Omnipotent Sage

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

The sound was strange and clear. It was like a dropping a big ladle of water into a scalding hot deep fryer.

As the sound continued, something happened which stunned the four men. Zhou Bao started to wave the black drape. Wherever the black drape flittered, the solid space started to fall apart piece by piece.

The black drape melted the edge of the damaged space, like wax under a high heat, turning it into a monstrous green-yellow color like pus extruding from an ulcer. The men watched, eyes filling with panic.

But the thing that truly sent chills through them was that the edge of the space had no way of healing itself. Under the black drape, this perfect, stable space would be damaged forever.

“What on earth is that thing? How could it have such a terrible force? Where did he get hold of this strange object?!” One of the Elders shouted. When he looked back into the mirror, Bao Zhou’s figure had already disappeared.

“Oh god, he broke the inhibition! Quick! Back to the Treasure Light Tower! Go, go!”

The quarreling continued in the Treasure Light Tower. White Tiger’s exasperated ranting and Zhi IX’s leisurely drawl melded into a bright and beautiful harmony.

Any discerning person would know at first glance that even with his glib speech, White Tiger was at the losing end. This was the Divine Wind Palace, Zhi IX’s home ground. What was more, Zhi IX ripped off the tiger skin from the other three great sects. With every sentence, “Us Four Great Sects”, he would suddenly push the tiger skin to the opposite side of the four great sects. If he was holding the tiger skin, he needed to set about the task. But this was the Divine Wind Palace, Zhi IX’s nest. If he was going to start, there was no way he would get what he wanted. For a while, there was no other way. It was urgent. The more he spoke, the more he was driven. As if he were holding the pearl of wisdom, soon when Zhi IX seizes total victory in this quarrel, it would all change.

“Who would dare break into the Treasure Light Tower!?” From the outside the Treasure Light Tower came fierce shouting.

“Get out of here!”

Zhou Bao simply had no intention of chattering with the gatekeeper. He just stormed straight into the Treasure Light Tower.

This was the Treasure Light Tower of the Divine Wind Palace. Even if the gatekeeper was an Individual Immortal from the Mysterious Realm, he would not allow Zhou Bao to break in. Holding celestial devices, they beat Zhou Bao back.

“Such an undiscriminating thing!” Seeing the celestial devices coming for him, Zhou Bao’s complexion turned cold, and with one in each hand, used the two celestial devices the men were holding to break into the palace.

“Zhou Bao, how did you get in!?”

Two figures flew in from outside the tower. Two thuds followed. In his fists, Zhou Bao grasped the dark energy. Even though the two men were Metaphysic Individual Immortals, they were beaten down by Zhou Bao, and for a while could not get back up.

When Zhi IX saw the figure storming in, his heart clenched with anger. But seeing the men of the Four Great Sects in the Treasure Light Tower, his resolve was strengthened. He shouted fiercely, asking:

“White Tiger, you’re really getting old, nattering on so much! Why don’t you just bring people straight in?”

“You!” Even if Zhi IX had some self-restraint, he was still angry at seeing Zhou Bao completely ignore him. Zhou Bao, who do you think you are? Just a powerful and lucky young lad. Your father wasn’t even born when I was roaming unimpeded throughout the world. And now you dare ignore me, look down on me. It really is so arrogant!

“Haha! King Wuyang, you think so highly of yourself! It brings me straight back. Could it be that our people died in vain?” At that moment, a wretched voice came from one side.

Zhou Bao stared. It turned out to be a man wrapped from head to foot in a layer of black air. The eerie, dense air was terrifying. Whisps of dark air radiated from his body. From one glance he could tell that it was a master of martial arts of the Dark Sect.

“A member of the Dark Sect?!”

“Qiao Huai of the Dark Sect!”

“Qiao Huai?!” Zhou Bao had never heard this name, but others did.

“Qiao Huai. It’s really Qiao Huai, the Supreme of Demons!”

“Yes, I never imagined he was Qiao Huai, the Supreme of Demons. He had been shrouded in the black air all day long, I thought it was the Dark Lord!”

“How could it be the Dark Lord? How did you imagine the Dark Lord could enter the Divine Wind Palace?”

“I guess you’re right!”

“But it was actually the Supreme of Demons!” Zhou Bao was a little surprised, the Dark Lord was a Genuine Immortal of the Venerable Realm. The Dark Sect’s methods were furtive, and their practice methods were brutal beyond compare. So when they were undergoing the Thunder Tribulation, their power was two, even three times that of a Genuine Immortal. After they had undergone the Thunder Tribulation, their power was still much stronger than that of a Venerable.

However, Zhou Bao had no qualms about all this. He looked Qiao Huai, the Supreme of Demons up and down, and laughed strangely. He lurched towards Qiao Huai, startling him. “This is not good”, Qiao Huai mumbled to himself. Before the thought even cleared his mind, Zhou Bao’s hand had already breached his protective Dark Gang, and he was holding him up by the neck.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh…” As a Supreme of Demons, he held a position of respect in the Dark Sect. Over the past centuries, he always had his way. How did it end up like this?

Zhou Bao’s speed and strength completely broke Qiao Huai’s confidence. Even if he wanted to speak, he could not. With one strike, Zhou Bao had shattered the Dark Gang protecting his body. Clutching him by the neck, Zhou Bao lifted up the withered man.

A frigid cold desire to kill emanated from Zhou Bao’s eyes. In his merciless smile was a glint of mockery, deriding the Supreme of Demons overconfidence, ridiculing how he walked the path to his own demise.

“I can now tell you, that your men of the Dark Sect died in vain, just like you will!” Zhou Bao’s gentle voice resounded in the ears of everyone present. Seeing Qiao Huai, Supreme of Demons’ body, they all started to struggle. But Zhou Bao did not move an inch. As he was holding up Qiao Huai, Supreme of Demons, the Treasure Light Tower was hushed, and you could hear a pin drop.

As each moment passed, Qiao Huai, Supreme of Demons struggled more and more slowly, until eventually, his legs kicked violently twice, and he stopped breathing.

There was dead silence.

It was as if Qiao Huai’s last kicks hit the others straight in their hearts. Rays of light settled on Zhou Bao, like demons that had emerged from the depths of hell.

The five biggest sects gathered together in the Treasure Light Tower of the Divine Wind Palace. The Supreme of Demons of the Dark Sect, noble of the Divine Wind Palace, was strangled alive in the presence of The Elders and the Highest Elder.

Indeed, it was neither a punch nor a celestial device that killed him. He was strangled alive by bare hands. He was strangled alive like any ordinary person.

This way of killing was not bloody, and not exciting. But it was dull and depressing to the extreme. Qiao Huai, Supreme of Demons shook violently and struggled frantically. Each movement, each second was printed in their minds. They had seen the whole ordeal as Qiao Huai struggled to survive, from his initial surprise, to his panic, to his disbelief, and finally to his pleading expression. All of it was entrenched in their memories. Qiao Huai was the Supreme of Demons. He was stronger than anyone there. But because of one sentence that was spoken, this was how things came to be. They grieved for their fallen companion, but they were also deeply scared.

This Zhou Bao was far too unruly.

Zhou Bao really did not want to follow the rules of others. He broke into the inhibition of the Divine Wind Palace, stormed into the Treasure Light Tower, and heard White Tiger fiercely cry, “Your School of Five Virtues has long colluded with the Dark Sect. Their Pneuma-sucking Skill is no secret to you!”

Zhou Bao did not know what Pneuma-sucking Skill was, and did not know why the School of Five Virtues was colluding with the Dark Sect. But he had instinctively worked out that the Dark Sect was involved.

Therefore, after Qiao Huai’s provocation, he killed him without hesitation. It was because he wanted to gain prestige, but also, the Dark Sect was not at all one of the five biggest sects. Even though it had some strength, it was not in league with the five biggest sects, because within was a complicated array of influences, not like in the Divine Wind Palace. Killing him would cause much less trouble than killing someone from the five biggest sects. This Qiao Huai practically walked into danger on his own accord.

Of course, it was not fair that it was Qiao Huai who died. He could not have imagined that Zhou Bao would have wantonly killed someone in the Divine Wind Palace without saying a word, and in such a way.

“Where is Wang She now?!” In silence, Zhou Bao turned to look at White Tiger.

“I don’t know!” White Tiger took a deep breath, he clearly had no response. “As soon as someone came back, they were detained by the School of Five Virtues!”

“Is that so? Zhi IX, was detained?”

“Zhou Bao, you’ve have gone too far!” Zhi IX responded at last. He screamed, pointing at Zhou Bao, “So brazen, how dare you just so wantonly kill people in the Divine Wind Palace. Who gave you the right? Who… ugh…!”

No one clearly saw Zhou Bao move. Just like before, he was grasping, holding Zhi IX up by his neck.

“Zhi IX, I hope your subordinates are able to bring Wang She to you before you die!”

Zhi IX whimpered and flushed red. Just like Qiao Huai, he began to struggle.

“Zhou… Zhou Bao! We need to speak, but please put him down!”

Now White Tiger was scared. He was a fearless person, except that he was afraid now. As arrogant as he was, and as annoying as he was, that was all in the Penglai Region. This, this was the Divine Wind Palace, the family’s headquarters, teeming with experts and immortals. There was no space here for such disgraceful behavior.

Zhou Bao said nothing. He just glanced at him in silence, his gloomy, cold eyes sending a shiver down his spine.

Then, Li VII came out of nowhere, and said to Zhou Bao, “Zhou Bao, if you kill Zhi IX, there’s no redeeming the situation!” This guy seemed to have a look of schadenfreude on his face.

“This situation was never redeemable,” Zhou Bao said indifferently, “You let them go, and I’ll let him go. If not…!”

Before he finished speaking, an angry roar burst out, and a hand reached through the space towards Zhou Bai, clutching for him.

The Void-catching Technique!