No More Pretending, I'm Showing My Cards

The void trembled, rifts proliferated.

This astonishing turn of events left the gathered Sages visibly shaken.

Wei Donghai nodded gravely, stepping forward to speak first.

"Indeed. Several days ago, I journeyed to the Barren Wastes. Swarms of Void Beasts had emerged, and spatial fissures were unmistakably forming—even golden-tier Void Beasts made appearances..."

"Looking back now, this is deeply unsettling. We must treat it with utmost caution!"

His solemn recollection drew equally grave expressions from the eight Sages.

As voices rose in succession, the tension thickened.

"Such anomalies foretell calamity!"

"We’ve guarded this place for millennia. We cannot allow these spatial rifts to expand, letting Void Beasts flood into Yunxing and wreak havoc!"

"Agreed. This is our duty—we cannot shirk it!"

"Then let us depart at once for the Barren Wastes to inspect these fissures!"

Just as the Sages prepared to act, urgency mounting—

Zui Wuya raised a hand to halt them, as if struck by a peculiar thought.

"Hold, fellow Sages!"

All eyes turned to him as he rose.

"This matter reeks of strangeness. We must not underestimate it."

"Yesterday, my junior brother and I traversed the Corridor of Forgotten Ages. Not a single remnant soul lingered—despite... despite the artifacts we wielded, the absence was unnatural."

"With so many oddities lately, we cannot afford carelessness. We must investigate the void rifts together!"

Clearly, it never crossed Zui Wuya’s mind that the vanishing remnant souls might be linked to Yi Feng.

His words reignited the Sages’ alarm, stirring fresh unease.

"How can this be?"

"If so, the proliferation of void rifts is no coincidence."

"Zui Wuya speaks wisely. Our vigil over the void’s disturbances and the Corridor safeguards Yunxing’s billions. We dare not be negligent."

"Indeed. This place is Yunxing’s spatial nexus—a single misstep could unravel everything. The Barren Wastes’ fissures are tied to it. We must investigate jointly."

"This battle against the Void Beasts demands our full strength!"

After heated discussion, all gazes settled on the elder at the head of the assembly.

The ancient figure’s hair and beard were white as snow, his brows trailing past weathered cheeks. Behind clouded eyes lay eons of wisdom. This frail-seeming man had been Yunxing’s paramount expert ten thousand years prior.

Even factions like the Celestial Alliance were mere fledglings in his eyes.

Venerables like Zui Wuya and Fu Nantian could only bow in reverence.

For this was the Sage who had ascended through the sword—elevating Yunxing’s comprehension of the blade through sheer genius, then selflessly sharing his insights. Every subsequent Sword Sage owed their path to his legacy.

Yet this peerless luminary chose to stand guard here for Yunxing’s sake.

The legendary Ancient Sage—Luo Hongfei—lived up to his name.

Facing impending disaster, the elder’s eyes blazed with resolve. His voice, though aged, rang firm.

"Then we go together—to slay the scourge, and return as one!"

With that decree, the Sages summoned their artifacts. Auras erupted, scattering birds and cleaving the heavens.

In an instant, the void rippled.

Eight figures stepped through with transcendent might, vanishing as streaks of light.

They reappeared countless leagues away—in the desolate expanse of the Barren Wastes.

Endless dunes stretched before them, a wasteland of utter bleakness.

The eight Sages stood arrayed, expressions taut.

Luo Hongfei led, while Wei Donghai, the youngest in seniority, anchored the rear.

Their eyes swept the dunes.

Chaotic spatial undulations distorted the wastes, the desolation more oppressive than ever. Even at the periphery, an invisible weight pressed upon them.

Then—corpses.

Massive, strewn across the sands like felled monoliths.

Shock replaced tension in the Sages’ eyes.

"How...?"

"Who could have slaughtered so many Void Beasts?"

"Such power... it chills the bones!"

"It must be a hidden master of our race, averting disaster before it struck. Such nobility commands respect!"

Amid the awe, Wei Donghai’s admiration swelled.

Even now, beholding the grotesque carcasses, he could almost glimpse Yi Feng’s transcendent bearing—deepening his reverence.

As the others marveled, Luo Hongfei’s gaze flickered with intrigue.

These unexplained corpses hinted at forces beyond their reckoning.

After a pause, he turned to Wei Donghai.

"This aligns with your earlier report. Did you witness the master’s hand?"

Wei Donghai dared not elaborate. He bowed solemnly.

"When I arrived, the scene was thus. My humble cultivation barred me from perceiving such heights."

Luo Hongfei sighed faintly before issuing orders.

"Brethren, extreme peril lies ahead. No reckless advances!"

"We move as one. A single injury could grant the Void Beasts an opening. Caution above all!"

The Ancient Sage’s experience shone through. Even the mystery of the slaughter took second place to survival.

The others assented, faces grim.

They pressed onward another hundred miles.

Now the sky itself was fractured.

Cracks spiderwebbed from the horizon upward, consuming half the firmament in a ghastly lattice.

Spatial turbulence pulsed through them, the fissures breathing like living things—expanding, contracting, on the verge of rupture.

The Sages’ expressions darkened further.

Luo Hongfei’s voice was leaden.

"So many rifts... The crisis exceeds our fears. If this continues, Yunxing will drown in Void Beasts!"

A heavy silence fell. Dread coiled around their hearts.

Advancing another thousand miles confirmed their fears.

The fissures had widened. Space itself rippled like disturbed water, teetering on the brink of tearing apart.

At the base of the largest rift, stretching toward the horizon—

A shroud of black mist obscured all.

Below, the dunes quaked.

Dozens of craters pocked the wastes. Void Beasts stirred beneath the sands, greedily absorbing spatial turbulence.

Their forms were monstrous.

Crabs the size of houses. Silver-sheened krakens. Elephantine creatures with elongated snouts. A forest of nightmares, swelling with each passing moment.

In mere days, the Barren Wastes had become a feeding ground.

Left unchecked, the horde would soon grow beyond even Yunxing’s combined might to oppose.

The Sages exchanged grim glances, grateful they’d come in time.

Luo Hongfei hovered aloft, surveying the abyss. His roar shook heaven and earth.

"You do not belong to the Star of Clouds—the Void Rift is your domain. If you insist on destroying this realm, we shall reduce you to ashes!"

The thunderous voice echoed like the decree of heaven, causing the towering Void Beasts to raise their eyes in unison.

A massive, tusked beast with an elongated trunk-like face bared its fangs, laughing wildly in response, its gaze brimming with greed and disdain.

"Humans?"

"You lowly, insignificant creatures dare to challenge us, the Voidborn? Our descent upon the Star of Clouds is an honor for your kind!"

"From this day forth, this realm shall belong to the Voidborn!"

The deep, mocking laughter incited roars from the beasts, their terrifying auras erupting like a storm.

As battle became inevitable, the eight Sage Sovereigns burned with killing intent.

In an instant, their sacred treasures were unleashed.

Dreadful power transformed into streams of radiant light, illuminating the desolate black desert.

Eight streaks of brilliance intertwined amidst the hulking shadows, and the clash of battle shook the heavens and earth.

The might of the Sage Sovereigns reverberated, yet even as they fought, the hundreds of Void Beasts howled in frenzy. Several of the sages were already faltering—their Dao power insignificant in this realm.

Led by the Ancient Sage Luo Hongfei, the sovereigns fought with all their might. The power of the Great Dao surged across the battlefield, sword beams cleaving the skies, threatening to shatter the very fabric of the world.

"Blazing Cloud Strike!"

"Primordial Sword Intent!"

"Qianqing Bracelet!"

"Sky-Sundering Axe!"

"Great Storm Palm!"

...

Soaring into the air, the sages wielded their supreme sacred artifacts, channeling transcendent Dao power. Their divine techniques merged into a storm of light, tearing through the tide of beasts, leaving a trail of colossal corpses in their wake.

Yet the beasts were thick-skinned and endless. The desert quaked ceaselessly, and the battle remained deadlocked.

Luo Hongfiend slew a silver-clawed beast with a few sword strikes, then cast a wary glance toward the dark rift shrouded in mist.

"Brother Zui, your mastery over spatial perception is unmatched."

"Hold the line while we distract these abominations. Seize the chance to infiltrate the rift and uncover its origin—do not linger!"

Zui Wuya gave a solemn nod.

After a fierce struggle, the eight sages carved out a bloody path.

Zui Wuya seized the moment, transforming into a streak of light that vanished into the depths. His comrades shielded his advance, blood mist billowing as towering beasts collapsed like crumbling mountains.

Only when Zui Wuya disappeared into the swirling sands did the sages allow themselves a brief respite.

The battle resumed.

Their coordination was flawless, their resolve unyielding.

Outnumbered by the Void Beasts, the seven remaining sages barely held their ground, their breath ragged, their Dao power nearly depleted.

Time lost meaning in the chaos.

The beast tide was momentarily suppressed, granting them a fleeting moment to recover.

Then, the earth trembled with even greater fury.

A golden tiger, colossal beyond measure, emerged from the rift, its roar shaking the heavens and turning the sages pale.

"Disaster!"

"Golden Void-Sunderer! How could a seventh-tier Void Beast appear here?!"

Panic spread like wildfire.

The tiger’s claws tore through the sky, its monstrous shadow blotting out the sun. Its roar rippled across thousands of miles, distorting the very air.

Staring up at the hundred-zhang-tall beast, the seven sages paled.

The golden tiger glared down with blazing fury, its eyes like twin suns.

"Humans?"

"You feeble insects dare harm my kin?"

"Since you seek death, I shall grant your wish!"

Its voice boomed across the land, its oppressive aura crushing all beneath it.

Fu Nantian, Wei Donghai, and the other five sages felt the weight of a mountain pressing upon them, their hearts drowning in helplessness.

The desert continued to spew forth more Void Beasts.

At a glance, their numbers had already surpassed a hundred.

With the golden tiger’s command, they surged forward, their murderous intent thickening the air, darkening the sky with ominous clouds.

The desert quaked. The void trembled.

In the face of such horror, despair was inevitable.

Yet the Ancient Sage Luo Hongfei stepped forward, his white beard and hair fluttering as he soared into the sky, his aged figure dwarfed by the beast before him.

Man and tiger stood in contrast—one a grain of sand, the other a towering mountain.

The sight was seared into the sages’ minds, tightening their chests with dread.

Confronting the thousand-zhang shadow of the golden tiger, Luo Hongfei raised his head and roared in defiance.

"You stubborn fools, this shall be your grave!"

His righteous aura resonated, igniting a desperate resolve in his comrades.

But the tiger’s wrath was overwhelming, its power eclipsing even Luo Hongfei’s. The endless tide of beasts left no hope of victory, even if they fought as one.

Just as despair took hold, Luo Hongfei’s voice echoed in their minds through divine transmission.

"This battle is mine alone."

"When the time comes, retrieve Zui Wuya and escape. You must seal the rift’s source at all costs!"

Luo Hongfei would face the beast tide alone.

He would buy them time—and preserve humanity’s hope.

His frail figure seemed to expand infinitely in that moment.

The sages watched with reverence, their hearts torn between loyalty and duty.

Even Fu Nantian, ever the sycophant, clenched his fists in anguish.

Wei Donghai, the weakest among them, gritted his teeth.

These monsters were beyond their strength.

Unless… unless Yi Feng were here. But the legendary figure was absent.

It seemed…

There was no choice but to wield that ancient sword.

Wei Donghai steeled himself. He had hoped to keep the sword hidden, but now, there was no room for modesty.

No more pretending.

Time to reveal the truth.

He lifted his chin, his voice trembling with determination.

"Brother Luo, let me try first!"

The sudden declaration stunned Luo Hongfei. The six sages turned to him, moved by his unexpected valor.