Escape Plan

Silence.

An eerie silence enveloped the entire venue.

After that single punch.

Not a single sound could be heard from the hundreds of thousands of guests, as if all noise in the world had been erased along with the annihilated guest elder!

Staring at the terrifying hundred-zhang-long chasm torn through the venue, the crowd was left utterly dumbstruck!

Even Lu Shuyao was shaken, her charming smile frozen into a dazed murmur.

"H-how… how is this possible…?"

The Star Cloud Venue was infused with the power of the Great Dao. Tens of thousands of years ago, several supreme experts had been invited to construct it, expending countless rare treasures and millennia of effort!

Every moment the venue remained active required an astronomical amount of immortal crystals to sustain.

This luxurious venue was the culmination of generations of effort by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, unrivaled across the East Sea. Even a full-force strike from an eighth-grade expert shouldn’t have been able to cause such devastation!

Yet now.

Not only had the formation been obliterated like rotten wood, but even the cloud walls of the venue had been pierced through as if they were nothing!

The seventh-grade Elder Song had been erased from existence in an instant, as if he were nothing more than an ant crushed underfoot…

One punch.

Just one punch!

How could it be so terrifying?

Why would such an overwhelmingly powerful existence willingly serve Lu Xinlan?!

Lu Shuyao’s pupils trembled, unable to believe what she was seeing.

The situation had spiraled far beyond her expectations, shattering her very understanding of reality. All her schemes and cunning vanished from her mind, leaving only a deafening buzz—

As if the aftershocks of that punch still lingered!

Staring at the horrifying chasm in the venue, she suddenly felt a panic unlike anything she had ever known.

Her voice, usually so composed, now wavered with urgency as she turned to her remaining guest elders.

"E-Elders… what do we do now?!"

The moment her trembling words rang out, the elders beside her jolted as if struck by lightning!

Every time Lu Shuyao’s gaze landed on one of them, the elder in question flinched as if her eyes carried a deadly chill rather than a plea for help!

The elders exchanged frantic glances, stumbling over excuses as they scrambled to leave.

"T-this…"

"Ah! This old one just remembered—my mother is due to give birth today! As a filial son, I must be by her side in this critical moment. Farewell, everyone!"

With that, the man vanished without a trace.

Inspired by his quick thinking, the others followed suit, bowing hastily.

"Brother Liu’s words remind me! My father appeared in my dreams last night, saying he still… ahem, desires companionship in the afterlife. I must return to the ancestral tomb at once to burn paper offerings!"

"Right, right! Filial piety is paramount! I’ve wandered the world for tens of thousands of years without visiting my clan. It’s high time I returned to wash my mother’s feet—she’s been in secluded cultivation for so long!"

"Ahem… This elder recalls a pill refined ten thousand years ago. The furnace should be ready to open today. I cannot abandon such a lifelong effort—we shall meet again if fate allows!"

"You—?! I—! I—! My stomach! It hurts like hell!"

…

In the blink of an eye, all seven guest elders scattered like startled birds.

Before Lu Shuyao could even react, the once-mighty experts tore through space, fleeing faster than the last—

The final one didn’t even bother with an excuse!

"Whoosh…"

A cold breeze swept past, leaving her utterly alone.

Lu Shuyao stood frozen, humiliated before the entire crowd. The stark contrast between her current isolation and her earlier entourage of powerful allies made her look like a pitiful clown.

Finally, her composure shattered.

Her face flushed with rage, her delicate fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Cowards!"

"Every last one of you—spineless traitors!"

Her shrill curses resembled the outburst of a common market woman.

Dignity abandoned, she desperately scanned her surroundings—

Until her eyes landed on Elder Zhang Tonghai, still standing motionless.

A flicker of relief crossed her face.

She hurried over, bowing deeply with uncharacteristic deference.

"Elder Zhang, your steadfastness puts those cowards to shame!"

"With such a formidable enemy before us, only you can turn the tide! This humble girl will be eternally grateful—name any reward, and it shall be yours a hundredfold!"

Lu Shuyao, who had always carried herself with icy pride, was now groveling.

The spectators watched in astonishment. The image of the divine, untouchable young mistress was crumbling before their eyes.

Yet strangely—

Even as Lu Shuyao pleaded, Zhang Tonghai remained silent, not uttering a single word.

Was he waiting to extort a higher price?

Her cheeks burned with humiliation, but she forced a smile.

"Elder Zhang…"

"Any condition—I swear it!"

Still, no response.

Growing desperate, she reached out to tap his shoulder—

Only for the "steadfast" elder to topple over like a log!

His robes collapsed the moment they touched the ground, deflating into a limp husk.

It was…

A decoy?!

Lu Shuyao gasped, scrambling to grab the empty garments.

The weightless fabric in her hands mirrored the hollowness in her chest. Her face paled as realization dawned.

"This—!"

"The Golden Cicada Molting Technique?!"

Legends spoke of how Zhang Tonghai—an eighth-grade expert—had once escaped a ninth-grade supreme being unscathed, relying solely on this miraculous escape art. By the time his enemy noticed, he was already hundreds of thousands of miles away!

The tales were true.

And the old fox had used it here—to abandon her!

The technique was said to demand immense energy and preparation, reserved only for life-or-death situations…

Which meant—

The bastard had sensed the danger long ago and secretly activated it, fleeing even faster than the others!

Damn him!

Her final trump card had been the most treacherous of all!

Now truly alone, the full weight of despair crashed upon Lu Shuyao.

If even Zhang Tonghai had fled without hesitation, who could possibly save her?

It was over.

All of it.

Why did that bastard Lu Xinlan have such a monster on her side?

How could her connections surpass Lu Shuyao’s own?!

For the first time in her charmed life, she had been cast down from the heavens, her arrogance reduced to dust.

She couldn’t bear to lift her head, unable to face the crowd’s mocking stares.

Under the crushing defeat—

The once-unshakable schemer collapsed to her knees, her exquisite robes now disheveled and stained with dust, resembling little more than a bundle of withered grass.

A pitiful sight.

Witnessing the dramatic reversal and Lu Shuyao’s utter ruin, the guests began murmuring among themselves.

"Tsk…"

"They all fled? Not a shred of honor left?"

"Honor? Facing an expert like that? A seventh-grade heaven-tier cultivator was erased in one punch—honor means nothing against such power!"

"That gentleman is truly a terror!"

"So Lady Xinlan had this prepared all along!"

"This old one always said Lady Xinlan was destined for greatness!"

"Ha! Great minds think alike. I’ve already prepared gifts for her victory celebration!"

Amid the resounding buzz of discussion, the crowd's gazes were filled with awe.

Within moments, the venerable elders regained their composure and offered their congratulations. The hall erupted in laughter, and Lu Xinlan's reputation underwent a dramatic shift—guests now wore expressions of flattery and sycophancy!

Meanwhile, Yi Feng, utterly bewildered, became the center of attention.