Chapter 2796: Chapter 2796
"Go!" Ye Liuyun signaled the bandit at the seventh level of Dominance.
The bandit immediately drew a long spear and thrust it toward the Dragon Maiden’s back. He figured she must be exhausted after fighting for so long—this was the perfect chance to strike.
The Dragon Maiden twisted aside, but not fast enough. Several of her scales were torn off by the spear’s tip. Ye Liuyun’s heart ached at the sight, but he clenched his jaw and stayed silent.
With another piercing roar, the Dragon Maiden lashed out with her claws. The bandit swung his spear, aiming straight for the center of her palm, trying to force her to withdraw.
But the Dragon Maiden was beyond reason now, past the point of fearing injury. She met the spear head-on, her claws clamping down even as the weapon pierced straight through. With a brutal squeeze, she crushed the warrior in her grip, his body bursting apart in an instant.
The man had never expected such a reckless, self-destructive attack. Caught off guard, he died before he could react.
By now, Ye Liuyun’s divine soul was ready to intervene. Truth be told, letting the Dragon Maiden practice the Frenzied Dragon Combat Technique was secondary. What he really wanted was to see if she could still control herself. That way, in future battles, if she ever triggered this berserk state in danger, he’d know how to handle it.
Still in midair, the Dragon Maiden clenched her jaws around the spear’s tip and yanked it free, flinging it aside. Blood sprayed from the wound as the weapon tore loose, but she felt no pain. Her eyes burned crimson as she scanned for more enemies, snarling.
Then, abruptly, she seemed to realize—there were no foes left. She glanced at Ye Liuyun, her awareness sharpening. Her gaze flicked to the remaining bandits, hesitation flickering across her face before she forcibly suppressed the battle frenzy with her will.
Hovering in the air, she let out two long, guttural cries, venting her pent-up fury before gradually calming. Moments later, she shifted back into human form and landed weakly, her legs trembling as she struggled to stand.
Ye Liuyun rushed forward, catching her in his arms and tipping a few drops of life-giving spring water into her mouth.
"Well done! You controlled it perfectly—that’s real progress," he praised, stroking her hair soothingly before handing her off to his clone to be taken back to the spatial realm for recovery.
The three Xuanwu beasts had stayed out of the fight. Masters of stealth, they weren’t suited for open combat. Had they chosen to ambush these sixth-level Dominance bandits, their targets wouldn’t have stood a chance—not even the seventh-level ones.
Now, with no seventh-level Dominance opponents left, it was the Vermilion Bird’s turn.
And her opponent? Only one—the bandit leader.
"Step forward!" Sure enough, the Vermilion Bird called him out directly.
Though the Vermilion Bird wasn’t particularly strong in combat, its cultivation had recently stabilized at the eighth level of the Dominator realm. Its attacks were also fairly one-dimensional—flames. If an opponent could counter its fire, its only remaining option was soul-based attacks.
The bandit leader had braced himself for this moment and immediately stepped forward, focusing intently on the fight. His combat skills were actually quite solid—after all, he had spent years living by the blade, and those who lacked skill didn’t last long in his line of work.
From the moment they clashed, Ye Liuyun could tell the bandit leader was highly experienced. He deftly dodged the Vermilion Bird’s flames, never rushing his attacks but striking only when he saw the perfect opening.
Each of his strikes forced the Vermilion Bird to draw upon the power of the spatial realm to evade or defend—otherwise, it would have been wounded.
The Vermilion Bird, however, was far more hot-tempered. After a brief exchange, realizing it couldn’t overpower him, it grew furious and transformed into a blazing fireball, repeatedly charging at the bandit leader.
To Ye Liuyun, the outcome was already clear—the Vermilion Bird was bound to lose. The only question was whether it would resort to a soul attack to finish the fight.
But the Vermilion Bird had only intended to spar, so it never planned to unleash its soul power.
Just as the fireball surged toward the bandit leader again, its momentum nearly spent, the bandit sidestepped once more. Suddenly, a spear materialized in his hand, and he thrust it straight at the back of the Vermilion Bird’s neck.
*Clang!*
The spear struck—but failed to pierce through.
A cold sweat broke out on Ye Liuyun’s forehead. Given the bandit’s strength, he could have easily impaled the Vermilion Bird. Though the beast had used spatial realm energy to defend itself, the bandit’s own power was formidable. With just a bit more borrowed force, that single strike could have been fatal.
The bandit had clearly held back. He was no fool. Ye Liuyun might have let the earlier bandits off with mere injuries, but if he had actually killed the Vermilion Bird, there was no way Ye Liuyun would have spared him.
The Vermilion Bird was the only eighth-level Dominator beast by Ye Liuyun’s side—the others weren’t nearly as strong. And while he had captured five ninth-level Dominator aliens, they didn’t truly count as his allies.
So the bandit had stopped short, leaving himself a way out.
But the Vermilion Bird, struck in the back of the neck, now felt humiliated. Its flames erupted once more as it prepared to fight the bandit leader to the death.
"Let it go! He already showed you mercy!" Ye Liuyun immediately spoke up, signaling Zhuque to back off.
Whether the bandit had been forced or not, he’d spared Zhuque’s life. There was no need for Zhuque to push his luck any further.
"He showed me mercy?" Zhuque was still confused and turned to Ye Liuyun for confirmation.
After Ye Liuyun explained, it finally dawned on Zhuque—that spear strike hadn’t missed because the bandit leader lacked the skill to pierce through him.
"Fine then. I was planning to devour him, but I’ll spare his life," Zhuque conceded.
"Still, your combat skills are lacking. You really need to train harder," Ye Liuyun reminded him.
"Yeah, I’ve stopped absorbing soul energy for now. I’ll wait until my strength catches up," Zhuque admitted, realizing that relying solely on soul energy to boost his power might destabilize his foundation.
"Go rest over there," Ye Liuyun told the bandit leader before sending Zhuque to spar with another bandit—one at the seventh level of Dominance and notably stronger.
Yet again, Zhuque was outmatched. What surprised Ye Liuyun, however, was that despite being only at the seventh level of Dominance, this bandit could hold his own against Zhuque, even crossing realms in combat. Clearly, his potential was nothing to scoff at.
Moreover, Ye Liuyun noticed the bandit leader whispering something to him. Though he had the chance to strike Zhuque down—or at least severely wound him—he held back. The bandit seemed simple-minded, likely a battle fanatic who followed the leader’s orders without question.
Ye Liuyun couldn’t bring himself to kill him either. In the end, he called off the fight, sending Zhuque back to focus on refining his true essence while the bandit stepped aside.
By then, everyone around Ye Liuyun had finished their battles. He withdrew those still outside into his spatial world, leaving only the bandits and five alien warriors at the ninth level of Dominance.
