The Master’s Wrath

“Who are you?” The three Mother Queen avatars spoke in unison, their eyes filled with wariness. The means by which this Daoist elder had appeared were too terrifying. They understood that there were special methods capable of tearing through the void to arrive directly. But this Daoist elder had formed a vortex in space, as though creating a passage, and had walked through with casual ease.

There was no trace of the smoke or fire of exertion… Such methods were utterly beyond the reach of the three Mother Queens, even if they fought with their very lives.

The Seven Radiance God gazed at the Daoist elder, an expression of wild joy spreading across his face.

“Subhuti has come.”

“I knew it. For such an monstrously talented disciple, Subhuti would definitely come to rescue him.”

“Haha, we are saved.”

Even the most composed of the seven divine beings, Red Snow God, felt a wave of relief. Not one of them doubted Subhuti’s ability to save them. After all… Patriarch Subhuti stood among the very apex of the Three Realms, and he was its most mysterious Daofather. Daoist Threelives, in comparison, was far inferior.

“This is our Broken Horn World. The three of us sisters have no desire to be your enemy.” The three Mother Queen avatars stared fixedly at the Daoist elder, ignoring the Seven Radiance God entirely.

The Daoist elder glanced at them and said coolly, “Ridiculous beasts!”

HUM~~~

The two words ‘ridiculous beasts’ left his mouth, and an invisible sound wave instantly crossed the distance between them, arriving at the Mother Queen avatars’ location. There, where the three avatars stood… spacetime itself seemed to warp and shatter. The three Mother Queen avatars within that warped spacetime let out enraged howls. Green light surged skyward from their entire bodies as they struggled to break free. But beneath the twisting, crumbling spacetime, they were helpless. The three avatars cracked into fragments, then completely disintegrated into nothingness.

Silence.

In the void, only Patriarch Subhuti, Ji Ning, and the Seven Radiance God remained.

“This…” Ji Ning stared in disbelief.

“This is the strength of Patriarch Subhuti?” Even the seven divine beings were terrified. Red Snow God, after all, stood at the very peak of the Empyrean Gods, very close to the Daofather level. When the seven of them united to form the Seven Radiance God, they barely scraped the threshold of a Daofather’s power. Those three Mother Queen avatars had been their equals in strength.

Yet with just two words—‘ridiculous beasts’—an invisible sound wave had obliterated all three avatars without the slightest ripple affecting the seven divine beings.

Such skill. Such control. It filled them with dread.

“As expected from Subhuti. The most mysterious Daofather of the Three Realms.”

“Truly powerful.”

“Too terrifying.”

The seven divine beings were utterly shaken.

Subhuti was too mysterious; he rarely took action within the Three Realms. None of the seven divine beings had ever seen him fight. All they knew came from their late Godking, Daoist Threelives, who had told them that Patriarch Subhuti was incredibly strong—far stronger than himself. As for exactly how strong? Even they, let alone most of the experts in the Three Realms, had no idea. The single impression Patriarch Subhuti left on the countless powerhouses of the Three Realms was—‘Mysterious!’

For him to create the ‘Tristar Crescent Major World’, which no one could find without his permission, was already an inconceivable feat.

…

In truth, the one whose emotions had seesawed the most violently was Subhuti’s own disciple, Ji Ning.

From the despair of being surrounded and trapped, to the silent waiting and bitter fighting for eighteen years; from the desolate chill of being captured alive, to the sudden joy when the seven divine beings appeared; from the renewed despair as the three Mother Queen avatars displayed their might… all the way to his master’s arrival and the casual utterance of ‘ridiculous beasts’ that slew the three avatars.

Even with a Dao-heart as firm as Ji Ning’s, he felt a sense that ‘the world had changed.’

The void was still the same void.

But right now, that void seemed incredibly beautiful. Incredibly lovely.

“Greetings, Patriarch.” The Seven Radiance God dissolved, transforming back into the seven divine beings, who all bowed respectfully.

“Not bad.” Patriarch Subhuti nodded lightly.

The seven divine beings felt a surge of joy in their hearts.

They understood what Subhuti meant by ‘not bad’. According to Daoist Threelives’ orders, if his successor had not yet reached the Empyrean God level, there was no need to worry about life or death. But to Patriarch Subhuti, Ji Ning was also his disciple. So the fact that they had come out to protect Ji Ning had earned Subhuti’s approval.

“My disciple.” Patriarch Subhuti looked at Ji Ning. With a single step, space twisted, and he was standing before him.

“Master.” Ji Ning immediately said respectfully. A faint glimmer of tears appeared in his eyes. “Thank you, Master.”

“Haha…” Subhuti laughed. “Let’s go. Time to return.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded heavily.

“The seven of you—shouldn’t you be going back as well?” Subhuti glanced over.

The seven divine beings immediately flew over. First, they saluted Subhuti respectfully, then, with a series of whooshing sounds, they vanished into thin air, clearly entering the Starseizing Manor. And the manor’s owner, Ji Ning, did not even notice. Clearly, Ji Ning had not yet fully mastered the Starseizing Manor.

Ji Ning turned his head and gazed into the endless void.

This Realm of Annihilation…

For him, it had indeed been a crucible. Here, he had endured the Karmic Hellfire. His Heartforce had reached the ‘Dominion’ level. He had comprehended the method for channeling Heartforce through his sword-fingers. And he had grasped the slightest trace of Sword Force…

Fortune and calamity, intertwined.

“Hua~~~” A spatial vortex appeared once more beside Patriarch Subhuti, like a whirlpool in the sea. Patriarch Subhuti led Ji Ning, one before the other, into the vortex. Then, they completely vanished from this Realm of Annihilation.

The ancient ruins, the Broken Horn World.

Within an endless dark space.

Three great wills clashed and conversed. At this very moment, there was even a hint of terror in those three wills.

“Who exactly was that elder?”

“We have never seen him before. We never even caught a glimpse of him during that great war back then.”

“If we had encountered him in that war, we would have died long ago.”

“It seems he is a human from the Three Realms. Judging from how he acted against us, he should be on the side of the Three Realms.”

“The Realm of Annihilation is supposed to be impassable via void-shuttling, but he could do it! And earlier, he merely manipulated spacetime to annihilate our three avatars. Such methods are simply inconceivable.”

The three Mother Queens were terrified and uneasy.

Too powerful.

The man’s power had completely surpassed them. They had been mere small fry in that great calamity long ago, surviving only by luck. Any truly dominant existence from that cataclysm could have crushed them with ease. Clearly, that elder was one of those dominant beings—one of the top-tier combatants who had influenced the direction of that war.

“I wonder if that elder from the Three Realms has left.”

“I hope he leaves quickly.”

“May he never come to my Broken Horn World again.”

The three Mother Queens prayed fervently. Their courage had long since been shattered by those two words, ‘ridiculous beasts’. All they wished for was never to see that elder again.

“What’s wrong?”

“No!”

“He’s coming!”

The three Mother Queens’ wills had long permeated every corner of the Broken Horn World. They had an extremely tight grip on the world, so the moment that terrifying existence intruded, they instantly noticed.

…

The Broken Horn World was located on the edge of the endless ancient ruins. A world unto itself, it boasted vast, fertile lands where countless Horned clan folk made their homes. But at that moment, every Horned warrior felt their world shaking and trembling. The earth shuddered; the great mountains began to collapse.

“What’s happening?”

“What’s going on?”

Countless Horned clan members raised their heads to the sky. Some of them were still children and youths, not yet qualified to join the army. They had to reach at least the ‘Earth-grade’ level to become warriors. Now, countless Horned clan members—including the Elders of the Hall of Elders, and every army—were gazing up at the heavens.

“BOOOOOOM~~~”

From outside the Broken Horn World, a gargantuan hand appeared.

This hand was nearly half the size of the entire Broken Horn World. As it came smashing down from the void toward the world “Hua, hua, hua~~~” layer after layer of the Broken Horn World’s defensive barriers began to shatter. Even spacetime itself was crushed, collapsing in on itself. Strangely… the spacetime of the entire Broken Horn World seemed to flatten into overlapping layers.

Layer after layer of spacetime was pressed downward.

The great hand smashed forward, and those layers of spacetime continuously splintered.

“No!”

“Flee!”

From deep beneath the Broken Horn World’s surface, three colossal figures erupted.

They possessed massive bodies covered in blue-black scales. Compared to normal Horned warriors, they were unimaginably bloated. At a glance… their bellies made up nearly half their bulk. Their hideous eyes radiated black light, a light that sought to tear open the void.

WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH~~~

The great hand was descending, crushing layer after layer of spacetime. The lower it pressed, the more stable the spacetime below became, until the three Mother Queens, even with all their strength, could not tear through the void to escape.

“Mercy!”

The three Mother Queens cried out together, their voices echoing throughout the Broken Horn World.

But the great hand continued its cold, relentless descent.

“No…” Countless Horned clan folk were utterly dumbfounded. A primal terror arose from the very depths of their hearts. This scene surpassed their wildest imaginations. Just looking at that palm—a palm without visible end, a palm half the size of their entire world—even Ji Ning, using his Zhulong Eye, could not see its limits.

They could only see the river-like furrows crisscrossing its palm.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM~~~ The boundless pressure had already arrived. The countless Horned clan folk on the surface of the Broken Horn World exploded with a bang, instantly bursting into bluish-green blood mists. Only a very few purple-cloaked and golden-cloaked warriors barely held on, though cracks began to appear on their bodies as well.

“Old fiend! Do you want to start the war again?!”

“Damn you, old bastard!”

“Damn it!”

The three Mother Queens, realizing that begging for mercy was useless, went mad. They cursed, pouring out every foul word they knew in their despair. They couldn’t escape. They could only face this terrifying palm.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM~~~

The palm had not even touched them. The mere shattering spacetime it transmitted caused even the golden-cloaked Horned warriors to shatter completely. Now, only the three Mother Queens remained in the entire Broken Horn World. Cracks appeared on their ugly bodies, and the cracks grew larger and larger. The three Mother Queens screamed, shouted, and cursed.

Then, silence fell.

The three Mother Queens had utterly disintegrated, turning to ash.

“BOOM~~~”

The enormous hand finally came to a stop.

An ancient voice rang out: “Start a war? Just three measly little bugs!” The enormous hand vanished into thin air.

All was still.

The entire Broken Horn World had been transformed into a boundless, sunken basin.