Hold On for Ten Seconds

The World-Breaking Realm was defined by the boundaries one broke through. Each boundary shattered brought a tremendous increase in combat power.

At the fourth stage of the World-Breaking Realm, the most notable change was that the force of one’s qi became powerful enough to accelerate the body beyond the speed of sound.

Then came the fifth stage, which broke through the limitations of the five senses, followed by the sixth stage, which granted the ability to draw out energy.

The boundary broken at the seventh stage was none other than the limitation of space. There were detailed records of it in Yanhuang as well, where it was known as “Shrinking the Earth to an Inch.”

Nalan Shisan had once consulted a senior member of the Abyss Chapel about this ability.

The other party had used science to explain how it worked.

The core principle of general relativity was that mass and energy could bend space.

At the seventh stage of the World-Breaking Realm, rather than releasing one’s power outward, one gathered it around oneself, creating a massive energy field.

This caused the curvature of the surrounding space to collapse locally.

Put simply, it made the space around one’s position cave inward.

Space in the distance would be drawn over and actively “flow” toward the user, shortening the distance between two points.

That was why only seventh-stage experts could cross between two continents within the Inner World.

They could shrink the earth to an inch, and even use the radiation in a vacuum, converting it into qi.

Sixth-stage experts could also survive in a vacuum, but they could not shrink space. Crossing the distance between two continents might take them several months or even years of flight.

Who would waste that much time simply traveling? It was far more practical to transit through the Outer World and head directly to another continent.

“Xu Mu!”

Fu Jinyu had already flown toward Xu Mu’s position.

“Clan Chief!”

The many elders gathered around lowered their heads when they saw the armored, middle-aged man.

The man’s hair hung loosely down his back, giving him a weathered appearance.

His eyes bore the distinctive features of the Heavenly Demon Clan, and a slanted scar ran from his left eye all the way to his nose.

Nalan Shisan was secretly startled. This man really was the clan chief of the Heavenly Demon Clan.

“Whenever you go out to handle something, you can’t put my mind at ease. A Transcendent expert injured one of our elders and then swaggered away as if nothing had happened. Where does that leave the dignity of our Heavenly Demon Clan?”

An Ce stood with his hands behind his back and glanced at Hong Jingshan. “Great Elder, I had you stay here to keep watch. It seems that was a mistake on my part.”

Hong Jingshan lowered his head slightly. “I did it for the safety of our Heavenly Demon Clan. Xu Mu is indeed difficult to deal with. If we were to lose more World-Breaking experts over these two women, the cost would outweigh the gain.”

Boom!

Just then, flames suddenly erupted from a distant mountain peak, blasting all the loose rocks into the air.

Xu Mu rose from the slope and lightly brushed the dust from his clothes, a smile spreading across his face. “That was quite a blow. As expected of a seventh-stage expert. This is the first time I’ve ever had a seventh-stage expert attack me.”

“Are you all right?”

Fu Jinyu had already arrived in front of Xu Mu and asked anxiously.

“I’m fine. I’ve got thick skin.”

Xu Mu smiled at Fu Jinyu.

Buzz!

The space in front of An Ce suddenly seemed to compress and twist.

The next moment, his body appeared a dozen meters away from Xu Mu. The entire movement was utterly silent—not even the qi he unleashed had erupted.

Xu Mu’s expression gradually turned solemn as he read this. At his current level, he did not even have the slightest chance to resist against a seventh-rank expert.

“Interesting. I held back just now, but anyone below the second rank should have been either dead or seriously injured. Yet you’re completely unharmed?”

An Ce looked at Xu Mu in surprise.

“I’ve studied body-refining techniques for a few years. My defense is fairly decent.”

Xu Mu shrugged with a smile. “Even when facing a senior like you, my answer remains the same: if you won’t let us leave, then I’ll make sure you die with us.”

“Heh. Are you threatening me?”

An Ce examined Xu Mu with interest. “Do you really think you can last five seconds against me?”

“You still underestimate me, Senior. How about I offer you a special deal—fifty seconds? If I can stay alive for fifty seconds, you let us go.”

Xu Mu had no intention of clashing head-on with him. The gap in their realms was simply too great, and his storage space could currently only hold one person.

If a real fight broke out, there would definitely be casualties on his side.

“Hahaha! Fifty seconds? You think far too highly of yourself.”

An Ce raised one finger. “I’ll give you only ten seconds. If you survive, I’ll let you leave.”

“Then thank you, Senior. I accept.”

Xu Mu nodded with a smile.

“You ignorant fool. Do you think that attack just now was my limit? I barely used any strength. But for the next ten seconds, I’ll be doing my utmost to kill you.”

An Ce looked at Xu Mu expressionlessly. “Since you’re so confident, I’ll begin.”

“Fine. I’m ready.”

Xu Mu nodded, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on An Ce.

Buzz!

The space before An Ce seemed to twist. In the next instant, he appeared in the area where Xu Mu had been, as though he had teleported.

But Xu Mu’s figure likewise vanished as if teleporting, reappearing where An Ce had originally stood.

Without pausing for even a moment, Xu Mu immediately released a black shadow, sending it flying toward the elders in the distance.

He himself ran in the opposite direction.

Whoosh!

With almost no time to react, An Ce caught up to Xu Mu. The black energy in his hand transformed into claws, completely enveloping Xu Mu.

But in the blink of an eye, Xu Mu’s body shifted to the distant black shadow, placing him directly in the midst of the elders.

An Ce’s eyes were filled with disbelief. These were practically all spatial techniques. He could not even tell whether it was one technique or several.

“In that case!”

An Ce raised his head. Several pitch-black blades appeared above him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The black blades tore through the air, attacking Xu Mu from every direction.

An Ce did not move. Instead, he gathered his power again, and more than a dozen blades appeared above his head.

He stared at Xu Mu in the distance, eager to see where he could run this time.

Yet to An Ce’s shock, Xu Mu did not flee or shift away.

He simply watched as the blades hurtled toward him.

Buzz!

Just as the blades were about to strike his body, they all vanished.

In the next instant, every one of them shot toward the Grand Elder, Hong Jingshan.

“Fuck!”

Hong Jingshan immediately unleashed his power, black flames forming a barrier before him.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

All of the blades struck the barrier, forcing Hong Jingshan backward.

But after only three or four seconds, they vanished.

Hong Jingshan let out a breath and withdrew his qi. He slowly flew over to Xu Mu. “Forget it. You really are stronger than I imagined.”

“Thank you for showing mercy, Senior.”

Xu Mu cupped his hands slightly.

“Showing mercy? You can tell how strong I am?”

An Ce asked calmly.

“I can’t. But when you redirected your attack toward the Grand Elder just now, he was able to block it. That’s when I guessed that you hadn’t used your full strength.”

Xu Mu replied with a smile.