C380 Kill Him If You Have To!!
"Ahhh!"
Su Yin's scream was a cacophony of agony, fear, and humiliation!
Yet the embryonic "Bane," born from the resentment, fear, and endless regret of many souls in the Forgotten Ruins and fused with the spiritual energy of Yu Yuan's little world within the Golden Sanctum, remained unmoved.
The Evil Body Refining technique was traditionally reserved for those at the Veil Breaking stage to fully harness the dark arts and condense the Bane.
Blessed with extraordinary talent, Yu Yuan managed to condense the Bane at the Golden Sanctum stage, thanks not only to his arduous training in the Moonfall Sanctuary but also to Yu Zhu's contributions.
When Yu Zhu infused him with spiritual energy, she seemed to have intuited that the murky, turbulent psionic power would facilitate the formation of the Bane, and thus she bestowed it upon him.
This psionic power, which ordinary people struggled to refine and which could obstruct their cultivation, took root in Yu Yuan's bones and viscera, poised to erupt at a pivotal moment!
The Bane, a more advanced entity than the evil spirit, represented the truly intricate and formidable aspect of the Evil Body Refining.
Once this monster materialized, it obeyed Yu Yuan's intent, ruthlessly seeking to obliterate Su Yin's vitality!
The Bane slithered down his neck, and from there, Su Yin's flesh was rent from neck to waist, leaving a long, narrow wound gushing blood.
The gory gash severed several of his tendons, splintering his bones.
Su Yin's wails, coupled with the ghastly sight of his wounds, caused Van Chaoguan and Lin Hanyu to feel a profound sense of shock.
Yu Yuan possessed the might to wound Su Yin!
Lee Yuchan and Lee Yu, bound to the stone pillars, had been intently watching the clash between Yu Yuan and Su Yin. Witnessing Yu Yuan emerge unscathed from Su Yin's onslaught, only to counterattack and grievously injure the higher-ranked Su Yin, left them both astonished and bewildered.
How had Yu Yuan grown so formidable?
Lee Yuchan's icy gaze sparkled with a complex light, her previously smug smile now overtaken by astonishment.
"Could it be that he didn't rely on others' strength to render Su Yin immobile? How did he dare to engage directly in combat with Su Yin, who is a whole realm above him?"
Lee Yuchan was brimming with confusion.
She had a deep understanding of Yu Yuan, aware that he was held in high esteem by Zhou Cangmin, Yan Qiling, and others, with the devoted Yu Zhu steadfastly supporting him. Whether it was his temperament or his strategic mind, he was a cut above the rest.
From the moment Yu Yuan stepped into the hall, Yuchan had sensed that he must have the situation well in hand.
In her estimation, Yu Yuan, despite being slightly outmatched, could have easily dispatched Qin Yun to resolve all the issues within the Huang Family Hall and deter the onlookers.
Why then would he need to intervene personally?
Yet, Yu Yuan had refrained from summoning anyone at the outset, choosing instead to confront Su Yin the moment he made his move.
It was a risky decision, but it resulted in Su Yin sustaining serious injuries.
"You dare to kill me?!"
Suddenly, Su Yin, with his back to everyone, emitted a terrified and frantic shriek.
At the sound of it, Van Chaoguan, Lin Hanyu, Lee Yuchan, and Lee Yu all visibly paled.
Was Yu Yuan truly intent on killing Su Yin?
Su Yin was a scion of one of the Empire's five great families, cherished by Su Kui and Su Kang. With the Empire in its current state, Su Yin's audacity was backed by solid confidence.
Yu Yuan had already pushed his luck by gravely wounding him. Would he actually go so far as to commit murder?
"What's there to fear?" Yu Yuan responded with a wry smile. "As you've pointed out, times have changed. In this era of imperial transition, the death of one or two individuals is trivial. In the grand scheme of things, if I, Yu Yuan, am deemed inconsequential, then what significance does Su Yin hold?"
While speaking, he formed his left hand into the shape of a sword and thrust it towards Su Yin's chest.
With a mere flicker of thought, a stream of spiritual energy surged from the Golden Sanctum within his lower elixir field, coursing through his veins with the swiftness of lightning.
Without invoking the sword spirit, he simply allowed the warmth in his left arm bone to draw upon the sword's will stored within his bones, guided by his heaven soul.
A fine, crystalline scarlet light, as slender as a hair, flickered within the sinews and bones of his left arm, casting a faint glow.
In a fleeting moment, Yu Yuan's left hand fingers radiated with brilliant light!
A dazzling flash illuminated the dimly lit hall, momentarily blinding those who witnessed it.
Su Yin, his back drenched in blood, was finally overcome with terror as he felt the sinister "monster" slide down his neck and burrow violently into his spine.
At that instant, his aura became tumultuous, the Golden Sanctum's lower elixir field, along with the middle elixir field's vitality and Profound Gate, all began to tremble.
He found himself suddenly unable to muster any strength.
The Bane that burst forth from his spine transformed into dozens of streams of strange power, voraciously consuming his flesh and life force, striving with all its might to obliterate his organs.
What strength did he have left to fight back?
His eyes locked onto Yu Yuan's fingers, formed into a "Finger Sword," and as he sensed the piercing sword's will, the scent of death enveloped him.
"No, it can't be..."
This was the final thought that flashed through his mind before his demise.
Then came the excruciating pain in his chest.
"Puchi!"
A streak of crimson light stabbed into Su Yin's chest at the Profound Gate, pulverizing his organs and snuffing out his life force.
With Su Yin's death, Yu Yuan's spirit eased. The nascent Bane, now spent of its remaining energy, was extinguished within Su Yin's body.
"The Golden Sanctum, fifth level. The degree of spiritual energy refinement is truly fearsome!"
Yu Yuan nearly burst into triumphant laughter, eager to release the elation swelling within him.
He had chosen Su Yin as his adversary, sought out this battle, to gauge his own combat prowess after undergoing five refinements in the middle period of the Golden Sanctum.
Su Yin had proven to be an excellent opponent!
During the fight, not only did evil spirits escape from his bones and flesh, but they also merged with his spiritual energy to form the Bane, unleashing a force that surprised even him.
— It was an outcome he had not anticipated!
Neither the evil spirits lurking within his flesh and bones nor the newly formed Bane had been within his expectations before the battle commenced.
When the real battle commenced and he activated his dark arts, everything that was meant to appear did so effortlessly!
He was even more astonished to find that at the Golden Sanctum stage, the overflow, release, and convergence of spiritual energy were all incredibly natural and as swift as lightning.
This delightful sensation of combat was something he could never grasp at the Soul Awakening stage.
Just one stage higher, and the refined spiritual energy of his Golden Sanctum little world responded to his will, coursing rapidly through his tempered body.
"Combat, real combat, reveals so much!"
Yu Yuan flashed a wide grin, reveling in the battle, finally understanding the exhilaration and ease that cultivators felt when vanquishing their foes.
Meanwhile, Van Chaoguan and Lin Hanyu stood in stunned silence, their calmness belying the shock of the moment.
Su Yin had indeed been slain on the spot by Yu Yuan!
They could never have imagined that the young master of the Yu family from Asvetaesi would dare to go so far!
With Su Yin dead, how could the Su family simply let things be? Wouldn't Su Kui and Su Kang, the two Lunar Spirits, annihilate the entire Yu family to quell the clan's fury?
Even Su Xiangtian would be powerless to intervene after such a loss!
"He's dead; why stand there so stiff?" Yu Yuan muttered, pushing Su Yin's upright body aside, watching as the Su family scion, who had been a thorn in the Yu family's side, crumpled to the ground.
Yu Yuan then stepped over the corpse and approached Van Chaoguan and Lin Hanyu.
"Father-in-law, it has been too long since our last meeting, and I have missed you dearly."
After a respectful bow, Yu Yuan looked up at Lin Hanyu with a radiant smile and said, "In line with the pact between our families, it's time for me to wed your daughter. Could I trouble you to inform Winter's Bite and request her return to the empire soon, so we may proceed with the marriage?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Hanyu's expression darkened ominously.
Van Chaoguan inhaled softly, steadying his emotions before he unexpectedly took a step back, allowing Lin Hanyu and Yu Yuan to come face-to-face for negotiations.
As the patriarch of the Van family, he suddenly found the youth before him shrouded in an enigmatic mist, utterly inscrutable.
"He had the audacity to kill Su Yin, and he actually did it. What could this kid be counting on?"
Van Chaoguan decided to adopt a wait-and-see approach. After all, with Lin Hanyu now in Yu Yuan's crosshairs, there was no need for him to intervene hastily.
