Master Gu released his full pressure on Patrick; his reputation was in jeopardy, leaving him no room to spear Patrick or go easy on him.
What matters most to a cultivator in the cultivation world is their reputation, especially if you are strong. The stronger you are, the more you must secure your reputation as people evaluate a cultivator based on the demeanor they portrayed and how people value their words.
One of his subordinates who died in front of him meant that he could not protect his people. And what's worse was it happened in front of thousands of people. Master Gu is a late sage realm cultivator and prideful; he represents the power of a sect. If he allows such disrespect, the reputation of the masters of the Devil Sect will dwindle.
"If you think the mere pressure of a late sage realm can restrain me, you are wrong."
Patrick smirked as he watched master Gu release pressure on him; he spoke as if he wasn't under pressure from a late sage realm cultivator.
This comment made master Gu even angrier; his eyes turned red, and the qi around him began swirling as it turned into dark qi gathering above him. He is going full power, eliminating Patrick as fast as possible.
"Kid, you may be from a powerful family based on the armor you are wearing, but not even an immortal can save you from me today."
Master Gu spoke as he raised his right hand in the sky; the dark qi that gathered around him centered on his hand as it began forming a dark monstrous arm. The arm cracked the space as it made its entrance causing the atmosphere to tremble.
"Devil god arm"
Master Gu shouted as the arm descended from the sky. The other Devil Sect members who arrived with master Gu didn't react or move. Patrick killed the only person that made a move, and even when they lost a member, they didn't take action because of the presence of master Gu. They were all in dark robes and had powerful dark qi swirling around them; they organized themselves in rows from most powerful in the front to least at the back.
Among the leading ten in the front, another man in dark robes spoke in a deep cold tone.
"Little Mo, if this kid is not as powerful as you reported, you will be stripped of your rank and sentenced to three hundred years to the devil island."
The man spoke without expression as he watched the fight between Patrick and master Gu. Elder Mo panicked when the devil island was mentioned; that's where the Devil Sect members sent their fugitives for punishment.
The gigantic arm descended on Patrick with pressure from a late-stage realm cultivator; Patrick watched the arm from 26 different perspectives and had calculated everything 200 hours ago. He raised his right hand and pointed two fingers at the arm descending at him. Patrick used the bracelets' ability 'universal vector manipulation to shift the attack from him to the people floating above them from the Devil Sect.
Above where Patrick and master Gu fought, one of the black robe men suddenly felt threatened as he spoke in an authoritative tone and ordered.
"Return to the Devil Sect NOW!"
From a distance where Lou Min and the Moonflower Sect elder watched the battle, the transported people were panicked, and some already fainted. The Moonflower Sect elder spoke to Lou Min calmly without worrying about the ongoing battle and the fact that it was from a late-stage cultivator and a qi condensation cultivator.
"Matriarch Lou, it seems the sect selection completion ends here, and I think everything will change after this battle."
"Elder doesn't have to worry; nothing will happen to us; I have already seen what happened generally but am unable to tell who will endure such brutality. I think this boy will be the cause of change in the broken world, regardless of whether it's good or bad."
The elder nodded, agreeing with the matriarch. She was thinking about the last part when suddenly the 200 Devil Sect cultivators that arrived began vanishing from their spot, leaving the location as if escaping. She noticed the devil god arm technique of the Devil Sect, but why they were disappearing left her baffled.
In the air, the devil sect group heard the command from a master as they obeyed without question. One of the leading masters was the one to question the reason for their actions.
"Master 42, why are you ordering for a retreat?"
"Master 31, I used the devil prediction technique and saw that master 45 would not be able to win this battle, and even if we help, it will change nothing."
The master, who was number 42, replied to the master 31; the masters of the devil sect are ranked by numbers and rarely use their names. The lower the number, the more powerful and respected the sect is. Each master has their techniques and methods, but some have the same. Master Gu usually visits the mortal world often than other masters; that's why his name is known.
Master 42 just watched the weaker members vanish; he and the other nine masters stayed and observed the fight; he knew that if a master could not handle a fight even though he is a late-stage realm cultivator, then that enemy needs special attention.
Patrick saw the Devil Sect members vanishing. He raised his fingers and swapped to the left as the ginormous devil arm, meters away from hitting Patrick, disappeared and appeared where the weaker devil sect members were vanishing.
The devil arm tore the space where the members escaped; some who were in the process of using their shadows were unlucky as they encountered the destructive ability of the devil arm.
The masters floating were all left in shock; when master Gu unleashed the devil arm technique, it was going at a slow pace. But when the attack vanished and appeared above them, it increased speed as fast as lightning as it targeted the weaker members and killed them all.
The most shocked was master Gu himself; he knew the amount of energy he used at the attack, which was his most powerful attack. This realization brought him instant despair as he shouted out loudly.
"Soul explosion."
"...."
The Devil Sect masters who remained heard what master Gu shouted; this sentence gave them chills as some began fleeing from sight. The soul explosion technique is the devil sect's ultimate attack when facing a stronger enemy; this technique enables them to use half of their soul in an attack and can even kill a half-immortal realm cultivator.
From master Gu came a black ball which slowly detached from his soul; master Gu, who looked young before now, reassembled an older man with a white beard and hunched back. The technique requires half of the soul, which comes with half the life span. The other masters didn't bother to help as they fleed thousands of miles from the explosion.
The Ju emperor and the other family powerhouses witnessed all the events, the shocking actions of Patrick, and how he's able to go against a late sage realm and still causes the latter to use full power baffles the whole crowd. The guardians of the Ju empire were the only two who remained calm as they were not slightly bothered about the fight between Patrick and master Gu.
The elder guardian raised his wrist as the Ju emperor. The other powerhouses were shielded from the explosion; the guardian used a half-immortal treasure to block the soul explosion attack. The member from the Kang family turned and looked where Athena and Anna sat while drinking; he was about to shoot a hidden weapon at them when a message from one of the guardians sounded in his head.
"There's no need to waste your energy; they will die from such an explosion."
The detached soul from master Gu swirled and gathered qi from the surroundings as it only took three seconds before it was launched at Patrick at fast speed; Patrick smirked and opened his arms as if hugging and allowed the attack to smite him.
BOOM!
TREMBLE!
The attack caused the space to tremble and the earth to crack as it made a deep crack in the space Patrick stood. Although thousands of miles away from the explosion, the transported crowd still got attacked from the mere pressure that spread, which was from a late-stage sage realm cultivator. Lou Min and the Moonflower Sect elder were able to resist the pressure because of their realms, but they understood if they were any mile closer, they would be in a severe state or even dead.
Where the guardians of the Ju empire stood, the second guardian who told the Kang family patriarch to stop looked at where Athena and Anna were. But to his surprise, the attack they had used a half-immortal treasure to block didn't cause any damage to where these two girls sat; not even the surrounding dust was disturbed.
This fact caused the guardian, who was unfazed by an attack from a late-stage sage cultivator, to gain instant caution as he sent a message to the elder guardian.
"Eldre brother, these two girls seem more powerful than they appear. To be completely fine, even when such an explosion requires us to use treasures did not cause even the dust around them to ripple; they must be at least half-immortals."
The elder guardian also saw the relaxed Athena and Anna; his reaction was more alarming than the last guardian, causing the people protected by the shield to turn and look at where the guardian was looking. The group saw two girls wearing dark things like eye covers (sunglasses) and leaning on high-quality seats (sofas), drinking a red liquid from a shining glass-like cup (red wine).
"HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE."
The elder from the Puppet Sect was the first to break character as he screamed in disbelieve. The other sect elders and family powerhouses also had disbelieving expressions. Jiang Shi from the Heaven Rain Sect was the first to realize something as he spoke in a calculating tone.
"If the two women who accompanied the boy are unworried and fine from an attack such as that, then what must have happened to the boy himself?"
This theory caused chills in the hearts of everyone as the result of such theory will bring ultimate despair in the hearts of many, especially for the future of the Ju empire. If their guesses are correct; then, they have offended a powerful enemy capable of wiping out empires. As if their minds thought the same, they all turned simultaneously at where Patrick was.
The cracked space began mending in the air where the attack landed as the explosion dust slowly settled. Master Gu was floating a hundred meters away from the attacked location as he held a smiling face. He expects his target to be already mushed to paste, but he was confused when he heard a scream below; he is a sage realm expert, so he heard what Jiang Shi said.
Like the group below, he also turned to Patrick's location as he watched the dust settle slowly.
The dust settled, and Patrick's figure was seen; his state was completely fine as he was at the beginning of the fight. His arms were spread open as he still held his smirk while looking at master Gu like his prey.
"Are you done?"
Patrick asked master Gu to mock him for how weak the attack was. He used the helmet's 26-dimensional vision to spot the remaining masters of the devil sect and used the bracelet's universal vector manipulation ability as he grabbed the air pulling the masters who were miles away from the battlefield to where master Gu stood.
The masters were in complete shock as they were caught off-guard and were unable to reach the least. As if that was not enough, they all felt extreme pressure as their bodies became extremely heavy. They all smashed to the ground the next moment, smashing their heads like paste.
When the attack came at him, Patrick had not used the shield as it would completely cancel all attacks and their effects; he only used the bracelets and the sandals' gravitational pull ability.
The gravitational pull affected the group below as it caused even the guardians to fall heavily to the ground, causing injuries as they were stronger. The family powerhouses were already planted on the ground as they died in an instant; Jiang Shi held on a few seconds before he passed out from the pressure.
The guardians who were calm before and domineering were gone; all that remained were two older men planted on the ground, face down as they felt what they hadn't felt in a long time. Despair, not just despair from being weak, but ultimate despair because of their helpless situation.
Patrick stretched his right hand as the wooden sword flew to his hand; he raised it in the air as he spoke while slashing it forwards.