Yang Han suspected the flutist could only handle two flutes at most, so he instantly produced over a dozen clones.
"Impressive. Your cloning technique looks identical, but I bet their strength differs. Watch me break them one by one." The opponent laughed.
Yang Han smiled. "Go ahead."
All of Yang Han's clones attacked the opponent. Yang Han knew their power wasn't enough; his aim was to make the opponent careless.
Seeing all clones attacking, the opponent amplified both flutes, unleashing a sonic wave that targeted every clone.
Just then, a bolt of lightning suddenly appeared above the opponent's head and struck down.
Caught off guard, the opponent was shocked. He'd focused on fire, water, and Yang Han's charge, never expecting something from above.
But it was too late—the lightning struck him directly.
That move instantly drained at least one-fifth of his strength. He looked at Yang Han with a bitter smile. "You even know this? Looks like you're not just dual-attribute."
"That's right. You were too careless," Yang Han said with a smile.
"Yeah, never expected that. But it won't happen again." The man smiled and produced a suit of armor, which was covered in blood-colored streaks that radiated killing intent.
"That armor?" Yang Han asked suspiciously.
"It's armor that's been baptized alongside me." The man laughed.
"Baptized armor?" Yang Han didn't understand, but he was curious to see its power.
So another bolt of lightning struck. The man smiled, and the armor expanded like a phantom, colliding with the lightning until both forces vanished.
The man laughed, "How about that? Feels pretty good, right? Let's see what other tricks you have today."
"Your armor is impressive. I still don't get what you mean by 'baptized,' but I'll test it myself." Yang Han said, summoning a handful of flying needles.
"Flying needles? Let's see if they can pierce my armor's Blood-Mark!" The man laughed.
Yang Han aimed for several vital points and sent the needles flying. The opponent didn't use qi to deflect them, just stood there. As the needles approached, the armor turned phantom again, rebounding them away.
"You have both offense and defense—truly a master. But I'm curious: who could hire someone like you to deal with me?" Yang Han smiled.
"If you can defeat me, I'll tell you." The man laughed.
"Fine, let's compete in speed then," Yang Han said with a smile.
"Speed? You think you can escape my sound?" The man asked curiously.
"You won't know until you try," Yang Han smiled.
The man looked at Yang Han and laughed, "Alright, I'd like to see who can approach me under my flute's sound."
With that, Yang Han vanished. The opponent was shocked—not catching Yang Han's trace at all. When Yang Han reappeared behind him, he said, "Right here."
"You!" The opponent was startled and quickly tried to control the flute, but Yang Han pressed a hand on it. "A flute with no sound—wonder what it can do."
"Nice trick, but if you think speed alone can beat me, you're wrong." The man flashed away as well.
Yang Han frowned. His own disappearance relied on the Realm-Shuttle Pen, but the opponent was even faster. Soon, Yang Han sensed the man's presence—his soul.
Maybe Yang Han couldn't sense him normally, but he had plenty of soul-sensing artifacts—especially the Soul‑Devouring Divine Sword.
To Yang Han's right, the opponent was smiling and playing the flute. Yang Han knew this was a critical moment, so he drew the Soul‑Devouring Divine Sword and swung it left and right, pretending to play around. The opponent thought Yang Han was just slashing randomly, but suddenly a soul-locking force targeted him, and he was terrified.
As soon as he appeared, the sword was already at his side. Yang Han stopped, sheathed the sword, and said, "You're not a hypocrite. I won't go all out. You can leave."
Seeing Yang Han spare him, the opponent was stunned, then said, "You really are different. Fine, since you didn't kill me today, I won't kill you in the future. I'll keep my promise—I'll tell you my identity and who's after you."
"I'm from the Heavenbreaker Guild. My name is Heavenrend. The one who wants you dead is House Wood. That's all I have to say. Goodbye. Hope you can withstand the stronger ones coming next." Heavenrend said, then vanished in a flash.
"If we really fought to the end, maybe I still wouldn't be a match for his flute sound," Yang Han muttered. But hearing about the Heavenbreaker Guild and House Wood hiring someone like him was a shock.
"Let's move on." Yang Han decided to head elsewhere, still puzzled.
Soon, Yang Han arrived at a spot and released Melody Wood, Lynn Lin, and Ember Yang.
"I'm suffocating in there!" Ember Yang complained.
"You little brat," Yang Han laughed.
"How did it go?" Lynn Lin asked.
"It was a draw, but I got his background," Yang Han replied.
"Who was he?" Lynn Lin asked curiously, Melody Wood watched from the side.
"Heavenbreaker. Heavenrend. Hired by House Wood," Yang Han said.
Both Lynn Lin and Melody Wood were stunned when they heard this.
"What? You said he's Heavenrend from Heavenbreaker?" Lynn Lin exclaimed.
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Yang Han asked curiously.
"He's a powerhouse just below the Gods, one of Heavenbreaker's top assassins—almost never fails. If Heavenbreaker takes a contract, it's certain death, even hiding won't help. Their tracking is unique, and their success rate is so high, their fees are astronomical. I can't believe House Wood would spend that much." Melody Wood explained.
"So that's how it is. He really was strong. If we fought for real, I might not have beaten him," Yang Han admitted.
"So who actually won? Why did he tell you?" Lynn Lin asked curiously.
"I'm not telling you that. But I want to ask, what are Blood-Marks? Or that kind of blood-like streak on his armor that makes you want to kill?" Yang Han asked.
"Those are Blood-Marks from the infamous Bloodrealm. The more people you kill, the more Blood-Marks your artifact has—and the stronger it gets," Melody Wood explained.
"So that's how it works. That kind of place really is good for cultivation," Yang Han said.
"But you'd have to kill or risk being killed every day. If your mind isn't strong enough, you'll die of fright before anyone kills you," Melody Wood added.
"I'll check it out someday," Yang Han smiled.
"So what's your plan now? Where are you heading?" Lynn Lin asked curiously.
"I want to find a place to unlock Melody's power, but it needs to be quiet—no disturbances at all," Yang Han said after thinking.
"Where would you find a place like that—a true paradise?" Lynn Lin muttered.
Melody Wood hadn't expected Yang Han would want to help her remove her affliction first.
While everyone was thinking about a good location, Ember Yang spoke up, "I know a place."
"How would you know?" Lynn Lin asked curiously.
"My mind told me," Ember Yang replied.
"That's odd—how does your mind know that?" Lynn Lin asked curiously.
"I don't know. Whenever I think about something, it just pops up in my mind," Ember Yang said.
"That really is strange," Lynn Lin muttered. Yang Han and Melody Wood were also curious about Ember Yang's memories.
But thinking of Ember Yang's connection to the Fire Phoenix, Yang Han relaxed and said, "Alright, let's go."
"I'd like to see where this little brat takes us," Lynn Lin said.
So the three followed Ember Yang's direction, flying for three days and nights. One night, Ember Yang said, "It's right here. Such a strong feeling."
"Such a strong feeling?" Yang Han asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, let me try." Ember Yang said, then stretched out her hand. A ball of flame appeared, lighting up the surroundings—a canyon that seemed ordinary. As the flame grew, a glowing circle appeared before them.
Yang Han and the others were shocked. "How is there a glowing circle here?" Ember Yang smiled, "It's inside here."
It turned out this place was a hidden world. Yang Han muttered and followed Ember Yang inside, with Lynn Lin close behind.
Soon, they reached a new scene—daylight, with a world full of flowers, grass, and trees.
They could even hear birds singing everywhere.
"Wow, it's beautiful! What kind of world is this?" Lynn Lin exclaimed.
"I don't know, but I can sense it," Ember Yang laughed.
"Have you been here before, or do you have memories of this place?" Lynn Lin asked suspiciously.
"I don't know, but I can sense something." Ember Yang smiled, then closed her eyes. A ball of flame wrapped around her, and soon, birds gathered and began to worship her.
"Worship?" Lynn Lin exclaimed.
"It's the Fire Phoenix's power that makes them revere her," Melody Wood explained.
"This little brat really is impressive, having that kind of ability," Lynn Lin said.
"But it seems not everyone worships her," Yang Han noticed some hidden resentment in the shadows.
"What's wrong?" Lynn Lin asked, confused.
"Don't disturb her. Let me check." Yang Han realized this could strengthen Ember Yang, so he let her be and extended his divine sense. He found mountains and lakes, all kinds of birds—every type imaginable existed in this space.
Some were big, some small, and some even fought fiercely for territory.