Ian Song's words, dripping with contempt even as they humiliated the guards from the Duke of Qi Residence, left Conrad Wolf and his squad stifled and furious. As captain, Conrad's eyes grew darker, his expression colder by the second.
"Captain, maybe we should call the Residence and have Master Zhao come break the formation?" one squad member suggested.
Master Zhao’s real name was Jace Zhao. His cultivation was only late Out-of-Body stage, but he was one of the three top consecrated experts attached to the Duke of Qi Residence. Once, one of his formations trapped a late Nascent Divinity powerhouse for a full quarter of an hour.
Don’t underestimate a quarter of an hour—plenty can happen in that time, even things that change everything.
Hearing this, Conrad Wolf didn’t reply—he just shot his subordinate a cold look. Instinctively, the man swallowed his next words. The more capable someone is, the less they want to admit defeat.
Conrad Wolf was captain of B-Squad in the Duke of Qi Residence, an early Nascent Divinity expert leading five peak late Out-of-Body guards. If he needed help just to catch a mid Out-of-Body stage cultivator, it would only prove his incompetence.
For a moment, the atmosphere was silent.
"We go in!"
After a long pause, Conrad finally spoke.
At his words, the five squad members’ faces changed. One said, "Captain, don’t be rash! That brat’s trying to bait us into the formation!"
"Yeah, Captain, maybe we should think of another way," another guard advised.
Conrad replied, "Everything has yin and yang, and so do formations. The outer defenses of this array are insanely tough—even if I go all out, I can’t break through. That means the formation’s strength is focused on its exterior. According to the principle of yin-yang duality, if the outside is strong, the inside must be weak. So, if we want to break it, we have to go in!"
"But—!"
"No buts!" Conrad cut him off with a wave. "That’s an order!"
As soon as Conrad finished, he charged straight into the formation.
Seeing their captain go in, three others quickly followed. The last two hesitated, but eventually entered too—Conrad was their captain, and his cultivation was higher than theirs. If they refused, knowing Conrad’s personality, he’d never let them off.
Inside the formation, the sky was a clear blue, and below was an endless stretch of grassland. As soon as Conrad and the other five entered, they were teleported onto the prairie.
Before Conrad could give orders, the five guards unleashed their magic tools again, blasting away at their surroundings.
But aside from making a bit of noise, it was still totally useless.
"You guys, stop wasting your energy. Even if you blast away for a hundred years, you’ll never break through my formation!"
A voice rang out, then a figure flashed by—Ian Song appeared dozens of meters away.
"Kill!"
The moment they saw Ian, all five guards switched targets and attacked him together.
But to their shock, even though the kid was just dozens of meters away, it felt like he was thousands of miles off. Their magic tools shot forward at full speed while Ian stood still, yet somehow their attacks couldn’t get close to him.
Seeing this, Conrad Wolf narrowed his eyes, a thoughtful look flashing across his face.
The next moment, he suddenly stepped forward and punched at Ian Song.
But the result was the same—his punch shot forward, but couldn’t get anywhere near Ian. For a moment, a trace of fear crept into his heart.
"Everyone stop!" Conrad Wolf withdrew his fist and called out.
At his order, the five guards reluctantly put away their magic tools.
"Why? Why can’t we hit you?" Conrad Wolf stared hard at Ian and asked.
Ian Song grinned. "Ever heard of spatial folding?"
After thinking it over, Conrad Wolf nodded.
Ian continued, "The space between us has been folded countless times. So, while it looks like we’re just a few dozen meters apart, it’s actually thousands—even tens of thousands—of miles!"
"How is that possible?!" one guard cried out.
Ian Song shrugged. "Why not? Formations contain the laws of the universe—they can change the sky, shift the stars. A little spatial folding is nothing."
Of course, spatial folding can’t stop a Fusion-stage expert. Fusion-stage cultivators—also called Hedao—are basically merged with heaven and earth. They understand dimensional mysteries, which is why they can use their signature ability: blink teleportation.
"Alright, now you guys can experience another trick my formation has to offer!"
As soon as he finished, Ian Song formed two hand seals for the array.
Buzz!!!
Suddenly, all six—including Conrad Wolf—felt the pressure around them multiply dozens of times, making it almost impossible to breathe. One guard, caught off guard, was flattened to the ground.
"Fifty times gravity—how do you like it?" Ian Song asked with a grin.
"Is that all you've got?" The guard who’d been flattened released his true essence to block the gravity, stood up, and snapped back, clearly annoyed.
"Of course it's not!"
Ian snapped his fingers, and suddenly, countless wind blades appeared all around the six of them. Just looking at those floating blades made their scalps tingle.
"Each wind blade packs the punch of a full-strength early Out-of-Body attack. So, tell me—how long do you think you’ll last?" Ian smirked, then...
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
The next moment, a swarm of wind blades shot toward the six of them, filling the sky.
Clang clang clang clang!
All six swung their magic tools, knocking away or shattering the incoming blades. But none of them felt any relief—there were still countless wind blades floating all around.
Time ticked by. Ian Song pulled out a table and a stool, set a little red clay stove on the table, and started boiling water.
He picked up the stove, brewed himself a pot of tea, poured it into a cup, and leisurely sipped away.
Seeing this, the Duke’s Residence guards fighting the wind blades could only grit their teeth in frustration.
After learning the Duke’s Residence had no Fusion-stage experts, Ian Song stopped worrying about them. To him, the Duke’s Residence was just his stepping stone to fame—he was sure his name would echo through the Inner City, and hopefully reach Lila Li’s ears too.
In a flash, a quarter of an hour passed.
Except for Conrad Wolf, the true essence shields of the other five guards had grown dim. Holding off fifty times gravity and endless wind blades, they were burning through their true essence fast.
"Captain, we can’t hold out much longer!" one team member shouted.
Conrad Wolf gritted his teeth. "Leave the wind blades to me—hurry and use pills to recover your true essence!"
As soon as he finished, Conrad’s true essence erupted, forming a shield that covered all five of his teammates.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
The dense wind blades slammed into the true essence shield, sending ripples through it again and again.
Ian glanced over, a mocking smile on his lips. Forming a hand seal, he boosted the wind blades’ power to late Out-of-Body level.