood, carrying highly corrosive nether energy, and reached out to grab Wang Hao.
Iron Tower, who was watching the battle, couldn't resist rushing forward, but Han Feng held him back: "Watch closely, this is the true fighting style of the Star Soul Priest."
In the arena, Wang Hao calmly took off his glasses. When he looked up again, his eyes had turned pure silver-white, without pupils, only shimmering starlight.
"Scattered like stars...like chess pieces."
With that whisper, the thousands of silver threads that had been buried in the ground lit up simultaneously. Under the moonlight, the entire courtyard suddenly transformed into a giant chessboard, and the blood-pillared ghost hands landed precisely at the intersections of the grid.
"Click—"
A series of crisp snapping sounds rang out. The moment the ghostly hands touched the silver threads, they severed as if cut by a sharp blade. Makino Shinichi was both shocked and enraged, for the silver threads were actually devouring his Netherworld energy!
"A mere trick!" The old man bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence. "Blood Demon True Form!"
His essence and blood transformed into a blood mist that enveloped his entire body. Makino Shinichi's hunched body rapidly expanded, transforming in the blink of an eye into a three-meter-tall blood-red giant. He slammed his fist into the ground, the shockwave shattering half of the silver threads.
Wang Hao groaned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but a smile of excitement appeared on his face: "That's more like it."
His hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals. The broken silver threads seemed to come alive, swimming and reforming themselves, weaving into a complex three-dimensional network in the air. Each thread shimmered with starlight at a different frequency, as if playing some kind of cosmic symphony.
"Star Sacrifice - Heavenly Net"
The silver threads suddenly contracted, binding the blood giant layer by layer. Makino Shinichi roared and struggled, each tear causing numerous threads to break, but new ones were immediately replenished. Even more terrifying, the silver threads that touched his body were devouring the blood demon's energy at an alarming rate.
"Damn little bug!" Makino Shinichi erupted in rage, a crack suddenly appearing in his chest, revealing a pulsating crimson crystal within. "You've got a lot to be proud of, for forcing me to use this move!"
"Watch out!" Han Feng suddenly shouted, "He's going to self-destruct his blood crystal!"
Wang Hao smiled mysteriously: "This is the moment I've been waiting for."
He clenched his fist, and all the silver threads simultaneously lit up with a dazzling silver light. If magnified a million times, one would find that the surface of each thread was covered with tiny star patterns—these were the Star Soul Priest's unique "Energy Devouring Runes".
"Star Sacrifice - Return to the Source"
The energy surge from the blood crystal eruption, which should have destroyed everything within a hundred meters, was instead firmly bound by the silver thread network, flowing back into Wang Hao's body along the threads. The Star Soul Priest's meridians bulged, yet he forcefully channeled this energy, far exceeding his own limits, into the star map beneath his feet.
\"boom--!\"
All the energy, refracted through the star map, transformed into a silver beam less than a centimeter in diameter, which precisely pierced through Makino Shinichi's brow. The blood giant froze on the spot, then rapidly deflated like a punctured balloon, eventually turning back into a withered old man who collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.
Wang Hao staggered a few steps before being caught by the arriving iron tower. His face was deathly pale, but he smugly pushed up his non-existent glasses: "How about that? Deserves a five-star rating, right?"
Han Feng caught the swaying Wang Hao and immediately felt the chaotic energy fluctuations when his hand touched the other's back—this guy's body was like a pressure cooker about to explode.
"Are you out of your mind?" Han Feng lowered his voice, simultaneously channeling a wisp of starlight energy to stabilize his meridians. "That's the self-destruct energy of a peak-stage Innate Realm cultivator!"
Wang Hao grinned, and blood immediately seeped from his gums: "Cough cough...that's a pseudo-realm...it's from taking drugs..." He wiped his mouth, "My Star Sacrifice Silver Threads...are specifically designed to counter this kind of superficial energy structure..."
The tower, completely bewildered, simply hoisted Wang Hao onto his shoulder: "Let's get out of here! This commotion will definitely attract the police."
The group quickly left the now-ruined Makino Manor. Sure enough, sirens could be heard in the distance, and beams of searchlight from helicopters swept across the night sky.
Back in the safe house, Wang Hao was laid flat on the sofa. Su Wanwan quickly took out a medical kit, but Wang Hao waved his hand and refused: "No need... just let me lie down for a while..." He laboriously took out a small jade bottle, poured out a few pills that shimmered with starlight, and swallowed them. "The Star Soul Priest's injuries... ordinary medical techniques won't work..."
Han Feng noticed that when Wang Hao took the medicine, fine silver patterns appeared on his neck, exactly like the star map that appeared during Mu Ye Shenyi's battle. This reminded him of the "Star Sacrifice Lineage" mentioned in the Jue Li inheritance—it is said that they are the guardians of the Star Soul Lord and can transform the power of stars into special spells.
"So you saw through his weakness?" Han Feng poured a glass of water and handed it to Wang Hao.
"Hmm..." Wang Hao's expression improved slightly. "That old guy's Blood Demon Technique... it's forcibly enhanced by devouring the essence and blood of others... my Energy Devouring Rune is just the right counter..." He suddenly grabbed Han Feng's wrist, "Be careful... the ancient martial arts world of R country... may already be..."
Before he could finish speaking, Wang Hao fell into a deep sleep. After checking him over, Su Wanwan confirmed it was simply due to overexertion: "Let him sleep. This guy just ingested the energy of a small nuclear bomb."
The following morning, local news broadcast the official statement regarding the Makino family incident: "...An explosion of unknown cause occurred last night at the Makino Group headquarters; preliminary investigations indicate it was caused by a gas pipeline leak..."
"Bullshit!" Eiffel Tower spat out his coffee. "Can't you see that huge blood giant? Half the manor has collapsed!"
Su Wanwan quickly switched between different news channels: "All media outlets are giving the same story, not even social media is discussing it... This is almost impossible in R country."
Han Feng stared thoughtfully at the pixelated ruins on the television screen: "Someone is suppressing information... and they have a lot of power."
"Could it be the Matsui family?" Liu Mengran handed over a tablet. "I found out that Ryuichi Matsui had an emergency meeting with the Chief Cabinet Secretary late last night."
The scene shifts to the press conference, where an official in a suit is reading a statement. Han Feng suddenly presses the pause button and zooms in on a blurry symbol in the background—a decorative shield hanging on the wall with an inconspicuous blue crystal pattern in the center.
"The emblem of the Nether Crystal Clan..." Han Feng's eyes turned cold. "It seems not only the ancient martial arts world has been infiltrated, but even the political world has been affected."
Liu Xiaoran looked up from his computer: "I just hacked into the Metropolitan Police Department's database. The forensic report shows that Makino Shinichi's body was 'accidentally lost,' but the autopsy record mentions a 'regular circular penetrating wound' between his eyebrows."
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